Mattel, Inc.

Ahmed A Asbaghi

Gary M Saffer

Peter C Hill

Robert V Pugh

A propeller launching toy includes a pistol-shaped housing having a movable trigger and a rotatable winding collar. A main shaft is rotatably supported within the housing and is operatively coupled to the winding collar. A main spring is coupled to the main shaft to provide stored energy for rotating the main shaft. A propeller toy having a plurality of propeller blades is releasibly secured to the forward end of the main shaft. A ratchet mechanism is coupled to the winding mechanism to provide single direction motion of the winding collar and main shaft. The trigger is coupled to a pivotable lever which responds to trigger movement to release the engagement of the main shaft and allow rapid spinning of the main shaft which in turn spins the propeller toy. As the propeller toy is rapidly spun, the propeller blades provide aerodynamic lift launching the propeller toy.

Propeller launching toy

A surface skimming toy defines a generally planar base having a flat under surface. An upwardly extending fin is joined to the upper surface of the base member. In one embodiment, a lightweight aesthetically appealing body portion is supported upon the upper surface. In still further alternate embodiments, a pair of elongated upwardly extending side fins are secured to the upper surface of the planar base. The surface skimming toy is launched in close proximity to a smooth extended surface and assumes a skimming travel in close spacing to the surface while being supported upon an extremely thin layer of air flowing beneath the under surface of the skimming toy. In a further embodiment, the generally planar base defines a slightly convex curved surface and in another, a dual faceted surface forming a transverse crown portion. In a still further embodiment, a weight is supported proximate the leading edge of the body for stability of travel.

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Hawthorne, CA, United States of America

Ahmed A Asbaghi