Party Popper

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a party popper used in celebratory occasions such as Christmas and wedding ceremonies, in which party popper an explosive charge is exploded by an operation of pulling a pull string, and launchable objects such as confetti and streamers are launched into the air by the resulting explosion.

BACKGROUND ART

Conventionally, as a party popper of this kind, for example, there is a party popper 42 in which, as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, a launchable object container bag 47 filled with launchable objects 46 is arranged on the front side of an explosive charge 44 and installed in such a manner to tightly seal the discharge port 48 by integrally bonding a front-side bag opening margin 47a to discharge port margin 48a of a cylindrical body 43 (for example, Patent Document 1). According to this party popper 42, the launchable object container bag 47 is configured such that, upon receiving a blast generated by the explosive charge 44, it expands while being inverted and protrudes from the discharge port 48; therefore, by this action, the launchable objects 46 are launched faraway while being dispersed at a wide angle and, in association with this inverting action of the launchable object container bag 47, scattering of the launchable objects 46 (e.g., confetti) that are directly subjected to a swirling force and discharged is promoted, so that an effect of presenting a more spectacular scene is attained.

RELATED ART REFERENCES
Patent Document

[Patent Document 1] JP 2007-298187A

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Problems to be Solved by the Invention

However, in the above-described party popper, a strong explosive force is required since, in order to launch the launchable objects 46 into the air, it is necessary to allow the launchable object container bag 47 to expand and protrude while being inverted. Accordingly, there is a problem that a rather large amount of explosive must be used in the explosive charge 44.

An object of the present invention is to provide a party popper which, with a small amount of explosive, can realize presentation of a more spectacular scene by launching launchable objects faraway while allowing the objects to disperse at a wide angle in the air.

Technical Solution

The party popper of the present invention is a party popper in which, inside of a cylindrical body having a discharge port at the front end, an explosive charge to be exploded by an operation of pulling a pull string and launchable objects arranged between the explosive charge and the discharge port are accommodated, and the discharge port of the cylindrical body is closed by a lid member that is push-opened by the launchable objects discharged toward the discharge port upon receiving a blast generated by explosion of the explosive charge,

wherein

the party popper comprises:

a front-open launchable object container bag to be filled with the launchable objects, which launchable object container bag is arranged on the front side of the explosive charge inside the cylindrical body and installed in such a manner to tightly seal the discharge port by integrally bonding the front-side opening margin of the bag to the margin of the discharge port of the cylindrical body; and

a movable pressure receiver movable in the axial direction of the cylindrical body between the launchable object container bag and the explosive charge, which movable pressure receiver comprises: a pressure-receiving part formed on the side of the launchable object container bag in the axial direction; and a peripheral wall that stands from the pressure-receiving part toward the explosive charge and has a cross-sectional shape conforming to the inner peripheral shape of the cylindrical body, and is not connected to any member constituting the party popper,

the movable pressure receiver, upon receiving a pressure from the blast, moves inside the cylindrical body toward the discharge port,

a pressure is applied to the bottom part of the launchable object container bag by the pressure-receiving part and this causes the launchable object container bag to expand while being inverted, as a result of which the movable pressure receiver and the launchable objects are pushed out of the cylindrical body, and

the movable pressure receiver thus pushed out of the cylindrical body is stored in the thus inverted launchable object container bag.

By this configuration, the launchable object container bag can be surely inverted and allowed to expand; therefore, the launchable objects can be launched faraway while being dispersed at a wide angle in the air, and presentation of a more spectacular scene can thus be realized with a small amount of explosive. In addition, since the movable pressure receiver gets stored in the inverted launchable object container bag, the movable pressure receiver is not released into the air along with the launchable objects. Moreover, since the movable pressure receiver is allowed to move to the position of the bottom part of the inverted launchable object container bag by not connecting the movable pressure receiver with any of the members constituting the party popper, the moving distance of the movable pressure receiver can be increased, so that a pressure can be applied to the launchable objects over a longer period of time.

The party popper of the present invention is also characterized in that the peripheral wall has a shape that is slightly inclined inwardly toward the pressure-receiving part and a protruding part which protrudes outwardly is formed on the opening side of the peripheral wall.

By inclining the peripheral wall in this manner, the air resistance during the movement of the movable pressure receiver through the cylindrical body can be reduced. Moreover, since the gap between the inner wall surface of the cylindrical body and the outer surface of the peripheral wall is reduced by forming the protruding part on the peripheral wall, the movable pressure receiver is allowed to move straight without losing the blast pressure as much as possible.

Further, the party popper of the present invention is characterized in that the movable pressure receiver is formed from a resin.

By this, the frictional force generated between the peripheral wall and the inner peripheral wall of the cylindrical body is reduced, so that the movable pressure receiver is allowed to move smoothly in the cylindrical body.

Advantageous Effects of the Invention

According to the present invention, presentation of a more spectacular scene can be realized with a small amount of explosive by launching launchable objects faraway while allowing the objects to disperse at a wide angle in the air.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a pre-discharge state of a party popper according to one embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a post-discharge state of the party popper according to one embodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates party poppers of patterns A to F that were used in Examples 1 to 6, respectively.

FIG. 4 is a table showing the results of the flying distance measurement tests performed in Examples 1 to 6.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a pre-discharge state of a conventional party popper.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a post-discharge state of the conventional party popper.

MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

A party popper according to one embodiment will now be described referring to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a pre-discharge state of a party popper according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a post-discharge state of the party popper.

In FIG. 1, a party popper 2 according to the present invention comprises: a cylindrical body 3; an explosive charge 4; a movable pressure receiver 5; launchable objects 6; and a launchable object container bag 7.

The cylindrical body 3 is a tube-shaped or polygonal-shaped cylindrical member made of a cardboard, a plastic or the like, in which a discharge port 8 is formed at the front end and a holding part 10 is arranged on the rear side. At the discharge port 8, a front-end protruding part 12a of an exterior paper 12 wrapped on the outer surface of the cylindrical body 3 is utilized as a lid member 14, and the discharge port 8 is closed by folding the lid member 14 toward the discharge port 8 in an overlapping manner.

The explosive charge 4 is so-called “pull-cap” which is exploded by an operation of pulling a pull string 16, and the explosive charge 4 is installed in such a manner to be received by an explosive charge-receiving plate 18. The pull string 16 passed through the explosive charge 4 extends from the explosive charge-receiving plate 18 to the rear side of the cylindrical body 3.

The movable pressure receiver 5 is a closed-bottom cylindrical resin member which is arranged in the cylindrical body 3 between the launchable object container bag 7 and the explosive charge 4 in a state of being movable along the axial direction. The movable pressure receiver 5 comprises: a pressure-receiving part 5a which is formed on the side of the launchable object container bag in the axial direction; a peripheral wall 5b which stands from the periphery of the pressure-receiving part 5a toward the explosive charge; and a cylindrical space 5c which is surrounded by the peripheral wall 5b and the pressure-receiving part 5a, and a protruding part 5d which protrudes toward the outer side of the space 5c is formed on the opening side of the peripheral wall 5b. The peripheral wall 5b is configured to have a tubular or polygonal cylindrical shape in conformity with the shape of the cylindrical body 3 and slightly inclined inwardly toward the pressure-receiving part 5a. The movable pressure receiver 5 is not connected with any of the members constituting the party popper 2, such as the explosive charge-receiving plate 18, by a connecting member such as a string. It is preferred that the movable pressure receiver 5 be configured to have a height (H) of 20 mm to 25 mm.

The launchable objects 6 are composed of confetti, streamers and the like and loaded into the launchable object container bag 7. Prior to the use, since the mouth of the launchable object container bag 7 is also closed by the lid member 14 that closes the discharge port 8 of the cylindrical body 3, the launchable objects 6 do not spill out of the launchable object container bag 7.

The launchable object container bag 7 is a front-open bag made of, for example, a vinyl chloride resin film or sheet or a thin cloth, which has excellent softness and flexibility and is not torn even by the pressure of a blast generated by explosion of the explosive charge 4. In the cylindrical body 3, the launchable object container bag 7 is accommodated on the front side of the explosive charge 4. A bag opening margin 7a on the front side of this launchable object container bag 7 is folded back on the outer circumference of the discharge port 8 of the cylindrical body 3, and the outer circumference of the thus folded bag opening margin 7a is pressed against the outer circumference of the cylindrical body 3 by the exterior paper 12 and integrally bonded to an discharge port margin 48a. This configuration enables to attain a state where the launchable object container bag 7 is installed in such a manner that it tightly seals the discharge port 8 and is not detached from the discharge port margin 48a even when a blast pressure generated by explosion of the explosive charge 4 is applied thereto.

The party popper 2 configured in this manner is held by holding the holding part 10 of the cylindrical body 3 with one hand and, when the pull string 16 is pulled by the other hand to cause explosion of the explosive charge, a blast generated by the explosion makes the movable pressure receiver 5 to move vigorously through the cylindrical body 3 toward the discharge port 8. In association with this, a bottom part 7b of the launchable object container bag 7 is pushed by the pressure-receiving part 5a of the movable pressure receiver 5, and the launchable object container bag 7 is thereby inverted. As a result, the launchable objects 6 are pushed and the lid member 14 is push-opened by the launchable objects 6, whereby the launchable objects 6 are vigorously ejected from the discharge port 8 into the air.

As the movable pressure receiver 5 continues to move and exits the discharge port 8, the bottom part 7b of the launchable object container bag 7 continues to be pushed by the pressure-receiving part 5a of the movable pressure receiver 5, as a result of which the launchable object container bag 7 expands and protrudes while being inverted. In this process, since the bag opening margin 7a of the launchable object container bag 7 is integrally bonded to the discharge port margin 8a, the launchable object container bag 7 is not detached from and thus does not fly out of the cylindrical body 3.

When the launchable object container bag 7 expands while being inverted, the launchable objects 6 are launched in such a manner to spread at a wide angle in all directions. Particularly, since the launchable objects 6 such as confetti are discharged by being directly subjected to the inverting action of the launchable object container bag 7, scattering of the launchable objects 6 is promoted, so that the effect of presenting a scene is further enhanced.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, once the launchable object container bag 7 has completely expanded and been entirely inverted, the movable pressure receiver 5 is caught and stopped by the bottom part 7b of the launchable object container bag 7 and thereby prevented from moving any further. The movable pressure receiver 5 whose movement is thus stopped gets stored in the launchable object container bag 7 without being discharged into the air.

According to the party popper 2 of this embodiment, since the launchable object container bag 7 is surely inverted and expanded by the movement of the movable pressure receiver 5 formed in conformity with the shape of the cylindrical body 3 caused by a blast pressure, the launchable objects 6 can be launched faraway while allowing them to disperse at a wide angle in the air, so that presentation of a more spectacular scene can be realized with a small amount of explosive.

In addition, since smoke and odor generated by explosion of the explosive charge 4 are confined in the launchable object container bag 7, the smoke and odor are not released to the outside. Moreover, since the movable pressure receiver 5 gets stored in the inverted launchable object container bag 7, the movable pressure receiver 5 is not released into the air along with the launchable objects 6. Therefore, the labor of recovering the movable pressure receiver 5 that has been discharged and needs to be disposed of can be omitted.

Further, since the frictional force generated between the peripheral wall 5b and the inner peripheral wall of the cylindrical body 3 is reduced by constituting the movable pressure receiver 5 with a resin member, the movable pressure receiver 5 is allowed to move smoothly in the cylindrical body 3. In addition, by processing the movable pressure receiver 5 to have a closed-bottom cylindrical shape, the weight of the movable pressure receiver 5 can be reduced.

Still further, by forming the protruding part 5d on the peripheral wall 5b, the gap between the inner wall surface of the cylindrical body 3 and the outer wall surface of the peripheral wall 5b is reduced and leakage of the blast to the outside of the space 5c can thereby be prevented; therefore, the blast can be concentrated in the space 5c, so that the movable pressure receiver 5 is allowed to move straight without losing the blast pressure as much as possible. Moreover, since the peripheral wall 5b is slightly inclined inwardly toward the pressure-receiving part 5a, the air resistance during the movement of the movable pressure receiver 5 through the cylindrical body 3 can be reduced. In order to reduce the air resistance, the pressure-receiving part 5a may be configured to have, for example, a cupular shape.

Yet still further, by configuring the movable pressure receiver 5 to have a height (H) of not less than 20 mm, the movable pressure receiver 5 can be stabilized and its movement in straight line can be enhanced and, by controlling the height (H) of the movable pressure receiver 5 to be 25 mm or less, the weight of the movable pressure receiver 5 can be reduced.

Furthermore, in cases where the movable pressure receiver 5 is connected with the explosive charge-receiving plate 18 or the like by a connecting member such as a string (see the patterns B and F illustrated in FIG. 3), the connecting member may interfere with the movement of the movable pressure receiver 5; however, such a problem does not occur as long as the movable pressure receiver 5 is not connected to any of the members constituting the party popper 2. By not connecting the movable pressure receiver 5 to any of the members constituting the party popper 2, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the movable pressure receiver 5 is allowed to move to the position of the bottom part 7b of the completely inverted launchable object container bag 7; therefore, the moving distance of the movable pressure receiver 5 can be increased, so that a pressure can be applied to the launchable objects 6 for a longer period of time.

EXAMPLES

Examples of experiments that were performed using the party popper 2 according to the present embodiment and party poppers according to other embodiments will now be described. In the experiments, a user first prepared 5 party poppers having different structures (party poppers of patterns A to E illustrated in FIG. 3). Next, the body of each party popper was fixed horizontally to the ground on a 60 cm-high stand set in a room with no air flow, and a projectile measurement test was performed 10 times for each party popper.

As the projectile, a single cotton ball of about 20 mm in diameter was used in place of the launchable objects 6 such as confetti and streamers. The measurement was performed by visually determining the distance of the first landing point of the cotton ball from the party popper. It is noted here that a flying distance of “0” indicates that the cotton ball was not discharged from the discharge port.

Example 1

In Example 1, as illustrated in the pattern A of FIG. 3, the projectile measurement test was performed using a party popper of the pattern A, which is the party popper according to the present embodiment. As a result of the experiment, as shown in the table of FIG. 4, the flying distance of the cotton ball was measured to be 400 to 890 cm, and it was thus found that a long flying distance can be stably ensured with the use of the party popper of the pattern A.

It is noted here that the party popper of the pattern A was slightly different from the party popper 2 described in the present embodiment in that a rod-shaped member was attached to the movable pressure receiver. By attaching the rod-shaped member to the movable pressure receiver, the center of the gravity of the movable pressure receiver can be emphasized during the movement of the movable pressure receiver in the axial direction, so that the straightness of the movement of the movable pressure receiver can be enhanced.

Example 2

In Example 2, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the projectile measurement test was performed using a party popper of the pattern B, which is one of the party poppers according to other embodiments. The party popper of the pattern B is the party popper of the pattern A whose movable pressure receiver was connected with the explosive charge-receiving plate by a connecting string. As a result of the experiment, as shown in the table of FIG. 4, out of the 10 measurement tests, the cotton ball was not discharged in seven tests while the cotton ball was discharged and flown in the other three tests. In those cases where the cotton ball was flown, the flying distance of the cotton ball was found to be short at 275 to 495 cm. These results are believed to be attributable to, for example, interference of the movement of the movable pressure receiver by the connecting string.

Example 3

In Example 3, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the projectile measurement test was performed using a party popper of the pattern C, which is one of the party poppers according to other embodiments. The party popper of the pattern C is a conventional party popper in which no movable pressure receiver is arranged as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 and which has a single explosive charge 44. As a result of the experiment, as shown in the table of FIG. 4, the cotton ball was not discharged in all of the 10 measurement tests. These results are believed to be attributable to, for example, that the reduction in the number of explosive charges to one caused a reduction in blast and this resulted in insufficient blast pressure for appropriately allowing the launchable object container bag to be inverted and expand, or that the projectile could not fly due to clogging of the discharge port by the pressurized launchable object container bag prior to the ejection of the projectile.

Example 4

In Example 4, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the projectile measurement test was performed using a party popper of the pattern D, which is one of the party poppers according to other embodiments. The party popper of the pattern D is the party popper of the pattern A whose movable pressure receiver was replaced with a paper round pan of less than 1 mm in thickness. As a result of the experiment, as shown in the table of FIG. 4, out of the 10 measurement tests, the cotton ball was not discharged in five tests while the cotton ball was discharged and flown in the other five tests. In those cases where the cotton ball was flown, the flying distance of the cotton ball was found to be short at 320 to 630 cm. These results are believed to be attributable to, for example, that there were cases where the paper round pan was deformed or could not move straight in a state perpendicular to the axis of the cylindrical body since the paper round pan was excessively thin, or that the launchable object container bag could not be appropriately inverted and expanded and thus the projectile could not fly due to clogging of the discharge port by the pressurized launchable object container bag prior to the ejection of the projectile.

Example 5

In Example 5, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the projectile measurement test was performed using a party popper of the pattern E, which is one of the party poppers according to other embodiments. The party popper of the pattern E is the party popper of the pattern A whose movable pressure receiver was replaced with a styrofoam round pan of less than 7 mm in thickness. As a result of the experiment, as shown in the table of FIG. 4, out of the 10 measurement tests, the cotton ball was not discharged in six tests while the cotton ball was discharged and flown in the other four tests. In those cases where the cotton ball was flown, the flying distance of the cotton ball was found to be short at 500 to 660 cm. These results are believed to be attributable to that the launchable object container bag could not be appropriately inverted and expanded due to insufficient weight of the styrofoam round pan, which lead to inconsistent results.

Example 6

In Example 6, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the projectile measurement test was performed using a party popper of the pattern F, which is one of the party poppers according to other embodiments. The party popper of the pattern F is the party popper of the pattern A whose launchable object container bag was removed and movable pressure receiver was connected with the explosive charge-receiving plate by a connecting string. As a result of the experiment, as shown in the table of FIG. 4, the cotton ball was flown in all of the measurement tests. In those cases where the cotton ball was flown, the flying distance of the cotton ball was found to be stable at 290 to 460 cm; however, the flying distance was shorter than a case where a party popper comprising a launchable object container bag as in Example 1. These results are believed to be attributable to, for example, interference of the movement of the movable pressure receiver by the connecting string.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS

- 2: party popper
- 3: cylindrical body
- 4: explosive charge
- 5: movable pressure receiver
- 5
  a: pressure-receiving part
- 5
  b: peripheral wall
- 5
  c: space
- 5
  d: protruding part
- 6: launchable object
- 7: launchable object container bag
- 7
  a: bag opening margin
- 7
  b: bottom part
- 8: discharge port
- 10: holding part
- 12: exterior paper
- 12
  a: front-end protruding part
- 14: lid member
- 16: pull string
- 18: explosive charge-receiving plate

Party Popper

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