Patent Application
20150253103
In the sport of airsoft, players aim to acquire hits on their target from a location that allows them not to be seen, which generally happens by either applying stealth techniques or by firing from a larger distance. The issue is that the airsoft projectile, otherwise known as BB's, cannot reach targets at long distances without attaining high speeds. These high speeds, although relatively safe at large distances, are very dangerous at short distances where most battle occur. Therefore, high speed weapons, measured in feet per second, are not allowed at many fields and all players' weapons must be tested by field officials prior to battle. Therefore, airsoft manufacturers had to find a way to keep BB speeds low while retaining effective range. Their solution is the hop-up mechanism. In airsoft, a hop-up works by applying backspin to a BB. This backspin causes an area of low pressure on the upper surface of the projectile. This low pressure in turn allows for an upward vertical force to counteract the downward force caused by gravity and allows the projectile to remain airborne for a longer period of time effectively increasing its range. This increase in range is particularly important in the sport of airsoft. Furthermore, the hop-up mechanism can be adjusted by turning a hop-up adjustment knob to allow the player to zero their shots based on their personal preference and the weight of the BB projectile. The issue with adjustable hop-up mechanisms in airsoft weapons when used for official field play is that the hop-up must be set to a zero hop-up setting for mandatory speed requirement testing. The issues that this causes is that whatever hop-up setting the player has selected as their preferred level of adjustment will be lost and in turn will require the weapon to be zeroed again, which can be time consuming. Even further, over time, the hop-up mechanism loses its ability to retain the adjustment setting of the player due to constant motion and gradual wear on the mechanism. Therefore, there is a need for a hop-up mechanism that will not lose its zero over time, and can be easily zeroed after speed testing before battle.
The present invention relates to a Precision Hop-Up Mechanism for airsoft. The present invention directly relates to a hop-up mechanism having a Detent that will produce an audible indication, as well as tactile feedback, as each tooth of the hop-up adjustment knob rotates past the detent. The flexible detent will further act as a locking device when the adjustment knob is set.
It is the object of this invention to provide a Detent on a Precision Hop-Up Mechanism that will provide a user with a means to easily zero their weapon based on a predetermined number of rotational audible and tactile feedback clicks. Furthermore, this invention will provide a means for the hop-up mechanism to be securely locked at the predetermined level of adjustment based on their personal preference.
The following descriptions are set forth and have been assigned numerical designations to enable the reader to understand the reasoning behind and the application of the present invention. Even though a specific configuration is illustrated in some of the figures of the drawings, it will be apparent to a user that this is merely for illustrative purposes.
