U.S. patent application number 10/851837 was filed with the patent office on 2004-10-28 for drive cone for paintball loader.
Invention is credited to Christopher, James T., Goddard, Chris T..
Application Number | 20040211402 10/851837 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 27041308 |
Filed Date | 2004-10-28 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040211402 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Christopher, James T. ; et
al. |
October 28, 2004 |
Drive cone for paintball loader
Abstract
A drive cone for use on a paintball loader loading paintballs
into a conventional paintball gun. The drive cone is located at a
bottom portion of the container and is rotated by a motor. The
drive cone includes at least one fin which forms a gap for which a
plurality of paintballs may fit. The drive cone feeds the
paintballs into an exit tube located at the bottom of the container
which feeds into the paintball gun.
Inventors: |
Christopher, James T.;
(Garland, TX) ; Goddard, Chris T.; (Lewisville,
TX) |
Correspondence
Address: |
DRINKER BIDDLE & REATH
ONE LOGAN SQUARE
18TH AND CHERRY STREETS
PHILADELPHIA
PA
19103-6996
US
|
Family ID: |
27041308 |
Appl. No.: |
10/851837 |
Filed: |
May 21, 2004 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10851837 |
May 21, 2004 |
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09949440 |
Sep 7, 2001 |
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09949440 |
Sep 7, 2001 |
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09689573 |
Oct 12, 2000 |
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6502567 |
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09689573 |
Oct 12, 2000 |
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09465440 |
Dec 16, 1999 |
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6213110 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
124/41.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F41B 11/53 20130101;
G09B 23/28 20130101; F41B 11/57 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
124/041.1 |
International
Class: |
F41F 001/00 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A rapid feed paintball loader for use on a paintball gun, the
paintball loader comprising: a container for holding a plurality of
paintballs; a paintball agitating device mounted on a bottom
portion of the container; an exit tube exiting from the bottom
portion of the container and leading to an inlet tube of the
paintball gun; a motor that rotates the paintball agitating device;
and means for actuating the motor upon demand, said means for
actuating the motor upon demand including: a sensor for sensing the
presence of at least one paintball at a selected location within
the exit tube; and, a microprocessor for activating the motor when
receiving a signal from the sensor that a paintball is not present
at the location in the exit tube.
2. The rapid feed paintball loader of claim 1, wherein the
microprocessor turns the motor off when receiving a signal from the
sensor that a paintball is present at the selected location within
the exit tube.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent
application No. 09/949,440, which is a continuation-in-part of a
U.S. patent application entitled "Rapid Feed Paintball Loader With
Pivotable Deflector," Ser. No. 09/689,573, filed Oct. 12, 2000, now
issued U.S. Pat. No. 6,502,567 in the names of James T. Christopher
and Albert G. Schilling, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S.
patent application entitled "Rapid feed paintball loader", Ser. No.
09/465,440, filed Dec. 16, 1999 in the names of James T.
Christopher and Albert G. Schilling, and now U.S. Pat. No.
6,213,110, which are hereby incorporated in their entirety by
reference herein.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Technical Field of the Invention
[0003] This invention relates to paintball loaders, and more
particularly, to a drive cone for use on a paintball loader for
feeding paintballs into a paintball gun.
[0004] 2. Description of Related Art
[0005] A popular war game has developed over the years, which uses
paintball guns. Players use the paintball guns to shoot paintballs.
These paintballs are gelatin-covered spherical capsules filled with
paint. During play of the game, the players on each team advance
towards each other. A player is eliminated from the game when the
player is hit by a paintball fired from an opposing player's gun.
When the paintball hits a player, a "splat" of paint is left on the
player.
[0006] Typically, an existing paintball loader includes a housing
which is placed on an upper portion of a paintball gun. The housing
is shaped to hold a large quantity of paintballs. At the bottom of
the housing is an outlet tube through which the paintballs drop by
the force of gravity. The outlet tube leads to an inlet tube
located on the upper portion of the gun.
[0007] During the operation of existing paintball loaders,
paintballs sequentially drop by gravity through the outlet tube
into the inlet tube of the gun. The inlet tube directs each
paintball into the firing chamber of the gun, where the paintball
is propelled outwardly from the gun by compressed air.
[0008] Co-pending U.S. patent application No. 09/689,573 ('573)
describes a paintball feed system providing enhanced performance
over existing paintball feed systems. Additionally, '573 discloses
a paintball loader which reliably and forcibly delivers paintballs
to a paintball gun at a rapid, selectable rate, while actively
preventing paintball jams. However, paintball jams may still occur
in the loader disclosed in '573. Specifically, the disclosed
paintball loader utilizes a plurality of fins spaced at such a
distance as to create gaps to accommodate a single paintball. Due
to the close proximity of the fins, there is a tendency for the
paintballs to partially fall into a gap, which can result in a
paintball jam. In addition, if a paintball breaks within the
paintball loader, because of the large amount of fins and the small
area of the gaps, cleaning the paintball loader can be difficult.
Since existing paintball loaders utilizes several fins, space for
which paintballs could be accommodated are lost to allow space for
the fins. Thus, the paintball feed rate is reduced for each
rotation of the cone because of this lost space.
[0009] It would be a distinct advantage to have a drive cone which
feeds the paintballs at a faster rate, while preventing jams of
partially fallen paintballs into the gaps located between the fins.
It is an object of the present invention to provide such an
apparatus.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] In one aspect, the present invention is a rapid feed
paintball loader for use on a paintball gun. The paintball loader
includes a container for holding a plurality of paintballs and a
drive cone rotatably mounted on a bottom portion of the container.
At least one fin is affixed to a top feed surface of the drive
cone. The fin divides or separates the top feed surface into at
least gap or section which is preferably large enough to
accommodate more than one paintball. The loader also includes a
motor that rotates the drive cone. In addition, an exit tube exits
from the bottom portion of the container and leads to an inlet tube
of the paintball gun. The motor actuates upon demand.
[0011] In another aspect, the present invention is a drive cone for
use on a paintball loader of a paintball gun having a container for
holding a plurality of paintballs and an exit tube located on the
container leading to the paintball gun. The drive cone includes a
drive cone rotatably mounted on a bottom portion of the container
and at least one fin affixed to a top feed surface of the drive
cone. The fin divides or separates the top feed surface of the
drive cone into at least one gap which is preferably large enough
to accommodate more than one paintball. The drive cone receives
paintballs from the container and drives the paintballs from the
gap into the exit tube.
[0012] In still another aspect, the present invention is a rapid
feed paintball loader for use on a paintball gun. The paintball
loader includes a container for holding a plurality of paintballs
and at least one fin located at a bottom portion of the container.
The fin divides or separates the a top feed surface into at least
one gap that is preferably large enough to accommodate at least one
paintball. The fin rotates on an axis running perpendicularly
through the bottom portion of the container. The paintball loader
also includes an exit tube exiting from the bottom portion of the
container and leads to an inlet tube of the paintball gun. The exit
tube has a sloped exit portion. In addition, a tube extension is
mounted on an interior surface of the container adjacent to the
sloped exit portion of the exit tube. The tube extension is mounted
at a height which is above the top feed surface of the fin and has
a radius of curvature that is approximately equal to the radius of
a paintball. The paintball loader also may include a deflector for
deflecting paintballs downward into the gap or upward to pass over
the tube extension. The deflector is pivotably mounted on the
interior surface of the container adjacent to the tube extension.
The deflector is mounted at a height which is above the top feed
surface of the fin and which is below a bottom portion of the tube
extension. A motor rotates the drive cone upon demand.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] The invention will be better understood and its numerous
objects and advantages will become more apparent to those skilled
in the art by reference to the following drawings, in conjunction
with the accompanying specification, in which:
[0014] FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a rapid feed paintball
loader constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present
invention and operatively attached to a representative paintball
gun illustrated in phantom;
[0015] FIG. 2 (Prior Art) is a top view of the lower portion of the
rapid feed paintball loader of FIG. 1 showing a drive cone of an
existing paintball loader;
[0016] FIG. 3 is a top interior cutaway view of the paintball
loader illustrating an improved cone, the exit tube, and a
plurality of paintballs in the preferred embodiment of the present
invention;
[0017] FIG. 4 is a side view of the drive cone of FIG. 3 separated
from the paintball loader in the preferred embodiment of the
present invention;
[0018] FIG. 5 is a top interior cutaway view of the paintball
loader illustrating the improved drive cone, the exit tube, a
plurality of paintballs, and an outer shell of the paintball loader
in the preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0019] FIG. 6 illustrates a top perspective view of the drive cone
of FIG. 4;
[0020] FIG. 7 illustrates a separate drive cone having three fins
in a first alternate embodiment of the present invention;
[0021] FIG. 8 illustrates a drive cone having four fins in a second
alternate embodiment of the present invention; and
[0022] FIG. 9 illustrates a separate drive cone having five fins in
a third alternate embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
[0023] A drive cone for use in a paintball loader for rapidly
delivering paintballs while preventing paintball jams is disclosed.
FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a rapid feed paintball loader
40 constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present
invention and operatively attached to a representative paintball
gun 20 illustrated in phantom. The paintball gun 20 includes a main
body 22, a compressed gas cylinder 24, a front handgrip 26, a
barrel 28, and a rear handgrip 30. The paintball gun also includes
an inlet tube 32 leading to a firing chamber (not shown) in the
interior of the main body and a trigger 34. The front handgrip
projects downwardly from the barrel and provides an area for
gripping by an operator of the paintball gun. The compressed gas
cylinder is typically secured to a rear portion of the paintball
gun. The compressed gas cylinder normally contains CO.sub.2,
although any compressible gas may be used.
[0024] In operating the paintball gun 20, the trigger 34 is
squeezed, thereby actuating the compressed gas cylinder to release
bursts of compressed gas. The bursts of gas are used to eject
paintballs outwardly through the barrel 28. The paintballs are
continually fed by the paintball loader 40 through the inlet tube
to the firing chamber. Although FIG. 1 depicts an automatic
paintball gun, the paintball gun 20 may also be a semi-automatic
gun.
[0025] The rapid feed paintball loader 40 includes a paintball
container 42 having a container wall 44 forming an interior area
46. The container is divided into an upper portion 48 and a lower
portion 50. An exit tube 52 leads from the bottom portion of the
container to an outlet opening 54. The exit tube is positioned on
top of the inlet tube 32 of the paintball gun 20.
[0026] FIG. 2 is a top view of the lower portion 50 of the rapid
feed paintball loader of FIG. 1 showing a drive cone 56 of an
existing paintball loader 40. Mounted along a vertical center axis
58, located in the approximate center of the interior area, is the
drive cone 56 having a conically-shaped interior surface area 60
with a plurality of fins 62 projecting upwardly from the top
surface of the drive cone and spiraling outwardly from an outer
circumference of the interior area. The drive cone is rotatably
attached to a bottom portion of the paintball container, allowing
rotation about the center axis. The exit tube 52 projects outwardly
from a rim 64 of the lower portion 50 of the container wall 44 at
an approximately 45 degree angle from the Y-axis. In addition, an
upper part of the exit tube extends towards the interior area to
form a paintball tube extension 72. A pivotable deflector 66
extends inwardly towards the vertical center axis from the rim 64.
A paintball 68 is illustrated between two fins.
[0027] The drive cone 56 shown in FIG. 2 positions the plurality of
fins 62 in such a fashion that only one paintball 68 may fit in
between two fins. Since only one paintball may fit in each gap,
there is an increased possibility that a paintball may only
partially fall into the gap. By merely falling partially into the
gap, the paintball may cause a jam. Additionally, since there are
several fins located on the drive cone, the space used for
accommodating paintballs is reduced by the number of fins. Also,
when a paintball breaks within the paintball loader 40, since there
are so many fins, and the gaps between the fins are relatively
small, cleaning the residue of the broken paintball may be very
difficult.
[0028] FIG. 3 is a top interior cutaway view of the paintball
loader 40 illustrating an improved cone 99, the exit tube 52, and a
plurality of paintballs 68 in the preferred embodiment of the
present invention. The container wall 44 is curved and extends
upwards to form the upper portion 48 (not shown in FIG. 3). The
interior area 46 formed by the container wall stores a plurality of
paintballs prior to being used by the paintball gun 20. Although a
circular shape is illustrated in the top view of FIG. 2, the
container may be any size and shape which permits the paintballs to
drop towards the drive cone 99.
[0029] FIG. 4 is a side view of the drive cone 99 of FIG. 3
separated from the paintball loader 40 in the preferred embodiment
of the present invention. In the preferred embodiment of the
present invention, the drive cone 99 includes two fins 101 and 103.
FIG. 5 is a top interior cutaway view of the paintball loader 40
illustrating the improved drive cone 99, the exit tube 52, a
plurality of paintballs 68, and an outer shell 105 of the paintball
loader in the preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6
illustrates a top perspective view of the drive cone 99 of FIG.
4.
[0030] Referring to FIGS. 3-6, the drive cone includes a
conically-shaped interior area 61. The two fins originate at an
outer circumference of the interior area 61 and project outwardly
towards the rim 64 of the container wall 44. Between each fin is an
enlarged gap 107 which may accommodate a plurality of paintballs 68
(as illustrated, five paintballs may be positioned between each gap
107). However, the drive cone may be sized to accommodate any
amount of paintballs.
[0031] A feed surface 109 of the drive cone 99, which is the feed
surface between the fins 101 and 103 where the paintball 68 rests,
is sloped downwardly at an angle of .PHI. (approximately 45 degrees
in the preferred embodiment). The surface is preferably sloped at
any angle which matches the slope of the exit tube and allows
paintballs to feed into the exit tube 52. However, any slope angle
may be utilized by the feed surface. The exit tube is a circular
tube with an inside diameter slightly larger than a conventional
paintball. The exit tube leads from an entry opening 74 to the
outlet opening 54 which engages with the inlet tube 32 of the
paintball gun. The exit tube includes a sloped exit portion 76 and
a vertical outlet portion 78. In the preferred embodiment of the
present invention, the sloped exit portion of the exit tube is
sloped downwardly at an angle of approximately .PHI., which is the
same slope as the top feed surface of the drive cone. The pivotable
deflector 66 is positioned above the top portion of the fins 101
and 103 and below the tube extension 72.
[0032] A tube extension (not shown) is preferably located at the
entry opening 74. The tube extension is an extension of the exit
tub. The tube extension extends towards a center axis 59, while
maintaining a clearance above the fins 101 and 103. The paintball
tube extension is formed as a scoop which has an interior radius of
curvature approximately equal to the curvature of a paintball. The
top of the scoop is positioned so that it partially covers a
paintball that is pushed into position by the fins at the entry
opening 74 of the exit tube. In this manner, the sloped surface of
the drive cone, the fins, the angled orientation (approximately 45
degrees) of the exit tube, and the tube extension all equate to
forcibly drive the paintball into the exit tube.
[0033] The drive cone 56 is rotated around the center axis 59 by a
drive motor (not shown). Additionally, the pivotable deflector 66
may be installed within the loader 40. The pivotable deflector is
attached to the rim 64 at pivot point 86, allowing the deflector to
rotatably move as indicated in FIG. 3.
[0034] Referring to FIGS. 1, and 3-6, the operation of the rapid
feed paintball loader 40 having the improved drive cone 99 will now
be explained. The rapid feed paintball loader is positioned on the
top of the paintball gun 20. The loader 40 is connected to the gun
by attaching the exit tube 52, at the outlet opening 54, to the
inlet tube 32 with an attaching device such as a clamp (not
shown).
[0035] When an operator of the paintball gun 20 wishes to shoot
paintballs, the trigger 34 is squeezed, which actuates the
compressed gas cylinder 24. The compressed gas cylinder releases
bursts of compressed gas which are used to eject paintballs through
the barrel 28. A plurality of paintballs are stored in the
paintball container 42 and pass down the exit tube for use by the
paintball gun when demanded by the operator.
[0036] The plurality of paintballs located in the container 42 rest
on top of the drive cone 99. The bottom-most paintballs drop into
either of the two enlarged gaps 107. The drive cone is rotated by
the drive motor, forcing the paintballs outward and downward from
the center axis 59 and forward toward the tube extension (not
shown). The pivotable deflector 66 helps prevent jams by causing
paintballs to either fall into one of the gaps between the fins or
to rise above the tube extension. The paintball 68 is forced into
the entry opening 74 of the exit tube 52 by the tube extension. In
addition, since the drive cone is downwardly sloped toward the exit
tube, the paintball falls downwardly, with the assistance of
gravity, and outwardly towards the rim 64.
[0037] After the paintball enters the entry opening, the next
paintball located adjacent the first paintball within the gap 107
is sequentially grasped by the tube extension and driven into the
entry opening behind the first paintball. Additional paintballs
located in the container 42, are drawn downwardly and outwardly by
gravity and fill the vacated gaps. Positioning the fins on the
outer circumference of the interior dome-shaped area prevents
paintballs from being lodged in the upper portions of the gaps.
[0038] Once the paintball 68 enters the entry opening 74, it passes
through the sloped exit portion to a vertical outlet portion (not
shown) of the exit tube. As the paintball passes through the exit
tube, the paintball may actuate an optional electro-mechanical
motor actuator switch (not shown). The motor actuator switch may be
utilized to detect the paintball passing through the exit tube.
When the paintball enters the exit tube, the motor actuator detects
the paintball in the exit tube and shuts off the motor. Thus, when
the exit tube fills up with paintballs, the motor is automatically
turned off. Then as paintballs vacate the exit tube, the motor
actuator does not detect a paintball and engages the motor and
rotates the drive cone 99. In this way, the exit tube is always
kept full of paintballs, ready for use when demanded by the
paintball gun.
[0039] Although an electro-mechanical switch has been described to
detect the presence of paintballs in the exit tube, it should be
understood that other devices may also be utilized to detect the
paintballs (e.g., infrared senors, contact pads, optical sensors,
etc.), without departing from the scope of the present invention.
In the preferred embodiment, a reflective infrared (IR) optical
sensor (not shown) may be utilized.
[0040] The pivotable deflector 66 may optionally be used to provide
an additional, active device to prevent the jamming of paintballs
within the paintball loader. In existing paintball loaders, a
paintball may be lodged between the tube extension or entry opening
of the exit tube and one of the fins or "agitators" driving the
paintball towards the exit tube, causing the loader to jam and
stopping the rotation of the drive cone. To prevent the paintball
from lodging between the tube extension (or extension of the exit
tube in existing loaders) and a fin (or agitator in existing
loaders), the pivotable deflector forces the paintball to either
fall into one of the gaps between the fins or to rise upwardly away
from the tube extension. In addition, the deflector pivots away
from the paintball, thus preventing the paintball from lodging
between the fin and the deflector. The deflector, although depicted
with the paintball loader 40 illustrated in FIGS. 1-5, may be
utilized on any active feed paintball loader to prevent the
inadvertent lodging of paintballs between a fin (or other agitating
device) and the entry of the exit tube.
[0041] The improved drive cone provides many advantages over
existing drive cones. First of all, by enlarging the gaps to allow
the accommodation of more paintballs, more paintballs are fed into
the entry opening 74 for each rotation of the drive cone. By
feeding the paintballs at a greater rate per rotation of the drive
cone, the drive cone enables the paintball loader to feed the
paintball gun at a faster rate than existing drive cones. In
addition, in existing paintball drive cones, the gaps between the
fins only allow the accommodation of a single paintball. This
reduced area in existing drive cones results in an increased
likelihood that the paintball may only partially fall into the
smaller gap. When the paintball can only fall partially into the
smaller gap of the existing drive cones, a jam results between the
paintball and fin. With the improved drive cone 99, the paintball
has a large area for which the paintball may fall into. This
results in less partial drops of the paintballs into the gaps,
which decreases or eliminate any jams which may occur.
[0042] The improved drive also allows for easy cleanup of the
interior of the paintball loader when paintballs break within the
loader. In addition, the improved drive cone 99 allows for manual
feeding of the paintball when the feed system of the paintball
loader malfunctions. For example, when a motor fails on the
paintball loader, a paintball gun operator need only shake the gun
to move the paintballs into the gun.
[0043] The improved drive cone 99 only requires one fin 101.
However, in alternate embodiments of the present invention, the
drive cone may have more than one fin. FIG. 7 illustrates a
separate drive cone 199 having three fins 201, 203, and 205 in a
first alternate embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8
illustrates a drive cone 299 having four fins 301, 303, 305, and
307 in a second alternate embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
9 illustrates a separate drive cone 399 having five fins 401, 403,
405, 407, and 409 in a third alternate embodiment of the present
invention. It should be understood that the drive cone may have any
number of fins which allows the accommodation of more than one
paintball within each formed gap. In addition, the drive cone may
be used on a wide variety of paintball loaders.
[0044] In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the
paintball loader may include a microprocessor to enhance the
performance of the loader as well as providing useful information
to a paintball gun operator. The microprocessor also deactivates
the drive motor when the exit tube is full. The microprocessor is
attached to the motor actuator switch and the motor. When the motor
actuator switch detects the presence of a paintball at the top of
the exit tube, the motor actuator switch sends a signal to the
microprocessor. In turn, the microprocessor sends a signal to
disengage the motor. When the motor actuator switch does not detect
any paintballs within the exit tube, the motor actuator switch
signals the microprocessor that the exit tube is empty. The
microprocessor can then signal the motor to engage and rotate the
drive cone, providing additional paintballs to the paintball
gun.
[0045] It is thus believed that the operation and construction of
the present invention will be apparent from the foregoing
description. While the apparatus shown and described has been
characterized as being preferred, it will be readily apparent that
various changes and modifications could be made therein without
departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the
following claims.
* * * * *