Valve Assembly for Paintball Guns and the Like, and Improved Guns Incorporating the Assembly

Abstract

A gun preferably designed to rapidly fire paint balls includes a single valve assembly that is inserted into and removed from the gun body. The valve assembly includes a low pressure ram passing through a longitudinal center or core of the assembly, and is capable of being driven in opposite reciprocal directions. A volumizer stores a charge of high pressure gas sufficient to adequately propel a paint ball, and a high pressure poppet valve is driven by movement of the low pressure ram for releasing the charge rapidly. A bolt carried upon the low pressure ram moves a paint ball into firing position just prior to the high pressure discharge. All of the aforementioned components of the cartridge are carried upon a single axis defined by the ram. Means are provided to both align and couple the various components together to ensure proper operation at high firing rates.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, advantages, and novel features of the present invention can be understood and appreciated by reference to the following detailed description of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a paintball gun incorporating the present invention from side plan view with the barrel, magazine and gas cartridge removed.

FIG. 2 illustrates a preferred embodiment valve assembly designed in accord with the teachings of the present invention and operative with the preferred embodiment gun Of FIG. 1, from a side plan view and in a stationary but ready-to-be-fired position.

FIG. 3 illustrates the preferred embodiment valve assembly of FIG. 2 from a projected plan view and in a during-firing position.

FIG. 4 illustrates the preferred embodiment valve assembly of FIG. 2 from a sectional view taken along section line 4′ of FIG. 3, which corresponds to a plane parallel to the page in FIG. 2. FIG. 5 illustrates the preferred embodiment valve assembly of FIG. 4 in a position immediately prior to high pressure discharge.

FIG. 6 illustrates the preferred embodiment valve assembly of FIG. 4 in a position during firing, at the time of high pressure discharge, and illustrating the flow of high pressure gas through the assembly.

Claims

1. A valve assembly for paintball guns and the like, comprising an end cap;a low-pressure ram chamber having at least two ports spaced distally from each other and each operative to allow gas to pass through;a ram having a ram head and seal dividing said low-pressure ram chamber into a first and a second low-pressure enclosure, said first low-pressure enclosure in communication with a first one of said at least two ports and said second low-pressure enclosure in communication with a second one of said at least two ports, said first port isolated from said second port;a bolt coupled for relative movement with said ram and having at least one hole penetrating longitudinally through said bolt, and a plurality of seals cooperative with a gun barrel and feed neck to seal said feed neck from a blast of high pressure gas during gun firing;a volumizer having a high pressure inlet to a volumizer enclosure, at least one flow port coupling an exterior of said volumizer to said at least one hole penetrating through said bolt;a high pressure valve controlling flow from said volumizer enclosure to said flow port;each of said end cap, low-pressure ram chamber, ram, bolt, volumizer and valve constrained within said valve assembly such that said valve assembly remains a single integrated unit not only during normal operation but also during removal from and insertion into a gun body.

2. The valve assembly for paintball guns and the like of claim 1, wherein said ram further comprises a rod-like longitudinally extensive body of a first diameter throughout at least a majority of said longitudinal extension, said longitudinally extensive body passing through said low pressure ram chamber and said valve.

3. The valve assembly for paintball guns and the like of claim 1, wherein said ram further comprises a neck region of smaller diameter adjacent to said ram head, wherein a small amount of initial movement of said ram away from said end cap, which is otherwise insufficient to fully move said bolt or to activate said valve, releases said internal seal between said valve and said ram.

4. The valve assembly for paintball guns and the like of claim 1, wherein said bolt further comprises an extended bore which is closed at a first end and which couples at a second distal end to said ram, and extends from an end of said ram substantially to a longitudinal end of said bolt distal to said ram, wherein material and mass are reduced by a closed cavity formed by said extended bore.

5. The valve assembly for paintball guns and the like of claim 1, wherein said valve further comprises a poppet valve.

6. The valve assembly for paintball guns and the like of claim 5, wherein said valve further comprises a spring operative to apply a closing force to said valve.

7. The valve assembly for paintball guns and the like of claim 1, wherein said one volumizer flow port and said high pressure inlet each comprise an appropriate flow restriction for appropriate function.

8. The valve assembly for paintball guns and the like of claim 1, wherein said volumizer further comprises two seals to capture and isolate the high-pressure inlet to volumizer 240 and receive high pressure through a port otherwise uncoupled from said high-pressure inlet.

9. A paintball gun, comprising a feed neck for receiving paint balls into a breech from an external source;a barrel coupler for coupling to a gun barrel;a source of high pressure gas coupled for distribution;a human interface for manual initiation gun firing;a gun body having a bore therein in line with said barrel coupler;a valve assembly held within a bore in said gun body having an end cap, ram, low-pressure ram chamber, volumizer, valve, and bolt, said ram extending from adjacent said end cap to said bolt and coupled with said valve to activate said valve when driven away from said end cap.

10. The paintball gun of claim 9, wherein said ram passes inside of said valve.

11. The paintball gun of claim 10, wherein said ram passes coaxially through the center of said valve.

12. The paintball gun of claim 9, further comprising means for constraining said end cap, ram, low-pressure ram chamber, volumizer, valve, and bolt within said valve assembly, such that said valve assembly remains a single integrated unit not only during normal operation but also during removal from and insertion into said gun body.

13. The paintball gun of claim 9, wherein said valve assembly is in line with a barrel longitudinal axis.

14. The paintball gun of claim 9, wherein said human interface further comprises a handle and trigger for manual initiation gun firing.

15. A method of firing a projectile from a hand-held gun having a gun barrel, comprising the steps of: delivering low pressure gas into an enclosed chamber of variable volume;driving a ram defining said variable volume responsive to said low pressure gas delivery;advancing a paint ball from a breech into a firing position within said hand-held gun body responsive to said driving step;activating a high pressure valve responsive to said driving step and subsequent to said advancing step;releasing high-pressure gas which has been stored within an enclosure in a rapid burst responsive to said activating step; andconducting said released high pressure gas to said paint ball and down said gun barrel.

16. The method of firing a projectile of claim 16, wherein said projectile further comprises a paint ball.

17. The method of firing a projectile of claim 16, further comprising the step of exhausting pressure from a second enclosed chamber of variable volume simultaneous with said delivering step.

18. The method of firing a projectile of claim 16, wherein said step of driving further comprises moving said ram coaxially with an internal to said high pressure valve and coaxial with said gun barrel.