Mechanical guns and projectors – Element – Magazine
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-08
2002-10-22
Jordan, Charles T. (Department: 3641)
Mechanical guns and projectors
Element
Magazine
C124S082000, C089S033170
Reexamination Certificate
active
06467473
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to paintball guns, and more particularly relates to feeder apparatuses used in feeding of a supply of paintballs to a paintball gun.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The game of paintball is one in which two or more “military” teams try to capture one another's flags. The players on the teams each typically carry a compressed gas-powered gun that shoots paintballs—gelatin or plastic spherical capsules which usually contain a colored liquid. When a player is hit with a paintball from an adversary's gun, the paintball ruptures and leaves a colored “splat” on the hit player who is then “out” and must leave the game.
As the game of paintball has grown in sophistication, semiautomatic paintball guns—guns that sequentially fire individual paintballs as fast as the trigger can be repeatedly pulled—have become more prevalent. The high firing rate capability of semiautomatic paintball guns has necessitated the use of bulk loader devices in conjunction with such guns.
Generally, a paintball gun assembly includes a storage container, such as a hopper feeder adapted to internally store a relatively large quantity of paintballs (for example 100-200 paintballs) Connected to the storage container is one or more feed tubes connected to the gun's infeed.
During normal operation of the paintball gun assembly paintball jams intermittently occur in the storage container and/or feeder tube(s). These jams prevent the normal delivery of paintballs, with the result that the paintball stack can be totally depleted by several shots of the gun. Similar jams may occur in the feed tube, thereby preventing delivery of paintballs to the paintball gun's infeed.
In the past, clearing of such jams has required that the gun be forcibly shaken to dislodge the paintballs causing the jam within the storage containers and/or for the feed tube to be manually cleared. Such solutions are undesirable since it at best interrupts the proper aiming of the paintball gun and, of course, correspondingly interrupts the gun user's ability to continue the rapid firing of the gun, and may at worse render the gun temporarily unusable.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides jam free paintball feeders for feeding paintballs to a paintball gun. Representatively, the paintball gun with which the jam free feeder(s) are incorporated is a semiautomatic paintball gun having a hollow infeed portion, which is adapted to receive a supply of paintballs from a source of paintballs, such as a paintball hopper, which are widely used in the art.
The jam free paintball feeders of the invention can be conveniently divided into two groups of aspects. The first group of aspects provides jam free paintball feeders which are positioned in the paintball feed system between the exit of the housing and the infeed of the paintball gun, and thus operated to feed paintballs within the feed tube(s). For convenience such paintball feeders are referred to below simply as “paintball feeders” or “feeders.” The second group of aspects is drawn to paintball feeders that prevent jams of paintballs in an attached or connected paintball storage container. For convenience, such feeders are referred to as “in-container feeders,” to distinguish them from paintball feeders position. In some aspects of the invention, paintball guns which include both aspects in combination are further provided.
In general, the paintball feeder of the invention includes (a) a first moveable component, made of a flexible material that is compliant to (i.e., which yields to) a paintball used in the paintball gun when the paintball is brought into contact with the first moveable component, and (b) a second component. The space between the first moveable component and the second component is less than the diameter of a paintball to be fed to the paintball gun, such that when a paintball contacts the first moveable component and second component it is frictionally engaged between the first moveable component and the second component. In such a state, the movement of the first moveable component imparts movement to the paintball while permitting slippage of the paintball relative to the movement of the first moveable component.
The first moveable component can be made of any suitable compliant material. Examples of suitable materials include synthetic and natural rubbers, and urethane based materials, particularly polyurethane. Polyurethane is preferred. The material can be of any suitable hardness. Generally, polyurethane materials between about 70 and about 100 durometer in hardness are suitable. Preferably, polyurethane materials at about 90 durometer hardness are used.
The first moveable component can take any suitable shape for urging paintballs through a feeder. For example, the first moveable component can take the form of a disk or disk-like surface. In other aspects of the invention the first moveable component can take the form of a moveable belt, such as a compliant conveyor belt. The first moveable component can have any suitable hardness. Preferably, the first moveable component has a hardness of about 70 to about 100, more preferably about 90, as measured by a Shore A durometer.
The invention further provides paintball feeders where the amount of friction exerted on the paintball in the feeder can be modified through selecting from removable components to use in the feeder. In one such aspect, the first moveable component and/or the second component in the feeder apparatus are removable components, such that the thickness of the first moveable component and the second component may be increased or decreased to vary the width between the two surfaces.
The first moveable component may be backed by a less flexible support surface, which engages and puts pressure on the exterior surface of the first movable surface. For example, when the feeder incorporates a compliant disk as the first moveable component, the support surface typically will take the form of a less-compliant disk which is positioned on the exterior side of the compliant disk. Normally, the support surface will have a smaller horizontal diameter than the contact surface. The diameter of the support surface may be varied to alter the amount of pressure applied to the first movable surface and thus to the paintball during transit through the paintball feeder. The support surface is preferably connected to the feeder by an adjustable component, such as an adjustable nut and bolt assembly, which engages the support surface, and provides another technique for adjusting the pressure applied to the paintball.
The feeder can further include compliant contacts, which are connected to, or alternatively integrally formed with, the first moveable component. The compliant contacts protrudes toward the second component such the compliant contacts contact the paintball. Contacting the paintball, the compliant contacts assist the first moveable component in imparting movement to the paintball, unless or until the paintball exerts a sufficient force on the compliant contacts to cause the compliant contacts to yield to the paintball. For example, when a paintball becomes obstructed in or between said paintball feeder and said paintball gun (e.g., in the feed tube between the feeder and the gun's infeed), the paintball typically will exert a sufficient force on the compliant contact(s) to cause the compliant contact(s) to yield to, and thus slip past the surface of, the paintballs in the feeder.
The compliant contacts can be formed at least in part by one or more contact indentations or holes in the first moveable component. In such aspects, the first moveable component will typically include more contact indentations or holes than the number of paintballs the paintball feeder holds at a time. At least one of the paintballs in the paintball feeder are held by more than one of the indentations or holes between the time the paintball enters and exits the feeder. The compliant contacts may also include a moveable attachment attached to th
Airgun Designs, Inc.
Chambers Troy
Jordan Charles T.
Leydig , Voit & Mayer, Ltd.
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