US 4,436,077 AGranted

Gun and resilient loop projectile therefor

OwnerWayne G. Smithinventor

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Abstract

A gun for firing a resilient loop projectile, wherein the missile is stretched over a frame and discharged by a firing mechanism movable against the bias of on elastic member on an upwardly and rearwardly directed rectilinear path of travel. A combination plunger and rear sight has a forwardly curved surface to lift the loop upwardly off the firing groove to discharge the missile from the gun. The contour of the gun permits rapid movement of a missile from a ready position to a firing position and admits of the simultaneous loading with two missiles for rapid fire. The gun is constructed in a manner to resemble the feel and firing characteristics of a conventional hand gun. The projectiles for the gun are fabricated from a length of elastic tubing having a flexible polyurethane rod joining the tube ends to close the loop and enhance the firing accuracy and durability of the missile. The projectile is made of high visibility material and is floatable to insure recoverability after firing.

Claims14

Dependent claims

A gun for projecting resilient loop missiles, said gun comprising:

a body including a handle and an elongated frame for holding a missile in a stretched condition, said body having a cavity extending therethrough;
a member slidably positioned in the cavity including trigger means projecting from the cavity forwardly of the handle, and plunger means movable with the member to a missile engaging position for dislodging the latter;
and
means on the body to confine the member to a rectilinear, fore and aft path of travel in the cavity, said path being inclined upwardly as the rear of the gun is approached, whereby said plunger may impart a generally upwardly and rearwardly lifting force on the missile to enhance the projection thereof, said body being configured to present a pair of grooves at the rear of the gun to facilitate the positioning of missiles on the gun in stretched condition, one of the grooves being spaced upwardly and forwardly of the other groove and adjacent the path of travel of the plunger means for dislodgement thereby, said other groove being on the outer surface of the body at the rear thereof and spaced downwardly of the body and below-said one of the grooves in disposition clear of the plunger mean's 's path of travel, whereby a stored stretched missile positioned on the gun in said other groove will not be dislodged by said plunger means when the latter is moved to a missile dislodging position, and a stretched missile may be readily positioned manually in said one groove so as to be in position for release by said plunger means.

1 more element

A gun for projecting resilient loop missiles, said gun comprising:

a body including a handle and an elongated frame for holding a missile in a stretched condition, said body having a cavity extending therethrough;
a member slidably positioned in the cavity includes trigger means projecting from the cavity forwardly of the handle, and plunger means movable with the member to a missile engaging position for dislodging the latter, said plunger means including a surface inclined upwardly as the front of the gun is approached and
biasing means in the cavity for biasing the member forwardly along a plurality of substantially parallel guide members that form openings for receiving postions of said slidable member;
a rectilinear, fore and aft path of travel in the cavity, stop means on the body and engageable by the member to limit the extent of movement of the member along said rectilinear path of travel, said path being inclined upwardly and rearwardly as the rear of the gun is approached, whereby the surface of the plunger means may impart a generally upwardly and rearwardly lifting force on a missile to enhance the projection thereof,
said body being configured to present an opening communicating with the cavity;
and
a projection on the plunger means disposed to extend through the opening as said member is moved along said path of travel, the projection being of sufficient size to be visible throughout the range of movement of the member, thereby providing a sight for said gun.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.