Abstract:
A plug sized, shaped and formed to fit securely within the firing end of the barrel of a paintball marker, for blocking misfired or accidentally-fired paintballs. The plug is comprised of a handle and a tip. The tip is comprised of a squeegee located adjacent a terminal end portion of the tip, at least one rib along the length of the tip, a channel along the length of the tip and an energy-absorbing contact edge located adjacent the terminal end portion. The plug is preferably flexible so as to provide for a secure fit within the barrel, to absorb energy from misfired paintballs and to provide for discharge of gas and debris.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Application No. 60/647,508, filed on Jan. 27, 2005, which is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. 
     
    
     FIELD OF INVENTION  
       [0002]     This invention relates to paintball markers (guns) and blocking the barrel of same to prevent inadvertent discharge of a paintball.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0003]     Paintball is a sport where two or more players fire paintballs at each other from a paintball marker (gun) within the rules of a game, often like capture the flag. A player is “marked” if a paintball contacts, bursts and sheds its colored “paint” on him. Paintballs that do not break are not counted as marks. Referees enforce the rules and insure safety.  
         [0004]     Players typically wear a paintball mask and goggles to minimize serious injury to the face, ears, and eyes. Regulated fields require masks, goggles and marker plugs or barrel covers to play on the field. The marker plugs and barrel covers prevent accidental firing of a paintball while not engaged in a game. Marker plugs will soon be required to meet American Society for Testing and Materials (“ASTM”) standards. See Proposed ASTM Designation F 2271-03, which is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.  
         [0005]     The ASTM Standard requires, in short, that a blocking device prevent discharge of a paintball when the marker is fired several times, when the barrel is dry and after immersion in paint (which decreases friction between the barrel and any plug).  
         [0006]     The known ways of blocking a barrel are the plugs and covers mentioned previously. Plugs act as stoppers to prevent paintballs from inadvertently exiting the marker&#39;s barrel. Unfortunately, such plugs are not effective in a barrel that is slick with paint, and few if any, of the existing plugs, can pass the proposed ASTM standards for paintball barrel blocking devices.  
         [0007]     Paintball covers or “condoms” cover the end of the marker barrel, and “catch” fired balls. Cords connect the paintball cover to an anchoring point on the marker. Such covers are more expensive than plugs, difficult to clean, and require complicated mounting for proper operation as compared to the plug.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0008]     The present invention satisfies the above-referenced needs. It is a flexible plug shaped to removably engage the end of a paintball marker barrel. The plug is comprised of a handle and a tip. The tip is sized and configured to snugly engage an inside of a marker barrel. The tip is comprised of a terminal end portion and an intermediate end portion located between the terminal end portion and the handle, and an open channel that joins the terminal end portion and the intermediate portion. Preferably, the tip is also comprised of a squeegee portion at the terminal end portion and ribs along the length between the terminal end portion and the intermediate portion.  
         [0009]     The present invention is also a method of using the flexible plug comprising grabbing the handle, aligning the terminal end portion of the tip with a firing end of a barrel of a paintball marker, twisting the handle while pushing the tip into the barrel, securing the tip within the barrel; and releasing the handle. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]      FIG. 1  is a side view of a barrel blocking device according to the present invention inserted into a compressed gas gun or paintball marker.  
         [0011]      FIG. 2  is a front perspective view of a barrel blocking device according to the present invention.  
         [0012]      FIG. 3  is a front plan view of a barrel blocking device according to the present invention.  
         [0013]      FIG. 4  is a bottom plan view of a barrel blocking device according to the present invention.  
         [0014]      FIG. 5  is a front plan view of another embodiment of a barrel blocking device according to the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0015]      FIGS. 1-4  show different views of a flexible barrel plug  10  according to the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the plug  10  can be inserted into the barrel  4  of a paintball marker  2  to stop an inadvertent discharge of a paintball (not shown). The plug  10  is preferably comprised of rubber but may be made of other suitable materials such as plastic, etc.  
         [0016]     As shown in  FIG. 1  and in detail in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the plug  10  has a handle  12  and tip  14 . The handle  12  is shown as a generally flattened oval-shape, but could be any easily gripped shape. The handle  12  has two holes  16  that can attach to a cord (not shown) for storage, or such a cord could serve as a backup to secure the plug  10  in a marker barrel, in essence functioning like the cord used with the traditional barrel covers. Additionally, such cord may be used to attach the plug  10  to the marker so that the player would be less likely to lose the plug  10  when it is not secured in the barrel  4  of the marker  2 ; i.e., during play. The location of the holes  16  is suggestive, and could be located on any portion of the plug  10 .  
         [0017]     As shown in  FIGS. 1, 2  and  3 , the tip  14 , preferably is cylindrically shaped and sized to snugly fit into a standard marker barrel  4 . However, it may be sized and shaped to fit into modified marker barrels including, but not limited to the Barrel Spin Attachment shown and described in U.S. application Nos. 60/682,628, 60/703,094, and 60/717,445, the Barrel Attachment for Gas Gun shown and described in U.S. Patent application No. 60/695,685, the Paintball Barrel Spin Device and Improved Paintball Gun Spin Barrel shown and described in U.S. Patent application No. 60/695,732, and the Paintball Projectile Drop Compensator shown and described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/453,122. These applications are incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. As shown in  FIG. 4 , the cylindrical tip  14  has two sides  30 ,  32 . Both sides are comprised of a channel  24 , ribbing  20  and a squeegee  18 . The ribbing defines a rib cross-sectional perimeter formed along the tip. As shown in  FIG. 4 , in the preferred embodiment, the channels  24  have identical groove paths but one is rotated  180  degrees about its axis. In another embodiment, the sides  30 ,  32  of the tip  14  may be mirror images of each other. As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the squeegee  18  is essentially a lip that protrudes or extends outward past the ribbing  20 .  
         [0018]     During insertion, the tip  14  compresses due to its flexibility, and removably engages the inner surface of the barrel along the tip&#39;s length as shown in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0019]     Several features of the tip  14  make it advantageous over the simple plugs of the prior art.  
         [0020]     First, the flexibility of the plug  10  allows it to compress during insertion into a barrel  4 , but subsequently expand to tightly engage the barrel  4 , as shown in  FIG. 1 . Optimally, during insertion, a user twists the plug  10 , which reduces the cross sectional area of the tip  14 . Once the tip  14  is inserted deeply into a marker barrel  4 , untwisting the plug  10  expands the tip  14  so that it firmly engages the barrel  4 .  
         [0021]     Second, during insertion and removal of the plug  10 , the squeegee lip  18  wipes off the inside of the barrel  4 , which is advantageous because it removes paint or moisture from the barrel  4  that would otherwise reduce friction on the plug  10 , which further secures the plug  10  in the barrel  4 . In other words, the more friction, the less likely the plug  10  is to slip out of the barrel  4  or be discharged from the barrel  4  upon being struck by a misfired paintball. As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the channel  24  (discussed further below) also has a squeegee lip  25  that extends above the surface of the ribs  20  such that the lip  25 , during a twisting insertion, wipes the interior of the barrel.  
         [0022]     Third, the ribbing  20 , shown in detail in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , acts to further squeegee the barrel, and engages the barrel tightly along the length of the tip  14 . The ribs  20  may be the same size; however, in an alternate embodiment (not shown), the two ribs  22  closest to the squeegee lip  18  may be larger than the other ribs. In this embodiment, these two ribs  22  engage the barrel with more friction, and during any partial removal of the plug  10 , these ribs  22  will remain engaged until the plug  10  is fully removed. Thus, in a partially removed condition, these ribs  22  alone might engage the barrel with enough force to prevent a paintball from inadvertently discharging. In an alternate embodiment not shown, the ribbing could spiral along the length of the tip  14 , thus making a twisting insertion of the plug  10  easier.  
         [0023]     Fourth, the curved or winding vent channels  24 , which are preferably located on opposite sides of the tip  14  as shown in  FIG. 4 , vent the gas expelled during firing of a paintball marker. The channel&#39;s  24  curved shape, shown in detail in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , moreover, impedes debris as it exits the barrel, thus decreasing the damaging effect of such debris as it is fired from the marker. The channel(s)  24  are preferably any convoluted shape, and could number one or more along the tip  14 . As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , in the preferred embodiment, the walls of the channel  24  extend beyond the cross-sectional perimeter of the ribbing  20  so as to form a squeegee lip  25 . This squeegee lip  25  functions similar to the squeegee  18  in that the squeegee lip  25  wipes off the inside of a barrel during a twisting insertion and removal. This is advantageous because the lip  25  removes paint or moisture from the barrel that would otherwise reduce friction on the plug  10 , which further secures the plug  10  in the barrel.  
         [0024]     Fifth, the contact edge  26  of the tip  14  has advantageous features of its own. As shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the edge  26  is preferably non-contiguous due to the hole  28  that extends through the thickness of the tip  14 . This makes each edge of the contact edge  26  more flexible, and allows it to function as a spring that absorbs the impact of an inadvertently discharged paintball. This absorption breaks the paintball, but also prevents the entirety of the paintball&#39;s energy from transmission through the tip  14 , because some of the paintball&#39;s energy is absorbed, and some of the energy escapes in the form of exploded paint (and casing) into the hole  28  and out the channels  24 . Another advantage of the shape of the contact edge  26 , which is shown in detail in  FIGS. 2 and 4 , is that it is shaped to “catch” or accept a paintball, which further absorbs its impact. Yet another advantage of the shape of the contact edge  26  is that the hole  28  can be shaped to engage a standard display hook in a retail store, thus making these relatively inexpensive plugs  10  easy to mount and store.  
         [0025]     It may be advantageous in other embodiments, as shown in  FIG. 5 , to have a contact edge  34  shaped to pierce the paintball (not shown), for example, with a pointed portion  36 , thus allowing the energy of the paintball to escape in the form of paint and casing through the channel  24 .  
         [0026]     Sixth, the large flattened handle  12  can be easily formed with the logo of a company or otherwise branded.  
         [0027]     Although what has been shown and discussed is a flexible plug  10 , a less flexible plug could be used, especially if it had the impact absorbing contact edge  26 , 34  that absorbs the energy of the misfired paintball.