FIELD OF INVENTION
This invention relates to paintball markers (guns) and blocking the barrel of same to prevent inadvertent discharge of a paintball.
BACKGROUND
Paintball is a sport where two or more players fire paintballs at each other from a paintball marker (gun) within the rules of a game, often like capture the flag. A player is “marked” if a paintball contacts, bursts and sheds its colored “paint” on him. Paintballs that do not break are not counted as marks. Referees enforce the rules and insure safety.
Players typically wear a paintball mask and goggles to minimize serious injury to the face, ears, and eyes. Regulated fields require masks, goggles and marker plugs or barrel covers to play on the field. The marker plugs and barrel covers prevent accidental firing of a paintball while not engaged in a game. Marker plugs will soon be required to meet American Society for Testing and Materials (“ASTM”) standards. See Proposed ASTM Designation F 2271-03, which is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.
The ASTM Standard requires, in short, that a blocking device prevent discharge of a paintball when the marker is fired several times, when the barrel is dry and after immersion in paint (which decreases friction between the barrel and any plug).
The known ways of blocking a barrel are the plugs and covers mentioned previously. Plugs act as stoppers to prevent paintballs from inadvertently exiting the marker's barrel. Unfortunately, such plugs are not effective in a barrel that is slick with paint, and few if any, of the existing plugs, can pass the proposed ASTM standards for paintball barrel blocking devices.
Paintball covers or “condoms” cover the end of the marker barrel, and “catch” fired balls. Cords connect the paintball cover to an anchoring point on the marker. Such covers are more expensive than plugs, difficult to clean, and require complicated mounting for proper operation as compared to the plug.
SUMMARY
The present invention satisfies the above-referenced needs. It is a flexible plug shaped to removably engage the end of a paintball marker barrel. The plug is comprised of a handle and a tip. The tip is sized and configured to snugly engage an inside of a marker barrel. The tip is comprised of a terminal end portion and an intermediate end portion located between the terminal end portion and the handle, and an open channel that joins the terminal end portion and the intermediate portion. Preferably, the tip is also comprised of a squeegee portion at the terminal end portion and ribs along the length between the terminal end portion and the intermediate portion.
The present invention is also a method of using the flexible plug comprising grabbing the handle, aligning the terminal end portion of the tip with a firing end of a barrel of a paintball marker, twisting the handle while pushing the tip into the barrel, securing the tip within the barrel; and releasing the handle.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a side view of a barrel blocking device according to the present invention inserted into a compressed gas gun or paintball marker.
FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of a barrel blocking device according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a front plan view of a barrel blocking device according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of a barrel blocking device according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a front plan view of another embodiment of a barrel blocking device according to the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIGS. 1-4 show different views of a flexible barrel plug 10 according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the plug 10 can be inserted into the barrel 4 of a paintball marker 2 to stop an inadvertent discharge of a paintball (not shown). The plug 10 is preferably comprised of rubber but may be made of other suitable materials such as plastic, etc.
As shown in FIG. 1 and in detail in FIGS. 2 and 3, the plug 10 has a handle 12 and tip 14. The handle 12 is shown as a generally flattened oval-shape, but could be any easily gripped shape. The handle 12 has two holes 16 that can attach to a cord (not shown) for storage, or such a cord could serve as a backup to secure the plug 10 in a marker barrel, in essence functioning like the cord used with the traditional barrel covers. Additionally, such cord may be used to attach the plug 10 to the marker so that the player would be less likely to lose the plug 10 when it is not secured in the barrel 4 of the marker 2; i.e., during play. The location of the holes 16 is suggestive, and could be located on any portion of the plug 10.
As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the tip 14, preferably is cylindrically shaped and sized to snugly fit into a standard marker barrel 4. However, it may be sized and shaped to fit into modified marker barrels including, but not limited to the Barrel Spin Attachment shown and described in U.S. application Nos. 60/682,628, 60/703,094, and 60/717,445, the Barrel Attachment for Gas Gun shown and described in U.S. Patent application No. 60/695,685, the Paintball Barrel Spin Device and Improved Paintball Gun Spin Barrel shown and described in U.S. Patent application No. 60/695,732, and the Paintball Projectile Drop Compensator shown and described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/453,122. These applications are incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. As shown in FIG. 4, the cylindrical tip 14 has two sides 30, 32. Both sides are comprised of a channel 24, ribbing 20 and a squeegee 18. The ribbing defines a rib cross-sectional perimeter formed along the tip. As shown in FIG. 4, in the preferred embodiment, the channels 24 have identical groove paths but one is rotated 180 degrees about its axis. In another embodiment, the sides 30, 32 of the tip 14 may be mirror images of each other. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the squeegee 18 is essentially a lip that protrudes or extends outward past the ribbing 20.
During insertion, the tip 14 compresses due to its flexibility, and removably engages the inner surface of the barrel along the tip's length as shown in FIG. 1.
Several features of the tip 14 make it advantageous over the simple plugs of the prior art.
First, the flexibility of the plug 10 allows it to compress during insertion into a barrel 4, but subsequently expand to tightly engage the barrel 4, as shown in FIG. 1. Optimally, during insertion, a user twists the plug 10, which reduces the cross sectional area of the tip 14. Once the tip 14 is inserted deeply into a marker barrel 4, untwisting the plug 10 expands the tip 14 so that it firmly engages the barrel 4.
Second, during insertion and removal of the plug 10, the squeegee lip 18 wipes off the inside of the barrel 4, which is advantageous because it removes paint or moisture from the barrel 4 that would otherwise reduce friction on the plug 10, which further secures the plug 10 in the barrel 4. In other words, the more friction, the less likely the plug 10 is to slip out of the barrel 4 or be discharged from the barrel 4 upon being struck by a misfired paintball. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the channel 24 (discussed further below) also has a squeegee lip 25 that extends above the surface of the ribs 20 such that the lip 25, during a twisting insertion, wipes the interior of the barrel.
Third, the ribbing 20, shown in detail in FIGS. 2 and 3, acts to further squeegee the barrel, and engages the barrel tightly along the length of the tip 14. The ribs 20 may be the same size; however, in an alternate embodiment (not shown), the two ribs 22 closest to the squeegee lip 18 may be larger than the other ribs. In this embodiment, these two ribs 22 engage the barrel with more friction, and during any partial removal of the plug 10, these ribs 22 will remain engaged until the plug 10 is fully removed. Thus, in a partially removed condition, these ribs 22 alone might engage the barrel with enough force to prevent a paintball from inadvertently discharging. In an alternate embodiment not shown, the ribbing could spiral along the length of the tip 14, thus making a twisting insertion of the plug 10 easier.
Fourth, the curved or winding vent channels 24, which are preferably located on opposite sides of the tip 14 as shown in FIG. 4, vent the gas expelled during firing of a paintball marker. The channel's 24 curved shape, shown in detail in FIGS. 2 and 3, moreover, impedes debris as it exits the barrel, thus decreasing the damaging effect of such debris as it is fired from the marker. The channel(s) 24 are preferably any convoluted shape, and could number one or more along the tip 14. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, in the preferred embodiment, the walls of the channel 24 extend beyond the cross-sectional perimeter of the ribbing 20 so as to form a squeegee lip 25. This squeegee lip 25 functions similar to the squeegee 18 in that the squeegee lip 25 wipes off the inside of a barrel during a twisting insertion and removal. This is advantageous because the lip 25 removes paint or moisture from the barrel that would otherwise reduce friction on the plug 10, which further secures the plug 10 in the barrel.
Fifth, the contact edge 26 of the tip 14 has advantageous features of its own. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the edge 26 is preferably non-contiguous due to the hole 28 that extends through the thickness of the tip 14. This makes each edge of the contact edge 26 more flexible, and allows it to function as a spring that absorbs the impact of an inadvertently discharged paintball. This absorption breaks the paintball, but also prevents the entirety of the paintball's energy from transmission through the tip 14, because some of the paintball's energy is absorbed, and some of the energy escapes in the form of exploded paint (and casing) into the hole 28 and out the channels 24. Another advantage of the shape of the contact edge 26, which is shown in detail in FIGS. 2 and 4, is that it is shaped to “catch” or accept a paintball, which further absorbs its impact. Yet another advantage of the shape of the contact edge 26 is that the hole 28 can be shaped to engage a standard display hook in a retail store, thus making these relatively inexpensive plugs 10 easy to mount and store.
It may be advantageous in other embodiments, as shown in FIG. 5, to have a contact edge 34 shaped to pierce the paintball (not shown), for example, with a pointed portion 36, thus allowing the energy of the paintball to escape in the form of paint and casing through the channel 24.
Sixth, the large flattened handle 12 can be easily formed with the logo of a company or otherwise branded.
Although what has been shown and discussed is a flexible plug 10, a less flexible plug could be used, especially if it had the impact absorbing contact edge 26,34 that absorbs the energy of the misfired paintball.
Patent Application
20060185658
