one of the most popular types of toys enjoyed by a wide variety of children through the years may be generally described as projectile shooting or launching toys. In attempting to meet this consumer popularity and demand, practitioners in the art have provided a variety of projectile launching and shooting toys. Such toys have included various rocket or missile type launching toys as well as those accelerating or launching toy vehicles and spherical objects such as ping-pong or foam balls or the like. One of the most convenient and readily available mechanisms for providing the pressurized air necessary to launch such projectiles and the like is provided by a resilient collapsible bellows or bulb. In this type of toy apparatus, the user is able to impart substantial energy to the projectile by simply manually manipulating or collapsing the air bellows. The resilient structure of the air bellows facilitates its restoration to the normal state upon release by the child user.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,205,773 issued to Koepcke, et al. sets forth a DEFORMABLE TOY STRUCTURE WITH INVERTED MOUTH having a squeeze toy defining a generally resilient outer body which in turn defines a main cavity. A portion of the body extends inwardly into the main cavity to form a receptacle. The receptacle includes a mouth which is dimensioned to enable a projectile to be inserted therein and to be supported within the mouth. The receptacle has a configuration which normally causes an interference fit with the projectile to retain the projectile within the mouth. The body of the squeeze toy may be deformed to cause a portion of the receptacle to be forced outward through the mouth thereby ejecting the projectile from the body.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,159,705 issued to Jacoby sets forth a TOY PROJECTILE LAUNCHING DEVICE having a projectile launching barrel within which a plunger is situated and having a coupling secured to a resilient inflatable air reservoir. A squeezable hand bulb is coupled to the valve mechanism to allow inflation of the flexible resilient reservoir to provide a source of air pressure to be applied to a projectile within the projectile launcher.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,903,865 issued to Kaneko sets forth an AIR POPPER comprising a hollow drum having a funnel-shaped projecting portion extending upwardly therefrom. The drum portion further supports a plurality of rolled tapes while the funnel portion receives a projectile. As the projectile is launched, the tapes are discharged from the drum portion.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,577,676 issued to Powel sets forth a STRIP PROJECTING SQUEEZE TOY having an elongated flexible element disposed within a squeezable animal body. A substantial length of the flexible element is projected from the body through an opening within the body such as a mouth as the animal body is squeezed.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,870,304 issued to Minnick sets forth an INFLATABLE STRIKING MEMBER AND PROJECTILE DISPENSING RECEPTACLE having a game device formed of an inflatable plastic or the like and having a projectile receiving receptacle supported by an upper surface of the structure. The parts of the structure are so arranged and constructed that projectiles within the receptacle are ejected therefrom when a portion of the inflatable structure receives a blow remote from the receptacle.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,353,823 issued to Sobel sets forth a PNEUMATIC SQUEEZE TOY having a bottle-like squeezable receptacle formed of a resilient material. The neck aperture of the receptacle supports a projectile having an elongated filament passing through the receptacle mouth and secured at the remaining end within the receptacle. Squeezing the bottle receptacle launches the projectile drawing the filament outwardly. In an alternate embodiment, the receptacle is configured to generally resemble a frog.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,630,757 issued to Amici, et al. sets forth a LIQUID SQUIRTING CREATURE having a body defining a front section, legs and head and a rear section assembled thereto. The front section is comprised of top and bottom elements defining a cavity therebetween having apertures formed therein. The rear section is a bulbous resiliently compressible member. A hollow tube extends from the bulbous rear portion through the apertures in the front portion and outwardly. When the bulbous portion is squeezed, a spray of liquid within the bulbous portion is squirted out through the tube in the front body section.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,033,094 issued to Fuda sets forth a TARGET AIR GUN having an elongated barrel supporting a projectile receiving funnel coupled to a collapsible resilient bulb. The resilient bulb is received within a fixture having a movable plunger for compressing the bulb. As the plunger is forced against the bulb, the collapsing bulb produces a burst of compressed air launching the projectile.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,074,720 issued to Carver, et al. sets forth a TOY SIMULATING PART OF A BASKETBALL GAME having a support base and a vertically extending wall which in turn supports a basketball hoop. A movable pedestal supporting a simulated basketball player is supported upon the base. Means are provided for launching a ball from the player toward the hoop with the object of passing the ball through the hoop.
Despite the wide variety of projectile and other object launching toys, there remains nonetheless a continuing need in the art for evermore interesting, improved and amusing toys and toy playsets which provide object launch or shooting.