Buoyancy-propelled underwater toy

Abstract

A buoyancy-propelled, submergible, toy projectile is provided. The toy projectile includes a toy body and a suction cup that is connected to the toy body and provides a means by which the toy projectile can be adhered to an submerged surface of a fluid reservoir. The toy body provides a buoyancy to the toy projectile such that when the toy projectile is submerged in fluid, the buoyancy of the toy will drive it rapidly towards the surface of the fluid.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A submergible toy projectile for use in a fluid reservoir, the toy projectile comprising:
 a toy body having a density such that a total weight of the toy projectile is less than a buoyant force of the toy projectile when submerged in the fluid reservoir; and   a suction cup being connected to the toy body and being formed such that when the toy projectile is submerged in the fluid reservoir and brought into contact with a surface of the fluid reservoir, the suction cup will elastically deform from an expanded form to a collapsed form where a greater amount of the suction cup is in contact with the surface to thereby apply a retaining force to the surface of the fluid reservoir that is greater than the buoyant force of the toy projectile, the suction cup including at least one leakage channel that is sized to permit a fluid from the fluid reservoir to seep therethrough, the at least one leakage channel being formed on the suction cup such that as the fluid seeps through the at least one leakage channel, a fluid pressure within a space defined between the suction cup and the surface of the fluid reservoir progressively equalizes with a pressure of fluid in the fluid reservoir surrounding the suction cup, and an elastic force of the suction cup progressively expands the form of the suction cup from the collapsed form to the expanded form until the retaining force applied by the suction cup is less than a sum of the elastic force and the buoyant force of the toy projectile.   
     
     
         2 . The submergible toy projectile of  claim 1 , wherein the toy body further comprises a main body section, a tail section attached to one end of the main body section, and a nose section attached to an opposing end of the main body section. 
     
     
         3 . The submergible toy projectile of  claim 2 , wherein the suction cup is releasably connected to the tail section of the toy body. 
     
     
         4 . The submergible toy projectile of  claim 1 , wherein the toy projectile includes a plurality of stabilizing structures that project radially outward from and are evenly distributed around the tail section, each of the plurality of stabilizing structures being formed to apply a moment about a long axis of toy body so as to maintain an orientation of the submergible toy projectile within the fluid reservoir. 
     
     
         5 . The submergible toy projectile of  claim 4 , wherein the plurality of stabilizing structures of the toy projectile includes a plurality of radially-extending fins. 
     
     
         6 . The submergible toy projectile of  claim 2 , wherein the main body section, tail section, nose section and the plurality of stabilizing structures of the submergible toy projectile have a collective, torpedo-like shape such that a maximum diameter of the main body section is greater than a maximum diameter of each of the tail section and the nose section, and such that the diameter of the main body section tapers towards both the nose section and tail section of the submergible toy projectile. 
     
     
         7 . The submergible toy projectile of  claim 2 , wherein the toy body includes a gas-filled chamber formed therewithin, the gas filled-chamber being sized to reduce an average density of the submergible toy projectile such that the total weight of the toy projectile is less than the buoyant force of the toy projectile when submerged in the fluid reservoir. 
     
     
         8 . The submergible toy projectile of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one leakage channel is at least one through-opening extending between a pair of opposing surfaces of the suction cup. 
     
     
         9 . The submergible toy projectile of  claim 7 , wherein the toy body defines a first buoyancy section including the gas-filled chamber and a second buoyancy section such that a buoyancy of the first buoyancy section is greater than a buoyancy of the second buoyancy section, the first and second buoyancy section being positioned relative to one another so as to urge the submergible toy projectile towards an upright orientation when submerged within the fluid reservoir, the upright orientation of the submergible toy projectile being an orientation where a position where the nose section of the submergible toy projectile is pointed substantially upwards. 
     
     
         10 . The submergible toy projectile of  claim 9 , wherein the first buoyancy section is defined by the nose section and the main body section of the toy projectile, and the second buoyancy section is defined by the tail section and suction cup of the toy projectile. 
     
     
         11 . The submergible toy projectile of  claim 9 , wherein the first buoyancy section is a positively buoyant section, and the second buoyancy section is a negatively buoyant section. 
     
     
         12 . The submergible toy projectile of  claim 1 , wherein the suction cup includes:
 a connecting portion for connecting the suction cup to the toy body; and   a suction flange that projects radially out from the connecting portion and that is shaped to apply the securing force to the surface of the fluid reservoir when the suction cup is brought into contact with the surface of the fluid reservoir, the at least one leakage channel being formed in the suction flange.   
     
     
         13 . A submergible toy projectile for use in a fluid reservoir, the toy projectile comprising:
 a toy body having a density such that a total weight of the toy projectile is less than a buoyant force of the toy projectile when submerged in the fluid reservoir; and   a suction cup connected to the toy body and shaped such that when the toy projectile is submerged in the fluid reservoir and brought into contact with a surface of the fluid reservoir, the suction cup will elastically deform from an expanded form to a collapsed form where a greater amount of the suction cup is in contact with the surface to thereby adhere the suction cup to the surface, the suction cup including at least one leakage channel sized to permit a fluid in the fluid reservoir to seep therethrough such that a fluid pressure within a space defined between the suction cup and the surface of the fluid reservoir progressively changes such that the pressure within the space is equalized with a pressure of the fluid in the fluid reservoir surrounding the suction cup and the form of the suction cup progressively changes from the collapsed form to the expanded form so as to at least partially separate the suction cup from the surface of the fluid reservoir.   
     
     
         14 . The submergible toy projectile of  claim 13 , wherein the toy body further comprises a main body section, a tail section attached to a first end of the main body section, and a nose section attached to an opposing end of the main body section. 
     
     
         15 . The submergible toy projectile of  claim 14 , wherein the suction cup is releasably connected to the tail portion of the toy body. 
     
     
         16 . The submergible toy projectile of  claim 14 , wherein the toy projectile includes a plurality of stabilizing structures that project radially outward from and are evenly distributed around the tail section, each of the plurality of stabilizing structures being formed to apply a moment about a long axis of toy body so as to maintain an orientation of the submergible toy projectile within the fluid reservoir. 
     
     
         17 . The submergible toy projectile of  claim 16 , wherein the plurality of stabilizing structures of the toy projectile includes a plurality of radially-extending fins. 
     
     
         18 . The submergible toy projectile of  claim 15 , wherein the main body section, tail section, nose section and at least one stabilizing structure of the toy projectile have a collective, torpedo-like form. 
     
     
         19 . The submergible toy projectile of  claim 14 , wherein the suction cup includes:
 a connecting portion for connecting the suction cup to the toy body; and   a suction flange projecting radially out from the connecting portion and shaped to apply the securing force to the surface of the fluid reservoir when the suction cup is brought into contact with the to the surface of the fluid reservoir, wherein the at least one leakage channel is formed in the suction flange.