US2382514A - Toy projectile-shooting gun - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 14, 1945. N. SMEI'HEI'A'L V 2, 2, 1

TOY PROJECTILE -SHOOTI NG GUN- Filed Nov. 3/1941 12 Sheets-Sheet 1 IVENT'R H v. TH. saw v. o 'ev I y 7,} 7 ATTORNEYS- Aug/14 1 45' A. N. SMITH EIAL v I in 2,382,514 @OY PROJECTILE SHOCSTING GUN 1 Filed Nov. 8, 1941 2 sheets-shat 2 i. v I I I I I I I I I Patented Aug. 14, 1945 2,382,514 I I p TOY PRO-JECTILE-SHOOTING GUN Anthony N- Smith and Donald vooarregjoi rard, Pa.,. assignors to Louis Marx & Company, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application November 8, 1941, Serial No. 418,359

6 Claims. (01. 124-21) This invention relates to toys, and more particularly to toy guns which shoot a simulated projectile. I

The primary object of the invention is to generally improve toy guns. A more particular object is to provide a toy simulating a portable trigger-operated gun such as a pistol or rifle. A further object is to design the same for use with a simplified magazine for holding and gravitationally feeding a supply ofprojectiles to the gun, said magazine preferably being detachable for morecompact packaging ofthe toy.

Another object is to provide a simplified and dependable trigger and ejector finger mechanism, including a' single spring acting as a main ejector spring. A still further object is to provide projectile'stop means to prevent the projectile from sliding gravitationally out of the gun when the gun is pointed downwardly, as is often done with a portable gun.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and other more specific objects which will hereinafter appear, our invention consists in the toy gun elements and their relation one to the other, as hereinafter are more particularly described in the specification and sought to be defined in the claims. The specification is accompanied by drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is an end elevation of a toy revolver embodying features of our invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same; Fig. 3 shows a projectile used with the gun; Fig. 4 illustrates the internal appearance of the gun with one of the sides removed;

Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are perspective views showing successive stages in the operation of the trigger mechanism;

Fig. 8 is a transverse section drawn to enlarged scale, and taken approximately in the plane of the line 8--8 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 9 is a horizontal section illustrating the detent for the ejector finger;

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the breech portion of the guide tube for the projectiles;

Fig. 11 is a bottom view of the same;

Fig. 12 is explanatory of a modification embodying a retractable stop for preventing the projectile from sliding gravitationally out of the Fig. 13 illustrates a modification employing a resilient projectile stop means for the same purpose;

Fig. 14 shows the application of the invention to a toy rifle; and

Fig. 15 is a fragmentary section drawn to enlarged scale and taken approximately in the plane of the line l5'|5 in Fig. '14.

7 Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, thetoy there shown simulates a revolver'and comprises a gun body l2, in cluding a' barrel portion M; a simulated magazine IS; a pistol grip -lSgand a'trigger 20." The true working magazineisdisposed over the breech'portion of the gun, as is indicated at 22, and carries a series of vertically superposed projectiles 24' The mechanism Tof the gun is shown in Fig. 4, and comprises'a'n ejector finger 26, the upper end of which is movable through a slotted projectile guide tube 28. The lower end of finger 26'is pivoted at 30" to the aforesaid trigger 20, the latter being pivoted at 32010. a frame 34. A mainpring 36 has its forward end connected to frame 34' atlug 38/ while its rear'end'is connectedto ejector fing'er'26 at'4fl. The ejector finger is preferably'notched at 40 to hold'the spring in place.

-The-upper end of finger 26 is normally held'in rearward position by a detent 42, acted on by a thin wire spring 44. A heavy wire link 46 extendsforwardly from detent 42 to a point in the path of theupper end of the trigger (the part just'below the bent end $8). Thebonstructibn of thedetent 42 and 'linkllfi is better shown in'Fig'. 9, in which theholding position of the detent is shown'ir'i'so'lid lines at 42 whilethe released po sition is; shown inbrjoken lines at 42'. The detent is pivoted at 50 ona flange 52 turned downwardly from one side 54 of theframe 34, andis'provided' with, a sidewardly projecting arm 56 to which is connectedthe upwairdlyturned rearend 5!; of linl 14li Theforward end of link 46 is bent trans verselyatfiil and then reversely'at 62, the latter part riding between the side walls of the frame. One sidewall is preferably bent or channeled out wardly at 64, to' additionally hold and guide the liners, I j I j The operation of this mechanism may be ex- 'plained with reference to Figs. 5, throughQ of the drawings. In Fig. .5 the parts are shown in their position of rest- Thelower end of ejector finger 26 hasbeen pulledforv/ard by the action of spring 36, and the finger 26 has moved the trigger 20 to forward-position. As the triggeris drawn rear- Wardly to fire thegun, the parts assume the relation shown in Fig. 6, in which it will be seen that the lower end of the ejector finger 26 has been pulled rearwardly against the tension of spring 36 (now greatly stretched), While the ,u pper endof finger 2615 held against forward move-v ment by detent 42.- The upper end 48 of thetrigger moves forwardly and approaches the cross in Fig. 7 to the solid line position 26 in that figure. The movement of the ejector finger is finally arrested by the sidewardly bent lug'48 at the upper end of the trigger. When the trigger is re.-

. leased by the operator of thegun, the parts are restored to the rest position shown in Fig. 5..by the action of spring 38.

The magazine 22 (Figs. 1 and 2) is preferably formed by bending a piece of relatively heavy stiff wire to inverted U-shape.

receive the cylindrical projectiles 24. The substantially parallel legs 12 therebeneath are disposed somewhat closer together and are dimensioned to fit in a circumferential groove 14 (see Fig. 3) formed on each projectile. The projectiles are preferably turned out of wood, and are light enough to be harmless in flight. The lower ends of the legs 12 are bent outwardly as is indicated at 16 in Fig. 8 so as to clear the lowermost projectile, in order notto interfere with its ejection when the gun is fired.

The magazine is preferably detachable from the gun body for more compact packaging of the gun during shipment and sale. For this purpose, the lower ends of the legs of the magazine are received in ears 18 (see Figs. 10 and 11) which are bent outwardly from the guide tube 28. The latter is cut away on top to permit the downward feed of projectiles, and the ears 78 may be formed from some of the cut-away metal. The top of the gun housing is also: cut away to clear the projectiles, as is indicated at 80 in Fig. 8, and the edges of the resulting slot are preferably notched or recessed at 82 to receive the guide wires 12 of the magazine. In this way the magazine is held upright, but may be removed by pulling the same upwardly while squeezing the side legs 12 together somewhat (the magazine being empty during its removal).

The guide tube 28 is preferably made of a single piece of relatively light gauge sheet metal,

which is bent downwardly and substantially closed at a bottom seam best shown in Fig. 11. A relatively long slot 86 is out through the bottom of the guide tube near its breech end in order to accommodate movement of the upper end of the ejector finger 26. The edges 88 (Fig. 11) leading into slot 86 may, if desired, be made divergent to insure proper guidance of the ejector finger into the slot. A part of the guide tube is turned downwardly at 90 (Fig. 10) to act as a stop which prevents rearward movement of the lowermost projectile. Lugs or tongues 92 (Figs, 10 and 11) are bent outwardly at the rear end of the guide tube, and pass through mating slots 94 (Fig. 2 in the housing of the toy gun, this fixing the position of the tube.

The gun housing is made of oppositely dished halves pressed from heavy gauge sheet metal and secured together in edge to edge relation by appropriate connections, such as the tongue and slot connections 96 (Fig. 2) and the eyelet 88. The barrel is double walled, the smaller diameter guide tube 28 being housed within the larger-diameter externally-visible barrel l4. This gives The upper endio (Fig. 1) is curved on a radius large enough to .so dimensioned as to just reach and bear against the outside of the guide tube, thereby centering it relativeto the gun barrel.

The frame 34 within the gun is made of two pieces'of sheet'metal, the ends of which are appropriately' flanged to spac the same apart. These wall are secured togetherin conventional fashion by tongue and slot connections. The

-' frame is also provided with outwardly directed tongues which pass through mating slots in one side of the istol housing, these being indicated at I02 in Fig.2. I i If desired, the simulated revolving magazine l6 may be given a finish contrasting with the remainder of the gun body. In a typical, case, the latter maybe made of black and the former may be given a lustrous nickel or copper color which is attractive to children. This may be done most conveniently by adding separate covering sheets of metal at the magazine. This is most clearly shown in Fig. 8, in which the separate outer pieces are marked I06, and are secured to the gun body at the top and bottom by suitable bent tongue and slot connections. By making these parts of separate pieces of metal, they may be plated as a separate process, in no way affecting the overall black coating of the-main parts of the gun body. The pieces I04 and-I06 may be made of very thin metal, as they are supported by the heavier gauge walls inside.

Inasmuch as a portable gun such as a pistol or rifie may frequently be pointed downwardly, it is preferred to provide means to prevent the projectiles from sliding out of the guide tube. One arrangement for this purpose is illustrated in Fig. 12, in which the gun'is additionally provided with a projectile stop I08, appropriately secured, as by spot welding at H0, to the bottom of the guide tube. The free end of resilient wire 108 is bent downwardly and then rearwardly at I I2, where it may be acted on by a finger H4 extending forwardly and then sidewardly from the trigger 20. It will be evident from inspection of the drawings that when the trigger is pulled to fire the gun, the finger H4 bears against the part H2, and moves it downwardly to the broken line position H2, thus drawing-the stop I08 to the broken line position I08, at which time it is withdrawn from the guide tube 28 preparatory to election of the projectile 24.

Another and simpler form of projectile stop means is illustrated in Fig. 13. In this case the projectile stop consists of a. very light gauge spring I I5, forward end of which is secured to guide tube 28 by means of spot weldin or other suitable method. The rear end of the spring is bent downwardly and reversely with a relatively rounded surface H8. This is disposed in the path of the projectile 24, but the resistance to movement of the projectile is so slight that there is no appreciable change in the speed and trajectory of the projectile when it is fired. During the passage of the projectile, the spring moves upwardly slightly as is indicated by the broken line position I I6 I I8. While the resistance to movement of the projectile is made very slight, it is neverple by eyelets I24. An opening I26 is cut through the top of the gun body near the breech for passage of the projectiles 24, these being guided as before in a bent wire magazine I22. Trigger 20 and ejector finger 2B correspond to those previously described, and are similarly mounted in a frame 34, which in turn is secured to the gun body by tongue and slot connections I02. The guide tube 28 is fixed in place by tongues 92 at its rear end, all of these parts corresponding closely to the similarly numbered parts previously described. The guide tube 28 may be short, as shown in Fig. 14, or may be lengthened, but I find that the gun functions satisfactorily with even the short guide tube, particularly if the diameter of the external barrel I 28 is very much larger than the diameter of the projectile. This is anyway preferably the case, in order to give the gun body realistic proportions, as well as to strengthen the same against bending or other damage during rough play.

The wire magazine I32 differs from magazine 22 at the lower end. This will be clear from Fig. 15, in which the wire sides I34 are bent outwardly at I36 and pass through mating holes in the side walls I38 of the gun body. The side edges of the opening I26 are recessed at I40 to hold the wire upright. As before, the wire magazine is readily removable by squeezing the sides I34 together as it is removed. This arrangement eliminates the ears I8 on the guide tube (Figs. 10 and 11) and is desirable when the gun body is too narrow at that point to accommodate the ears.-

It is believed that the construction, method of assembly, and operation, as well as the advantages of our improved toy gun, will be apparent .from the foregoing detailed description thereof.

It will also be apparent that while we have shown and described our invention in several preferred forms, many changes and modifications may be made in the structures disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention, as sought to be defined in the following claims.

We claim:

1. A toy simulating a trigger-operated portable gun such as a pistol or rifle, and comprising a gun body including a barrel for toy projectiles, a finger-operated pull trigger pivoted intermediate its ends in said gun body and movable from rest position to ejecting position in which a projectile is ejected from the gun, an ejector having its lower end pivoted on the trigger near the lower end of the trigger and also movable from rest position to ejecting position, means constraining the trigger and ejector to move together from ejecting position to rest position, the ejector being free to have a movement to ejecting position separate from the movement of the trigger, the ejector being positioned and constructed for ejecting a projectile from said barrel each time the trigger is pulled through its range of movement, and a spring anchored to said gun body and connected to the ejector at a point intermediate the aforesaid pivots, said spring being normally tensioned to move the trigger about its pivot to rest position and thereby to move both the trigger and the ejector to rest position, movement of the trigger about the pivot during a trigger stroke acting to increase the said tension on the spring to thereby increasingly tension the ejector for a projectile ejecting operation, a holding means for the ejector. and

means operable during a trigger stroke for releasing the holding means.

2. The toy of claim 1 in which the holding means comprises a detent and in which the means for releasing the same comprises a link extending from said detent forwardly to a point in the path of movement of the upper end of the trigger.

3. A toy simulating a trigger-operated portable gun such as a pistol or rifle, and comprising a gun body including a barrel for toy projectiles, a finger-operated pull trigger pivoted in said gun body and movable from rest position to ejecting position in which'a projectile is ejected from the gun, an ejector connected to the trigger and also movable from rest position to ejecting position, means constraining the trigger and ejector to move together from ejecting position to rest position, the ejector being free to have a movement to ejecting position separate from the movement of the trigger, the ejector being positioned and constructed for ejecting a projectile from said barrel each time the trigger is pulled through its range of movement, and a spring anchored to said gun body and connected to both the ejector and trigger, said spring being normally tensioned to move the trigger about its pivot to rest position and thereby to move both the trigger and the ejector to rest position, movement of the trigger about the pivot during a trigger stroke acting to increase the said tension on the spring to thereby increasingly tension the ejector for a projectile ejecting operation, a holding means for the ejector and. means operable during a trigger stroke for releasing the holding means.

4. The toy of claim 3 in which the barrel has a breech portion open at the top for receiving toy projectiles.

5. The toy of claim 3 in which the holding means comprises a detent and in which the means for releasing the same comprises a link extending from said detent forwardly to a point in the path of movement of the upper end of the trigger.

6. The toy of claim 3 in which the barrel includes a guide tube, means for feeding toy projectiles into the guide tube, and in which the bottom of said tube is longitudinally slotted to receive the upper end of the ejector which strikes the rear end of a projectile in the guide tube when the ejector moves to ejecting position.

ANTHONY N. SMITH. DONALD V. GODFREY.

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