IP Verse

String Shooting Device

Patent No. US11674774 (titled "String Shooting Device") was filed by Zipstring Llc on Nov 17, 2022.

What is this patent about?

’774 is related to the field of string shooting devices, specifically those designed to propel a flexible member, such as a string, rope, or chain. The background acknowledges the challenge of propelling such flexible members due to gravity causing them to drop over short distances. Prior art attempts to address this by increasing air friction and speed, or by adjusting the exit angle, but propelling a flexible member beyond a simple arc remains difficult.

The underlying idea behind ’774 is to use a string with a textured surface to generate lift as it's propelled through the air. This is achieved by having fibers or threads extending away from the string's axis, creating a turbulent air boundary layer. This boundary layer generates lift at the distal end of the string loop, counteracting gravity and allowing the string to appear to float.

The claims of ’774 focus on a string shooting device comprising a body, a housing, a pair of wheels (at least one driven), and a string with a surface texture designed to increase air friction. The string has fibers extending away from its axis. The claims also cover a method for propelling such a string, generating lift at the distal end, and a device with a loading slot positioned partially over at least one of the wheels for easy string replacement.

In practice, the device uses a motor to drive at least one wheel, which frictionally engages and propels the looped string. As the string moves through the air, the fibers extending from its surface create drag, expanding the turbulent air boundary layer. This increased drag translates into lift , particularly at the distal end of the loop, counteracting gravity. The loading slot in the housing allows for quick and easy string changes without requiring the string to be cut.

This design differentiates itself from prior approaches by actively generating lift through the string's surface texture, rather than simply relying on momentum or exit angle adjustments. The textured string creates a tension differential between the outgoing and incoming portions of the loop, making the outgoing portion more susceptible to user-induced movements, resulting in visible waves. The combination of lift and tension differential creates the unique effect of the string appearing to float weightlessly in the air, a phenomenon not observed with smooth strings.

How does this patent fit in bigger picture?

Technical landscape at the time

In the early 2020s when ’774 was filed, propelling flexible members such as strings or ropes was typically implemented using mechanical devices that imparted speed and adjusted exit angles to optimize the trajectory against gravity, at a time when hardware or software constraints made achieving extended distances or generating lift non-trivial.

Novelty and Inventive Step

The application was initially rejected. Claims 1-10 and 16-17 were rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) for indefiniteness. Claims 1, 5-6, 11-12, 14-15, and 18 were rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kilby, Jr. US Pat. No. 5,205,266. Alternatively or additionally, Claims 1, 5-15, and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Matsuzaki et al. US Pat. No. 5,471,967. Claims 2-4 and 16-17 were objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim. The prosecution record does NOT describe the technical reasoning or specific claim changes that led to allowance.

Claims

This patent contains 20 claims, with independent claims 1, 12, and 16. The independent claims focus on a string shooting device and a method for propelling a looped string, emphasizing features like a textured string for increased air friction and specific housing designs. The dependent claims generally elaborate on the features and functionalities described in the independent claims, providing further detail and limitations.

Key Claim Terms New

Definitions of key terms used in the patent claims.

Term (Source)Support for SpecificationInterpretation
Driven wheel
(Claim 1, Claim 12, Claim 16)		“Embodiments of the present disclosure are designed to be used in toys or gadgets that propel a continuous loop of string around a mechanically driven drive wheel at a fast rate. These toys or gadgets are referred to herein as string shooters.”At least one of the pair of wheels is powered to propel the string.
Loading slot
(Claim 16)		“According to certain embodiments, the housing covers, at least partially, the pair of wheels, and the housing define a loading slot through which the string is loaded or removed from between the pair of wheels. The loading slot of an example embodiment includes rounded edges. The loading slot of an example embodiment is defined at one edge by a loading tab, where the loading tab includes a tip that is thinner than a body of the loading tab, where the loading tab functions to guide the string from the loading slot to the intake aperture.”A feature of the housing that allows the string to be loaded or removed, positioned at least partially over at least one of the wheels.
Looped string
(Claim 12, Claim 16)		“Embodiments of the present disclosure are designed to be used in toys or gadgets that propel a continuous loop of string around a mechanically driven drive wheel at a fast rate. Embodiments increase the air friction and when the string runs as a continuous loop, the string creates lift along the length of the string that is propelled outward toward the distal end of the loop.”A continuous string forming a closed loop.
Plurality of fibers extending away from the axis
(Claim 1, Claim 12)		“Embodiments of the present disclosure include a string with radiating fibers or texture that when accelerated through the air, increases the air friction by expanding the turbulent air boundary layer around the string. This expansion of the boundary layer is achieved by threads radiating out from an axis along which the string extends creating friction with the air or “drag” as the string moves through the air.”Multiple fibers that project outward from the central line of the string.
Surface texture
(Claim 1, Claim 12, Claim 16)		“Embodiments of the present disclosure employ the use of a string that has high surface area derived from threads, fibers or texture which radiate out from the surface of the string. When viewed closely the string could be described as “fuzzy”.”A physical characteristic of the string that increases air friction when the string is propelled through the air by the wheels.

Litigation Cases New

US Latest litigation cases involving this patent.

Case NumberFiling DateTitle
1:25-cv-05420Sep 22, 2025ZipString, LLC v. NxtGen Toys, LLC et al
1:24-cv-00136Jan 10, 2024Zipstring, Llc V. Nxtgen Toys, Llc
1:23-cv-05335Nov 20, 2023NxtGen Toys LLC v. ZipString LLC

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US11674774

ZIPSTRING LLC
Application Number
US18056567
Filing Date
Nov 17, 2022
Status
Granted
Expiry Date
Nov 17, 2042
External Links
Slate, USPTO, Google Patents