Patent Application
20130015203
The present invention relates to a liquid projection device having a light up feature and the method thereof. In particular, a water gun that lights up when it is actuated.
Water guns or squirters or projectors are common toys, especially for the summer. Children, and adults alike, enjoy getting splashed with water on a hot summer day. The water exiting or ejecting from such toys are typically safe and harmless because the stream of water is not very powerful.
A typical water gun has a reservoir to store a liquid, usually water, and a mechanism of projecting or ejecting the liquid from the reservoir out of a small opening of a water gun. The ejecting mechanism of most prior art water guns are manually powered: for examples, by the pumping action resulting from actuating a trigger, or the pushing of a plunger decreasing the volume of the reservoir.
Prior art water guns serve its basic purpose of ejecting water, but otherwise have limited entertaining values.
Therefore, there is a need for a liquid projection device that provides more entertainment with a light up feature, than just ejecting liquid.
The present invention provides a liquid projection device that lights up when it is actuated.
The liquid projection device of the present invention comprises a housing and an actuator. The housing receives and stores a liquid which is ejected upon manipulation of the actuator acting as a plunger. A light source is located in the actuator to light up the device, and the liquid exiting the device when the actuator is actuated.
Preferred embodiments of the present invention have been chosen for purposes of illustration and description and are shown in the accompanying drawings forming a part of the specification wherein:
With reference to the drawings, wherein the same reference number indicates the same element throughout, there is shown in
The plunger portion 202 of the actuator 200 is sized to correspond and be slightly smaller than the internal dimension of the cavity reservoir 102. Near the distal end of the plunger portion 202 is a sealing ring 214 that interacts with the wall of the cavity reservoir 102 to enclose the other end of the cavity reservoir 102. The axial movement of the actuator 200 interacts with wall of the cavity reservoir 102 of housing 100 to increase and decrease the volume of the cavity reservoir 102 (see
Within the handle portion 204 adjacent the plunger portion 202 is one or more light emitting diodes (“LED”) 206 that are powered by a power source, such as batteries 208, located in the handle portion 204. Alternatively, the LEDs 206 may be positioned along the length of the plunger portion 202. The plunger portion 202 is preferably hollow to allow the lights emitted from the LEDs 206 be projected along the entire axial length of the plunger portion 202. Further, a reflection film 222 may be provided within the axial length of the plunger portion 202 to further project the lights emitted from the LEDs 206. The plunger portion 202 and the housing 100 are made of either a transparent or translucent material so that light emitted from the LEDs 206 can be seen through them. The outer surface of the housing 100, except the ends, may be covered, partially or in its entirety, with a transparent or translucent soft material such as polyethylene foam 116 that provides cushioning while allowing the light from the LEDs 206 to be seen through. The outer surface of the handle portion 204 may similarly be covered, partially or in its entirety, with polyethylene foam 116.
The on-off switch 210 for the LEDs 206 is a pressure switch located on the handle portion 204 facing the rear end 110 of the housing 100 such that when the device 10 is in a closed, contracted position, the power is off (see
To fill liquid in the cavity reservoir 102 through the aperture 108, with the aperture 108 immersed in the liquid, the handle portion 204 of the actuator 200 is pulled away from the housing 100, drawing the liquid into the cavity reservoir 102. Upon separating the handle portion 204 from the housing 100, the LEDs 206 are switched on, lighting the plunger portion 202 and the cavity reservoir 102. To eject liquid from the housing 100 through the aperture 108, the handle portion 204 is pushed towards the housing 100, with the LEDs 206 lighting the stream of liquid exiting the aperture 108. Once the handle portion 204 is again abutting the housing 100, and no more liquid exits the aperture 108, the LEDs 206 are switched off.
The batteries 208 for the LEDs 206 may be located at the handle portion 204, within a battery compartment 216 having a water-tight, re-sealable, cap 218. Other alternate power source known to one skilled in the art may be used. For example, rechargeable batteries may be charged by the pumping action of the actuator 200.
A multi-color RGB (red, green, blue) LED 206 or three single color (red, green, and blue) LEDs 206 can be used with the liquid projection device 10 to produce many different colors and effect. The LEDs 206 may be connected to and controlled by a printed circuit board 220 having pre-programmed lighting sequence.
The housing 100, the handle portion 204 and the polyethylene foam 116 are shown in
The liquid projection device 10 may also contain a sound chip with audio files and at least one waterproof speaker. The sound chip may be actuated similarly with the on/off switch 210 for the LEDs 206 and connected to and controlled by the printed circuit board 220.
In another alternative embodiment of the liquid projection device 10, the LEDs 206 may be ultra-violet LEDs that produce black light. A user may use liquid having fluorescent or phosphorescent paint or pigment with such a liquid projection device 10 to produce a glowing stream of liquid exiting the device 10.
The features of the invention illustrated and described herein are the preferred embodiments. Therefore, it is understood that the appended claims are intended to cover the variations disclosed and unforeseeable embodiments with insubstantial differences that are within the spirit of the claims.
