US3548801A - Gun with variable firing frequency - Google Patents

Description

O United States Patent 1 3,548,801

[72] lnventors Raymond J. Lohr; [56] References Cited Merle K Lewis, Erie, UNITED STATES PATENTS 1 PP 675537 2,238,384 4/1941 Feltman 124/50ux [22] Filed Oct. 16, 1967 Patented Dec 22 1970 2,918,915 12/1959 Doeg 124/50X 2,835,495 5 1958 L h t l. 273 1 1 [73] Assignee Louk Marx&Co.,lnc. 0 re a l 0 New y Primary Examiner-Richard C. Pinkham a col-pong f New y Assistant Examiner-William R. Brown Attomey-Blum, Moscovitz, Friedman and Kaplan ABSTRACT: A un which is mechanicall rather than ex lo- '1 t d fh bl f h'all sive y ac uate e gun is capa e 0 mec anlc y pro ect- [54] FIRING FREQUENCY ing projectiles toward a given target and the frequency with g which the projectiles are fired can be selected. The gun has a [52] U.S. 124/6, slow-tire position where only one projectile will be thrown 124/50. 124/31: 273/101 toward the target each time the trigger is actuated, and the [51] Int. Cl F411) 3/04 gun also has a rapid fire position where the projectiles will be [50] Field of Search 124/4, 6, thrown one after the other without interruption toward a given target as long as the trigger is held in its firing position.

PATENTEU UEC22 I970 SHEET 1 OF 3 INVI'ZN'IUKS RAYMOND J. LOHR MERLE R. LEWIS PATENTEDHEBZZIENB 3;548;801

SHEET 2 OF 3 FIGX4 3 70 8 2 RAYMOND J. LOHR fi MERLE R. LEWIS I O flm g' GUN WITH VARIABLE FIRING FREQUENCY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is accordingly a primary object of the present invention to provide a mechanical gun of the above general type which will avoid the above drawbacks.

In particular, it is an object of the invention to provide a gun which is not operated by spring or pneumatic forces and which has a simple compact structure which can be operated in a highly convenient manner simply by manipulation of a trigger.

In particular, it is an object of the invention to provide a gun of this type with a motor-driven mechanical projecting structure which can operate continuously, as long as the motor thereof is energized, for throwing a projectile toward a given target whenever a projectile is released for travel to the motordriven projector.

Also, it is one of the more specific objects of the invention to provide for a gun of this type the option of slow or rapid fire according to which a single projectile can be fired in the slowfire position or according to which projectiles can be rapidly fired one after the other without interruption in a rapid fire position of the gun.

Thus, in accordance with the invention the gun includes a projector means for projecting the projectiles toward a given target and a supply means for supplying the projectiles to the projecting means to be projected thereby. A manually operable release means coacts with the supply means for controlling the release of projectiles therefrom to the projecting means, and this release means has a blocking position for blocking release of projectiles to the projecting means, a slow-fire position for releasing only one projectile to the projecting means when the release means is displaced from its blocking to its slow-fire position, and a rapid fire position for providing unobstructed travel of the projectiles one after the other without interruption to the projecting means when the release means is displaced from its blocking position to its rapid fire position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS For a fuller understanding of the invention, reference is had to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a simplified schematic, perspective illustration of a gun of the invention shown assembled with the remainder of an amusement device which includes a target toward which the projectiles are fired;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation fragmentarily showing that part of the gun of the invention which is situated just ahead of the stock at the rear of the gun, FIG. 2 showing partly in section the manner in which the gun is mounted;

FIG. 3 shows part of the structure of FIG. 2 with a motor housing thereof removed so as to illustrate the details of the structure covered by the motor housing;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary partly sectional side elevation showing the interior construction of one molded half of the gun of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary partly sectional side elevation showing the details of the interior of the other molded half of the gun of the invention, FIG. 5 also showing the structure of components which bring about the firing of the projectiles;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary elevation showing the release means of FIG. 5 in a position different from thatof FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an elongated sectional plan view taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 2 in the direction of the arrows; 7

FIG. 8 is a transverse sectional elevation taken along line 8-8 of FIG. 2 in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary sectional elevation showing components of FIG. 8 in a position different from that illustrated in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a transverse section taken along line 10-10 of FIG. 2 in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 11 is a perspective illustration of 'a manually operable selecting means for selecting different types of operation of the gun; and

FIG. 12 is a perspective illustration of the manually operable release means of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to FIG. 1, a gun 20 of the present invention is illustrated therein assembled with an enclosure 22 which has an upper transparent wall portion 24 through which the rear wall 26 of the enclosure is visible at a front surface of this rear wall which carries a suitable target at which the gun 20 is aimed by the operator. The enclosure 22 is mounted on suitable legs 28 and has a bottom wall 30 the front end of which is illustrated in section at the lower left part of FIG. 4. This bottom wall 30 forms a floor to which the projectiles rebound from the target at the rear wall 26, and this floor is inclined downwardly toward the gun 20 for automatically returning projectiles to the latter in a manner described in greater detail below.

As may be seen from FIG. 1, the gun 20 has a rear stock 32 and just forwardly of this stock 32a trigger guard 34. The trigger guard 34 is fragmentarily illustrated in FIGS. 2-4. The operator will manipulate a trigger 36 of the gun with one hand while the other hand of the operator can conveniently engage the grip 38 situated forwardly of the trigger guard 34. The gun is basically constructed in two halves each made of a suitably molded plastic and each extending longitudinally of the gun from the front tip to the rear end thereof so that the gun is longitudinally split and is made up of a pair of plastic halves which are assembled with each other and held together by suitable bolts and the like so as to form the entire gun body which carries the movable components of the gun. The right half 40 of the gun is shown in FIG. 4 while the left half 42 is shown in FIG. 5. The trigger guard 34 is carried only by the right half 40 of the gun while the trigger 36 will be surrounded by the trigger guard 34 when the gun halves 40 and 42 are assembled in a well-known manner.

The molded gun halves 40 and 42 when attached to each other in the assembled and completed gun provide at the upper front portion of the gun an elongated barrel 44 which at its front end extends through a suitable opening at the front wall 46 of the enclosure 22 (FIG. 1) to communicate with the interior of the enclosure 22 where the projectiles are thrown toward the target.

The opposed halves 40 and 42 of the gun respectively have just beneath the barrel 44 and at the upper end of the grip 38 vertical walls 48 which are parallel and spaced from each other and which are formed with coaxial horizontal recesses in the form of elongated tubular extensions 50 which are open only at their inner ends. These tubular extensions 50, the outer end of one of which is visible in FIG. 4, receive a pair of coaxial rigid pins which are integrally formed with and project laterally from an elongated channel member 52 which has a front end communicating with the interior of the enclosure 22 at the front lowest end portion of the floor 30 thereof so that the projectiles P will automatically roll, after rebounding from the target, downwardly along the wall 30 into the elongated channel 52 which is integral with the coaxial pins received in the cup-shaped cylindrical hollow extensions 50 of the side walls 48 of the gun halves 40 and 42. The integral channel 52 and pins which extend laterally therefrom are also formed integrallywith a downwardly directed swivel pin 54 which is freely tumable within a sleeve 56 of a housing 58 which is fixed to the lower frontend of the enclosure 22 at the underside of the floor 30 thereof. The swivel pin 54 is maintained in the sleeve 56 by'a riveted end portion 60 of the pin 54 which extends overthe bottom surface of a disc 62 which engages the bottom end of the sleeve 56 and cannot enter into the latter. Thus, the swivel pin 54 turns with the washer 62 to provide for the gun a limited degree of swiveling movement about the substantially verticalaxis of the pin 54, and at the same time the gun has a limited degree of swinging movement about the horizontal axis defined by the pins which are received in the hollow projections 50 which extend laterally from the vertical wall portions 48 of the gun halves.

The hollow molded grip structure 38 houses at its upper portion part of a supply means which includes the floor 30 and the channel 52 which directs the projectiles to the gun. This supply means includes a channel 64 defined by ribs 66 molded at the interiors of the gunhaives 42 and 44 with the ribs of the gun halves joining each other to define thephollow channel 64 which is gravitationally oriented at the rear end of the channel 52'to receive the projectiles therefrom and direct the projectiles by their own weight downwardly and toward the rear, as is apparent from the direction in which the channel 64 extends in FIGS. 4 and 5.

The bottom endportion of the channel 64 of the supply means gravitationally directs the projectiles P, in the form of spherical members made of any suitable material, to an elongated race orguide 68 which is of, substantially semicircular configuratiomwhich has its lower end 70 in communication with and situated adjacent the lower discharge end of the supply means and which has its upper end 72 situated at the rear upper portion of. the barrel 44. The race or track 68 is made of any suitable plastic which has a low coefficient of friction and is assembled with the gun halves in the manner shown most clearly in FIG. 7 which indicates how the track 68 has in cross section the configuration of a trough along which the projectiles P are capable of freely rolling. This construction of the'track 68 and the assembly of the gun halves is also apparent from FIG. 10.

As is particularly apparent from FIG. 5, the lower portion of the semicircular track 68 extends along the lower left peripheral portion of a rotary impeller 74 which is motor driven to rotate in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 5. As may be seen from FIG. the rotary impeller 74 is made of a suitable plastic wheel which is ribbed at its exterior so as to be strengthened and which has at its outer periphery a groove receiving an elastic ring 76 which provides the rotary impeller 74 with a high friction at its outer periphery so that the rotary impeller 74 will engage the projectiles P with a high degree of friction. As is apparent particularly from the lower portion of FIG. 10, the distance between the elastic ring 76 and the track 68 has with respect to the diameter of the spherical projectiles P a magnitude which will compress the ring 76 slightly so that the projectile P will be necessarily rolled along the track 68 at a speed determined by the speed of rotation of the impeller 74. As is apparent particularly from FIG. 10 the impeller is fixedly carried by a central sleeve 78 which extends through an opening of the gun half 42 and which is fixed at its interior to the shaft 80 of an electric motor 82 which is situated at the exterior of the gun half 42 in a motor housing 84 fixed to the gun as by screws 86 visible in FIG. 2. Thus, as is apparent from FIG. 2 the motor housing 84 includes not only the hollow cylindrical portion for the motor 82 but also an elongated hollow rear extension 88, shown also in section in FIG. 7, an elongated hollow forward .extension 90, and a downwardly directed extension 92 which extends along the exterior of the grip 38 and which is provided with the arrows 94 shown in FIG. 2 as provided with the designations, from the top to the bottom, OFF, SLOW FIRE, and RAPID FIRE.

In a manner which is described below an electrical circuit of the motor 82 is closed to energize the motor and continuously rotate the impeller 74. The motor may be energized from suitable batteries connected'to the underside of the floor 30 of the enclosure 22 at the front end thereof adjacent to the gun.

The ribs which are molded with the gun halves have substantially wedge-shaped arcuate portions 96 which engage each other when the gun is assembled to define a channel extending upwardly from the impeller 74 and directing the projectiles P along the track and into the barrel 44 to be thrown forwardly through the latter to the target, as is shown most clearly in FIG. FIGS. 4 and 5.

Thus, this construction provides the gun with a projecting means capable of receiving the' projectiles from the supply means and projecting the projectiles forwardly from the gun to a given target.

The gun of the invention operates very reliably. However, on rare occasions if it shouldhappen that the impeller 74 becomes jammed, it is possible to free the impeller-by inserting a suitable probe through the arcuate slot 98 formed in the gun half 40 at the part thereof which extends alongside of the impeller 74. This side of the gun is opposed to the motor housing 84 as well as the motor 82 so that through the gun half 40 and the slot 98 formed therein a suitable probe may be introduced to engage the ribs of the impeller 74 in order to manually turn the latter and thus permit freeing of a jammed impeller if and when it should happen ,that the impeller becomes jammed.

In accordancewith a further feature of the invention the travel of the projectiles P from the supply means in a gravitational manner to the projecting means is controlled by a release means which can be selectively actuated by the operator to provide either for blocking of the movement of projectiles to the projecting means, or for slow-fire operation or rapid fire operation, as is apparent from the designations beneath the arrows 94 shown in FIG. 2 and referred to above. It is to be understood that duringoperation the impeller 74 is continuously driven by the motor 82 and will act to project whatever projectiles reach the impeller 74.

This release means of the invention includes the trigger 36 which is integral with and situated at one end of an elongated member 100 of the release means, this member being shown by itself in FIG. 12. This release means includes at the front end of the elongated strip or member 100 thereof a pair of projections 102 and 104. The projection 102 is in the form of a lug integral with the wall 100 and projecting laterally therefrom, while the projection 104 is situated higher than and is offse forwardly from the projection 102 and is also in the form of a relatively flat lateral lug integral with the strip 100. This strip or elongated member 100 is situated at the exterior of the gun half '42 in an elongated groove 106 thereof, and the gun half 42 is formed at the rear of the groove 106 with an opening passing through the wall of the gun half 42 and through which the rear portion of the strip 100 extends where this rear portion is integrally connected with the trigger 36. For this reason the trigger 36 is joined to the strip 100 by an inclined web portion 108 which extends through the opening 110 in the gun half 42 and which is joined with the trigger 36 by flat reinforcing portions 112. At the upper front portion of the trigger 36 this trigger is formed with an opening 114 for one end of a spring 116 (FIG. 5) the forward end of which is hooked on a suitable pin 118 integral with the gun half 42. This spring 1I6 acts as a spring means urging the release means forwardly to the position shown in FIG. 6 where the projections I02 and 104 of the release means engage the forward ends of a a pair of parallel elongated guide slots 120 and 122 formed in the gun half 42. The forward end of the lower slot 120 extends into the channel 64 so'that the lower projection 102 in its position of rest is situated within the channel 64 in a blocking position preventing movement of the projectiles to the projecting means. The upper slot 122 extends from the interior of the channel 64 of the supply means forwardly out of the latter so that in the blocking position of the release means which is shown in FIG. 5 the projection 104 thereof is situated out of the channel 64, and the next projectile P can rest directly on the lowermost projectile which is blocked by the blocking projection 102 of the release means.

The release means which thus includes the trigger 36 and the projections 102 and 104 includes also an integral rear guide tongue 124 which at its upper edge slides along the lower surface of a guide member 126 integral with the gun half 42. At its forward end the strip 100 integrally carries an exterior strap portion 128 which extends around a manually operable selecting means 130 forming a manually shiftable means which is shown by itself in FIG. 11 and which is shown in FIG. 3 extending through the strap portion 128 of the release means.

This selecting or-manually shiftable means 130 is housed within the motor housing 84 and extends along the extension 92 thereof, as is particularly apparent from FIG. 8. The extension 92 of the motor housing is formed with an elongated slot 132 through which a fingerpiece 134 extends to the exterior of the motor housing to be accessible to the operator, and this finger-piece 134 is integral with the elongated plastic selecting member 130 which is guided for longitudinal movement in an elongated recess 136 formed at the exterior of the gun half 42 and situated within the extension 92 of the motor housing 84. Thus, the slot 132 coacts with the finger-piece 134 to guide the latter for longitudinal movement during manual displacement of the selecting means 130. This fingerpiece 134 serves not only for manipulation of the selecting means but also as an index to be aligned with the arrows 94 so as to provide for the different types of operation. Thus, the fingerpiece 134 is shown in FIG. 2 aligned with the top arrow 94' which indicates that the gun is in the OFF position, and in this position the driving motor is unenergized and it is not possible for the operator to retract the trigger 36.

As is apparent from FIG. 3 the selecting member 130 has a relatively wide portion extending through the strap 128 and engaging the front end thereof to limit rearward movement of the release means upon rear retraction of the trigger 36, so that with the parts in the position of FIG. 3 if the operator should wish to operate the gun he will attempt to retract the trigger36 and will realize that the gun cannot be operated with the parts in the OFF position.

As is apparent from FIG. 3, above its relatively wide portion the elongated selecting member 130 is stepped so as to have an elongated upper relatively narrow portion 138, and it is this relatively narrow portion 138 which extends through the strap 128 when the tingerpiece 134 is displaced downwardly into alignment with the central arrow 94 shown in FIG. 2. At this time because the narrower upper elongated portion 138 of the selecting means 130 extends through the strap 128, the release means can be retracted by the trigger 36 until the front end of the strap 128 engages the narrower portion 138, or until the rear edges of the projections 102 and 104 engage the rear ends of the slots 120 and 122, respectively. Thus, at this time the lower blocking projection 102 will be displaced rearwardly out of the channel 64 of the supply means while the projection 104 will enter into the channel 162 between the lowermost and the next higher projectile therein, blocking this latter next higher projection from downward movement to the impeller, so that at this time a single projectile will be released for travel to the impeller so as to be tired from the 'gun.

It is to be noted that the selecting member 130 acts not only to select the type of operation but acts also as a switching member for closing and opening a switch which will energize the motor 82 when the switch is closed. This switch includes an elongated springy contact 140 which is engaged by an elongated rib 142 at the inner surface of the elongated selecting means 130 when the fingerpiece 134 is displaced into alignment with the intermediate arrow 94, so that in this way the movable contact 140 will engage the stationary contact 144 to close the circuit to the motor 82, this circuit including the wires 146 which complete the circuit through the switch 140, 144 and the motor 82 as well as the batteries upon closing of the switch 140, 144 by downward movement of the selecting or switching member 130.

v This member 130 is made of an electrically nonconductive plastic, as is the case with all of the molded components. Only the switch components 140, 144, the wiring connected thereto, the channel 52 and swivel structure associated therewith, as well as the projectiles paid a few additional elements such as components of the motor 82 and the spring 116 are made of metal.

This nonconductive member 130 has an integral springy tongue 148 which carries a detent projection 150 capable of snapping into detent'recesses formed at the inner surface of the hollow extension 92 of the motor housing. These detent recesses are situated with respect to the projection 150 at a location which will position the tingerpiece 134 respectively in alignment with the arrows 94.

Thus, when the fingerpiece 134 is positioned in alignment with the intermediate arrow 94 the gun is in its slow-fire position and only a single projectile will be released to the projecting means at each retraction of the trigger 36. While the blocking projection 102 is displaced rearwardly out of the channel 64 to release the lowermost projectile, the upper projection 104, which acts as a holdback projection, enters into the space between the lowermost and next-higher projectile to hold back all except the lowermost projectile, so that in the slow-fire position only one projectilewill be tired at each actuation of the trigger 36. Of course, when the operator releases the trigger 36 the spring 116 will return it to its forward rest position, returning the parts to the position shown in FIG. 5 where the holdback projection 104 is now displaced forwardly out of the channel 64 so that the projectiles can now advance downwardly until the lowermost projectile again engages the blocking projection 102. The operator can again retract the trigger 36 to the firing position, in opposition to the spring 116, and the projections 102 and 104 of the release means will now be displaced again to the rear positions, shown in FIG. 6, where only the lowermost projectile P is released, as is apparent from FIG. 6.

The lower blocking projection 102, visible in FIG. 12 through a slot of member which is aligned with the strap 128, has a length which is greater that that of the upper holdback projection 104. Also, it will be noted that the selecting member 130 has at its upper narrower portion 138 an outwardly ofiset camming portion 152 which is accommodated in the hollow interior of the motor housing 84. This camming portion 152 is situated in the upper part of the hollow extension 92 while the strap 128 is freely displaceable into the hollow interior of the extension 90 .of the motor housing 84. Thus, with this construction when the fingerpiece 134 is displaced into alignment with the lowest arrow 94, the camming portion 152 of the selecting means 130 will camthe release means to the right, as viewed in FIG. 8, thus locating the shorter holdback projection 104 to the right of the channel 64. This position of the parts is shown in FIG. 9. While the longer blocking projection 102 still extends into the channel 64 so as to prevent displacement of the projectiles P as long as the trigger 36 remains in its rest position shown in FIG. 5, the holdback projection 104 has been retracted laterally toward the interior of the motor housing 84 to an extent sufficient to locate the holdback projection 104 at this time out of the channel 64 even when the trigger 36 is retracted. Of course, the member 130 will still maintain the switch 140, 144 closed, so that the motor continues to run. Therefore, when the parts are in the position with the fingerpiece aligned with the lowest arrow 94, which is the RAPID FIRE position, upon retraction of the trigger 36 by the operator in opposition to the spring 116 the blocking projection 102 will be moved to the end of slot opposite from the position shown in FIG. 6 while the holdback projection 104 will remain laterally displaced to the exterior of the channel 64, so that now the projectiles P are free to move gravitationally without any interruption one after the other to the projecting means formed by the rotary impeller 74, the track 68, and the barrel 44. Thus, when the operator chooses to provide rapid fire operation of the gun the projectiles will be continuously fired one after the other without interruption.

Thus, it will be seen that the unit illustrated by itself in FIG. 12 forms a manually shiftable release means which fixedly carries the trigger 36 by means of which the entire release means is shifted. This release means is shifted from the rest position where the projection 102 acts as a blocking means for blocking movement of the projectiles to the projecting means to the slow-fire position where the projection 104 acts as a holdback means for preventing release of all but one of the projectiles to the projecting means. This movement from the rest to the slow-fire position is brought about by longitudinal shifting of the release means as shown in FIG. 12. An additional lateral shifting of the release means will place it in its rapid fire position in which the release means remains stationary with both of the projections 102 and 104 being retracted away from the path of movement of the projectile P.

The device is provided with a sufficient number of projectiles to guarantee return of projectiles by the supply means to the projecting means at a rate which is sufficiently high to maintain a substantially continuous stream of projectiles at high frequency traveling toward the target.

It is therefore apparent that with the gun of the invention the operator can select either slow-fire operation or rapid fire operation. With the slow-fire operation, the release means formed by the member 100 and all of the parts connected thereto will act to release only one projectile to be projected from the gun at each retraction of the trigger 36 from its rest position to its firing position, and in this case it is necessary for the trigger 36 to be returned to its rest position before the next projectile can be fired.

On the other hand, in the rapid fire position, because of the lateral retraction of the holdback projection 104 to a location where it never enters into the channel 64, the retraction of the trigger 36 to the firing position will provide for unobstructed uninterrupted travel of the projectiles one after the other to the projecting means formed by the rotary impeller 74, the track 68 and the barrel 44. It is to be noted that in the OFF position the retraction of the trigger to the firing position is blocked, so that the parts can act as a safety device when the member 130 has been displaced to the OFF position, and of course in this latter position the circuit of the motor 82 is open. On the other hand, it is to be noted that both in the slowfire position and in the rapid fire position the trigger 36 is actuated in precisely the same way. In other words the trigger 36 need not be manipulated in one way during rapid fire operation and in another way during slow-fire operation. During rapid fire operation the trigger is retracted to the same firing position as during slow-fire operation, and in the rapid fire position as long as the operator holds the trigger in the firing position there will be a continuous firing of the projectiles one after the other toward the target.

The hollow interior of the motor housing 84, the space formed by the groove 106 and other recesses at the exterior of the gun half 42, the size of the opening 110, and the dimensions of the release means formed by the elongated strip 100 and the parts connected thereto are such that in cooperation with the selecting means 130 there is sufficient space for the release means to be reciprocated in the direction of trigger movement as well as to be laterally tilted perpendicularly to I the direction of trigger movement in order to retract the holdback projection 104 out of and return it into the plane in which the channel 64 is located.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those made apparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained and, since certain changes may be made in the above constructions without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. y

it is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

We claim:

1. In a gun, projecting means for projecting projectiles toward a given target, a communicating supply means for supplying projectiles to the projecting means, manually reciprocable trigger means having projections extending into the path of the projectiles being fed to, the projecting means, manually shiftable means coacting with the trigger means to vary the extent to which the projections extend into the path of the projectiles, said shiftable means being shiftable initially to a slow-fire position where at least two of said projections interrupt the flow of projectiles, and a rapid fire position where only one projection interrupts the flow of projectiles, said trigger means being movable to position the one projection, when the latter is initially set in a rapid fire position, so as not to interfere with the flow of projectiles to the projecting means, said trigger means also being movable to position the projections, when the latter are initially set in a slow-fire position, so that with each reciprocation of said trigger means one projectile will be permitted to move past the projections to be projected from the projecting means.

2. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said supply means includes a channel along which said projectiles travel, said channel being oriented for gravitationally directing said projectiles to said projecting means.

3. The combination of claim 2 and wherein the one projection is longer than the other projectionand extends into said channel of said supply means to an extent greater than said other projection, said shiftable means when placed in said rapid fire position coacting with said trigger means for displacing said projections substantially perpendicularly to the direction of projectile fiow.

4. The combination of claim 3 and wherein said trigger means includes an elongated strip carrying a trigger at one end and said projections at an opposite end, said channel being formed with slots extending substantially in the direction of trigger travel and respectively receiving said projections for guiding them for movement into and out of said channel, said shiftable means including an elongated switching member ex tending substantially perpendicularly to the direction of trigger travel and to said strip, said strip carrying a strap which extends around said switching member to provide for control of said trigger means through said shiftable means, said switching member of said shiftable means coacting with one end of said strap to prevent movement of said trigger means when said shiftable means is in an initial position thereof, and said switching member having a stepped portion coacting with said strap to provide for displacement of said trigger means to an extent which will locate said other projection in said channel and said one projection out of said channel when said trigger means is actuated, said switching member of said shiftable means having at a free end a lateral camming portion coacting with said strap for deflecting the latter perpendicularly to said elongated strip of said trigger means in a direction locating said other projection out of said channel even when said trigger means is actuated, and said camming projection coacting with said strap to deflect said trigger means perpendicularly to the direction of projectile flow when said shiftable means is shifted to said rapid fire position thereof.

5. The combination of claim 1 and wherein a spring means coacts with a trigger means for returning the latter to said rest position thereof when released by the operator.

6. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said projecting means includes a rotary impeller, a barrel, and a guide track guiding projectiles driven by said rotary impeller to said barrel to be thrown out of the latter, said impeller and guide track coacting with each other to grip projectiles therebetween and roll the projectiles along said track until they reach said barrel.

7. The combination of claim 6 and wherein said rotary impeller includes a motor driven wheel having a periphery of a high coefficient of friction for engaging the projectiles, said projectiles being of a spherical configuration, and said track extending in part around said impeller to a location terminating substantially at the rear end of said barrel so that the projectiles will be projected along said track by said rotary imbeneath said axis of said impeller and at a location lower than the latter to a location at an opposite end substantially over the axis of said impeller and adjacentto the rear end of said barrel, said track having the configuration of a trough and being made of a material which has a low coefficient of friction.

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