TOY COPTER RING LAUNCHER WITH AXIALLY STACKED RING MAGAZINE AND IMPROVED COPTER RING

Abstract

A toy launcher that can launch the flying rings over 100 feet with a more stable trajectory and more accurate trajectory based on the ring and blade configuration. The toy launcher includes a magazine assembly in which a plurality of the flying rings can be loaded in an axial direction, aligned with a launch direction. The rings are rotated up to speed and launched via movement of a sliding handle in a first direction, and the next ring in the magazine is advanced to the launch position by a return movement of the handle.

Description

Claims

1. A toy launcher for flying rings, each ring having a ring hub with a center opening, an outer ring body, and blades extending from the ring hub to the outer ring body, and the toy launcher comprising: a housing having a proximal end and a discharge end;a magazine assembly configured to receive a plurality of the rings axially aligned with one another for launching from the launcher, the magazine assembly comprising, a center tube extending along an axis on which the rings are adapted to be slidably received,a spring that is configured to act on a first one of the rings inserted in the magazine and is supported against a part of the housing,a discharge catch located at the discharge end of the housing and configured to hold the ring located closest to a discharge end in a launch position, the discharge catch being movable between a holding position and a release position, andan advancing catch located at least about a ring width from the discharge catch toward the proximal end of the housing and configured to hold one or more of the rings on the center tube against a force of the spring, the advancing catch being movable between a holding position and a loading position;a launching mechanism connected to the housing, the launching mechanism comprising, a drive spindle extending through the center tube along the axis and having a drive hub that is configured to engage the ring hub of the ring held by the discharge catch,a drive assembly connected to the spindle that is activatable to rotate the spindle, anda discharge catch release that is activatable to move the discharge catch to the release position as the drive assembly is activated to rotate the spindle; andan advancing catch release that is activatable to move the advancing catch to a loading position in which a next one of the rings in the magazine assembly is moved to the launch position after a previous one of the rings is launched and the discharge catch has returned to the holding position.

2. The toy launcher of claim 1, wherein the center tube includes at least one axially extending groove that is configured to receive at least one drive pin located on the ring hub.

3. The toy launcher of claim 2, wherein the drive hub includes at least one slot that is configured to engage the at least one drive pin on one of the rings in the launch position.

4. The toy launcher of claim 3, wherein the at least one axially extending groove comprises two axially extending grooves located on opposite sides of the center tube, and the at least one slot on the drive hub comprises two of the slots that are located on opposite sides of the drive hub.

5. The toy launcher of claim 4, further comprising a spindle alignment cam fixed to the drive spindle, and a spring biased positioning stop that engages against the spindle alignment cam such that the drive spindle is stopped in a defined rotational position.

6. The toy launcher of claim 5, wherein the spindle alignment cam includes two cam lobes, and the spring biased positioning stop is configured to rotate the drive spindle to a position between the two cam lobes to stop the drive spindle in a position where the slots on the drive hub are aligned with the axially extending grooves.

7. The toy launcher of claim 1, wherein the drive assembly includes a slidable handle connected to the housing, a gear rack connected to the slidable handle, and a gear train having at least a first gear that is engageable with the gear rack and a last gear rotationally fixed to the drive spindle such that movement of the slidable handle from an initial position near the discharge end in a first direction toward the proximal end causes the first gear to rotate and transmit the rotational force via the gear train to the last gear in order to rotate the drive spindle and the drive hub connected thereto.

8. The toy launcher of claim 7, wherein the first gear is slidably mounted to the housing such that movement of the slidable handle and the attached gear rack in the first direction causes the first gear to engage with a next gear in the gear train, and movement of the slidable handle and the attached gear rack in a second direction, opposite to the first direction, slidably moves the first gear to a disengaged position from the next gear in the gear train.

9. The toy launcher of claim 7, wherein the gear train provides a gear ratio of at least 3:1 to rotate the drive spindle.

10. The toy launcher of claim 7, wherein the discharge catch release and the advancing catch release are located on a catch actuator plate, the catch actuator plate is slidably mounted in the housing for movement in the axial direction, the slidable handle is releasably engageable with the catch actuator plate for (a) limited movement of the catch actuator plate in the first direction to a rear position as the slidable handle is moved from an initial position near the discharge end in the first direction such that the discharge catch release moves the discharge catch from the holding position to the release position, and (b) limited return movement of the catch actuator plate in the second direction to a front position as the slidable handle is moved in the second direction from a rearmost travel position back to the initial position such that the discharge catch release moves the discharge catch from the release position to the holding position and the advancing catch release moves the advancing catch from the holding position to the loading position and back to the holding position after a next one of the rings advances to the launch position.

11. The toy launcher of claim 10, further comprising a spring-biased cam connected to the slidable handle that is engageable with and disengageable from the catch actuator plate in order to move the catch actuator plate in the first and second directions.

12. The toy launcher of claim 10, further comprising a spindle alignment cam fixed to the drive spindle, a spring biased positioning stop that engages against the spindle alignment cam such that the drive spindle is stopped in a defined rotational position, and an actuator arm that is engageable with the spring biased positioning stop to move the spring biased positioning stop to a disengaged position from the spindle alignment cam, and the actuator arm is connected to the catch actuator plate, and moves the spring biased positioning stop to the disengaged position as the catch actuator plate moves to the rear position.

13. The toy launcher of claim 10, wherein the catch actuator plate includes at least one slot by which the catch actuator plate is slidably mounted in the housing, and the at least one slot defines an extent of the limited movement.

14. The toy launcher of claim 1, further comprising a pressure plate that is slidable on the center tube, and the spring acts against the pressure plate which is configured to contact the first one of the rings inserted in the magazine.

15. The toy launcher of claim 1, wherein the axis is substantially aligned with a direction of flight of the ring.

16. A toy comprising the toy launcher according to claim 1 and a plurality of the flying rings, each said flying ring having a ring hub with a center opening, an outer ring body, and blades extending from the ring hub to the outer ring body.

17. The toy of claim 16, wherein the blades have an airfoil shape.

18. The toy of claim 16, wherein the blades have an attack angle of 20° to 60°.

19. The toy of claim 16, wherein the flying rings are formed of a first polymer.

20. The toy of claim 19, further comprising a second polymer having a softer durometer than the first polymer on a leading edge of the outer ring body.

21. The toy of claim 16, further comprising at least one drive pin located on the ring hub, the drive hub includes at least one slot that is configured to engage the at least one drive pin on one of the rings in the launch position, and the center tube includes at least one axially extending groove that receives the at least one drive pin.

22. The toy of claim 21, wherein the at least one axially extending groove comprises two axially extending grooves located on opposite sides of the center tube, the at least one slot on the drive hub comprises two of the slots that are located on opposite sides of the drive hub, and the at least one drive pin comprises two of the drive pins located on opposite sides of the opening in the ring hub.

23. A toy launcher for flying rings, each ring having a ring hub with a center opening, an outer ring body, and blades extending from the ring hub to the outer ring body, and the toy launcher comprising: a housing having a proximal end and a discharge end;a magazine configured to receive a plurality of the rings axially aligned with one another for launching from the launcher, the magazine assembly comprising, a support that is configured to slidably receive the rings,a ring holder located at a discharge end of the housing and configured to hold the ring located closest to a discharge end in a launch position, anda launching mechanism connected to the housing, the launching mechanism comprising a drive assembly having a drive hub that is configured to engage the ring hub of the ring held at the discharge end and rotate the ring.

24. The toy launcher of claim 23, further comprising a spring that acts against a first one of the rings that is inserted in the magazine, the spring being supported directly or indirectly by the housing.

25. The toy launcher of claim 23, further comprising the ring holder comprising a discharge catch configured to hold the ring located closest to the discharge end in a launch position, the discharge catch being movable between a holding position and a release position, anda discharge catch release that is activatable to move the discharge catch to the release position as the drive assembly is activated to rotate the ring.

26. The toy launcher of claim 25, further comprising an advancing catch located at least about a ring width from the discharge catch toward the proximal end of the housing and configured to hold one or more of the rings in the magazine against a force of the spring, the advancing catch being movable between a holding position and a loading position; andan advancing catch release that is activatable to move the advancing catch to a loading position in which a next one of the rings in the magazine assembly is moved to the launch position after a previous one of the rings is launched and the discharge catch has returned to the holding position.

27. The toy launcher of claim 23, wherein the drive assembly includes a slidable handle connected to the housing and configured to be moved linearly to rotate the drive hub.

28. The toy launcher of claim 27, further comprising a gear rack connected to the slidable handle, and a gear train located between the gear rack and the drive hub that is configured to rotate the drive hub as the slidable handle is moved in at least one direction.

29. A toy comprising the toy launcher according to claim 23 and a plurality of the flying rings, each said flying ring having a ring hub with a center opening, an outer ring body, and blades extending from the ring hub to the outer ring body.

30. A toy launcher for flying rings, each ring having a ring hub with a center opening, an outer ring body, and blades extending from the ring hub to the outer ring body, and the toy launcher comprising: a housing having a proximal end and a discharge end;a receiving area for a flying ringa ring holder located at a discharge end of the housing and configured to hold the ring in a launch position, anda launching mechanism connected to the housing, the launching mechanism comprising: a drive assembly having a drive hub that is configured to engage the ring hub of the ring held at the discharge end and rotate the ring.

31. The toy launcher of claim 30, wherein the launching mechanism further comprises a slidable handle connected to the housing and configured such that movement of the slidable handle from an initial position near the discharge end in a first direction toward the proximal end causes the drive hub to rotate.

32. The toy launcher of claim 31, wherein the launching mechanism further comprises a gear rack connected to the slidable handle, a gear train having at least a first gear that is engageable with the gear rack and a last gear rotationally fixed to the drive hub, wherein movement of the slidable handle from the initial position near the discharge end in the first direction toward the proximal end causes the first gear to rotate and transmit the rotational force via the gear train to the last gear in order to rotate the drive hub connected thereto.

33. A toy launcher for flying rings, each ring having a ring hub with a center opening, an outer ring body, and blades extending from the ring hub to the outer ring body, and the toy launcher comprising: a housing having a proximal end and a discharge end;a receiving area for a flying ring;a launching mechanism connected to the housing, the launching mechanism comprising: a drive assembly having a drive hub that is configured to engage the ring hub of the ring held at the discharge end and rotate the ring, anda release that is activatable as the drive assembly is activated to rotate the ring to allow the ring to be launched.

34. The toy launcher of claim 33, further comprising a discharge catch configured to hold the ring located in the receiving area in a launch position, the discharge catch being movable between a holding position and a release position, and the release is a discharge catch release.