Cylindrical magazine for discharging projectiles for toy guns

Abstract

A preloadable, swappable and reloadable cylindrical magazine for rubber band and slingshot guns. Exhausted magazines can be replaced in seconds, allowing extended shooting. The release mechanism of projectiles is self-contained; no trigger as it is understood is required, making it particularly suitable in the design of Gatling guns. Hooks in front and fingers at rear engage energized projectiles. The rotation of the magazine causes fingers to tilt forward and projectiles to free themselves by sliding up the tilted fingers without outside disturbances, assuring the best shooting accuracy ever. A pawl and a ratchet wheel control the rotation of magazines. Depending on how long the pawl is disengaged, single shots or continuous firing is equally easy to execute. The successive firing rate is determined by how fast the magazine can rotate. Modular design allows through combinations of components numerous configurations for different sizes and numbers of elastic bands and various designs of toy guns.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]This invention relates to elastic band and slingshot guns, specifically to an improved cylindrical magazine for elastic band and slingshot guns.[0002]Many toy guns have been invented to fire a plurality of elastic bands. There are generally two approaches: the first mounts the front end of all stretched elastic bands to a front recess on a barrel; the second uses cylindrical magazines thereon ridges, slats or vanes are used to hold individual stretched elastic bands, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,001,267, 3,515,387, 3,693,609, 3,757,760, 4,676,219, 4,800,864, 5,222,472, 5,460,150 and 5,505,186 are generally indicative of state-of-the-art of this category. The first approach has the inherently intractable problem of causing stretched elastic bands to tangle up at the front end of a barrel and misfire. This inventor does not think it is worthwhile to improve on the first approach and, instead, concentrates on refining the second category of elastic band guns.[0...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0006]Accordingly, several objects of my invention are to provide: (1) A universal elastic band magazine that can be used in the design of various toy guns, including Gatling guns, with minimal requirements on the part of gun designers. (2) A magazine that can adapt to different requirements of gun designers through modular design. (3) A magazine that is preloadable, replaceable in seconds once exhausted, and reusable. (4) A magazine that can dispense elastic bands in various shooting modes, one of them is continuous firing without repeatedly pulling a trigger. (5) A magazine that can pack a dense number of elastic bands on a cylinder, as many as 35 elastic bands on a 2-inch magazine. (6) A magazine with a release mechanism that allows elastic bands to free themselves without outside interference to achieve the best shooting accuracy. (7) A magazine that can propel projectiles using stretched elastic bands like a slingshot to extend shooting ranges. (8) A projectile that can leave the mark of a hit on impact with a target to be used in simulated field combats.

Problems solved by technology

The first approach has the inherently intractable problem of causing stretched elastic bands to tangle up at the front end of a barrel and misfire.

This inventor does not think it is worthwhile to improve on the first approach and, instead, concentrates on refining the second category of elastic band guns.

(2) Some need two hands to operate; as one hand is cranking it is hard for the other hand to keep the gun steady.

(3) Except for U.S. Pat. No. 5,222,472, magazines are not removable or exchangeable; once elastic bands are exhausted, it takes time to reload elastic bands and this interruption spoils the fun of playing with elastic band guns.

(4) The structure of magazines is closely tied to the elastic band release mechanism; magazines cannot be designed independent of the guns in which they operate.

This perturbation distorts the alignment of elastic bands and impairs shooting accuracy.

Ironically, the weakest point in elastic band guns is the elastic band itself.

Gains in shooting ranges from using thicker, longer and more powerful elastic bands are marginal due to the larger profiles of these elastic bands.

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