Patent Application
20070289586
In order to explain the present invention in more detail, the invention will be explained with reference to the supplied drawings. In the figures, A is an air gun, B is a feeder for the air gun, C is the gun barrel side of the air gun body, and D is the trigger side of the air gun body.
As shown in
The bullet-firing unit 1 comprises: a cylinder unit 11 and a piston unit 12.
The cylinder unit 11 comprises: a cylinder body 101 and cylinder head 102.
The cylinder body 101 has a cylindrical shape in which a long hole 11a is formed in the middle section so that it is long in the lengthwise direction, where one end of the cylinder body 101 is open and the other end is closed.
The cylinder head 102 is ring shaped and has a continuous hole 11b in it having a specified diameter, and an O-ring 105 is mounted inside the middle of that continuous hole 11b so that it can guide and support a nozzle body 21 (described later) and maintain air leakage, and an O-ring 103 for maintaining air leakage is mounted around the cylinder head 102 on the inside of the open end of the cylinder body 101. Also, this cylinder head 102 is formed so that it is continuous with a ring-shaped seal member 104 embedded in the side surface on the end inside the cylinder body 101, and a stepped section 11c is formed around the opposite end surface in which a chamber 3 (described later) fits.
The piston unit 12 comprises: a piston head 121, piston ring 122, piston body 123, joint unit 124 and piston spring 125, and is located inside the cylinder unit 11.
The piston head 121 has a piston groove 12a formed around its outer surface such that its front end is formed into a vertical shape and whose rear end is formed into a concave curved surface, and a concave fitting section 12b is formed in the center of the top surface. Also a second seal member 126 is embedded around the top surface so that it comes in contact with and forms a seal with the seal member 104 that is embedded in the cylinder head 102; and ventilation holes 12c that pass through the second seal member 126 and the vertical surface of the front end that forms the piston groove 12a are located at a plurality of locations so that they open up the base end of the piston groove 12a.
Moreover, the aforementioned concave fitting section 12b has a stepped section 12d that is formed in the entrance of the concave fitting section 12b so that the diameter of the stepped section 12d has a larger diameter than the entrance, and the stepped section 12d is continuous with a tapered section 12e whose diameter gradually increases toward the inside; and a concave section 12f having a specified diameter is formed in the bottom surface of the section whose diameter is greater than the entrance diameter. Moreover, an O-ring 127 is mounted inside the aforementioned stepped section 12d, and this O-ring 127 and the concave fitting section 12b form a locked section 12g.
The piston ring 122 is mounted inside the piston groove 12a and is an elastically transformable member, and it comes in rubbing contact with and presses against the inner wall of the cylinder body 101.
The piston body 123 is formed in cylindrical shape which has a bottom section formed on one end (left end in the figure) and is opening on the other end (right end in the figure), and a rack 12h having a specified number of teeth along the lengthwise direction from the opening end section is fixed to the cylindrical side surface, and this rack 12h is located so that it corresponds with the long hole 11a formed in the cylinder body 101. An engaging slide groove and convex section (not shown in the figure) are formed in the cylinder body 101 and piston body 123, and they restrict the piston body 123 from turning.
The joint section 124 comprises a slide pin 128 and piston-head spring 129.
The slide pin 128 is inserted into the center of the bottom of the piston body 123 so that it can slide a specified length, and the end section of the slide pin 128 is screwed into the center section of the rear surface of the piston head 121, and the head section of the slide pin 128 forms a flange shape.
The piston-head spring 129 is a compression spring that is a weaker than the engagement force between the locking section 21a and the locked section 12g, and harder (has a larger spring constant) than the nozzle spring 22 (described later), where one end comes in contact with the stepped surface of the head of the slide pin 128, and the other end comes in contact with the bottom section of the piston body 123, and it presses the piston head 121 so that it comes in contact with the piston body 123.
The piston spring 125 is a compression spring that extends between the bottom section of the piston body 123 and the closed bottom surface of the cylinder body 101, and it presses the piston body 123 so that it moves forward.
The nozzle unit 2 comprises a nozzle body 21 and nozzle spring 22 (elastic member).
The nozzle body 21 is a cylindrical body and is formed such that a locking section 21a, having a semi-spherical cross section and whose maximum diameter can be guided and supported by the concave section 12f formed inside the concave fitting section 12b of the piston head 121, is formed on the base end, and a pair of flange sections 21b that are separated by a specified space are arranged in the middle section, where the locking section 21a engages with the locked section 12g so that it can be released, and is arranged so that the continuous hole 11b in the cylinder head 102 is located within the pair of flange sections 21b. The engagement force between the locking section 21a and locked section 12g is larger than the force of the aforementioned piston-head spring 129 and nozzle spring 22 (described later).
The nozzle spring 22 is a compression spring whose spring constant is smaller than that of the piston-head spring 129 (softer than the piston-head spring 129), and it extends between the side surface of the continuous hole 11b in the cylinder head 102 and the front flange section 21b, and it presses the nozzle body 21 so that the tip end can move backward.
The chamber 3 is formed so that there is a small-diameter section 3a located in the hollow-shaft section where the continuous hole 11b is formed, and that has a specified reduced diameter so that it can guide and support the tip end of the nozzle body 21 through the continuous hole 11b, and the base end of the chamber 3 fits inside the stepped section 11c that is formed in the cylinder head 102. There is a bullet-feed port 3b formed in this small-diameter section 3a through which bullets E are supplied, and the side surface on the tip end of the aforementioned nozzle body 21 covers that bullet-feed port 3b so that it is closed off.
As described above, the integrated feeder for air gun B, is mounted inside the air gun A that comprises a gun barrel side C and trigger side D and can be taken down by way of a hinge section, as shown in
In other words, the feeder for air gun B of this embodiment is inserted and mounted so that it is removable into the hole shaped packing section c1 of the feeder located in line with the gun barrel in the frame of the gun barrel side C so that the rack 12h faces downward.
On the other hand, a power-supply unit (not shown in the figure), an electric motor (not shown in the figure), a deceleration mechanism comprising a sector gear d1, a control unit (not shown in the figure), and a trigger unit comprising a trigger d2 are mounted in the trigger side D, and by pulling the trigger d2, power supplied from the power-supply unit causes the electric motor to rotate, and that electric motor and deceleration mechanism connected to it operate, and the sector gear d1 that protrudes from the frame of the trigger side D rotates. Also, a removable magazine F, which is capable of progressively feeding bullets E by the force of a compression spring, is attached to the trigger side D.
In an air gun A that is constructed in this way, the trigger side D of the air gun body and gun barrel side C of the air gun body are connected so that the sector gear d1 engages with the rack 12h and so that the air gun can be taken down by way of a hinge unit a1. This air gun A has a locking unit a2 that is located in a position that faces the hinge unit a1, and the air gun A can be taken down by releasing this locking unit a2.
Next, the operation of the feeder for air gun B that is constructed in this way will be explained with reference to
First, when the trigger d2 is pulled causing the sector gear d1 to rotate, the piston body 123 and piston head 121 are in contact and begin to be moved backward by way of the sector gear d1 and the rack 12h that it is meshed with. Reacting to this, the nozzle body 21 in which the nozzle spring 22, having a smaller spring constant than the piston-head spring 129, is located begins to be moved backward by the piston body 123 and piston head 121.
By this piston head 121 moving backward, the piston ring 122 that is mounted inside the piston groove 12a presses against the front vertical surface that forms that piston groove 12a and the inner wall of the cylinder 101 body and transforms into an elliptical shape, forming a space between the concave curved surface on the rear and the piston ring 122.
Also, by way of the ventilation holes 12c that are formed through the second seal material 126 located in the piston head 121 and the vertical surface on the front of the piston groove 12a, air behind the piston body 123 flows through the aforementioned space and ventilation holes 12c into the air chamber that is formed between the cylinder head 102 and piston head 121. When the piston head 121 moves forward, the piston ring 122 that is mounted inside the piston groove 12a presses against the concave curved surface in the rear and the inner wall of the cylinder body 101 to prevent the flow of air.
Next, by the nozzle body 21 moving backward, the tip end of the nozzle that was closed off in order to mount the bullet-feed port 3b moves backward to expose the bullet-feed port 3b, and at the same time as this, one bullet E that is pressed upward from the magazine F is fed into the chamber 3 (see (1) of
Even though a bullet E is fed into this chamber 3, the piston body 123 continues to be moved backward by way of the sector gear d1 and the rack 12h that it is meshed with until the flange section 21b at the front of the nozzle body 21 comes in contact with the cylinder head 102.
When the flange section 21b comes in contact with the cylinder head 102, then the piston-head springs 129 begins to be compressed, and is compressed until it gives. The amount of time required until this piston-head spring 129 gives is the amount of time required to keep the tip end of the nozzle in the backward position and expose the bullet-feed port 3b so that the bullet E can be fed from the magazine F even when the feeding force becomes weak (see (2) in
After the piston-head spring 129 has been compressed until it gives, the locking section 21a formed at the base of the nozzle body 21 passes over the O-ring 127 mounted in the stepped section 12d, which separates the locking section 21a from the locked section 12g. Also, the nozzle body 21 is automatically moved forward by the force of the nozzle spring 22 until the flange section 21b located at the rear of the nozzle body 21 comes in contact with the cylinder head 102, and the tip end of the nozzle closes the bullet-feed port 3b.
At the same time as this, the piston head 121 comes into contact with the piston body 123 by the force of the piston-head spring 129, and the piston body 123 is moved backward by the sector gear d1 and the rack 12h that it is meshed with until it reaches the rear end.
Next, when the section of the section gear d1 with no teeth is positioned on the tooth surface of the rack 12h and meshing is released, the piston unit 12 is quickly moved forward by the force of the compressed piston-head spring 125 and generates compressed air. This generated compressed air is injected into the chamber 3 by the nozzle body 21, and the fed bullet E is fired through the barrel toward the outside (see (3) in
Also, as the piston unit 12 is moving forward, the O-ring 127 that is mounted inside the stepped section 12d is pressed backward by the locking section 21a of the nozzle body 21 that protrudes forward from the piston unit 12 along the tapered surface formed continuous with the stepped section 12d and is fastened by passing over it, then the locking section 21a is guided and supported so that it returns to the initial position in the concave section 12f formed inside the bottom surface of the piston head 121.
In the case of the continual-firing mode, the series of operations described above are repeated while the trigger d2 is pulled.
As described above, the feeder for air gun B of this embodiment has very little operation loss because the operation of the mechanism related to feeding bullets opens and closes the bullet-feed port 3b by just the same back-and-forth motion as the piston. Therefore, it is possible to conserve energy of the drive power supply. Also, durability of the mechanism is improved, and it is possible to efficiently increase the time that the bullet-feed port 3b is open within a limited space, thus improving the reliability of feeding bullets, and the feeder can also be mounted easily, even in an air gun A whose external appearance is patterned after a real gun.
Moreover, when maintenance (including parts replacement) is performed and practice of the feeder B is taken down, the lock unit a2 described above is released. Particularly, in the case of performing parts replacement of the feeder B, replacement can be performed easily by removing the feeder B from the feeder packing section c1.
A feeder for air gun and air gun of an embodiment of the invention are explained above, however, the embodiment explained above is only an example of a preferred embodiment of the invention, and the invention is not limited by that embodiment. The present invention can undergo various changes within the scope and range of the invention.
The feeder for air gun according to claim 1 and claim 2 of the invention is constructed so that a nozzle, which can be connected to or disconnected from the piston unit and that reacts to the operation of the piston unit, is located in the cylinder of the bullet-firing unit so that its dynamic vector is oriented in the same direction of the firing unit, and so that the bullet-feed port is closed and opened and there is very little operation loss when feeding bullets. Therefore, together with improving the durability of the mechanisms, it is possible to conserve energy of the drive power supply.
With the feeder for air gun according to claim 3 of the invention, the piston head and piston body are held by the joint section, by a force greater than the force of the elastic member, and by a force less than the engagement force between the locking section and the locked section, and are pressed together so that they are connected, and so that they can move through a stroke of a specified length, and after the piston head and piston body begin to move through the stroke of a specified length from the rear position of the nozzle body that is moved that specified length in reaction to the piston unit, it is possible to efficiently increase the amount of time that the bullet-feed port is open within a limited space. Therefore, regardless of the number of bullets that are loaded inside the magazine, bullets are constantly fed stably without feeding errors, so it is possible to mount the feeder in an air gun having a desired external appearance.
With the feeder for air gun according to claim 4 of the invention, by integrating the hollow chamber in which the bullet-feed port is located such that the feeder is completely capable of being assembled, it is possible to improve the work of assembling the air gun, and the assembled air gun can be repaired by simply replacing parts.
With the air gun according to claim 5 of the invention, by connecting the gun barrel side of the air gun body in which the feeder is mounted and the trigger side of the air gun body so that the air gun can be taken down, it is possible to reproduce the operability of a real gun that can be taken down, and it is possible for the user to perform maintenance of the feeder (including parts replacement) easily.
