EP1344016B1 - Automatic toy gun with multipurpose firing unit - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention concerns an automatic toy gun comprising a shell (1) consisting of two half-shells (1A, 1B) preferably moulded in plastic material and rigidly assembled, said shell containing various firing mechanism members and defining at least a magazine for receiving a supply of spherical projectiles. The invention is characterised in that said members such as the firing case, the device supplying said case, the firing pin and its guide and return means, the trigger-sear assembly and its guide and return means, are assembled in a multipurpose unit (2), and the inner surface of said half-shells have a partitioning (3A, 3B) enabling said unit (2) to be built-in and placed in fixed position inside the shell (1).

Description

The present invention relates to an automatic toy pistol with universal firing block. More specifically, the invention is in the field of repetitive toy guns for discharging projectiles consisting of balls or small plastic spheres, presenting no danger to children.

Toy guns of this kind have, for example, been described in the documents FR-A 1,287,143 , FR-A-1334224 , FR-A-1412587 , GB-A-329 343 and FR-A-1383351 (which forms a basis for claim 1); toy guns corresponding to the embodiment disclosed in the latter document still being marketed at present.

These toy pistols comprise a shell or casing enclosing the various organs of the firing mechanism and inside which is arranged a magazine for receiving a supply of spherical projectiles, this hull being mainly executed in two half-parts obtained by rigid plastic molding and assembled according to the median longitudinal plane of the article, by screwing, stud interlocking or otherwise.

Internally, each half-shell portion is shaped and arranged in a complex manner to allow the installation of the various parts constituting the firing mechanism and the movement of some of the latter.

This complex conformation involves molding constraints that interfere with the configuration of the toy pistol with, as a consequence, a regrettable limitation of the external forms that it is possible to give to it, and, consequently, a constraint on the technical improvements. that could have been done.

On the other hand, if one wants to be able to offer several models of toy guns to buyers, one is led to execute half-shells and parts of shooting mechanism specific to each of them. This situation is very restrictive not only aesthetically and economically, but also on quality and potential technical improvements, so that Manufacturers prefer to give up presenting a range of items to their customers, and to seek such improvements.

In the document GB-A-329 343 , there is described a repetitive toy pistol whose firing mechanism comprises a tubular loading magazine, a percussion chamber, a thrust spring, a trigger-trigger system for compressing and releasing said spring, these various members being positioned between two half-shells constituting the housing of the toy pistol and made integral with them by means of rivets, some of which constitute the axes of pivoting of the trigger and a tilting latch for blocking a supply device serving to repel the spherical projectiles in the direction of the percussion chamber.

This toy pistol has the drawbacks previously underlined. In addition, the assembly of the different constituent parts of the toy pistol is difficult because the bodies of the firing block do not form a compact assembly before being clamped between the two half-shells and immobilized between them by means of rivets. In addition, the supply device consisting of a tube and a thrust spring and slidably mounted to the upper part of the toy pistol, is not related to the firing mechanism and therefore does not form a set either. compact with this one. The presence of this supply device, the tightening of the parts of the mechanism between the two half-shells and the immobilization of these parts by means of rivets passing through both the firing mechanism and said half-shells necessarily impose a limitation of forms that can be given to the latter.

A first object of the invention is therefore to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks.

According to the invention, this object is achieved with the features of claim 1, thanks to an automatic toy pistol comprising a shell or casing consisting of two molded half-shells made of plastic material and rigidly assembled, this toy pistol being remarkable in that the various organs of its firing mechanism are grouped into a universal block and in that said universal block is fixed by simple positioning and embedding in a partition or other arrangement that presents the inner face of the half-shells and molded in one piece with the latter, the partition or other arrangement being configured to allow and ensure the embedding and positioning of said universal firing block, inside the shell.

Thanks to the fact that the conformation of the inner face of the half-shells only requires the presence of a simple partitioning, it can be easily obtained by molding without interfering with the configuration of the shell to which it can thus give, without any problem, any desired shape.

It is also possible to manufacture a universal firing block, which can equip different models of hulls or housings having, internally, an identical arrangement for the reception of said universal block. On the other hand, the manufacture of the independent universal firing block allows an improvement in the operation of the firing mechanism, due to the possibility of producing its various component parts, by the injection techniques, with the desired precision.

This greatly simplifies the manufacture of different models of toy guns, while allowing significant savings by limiting the number of molds necessary for the realization of the various components of these different models, a significant gain in storage and assembly manipulations and, above all, the implementation of important technical improvements.

For example, a disadvantage of known toy guns resides in a somewhat random supply of the percussion chamber resulting in fairly frequent failures in shooting, this situation resulting from an uncontrolled path of the spherical projectiles between the magazine or tank and said chamber percussion. On the other hand, the possibilities of pulling up are nonexistent or limited.

Another object of the invention is to overcome these disadvantages.

For this, the universal firing block comprises, at its upper part, a guide tunnel open at its ends and consisting of two sections or parts whose rolling surfaces are sloped in the same direction, a first section (or rear section ) whose running surface rises from the open posterior end communicating with the magazine or reservoir and a second section (or forward section) whose running surface descends from the open forward end communicating with a reserve communicating itself with the magazine, the adjacent ends of the rolling surfaces of these two sections being offset in the vertical plane and connected by a transverse wall constituting the bottom of said second section, the lower wall of which is adjacent to said transverse wall, a transverse rolling surface sloping at the lower end of which is an opening di mensionnée to allow the unitary passage of the spherical projectiles in the direction of the chamber of percussion; preferably a partition is disposed in front of the front edge of said opening, so that the latter is accessible only to projectiles that borrow the transverse sloping surface, and the upper wall of the guide tunnel has a transverse deflector facing downwards and arranged in a vertical plane located at the front of said opening, this deflector allowing the spherical projectiles to go back and forth more easily than before and back.

According to another characteristic arrangement, the surface or running ramp which rises from the posterior opening of the tunnel has an end protruding with respect to the transverse wall adjoining the inclined surface of pre-orientation of the spherical projectiles, this end overflowing preventing the return of the spherical projectiles backwards and improving the efficiency of shooting upwards.

According to another characteristic arrangement, the selection aperture of the spherical projectiles communicates with a feed well opening into the percussion chamber, this feed well having a section allowing a unitary tracking of said projectiles, and, preferably, a shape curve to avoid jamming of these.

Thanks to the above-mentioned characteristic arrangements, a better circulation of the spherical projectiles is obtained by the absence of zones favoring their jamming, hence a more regular supply of the percussion chamber eliminating the misfires. In addition, these features give more possibility of shooting upwards.

Another disadvantage of most known toy guns stems from the use of very expensive special springs to ensure recall of the trigger-trigger assembly after firing.

Another object of the invention is to overcome this disadvantage.

This object is achieved by another characteristic arrangement of the invention according to which the means ensuring the return of the trigger-trigger assembly, after firing, is constituted by a helical spring housed in a rectilinear groove formed in the body of the universal block. firing and disposed parallel to the axis of the firing pin return spring, this coil spring being wedged, via its opposite ends, on the one hand, against a stop that has the movable detent in translation and, d on the other hand, against the closed rear end of said groove, via the protruding end of an anti-deforming rod housed in the rear portion of said coil spring.

With this arrangement, it is possible to use, effectively to ensure the return of the trigger-trigger assembly, inexpensive coil spring that is commonly found in the trade.

• La figure 1 est une vue en perspective d'un exemple de conformation de pistolet-jouet selon l'invention.
• La figure 2 est une vue partielle, en perspective, illustrant la trappe de chargement basculante du pistolet-jouet, représentée en position d'ouverture.
• Les figures 3 et 4 illustrent les faces intérieures des deux demi-parties de la coque ou carter de ce pistolet-jouet; on a représenté, sur la figure 3, le canon du dispositif de tir et la trappe basculante de chargement.
• La figure 5 est une vue en élévation et à échelle agrandie du bloc universel de tir.
• La figure 6 est une vue illustrant ce bloc universel de tir positionné dans la coque ou carter après enlèvement de l'une des demi-parties de cette dernière.
• La figure 7 est une vue de la face interne de l'une des demi-parties du corps du bloc universel équipée des différents organes mobiles du dispositif de tir.
• La figure 8 est une vue de la face interne de l'autre demi-partie du corps munie des reliefs assurant le basculement de la gâchette.
• La figure 9A est une vue en coupe transversale du trajet d'alimentation de la chambre de percussion.
• La figure 9B est une vue en coupe transversale de la partie postérieure du bloc de tir universel.
• La figure 10 est une vue en perspective du percuteur.
• La figure 11 est une vue en perspective de la gâchette.
• La figure 12A est une vue en perspective de la détente.
• La figure 12B est une autre vue en perspective de la détente, représentée sous un angle opposé.
• La figure 13 est une vue en élévation du ressort de rappel de l'ensemble détente-gâchette.
• Les figures 14 et 15 sont des vues en perspective des deux pièces constituant l'habillage de la détente.
• Les figures 16 à 18 sont des vues en coupe longitudinale illustrant le fonctionnement du mécanisme de tir selon l'invention.
• La figure 19 est une vue en perspective de la languette flexible de retenue du projectile amené dans la chambre de percussion, et du support de montage de ladite languette.

The above and other objects, features and advantages will become more apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings, in which:

• Figure 1 is a perspective view of an example of toy gun conformation according to the invention.
• Figure 2 is a partial view, in perspective, illustrating the tilting loading door of the toy gun, shown in the open position.
• Figures 3 and 4 illustrate the inner faces of the two half-parts of the shell or housing of this toy pistol; FIG. 3 shows the barrel of the firing device and the tilting loading hatch.
• Figure 5 is an elevational view on an enlarged scale of the universal firing block.
• FIG. 6 is a view illustrating this universal firing block positioned in the hull or casing after removal of one of the half portions of the latter.
• FIG. 7 is a view of the internal face of one of the half-parts of the body of the universal block equipped with the various moving parts of the firing device.
• FIG. 8 is a view of the internal face of the other half-portion of the body provided with reliefs ensuring the tilting of the trigger.
• Figure 9A is a cross-sectional view of the feed path of the percussion chamber.
• Figure 9B is a cross-sectional view of the rear portion of the universal firing block.
• Figure 10 is a perspective view of the striker.
• Figure 11 is a perspective view of the trigger.
• Figure 12A is a perspective view of the trigger.
• Figure 12B is another perspective view of the trigger, shown at an opposite angle.
• Figure 13 is an elevational view of the return spring of the trigger-trigger assembly.
• Figures 14 and 15 are perspective views of the two parts constituting the dressing of the trigger.
• Figures 16 to 18 are views in longitudinal section illustrating the operation of the firing mechanism according to the invention.
• Figure 19 is a perspective view of the flexible projectile retaining tongue brought into the percussion chamber, and mounting bracket of said tongue.

Referring to said drawings to describe an example of interesting execution, although not limiting, the toy gun according to the invention.

It is specified that, in the remainder of the present disclosure, terms such as "forward", "backward", "up", "down", etc., are used conventionally, considering the most common use position of the present invention. pistol toy, that is to say the barrel directed forward and the butt down.

The various constituent parts of the toy pistol according to the invention can be executed in plastic material, with the exception of the return spring of the striker and the return spring of the trigger-trigger assembly.

This toy pistol comprises a shell or casing 1 consisting of two half-shells 1A, 1B made of plastic material obtained by any suitable molding process and rigidly assembled, along the median longitudinal plane of said shell, by screwing, studding or otherwise .

According to a first characteristic arrangement of the invention, the various members of the firing mechanism such as percussion chamber, device for supplying said chamber, firing pin and its guiding and return devices, trigger-trigger assembly and its guiding means. and reminder, are grouped in a universal block 2 (Figures 5 and 6). On the other hand, the inner face of the half-shells 1A, 1B, is provided with parts (left or right) 3A, 3B, a partition or other arrangement molded in one piece with said half-shells, this partitioning being configured to allow and ensure the embedding and the fixed positioning of the universal block 2 inside the shell 1.

The universal block 2 comprises a body 4 made in two half-parts 4A, 4B assembled along the median longitudinal plane, or substantially, of said block, for example by screwing, stud interlocking or otherwise.

This block comprises, at its upper part, a guide tunnel 5 open at its ends and consisting of two sections or parts 5A, 5B whose lower walls or rolling surfaces are sloped in the same direction.

The running surface 6 of the rear section 5A rises from the open rear end 5a of the tunnel communicating with the magazine or main tank 8 of the toy gun. The running surface 6 has an inclination of the order of 60 ° and its top is disposed at a distance from the upper wall of the tunnel allowing the passage of the spherical projectiles, said tunnel having, for example, a width allowing the passage of three forehead shots.

Preferably, the top of the running surface 6 extends forwardly by a horizontal range 6a.

The running surface 9 of the front section 5B descends from the open front end 5b communicating with a reserve 10 communicating itself with the main magazine 8.

The adjacent ends of the rolling surfaces 6-6a, 9, sections 5A, 5B are offset in the vertical plane and are connected by a transverse wall 11 forming the bottom of the section 5B.

The running surface 9 has, adjacent to the transverse wall 11, an inclined rolling surface 12 oriented transversely and ending in an opening 13 sized to allow the unitary passage of the spherical projectiles P in the direction of the percussion chamber 14. The inclined surface transverse 12 is therefore oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal sloping surface 9.

A small partition 15 is disposed in front of the entrance of the opening 13, so that the latter is accessible only projectiles P which take the transverse sloping surface 12 which provides a pre-orientation of said projectiles.

The upper wall of the guide tunnel 5 has a transverse deflector 16 oriented downwards and disposed in a vertical plane located at the front of the opening 13, the role of this deflector being to slow the influx of projectiles forward and, especially, to the rear.

The top of the ramp 6 has an overhanging end 17 with respect to the transverse wall 11. This flange 17 facing the front and which overhangs the inclined transverse rolling surface 12, thwarts the rolling and the reflux of the projectiles towards the store principal 8.

The projectile selection aperture 13 communicates with a feed well 18 opening into the percussion chamber 14. This feed well has a section allowing a unitary path of the projectiles towards the percussion chamber; it advantageously has curvatures 18a to prevent jamming of these, as shown in Figure 9A.

The percussion chamber is partially closed in its upper part by a thin flexible tongue 19 oriented downwards to retain the projectile P brought into said chamber. This flexible tongue and its support are shown in Figure 19.

Striker 20 adopts the general shape of a rectangular wafer (Figure 10) and has, at its rear end, a small tooth 20a pointing downwards. It is mounted with axial translation ability, through its opposite longitudinal edges 20b, 20c, in parallel guide grooves 21A, 21B formed in the half-portions 4A, 4B of the body 4, the rear portion of said grooves being provided in the bottom of the grooves 22A, 22B constituting the housing of the coil spring 23 for returning said striker.

The trigger 24 is mounted with a friction tilting ability about an axis 25 integral with the detent 26. This is mounted with a longitudinal translational ability in the body 4 by means of lateral fins 26b which can slide in grooves 27 arranged vis-à-vis that have the two half-parts 4A, 4B of the body 4.

A return spring 28 tends to push the trigger assembly 24-trigger 26 forward. This spring is housed in grooves 29A, 29B arranged in screws to screw and that have, respectively, the half-part 4A of the body 4 and the opposite side of the detent to that which supports the trigger.

This spring is wedged, on the one hand, against a stop 26a that has the detent 26 movable in translation and on the other hand, against the closed rear end of its housing constituted by the groove 29A.

The spring 28 (Figure 13) is constituted by a helical spring acting in compression. This spring is provided at its front end with a small buffer 30 provided with a short rod engaged in the front end of the spring and, at its rear end, with an anti-deforming rod 31 housed in the rear portion of said spring and provided with a prominent head 32.

The anti-deforming rod 31 engaged in the posterior part of the spring 28 extends over a length close to the total half-length of said spring. This rod 31 makes it possible to maintain the rectilinear orientation of the spring 28 when the latter is compressed as a result of the recoil of the trigger 26. A means is provided for holding the rear part of the spring 28 in its housing, which means can be constituted by a small finger 32a radially oriented, integral with the head 32 of the rod 31 and bearing on the inner surface of the half-portion 4B of the body 4 disposed vis-a-vis.

The trigger 24 is mounted with a friction tilt ability about an axis 25 integral with the trigger 26 and fixed actuators integral with the body 4B of the universal firing block are arranged in the path of the trigger assembly 24-trigger 26 such that said trigger 24 is automatically tilted into the firing pin release position 20 or the arming position, at the rear end or front end, respectively, of said trigger-trigger assembly.

The rocking trigger 24 (FIG. 11) comprises, at the front, a shoulder 24a, and at the rear a notch 24b cooperating with the tooth 20b of the striker 20 and a tilting finger 24c.

On the other hand, the inner face 4B of the body 4 has, in its front part, a lug 33 intended to cooperate with the shoulder 24a to place the trigger in the cocking position and, in its rear part, a ramp 34 intended to to cooperate with the tilting finger 24c, to release the striker 20, these lug and ramp being arranged in the path of the trigger 24.

• la détente proprement dite intégrée au bloc universel de tir (figures 12A et 12B) ;
• deux parties d'habillage 35a, 35b (figures 14 et 15) visibles dans l'ouverture du pontet 36 du pistolet jouet.

The trigger 26 can be made in three parts, namely:

• the actual trigger integrated into the universal firing block (Figures 12A and 12B);
• two dressing parts 35a, 35b (Figures 14 and 15) visible in the opening of the bridge 36 of the toy gun.

These two covering parts 35a, 35b can be fixed, one to the other, on either side of the detent 26, by screwing, stud assembly or otherwise.

The universal firing block thus produced is positioned simply by fitting into the partition of the half-shells.

The shell or casing 1 delimits, on the one hand, in its upper rear part, a void space constituting the main magazine 8 communicating with the rear opening 5a of the tunnel 5 and, on the other hand, in its upper front part, a another empty space constituting a reserve 10 of projectiles communicating with the front opening 5b of said tunnel. On the other hand, the main magazine 8 and the reserve 10 communicate with each other by a passage 37 formed above the universal firing block (Figure 6).

The toy pistol is provided, at its upper rear part, with a tilting loading hatch 38 and according to another characteristic arrangement of the invention, this loading hatch is shaped so as to constitute a filler chute facilitating the introduction, in the magazine 8, spherical projectiles, which are generally marketed in small bags of elongated shape.

For an essentially aesthetic purpose, the toy gun may be equipped with a dummy barrel 39 extending from the percussion chamber 14 and out a more or less reduced length at the front end of the gun.

Figures 16 to 18 illustrate the operation of the firing mechanism according to the invention.

In FIG. 16, the mechanism is shown before the firing: the striker 20 and the trigger 24-trigger assembly 26 are held at the front by the thrust of the springs 23 and 28, the trigger 24 is tilted upwards because its pressure against the lug 33, its drive notch 24b is placed in front of the small tooth 20a of the firing pin and a spherical projectile P rests on the upper face of the latter.

In FIG. 17 representing the device at the instant preceding the firing, the trigger 26 has been pressed so as to bring it backwards, which has caused: the trigger 24 and the firing pin 20 driven by this, as well as the fall of the projectile P in the percussion chamber 14 and the compression of the springs 23 and 28. At the end of the recoil stroke of the trigger, the tilting finger 24c of the trigger 24 comes into contact with the fixed ramp 34, which causes the trigger to pivot downwards and release the firing pin 20.

In Figure 18, we see the firing pin 20 which was forcefully pushed forward by the action of the spring 23, so that it came to strike violently the projectile P which is projected forward. The spring 28 ensures, concomitantly, the return to the front of the trigger 24-trigger assembly 26; at the end of the return stroke, the trigger comes into contact with the fixed pin 33, via its shoulder 24a, which ensures its pivoting upwardly in the cocking position for driving the striker to the 'back (Figure 16).

Claims (10)

1. - Automatic toy pistol comprising a shell (1) consisting of two moulded half-shells (1A, 1B) made of plastic and assembled rigidly. This shell houses the different parts of the firing mechanism and encloses at least one magazine to hold a supply of spherical projectiles, characterised in that all the said parts, namely: percussion chamber (14), feed device (5, 13, 18) of the said chamber, firing pin (20 and its guide (21A. 21 B) and return devices (23), trigger (24) release (26) mechanism and its guide (27) and return (28) devices, are housed in a universal block (2), and in that the said universal firing block (2) is secured by simple positioning and insertion in a wall (3A, 3B) or any other layout of the inner face of the half-shells (1A, 1B), the said partition being cast in a single piece with them. This wall or other arrangement is configured for the inserting and securing of the said universal firing block, inside the shell (1).
2. - Automatic toy pistol according to claim 1, characterised in that the universal firing block (2) comprises, in the top, a guide tunnel (5) open at both ends (5a, 5b) and consisting of two sections (5A, 5B) the running surfaces of which (6, 9) slope in the same direction, namely the first section or rear section (5A) the running surface of which (6) rises from the open, rear end (5a), which communicates with the magazine or reservoir (8) of projectiles (P) and a second section or front section (5B) the running surface of which (9) descends from the open end (5b) which communicates with a reserve (10) which itself communicates with the said magazine (8), the adjacent ends of the running surfaces (6, 9) of these two sections (5A, 5B) being offset in the vertical plane and connected by a transverse wall (11) forming the bottom of the said front section (5B) the lower wall of which, beside the said transverse wall (11) has, a sloping transverse running surface (12) ending in an opening (13) designed to allow the spherical projectiles (P) to pass into the percussion chamber (14), one by one.
3. - Automatic toy pistol according to claim 2, characterised in that a partition (15) is placed in front of the mouth of the opening (13) giving access to the percussion chamber (14).
4. - Automatic toy pistol according to one of the claims 2 or 3, characterised in that the upper wall of the guide tunnel (5) comprises a transverse deflector (16) facing downwards and placed in a vertical plane passant in front of the opening (13) giving access to the percussion chamber (14).
5. - Automatic toy pistol according to one of the claims 2 to 4, characterised in that the running ramp (6) which rises from the rear opening (5a) of the tunnel, has an end which overlaps (17) in relation to the transverse wall (11) beside the inclined pre-guidance surface (12) for projectiles (P).
6. - Automatic toy pistol according to one of the claims 2 to 5, characterised in that the opening (13) giving access to the percussion chamber (14) communicates with a feed shaft (18) ending in the said percussion chamber, The cross section of this feed shaft allows projectiles to move towards the percussion chamber one by one; it should be curved to avoid the projectiles jamming.
7. - Automatic toy pistol according to one of the claims 2 to 6, characterised in that the means that returns the trigger-release mechanism after firing, comprises a compression coil spring (28) housed in a straight groove (29a) in the body (4) of the universal firing block (2) and placed in parallel to the centre line of the return spring (23) of the firing pin (20), this coil spring (28) abuts against a stop (26a) on the mobile release (26) and the one hand and, on the other, against the closed, rear end of the said groove, via the protruding end (32) of a anti-deformation pin (31) housed in the rear section of the said coil spring (28).
8. - Automatic toy pistol according to one of the claims 1 to 7, characterised in that the trigger (24) is assembled to move around a shaft (25) forming part of the release (26) and in that fixed actuators (33, 34) forming part of the body (4B) of the universal firing block (4) are placed in the path of the said trigger (24), such that it is moved automatically into the required position at the end of the forward or backward stroke of the trigger-release mechanism (24-26).
9. - Automatic toy pistol according to claim 8, where the trigger (24) is assembled to be able to move around a shaft (25) which is part of the release mechanism (26), characterised in that the said trigger has at the front, on the one hand, a fixed stud (33), the front of which positions the body (4) of the universal firing block (2) to place the said trigger in the armed position and, on the other, at the rear, a notch (24b) operating together with a tooth (20a) the rear of which positions firing pin (20) and a catch (24c) operating together with a ramp (34), the rear part of which positions the said body (4) so as to release the said firing pin (20).
10. - Automatic toy pistol according to claim 1, characterised in that in the top rear part, it comprises a hinged, loading hatch (38), this loading hatch being preformed to form a filler tube which facilitates the introduction of the spherical projectiles (P) in the magazine (8).

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