US3550574A

US3550574A - Spring propelled toy pellet gun

Info

Publication number: US3550574A
Application number: US780430A
Authority: US
Inventors: Norman C Lee
Original assignee: Carolina Enterprises Inc
Current assignee: Carolina Enterprises Inc
Priority date: 1968-12-02
Filing date: 1968-12-02
Publication date: 1970-12-29
Anticipated expiration: 1987-12-29

Description

United States Patent lnventor Norman C. Lee

Rocky Mount, N.C.

Appl. No. 780,430

Filed Dec. 2, 1968 Patented Dec. 29, 1970 Assignee Carolina Enterprises, Inc. Tarboro, N.C.

a corporatin of North Carolina SPRING PROPELLED TOY PELI JET GUN 6 Claims, 15 Drawing Figs.

Int. Cl F41b 7/08 Field of Search 124/27, 29,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,856,912 10/1958 Erickson 124/27 3,476,100 1 H1969 Carbonneau 124/27 Primary Examiner-George J. Marlo Assistant Examiner-William R. Browne Attorney-Kirschstein, Kirschstein, Ottinger & Frank ABSTRACT: A pump action toy rifle fires soft pellets stored in a chamber above a barrel and gravity fed into firing position in front of a spring propelled firing plunger. The firing plunger is moved to cocked position by a loading rod and there held by a trigger. A retainer tip is urged by a spring part way into the barrel forwardly of the pellet in its ready-to-fire position. When pulling the trigger releases the firing plunger the impelled pellet is forced over the retainer tip which pinches the pellet as it passes, thereby adding forward impetus to the pellet.

PATENTEUUECZQISYU 3550.574

sum 2 0F 4 S cm m Wm Q\\ IM R mm N5 mm\ 3% ww w Maw N NQ N m \N PATENLED 0mm SHEET lb [1F d NORMAN C. LEE

ATTORNEYS All of the prior guns lacked a simple means to provide SPRINGPIROPELLEDTOYPELLETGUN BACKGROUND orlrus INVENTION l. Field of the Invention II Spring propelled toy guns.

2. Description of the Prior Art It has been heretofore known to employ spring actuated impelling devices to fire toy pellets from simulated firearms. These prior devices were'merely'capable of impelling a pro,- jectile by pushing the same out of the gun barrel in a direct line or path of travel. I I

Such prior spring biased guns were of limited accuracy due to the fact that the pellets were propelled at a relatively low velocity. Hence by the time 'the'pellet reached the target, which would I be several feet distant from the barrel, the gravitationalforcesacting on the pellet would cause the pellet to drop somewhanstriking a-lower portion of a target than that at which it was aimed-Toreduce the distance which the pellet drops from. itsinitial line of flight creasethe firingvelocit'y of'thc pellet so it is necessary to inthat it arrives atthe target in a shorter period of time than pre viously. I

' In the prior devices, howeveninherent structural limitations resulted in limitations on the firing velocity' of the projectiles propelled therefrom. Modification of the. firing plunger biasing spring by substitution of a spring with a higher spring constant'was the primary method of increasing the firing velocity,

but because the spring and tiring plunger'rnust be cocked by a child, the cocking operation should notrequire an unduly high force. thus" imposing a practical top limit on the spring constant that could be employed. Additionally, as it is desirable to keep the guns light 'inwei'ght, synthetic plastic materials generally are used in the' gun construction. Additional limitationsupon the spring firing force are thus imposedto prevent undue stress uponth'eplastic components.

additionalfimpetus to the pellet projectile in conjunction with and augmenting the springpropelle'd firingplimger. 1

. M SUMMARY OF TI-IE INVEN'I'ION It is an j 9 i p 'scnt invention to provide a spring I propelled pellet gun which; is so constructed that it is not sub-' ject to any of the foregoing disadvantages.

More specifically, it isanfobjectof the present invention to provide a spring propelled pellet gun which is simple and rugged in construction, yeteanbe-fabricated by mass produc- I tion methods at an appreciably lower cost than heretofore.

It is anotherobjectof the invention to providea toy pellet gun wherein secondary impellingmeans is used in conjunction with a spring propelled firingplunger to augment the impetus given to the projectile by the firing plunger.

It is yet another'object of the present invention to provide a secondary means of the character described for propelling a pellet from a gun barrelby squirting the same in a manner similar to the manner in whicha moist fruit pit is squirted when pinched between a person's fingertips.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a means associated within a gun barrelfor producing a top spin on a sphericalprojectile about an axis transverse to the length of the gun barrel. I

A further object of the present invention is to provide a spring propelled toy pellet gun wherein a yieldably biased stiff retainer projects into the gun bore intermediate the ends thereof and presents a resilient constriction to the free passage which will beexemplified'in the spring propelled toy pellet I gun hereinafter describedand of which the scope of application will be indicated in the. appended claims.

' In the accompanying drawings in which is shown one of the various possible embodiments of the invention, I

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a pellet gun embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1-, and showing in solid lines the firing mechanism as it is being cocked, with the loading rod and firing plunger in an intermediate position; the foremost position of the pump hand grip is illustrated in double-dot and dash lines and the rearmost position of the pump hand grip in single-dot and dash lines;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view, similar to FIG. 2, but showing the firing plunger fully cocked and the loading rod in its normal foremost position;

FIG. 4 is a further enlargedfragrnentary sectional view,

similar to FIG. 3, but showingtlte firingplungerin aposition respectively, of I-IG. 3; I I II II FIG. 12 is a further enlarged fragmentary sectional view" I sectional views taken sub- 9-9,'10+1o and r1911,

7 taken substantially along the line 1242 of FIG. 3;

used toposition the firing plunger: and I I I FIG. 15 is'an enlargedisometric view of the stiff pellet retainer usedinthe present invention.

1 FIG. 13 is an enlarged-isometric'view of the firing plunger used in the present invention; I I

FIG. 14 is an enlarged isome ric view of the loading rod oEscRu noN OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Generally, the spring propelledpelletgun of the. present invention consists in an improvement overfa priortoy'rifle have ing a bore and a spring loadedjfiring plunger mounted for reciprocating movement at one end of the bore, said plunger I being held in and released from the'cocked position by a trigger. In the prior gun, as in the improved one. a loading rod is. normally positioned beneath the bore and, when actuated by pulling back a pump hand, grip, moves into the bore, engaging the firing plunger and forcing it back into cocked position while compressing a propelling spring. t

In the new toy gun a stiff pellet retainer is pivotally mounted within the rifle and atip of the retainer projects under spring pressure into the bore at a position then forward'of the cocked firing-plunger thereby trappingin a firing chamber defined between it and the retainer tipa single pellet to be fired and blocking gravity descent into the firing chamber of another pellet from a pellet magazine.

When the trigger upon being pulled back releases the firing plunger, the compressed propelling spring snaps the plunger toward the open end of the bore. In' the firing chamber in front of the plunger, a soft resilient spherical pellet is positioned and the plunger forces the pellet past the constriction in the bore formed by the stiff pellet retainer. As the pellet passes the pellet retainer and the retainer is depressed, the shape of the pellet becomes distorted and somewhat elongated. After a major portion of the pellet passes the constriction, the pellet retainer serves to squirt the trailing end of the pellet through the constriction giving added impetus to the pellet.

Referring now-in detail to the drawings, the reference numetal 10 denotes a gun embodying the present invention. The gun 10 includes an pp r barrel 12, a parallel lower barrel 14, a trigger guard 16 and a gun stock 18. A.pump hand grip 20 is slidable on the lower barrel l4 and a simulated telescopic sight 22 is'detachably secured above the upper barrel 12.

The major portion of the gun 10 is constructed to two hollow synthetic plastic shell 'halves'24 andv 26 joined together at the respective edges thereof by any suitable means such as an adhesive or a heat seal. Various indentations or sockets such as 28 (see FIGS. 2--5 and 7) receive projections from the opposite shell half to properly align the respective portions and aid in production of a rigid connection.

Harmless soft resilient plastic or rubber spherical pellets 30 to be fired-from the gun are stored in a magazine 32 within the hollow upper barrel 12. In order to prevent the pellets from accidentally falling out of the magazine, a plug 34 is formed adjacent the open front end of the upper barrel l2 and a central opening 36 in the plug 34 gives the appearance of an operative rifle bore. To prevent accidental loss of pellets through the opening 36, the diameter of such opening is less than that of the pellets 30.

To load pellets into the magazine 32 an elongated opening 38 is fonned in the shell half 24 near the back of the upper barrel 12. The opening 38 is removably covered by a loading slide 40 mounted within the shell halves 24 and 26 (see FIGS. 8 and 9) and reciprocal along a pair of horizontally oriented

tracks

42 and 44 formed as flanges in the shell halves 24 and 26, respectively. The shell half 24 in the region of the loading opening 38, is convexly curved. A portion of the loading slide 40 is matingly curved and slidably engages the internal convex wall of the shell half 24 to hold the slide 40 against the

tracks

42 and 44.

A knob 46 is formed on the loading slide and projects through the loading opening 38 to enable the user to manipulate the slide, moving it along the tracks to a position wherein access to the interior of the shell halves is permitted through an exposed portion of the opening 38.

A loading ramp 48 is positioned beneath the loading opening 38 and serves to guide' pellets 30 which are dropped into the gun through the opening 38. The ramp 48 is constructed to of two flanges 48a and 48b (see FIG. 8) projecting in registration from the opposite shell halves toward the interior. The edge of each flange 48a and 48b mates with and abuts the opposed flange edge to fonn the ramp 48 when the shell halves are assembled.

When a pellet 30 is dropped through the loading opening 38 it is guided to either the magazine 32 or a firing channel 50 (see FIGS. 2-5 and 9) by the loading ramp 48. A crest 52 is formed at a rearward portion of the loading ramp. From this crest, the ramp slopes gently forwardly toward the magazine. Thus if the gun 10 is held in a horizontal position and pellets are inserted into the loading opening 38 and allowed to drop on the loading ramp at the tapered portion forward of the crest 52, the pellets will roll down the ramp to the magazine.

Rearwardly of the crest 52 the loading ramp 48 slopes steeply downwardly at 53 toward the rear edge 55 of the ramp. Thus, any pellet 30 placed, dropped or moved upon the portion '53 of the ramp 48 which is rearward of the crest 52 will roll down the portion 53 to the firing channel 50.

The rear wall of the firing channel is formed by a partition 54 constituting two

flanges

54a and 54b projecting from opposite shell halves toward the interior. The edge of each

flange

54a and 54b mates with and abuts the opposed edge of the opposite flange to form the partition 54 when the shell halves are assembled (see FIG. 9). As shown in FIG. 4, for example, the partition 54 slopes from the top of the shell halves downwardly and rearwardly and is spaced from the tapered rear portion of the ramp 48 a distance sufficient to allow downward passage of the pellets 30.

To position the pellets centrally within the firing channel and line them up for vertical descent in single file through an opening 51 at the bottom of the channel 50 into a firing bore of the lower barrel l4 and, more specifically, into a firing chamber later to be described an ear 56 (see FIG. 9) is formed in the interior of each shell half and projects inwardly.

The lowermost portion of each opposed ear 56 in an assembled gun is spaced from the opposite ear a distance sufficient for the free downward passage of a single pellet 30 therebetween while the upper edges of the ears 56 are spaced apart greater distances in a downwardly converging fashion. The ears 56 are positioned within the firing channel 50 approximately between the rearward edge 55 of the ramp 48 and the partition 54. Each ear 56 is parallel to the partition 54.

It will be seen that with this construction the ears 56, rearwardly tapered portion 53, and sloping partition 54 act as a funnel for feeding the pellets in single file through the opening 51 into the firing bore 60. When a pellet 30 is fired, it traverses the length of the firing bore 60, leaving the bore at its open front end 62 and traversing the remaining distance to the target in free flight. The bore 60 is constructed of two interconnected axially aligned sections the first of which lies under the ramp 48, the second being located below the magazine.

The second or forward section 64 is cylindrical in shape and integrally formed with the shell halves. The internal diameter is large enough to pemiit the unrestricted passage of a pellet therethrough, and serves to maintain the pellet on a true course.

The second rearward or firing section 66 is constructed of flat top and bottom walls 68 and 70, each being constituted of horizontally oriented

flanges

68a, 68b, 70a and 70b, respectively, projecting inwardly from the opposite shell halves toward the interior. Portions of the edge of each of said flanges mate with and abut the opposed edges to form the aforesaid top and bottom walls.

The opposed edges of the

flanges

68a and 68b are mutually spaced apart at the bottom of the firing channel (see FIG. 9)

to permit the descent of a pellet from the firing channel 50 into the firing bore 60.

The opposed edges of the

flanges

70a and 70b are not joined at areas for purposes to be described later.

Two

parallel flanges

72 and 74 are equidistantly spaced between the top and bottom walls 68 and 70 of each shell half and project inwardly from the opposite shell halves toward the interior. The edges of the

opposed flanges

72 and 74 are spaced from each other when the shell halves are assembled to define the firing section 66. The spacing is sufficient to allow the passage of a pellet 30 therebetween yet narrow enough to guide the course of travel of the pellet.

A firing plunger 76 is reciprocally mounted within the bore firing section 66 for limited movement between a rearrnost cocked position, wherein a head 78 of the plunger 76 is positioned rearwardly of the firing channel 50 (see FIG. 3), and a foremost fired position wherein the head 78 extends forwardly of the channel 50 (see FIG. 5).

Referring now in detail to FIG. 13 wherein the firing plunger 76 is shown in isometric, the head 78 is generally of block formation with a vertical channel 80 centrally cut through a portion of the bottom leaving a forwardly open space between forwardly extending front legs 82 at the bottom of the plunger and a thickened retaining back portion 84 at the bottom of a rear wall 90. The front surfaces of the spaced legs 82 lead vertically upwardly, then slope upwardly and rearwardly at an intermediate portion 86. Thereafter the legs lead vertically upwardly to the top surface of the plunger.

A transverse horizontal bridge 88 spans the gap between the last mentioned vertical sections to both aid in strengthening the plunger head'78 and to provide a surface for engaging the pellet when the same is propelled forwardly in a manner to be subsequently described. Attention is called to the upwardly and rearwardly sloping shape of the front face of the portion 84. The rear wall 90 of the head 76 is stepped at a shoulder 92 to a reduced upper thickness. A cruciform tab 94 projects rearwardly from the rear wall 90 and serves as a guide about which a coil compression spring 96 is positioned.

One end of the spring 96 is anchored to a post 98 projecting transversely across the rear end of the firing bore section 66 while the opposite end of the spring 96 engages a notch 100 in the cruciform tab 94. The firing plunger 76 may be forced rearwardly toward the post 98, compressing the spring 96. Once the front face of the plunger in the plane of the bridge 88 rearwardly passes the back edge of the firing channel 50, the lowermost pellet 30 is free to drop into the firing bore 60 in front of the plunger 76 (see FIG. 3). When subsequently the pivotally. mounted at its rear end below the rear bore section 66 about a fixed pin 104 (see FIGS, 2-5, and 12) and consists of a generally horizontal'section 106 with a vertical hook 108 projecting upwardly and rearwardly from the forward end thereof and a depending finger tab 110 projecting downwardly y from the rear end into the opening of the trigger guard 16.

, The hook 108 projectsupwardlythrou'gh an opening in the bottom wall 70 and the rear edge of the hook engages the sloped front face of the thickened back portion 84 of the plunger head 78 when said head is in thecocked position as shown in FIG. 3. In order to bias the hook 108 so as to latch and retain the plunger 76, 'a torsion spring 112 has one leg abutting the undersurface of a post 114 within the shell half 24 and an'other'legabutting'the undersurface' of a post-115 pro jectin'g from the horizontal portion 106.The center of the spring is loosely wrapped about the pin 104. The torsion 108isbiased upwardly to project into the bore 60.-

"It should be noted that the front edge of the hook 108 slopes rearwardly and upwardly so thatjthe lower rear edge of the firing plunger head 78 will depress'and ride over the hook when spring 112 thus biases the triggerl02-ina clockwise direction (as viewed in FIGS. 2-5) about the pin 104.1-lence, the hoo the plunger is moved rearwardly as the gun is being cocked.

To cock the gun, the firing plunger 76' is moved rearwardly, compressing

thespring

9,6, as the trigger hook 108 projecting through thebottom wall-70 rests against the spring 96. When the plunger head 78 contacts the sloping front surface of the hook'108 the hookisdepressed, turning the trigger counter clockwise-about the pin 104. After the thickened back portion 84 passes the hook 108, the hook snaps upwardly, the trigger l0 2pivotin'g clockwise about the pin104 urged by torsion spring 112.! The rearward edge of the hook then engages the forward edge of the thickened retaining portion 84 and will vhold the firing plunger in' cocked position until the trigger 102 is pulled counterclockwise bythe finger of a childs hand.

When the trigger finger tab'110 is squeezed, the trigger 102 rotates counterclockwise; disengagingthe' hook 108 from the retaining portion 84'and allowing the compressed spring 96 to Y snap the firing plunger76 forwardly.

To realistically simulate the cocking of an actual pump action rifle; the pump action hand grip 20 is used to engage further elements of the gun and ready the plunger 76 for firing. Two

concave shell sections

116 and 118 conjointly fonn the hand grip 20 and aresfastened together at the respective lower edges thereof by any suitable securing means such as an adhesive or heat seal. Atthe forward endof the shell sections 116. 118 end walls 120. 122 are securedtogether. Similarly, at the rearward end of each shell section, end

walls

124 and 126 arepositioned withfacing abutting sections of the inner edges suitably joined. I i

The facing inner edges of the end walls are contoured-to tions'with their respective end walls are positioned in aligned opposed relationship oneach side of the lower barrel, and then the respective abutting edges are secured to one another.

The pump hand grip'20 is movable along the lower barrel The body 130 of the loading rod is constructed of a vertical wall 136 having a hook 138 integrally formed at its forward end and an upper edge 140 which is downwardly sloping from the hook end toward the-pusher head 132. A reinforcing flange 142 projects laterally from thewall 136 beginning adjacent the hook end and running parallel to the lower surface of the wall toward the pusher head 132 at which point the flange 142 meets the sloping upper edge 140. At the junction between the'pusher head and the wall 136, the flange 142 forks into upper and

lower portions

144 and 146, respectively. The lower portion 146 projects integrally from the downwardly sloping upper edge 140.

The upper portion 144 slopes upwardly to a flat horizontal 7 top wall 148. From the rear end of the top wall 148 the tip 134 projects vertically downwardly. then the tip joins a forwardly extending portion 150 which runs into an upwardly and forwardly extending section 152 to form a closed loop having a base wall 153. The closed loop ends adjacent the fork fonned by the upper and

lower portions

144, 146. The base wall 153 joins the bottom of sectionl52. to the top of the lower'portion. 146.

ldentical transversely registered tabs 154 project laterally from opposite edges of the section 152 and serve asguide followers engaging a track formation which positions the loading rod during its operation and, likewise, an, a'rcuate'flange 156; projects from the wall 136 parallel to the flange 142 foraiding in maintaining the loading rod in the desired positiomall of which function in a manner to be described hereinafter.

As shown in FIG. 3, the loading rod 128 in its idle foremost position which it assumes at all times except during a cocking operation rests with its pusher head 132 positioned beneath the front end of the bore section .66 and within an opening71 in the bottom wall 70. The top wall 148 of one head fills said opening 71 to present a substantially unbroken bottom wall. The portion of the loading rodv body 130 adjacent the pusher head 132 lies within a U-shaped elongated channel 158 V the walls of which are. secured belowthe lower barrel 14 with the upper edge of the channel;158 connected to the lower barrel.

The portion of the body 130 extending beyond the frent end 160 of the channel 158 projects into thehollow interior of the hand grip 20. A coil tension spring 162 whose opposite ends engage the hook 138 of the-loading rod 128 and a stationary hook 164 depending from the lower barrel l4 biases the loading rod to its foremost position.

' f By grasping the pump hand grip 20 and pulling it rea ardly and inand causes said rod to move rearwardly toward the firing slidably engage the lower barrel 14.'ln assembly, the shell sec plunger 76 when the hand grip is slid toward the gun stock.

A reinforcing integrally formed plate 168 is i similarly formed by flange portions projecting from each she l section and serves to reinforce the abutment wall 166. Y i 7 Between the abutment wall 166 and the front end walls 120, l22'the sidewalls of the

hand grip sections

116 and 118 taper inwardly and upwardly as shown in F IG. 6,. while the side-walls between the abutment 166 and

therear end walls

124, 126 are vertically disposed as shown in FIG. 7.

and thelimits of its movement are'shown in the dashed lines of a pusher head 132,,a'tip 134 of which engages the head 78 of the firing P ge 76 as the plunger is slid toward cockedposition as shown in FIG. 2'. I a

=and rearwardly toward the "bore section By sliding the hand gripl20 toward the gun stock- 18, the abutment 166 pushes the front end of the loading rod 128 the tabs 154 engage a sloping track 160 consisting of flanges projecting from each

shell half

24, 26 and sloping upwardly section towardthe firing plunger 76 against the bias of the spring 162. I 7 The loading rod must travel upwardly into the bore section. 66 in order to engage the firing plunger. Toeffect this motion The track section is formed by one set of flanges 170 that join the side flange 74 and define the front edge of the opening 71 and a second set of flanges 172 that join the bottom wall 70 at the rear edge ofthe opening 71.

When the loading rod is moved toward the firing plunger, the tabs 154 will be guided upwardly by the track 169 to the bore section 66, then laterally within the bore section 66 between the side flange 74 and the bottom wall 70.

Thus, the loading rod pusher head 132 will rise into the bore section 66 and then move horizontally rearwardly toward the firing plunger. The tip 134 of the head will engage the front faces of the legs 82 and the horizontal bridge 88 of the plunger head and force the plunger 76 rearwardly into its cocked position as illustrated in the solid lines of FIG. 2.

Upon release of the hand grip the spring 162 will pull the loading rod to its foremost position, with the top wall 148 of i the head 132 occupying the opening 71 and presenting a substantially flat bottom wall 70 as shown in FIG. 3.

As the spring 162 returns the loading rod to its foremost position, the hook end of the loading rod will bear against the abutment wall 166 within the hand grip and return the hand grip to its forward normal position as shown in FIG. 3.

Two stops are provided to limit the forward return movement of the pump hand grip. Each stop is formed of a

projection

174a and 174b extending laterally outwardly from the channel 158 and secured thereto adjacent its open end 160. The forward position of the hand grip 20 is fixed by abutment of the rear end wall 124 of the hand grip against the projections 174a and 174k.

Pursuant to the instant invention a stiff pellet retainer 180 is pivotally mounted at its rear end below the bore section 66 with its tip projecting into the bore forwardly of the cocked firing plunger. The pellet retainer is biased so that the tip projecting into the bore can be yieldably depressed yet the bias is sufficient for the stiff tip to deform the soft spherical pellets 30 as they pass through a bore constriction formed by the retainer 180 and the top wall 68 of said bore section. The tip of the retainer and front face of the firing plunger define a firing chamber into which the lowermost pellet in the firing channel is guided and trapped when the firing plunger assumes its cocked position. The stiff retainer 180 serves to increase in two distinct ways the impetus given to the pellet 30 as it is fired by the firing plunger.

Initially by squeezing the pellet against the top of the bore 66 and deforming it, the retainer pinches the pellet. Once the major diameter of the deformed pellet passes the projecting tip of the retainer, the spring bias of the retainer tip acting upon the smaller pellet area and squeezing the same squirts the pellet forwardly in the same manner as one would squirt a fruit pit by squeezing it between ones fingers. Thus the pellet is given an additional impetus in this manner. Additionally, the upwardly biased projecting stiff tip of the pellet retainer 180, pressing against the underside of the trailing end of the pellet surface, imparts a top spin to the pellet surface as the pellet passes over it. This spin is counterclockwise as viewed in FIG. 5 and illustrated by the arrow A shown in that figure. The spin is similar to the top spin imparted to a ping pong ball, for instance, when a player does not directly strike the ball with his racket but slices" his racket over the ball. Such a sliced ping pong ball with the resulting top spin will travel across the net with a certain forward velocity but once it strikes the table surface, the stored rotational energy will, at least in part, change to forward velocity so that once the ball bounces it moves with increased forward velocity.

Similarly, the top spinning pellet 30 in the present invention will travel an airborne distance within the bore 60 propelled by the firing plunger 76 and the squirting effect before gravitationa'l force cause it to contact the bottom of the bore. Once the pellet 30 does this, the rotational energy of the spinning pellet augments the forward velocity giving an added impetus to the pellet.

The stiff pellet retainer 180 which produces these effects is illustrated in isometric in FIG. 15. It consists of an elongate bar 182 having a transverse hole 184 at one end. A transverse step 186 joins the bar 182 to an offset head 188. The head 188 is parallel to the bar 182 with its uppermost surface at an elevation above that of the bar 182. The upper corner 190 of the head is generously rounded to enhance the squirting effect. The opposite lower comer 191 is chamfered to permit the lower front edge ofthe thickened portion 84 to readily cam the retainer downwardly when the firing plunger is released from its cocked position so as to snap forwardly.

When assembled within the gun 10 the pellet retainer is pivotally mounted on the pin 104 (see FIGS. 10 and 12) below the bottom wall 70 of the bore section 66 with the offset head projecting through an opening in the bottom wall 70 (see FIG. 3.) The trigger 102 is subsequently pivotally mounted on the pin 104.

Spacers

192 and 194 are integrally formed with the bar 182 and project laterally therefrom to minimize frictional interference between the trigger 102 and the pellet retainer 180.

The length of the horizontal section 106 of the trigger 104 is such that it is less than the bar 182 of the pellet retainer 180 so that the trigger 104 and pellet retainer 180 can both pivot about the pin 104 independently of each other although the trigger 104 and offset retainer head 188 lie in the same plane.

The stiff pellet retainer is spring biased to a position wherein the offset head 188 projects into the bore section 66. To this end a torsion spring 196 has a central turn loose on the post 115 of the trigger 104. One leg of the spring 196 abuts the undersurface of the pin 104 while the other leg abuts the under surface of a post 198 projecting from the head 188. Thus the pellet retainer is biased upwardly toward a position, as shown in FIG. 3, wherein the bar 182 abuts the undersurface of the bore bottom wall 70 and the offset head 188 projects through an opening in the said wall 70.

The channel in the firing plunger head 78 is wide enough to permit the plunger head to pass over the offset retainer head 188 without interference until the retainer head 188 is contacted by the thickened back 84 of the plunger head.

In assembled position, the offset retainer head 188 projects into the bore section 66 with the upper comer I positioned forwardly of the firing channel opening 51 and defining the front of the firing chamber. The head 188 has a rearwardly downwardly sloping upper surface which leads to the downwardly chamfered rearward portion of the retainer head 188 positioned between the spaced legs 82 of the firing plunger head 78.

A pellet 30 dropping into the bore section 66 lies in the firing chamber at the valley or intersection of the rearwardly, downwardly sloping retainer head 188 and the rearwardly upwardly sloping intermediate portions 86 of each firing plunger leg 82 as illustrated in FIG. 3.

When the trigger is pulled, it pivots in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 3 and the hook 108 releases the firing plunger 76 which impels the pellet forwardly against the sloping upper surface of the head 188. The pellet is then squeezed upwardly against the top wall 68 of the bore section 66 by the retainer head 188. As the pellet is further pushed by the firing plunger 76, the pellet is deformed to an egglike shape, as illustrated in FIG. 4.

As the major diameter of the deformed pellet approaches the upper corner 190 of the head 188, the pellet retainer pivots counterclockwise about the pin 104 against the bias of the torsion spring 196. Once the major diameter of the deformed pellet passes the uppermost surface 190, the spring 196 biasing the pellet retainer in a clockwise direction, pinches the trailing end of the pellet, squirting it forwardly and, at the same time, providing a counterclockwise tip spin on the pellet as viewed in FIG. 5.

During this operation, the firing plunger is snapping the pellet 30 outwardly. As the thickened back 84 of the plunger head 78 contacts the chamfered lower corner 191 of the retainer head after the pellet has passed the retainer tip, the head forces the retainer downwardly, again pivoting the pellet retainer about pin 104 in a counterclockwise direction. Thus,

the retainer head is not forced downwardly by the plunger until the major diameter of the pellet passes the constriction.

It will be observed in FIG. that the cruciform tab 94 projecting from the rear of the plunger head and the spring 96 that encircles it prevent the entrance of a subsequent pellet into the bore section 66 until the plunger head is again in firing position.

In order to promote maximum efficiency for use in conjunction with the pellet retainer of the present invention and conjointly to promote maximum safety, the spherical pellets which are used in conjunction with the gun of the present invention are both soft and flexible and accordingly are constructed of materials having suitable physical characteristics such as a resilient plastic, .e.g. polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride or a copolymer of ISpercentbutadiene 85 percent styrene,

or synthetic rubber, for example, buna rubber (durometer apmatter herein described or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

lclaim:

l. A projectile firing toy comprising an elongate barrel having an open front end for the propelling of a projectile in free flight therefrom, a hollow casing at the rear end of said barrel, a projectile, a projectile firing mechanism within said casing, said projectile firing mechanism including a spring biased firing plunger mounted for reciprocating movement in a pathway between a rearmost cocked position and a foremost position. a trigger'pivotally mounted within said casing, said trigger releasably retaining said firing plunger in said cocked position, means for moving said firing plunger from said foremost position to said cocked position, a projectile infeed entrance to said pathway adjacent to and forward of said firing plunger in said cocked position, said projectile being formed of an elastic material so as to be resiliently deformable, a pivoted projectile retainer means being spring biased and positioned below the plunger and adjacent the trigger, said retainer means being so positioned as to move into the pathway of the plunger under spring bias, said retainer means having a forward portion that engages said projectile from the bottom of the pathway and deforms said elastic projectile forcing the projectile upwardly against a wall of the pathway and presenting a momentary restriction to the passage of said projectile as it is fired through the barrel so as to impart a top spin to the fired projectile.

2. The projectile firing toy of claim 1 wherein means is positioned forwardly on said firing plunger to force said projectile past said pivoted projectile retainer means, said last mentioned means being in continual abutting contact with said projectile as said projectile is forced past said pivoted projectile retainer means.

3. The projectile firing toy of claim 2 wherein a channel is formed within said firing plunger, said channel being of a width greater than the width of the portion of said retainer means engaging said projectile, said projectile engaging portion of said retainer means being positioned within said channel as said firing plunger moves between said rearmost cocked position and said foremost position.

4. The projectile firing toy of claim 3 wherein said channel passes partially through said firing plunger, further including an end wall positioned rearwardly within said firing plunger,

' said channel terminating at said end wall, said trigger including a hook engaging said firing plunger in said rearmost position to hold said firing plunger in cocked position.

5. The projectile firing toy of claim 4 wherein said retainer means is formed of an elongate body and a head ositioned at one end thereof, said head including said pro ec ile engaging