In the past, gimmicks have been utilized in conjunction with other products to aid in an increased marketing ability. In the area of promotions, or more specifically novelty t-shirts and the like, gimmicks have been typically added such as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,310,927 where bladders are inserted under the fabric for a blow-up t-shirt. Some designs utilize holes in fabric such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,175,888 with a garment with fabric strips and U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,081 with a flesh exposure t-shirt. Still other innovative designs like U.S. Pat. No. 5,530,969 with a cookie shirt, and even a rubber shape shirt, RE35245, and also U.S. Pat. No. 4,999,848 with a lift up flap shirt add gimmicks to shirts. One particular design U.S. Pat. No. 4,120,053 is an object-dispensing shirt which ejects an object from an opening in a garment. This principle is applicable to the present invention in that water or fluid is ejected from a hidden nozzle which is attachable to a thin surface leaving only a small pin hole exposed to viewer.
In an exploration of gimmicks in conjunction with t-shirts, it is proposed to add a toy water gun to a t-shirt, but it is obvious that other configurations are possible. A miniature nozzle is inserted corresponding generally to a print which provides a squirt of water thereby implying a meaning. For example, a print of a fish with the nozzle located in the mouth portion will imply a water spitting fish. Once your imagination gets going, all sorts of hilarious implications can be made and are not the subject of this patent.
A typical toy squirt gun is similar to U.S. Pat. No. 5,052,587. Concealing a squirt nozzle has been accomplished before as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,492,318 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,605,253 where a swivel nozzle is included. A different approach has been explored in U.S. Pat. No. 5,605,485 where a squirt gun is concealed in a stuffed animal figure. A concealed squirt gun has also been strapped to an arm as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,997,110. The concealed squirt gun prank allows a close range surprise encounter. Concealing a squirt gun under a garment with a miniature nozzle attached to the fabric would certainly create a surprise squirt. The subject of this patent utilizes a t-shirt to conceal a squirt gun however, a miniature nozzle can be placed virtually anywhere.
An exploration of different nozzles as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,615,488 reveals many configurations of fluid ejection nozzles. Exhaustive exploration reveals that a nozzle attached to fabric or thin surfaces is a novel idea.
A hand held mechanism 1 for producing a burst of fluid such as water 2 is provided. Many different means for producing a burst 2 is possible. One such means includes a hand held reservoir 3 which contains a trigger 4 which activates a pump 5 resulting in a burst 2 suitable for squirting. The burst 2 is pumped through a tube attachment coupling 6 which exits the reservoir 3 in a location so as to be hidden from view or concealed. The coupling 6 is fitted with small diameter flexible tubing 7 which transfers the burst 2 to a remotely located miniature nozzle which is also hidden from view. 8A fill plug 15 is provided in the case of the reservoir 3 for filling with fluid.
A concealed miniature nozzle 8 is attached somewhere to the inside of a thin surface such as fabric 9 which acts as a visual barrier hiding the nozzle's location. A miniature nozzle 8 is also incorporated into buttons and other features. In fact, discrete nozzles 8 also make squirting photos, illustrated pictures, or even hanging wall paintings that squirt! (Not shown) A typical miniature nozzle 8 contains a flange 10 for receiving thin surfaces. 9 The flange 10 is part of a coupling 11 which is in connection to flexible tubing 7 which is oriented parallel to the thin surface. 9 A burst of water 2 traveling through the flexible tubing 7 feeds through the coupling 11 and into a water dispersal chamber 12 and thereafter through a pin hole 14 in the thin surface 9 and then into the air with a squirt 2 emitting from an unexpected location.
A concealed miniature nozzle 8 is discreetly attached to a variety of thin surfaces 9 by several different means. One nozzle 8 attachment means is achieved through mechanical bonding which includes sewing and crimping with a fastener. (Not shown) Another type of nozzle attachment is achieved when a chemical means is implemented which would include gluing and heat setting techniques. (Not shown)