FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to an air gun, and more specifically, to an air gun having an improved firing structure.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Survival games uses air guns to fire paintballs for competition. Taiwan Patent No. M387235 disclose a gun body structure of a paintball gun. The paintball gun has a passageway running through the gun body as a gas storage space. A pressure-regulating unit regulates the gas pressure and delivers the gas to the firing unit to complete the firing action of the paintballs. In order to ensure that the passageway has a good airtightness to maintain the gas pressure after regulation, the passageway needs to be machined in the production process for the passageway to be in fit with the firing unit and the pressure-regulating unit. Therefore, different internal dimensions make machining difficult and increase production costs.
In use, due to running, hiding and confrontation between the two parties in the game, it is inevitable that the paintball guns will fall or collide with each other, resulting in the internal parts being damaged and needing to be replaced. However, since the firing unit and the pressure-regulating unit are composed of plural components, the parts need to be disassembled one by one for replacement, which is time-consuming. The bushing and the bolt in the firing unit are difficult to disassemble, which makes maintenance difficult.
When the gun body is cracked by an impact, the airtightness of the gun body will be deteriorated. As a result, the firing action cannot be completed, and the entire paintball gun is scrapped, leading to an increase in cost.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The primary object of the present invention is to provide an air gun having an improved firing structure, which includes a firing unit having a first outer sleeve and a bushing to form an action space for movement of a bolt. There is no need to machine the passageway of the gun body for a space to fit the firing structure, thereby reducing machining difficulty and reducing machining costs.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an air gun having an improved firing structure, wherein the first outer sleeve replaces the gun body to form the outer wall of the action space, which solves the problem when the gun body is ruptured by severe impact, the airtightness of the action space decreases and the air gun is unusable.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an air gun having an improved firing structure, wherein the structure of the firing unit, the control unit and other components is modularized, so that it can be quickly assembled and disassembled, reducing the difficulty of maintenance and the cost of maintenance.
In order to achieve the foregoing objects, the present invention provides an air gun having an improved firing structure, comprising a gun body. The gun body includes a firing unit and a control unit therein.
An interior of the gun body has an axial passageway. A front end of the passageway is formed with a paintball outlet and a paintball inlet communicating with the paintball outlet.
The firing unit is located in the passageway and adjacent to the paintball outlet. The firing unit includes a first outer sleeve, a bushing, a guide pillar, and a bolt. The first outer sleeve is disposed in the passageway. The bushing is disposed in one end of the first outer sleeve adjacent to the paintball outlet. The bolt is slidably sleeved on the guide pillar and located in the bushing. A front end of the bolt extends out of the bushing and is located behind the paintball inlet. The first outer sleeve has at least one first air flow passage communicating with the control unit. An action space communicating with the first air flow passage is formed between an outer periphery of the bushing and the first outer sleeve. A first air flow space is formed between the guide pillar and the first outer sleeve for moving the guide pillar forward and backward. The first air flow space communicates with the control unit via a second air flow passage passing through the first outer sleeve. When in use, a compressed gas enters the action space via the first air flow passage, and the control unit controls a gas path of the compressed gas in the firing unit to move the guide pillar backward in the first air flow space for the compressed gas to push the bolt toward the paintball outlet to perform a firing action.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a partial exploded view of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the present invention when the compressed gas is initially introduced;
FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the firing unit of the present invention when the compressed gas is initially introduced;
FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the control unit of the present invention when the compressed gas is initially introduced;
FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the present invention when the predetermined pressure value is reached;
FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the firing action of the bolt of the present invention; and
FIG. 7 is a schematic view of the present invention, wherein the compressed gas is refilled to move the bolt.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, an air gun having an improved firing structure according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises a gun body 100. The gun body 100 includes a firing unit 1 and a control unit 2 therein.
As shown in FIG. 2, the interior of the gun body 100 has an axial passageway 4. The front end of the passageway 4 is formed with a paintball outlet 41 and a paintball inlet 42 communicating with the paintball outlet 41. In this embodiment, the paintball inlet 42 is perpendicular to the axial direction of the passageway 4.
Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the firing unit 1 is located in the passageway 4 and adjacent to the paintball outlet 41. The firing unit 1 includes a first outer sleeve 11, a bushing 12, a guide pillar 13, and a bolt 14. The first outer sleeve 11 is disposed in the passageway 4. The bushing 12 is disposed in one end of the first outer sleeve 11 adjacent to the paintball outlet 41. The bolt 14 is slidably sleeved on the guide pillar 13 and located in the bushing 12. The front end of the bolt 14 extends out of the bushing 12 and is located behind the paintball inlet 42. The first outer sleeve 11 has at least one first air flow passage 111 communicating with the control unit 2. In this embodiment, the first outer passage 11 has a first air flow passage 111 communicating with the control unit 2. An action space 15 communicating with the first air flow passage 111 is formed between the outer periphery of the bushing 12 and the first outer sleeve 11. The action space 15 stores the compressed gas flowing into the first air flow passage 111 as a power source to move the bolt 14 and fire paintballs 5.
Referring to FIG. 3, the rear end of the guide pillar 13 has a first annular step 131 and a second annular step 132 that are in the form of protruding rings. The first annular step 131 has a first rear wall a connected to the first outer sleeve 11 through a first elastic member 16. In this embodiment, the first elastic member 16 is a spring. A first air flow space 17 is formed between the first rear wall 133 and the first outer sleeve 11 for moving the guide pillar 13 forward and backward. The first air flow space 17 communicates with the control unit 2 via a second air flow passage 112 passing through the first outer sleeve 11. The first annular step 131 further has a first front wall b adjacent to the rear end edge of the bushing 12. The second annular step 132 is located on the first front wall 134. One side of the second annular step 132, adjacent to the bolt 14, forms a second front wall 135.
Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the bolt 14 is a hollow structure. A pneumatic space 18 is formed between the bolt 14 and the bushing 12. The front end of the bolt 14 forms a firing port 141 communicating with the interior of the bolt 14. The rear end of the bolt 14 has an annular force-receiving portion 142 that is driven by gas. One side of the force-receiving portion 142, facing the second annular step 132, has a first force-receiving surface 143. Another side of the force-receiving portion 142, facing away from the second annular step 132, has a second force-receiving surface 144.
Please refer to FIG. 5 in conjunction with FIG. 3. When the compressed gas regulated by a pressure-regulating unit 3 fills the first air flow space 17 via the second air flow passage 112, the guide pillar 13 will be moved forward by the gas pressure generated in the first air flow space 17, such that the first front wall 134 of the first annular step 131 is in contact with the rear end edge of the bushing 12, and the second front wall 135 of the second annular step 132 is in contact with the rear end of the bolt 14, so that the action space 15 forms a closed space to be filled with the gas. Please refer to FIG. 7 in conjunction with FIG. 3. When the supply of the compressed gas is stopped for performing the firing action, the gas stored in the first air flow space 17 flows back to the control unit 2 along the second air flow passage 112, and the return force of the first elastic member 16 pulls the guide pillar 13 to move backward. At this time, the first front wall 134 of the first annular step 131 leaves the rear end edge of the bushing 12, and the second front wall 135 of the second annular step 132 leaves the rear end of the bolt 14. The compressed gas in the action space 15 flows to the gap between the rear end edge of the bushing 12 and the first front wall 134 acts on the first force-receiving surface 143 for moving the bolt 14 forward in the pneumatic space 18, and the second force-receiving surface 144 is pressed in the bushing 12. At the same time, the front end of the bolt 14 is moved forward to hit the paintball 5 located at the paintball inlet 42, and the compressed gas flowing into the pneumatic space 18 enters the bolt 14 and accelerates the paintball 5 to be ejected via the firing port 141.
As shown in FIG. 3, the bushing 12 has at least one through hole 121 communicating with the action space 15 and the pneumatic space 18. In this embodiment, the bushing 12 has two symmetrical through holes 121. Please refer to FIG. 7 in conjunction with FIG. 3. After firing, the compressed gas enters the action space 15 via the first air flow passage 111 and then flows into the through hole 121 to act on the second force-receiving surface 144, thereby moving the bolt 14 backward until the first force-receiving surface 143 is in contact with the second front wall 135 of the second annular step 132 to be in the standby state as shown in FIG. 5.
Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. In order to further simplify the machining and assembly process of the air gun, the control unit 2 of the present invention is optimized to have a modular structure. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4, the control unit 2 is disposed in the passageway 4 and located behind the firing unit 1. The control unit 2 has a second outer sleeve 21 located in the passageway 4. The second outer sleeve 21 has a second air flow space 22 communicating with the first air flow passage 111. The second air flow space 22 communicates with the pressure-regulating unit 3 via a third air flow passage 211. The compressed gas after being regulated by the pressure-regulating unit 3 flows into the second air flow space 22 via the third air flow passageway 211, and the compressed gas is introduced to the action space 15 via the first air flow passage 111. The second outer sleeve 21 further has a first control room 23 perpendicular to the axial direction of the passageway 4 and a second control room 24 extending along the axial direction of the passageway 4. The second outer sleeve 21 has a fourth air flow passage 212 communicating with the second control room 24 and the second air flow passage 112.
As shown in FIG. 4, the first control room 23 includes a small diameter section 231 and a large diameter section 232 connected to the small diameter section 231. The small diameter section 231 communicates with a pressure relief port 233. The large diameter section 232 communicates with the pressure-regulating unit 3 via an air inlet 234. A trigger valve lever 25 is provided in the first control room 23. The trigger valve lever 25 is driven by a trigger 6 to move back and forth between a standby position and a firing position. The trigger valve lever 25 includes a first sealing ring 251 located in the small diameter section 231 and a second sealing ring 252 located in the large diameter section 232. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4, when the trigger valve lever 25 is in the standby position, the first sealing ring 251 closes the small diameter section 231 to block the gas from flowing to the pressure relief port 233, and the small diameter section 231 communicates with the large diameter section 232, and the compressed gas flows to the space between the small-diameter section 231 and the large-diameter section 232 via the air inlet 234. As shown in FIG. 6, when the trigger valve lever 25 is in the firing position, the second sealing ring 252 closes the large diameter section 232, and the small diameter section 231 communicates with the pressure relief port 233, such that the gas in the gun is discharged to relieve pressure, and the guide pillar 13 of the firing unit 1 is moved backward for the firing action.
Referring to FIG. 4, a first side passage 241, a second side passage 242 and a third side passage 243 that are arranged in sequence from front to back are connected to the second control room 24. The first side passage 241 communicates with the third air flow passage 211. The second side passage 242 communicates with the fourth air flow passage 212. The third side passage 243 communicates with the first control room 23. An actuating piston 26 is provided in the second control room 24. The actuating piston 26 is controlled by the gas pressure in the third side passage 243 and a second elastic member 261 to move in the second control room 24. In this embodiment, the second elastic member 261 is a spring. A third sealing ring 244 located in the second control room 24 is provided between the actuating piston 26 and the third side passage 243. A fourth sealing ring 262 is provided on the actuating piston 26.
Please refer to FIG. 5 in conjunction with FIG. 4. When the trigger valve lever 25 is in the standby position, the compressed gas passes through the space between the small diameter section 231 and the large diameter section 232 and then passes through the third side passage 243 to form a gas pressure to drive the actuating piston 26 to move the fourth sealing ring 262 forward to communicate with the second side passage 242. The compressed gas further flows into the fourth air flow passage 212 via the second side passage 242, and then enters the first air flow space 17 via the second air flow passage 112 to push the guide pillar 13 forward. Please refer to FIG. 7 in conjunction with FIG. 4. When the trigger valve lever 25 completes the firing action and returns to the standby position, the actuating piston 26 is pushed backward by the second elastic member 261 against the third sealing ring 244, and the fourth sealing ring 262 is moved backward along with the actuating piston 26 to close the second side passage 242.
The following is a further detailed description of how the present invention composed of the above components works in use.
Please refer to FIG. 2 in conjunction with FIG. 3 and FIG. 4. When the trigger valve lever 25 is in the standby position, a compressed gas source (not shown in the figure) is turned on. After the pressure-regulating unit 3 regulates the compressed gas, the compressed gas flows into the second air flow space 22 via the third air flow passage 211 and then flows into the action space 15 via the first air flow passage 111. At the same time, part of the gas passing through the third air flow passage 211 flows into the second control room 24 via the first side passage 241 and then flows into the fourth air flow passage 212 via the second side passage 242 to be accumulated in the first air flow space 17. The compressed gas also flows into the first control room 23 via the air inlet 234.
Please refer to FIG. 2 in conjunction with FIG. 3 and FIG. 4. When the trigger valve lever 25 is in the standby position, the small diameter section 231 communicates with the large diameter section 232, and the first sealing ring 251 blocks the gas from flowing into the pressure relief port 233. At this time, the compressed gas flows into the second control room 24 via the third side passage 243. Since the gas pressure pushes the actuating piston 26 forward in the direction of compressing the second elastic member 261 and communicates with the second side passage 242, so that the compressed gas flows to the first air flow space 17 via the second side passage 242. Please refer to FIG. 5 in conjunction with FIG. 3 and FIG. 4. When the first air flow space 17 is filled with the gas, the gas pressure generated pushes the guide pillar 13 to move forward for the guide pillar 13 to be in contact with the rear edge of the bushing 12 and the force-receiving portion 142 of the bolt 14, and the gas flowing into the action space 15 continues to be accumulated and compressed. The gas in the action space 15 also flows into the pneumatic space 18 via the through hole 121 of the bushing 12 to push the force-receiving portion 142 of the bolt 14, so that the bolt 14 is moved backward until the force-receiving portion 142 is in contact with the guide pillar 13 to ensure that the bolt 14 is in the standby position.
Please refer to FIG. 5 in conjunction with FIG. 3 and FIG. 4. With the continuous inflow of the compressed gas, the gas pressure in the action space 15, the first air flow space 17, the second air flow space 22 that are configured to accumulate the compressed gas gradually increases until the internal pressure reaches an equilibrium state, the inflow of the compressed gas stops, and the present invention completes the preparation of the standby state.
Please refer to FIG. 6 in conjunction with FIG. 3 and FIG. 4. When the trigger 6 pushes the trigger valve lever 25 to move upward, the second sealing ring 252 moves upward to block the small diameter section 231 and the large diameter section 232, thus blocking the gas from flowing into the second control room 24 via the third side passage 243. At the same time, the first sealing ring 251 also moves upward for the pressure relief port 233 to communicate with the small diameter section 231. Since the internal gas pressure is greater than the external air pressure, the gas in the first air flow space 17 flows back to the first control room 23 along the second air flow passage 112, the fourth air flow passage 212 and the second side passage 242, and flows out from the pressure relief port 233 via the third side passage 243 to be discharged outside. The gas pressure in the first air flow space 17 decreases, and the return force of the first elastic member 16 pulls the guide pillar 13 to move backward, and then the compressed gas accumulated in the action space 15 flows in from between the rear edge of the bushing 12 and the guide pillar 13. Since the gas pressure in the action space 15 is greater than the gas pressure in the pneumatic space 18, the push force on the first force-receiving surface 143 of the bolt 14 is greater than the push force on the second force-receiving surface 144, such that the bolt 14 is pushed forward along the pneumatic space 18 to hit the paintball located at the paintball inlet 42, and the compressed gas stored in the second air flow space 22 and the pressure-regulating unit 3 continues to flow into the action space 15. At this time, the compressed gas flows into the bolt 14 and is discharged via the firing port 141 to assist in firing the paintball 5.
As can be seen from the above embodiment, the air gun having the improved firing structure provided by the present invention can achieve the following improvements:
First, it is easy to machine the gun body, having a low machining cost. The present invention modularizes the structure of the firing unit and assembles other components in the first outer sleeve to form air flow passages for firing paintballs. There is no need for traditional machining of the gun passageway for component installation, thereby reducing the difficulty of gun body machining, improving production efficiency, reducing the machining steps, and reducing machining costs effectively.
Second, the service life of the air gun can be prolonged. The first outer sleeve of the present invention serves as the outer wall of the action space for storing the compressed gas, different from the existing air gun using the gun body as the outer wall of the action space. Even if the gun body is damaged by severe impact, due to the protection of the first outer sleeve, the airtightness of the internal air storage space is still intact, so the air gun can still be used, thereby prolonging the service life of the air gun.
Third, the parts of the air gun can be quickly installed and removed for easy maintenance. The present invention also assembles components in the second outer sleeve to form the control unit, thereby modularizing the structure of the firing unit, the control unit and other components. During installation, the structural modules are placed into the passageway of the gun body in sequence. For regular maintenance, the corresponding structural modules can be quickly installed and removed by simply removing them for replacement or repair.
Although particular embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the present invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.
Patent Application
20250224196
