Patent ID: 6520172
Filing Date: 2003-02-18
Classification: F41B

Abstract:
A paintball gun operable to shoot paintballs, said gun comprising:a barrel; a gun body section including a breech section connected to a rear end of said barrel and a handle section; a trigger movably mounted on said gun body section; a bolt contained in a single elongate bolt chamber formed in said breech section, said bolt movable between a retracted position where a paintball can enter said bolt chamber through an inlet provided in said breech section and a front shooting position where said inlet is closed, said bolt having an elongate, longitudinally extending passage formed therein; a spring mounted in said longitudinally extending passage of the bolt and engaging said bolt at a rear end of the spring; a spring engaging member mounted in said longitudinally extending passage and fixedly connected to said breech section, said spring being engaged by said spring engaging member at a front end of said spring and therefore acting to bias the bolt towards said retracted position; a pneumatic circuit for driving said bolt forwardly towards said front shooting position using pressurized gas and including a control valve arranged to receive gas under pressure and direct this pressurized gas into said bolt chamber to a rear side of said bolt when said gun is shot; an electronic circuit for controlling said pneumatic circuit, said electronic circuit including an electrical switch operated by movement of said trigger; and a gas valve mechanism mounted in said gun and adapted to be opened by engagement of the gas valve mechanism by said bolt in said front shooting position to permit passage of pressurized gas from a pressurized gas source to the barrel to propel a paintball along and out of said barrel.