Abstract:
The present invention relates to a device for adapting a paintball pistol such that effective support via the holders hand to compensate for a forward center of gravity is shifted substantially completely from the holder&#39;s trigger finger to the back of the holder&#39;s hand.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a device for adapting a paintball pistol such that a center of gravity compensation for effective support is shifted substantially completely from the holder&#39;s trigger finger to the holder&#39;s hand. 
     Paintball pistols are well known in the art to comprise a device with substantial length (about 1.5 to 2 feet) and substantial weight (about 5 to 6 pounds). Typically, means for securely engaging a CO 2  cartridge project from about the same line as the axis of the long barrel, albeit in the opposite direction toward the holder. The long barrel is often provided with “pump” means for loading a paintball into the firing chamber within the barrel. These pump means require that a right handed holder of the pistol grip grasp a slider piece with a left hand at the underside of the barrel and move the slider piece forward and backward. In addition, while holding the pistol grip with a right hand, the user often must replace the CO 2  cartridge with a left hand by sliding toward themselves or levering to the side some portion of the means for securely engaging the CO 2  cartridge. Finally, the user desires to perform the desired activity intended for the paintball pistol, i.e., raising the pistol to eye level preferably with a single arm and firing the pistol. 
     The present state of the art in paintball pistols is to form a device with a center of gravity somewhat forward of the trigger guard as relating to the length of the pistol. For other firearms and air pistols this is not an especially challenging maneuver. The non-user not familiar with paintball pistols may partially appreciate the problem by holding up 5 to 6 pounds in a hand at the end of an outstretched arm at eye level and then tilting the mass of 5 to 6 pounds in a forward direction away from the engaged hand. This problem is compounded by needing to maintain that position for some period of time while a targeted person comes into view or that the user may be stooping and standing up while walking to avoid other players or running either in pursuit or away from other players. In the case of paintball pistols, the center of gravity becomes critical to the user. 
     It is known that the long barrel, slider piece and paintball loading chute are essential locate forward of the pistol grip of a paintball pistol. The counterbalance of the CO 2  cartridge securing means is inadequate against such mass forward of it. There is a need to provide means such that a paintball pistol user may use the paintball pistol through the several actions of aiming, maintaining a ready position, firing, moving the slider to reload, replacing the CO 2  cartridge, and carrying the pistol at the side of the user in a single hand with significantly less effort than previously known. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention comprises single and doubled strap means secured between a paintball pistol grip piece and the pistol grip frame. The single strap means are especially effective when combined with a glove or partial glove. The doubled strap means are especially effective when a hand covering portion of the strap means is flexible although supportively rigid, having some padding between the rigid section and the back of user&#39;s hand. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a side view of a prior art paintball gun in a horizontal, aiming position showing the separate centers of gravity of forward and rear sections and the overall center of gravity. 
     FIG. 2 is a top view of the paintball gun of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 is a side view of a broken line outline of a users hand in a holding orientation with respect to a pistol grip piece as in the device of FIGS. 1 and 2. 
     FIG. 4 is a double strap means of the present invention. 
     FIG. 5 is the double strap means of FIG. 5 in side view  214  of FIG.  5 . 
     FIG. 6 is the double strap means of FIGS. 5 and 6 shown in pistol mounted relation to the pistol grip piece of FIG.  3  and having the strap drawn through two slotted pieces to secure the user&#39;s hand to the side of the pistol grip piece. 
     FIGS. 7 and 8 show substantially the device and assembly of FIGS. 5 and 7, except that double strap means comprises a substantially broadened hand covering section. 
     FIG. 9 is similar to the device of FIG. 8 except that the back of a right handed glove is secured to the inside surface of the hand covering portion of the double strap means. 
     FIGS. 10 and 11 are perspective rearward and forward views of an alternate embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention is now discussed with reference to the Figures. FIG. 1 shows a prior art paintball pistol  100  typical of many currently available. Pistol  100  comprises a forward section  107  having a center of gravity at about location  110  and a rear section  108  with a center of gravity at about location  111 . The overall center of gravity for pistol  100  is about at location  112 , substantially forward of the user&#39;s forefinger used for pulling the trigger, i.e., the foremost downward support point  303  of hand outline  300 . The user&#39;s hand  300  also substantially supports the downward weight of pistol  100  at downward support point  302  with the opposing thumb and three fingertips (pressing against grip piece  106 ) and a portion of the users fingers and palm (pressing against grip piece  105 ). The critical effect of pistol having a weight of 5 to 6 pounds is that the forward center of gravity at location  112  necessitates that the forefinger must not only smoothly pull the trigger but must also support the front loaded weight of the pistol  100  at point  303 . Section  107  comprises a heavy barrel  101 , slider piece that moves in direction  109 , as in FIG. 2, paint pellet loader  103  and a substantial portion of the metal frame. Section  102 , in counterbalance, comprises only the CO 2  cartridge securement means  102 , with no portion of the frame effectively extended to draw more proximate the center of gravity of the overall pistol  100 . 
     Pistol grip  104  comprises opposing right grip piece  105  and left grip piece  106  secured to the intervening frame with screws  114 . The outline  300  in FIG. 1 shows a typical user hand with extended lower fingers (instead of normally flexed and opposing the palm). Some users in desperation of the heavy weight of the pistol  100  at point  303  extend their middle finger to provide some relief by upwardly supporting the bottom of the trigger guard. This of course seriously impairs aiming skill. Unlike any other pistol, the paintball pistol requires the user to continuously be prepared over the course of a sometimes hours long games to aim and fire the paintball pistol, run, stoop, stand with some degree of such preparedness where the overall weight of the pistol and forward center of gravity erode the ability of the user to accurately aim the pistol. In addition, the users hand must also support the loading activities for the paint pellets and CO 2  cartridges, where again because of the unfavorable location of the center of gravity, point  302  receives pressure to maintain pistol  100  in a relatively horizontal position to view the proper loading ports or openings. 
     The present invention comprises strap means to distribute along the outer surface of the portion of the user&#39;s hand effectively lateral to right grip piece  105  a substantial portion of the downward weight of pistol  100  such that the user&#39;s wrist instead of the user&#39;s strength of their opposing thumb / fingers / palm is used for such support. The opposing thumb  1  fingers / palm strength thereby is more devoted to maintaining pistol  100  in a horizontal position over the forward center of gravity at location  112 . 
     FIG. 3 shows and exemplary right grip piece  105  with hand outline  300  and the just described portion of the user&#39;s hand effectively lateral to right grip piece  105 , i.e., hand portion  301 . It is intended that the strap means of the invention shall compress portion  301  effectively toward the outer surface of right grip piece  105 . 
     FIG. 5 shows a preferred embodiment of the double strap means  200  of the present invention. A continuous elastic strap with a width of about 1.5 to 3 inches (about the width of piece  105 ) extends from double back section  201  through a broken away section to hand portion compression section  202  and then through another broken away section to grip top section  203 . Section  203  is continuous with a grip portion  204  secured by adhesive, thermal or IR welding bonding to rigid section  209  having a planar structure and an outline substantially the same as grip piece  105 . The grip portion  204  is further continuous with grip lower section  205 , which forms a secured loop whereby a small portion of the inner faces of section  205  are joined by stitching or other joining means to provide secure attachment of dual slotted piece  211  through its slot  212  leaving open slot  213 . A second dual slotted piece  206  is threadedly attached to section  203 , piece  206  comprising slots  207  and  208  through which are threaded section  203 . Holes  210  are made to adapt to permit screws  114  to pass through them. To install the double strap means  200 , screws  114  are removed from pistol  114  to permit removal of piece  105 . Sections  209  and  204  are made to align with piece  105  and intervene between it and the pistol grip  104  frame when screws  114  are replaced to fix both piece  105  and the double strap means  200  to pistol  100 . 
     FIG. 7 shows the means  200  as it would appear affixed with piece  105  to a pistol  100 , although pistol  100  is not otherwise shown for simplicity. Section  201  is threaded as shown first through slot  213  of dual slotted piece  211 , thereby drawing the inside face of section  202  across the back of the user&#39;s hand  300  in portion  301 . The end of section  201  is then threaded through a outer surface access to slot  208  through immediately to slot  207  through directions  215  and thereafter upward in direction  216  to permit compressive securement of section  202  across portion  301  to the outer face of piece  105 . As section  201  is drawn up in direction  216 , excess amounts of section  201  are drawn or threaded through, successively, slots  213 ,  208  and  207 , thereby increasing the tension of both section  202  and overlaying it section  201 , whereby the outside surfaces of the two sections oppose one another. Thus a double strap secures portion  301  to the outside surface of piece  105 . 
     It is another preferred embodiment that, as in FIGS. 8 and 9, the section  202  of FIGS. 5 and 7 are widened to form section  217 . As appreciated from FIG. 9, section  217  provides a broader and more secure compression of portion  301  to the outside surface of piece  105 . Such broader compression improves the weight transmission to the back of the hand / fingers portion  301  while preserving the ability of the user to flex their hand. 
     It is another preferred embodiment of the present invention to provide a glove  218  having a wrist section  219 , palm section  220  and tip section  221  within which hand  301  may be inserted as shown in FIG.  10 . The backside of glove  218  in the area of section  220  is attached by stitching or adhesive to the inner surface of section  217 , whereby such section was also shown in FIG.  8 . The orientation of the glove  218  to section  217  is specific to that shown in FIG. 10, i.e., glove  218  is place such that when the user inserts their hand  300  into it, their glove covered palm will be open for receiving the outside surface piece  105  and the rest of pistol grip  104  when the user&#39;s arm rotates along path  222  to accomplish that reception. When section  201  is threaded as shown in FIG. 9 with the embodiment of FIG. 10, the user&#39;s hand is in glove  218  and most securely is connected with the double strap means of this embodiment and thereby to most securely support the weight of pistol  100  with the wrist instead of with palm and finger pressure. 
     It is an alternate embodiment to withdraw piece  209  to reduce cost of construction of the double strap means, although the elastic strap of the invention will tend to unfavorably shift and wear beneath the piece  105 . It is also another embodiment of the present invention to provide a single strap and strap securement means by way of Velcro® closure between the opposing strap surfaces or other dual slot pieces. A single glove as in FIG. 10 may also be provided with palm attachment means, whereby a right hand grip piece may be adapted to have a mating palm attachment means, thus permitting securing engagement of the glove palm with the right grip piece. 
     In FIGS. 11 and 12, an alternate embodiment of the present invention is shown. A paintball pistol frame handle  600  has attached to it a novel pistol grip piece  400  having a central rigid and flat section extending upward and downward in the position of a prior art pistol grip. At upper and lower distal ends of the pistol grip flat section, there extends from each distal end a supportive flange, i.e., an upper flange  401  and a lower flange  402 . At the free end of each flange are attachment and/or adjustment means for flexible strap  500 . Strap  500  is attached and/or adjustable in length at upper attachment end  501  to the free end of lower flange  501 . Strap  500  is also attached and/or adjustable in length at lower attachment end  502  to the free end of lower flange  502 . From the FIGS. 11 and 12 and this description it will be appreciated that the user&#39;s hand will be further supported primarily by the lower, inside surface of the upper flange  401  and thereafter held against the flat section of grip  400  by the stretched flexible strap  500 . Lower flange  402  further secures the user&#39;s hand against the paintball pistol of FIGS. 11 and 12 by forcing a substantially parallel alignment of the user&#39;s palm to the longitudinal axis of the paintball pistol. 
     The above design disclosures present the skilled person with considerable and wide ranges from which to choose appropriate obvious modifications for the above examples. However, the objects of the present invention will still be obtained by the skilled person applying such design disclosures in an appropriate manner.