U.S. patent application number 10/989931 was filed with the patent office on 2006-01-19 for air balanced exhaust poppet valve with bias closure.
This patent application is currently assigned to NPF Limited. Invention is credited to Joakim Jacobsson, John Ronald Rice, Roy Solhaugen.
Application Number | 20060011184 10/989931 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 35598137 |
Filed Date | 2006-01-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060011184 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Jacobsson; Joakim ; et
al. |
January 19, 2006 |
Air balanced exhaust poppet valve with bias closure
Abstract
An improved poppet valve system, preferably for use with a
paintball marker. The poppet valve system includes a chamber having
an inner surface and a piston having a first end and a second end
substantially opposite the first end. The first end is positioned
for selective contact by a hammer. The piston also includes first
and second sealing faces that sealingly engage the inner surface of
the chamber when the hammer is not in contact with the piston. A
biasing member acts against the second end of the piston. When the
hammer contacts the first end of the piston, the hammer overcomes
force imparted by the biasing member against the piston in order to
disengage the first sealing face from the inner surface of the
chamber.
Inventors: |
Jacobsson; Joakim;
(Gothenburg, SE) ; Solhaugen; Roy; (Gothenburg,
SE) ; Rice; John Ronald; (Upper Tean, GB) |
Correspondence
Address: |
FOLEY & LARDNER LLP
321 NORTH CLARK STREET
SUITE 2800
CHICAGO
IL
60610-4764
US
|
Assignee: |
NPF Limited
|
Family ID: |
35598137 |
Appl. No.: |
10/989931 |
Filed: |
November 16, 2004 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60580949 |
Jun 18, 2004 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
124/73 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F41B 11/723 20130101;
F41B 11/722 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
124/073 |
International
Class: |
F41B 11/00 20060101
F41B011/00 |
Claims
1. A poppet valve system for use with a paintball marker,
comprising: a chamber having an inner surface; a piston having
first and second sealing surfaces, the piston having a first end
positioned for selective contact by a movable mass and a second end
substantially opposite the first end, the first and second sealing
surfaces being in contact with the inner surface of the chamber
when the movable mass is not in contact with the piston; and a
biasing member acting against the second end of the piston,
wherein, when the movable mass contacts the first end of the
piston, the movable mass overcomes force imparted by the biasing
member against the piston in order to disengage the first sealing
surface from the inner surface of the chamber.
2. The poppet valve system of claim 1, wherein the biasing member
comprises a mechanical spring.
3. The poppet valve system of claim 2, wherein the mechanical
spring is a coil spring.
4. The poppet valve system of claim 1, wherein the biasing member
comprises an air spring.
5. The poppet valve system of claim 1, wherein the movable mass
comprises a hammer for selectively striking the first end of the
piston.
6. The poppet valve system of claim 1, wherein a cup seal is used
to create the first sealing surface.
7. A poppet valve system for a paintball gun, comprising: a chamber
having an inner surface; and a piston having first and second
sealing surfaces, the piston having a first end positioned for
selective contact by a movable mass and a second end substantially
opposite the first end, the first and second sealing surfaces being
in contact with the inner surface of the chamber when the movable
mass is not in contact with the piston, wherein, when the movable
mass contacts the first end of the piston, the movable mass acts
against the piston in order to disengage the first sealing surface
from the inner surface of the chamber.
8. The poppet valve system of claim 7, further comprising a
secondary gas port for permitting released gas to act against the
movable mass to bias the movable mass away from the piston.
9. The poppet valve system of claim 7, wherein a spring is used to
selectively bias the hammer towards the piston.
10. The poppet valve system of claim 7, wherein the movable mass
comprises a hammer.
Description
[0001] The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional
Patent Application No. 60/580,949, filed Jun. 18, 2004.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates generally to the field of
paintball markers. More particularly, the present invention relates
to paintball markers that incorporate the use of a poppet valve to
release compress gas for propelling a paintball.
[0003] A number of conventional paintball markers incorporate the
use of an ON/OFF valve, known within the paintball industry as a
poppet valve, bang valve or exhaust valve. One such conventional
paintball marker is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,003,504, assigned
to NPF Limited and incorporated herein by reference. Another such
conventional paintball marker is marketed under the "Tippmann Model
98" brand name. The poppet valve is typically held closed by two
forces at one end of the valve, and is opened by being struck by a
mechanical hammer at the opposite end of the valve.
[0004] Of the two forces identified above, the first force is
applied to the closure face of the poppet valve by the operating
pressure of the gas waiting to be released by the poppet valve.
This gas is released when the hammer strikes the poppet valve and
is used to propel the paintball. This force varies whenever the
operation pressure is changed and is a relationship of gas pressure
load over surface area of the closure port of the poppet valve.
Therefore the force required from the hammer that strikes the
poppet valve needs to vary as the operating pressure changes to
ensure the same opening travel.
[0005] The second force is applied to the poppet valve by a
mechanical spring that acts onto the poppet valve closure face.
This spring is present to ensure that, once the valve has been
opened by the hammer and the first force is collapsing due to
release of the pressure retained by the poppet valve, that the
collapsing first-force pressure can also act on the opposite side
of the closure face of the poppet valve, without holding the poppet
valve open in a free flow situation. The biasing force generated by
the second spring force prevents the valve of remaining open and
thus ensures the closure of the poppet valve.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] It is an object of the present invention to develop a poppet
valve for use in a paintball marker that substantially reduces
and/or eliminates the closing forces applied to the poppet valve
from the operation pressure of the paintball marker by ensuring
that the poppet valve's opening and closure force is no longer
primarily dependant on the operation pressure that is used to
propel the paintball.
[0007] It is another object of the invention to provide a poppet
valve for a paintball marker that ensures that the primary closure
force is applied by a biasing member.
[0008] The present invention is directed to the reduction of the
amount of moving mass required to strike the poppet valve in a
paintball marker. This reduction of moving mass results in a
reduction in the vibration and the "recoil" of the paintball
marker, improving the accuracy of the paintball marker. This is due
to the reduction in mass of the respective components that can be
made of a lighter construction and alternative materials.
Additionally, paintball markers constructed according the
principles of the present invention operate with reduced forces,
whether pneumatic or mechanical.
[0009] This present invention can be incorporated within a
paintball marker or produced as a conversion, stand alone assembly
to be fitted into other paintball markers. The present invention
can be applied to any paintball marker that incorporates the use of
a poppet valve.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] FIG. 1 is a sectional side view of a poppet valve system
constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the present
invention, wherein the hammer is retracted and the poppet valve is
closed;
[0011] FIG. 2 is a sectional side view of the poppet valve system
of FIG. 1, wherein the firing hammer is in the forward
position;
[0012] FIG. 3 is a front sectional view of the poppet valve system
of FIG. 1;
[0013] FIG. 4 is a sectional side view of a poppet valve system
constructed in accordance with a second embodiment of the
invention;
[0014] FIG. 5 is a sectional side view of a poppet valve system
constructed in accordance with a third embodiment of the
invention;
[0015] FIG. 6 is a sectional side view of a poppet valve system
incorporated into a "blow back" paintball marker;
[0016] FIG. 7 is a sectional side view of a poppet valve system in
which a cup seal is used as part of the poppet valve system;
[0017] FIG. 8 is a sectional side view of a poppet valve system in
which the o-ring seals have a larger diameter than the
corresponding diameter of the shaft to create a piston action;
[0018] FIG. 9 is a sectional side view of a poppet valve system in
which the first seal is located within the poppet valve body
instead of being located on the shaft; and
[0019] FIG. 10 is a sectional side view of a poppet valve system in
which a pneumatic or hydraulic force is used to actuate the poppet
valve.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0020] FIGS. 1-6 show various embodiments of poppet valve systems
constructed in accordance with the principles of the present
invention. In each of the Figures, a source of compressed gas (not
shown) is used to supply gas to the chamber 1. This gas can either
be regulated or unregulated.
[0021] As shown in FIG. 1, in the "rest" condition gas is received
and retained within the chamber 1 and is prevented from escaping
though the poppet valve and exiting though a port 10 by a first
piston seal 2. Additionally, the pressure within chamber 1 is also
acting upon a second piston seal 3. The first and second seals 2
& 3 are located at opposite ends of a shaft 4. The shaft 4, in
combination with the first and second seals 2 and 3, generates two
internal sealing faces within chamber 1. The force applied to the
sealing face at the first piston seal 2 is related to its surface
area within the chamber 1 and the pressure within chamber 1 acting
upon it. Substantially the same force is applied to the sealing
face corresponding the second piston seal 3 and is also related to
its surface area within the chamber 1 and the pressure within
chamber 1 acting upon it.
[0022] The opposite sides of the sealing faces corresponding to the
first and second seals 2 and 3 when at rest are at atmospheric
pressure. Therefore the pressure within the chamber 1 is applying
little or no force to the shaft 4, and the shaft 4 is in a stable
condition. In the event that the surface area of the sealing face
corresponding to the first piston seal 2 is increased to be greater
than the surface area of the sealing face corresponding to the
second piston seal 3 within the chamber 1, the stable condition of
the shaft 4 will change, and the shaft 4 will be biased to a closed
condition to ensure the sealing face corresponding to the first
piston seal 2 is shut against a sealing face within a poppet valve
body 5. Preferably the ratio for the surface areas of the two
sealing faces should remain within the range of about 1:1 to 8:1.
Within this range, it has been found that the force required to
open the poppet valve by the moving mass supplied by a hammer 6 is
greatly reduced. Although a hammer 6 is used in this particular
embodiment of the invention, virtually any type of movable mass can
also be used to actuate the poppet valve of the present invention.
In addition, systems incorporating gas pressure, liquid pressure or
other mechanisms for amplifying the force against the poppet valve
could be used to actuate the valve.
[0023] Additionally, the closure force applied to the shaft 4
against the poppet valve seal face within the poppet valve body 5
is supplied by a biasing member 7. In FIGS. 1 and 2, the biasing
member 7 is a mechanical spring in the form of a coil spring. As
represented in FIG. 2, the spring force can be adjusted in the case
of a mechanical spring by a mechanical adjustment 8 in order to
increase the spring compression. Alternatively the use of shims
and/or packing could also implemented. Instead of a mechanical
spring, an air spring could be used and have its pressure adjusted
to achieve a different force value to bias the shaft 4 to its
closed position. If an air spring is used, it would be understood
by one of ordinary skill in the art that the opposite sides of the
second sealing face 3 need not necessarily be at atmospheric
pressure.
[0024] When a moving mass 6 strikes an end 11 of the shaft 4, this
opens the poppet valve, lifting the first piston seal 2 from its
seat within the chamber 1. This action permits the gas within
chamber 1 to exhaust out the pressure through port 10. At this
point, the gas pressure exhausting from chamber 1 is acting on both
sides of the sealing face corresponding to the first piston seal 2
and onto the sealing face corresponding to the second piston seal 3
and the primary closure force applied to the shaft 4 is supplied
from the opposite side of the sealing face corresponding to the
second piston seal 3 by the biasing member 7.
[0025] Because the closing force applied to the poppet valve
according to the present invention is primarily supplied by the
spring, this force can be substantially reduced or negated.
Therefore the moving mass that is applied to the poppet valve by
the hammer to open it can now also be reduced, as it only needs to
overcome the closing spring force.
[0026] A third seal 9 may also be used to increase the diameter of
the shaft 4 to be similar to the diameter of sealing face
corresponding to the first piston seal 2. This aids in quickly
closing the poppet valve. Generating an additional piston seal of a
similar diameter, with or without seal 9, substantially equivalent
to the diameter of the first piston seal 2 to give a servo effect
is also advantageous.
[0027] FIG. 4 is a sectional side view of a poppet valve system
constructed in accordance with a second embodiment of the present
invention. Though similar to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2,
the system in FIG. 3 shows that the volume in the chamber 1 can be
increased by the addition of an extended volume chamber that
incorporates a sealing face corresponding to the second piston seal
3.
[0028] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a poppet valve system
according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The
embodiment shown in FIG. 5 is similar to the embodiment shown in
FIGS. 1 and 2, except that the mechanical biasing member 7 has been
replaced with an air spring.
[0029] The system of the present invention can also be applied to
what are commonly referred to as "blow back" paintball markers,
wherein the hammer 6 is driven forward by a spring to open the
poppet valve, releasing the gas which propels the paintball and
returning the hammer 6 by the pressure released from the poppet
valve, recompressing the spring. This is depicted in FIG. 6.
[0030] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, gas exiting the port 10
propels the paintball, while gas exiting a secondary port 12 is
directed to the hammer to "blow" it backwards. Again by using a
substantially gas balanced shaft 4 with reduced bias, the hammer
mass required to open the poppet valve is reduced. Additionally, a
lower strength spring can be used to propel the hammer forward,
further reducing vibration, recoil and mechanical wear. This
improves the level of accuracy and allows components to be made of
a lighter construction.
[0031] FIGS. 7-10 show yet further embodiments of the present
invention. In FIG. 7, the poppet valve system incorporates the use
of a cup seal as the first piston seal 2. In the poppet valve
system of FIG. 8, the first and second piston seals 2 and 3 have a
slightly larger diameter than the corresponding diameter of the
shaft. This results in the first and second piston seals 2 and 3
being the primary components for creating the piston action, in
contrast to FIGS. 1 and 2 where the shaft 4 also substantially
contributes to the creation of the piston action. In FIG. 9, a seal
is located within the poppet valve body 5 instead of being located
on the shaft 4. The other seals in the system could also be
arranged in a similar fashion. The poppet valve system of FIG. 10
incorporates the use of either pneumatic or hydraulic forces,
wherein an additional seal 13 is located directly on the hammer 6,
which can be separate or part of the shaft 4.
[0032] The poppet valve system of the present invention can used in
a conjunction with a wide variety of paintball markers having
various features. For example, but without limitation, such a
poppet valve system can be used with paintball markers of the types
described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,748,938; 6,615,814; and 6,311,682,
each of which is assigned to NPF Limited and incorporated herein by
reference in their entirety, as well as U.S. Published Patent
Application No. 2002/0011344, also incorporated herein by reference
in its entirety.
[0033] While preferred embodiments have been shown and described
herein, it should be understood that changes and modifications can
be made to the invention without departing from the invention in
its broader aspects. Various features of the invention are defined
in the following claims.
* * * * *