Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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TITLE: TRIGGER EMULATION MECHANISM OF ELECTRIC GUN
(a) Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a trigger emulation mechanism
of an electric gun that achieves high-degree true simulation by generating
sounds, vibration, and an idle stroke before firing through actuation and
allows
for size reduction for applications to various models of electric guns.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
True simulation is now a trend of the market of electric guns. A simple
function of firing no longer satisfies the needs of the general consumers
seeking for being as close to a true gun in all respects, including the
outside
appearance. A conventional electric gun that is available in the market has a
structure that when an operator actuates a trigger, a motor is immediately
activated to proceed with firing. This does not generate sounds or vibrations
caused by a trigger-initiated firing operation of a true gun where a striker
is
driven after the trigger is pulled to proceed with firing, neither an idle
stroke
after the trigger is pulled but before the firing. This is not sufficient in
simulation of a true device.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to simulate the sounds and
vibrations generated by a true gun and to allow an operator to perceive an
idle
stroke between trigger pulling and firing and to achieve size reduction to
widen the application thereof.
To achieve the above object, the present invention comprises a trigger
seat. The trigger seat has one side in which a guide slot is formed. A
trigger assembly is arranged at one side of the trigger seat. The trigger seat
comprises a retainer assembly coupled to the trigger assembly. The retainer
assembly comprises a guide roller formed at one side thereof and operable in
combination with the guide slot. The trigger seat comprises a toothed rack
element formed thereon and operable in combination with the retainer
assembly. The trigger seat comprises a gear shaft assembly mounted thereto
and operable in combination with the toothed rack element. The gear shaft
assembly comprises at least one striker hammer plate mounted thereto. The
striker hammer plate is coupled to a striker hammer elastic element that is
mounted to the trigger seat.
When actuated, the trigger assembly drives the retainer assembly to
move and the retainer assembly is moved according to the guide slot causes
the toothed rack element to move. Through engagement between the
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toothed rack element and the gear shaft assembly, the striker hammer plate is
caused to rotate and a rotational angle is amplified to thereby cause the
striker
hammer elastic element to accumulate energy so that before the trigger
assembly is actuated to move a predetermined angle, an operator is allowed to
perceive an idle stroke between the actuation and firing.
When the trigger assembly is actuated to reach a predetermined angle,
the retainer assembly, being guided by the guide slot to move, releases the
toothed rack element. And, the striker hammer elastic element release the
accumulated energy to force the striker hammer plate to rotate in an opposite
direction, allowing the striker hammer plate to strike thus generate sound and
vibration. As such, the drawback of the conventional electric gun that the
degree of simulation of a true device is not good can be overcome and the
generation of sound and vibration and an idle stroke before firing is
initiated
by the actuation helps enhance the degree of simulation of a true device.
Further, the size is reduced to allow for wide applications to various models
of
electric guns.
The foregoing objectives and summary provide only a brief introduction
to the present invention. To fully appreciate these and other objects of the
present invention as well as the invention itself, all of which will become
apparent to those skilled in the art, the following detailed description of
the
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invention and the claims should be read in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings. Throughout the specification and drawings identical reference
numerals refer to identical or similar parts.
Many other advantages and features of the present invention will become
manifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to the detailed
description and the accompanying sheets of drawings in which a preferred
structural embodiment incorporating the principles of the present invention is
shown by way of illustrative example.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG 1 is a perspective view of the present invention.
FIG 2 is a perspective view showing a portion of the present invention.
FIG 3 is another perspective view showing a portion of the present
5 invention.
FIG 4A is a perspective view of a portion of the present invention.
FIG 4B is another perspective view of a portion of the present invention.
FIG 5 is a schematic view showing an outside configuration of the
present invention in a condition of being ready to actuate.
FIG 6 is a schematic view showing an inside structure of the present
invention in a condition of being ready to actuate.
FIG 7 is a schematic view illustrating of guiding of an actuation
operation according to the present invention.
FIG 8 is a schematic view illustrating operation driving by an actuation
operation according to the present invention.
FIG 9 is a schematic view illustrating energy accumulation caused by an
actuation operation according to the present invention.
FIG 10 is a schematic view illustrating guiding of release according to
the present invention.
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FIG 11 is a schematic view illustrating a strike caused by being driven
according to the present invention.
FIG 12 is a schematic view illustrating firing caused by being driven
according to the present invention.
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DETAII :ED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The following descriptions are exemplary embodiments only, and are not
intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the invention
in
any way. Rather, the following description provides a convenient illustration
for implementing exemplary embodiments of the invention. Various
changes to the described embodiments may be made in the function and
arrangement of the elements described without departing from the scope of the
invention as set forth in the appended claims.
Referring to FIGS. 1-4B, the present invention comprises a trigger
seat 1, a trigger assembly 2, a retainer assembly 3, a toothed rack element 4,
a
gear shaft assembly 5, at least one striker hammer plate 61, and at least one
striker hammer elastic element 62. The trigger seat 1 has one side in which a
guide slot 11 is formed and comprises at least one trigger seat elastic
section
12 formed on a lower side thereof. The trigger assembly 2 is pivotally
connected to one side of the trigger seat 1 and the trigger assembly 2 has an
end that forms an actuation section 21 that is arranged to be operated and
actuated by an operator and an opposite end that forms a driving section 22
that is pivotally connected to the retainer assembly 3. The pivotal connection
between the trigger assembly 2 and the trigger seat 1 is located between the
actuation section 21 and the driving section 22. The trigger assembly 2
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comprises a constrained section 23 that is formed between the actuation
section 21 and the driving section 22 is such a way that the constrained
section
23 is in contact with trigger seat elastic section 12 and constrained thereby
for
the purpose of resuming the position of the trigger assembly 2.
The retainer assembly 3 is arranged in the trigger seat 1. The retainer
assembly 3 comprises a retainer element 31 that is operable in combination
with the driving section 22 and the toothed rack element 4 and a retainer
elastic element 32 for resuming the position of the retainer element 31. The
retainer element 31 comprises a guide roller 311 formed at one side thereof to
be operable in combination with the guide slot 11 to reduce frictional
resistance and thus make movement smooth. The toothed rack element 4 is
formed on the trigger seat 1 to be operable in combination with the retainer
assembly 3 (the guide roller 311). The gear shaft assembly 5 is mounted on
the trigger seat 1 and is operably coupled to the toothed rack element 4 to
magnify a movement of the trigger assembly 2. The gear shaft assembly 5
comprises a shaft bar 51 and a toothed wheel element 52 mounted to the shaft
bar 51 to be operably coupled to the toothed rack element 4. The striker
hammer plate 61 is mounted to the shaft bar 51 and operable in combination
therewith. The striker hammer elastic element 62 has an end mounted to the
trigger seat 1 and an opposite end coupled to the striker hammer plate 61 so
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that the striker hammer plate 61 is driven by the trigger assembly 2 to
accumulate energy or strike thus generate sounds and vibrations.
Further, the shaft bar 51 comprises at least one arm 511. The actuation
section 21 of the trigger assembly 2 comprises at least one switch press bar 7
formed on a lower side thereof. The switch press bar 7 comprises a
transmission section 71 formed at one side thereof in the form of a curved
surface that corresponds to the arm 511. A switch elastic element 8 is
arranged between the switch press bar 7 and the actuation section 21 and has
two ends respectively supported by the switch press bar 7 and the actuation
section 21 for resuming the position of the switch press bar 7. At least one
firing device 9 is arranged at one side of the switch press bar 7 in such a
way
that the switch press bar 7 is selectively contactable with the firing device
9
to conduct a firing operation.
Referring to FIGS. 1-12, as shown in FIGS. 5-9, it can be clearly
seen that the actuation section 21 of the trigger assembly 2, when actuated,
rotates by a predetermined angle and causes the driving section 22 to drive
the
retainer assembly 3 for moving the toothed rack element 4 in such a way that
the toothed rack element 4 drives the gear shaft assembly 5 to rotate, making
the guide roller 311 to move along the guide slot 11. Under this condition,
the gear ratio between the toothed rack element 4 and the toothed wheel
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element 52 that mate each other helps amplify the angular displacement of the
rotation. (For example, with an angular displacement of rotation of the
trigger assembly 2 being 0-17 degrees, the angular displacement of the
rotation of the gear shaft assembly 5 may reach 0-33 degrees; the illustration
5 given below is based on the assumption that the angular displacement of
the
trigger assembly 2 that is necessary for conducting a firing operation is 17
degrees.) The shaft bar 51 causes the striker hammer plate 61 to rotate so as
to twist the striker hammer elastic element 62 to accumulate energy therein.
As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, when the trigger assembly 2 angularly
10 displaces by an angle exceeding 16 degrees, the guide roller 311 is
guided by
the guide slot 11 to move and is thus raised upwards. The guide roller 311
makes a rolling movement along the guide slot 11 so as to reduce the
frictional
resistance and make the movement smooth. The upward raising of the guide
roller 311 allows the toothed rack element 4 to be released therefrom and the
striker hammer elastic element 62 (not visible in these drawings) is thus
allowed to release the energy accumulated therein so as to force the gear
shaft
assembly 5 and the striker hammer plate 61 to rotate in an opposite direction,
whereby the striker hammer plate 61 is caused to strike thus generate sounds
and vibrations, achieving a purpose of simulation of a true device. Further,
since the striker hammer plate 61 takes a rotary motion, rather than a linear
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straight stroke, to make the strike to generate sounds and vibrations so that
the
size can be reduced, allowing easy applications to various models of electric
guns.
As shown in FIG. 12, when the trigger assembly 2 rotates an angle
exceeding 16 degrees to cause the gear shaft assembly 5 to rotate in the
opposite direction, the arm 511 gets engagement with the transmission section
71, causing the switch press bar 7 to make a movement so that the switch
press bar 7 is rotated to contact the firing device 9 for initiating a firing
operation.
Further, when the trigger assembly 2 is rotating but still not exceeding
16 degrees, the guide roller 311 still kept the toothed rack element 4
retained
so that no sound or vibration is generated and no firing is initiated. This
allows an operator to clearly perceive an idle stroke after the actuation of
the
trigger assembly 2 but before the firing operation is initiated.
Further, after the firing, the striker hammer elastic element 62 returns
the striker hammer plate 61 and the gear shaft assembly 5 back to their
original positions and the switch elastic element 8 causes the switch press
bar 7 to move back to the original position. Further, when the operator
releases the actuation section 21, the trigger seat elastic section 12 forces
the
trigger assembly 2 and the retainer assembly 3 back to the original positions
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and the retainer element 31 is driven by the spring force of the retainer
elastic
element 31 under the guidance achieved with the engagement between the
guide roller 311 and the guide slot 11 to get back to the original position,
allowing the guide roller 311 and the toothed rack element 4 to get
engagement with each other. As such, a cycle of operation is completed and
the device is ready for next actuation.
It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two
or more together may also find a useful application in other types of methods
differing from the type described above.
While certain novel features of this invention have been shown and
described and are pointed out in the annexed claim, it is not intended to be
limited to the details above, since it will be understood that various
omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details
of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in
the art without departing in any way from the scope of the present invention
as defined by the appended claims.
