BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a side view of a paintball gun;
FIG. 2A is a sectional side view of a firing assembly of a paintball gun in a rest position;
FIG. 2B is a sectional side view of the firing assembly in a firing position;
FIG. 3A is a rear view of the paintball gun shown in FIG. 3A;
FIG. 3B is a sectional side view of a further embodiment of a firing assembly of a paintball gun with a handle and trigger thereon;
FIG. 3C is a side view of an opposite side of the paintball gun shown in FIG. 3A;
FIG. 3D is a sectional view through the section D-D of FIG. 3C of that part of the firing assembly;
FIG. 4A is a partial side view of a handle and trigger portions of the paintball gun with partially cut away portions;
FIG. 4B is a sectional view along the section A-A of FIG. 4A;
FIG. 5A is a rear view of a handle and trigger portion of the paintball gun;
FIG. 5B is a sectional side view along the section D-D of FIG. 5A; and
FIG. 5C is a sectional side view along the section C-C of FIG. 5A.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
In FIG. 1, paintball gun 2 has a body 4 with a backblock 6 at a rear thereof and a barrel 8 extending outward from a front of said body 4. A grip 10 has a trigger 12 and trigger frame 14 connected thereto. The trigger frame 14 is connected to a lower edge of the body 4. A compressed gas regulator 16 has an air source adapter 18 thereon and is connected to the lower edge body 4 at a front thereof. A feed neck 20 is connected at a top of the body 4 near the front thereof. The feed neck is conventional and is capable of receiving a plurality of paintballs which it automatically feeds into a breech, one at a time in succession, as the gun 2 is fired. The breech is not shown in FIG. 1. A compressed gas cylinder (not shown) is connected to the bottom of the trigger frame and has a hose (not shown) extending in to the bottom of the regulator 16.
In FIGS. 2A and 2B, there is shown a sectional side view of a firing assembly 22 in a rest position and in a firing position respectively. The firing assembly 22 is located in the body 4 (not shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B). In FIG. 2A, the firing assembly 22 has the backblock 6 for receiving a compressed gas supply (not shown in FIG. 2A). The stationary guide assembly 24 has a housing 26, with a support 28 located at the front thereof. The support 28 has a hollow center to receive a rod 30, which extends forward to a plug 32 having a seal 34 surrounding an outer edge thereof. The plug 32 is larger than the rod 30 and is located at a free end of the stationary guide assembly 24. The backblock 6 is located at the rear of the housing 26. The compressed gas supply is preferably compressed air. Compressed air from the backblock 6 passes through a passage 37 in the housing 26 and through openings 38 in the support 24. Compressed air can therefore flow from the compressed air cylinder (not shown) through the backblock 6, into the air passage 37 within the housing 26 and through the openings 38 into a firing chamber 40. The compressed air within the firing chamber 40 is prevented from exiting the chamber by the seal 34. Surrounding the stationary guide assembly 24 is a dynamic piston assembly 42. The dynamic piston assembly 42 has a rear cylindrical portion 44, a firing chamber 46 attached to a front of the cylindrical portion 44 and a piston front 48 attached to a front of the firing chamber 46. The piston assembly 42 is slidably mounted relative to the stationary guide assembly 24. The piston assembly is preferably constructed as one-piece. In other words, the cylindrical portion 44, the firing chamber 46 and the piston front 48 are preferably integral components. The stationary guide assembly is also preferably constructed as one piece.
In the rest position, a paintball (not shown) will be inserted into the breech (not shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B). As the trigger is pulled to fire the gun (not shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B), the piston assembly 42 slides forward relative to the stationary guide assembly 24 as shown in 2B. The same reference numerals are used in FIG. 2B as those used in FIG. 2A for those components that are identical. By comparing FIG. 2B with FIG. 2A, it can be seen that the seal 34 is located outside the piston front 48 in FIG. 2B. Also, the air supply from the cylinder (not shown) is cut off from the firing chamber 40, but air from the firing chamber 40 can flow around the seal 34 into the piston front 48, thereby propelling the paintball from the breech and from the gun (not shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B). The breech (not shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B) is located in front of the piston front. The firing chamber 46 is a compressed gas storage compartment and has an inside diameter that is slightly larger than an outside diameter of the piston front 48. Since the inside diameter of the piston front 48 is less than the inside diameter of the cylindrical portion 44, the pressure on the piston front is greater than the pressure on the cylindrical portion 44. Therefore, the piston assembly 42 moves forward relative to the stationary guide assembly 24. The cylindrical portion 44, the firing chamber 40 and the piston front 48 are preferably press-fit together. In FIGS. 2A and 2B, it can be seen that the firing assembly has four seals 34, 50, 52, and 54. When the piston assembly and the stationary guide assembly are each made of one piece, the seals 50 and 54 can be eliminated.
In FIG. 3A, there is shown a rear view of the paintball gun 2. The same reference numerals are used in FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C and 3D as those used in FIGS. 1, 2A and 2B. FIG. 3A is a rear view of the paintball gun 2 with a trigger frame 14 extending downward from the body 4. When the seal 34 loses contact with the inner surface of the piston front 48, the air within the storage compartment expands to propel the paintball from the breech (not shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B).
In FIG. 3B, which is a sectional view along the lines C-C of FIG. 3A, the firing assembly 22 is shown in the firing position of FIG. 2B. In the firing position, the piston assembly 42 has moved forward relative to the stationary guide assembly 24. A groove 58 in a top of the trigger frame 14 connects to a passage 60 extending longitudinally in the rear of the trigger frame 14 to a vertical passage 62 which is connected to the backblock 6. An air passage 64 is located in the regulator 16 and connects into a short passage 66, which in turn is connected to the groove 58. Air pressure from the regulator 16 can thus be transferred to the backblock 6 through the air passages 64, 56, the groove 58, the air passage 60 and the vertical passage 62. A gasket 68 extends along the top of the groove 58 between the trigger frame 14 and the body 4 to seal the mating surfaces between the body 4 and the trigger frame 14 and prevent air within the groove 58 from escaping from the gun 2.
In FIG. 3C, there is shown a side view of the gun 2 with the barrel omitted. As soon as the gun 2 returns to the rest position after firing, a paintball 69 falls from the feed neck 20 into a breech 59 located beneath the feed neck 20. The piston front 48 extends into the breech 59 when the piston assembly moves forward upon firing. The body 4 is partially cut away to expose the breech 59, part of an inside of the barrel 8 and the piston front 48. The breech 59 contains a paintball 69. FIG. 3D is a sectional top view of the trigger frame 14 along the section D-D of FIG. 3C. The same reference numerals are used in FIGS. 3C and 3D as those used in FIGS. 3A and 3B for those components that are identical. On a side of a trigger frame 14 opposite to the passage 60 is a piston return mechanism 70. A ram 72 is housed in a bore 74 located in the trigger frame 14. A control valve 76 allows air pressure to pass through a passage 78 and to flow into the bore 74. The ram 72 is connected to the piston assembly 42 by a pin 80 (see FIGS. 2A and 2B) which is located in a pin hole 82 in the ram 72. As the ram 72 is forced rearward by the air pressure coming through the passage 78, the piston assembly is forced rearward as well. The piston assembly 42 is not shown in FIG. 3D. The pin 80 is not shown in FIGS. 3A to 3D. Returning to FIG. 3B, a battery 84 is located within the trigger frame 14. The battery is connected to power the control valve 76.
In FIG. 4A, there is shown a side view of the trigger frame 14. Grips 10 snap into place on bosses 94 as shown in FIG. 4B. The grips 10 can be removed from the trigger frame 14 by forcing snap tabs 96 from the trigger frame 14 using access holes in the back of the trigger frame 14. The same reference numerals are used in FIGS. 4A and 4B as those used in FIGS. 3A to 3D.
In FIG. 5A, there is shown a rear view of the trigger frame 14. In FIG. 5B, there is shown a sectional side view along the section D-D of FIG. 5A. In FIG. 5C, there is shown a sectional side view along the section C-C of FIG. 5A.
In operation, (referring to all of the Figures), when the piston assembly 42 is in the rest position, a paintball 69 (not shown in FIGS. 5A, 5B or 5C) drops into the breech 59 (not shown in FIGS. 5A, 5B, or 5C) of the body 4. A mechanical or electrical pneumatic valve 100 (preferably an electronic solenoid valve) initiates the firing of the paintball gun in response to rearward movement of the trigger 12. The trigger activates a microswitch 102 which transmits an electronic signal to a circuit board 104. The circuit board 104 then sends a pulse or a series of pulses depending on the firing mode to actuate the electro-pneumatic valve 100. When activated, the electro-pneumatic valve 100 directs compressed gas through the control valve 76 into the storage compartment 40 within the firing chamber. The air pressure causes the piston assembly 42 to move forward because the cross-sectional area of the piston front 48 is greater than the cross-sectional area of the rear cylindrical portion 44. The piston front 48 preferably contacts the paintball and begins to push the paintball forward, just prior to the air being released. The free end 32 of the stationary guide assembly 24 becomes separated from the piston front 48, thereby allowing the compressed air within the storage compartment 40 to expand and flow forward through the piston front 48 and through the breech to propel the paintball. When the paintball has been fired, the control valve 76 emits air through the passage 78 and into the bore 74 to return the ram 72 to the rearward position, thereby simultaneously returning the piston assembly 42 to the rest position. The gun 2 is then ready for subsequent firing. The method is then repeated for a further firing or firings.
The groove along the top of the trigger frame allows the body to be reduced in size as the air passage is created by the body and trigger frame together and is not located entirely in the body. In addition, the ram and bore located in the trigger frame also allow the body to be reduced in size as the bore is located in the trigger frame rather than in the body. In addition, the compressed air storage compartment is located within the firing chamber and the inside diameter of the firing chamber is substantially the same as the inside diameter of the breech. In the embodiment shown in the drawings, the inside diameter of the firing chamber is slightly larger than the inside diameter of the breech. The breech has an inside diameter slightly larger than a diameter of a paintball. The inside diameter of the firing chamber is therefore substantially equal to the diameter of a paintball. The firing chamber moves forward upon firing of the paintball gun and the compressed gas storage chamber moves forward as well as it is located within the firing chamber. The body can have a much smaller cross-sectional area because the gas storage compartment is located entirely within the piston assembly. The phrase “inside diameter”, when used in this herein, means the diameter of the inner surface of the component referred to. The phrase “outside diameter”, when used herein, means the diameter of the outer surface of the component referred to.
Patent Application
20080066729
