Magazine Assembly for a Projectile Launching Toy

Abstract

The invention relates to a magazine assembly for a projectile launching toy. The magazine assembly comprises a first magazine having a first housing for accommodating a plurality of projectiles and a second magazine having a second housing for accommodating a plurality of projectiles. A first connector is integrally formed in an exterior surface of said first housing and a second connector is provided on an exterior surface of said second housing. The first connector is configured to be directly connectable with the second connector to thereby fix the first magazine in a desired position and/or orientation with respect to the second magazine.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a magazine assembly for a projectile launching toy and particularly, but not exclusively, to a magazine assembly for a toy gun configured to fire projectiles.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A large variety of toy launchers and guns for firing projectiles such as bullets, darts, arrows or the like are available in the market including launchers commonly referred to as “blasters” which fire elongate soft projectiles designed not to injure or wound a person. Among the various designs of toy launchers, and especially blasters, a magazine comprising a housing for accommodating a plurality of projectiles is provided to enable rapid fire of projectiles from the toy. The magazine once empty must be removed from the toy, be reloaded and then re-engaged with the toy which diminishes the user experience. One improvement is to connect two magazines together to form a magazine assembly. However, this is achieved using a clip connector component which is separate from the two magazines and which attaches to each. A major disadvantage is that the separate clip connector component is liable to breakage and readily misplaced, i.e. lost, especially in outdoor play environments.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a novel magazine assembly for use with a projectile launching toy such as, for example, a blaster.

Another object of the invention is to mitigate or obviate problems with known means of connecting two magazines together.

The above object is met by the combination of features of the main claim; the sub-claims disclose further advantageous embodiments of the invention.

One skilled in the art will derive from the following description other objects of the invention. Therefore, the foregoing statements of object are not exhaustive and serve merely to illustrate some of the many objects of the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention generally relates to a magazine for a projectile launching toy which can be easily connected to another magazine of a similar or identical configuration. The magazine comprises a housing for accommodating a plurality of projectiles and a first connector formed integrally with an exterior surface of said housing such that said first connector is able, in use, to be directly connected with a second connector provided on an exterior surface of a housing of another magazine. The arrangement is such that the magazines, once connected, are orientated to enable each to be separately engaged in turn in a magazine receiving part of the projectile launching toy thereby providing a user with an increased capacity for rapid firing of projectiles without undue interruption.

In a first main aspect, the invention provides a magazine assembly for a projectile launching toy, the magazine assembly comprising: a first magazine comprising a first housing for accommodating a plurality of projectiles; a second magazine comprising a second housing for accommodating a plurality of projectiles; a first connector provided on an exterior surface of said first housing; a second connector provided on an exterior surface of said second housing; wherein said first connector is configured to be directly connectable with the second connector to thereby fix the first magazine in a desired position and/or orientation with respect to the second magazine.

In a second main aspect, the invention provides a magazine for a magazine assembly according to the first main aspect of the invention.

In a third main aspect, the invention provides a projectile launching toy having a magazine assembly according to the first main aspect of the invention.

The summary of the invention does not necessarily disclose all the features essential for defining the invention; the invention may reside in a sub-combination of the disclosed features.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and further features of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments which are provided by way of example only in connection with the accompanying figure, of which:

FIG. 1A is a back view of a magazine assembly in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 1B is a side view of the magazine assembly of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 1C is a front view of the magazine assembly of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the magazine assembly of FIGS. 1A to 1C;

FIG. 3A is a back view of a magazine for a magazine assembly in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 3B is a side view of the magazine of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 3C is a front view of the magazine of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the magazine of FIGS. 3A to 3C;

FIG. 5 is a close-up view of a male connector;

FIG. 6 is a close-up view of a female connector;

FIG. 7 is a back view of the magazine showing sectional line A and sectional line B;

FIG. 8A is an end view of the magazine along sectional line A;

FIG. 8B is an end perspective view of the magazine along sectional line A;

FIG. 9A is an end view of the magazine along sectional line B;

FIG. 9B is an end perspective view of the magazine along sectional line B;

FIG. 10 is an end view of first and second magazines prior to being connected; and

FIG. 11 is an end view of first and second magazines when connected.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following description is of preferred embodiments by way of example only and without limitation to the combination of features necessary for carrying the invention into effect.

Reference in this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Moreover, various features are described which may be exhibited by some embodiments and not by others. Similarly, various requirements are described which may be requirements for some embodiments but not other embodiments.

The invention relates to a magazine for a projectile launching toy which can be easily connected to another magazine having a similar or an identical configuration to form a novel magazine assembly. The magazine comprises a housing for accommodating a plurality of projectiles. A first connector, preferably formed integrally with an exterior surface of said housing, is provided such that said first connector is able, in use, to be directly connected with a second connector provided on an exterior surface of a housing of another magazine. The arrangement is preferably such that the magazines, once connected, are overlapped by a selected amount and are orientated in different directions relative to each other to enable each to be separately and quickly engaged in turn in a magazine receiving part of the projectile launching toy thereby providing a user with an increased capacity for rapid firing of projectiles with a reduced amount of interruption.

Referring to the drawings and in particular FIGS. 1A to 1C and FIG. 2, shown is a magazine assembly 10 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The magazine assembly 10 comprises a first magazine 10A connected, i.e. attached, to a second magazine 10B. The second magazine 10B is preferably of an identical configuration to the first magazine 10A, although it is not essential that this is the case. What is necessary, however, is that each of the first and second magazines 10A, 10B is able to be partially inserted into a magazine receiving part or similar mechanism of a projectile launching toy (not shown) such that the projectiles accommodated in said first and second magazines 10A, 10B can be launched, in turn, from the projectile launching toy. Furthermore, the first and second magazines 10A, 10B are arranged in different orientations with respect to one another and partially overlapped, i.e. not fully overlapped, by a selected amount such that a loading end 12A, 12B of each of said first and second magazines 10A, 10B is not impeded by the other magazine from being loaded into or engaged with the magazine receiving part or similar mechanism of a projectile launching toy. Consequently, the second magazine 10B does not hinder insertion of the first magazine 10A into a projectile loading position on the projectile launching toy and vice-versa.

The selected amount of overlap of the first and second magazines 10A, 10B is dependent on one or more factors such as the size of said first and second magazines 10A, 10B, the depths of the loading ends 12A, 12B of each of said first and second magazines 10A, 10B, and/or the relative orientations of the first and second magazines 10A, 10B when connected together.

In FIGS. 1A to 1C and FIG. 2, the first and second magazines 10A, 10B are shown as being orientated in opposite directions such that their respective loading ends 12A, 12B are clear of the overlapped portions of said first and second magazines 10A, 10B. However, it will be understood that, in some embodiments, the first and second magazines 10A, 10B may be orientated with respect to each other differently than that as shown in FIGS. 1A to 1C and FIG. 2. For example, the second magazine 10B may be orientated at a right angle to said first magazine 10A in one not shown embodiment.

In another embodiment, there may be three magazines connected together in different orientations with a second one of the magazines being orientated at a right angle to a first one of the three magazines and a third one of the magazines being orientated in an opposing direction to either of the first one or the second one of the three magazines. It will be understood that it is possible in yet another embodiment to have more than three magazines connected together where each magazine is orientated in a respective different direction relative to the other magazines.

Referring again to FIGS. 1A to 1C and FIG. 2, by connecting the first and second magazines 10A, 10B as described, the arrangement is such that when say the loading end 12A of the first magazine 10A is loaded into a magazine receiving part of a projectile launching toy, the second magazine 10B is, in effect, carried by the first magazine 10A and is readily available for loading into the projectile launching toy when the first magazine 10A is spent. In use, when the first magazine 10A is spent, a user may remove or eject the magazine assembly 10 from the projectile launching toy, quickly re-orientate the magazine assembly 10 to thereby bring the loading end 12B of the second magazine 10B into engagement with the magazine receiving part of the projectile launching toy. This is advantageous in that the second magazine 10B is readily available to the user without having to be separately carried on their person and this greatly reduces the time of an interruption in changing, i.e. loading, another magazine into the projectile launching toy. Furthermore, other advantages are gained in that a user may select different types of projectile for loading into the respective first and second magazines 10A, 10B and thereby switch, without undue interruption, between shooting said different types of projectiles by quickly changing over the magazines 10A, 10B in the projectile launching toy even if neither of said magazines is yet spent. In other words, the user may quickly change magazines to change between projectile types dependent on shooting conditions and/or situations until one or more of the magazines is spent.

Referring now to FIGS. 3A to 3C and FIG. 4, shown is a single magazine 10A adapted to form a magazine assembly 10 as described in the foregoing. In preferred embodiments, the second magazine (not shown in FIGS. 3A to 3C and FIG. 4) for forming a magazine assembly 10 is identical to the magazine 10A.

The magazine 10A has a shell-like housing 14 which is adapted to accommodate a plurality of elongate projectiles (not shown). The housing 14 preferably contains a mechanism for raising the projectiles upwardly towards the loading end 12A in order to load the projectiles into the projectile launcher toy when the magazine 10A is itself loaded into the magazine receiving part or similar mechanism of the toy.

Provided on a lower portion of an exterior surface of a back side wall 16 of the magazine housing 14 is at least one connector 18. The connector 18 may comprise one of a male connector 18A or a female connector 18B. Preferably, the connector 18 is formed integrally with the back side wall 16 of the housing 14 by, for example, injection molding. However, in some embodiments, the connector may comprise a separately formed component which is permanently affixed to said back side wall 16 of the magazine housing 14. Preferably, there are at least two connectors 18 provided on said back side wall 16 of the magazine housing 14. Preferably, as shown in FIG. 3A, there are provided two rows of connectors 18 which are preferably arranged in a regular pattern. Preferably, one row 20A of the connectors 18 comprises male connectors 18A and one row 20B of the connectors comprises female connectors 18B. The rows may be arranged vertically or horizontally with respect to the back side wall 16 of the housing 14. The male and female connectors 18A, 18B are configured such that they comprise complementary connectors in that a male connector 18A directly fits into a female connector 18B. The male and female connectors 18A, 18B may be configured such that they comprise a friction fit therebetween sufficient to support or carry one magazine 10B on the other magazine 10B whilst the other magazine 10A is loaded into the projectile launching toy. In some embodiments, the male and/or female connectors 18A, 18B may be configured such that they snap-fit or latch together to increase the connection strength therebetween to thereby reduce the chances of accidental parting.

Referring to FIGS. 3A to 3C and FIG. 4, it will be appreciated that the arrangement of the rows of connectors 20A, 20B on the back side wall 16 of the housings 14 of the magazines 10A, 10B is such that the male connectors 18A on the first magazine 10A line up with the female connectors 18B on the second magazine 10B when the second magazine 10B is orientated to face in an opposite direction to that of the first magazine 10A, i.e. the second magazine is orientated at 180 degrees with respect to the orientation of the first magazine 10A.

As can be seen more clearly in FIGS. 5 and 6, each male connector 18A preferably has an outwardly depending lip or flange 22 which, in use engages with an inwardly depending lip or flange 24 of a female connector 18B to thereby form a snap-fit therebetween. Preferably, one or both of the outwardly depending lip or flange 22 and the inwardly depending lip or flange 24 are formed to be flexible to enable the snap-fit or latch with preferably moderate manual pressure.

The provision of at least two connectors 1820 on each magazine 10A, 10B secures the relative orientations of the magazines 10A, 10B relative to one another. The provision of at least two rows of such connectors 18 further enhances the strength and resiliency of the connection. The provision of the outwardly depending lip or flange 22 and the inwardly depending lip or flange 24 further enhances the strength of the connection to considerably reduce the chances of one magazine detaching from another magazine during play.

Forming the connectors 18 integrally with the back side walls 16 of the housings 14 of the magazines 10A, 10B avoids the need to provide a separate clip connector component and avoids the need for a separate manufacturing process in forming a separate connector component and/or in permanently affixing a separate connector component to a magazine.

The male connector 18A may comprise a circular shaped connector, but preferably, as shown in the drawings, comprises a non-circular shaped connector such as a polygonal shaped connector. In one embodiment, the male connector is rectangularly shaped in plan. The female connector 18B has a shape complementary to that of the male connector 18A.

Referring to FIGS. 7 to 11, further features of the connectors 18 can be seen as well as the manner of connecting one magazine 10A, 10B to another. For example, it is preferred that the connectors 18 are formed on sloping or chamfered side portions 10S of the magazine housings 14 and preferably such that each connector extends upwardly from its respective side portion 10S to a height just slightly above a main flat part 16A of the back side surface 16 of the magazine housing 14. Preferably, the connectors extend upwardly from their respective side portions 10S by an amount above the main flat parts 16A of the back side surfaces 16 of the magazine housings 14 sufficient to enable the respective connectors 18A, 18B of said magazines 10A, 10B to one or more of form a press-fit, a snap-fit and a latched fit. The arrangement is preferably such that, when, as shown in FIG. 11, the male connectors 18A are fully inserted into the female connectors 18B, the main flat parts 16A of the back side surfaces 16 of the magazine housings 14 of the first and second magazines 10A, 10B are in contact which increases the stability of the connection between the magazines 10A, 10B forming the magazine assembly 10. The sloping side portions 10S of the housing are advantageous in providing space for forming the connectors 18 without increasing the depth of the magazine assembly 10 when compared with the sum of the depths of two magazines 10A, 10B.

Preferably, the magazines 10A, 10B are molded from a plastics material.

The present invention provides a magazine for a projectile launching toy such as a blaster which enables two or more magazines to be easily connected together such that the magazines, once connected, are orientated in different directions to enable each to be separately engaged in turn in a magazine receiving part of the projectile launching toy thereby providing a user with an increased capacity for rapid firing of projectiles. The connection arrangement is such that no separate connection components are required other than the magazines which connect directly together.

The present description illustrates the principles of the present invention. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise various arrangements that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the invention and are included within its spirit and scope.

Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and embodiments of the invention, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass both structural and functional equivalents thereof. Additionally, it is intended that such equivalents include both currently known equivalents as well as equivalents developed in the future, i.e., any elements developed that perform the same function, regardless of structure.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood that only exemplary embodiments have been shown and described and do not limit the scope of the invention in any manner. It can be appreciated that any of the features described herein may be used with any embodiment. The illustrative embodiments are not exclusive of each other or of other embodiments not recited herein. Accordingly, the invention also provides embodiments that comprise combinations of one or more of the illustrative embodiments described above. Modifications and variations of the invention as herein set forth can be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, and, therefore, only such limitations should be imposed as are indicated by the appended claims.

In the claims hereof, any element expressed as a means for performing a specified function is intended to encompass any way of performing that function. The invention as defined by such claims resides in the fact that the functionalities provided by the various recited means are combined and brought together in the manner which the claims call for. It is thus regarded that any means that can provide those functionalities are equivalent to those shown herein.

In the claims which follow and in the preceding description of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word “comprise” or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising” is used in an inclusive sense, i.e. to specify the presence of the stated features but not to preclude the presence or addition of further features in various embodiments of the invention.

It is to be understood that, if any prior art is referred to herein, such prior art does not constitute an admission that the prior art forms a part of the common general knowledge in the art.

Claims

1. A magazine assembly for a projectile launching toy, the magazine assembly comprising: a first magazine comprising a first housing for accommodating a plurality of projectiles;a second magazine comprising a second housing for accommodating a plurality of projectiles;a first connector provided on an exterior surface of said first housing;a second connector provided on an exterior surface of said second housing;wherein said first connector is configured to be connectable with the second connector to thereby fix the first magazine in a desired position and/or orientation with respect to the second magazine;wherein said first connector is positioned on a side portion contiguous with a main flat central part of said exterior surface of said first housing such that said first connector extends upwardly from said side portion to a height above said main flat central part by an amount sufficient to enable said first connector to connect with said second connector on said exterior surface of said second housing.

2. The magazine assembly of claim 1, wherein the first connector is integrally formed with a wall of the first housing and the second connector is integrally formed with a wall of the second connector.

3. The magazine assembly of claim 1, wherein the second connector comprises a complementary connector to the first connector.

4. The magazine assembly of claim 1, wherein the first connector comprises a male connector and the second connector comprises a female connector.

5. The magazine assembly of claim 1, wherein the first connector and the second connector comprise a push-fit connection.

6. The magazine assembly of claim 1, wherein the first connector and the second connector comprise a latched connection.

7. The magazine assembly of claim 1, wherein the first magazine has at least one first connector and at least one second connector and the second magazine has at least one first connector and at least one second connector, the arrangement being such that the first connector of the first magazine is connectable to the second connector of the second magazine and the second connector of the first magazine is connectable to the first connector of the second magazine.

8. The magazine assembly of claim 7, wherein first magazine is identical to the second magazine.

9. The magazine assembly of claim 7, wherein the first and second connectors of the first magazine and the first and second connectors of the second magazine are positioned on their respective magazines such that, when connected, the second magazine is orientated by 180 degrees with respect to the orientation of the first magazine.

10. The magazine assembly of claim 9, wherein the first and second connectors of the first magazine and the first and second connectors of the second magazine are positioned on a base portion of their respective magazines such that, when connected, the second magazine is orientated by 180 degrees with respect to the orientation of the first magazine, but the second magazine does not fully overlap the first magazine.

11. The magazine assembly of claim 10, wherein the positioning of the first and second connectors on the respective first and second magazines is such that the second magazine overlaps the first magazine by a predetermined amount such that the second magazine does not hinder insertion of the first magazine into a projectile loading position on the projectile launching toy.

12. The magazine assembly of claim 1, wherein the first connector comprises a non-circular shaped male connector and the second connector comprises a complementary non-circular shaped female connector.

13. The magazine assembly of claim 1, wherein the first connector comprises a polygonal shaped male connector and the second connector comprises a polygonal shaped female connector.

14. The magazine assembly of claim 1, wherein each of the first magazine and the second magazine has at least two rows of connectors.

15. The magazine assembly of claim 14, wherein the at least two rows of connectors comprise a plurality of first connectors and a plurality of second connectors.

16. (canceled)

17. A magazine for a magazine assembly comprising: a first magazine comprising a first housing for accommodating a plurality of projectiles;a second magazine comprising a second housing for accommodating a plurality of projectiles;a first connector provided on an exterior surface of said first housing;a second connector provided on an exterior surface of said second housing;

18. A projectile launching toy having a magazine assembly comprising: a first magazine comprising a first housing for accommodating a plurality of projectiles;a second magazine comprising a second housing for accommodating a plurality of projectiles;a first connector provided on an exterior surface of said first housing;a second connector provided on an exterior surface of said second;wherein said first connector is configured to be directly connectable with the second connector to thereby fix the first magazine in a desired position and/or orientation with respect to the second magazine;wherein said first connector is positioned on a side portion contiguous with a main flat central part of said exterior surface of said first housing such that said first connector extends upwardly from said side portion to a height above said main flat central part by an amount sufficient to enable said first connector to connect with said second connector on said exterior surface of said second housing.

19. The projectile launching toy of claim 18, wherein the toy comprises a toy gun.

20. The magazine assembly of claim 1, wherein the first connector extends in a direction substantially perpendicular to said exterior surface of said first housing and the second connector extends in a direction substantially perpendicular to said exterior surface of said second housing.

21. The magazine assembly of claim 1, wherein the exterior surface of the first housing has a first side portion contiguous with said main flat central part of said exterior surface of said first housing and has, on an opposing side of said exterior surface of said first housing, a second side portion contiguous with said main flat central part of said exterior surface of said first housing, each of said first and second side portions carrying one or more of a first connector and/or a second connector.

22. The magazine assembly of claim 1, wherein said first connector is positioned on a sloping or chamfered side portion contiguous with said main flat central part of said exterior surface of said first housing such that said first connector extends from its respective sloping or chamfered side portion to a height just above said main flat central part by an amount sufficient to enable said first connector to connect with said second connector on said exterior surface of said second housing.

23. The magazine assembly of claim 22, wherein said second connector is positioned on a sloping or chamfered side portion contiguous with a main flat central part of said exterior surface of said second housing such that said second connector extends from its respective sloping or chamfered side portion to a height just above said main flat central part by an amount sufficient to enable said second connector to connect with said first connector on said exterior surface of said second housing and such that said main flat central part of said exterior surface of said first housing is in contact with said main flat central part of said exterior surface of said second housing.

24. The magazine assembly of claim 1, wherein the exterior surface of the first housing has a first sloping or chamfered side portion contiguous with said main flat central part of said exterior surface of said first housing and has, on an opposing side of said exterior surface of said first housing, a second sloping or chamfered side portion contiguous with said main flat central part of said exterior surface of said first housing, each of said first and second sloping or chamfered side portions carrying one or more of a first connector and/or a second connector.