Soft Toy Projectile Launcher & Method of Use Thereof

Abstract

A toy projectile launcher comprising a primary soft toy projectile launcher body, and one or a multitude of secondary soft toy projectiles having a size smaller than the primary soft toy projectile launcher body, which, when combined, allows a user to throw, or otherwise launch, a primary soft toy projectile towards an area containing one or multiple targets, and then have that primary soft toy projectile open up in mid-flight, thereby simulating a toy explosion, and thereby further launching additional secondary soft toy projectiles, previously contained within the initial primary soft toy projectile, outward towards the one or multiple targets.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention generally relates to the field of toys for children. Moreover, it pertains specifically to a new soft toy projectile launcher for launching soft toy projectiles and method of use thereof.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A variety of prior art soft toy projectile launchers that discharge soft projectiles such as toy foam balls, toy foam bullets, toy foam darts, and other soft projectiles that are designed to be projected towards a target and softly impact the target in a safe manner without causing injury, are well known within the art.

Prior art soft toy projectile launchers are embodied primarily as toy guns, which, due to their method of operation and function, perform like traditional toy guns that are loaded and then shoot toy projectiles at a target, one projectile at a time. This embodiment and operation is different from what is expected of common toy grenade type projectiles. There are also prior art examples of stand-alone toy grenade type projectiles that may be launched manually by hand by throwing it towards a target, or which can also be launched from a toy gun or toy launching tube to simulate the launching of a toy grenade, however this single projectile embodiment simply either hits a target or misses a target with no further action from the launched toy grenade.

There is therefore a need for a new soft toy projectile launcher for launching soft toy projectiles that allows a user to throw, or otherwise launch, a primary soft toy projectile towards an area containing one or multiple targets, and then have that primary soft toy projectile open up in mid-flight, thereby simulating a toy explosion, and thereby further launching additional secondary soft toy projectiles, previously contained within the initial primary soft toy projectile, outward towards the one or multiple targets. The function and operation of this new soft toy projectile launcher will allow for game play in a manner more realistic with a common grenade throwing scenario being replicated in game play, and in a manner that is not currently offered by prior art devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The terms “invention”, “the invention”, and “the present invention” referred to in this patent are intended to refer broadly to all the subject matter of this patent. This summary is a high-level overview of various aspects of the invention and introduces some of the concepts that are further described in the Detailed Description section herein.

In view of the limitations now present in the prior art devices and methods of soft toy projectile launchers, the present invention provides an improved, new soft toy projectile launcher for launching soft toy projectiles and method of use thereof that is not currently offered by prior art devices.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a new soft toy projectile launcher and method of use thereof for launching soft toy projectiles that allows a user to throw, or otherwise launch, a primary soft toy projectile towards an area containing one or multiple targets, and then have that primary soft toy projectile open up in mid-flight, thereby simulating a toy explosion, and thereby further launching additional secondary soft toy projectiles, previously contained within the initial primary soft toy projectile, outward towards the one or multiple targets. The function and operation of this new soft toy projectile launcher will allow for game play in a manner more realistic with a common grenade throwing scenario being replicated in game play, and in a manner that is not currently offered by prior art devices, which is not apparent, obvious, or suggested, either directly or indirectly by any of the prior art devices, apparatus, or methods.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention in the preferred embodiment comprises a primary soft toy projectile launcher body (10), and one or a multitude of secondary soft toy projectiles (30), said primary soft toy projectile launcher body (10) having a generally round, flat shape, further comprising a flexibly rigid outer ring (15), and soft fabric material face (20), whereby the soft fabric material is fixable attached to the rigid outer ring (15) around the perimeter length of the ring. Thereby causing the material (20) to span the distance within the perimeter of the rigid ring. The secondary soft toy projectiles (30) are small foam shapes having a size smaller than the primary soft toy projectile launcher body (10).

The present invention in the preferred embodiment is further intended to be used by twisting or folding the primary soft toy projectile launcher body (10) in a manner so as to cause the primary soft toy projectile launcher body (10) to collapse in on itself and become smaller, then inserting the secondary soft toy projectiles (30) into the smaller folded primary soft toy projectile launcher body (10), and thereby having the secondary soft toy projectiles (30) contained therein. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the primary soft toy projectile launcher body (10), in the smaller folded state containing the secondary soft toy projectiles (30), can then be manually thrown, away from the user, towards an intended target or target area, where it will then naturally be caused to unfold back to the original shape, thereby launching or projecting outward in any direction, the secondary soft toy projectiles (30) contained therein.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the primary soft toy projectile launcher body (10) can be folded, filled with secondary soft toy projectiles (30), and then launched manually with no fastening mechanism to hold the primary soft toy projectile launcher body (10) in a closed folded position. However, an alternate embodiment of the invention comprises a fastener (25) to temporarily hold the primary soft toy projectile launcher body in a closed folded position until impact with the intended target or target area. Said fastener may be comprised of a clip, that swivels into position that will become disengaged upon impact, it may further be comprised of a magnet that will serve to temporarily hold the primary soft toy projectile launcher body in a closed folded position until impact with the intended target or target area, at which point the impact will be sufficient to disengage the magnetic connection, thereby causing the primary soft toy projectile launcher (10) to unfold and open up, further initiating the launching or projecting of the secondary soft toy projectiles (30) contained therein. It is to be understood that a variety of fasteners and methods may be used to accomplish the same purpose and function and are therefore to be considered apparent and obvious to the disclosure contained herein.

It is to be further understood that the secondary soft toy projectiles (30), in the preferred embodiment, are intended to be manufactured from soft foam material. The secondary soft toy projectiles are further intended to be embodied in a wide variety of shapes including but not limited to, discs, spheres, cubes, cylinders, cones, pyramids, oval shaped spheres, toy bullets, irregular shapes, random shapes, shrapnel shapes, shapes representative of characters, animals, rocks, plants, foods, or other shapes not referred to herein that can be represented by soft foam, and are to be considered apparent and obvious to the disclosure.

It is to be understood that the soft fabric material face (20) of the primary soft toy projectile launcher body is intended to be manufactured from soft fabric, however other materials may be used including but not limited to, mesh, netting, plastic sheeting, or other material that perform the same purpose and function and is therefore to be considered apparent and obvious to the disclosure.

It is to be further understood that the flexibly rigid outer ring of the primary soft toy projectile launcher body is intended to be manufactured from a thin metal wire, however it may be manufactured from other materials including but not limited to, plastics, that perform the same purpose and function and is therefore to be considered apparent and obvious to the disclosure.

An alternate embodiment of the invention disclosed herein comprises first and second primary soft toy projectile launcher bodies, whereby the first primary soft toy projectile launcher body is loaded to contain a multitude of secondary soft toy projectiles, the first primary soft toy projectile launcher body is then folded to enclose the secondary soft toy projectiles, the first primary soft toy projectile launcher body is then further positioned on one side of the second soft toy projectile launcher body which is then folded closed to encapsulate or contain the first folded soft toy projectile launcher body. When launched or thrown, the second soft toy projectile launcher body is intended to unfold, thereby further launching the first primary soft toy projectile launcher body, which then unfolds and further launches the secondary soft toy projectiles contained within the first primary soft toy projectile launcher body.

An alternate embodiment of the invention disclosed herein comprises first, second, and third primary soft toy projectile launcher bodies, whereby the first and second primary soft toy projectile launcher bodies are loaded to contain a multitude of secondary soft toy projectiles, they are then folded to enclose the secondary soft toy projectiles, they are then further positioned on one or either side of the third soft toy projectile launcher body which is then folded closed to encapsulate or contain the first and second folded soft toy projectile launcher bodies. When launched or thrown, the third soft toy projectile launcher body is intended to unfold, thereby further launching the first and second primary soft toy projectile launcher bodies, which then unfold and further launch the secondary soft toy projectiles contained within the first and second primary soft toy projectile launcher bodies.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is intended to be embodied in a size suitable for carrying, holding, loading, folding, and throwing by a person. It is anticipated that the invention can be embodied in a size small enough to be held in a single hand when in the folded ready to launch position, and it is also anticipated that the invention may be embodied in a size large enough to contain multiple primary soft toy projectile launchers and multiple secondary soft toy projectiles.

The present invention may further comprise a holder for carrying, storing, or transporting the primary soft toy projectile launchers and secondary soft toy projectiles. It is anticipated that the holder may be embodied as a belt, strap, holster, bag, or pouch intended to be worn by, carried by, or attached to the user. The holder may further be embodied to accommodate just the primary soft toy projectile launchers in the open and unloaded or folded and loaded states; just the secondary soft toy projectiles; or all embodiments of the invention and related invention components.

An alternate embodiment of the present invention is anticipated to be used by placing the secondary soft toy projectiles on top of the flat surface of the primary soft toy projectile launcher body, and then twisting or folding the primary soft toy projectile launcher body in a manner so as to cause the primary soft toy projectile launcher body to collapse in on itself and become a smaller folded primary soft toy projectile launcher body having the secondary soft toy projectiles contained therein. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the primary soft toy projectile launcher body, in the smaller folded state containing the secondary soft toy projectiles, can then be manually thrown, away from the user, towards an intended target or target area, where it will then naturally be caused to unfold back to the original round flat shape, thereby launching or projecting outward in any direction, the secondary soft toy projectiles contained therein.

It is to be further understood that the primary launcher body may be embodied in a wide variety of shapes including but not limited to, round, square, triangular, rectangular, cone, pyramid, oval, oblong, irregular shapes, shapes representative of characters, animals, rocks, plants, foods, or other shapes not referred to herein that can be folded or twisted into a smaller size, and are therefore to be considered apparent and obvious to the disclosure.

It is to be further understood that the secondary soft toy projectiles, in the preferred embodiment, are intended to be manufactured from soft foam, however the soft toy projectiles may be manufactured from a variety of materials including but not limited to, gel, textiles, soft plastic, fabric with filler, whereby said filler may be feathers, cloth, foam, cotton, wool, or other suitable soft material and are therefore to be considered apparent and obvious to the disclosure.

It is to be further understood that the primary launcher body, in alternate embodiments, may comprise one or a multitude of dividers, pouches or pockets to aid in the temporary retention of, and directional launching of, the secondary soft toy projectiles.

Another alternate embodiment of the invention disclosed herein comprises a primary soft toy projectile launcher body having first, second, third, and fourth generally half-round, flat, launcher surfaces, whereby each launcher surface is interconnected with other launcher surfaces along one side edge, thereby creating a projectile launcher body having a “+” shape when viewed from above, or in plan view. When used as disclosed herein in the preferred embodiment, this alternate embodiment will provide more uniform distribution of soft toy projectiles once they are launched from the primary soft toy projectile launcher body.

It is anticipated that other alternate embodiments of the invention disclosed herein may comprise a primary soft toy projectile launcher body having a number of generally half-round, flat, launcher surfaces, whereby each one is interconnected along one side edge, thereby creating a projectile launcher body wherein the number of generally half-round, flat, launcher surfaces are arrayed around a center point. It is also anticipated that embodiments with increasing or decreasing numbers of generally half-round, flat, launcher surfaces will correspondingly decrease or increase the directional launch trajectory of secondary soft toy projectiles.

The foregoing has outlined, in general, the physical aspects and the intended use and function of the invention and is to serve as an aid to better understanding the invention disclosed herein. In reference to such, there is to be a clear understanding that the present invention is not limited to the method or detail of construction, fabrication, material, or application of use described and illustrated herein. Any other variation of fabrication, use, or application should be considered apparent as an alternative embodiment of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following drawings further describe by illustration the advantages and objects of the present invention.

FIG. 1. Primary soft toy projectile launcher body with a flexibly rigid outer ring, and soft fabric material face, in the finished embodiment.

FIG. 2. Flexibly rigid outer ring of the primary soft toy projectile launcher body.

FIG. 3. Soft fabric material face of the primary soft toy projectile launcher body.

FIG. 4. Shows a Primary soft toy projectile launcher body with a flexibly rigid outer ring, and soft fabric material face, in the process of being twisted and folded into a launch ready position.

FIG. 5. Primary soft toy projectile launcher body with a flexibly rigid outer ring, and soft fabric material face. Showing the launcher body in the beginning, middle, and end stages process of being twisted and folded into a launch ready position.

FIG. 6. Showing an alternate embodiment with the secondary soft toy projectiles loaded onto the launcher body in the beginning, middle, and end stages process of being twisted and folded into a launch ready position.

FIG. 7. First showing the preferred embodiment with the primary launcher body in the folded state with secondary soft toy projectiles ready to be loaded. Then showing secondary soft toy projectiles loaded onto the pre-folded launcher body with fastener holding launcher body closed.

FIG. 8. Showing first and second primary launcher bodies in the beginning, middle, and end stages process of being twisted and folded into a launch ready position, with a first launcher body loaded and added to the second launcher body.

FIG. 9. Showing the launcher body in a variety of shape embodiments including round, square, and oval.

FIG. 10. Showing the secondary soft toy projectiles pre-loaded onto the launcher body pockets. Further showing pockets on various shape embodiments of the primary launcher body.

FIG. 11. Primary soft toy projectile launcher body with a flexibly rigid outer ring, and soft fabric material face, with secondary soft toy projectiles. Showing the primary soft toy projectile launcher body in the loaded position filled with secondary soft toy projectiles, being thrown and opening up launching the secondary soft toy projectiles in a play explosion.

Claims

1. A soft toy projectile launcher comprising:

a launcher body having a generally round panel of flexible sheet material, said panel having a channel forming hem around the perimeter of the panel for receiving a flexible rigid ring, said ring and panel to be folded into a smaller size body; and

at least one soft toy projectile which is to be placed within the launcher body;

2. The soft toy projectile launcher of claim 1 wherein the flexible rigid ring is either a flat ring or a tubular ring;

3. The soft toy projectile launcher of claim 1 wherein the soft toy projectile shape is either a sphere, hemisphere, ellipsoid, bullet, cylinder, cube, prism, pyramid, cone, or irregular shape;

4. The soft toy projectile launcher of claim 1 wherein the generally round panel of flexible sheet material comprises at least one pocket;

5. The soft toy projectile launcher of claim 1 wherein the generally round panel of flexible sheet material comprises a clasp;

6. A soft toy projectile launcher comprising:

At least two launcher bodies, each having a generally round panel of flexible sheet material, said panel having a channel forming hem around the perimeter of the panel for receiving a flexible rigid ring, said bodies to be folded into smaller size bodies with said at least one launcher body being placed within another launcher body; and

at least one soft toy projectile which is to be placed within each launcher body;

7. The soft toy projectile launcher of claim 5 wherein the flexible rigid ring is either a flat ring or a tubular ring;

8. The soft toy projectile launcher of claim 5 wherein the soft toy projectile shape is either a sphere, hemisphere, ellipsoid, bullet, cylinder, cube, prism, pyramid, cone, or irregular shape;

9. The soft toy projectile launcher of claim 5 wherein the generally round panel of flexible sheet material comprises at least one pocket;

10. The soft toy projectile launcher of claim 5 wherein the generally round panel of flexible sheet material comprises a clasp;