Cylindrical magazine for discharging projectiles for toy guns

Abstract

A preloadable, swappable and reloadable cylindrical magazine for rubber band and slingshot guns. Exhausted magazines can be replaced in seconds, allowing extended shooting. The release mechanism of projectiles is self-contained; no trigger as it is understood is required, making it particularly suitable in the design of Gatling guns. Hooks in front and fingers at rear engage energized projectiles. The rotation of the magazine causes fingers to tilt forward and projectiles to free themselves by sliding up the tilted fingers without outside disturbances, assuring the best shooting accuracy ever. A pawl and a ratchet wheel control the rotation of magazines. Depending on how long the pawl is disengaged, single shots or continuous firing is equally easy to execute. The successive firing rate is determined by how fast the magazine can rotate. Modular design allows through combinations of components numerous configurations for different sizes and numbers of elastic bands and various designs of toy guns.

1 . A cylindrical magazine for discharging stretched elastic bands, comprising:
 (a) a mechanism of modular design adapted to different sizes and numbers of elastic bands and various designs of toy guns by decomposing the magazine into a head member, a tube member, a tail member, a trip member, and a member for controlling shooting modes,   (b) means for retaining stretched elastic bands,   (c) means for releasing the rear ends of said bands,   (d) means for controlling shooting modes,   (e) methods of loading said bands in multi-loop configurations to shorten the length of said magazine.   
   
   
       2 . The magazine of  claim 1  wherein circumferentially spaced radially disposed hooks on said head member and mortises on said tail member are longitudinally aligned by keys on said head and tail members and slots on said tube member. 
   
   
       3 . The magazine of  claim 1  wherein said retaining means comprises said plurality of hooks on said head member to engage the front end of said bands and a plurality of fingers pivotally mounted in said mortises on said tail member to hold the rear ends of said bands; said plurality of fingers having an erect height above said tail member long enough to securely engage said bands. 
   
   
       4 . The magazine of  claim 1  wherein said releasing means comprises a rotation of said tail member a certain degree determined by the separation between said fingers and a depression into the forward rim of said trip member held immobile relative to said tail member; the depth of said depression being determined by the angle of forward tilting of said fingers, the length of said fingers below the pivoting point, and the width of said fingers; said rim being profiled in a manner to minimize the sliding friction between said fingers and said rim. 
   
   
       5 . The magazine of  claim 4  wherein said rotation brings a finger held slightly backward by a stretched elastic band to said depression in the topmost firing position causing the lower half of said finger to sink rearward into said depression and the upper half of said finger to tilt forward under the strain of said band thereby causing the rear ends of said band to slide up the slope of said finger and release said band; the lower corner of said fingers facing said rim being cut in a manner to flush with the recess of said depression when tilted forward to minimize said depth of said depression; edges of said fingers in contact with said rim and said depression being rounded to reduce said friction; a device capable of pushing said tilted finger out of said depression being added beneath said depression to speed up the rotation of said magazine. 
   
   
       6 . The magazine of  claim 1  wherein said means for controlling shooting modes comprises a pawl provided by the toy gun and said member for controlling shooting modes in the form of a ratchet wheel fixed to the rear end of said tail member with the number of teeth determined by the number of hooks; shooting modes varying from single shots to continuous firing and any numbers of shots in between being determined by how long the pawl is out of the teeth of said ratchet wheel. 
   
   
       7 . A cylindrical magazine for discharging projectiles using stretched elastic bands, comprising:
 (a) a mechanism of modular design adapted to different sizes and numbers of elastic bands, projectiles, and various designs of toy guns by decomposing the magazine into a head member, a tube member, a tail member, a trip member, and a member for controlling shooting modes,   (b) projectiles used in simulated field combats,   (c) means for retaining propelling elastic bands and said projectiles,   (d) means for releasing said projectiles,   (e) means for controlling shooting modes,   (f) methods of loading said bands in multi-loop configurations to shorten the length of said magazine.   
   
   
       8 . The magazine of  claim 7  wherein circumferentially spaced radially disposed hooks on said head member and mortises on said tail member are longitudinally aligned by keys on said head and tail members and slots on said tube member. 
   
   
       9 . The magazine of  claim 7  wherein said projectile is in the form of a cartridge and comprises a bullet member and a cylinder member; said bullet member being made of absorbent material saturated with dye or of resilient materials with a cavity to hold dye and a slit nose to release said dye on impact; said cylinder member having a planar slot cut lengthwise from the end toward the middle and on the front end of said slot a smoothly curved groove to engage the rear ends of said band and to balance the forces from the two sides of said band, rectangular holes punched near its rear end and perpendicular to the plane of said slot to engage a finger in said tail member. 
   
   
       10 . The magazine of  claim 7  wherein said retaining means comprises said plurality of hooks on said head member to engage the front ends of said bands and a plurality of fingers pivotally mounted in said mortises on said tail member to hold said projectiles; said plurality of fingers having an erect height above said tail member long enough to securely engage said projectiles through said holes in said projectiles. 
   
   
       11 . The magazine of  claim 10  wherein two said hooks and one said finger equidistant from two said hooks form a slingshot configuration with said hooks forming the two forks of a slingshot to hold the front ends of said band and said finger as the anchor point of said projectile; each of said hooks being shared by two adjacent slingshot configurations. 
   
   
       12 . The magazine of  claim 7  wherein said releasing means comprises a rotation of said tail member a certain degree determined by the separation between said projectiles and a depression into the forward rim of said trip member held immobile relative to said tail member; the depth of said depression being determined by the angle of forward tilting of said fingers, the length of said fingers below the pivoting point, and the width of said fingers; said rim being profiled in a manner to minimize the sliding friction between said fingers and said rim. 
   
   
       13 . The magazine of  claim 12  wherein said rotation brings a finger held slightly backward by a projectile looped around said groove by a propelling elastic band to said depression in the topmost firing position causing the lower half of said finger to sink rearward into said depression and the upper half of said finger to tilt forward under the strain of said band thereby causing said projectile to slide up the slope of said finger and release itself; the lower corner of said fingers facing said rim being cut in a manner to flush with the recess of said depression when tilted forward to minimize said depth of said depression; edges of said fingers in contact with said rim being rounded to reduce said friction; a device capable of pushing said tilted finger out of said depression being added beneath said depression to speed up the rotation of said magazine. 
   
   
       14 . The magazine of  claim 7  wherein said means for controlling shooting modes comprises a pawl provided by the toy gun and said member for controlling shooting modes in the form of a ratchet wheel fixed to the rear end of said tail member with the number of teeth determined by the number of loaded projectiles; shooting modes varying from single shots to continuous firing and any numbers of shots in between being determined by how long the pawl is out of the teeth of said ratchet wheel.