Floating squirting toy
A squirting toy is comprised of a cylindrical housing and a piston that slides within to force water into or out of the housing via a hole therein. The housing is encased within a shell creating a water impervious volume sufficient for the toy to float in water. The shell is soft, so that the gun is not a safety hazard when left floating in a swimming pool. Handles associated with one or both actuating portions of the squirting toy are provided for gripping and operating the squirting toy more effectively.
1. A floating squirting toy, comprising:
a housing having a chamber and an opening, the opening allowing fluid communication between the chamber and the outside environment;
a shaft, supported by a slide bushing, having a first portion inside of the chamber attached to a piston and a second portion outside of the chamber attached to a handle;
the piston being adapted for longitudinal movement within the housing to decrease and increase the volume of the chamber such that water is inhaled through the opening when the volume increases and exhaled through the opening when the volume decreases; and
on at least the housing, an at least one outer shell that provides safety benefits by (i) being constructed of a resilient closed-cell polymer foam material that is substantially soft, (ii) being constructed such that that the at least one outer shell imparts a buoyancy that causes the floating squirting toy to remain afloat when the chamber is completely filled with water, and (iii) being constructed such that remaining elements of the floating squirting toy do not substantially protrude beyond the at least one outer shell.
2. The floating squirting toy of claim 1 , wherein the substantially soft resilient closed-cell polymer foam material is at least one of polyethylene closed-cell foam and ethylene vinyl acetate closed-cell foam.
3. The floating squirting toy of claim 1 , wherein the substantially soft resilient closed-cell polymer foam material is at least one of polyethylene terephthalate, low density polyethylene, high density polyethylene.
4. The floating squirting toy of claim 1 , wherein the at least one substantially soft resilient closed-cell polymer foam outer shell is constructed in a cylindrical shape.
5. The floating squirting toy of claim 4 , wherein the at least one cylindrically shaped substantially soft resilient closed-cell polymer foam outer shell has a cross-sectional shape that is at least one of round, polygonal, elliptical, oval, and some combination of shapes including generally polygonal with rounded sides.
6. The floating squirting toy of claim 1 , wherein the at least one substantially soft resilient closed-cell polymer foam outer shell is constructed to at least one of the size and shape of an at least one swimming noodle.
7. The floating squirting toy of claim 1 , wherein the at least on substantially soft resilient closed-cell polymer foam outer shell is constructed to have a length dimension that is substantially equal to at least one of a length of the housing and a length of the handle.
8. The floating squirting toy of claim 1 , wherein the remaining elements of the floating squirting toy include the housing, the chamber, the shaft, the slide bushing, the piston, and the handle.
9. The floating squirting toy of claim 8 , wherein the outer dimensions of the remaining elements of the floating squirting toy are at least one of substantially equal to, slightly larger than, substantially smaller than, and slightly smaller than the at least one outer shell.
10. The floating squirting toy of claim 8 , wherein the at least one outer shell provides safety benefits by being constructed such that if at least one remaining element protrudes slightly beyond the at least one outer shell, the safety benefits of the at least one outer shell are not destroyed.
11. The floating squirting toy of claim 1 , wherein the at least one outer shell provides safety benefits by being constructed such that if at least one remaining element protrudes slightly beyond the at least one outer shell, the safety benefits of the at least one outer shell are not destroyed.
12. A floating squirting toy, comprising:
a housing having a chamber and an opening, the opening allowing fluid communication between the chamber and the outside environment;
a shaft, supported by a slide bushing, having a first portion inside of the chamber attached to a piston and a second portion outside of the chamber attached to a handle;
the piston being adapted for longitudinal movement within the housing to decrease and increase the volume of the chamber such that water is inhaled through the opening when the volume increases and exhaled through the opening when the volume decreases; and
on at least the housing, an at least one outer shell that provides safety benefits by (i) being constructed of a resilient closed-cell polymer foam material that is substantially soft and (ii) being constructed such that that the at least one outer shell imparts a buoyancy that causes the floating squirting toy to remain afloat when the chamber is completely filled with water.
13. The floating squirting toy of claim 12 , wherein the substantially soft resilient closed-cell polymer foam material is at least one of polyethylene closed-cell foam and ethylene vinyl acetate closed-cell foam.
14. The floating squirting toy of claim 12 , wherein the substantially soft resilient closed-cell polymer foam material is at least one of polyethylene terephthalate, low density polyethylene, high density polyethylene.
15. The floating squirting toy of claim 12 , wherein the at least one substantially soft resilient closed-cell polymer foam outer shell is constructed in a cylindrical shape.
16. The floating squirting toy of claim 15 , wherein the at least one cylindrically shaped substantially soft resilient closed-cell polymer foam outer shell has a cross-sectional shape that is at least one of round, polygonal, elliptical, oval, and some combination of shapes including generally polygonal with rounded sides.
17. The floating squirting toy of claim 12 , wherein the at least one substantially soft resilient closed-cell polymer foam outer shell is constructed to at least one of the size and shape of an at least one swimming noodle.
18. The floating squirting toy of claim 12 , wherein the at least on substantially soft resilient closed-cell polymer foam outer shell is constructed to have a length dimension that is substantially equal to at least one of a length of the housing and a length of the handle.
19. The floating squirting toy of claim 12 , wherein the at least one outer shell provides safety benefits by being constructed such that remaining elements of the floating squirting toy do not substantially protrude beyond the at least one outer shell and being constructed such that if at least one remaining element protrudes slightly beyond the at least one outer shell, the safety benefits of the at least one outer shell are not destroyed.
20. A floating squirting toy, comprising:
a housing having a chamber and an opening, the opening allowing fluid communication between the chamber and the outside environment;
a shaft, supported by a slide bushing, having a first portion inside of the chamber attached to a piston and a second portion outside of the chamber attached to a handle;
the piston being adapted for longitudinal movement within the housing to decrease and increase the volume of the chamber such that water is inhaled through the opening when the volume increases and exhaled through the opening when the volume decreases;
on at least the housing, an at least one outer shell that provides safety benefits by (i) being constructed of a resilient closed-cell polymer foam material that is substantially soft and (ii) being constructed such that that the at least one outer shell imparts a buoyancy that causes the floating squirting toy to remain afloat when the chamber is completely filled with water; and
wherein longitudinal movement of the piston within the housing by the handle decrease the volume of the chamber such that water is forcibly exhaled through the opening of the housing.
21. The floating squirting toy of claim 20 , wherein by applying force on the handle the piston is driven longitudinally within the housing.
22. The floating squirting toy of claim 20 , wherein the piston longitudinally moves substantially the length of the housing.
23. The floating squirting toy of claim 20 , wherein water is stored in the chamber of the housing when the piston is moved to increase the volume of the chamber.