Patent Application
20060180134
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to paintball guns that have been modified to receive adapters to accommodate liquid-free projectiles, especially of varied shapes other than spherical. The adapters are of two diverse sorts. One replaces a conventional paintball gun hopper and feeds the solid projectiles through the original paintball feed port. The other is a more sophisticated device that screws or otherwise fits in between a paintball gun bore tube and a removable barrel. This embodiment can be adapted to accommodate longer projectiles with diverse shapes and materials of construction.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
The following patents relate to paintball devices:
U.S. Pat. No. 6,644,295 describes a pneumatic assembly preferably includes a compressed gas storage area, a firing valve, and a bolt arranged along substantially the same horizontal axis. A valve retainer, a compressed gas storage area housing, and a bolt assembly are preferably arranged to form a substantially contiguous assembly housing. The firing valve is preferably configured to open when gas pressure is applied to a surface area thereof through a control valve. The bolt is preferably configured to move to a closed position before the firing valve is actuated. The control valve is preferably an electro-pneumatic valve configured to actuate the firing valve in response to a trigger pull of a paintball gun.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,516,791 B2 describes an electrically operated paintball gun operable to shoot paintballs including a barrel, a trigger, and a breech connected to a rear end of the barrel, as well as a bolt moveable in the breech between a rearward position and a forward shooting position. A pneumatic circuit is provided to drive the bolt towards the forward position and includes a control valve in the form of a solenoid valve to receive gas under pressure and direct it into a chamber at the rear of the bolt when the gun is shot. An electronic circuit controls the pneumatic circuit and is operated by an electrical switch operated by the trigger. A gas valve mechanism is opened by engagement by the bolt, when the latter is driven forwardly to the shooting position, to permit the passage of relatively high pressure propellant has into the barrel to propel a paintball. This valve mechanism preferably includes a pivotable lever or a metal ball that normally projects into the bolt chamber and that is engaged and moved by the bolt when the bolt is driven to its forward position.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,488,019 B2 describes a feeder for use with a paintball gun has an inlet through which paintballs enter, and an outlet through which they exit. A feed mechanism disposed inside the feeder frictionally engages the paintballs as the enter and transports them to the outlet. The feed mechanism may include rotatable disks. The space between the rotatable disks may be less than the diameter of the paintballs. At least one of the rotatable disks may include a material that flexes to accommodate a paintball. The paintball feeding system may additionally incorporate a circuit that senses when the gun is fired and controls the rate at which paintballs are fed into the paintball gun.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,360,736 B1 describes an air gun firing system, working in conjunction with and air gun with a barrel and comprising: a bullet chamber on the front end of the main body, connected with the barrel for housing a bullet to be fired through the barrel; a lock, movable along the axis of the barrel, pushing the bullet into the bullet chamber, as driven by a lock driver, enabling the bullet to be fired, with a spring pulling back the lock; a gas chamber for driving the lock driver, accommodating the lock driver; a high-pressure gas container; a first pressure reducing valve; a second pressure reducing valve; and an electromagnetic valve, controlling flow of low-pressure gas into the gas chamber. When the electromagnetic valve opens, low-pressure gas flows into the gas chamber, driving the lock driver. When the electromagnetic valve closes, the spring pulls back the lock and the lock driver.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,640,945 describes and improved paintball and gun therefor cooperate so that the range of the paintball and its accuracy are significantly improved. The external surface of the paintball in contoured so as to increase the frictional interaction with air, and the barrel of the paintball gun interacts differentially with the upper and lower hemispheres of the ball so that significant backspin is imparted to the paintball. Accordingly, the paintball experiences lift in flight which substantially increases its range and accuracy. The interaction of the ball with the barrel may be wholly aerodynamic. The interior of the paintball is preferably baffled so that paint therein rotates with the shell, preventing the backspin from being damped out rapidly.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,373,832 describes the present invention is a multiple projectile-shooting air gun. It includes a main housing having a barrel adapted for receiving a projectile, a handle and a trigger, as well as a high pressure, inflatable bladder connected to the main housing, the bladder having an inlet and outlet. There is also a pressurizing mechanism for providing air pressure to the bladder to inflate it. The pressurizing mechanism is physically connected to the housing and functionally connected to the bladder inlet. There is a bladder deflation valve having an upstream side and a downstream side, and it is connected to the bladder outlet at the valve's upstream side, and is connected to the trigger for opening and closing thereof, and is connected to a projectile launch port at the valve's downstream side for launching a projectile upon deflation of at least a portion of the bladder when it has been inflated. The launch port is located in the barrel of the main housing and connected to the downstream side of the bladder deflation valve, and is functionally connected to a launch tube adapted for receiving and shooting a projectile. The launch tube is one of a plurality of launch tubes which are located on a rotating magazine. The magazine advances after each shot to position the next launch tube with projectile for firing.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,843,751 describes the cylinder, with an axial attachment and axially perforated, is fixed in the firearm casing; a sliding element forms a trigger and housing for the magazine for the projectiles, the said element being subjected to the action of a return spring in the direction opposite to that of the manual action on the trigger; a thrust connection is provided between the said piston and the said element in order to actuate, through the travel of the trigger when pressed, the loading of the spring and, at the end of the said travel, the release of the piston.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,818,887 describes a toy air gun featuring a magazine detachably mounted to the gun for sequentially urging pellets into a chamber contained therein, a hollow cylinder provided at the forward end thereof with a nozzle and being operatively mounted for sliding movement within the gun between a first position wherein the nozzle is positioned rearwardly of that part of the chamber into which the pellets are fed and a second position wherein the nozzle extends within the barrel of the gun, the cylinder, the inoperative position of a trigger mechanism formed as a part of the gun holding the piston in its rearward position, the piston normally being urged t move forwardly within the cylinder and a slide mechanism operatively mounted to the gun such that as a child moves same rearwardly, the cylinder is caused to move rearwardly eventually contracting and forcing the piston rearwardly eventually contacting and forcing the piston rearwardly to its cocked position, after which the cylinder returns to its forward position moving a pellet introduced from the magazine into the chamber of the gun, after which actuation of the trigger mechanism releases the piston to move forwardly within the cylinder forcing air normally contained therein outwardly through the nozzle causing the pellet to be propelled out of the barrel of the gun.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,726,266 describes a gas-operated multiple shot projectile firing device with a circular and rotatable magazine which includes a plurality of chambers, each of which holds a dart-like projectile. A lever is associated with the projectile device and performs the dual function of cocking the firing mechanism and rotating the dart-filled magazine such that a plurality of projectiles can be successively fired upon a single loading. The device is particularly suited for short range firing and may be designed for dart projectiles of various calibers.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,111,121 describes an air gun comprising a casing, a cylinder slidably mounted in said casing, a tubular cylinder extension fixed to said cylinder and slidably movable in said casing into alignment with and adjacent said barrel from a position spaced from said barrel, said cylinder extension having an end provided with a resilient ring, said casing having an opening therein, a magazine detachable secured to said casing in said opening, a plurality of cartridges in said magazine, each of said cartridges including a hollow bullet head and a case, said case having opposite ends, both said ends being open, said bullet head being detachably secured to said case, said magazine successively supporting said cartridges in alignment with said barrel and engageable with said resilient ring on said cylinder extension for forming an air seal communicating said cylinder with said bullet head end for movement therewith, a piston in said cylinder, a piston rod attached to said piston and extending outwardly of said cylinder, spring means in said cylinder normally urging said piston towards said extension, releasable means in said casing for holding said piston rod against movement so as to compress said spring means, and extractor means mounted on said cylinder extension and engageable with said case for holding said case against said resilient ring in communication with said cylinder.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,737,942 describes a toy gun construction comprising a gun-shaped casing, a bolt, longitudinally slideable in said casing and spring biased to a forward position, said bolt having a trigger-engaging projection depending therefrom, said bolt serving to propel a pellet from said casing upon its spring being depressed and released, said casing having opposing trigger-engaging guideways lying under said bolt, a one-piece molded trigger element having an elongated substantially flat body portion with side edges longitudinally slideable along said guideways and spring biased to a forward position, an integral pull finger depending from said body portion, an integral post extending upwardly from said post over the flat body portion, an integral flat deflectable leaf spring-like finger extending forwardly from said post over the flat body portion, said deflectable finger being biased upwardly and having an integral upstanding latch projection engaging the bolt projection when in its forward position, a cam projection integrally formed on the spring finger adjacent the latch projection and means on the casing engageable with said cam as the trigger is pulled to deflect the spring finger and disengage its projection from the bolt projection whereby to release the bolt so as to propel the pellet from the gun.
Notwithstanding the prior art, the present invention is neither taught nor rendered obvious thereby.
The present invention relates to a combination solid projectile and paintball gun. It includes a main housing, a trigger, a barrel, a first projectile port, a second projectile port, means for opening and closing the ports, and an adapter for attachment to the gun for feeding and firing solid projectiles. By “solid” is meant having no liquid, and includes dense, hard materials as well as soft porous materials. These solid projectiles could be foam, plastic, cork, wood, or other material or combinations thereof.
The main housing is connected to a compressed gas source. There is a compressed gas line from the main housing to a connection mechanism for connection to the compressed gas source. A compressed gas valve is located on the line and has a closed position and open position, with biasing means for biasing the valve in its closed position. There is a bore in the main housing downstream from the valve, and functionally connected to the valve and line to receive compressed gas when the valve is opened. There is a piston contained within the bore, the piston having a rest position toward the valve and a fire position away from the valve, means for moving the piston from its firing position to its rest position and for biasing the piston in its rest position.
The trigger is connected to the valve such that when the trigger is activated, the valve moves to its open position and returns to its closed position. The barrel is usually removable and extends outwardly from the bore and together with the bore, creates a firing path for shooting a projectile therefrom with compressed gas power.
The first projectile port is connected to the firing path and adapted to receive sequential paintballs and adapted to connect to a paintball feeder device. There is a port closing and opening means connectable to the first projectile port and the second projectile port.
The adapter connects between the bore and the barrel, and has a second projectile port located in the firing path and it is adapted to receive sequential liquid-free projectiles and adapted to connect to a liquid-free projectile feeder magazine. It has a storage area and feeding mechanism.
An optional second projectile port closing and opening means may be included that may be connectable to or connected to the second projectile port.
The combination soft projectile and paintball gun of the present invention includes an attachable, removable paintball feeder device, e.g. a hopper, for attachment to the first port, and also includes a liquid-free projectile feeder magazine for attachment to the second port. The adapter and liquid-free projectile magazine may be permanently or separably connected to one another.
The liquid-free projectile magazine may be a stacking magazine with a spring and plate adapted to receive a plurality of soft liquid-free projectiles and to bias them toward the firing path, e.g., it may be a stacking magazine that is a vertical magazine or a banana clip magazine. Alternatively, the magazine is a rotary magazine. It may be a manually operated rotary magazine or it may be an automatically advancing turret magazine. The magazine may contain a plurality of liquid-free projectiles having a shape selected from the group consisting of bullet-shaped, spherical, elliptical, disc-shaped and cylindrical.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a conventional paintball gun includes a novel adapter housing having attachment means adapted to connect directly to a paintball gun feeder port. This adapter has a liquid-free projectile storage area, such as a magazine or turret such as a spring fed, manual rotary, or automatic turret mechanism and structure and has a feeding means for feeding the liquid-free projectiles sequentially from the storage area to the paintball gun feeder port.
The present invention should be more fully understood when the specification herein is taken in conjunction with the drawings appended hereto wherein:
This gas valve has a closed position and an open position, as with any conventional or prior art paintball gun. There is a built in biasing means for biasing the valve in its closed position. A bore downstream from the valve contains a piston that has a rest position toward the valve and a fire position away from the valve. The piston is biased to its rest position, by a spring, a moving means such as a cocking mechanism, or other known mechanisms. Trigger 11 is functionally connected to the valve so that when the trigger is pulled, a burst of pressurized gas expands to move the piston to its firing position. The piston will allow a slug of air to travel a relatively short distance at an extremely high velocity. Paintballs are stored in conventional hopper 13 and are fed individually into paintball feeder port 15 and hence into the bore of tube 17. When trigger 11 is pulled, a paintball is fired through barrel 19. Barrel 19 has threads at upstream end 21 for connection and removal to housing 3's tube 17.
In
When trigger 11 is pulled, the gas from cylinder 9 exits gas outlet 1109 and this burst of gas pushes against auxiliary valve 1121, forcing auxiliary valve 1121 forward. Auxiliary valve outlet 1123 line up with gas inlet 1129, allowing compressed gas to flow into auxiliary valve 1121 through outlet 1123. The exiting gas propels the solid projectile 1205 out of the gun. As auxiliary valve 1121 moves forward, it opens one or more exhaust gas vents 1119, allowing gas from outlet 1109 to exit the gun. Auxiliary valve spring 1125 pushes auxiliary valve 1121 back to its rest position, sealing off gas inlet 1129 and exhaust port 1119. Gas exiting outlet 1123 may be ported, and/or gas from auxiliary gas line 1131 may be ported to advance projectiles in the magazine one position at a time, sequentially. Likewise, exhaust gas from the exhaust gas vents 1119 may be used to advance projectiles. Further, gas from either or both lines 1113 and 1131 may alternatively or additionally be used to propel the projectiles as well as advance the turret projectiles up in the turret magazine.
When the adapter is removed and the gun is reassembled, it may be used as conventional paintball gun.
a shows a side (profile) view of a present invention liquid-free projectile 120, and
The following is a table which refers to the foregoing examples of the various projectile shapes and constituents. While this list is extensive, it is not comprehensive, and is intended to be illustrative of the present invention projectiles:
It can now be seen that various combinations of materials and shapes may be formulated for needs or desires of the user (sport, indoor, outdoor, law enforcement, painless, stinging, debilitating, etc.).
Obviously, numerous modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. For example, while the magazines and turrets are shown in the Figures as having a firing chamber connected to it, the magazine or turret could be separable from its firing chamber to permit reloading, cleaning, maintenance, and/or replacement thereof without unscrewing the entire device from the gun and barrel. Alternatively, the magazine and the firing chamber could be integral, and loading of projectiles, etc., could be accomplished via an access area or door. Additionally, present invention guns could be designed with two separate barrels, e.g. side-by-side or over-under, one for paintballs and one for the liquid-free projectiles or fun grenades. As another alternative, there could be a single attachment that could have separate hopper portions for each of the paintballs and the solid projectiles with a gate or valve to permit only one or the other to drop into the gun for firing.
