PATENT ABSTRACT
An adaptive, force-fed paintball loading device capable of delivering paintballs to a paintball marker against the force of gravity is disclosed. The paintball loading device preferably includes a refillable compartment that is generally an oblong elliptical container holding a plurality of paintballs. Paintballs are able to flow through an opening in the lower portion of the compartment and in between two synchronously geared counter-rotating helical augers. The geometry of flutes on the counter-rotating augers causes the paintballs in the lower portion of the container to be engaged between the augers and then pushed along a channel between the augers and out through a feed tube, which is attached to a paintball marker. A DC electric motor is used to drive the augers. A speed reduction unit is employed to reduce the motor shaft speed to a level practicably used by the synchronously geared augers. A feedback control loop and dynamic coupling element are also employed to enhance the response of the loading system to changing rates of fire of the attached paintball marker. Input signals from sensors on the paintball marker and the paintball loading device may also be employed to enhance the responsiveness of the paintball loading device to the demands of the paintball marker.

PATENT DESCRIPTION
FIELD OF INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention generally relates to paintball loading devices, more specifically, it relates to a paintball loader used to forcefully deliver paintballs to a paintball marker against the force of gravity.  
       BACKGROUND OF INVENTION  
       [0002]     The game of paintball usually involves the participation of two teams. Players on each team are armed with paintball markers that shoot small paint filled gelatin balls. The object of the game is for either of the teams to capture the opposing team&#39;s flag while at the same time eliminating as many of the opposing team&#39;s players as possible. An elimination occurs when a player is struck by a paintball. The paintball must rupture on the player to count as a “hit”. A “hit” on a player&#39;s equipment, such as their marker, also counts as an elimination. The game of paintball has experienced tremendous growth in technological advancements over the past several years. With the advent of semi automatic markers there arose a requirement for more sophisticated loading devices to deliver paintballs at higher feed rates than the original gravity assisted loaders. Many designs have emerged that have achieved higher rates of fire, though still leave room for improvement. Following are some examples of existing designs and descriptions of their deficiencies.  
       DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART  
       [0003]     To date, a large number of patents relating to feed systems and bulk loaders for paintball markers have been made for designs employing gravity assisted mechanisms to deliver paintballs to the marker. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,282,454, 6,415,781, 6,305,367, 6,481,432 and 6,418,919 all disclose loaders mounted above the breach of the marker using various methods of breaking up a jam when they occur in the paintball storage compartment of the loader.  
         [0004]     U.S. Pat. No. 5,282,454 teaches a method of dislodging a jam using a paddle wheel mounted adjacent to a top inlet of a vertically oriented feed tube. An infrared sensor is used to detect an absence of paintballs in the feed tube to initiate a motor which drives the paddle wheel device, which then stirs the paintballs and dislodges the jam.  
         [0005]     U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,526,955, 6,415,781, and 6,418,919 each disclose similar methods of dislodging jams. U.S. Pat. No. 6,526,955 teaches a center-less rotating disk to agitate the paintballs through which paintballs fall, U.S. Pat. No. 6,415,781 discloses a vertically positioned, rotating conical-shaped helical member to agitate the paintballs. U.S. Pat. No. 6,418,919 discloses a vibrating member suspended from the top of the paintball storage compartment to prevent jamming of the paintballs. Although all of the above mentioned patents achieve their intended purpose, they do so only satisfactorily. There are three disadvantages to all of these designs. Primarily, they fail to completely eliminate jamming (and hence do not eliminate the root cause of the problem). Secondly, all are designs that still rely on gravity to effectively deliver paintballs to the breach of the paintball marker as the agitating devices only partially prevents jamming. As a result, they must be mounted on top of the marker. In the sport of paintball, a hit on the marker counts as a hit on the player, thus the added height profile is a disadvantage. Thirdly, relying on gravity to deliver paintballs to the breach introduces an obvious limitation. Ignoring effects of air resistance as well as friction between a paintball and the inner surfaces of the loader, the time that it takes a paintball to drop in a 152.4mm (6inch) free-fall is governed by the following equation. [h=(0.5)(g)(t)(t)] Where g=9.817 m/s_sup — 2, t=time (in seconds) and h=height (in meters). Solving for t yields  0 . 176  seconds. A six inch free-fall is chosen since it can be assumed that the average height from the opening in the lower portion of the paintball storage compartment to the breach of the marker is six inches. Taking the inverse of 0.176 will give us the theoretical number of paintballs that can be fed into the breach per second by relying on gravity alone. This number is 5.7. Assuming that the weight of several balls on top of one another will apply extra momentum to the ball-stack, and that the churning action of an agitating member might help as well, a gravity fed agitating loader might be able to achieve a rate of delivery of 10 paintballs per second. With today&#39;s high tech markers it is very easy to out-shoot this number of paintballs as many of the semi-automatic markers are capable of 20 or more paintballs per second, in the hands of an experienced player.  
         [0006]     There are some gravity assisted loaders which have managed to exceeded the feed rate of the above mentioned simple agitating-action gravity assisted loaders. One such loader is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,502,567 and 6,213,110. Both of these loaders disclose generally the same design, employing a cone-shaped rotating element located at the bottom of the paintball storage compartment with a plurality of fins distributed about the circumference of the cone. These fins are placed so as to accommodate one paintball between adjacent fins. As the cone rotates, the fins engage the paintballs and force them into an opening, which is tangentially oriented with the path of the rotating fins. The paintballs enter this opening and are then directed down a tube and thus into the breach of the paintball marker. While the invention disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,502,567 and 6,213,110 feed the paintballs faster than the simple agitating, gravity-assist loaders, it still suffers from the fact that it is mounted on top of the marker and thus prone to taking hits from an opponent&#39;s shot. It is also incapable of effectively feeding paintballs up through a feed tube against the force of gravity and is therefore still partially dependent on gravity. Furthermore, should a paintball break within the loader during use, cleaning out the feed mechanism is not easily accomplished.  
         [0007]     U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,232 discloses an improvement over U.S. Pat. No. 5,282,454 made by the same inventor. The inventor lists three improvements, these being (1) forcing the paintballs into the feed tube versus just stirring paintballs up, (2) directing the paintballs into the feed tube versus imparting directionless agitating motion to the paintballs and (3) positioning the loader in a position other than directly above the inlet to the breech of the paintball marker. While the loading device of U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,232 does impart a directional force on the paintballs via a horizontally mounted rotating paddle wheel which forcibly engages paintballs, this force is insufficient to feed the paintballs reliably against the force of gravity. Thus there is still the requirement that it positioned above the inlet to the breech of the marker and hence adds to the overall vertical profile of the player. The paddle wheel as disclosed in this invention does not provide for easy cleaning without disassembly.  
         [0008]     There are yet other loaders which have been designed to mount underneath a paintball marker and feed against the force of gravity, five of which are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,771,875, 6,467,473, 6,488,019, 5,954,042, 6,109,252, 5,520,171 and 5,335,579.  
         [0009]     U.S. Pat. No. 5,771,875 discloses a chain driven mechanism that feeds paintballs from a clip-like container mounted below the marker, very similar in looks to the ammunition clip of a real firearm. Although this particular loader effectively feeds paintballs without the aid of gravity, it has four key limitations. First, it was designed to fit only one particular marker. In actuality, U.S. Pat. No. 5,771,875 discloses a “gas powered repeating gun”, which includes the loader design. This particular design will not function on any other marker and thus has limited functionality. Another major drawback with this design is speed. By virtue of its many mechanical linkages it is not capable of the rapid rate of fire demanded by tournament players. It is also limited in capacity, and must have additional compartments added to accommodate more paintballs. Lastly, like many of the previously mentioned designs, it is very difficult to clean out both on and off the field.  
         [0010]     U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,467,473 and 6,488,019 both disclose similar designs by the same inventor. This design is for a “paintball feeder” and not actually a loader. It requires a typical gravity assisted, agitating loader much like that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,232 to first supply it with a steady stream of paintballs. It then picks up each consecutive paintball between two flexible urethane discs, at least one of which spins, and essentially redirects the paintballs in the opposite direction. It&#39;s only advantage is to remove the typical gravity assisted loader from on top of the gun to either the left or right side of the marker. While in some cases this is advantageous, it still adds to the overall frontal area of the marker. In essence, it merely takes the potential target from the top of the gun and moves it to the side. Lastly, it also suffers from being difficult to clean out during play should a paintball break within its internals.  
         [0011]     U.S. Pat. No. 5,954,042 discloses a loader design which is mounted on the underside of the paintball marker. This design employs a somewhat large container, with a rotating paddle wheel mounted internally with its axis of rotation collinear with the axis of the marker barrel. The paddle wheel&#39;s individual paddles are spaced such that no more than one paintball will fit between adjacent paddles. The container is equipped with a feed tube such that paintballs can be fed to the breach of the paintball marker. A wedge positioned within slots of the paddles directs paintballs into the opening of a feed tube. Although this design would appear to be effective in feeding paintballs at a reasonable rate to the marker, it has some inherent flaws. Firstly, due to the size of the paddle wheel the frontal area is quite large, presenting an enlarged target to an opponent. Secondly, the internals are arranged such that should paintball breakage occur while in use, it would be virtually impossible to effectively clean during game time, since tournament style paintball games rarely last more than 15 to 20 minutes. Also, with the ever increasing move towards more fragile paintballs, the ease at which paintballs either break within the loader and/or marker increases. More brittle shelled paintballs are desired since a more resilient shell means that the paintball breaks less easily on an opponent. A paintball that strikes it&#39;s opponent but doesn&#39;t break does not count as a hit. As a consequence however, the markers and loaders must be gentler on the paintballs. This requires lower operating pressures in the markers and less aggressive feeding regimes used in the loaders. The loader disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,954,042 employs a control feature whereby an electric motor winds up a spring which has one end connected to the paddle wheel and another to the motor shaft. When the spring is wound to a desired point the amperage drawn by the motor reaches a maximum value, that is, when paintballs are not being fed into the marker. At the maximum amperage the motor shuts off. There is sufficient torsion built up in the spring at this point to feed several paintballs. A sensor determines when a predetermined number of paintballs has been fed to the marker and the motor winds the spring up again. The need to wind the spring up to the point that more than one ball could be fed means that an excessive amount of force may be applied to the paintballs within the feed tube. This increases the likelihood of breakage. Lastly, it is taught that the control circuitry of this invention is programmed so as to engage the motor until it&#39;s maximum torque is reached in winding the spring before it shuts the motor off so that the motor stalls. Repeated operation under this mode can easily wear a motor out due to heat stress in the armature windings and heat fatigue of the commutators.  
         [0012]     U.S. Pat. No. 6,109,252 discloses a generally vertically arranged cylindrical loader with an impeller-like drive member at the bottom thereof. The impeller has spherically shaped pockets designed to receive paintballs while rotating. Once received in the pockets of the impeller, the paintballs are guided into a feed tube connected to the marker. While appearing at first to be an adequate solution to feeding paintballs against the force of gravity, it becomes apparent upon closer investigation that there are three primary deficiencies with this design. Primarily, there is no provision for an adequate control system. The patent discloses a position sensor that interfaces with the trigger of a paintball marker. The sensor is configured to signal the loader to start feeding paintballs when the trigger starts to move. The design depends on the marker having a relatively long trigger pull, so that the loader has time to begin feeding paintballs before the marker actually fires. This method of operation is not particularly reasonable, as nearly all modern paintball markers have extremely short trigger travel, often less than 1 millimeter. Markers are also often fired quite rapidly, typically exceeding 15 cycles per second. This type of control system is not adequate for contemporary markers. The loader design also requires that the paintballs in the feed tube be slightly compressed prior to firing of the marker. Although paintballs do have a slight elasticity to their structure the loader disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,109,252 relies on this elasticity to provide a jump-start to the top-most paintball in the feed tube for entry into the breech of the marker. The primary deficiency in this dependency is that there is an elevated risk of a paintball rupturing. Finally, as with other hopper designs, the intricacy of the feed members are such that a ball breakage within the loader during game time would be very difficult to clean out without hindering a player&#39;s ability to contribute effectively to their team&#39;s efforts.  
         [0013]     U.S. Pat. No. 5,520,171 and 5,335,579 are similar designs by the same inventor, both disclose a helical indexing magazine used to feed pellets or paintballs into an air gun. The disclosed designs include a cylindrical casing, the interior surface thereof comprising a helical ridge extending from one end to the other. An internal core includes longitudinally oriented ribs. The internal core is rotatably mounted on a first end cap and is driven by an indexing cam linked to the firing mechanism of the air gun. The outer casing is fixed relative to the end caps. Paintballs are loaded into the device prior to commencement of a game. While this device allows for the feeding of paintballs into a paintball marker without the assistance of gravity, there are two main disadvantages in the design. First, the device requires a marker capable of driving the cam indexing mechanism. No mainstream marker designs currently on the market are designed for any loading device in particular. Likewise, with the exception of U.S. Pat. No. 5,771,875, nearly all contemporary loaders are generically designed to fit on a multitude of various manufacturer&#39;s markers. The loading device of U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,520,171 and 5,335,579 would thus require an additional mechanism to provide its motive power, which are neither disclosed or provided for in the patent. Secondly, since it must be loaded prior to game commencement, once the supply of paintballs are depleted it is virtually useless, as the time required to reload it would prevent the user from actively participating in the game. Finally, like many other designs, the internal design of the drive mechanism is not conducive to quick cleaning should a paintball break during game time, making the device difficult to use for the duration of the game.  
         [0014]     It is therefore advantageous (and desirable) that a paintball loader possess the following attributes: (1) have a small a profile as possible while still holding a sufficient quantity of paintballs, (2) be mountable on any position of the marker (especially in locations which do not add to the overall profile of the player), (3) to not be gravity dependent in assisting in the delivery of paintballs to the breach of the marker, (4) be easily cleaned during play, (5) prevent jams from occurring (or even eliminate their occurrence altogether), (6) to feed paintballs at the highest feed rate possible. It is the object of the invention hereinafter disclosed to meet all of these requirements.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0015]     The present invention is an automatic self feeding paintball marker consisting of a paintball marker having a breach and an automatic paintball loader for feeding the breach with paintballs. The paintball loader is mounted below the paintball marker making the marker easier to use. The paintball loader includes a hopper having a cavity, an exit port and an opening. The hopper is dimensioned to store a quantity of paintballs. A drive housing is mounted adjacent the hopper, the drive housing having a feed port in communication with the exit port of the hopper. The drive housing has an augur channel in communication with the feed port and a discharge port at one end of the augur channel. A pair of parallel augurs are rotatably mounted in the augur channel. The paintball loader includes a feed tube having opposite fist and second ends, the first end being coupled to the discharge port of the drive housing, and the second end being attachable to the breach of the paintball marker. Finally, the paintball loader also includes an electric drive mechanism for rotating the augurs in a counter rotating fashion in order to move paintballs through the augur channel, out of the discharge opening and through the feed tube.  
         [0016]     With the foregoing in view, and other advantages as will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention relates as this specification proceeds, the invention is herein described by reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, which includes a description of the preferred typical embodiment of the principles of the present invention. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0017]     The attached drawings set forth the preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0018]      FIG. 1   a  is a perspective of the preferred embodiment of the paintball loading device.  
         [0019]      FIG. 1   b  is a profile view of the preferred embodiment of the paintball loading device.  
         [0020]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the paintball loading device with a housing component removed for clarity in viewing the internal components.  
         [0021]      FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of the primary housing components including the flip-top lid and the feed tube.  
         [0022]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the paintball loading device of the present invention mated with a paintball marker.  
         [0023]      FIG. 5  is a top view of the paintball loading device of the present invention attached to a paintball marker.  
         [0024]      FIG. 6  shows the cross-sectional profile view of the paintball loading device and marker indicated by A-A in  FIG. 5 .  
         [0025]      FIG. 7   a  is a graphical representation showing the electrical current response of the drive motor of the present invention without the use of a dynamic coupling element.  
         [0026]      FIG. 7   b  is a graphical representation showing the electrical current response of the drive motor utilizing a dynamic coupling element.  
         [0027]      FIG. 8  is a profile view of the electrical components, drive system, speed reduction unit, feed system and brake mechanism of the paintball loading device.  
         [0028]      FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional profile view of the internal components of the paintball loading device indicated by B-B of  FIG. 8 .  
         [0029]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view of the internal mechanical and electrical components of the paintball loading device of the present invention.  
         [0030]      FIG. 11   a  is a perspective view of the internal mechanical and electrical components of the paintball loading device.  
         [0031]      Fig. 11   b  is an end view of the internal mechanical and electrical components of the paintball loading device.  
         [0032]      FIG. 12   a  is an exploded perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the capacitive sensor of the present invention.  
         [0033]      FIG. 12   b  is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the capacitive sensor of the present invention.  
         [0034]      FIG. 13   a  and  FIG. 13   b  show perspective views of alternate embodiments of the capacitive sensor of the paintball loading device.  
         [0035]      FIG. 14   a  and  FIG. 14   b  show perspective views two embodiments of the gear tooth position sensor of the present invention.  
         [0036]      FIG. 15   a  is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the Dynamic Coupling Element of the present invention.  
         [0037]      FIG. 15   b  is a perspective view of an alternate embodiments of the Dynamic Coupling Element of the present invention.  
         [0038]      FIG. 16  is a perspective view of the electrical control unit and it&#39;s various components.  
         [0039]      FIG. 17  is a perspective view the paintball loading device of the present invention showing two pieces of equipment typically used for cleaning paint residue out of existing paintball loading devices and paintball markers.  
         [0040]      FIG. 18  is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the drive system of the present invention. 
     
    
       [0041]     In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0042]     Referring firstly to  FIG. 6  the present invention is an automatically fed paint ball marker, shown generally as item  11  which consists of a paintball marker  12  and an automatic paintball loading device  14 . Paintball loading device  14  comprises a paintball hopper  16  having opening  18  and exit port  20 . A drive housing  24  is mounted immediately below hopper  16 . Drive housing  24  has an augur channel  26  containing a pair of parallel helical augurs  114  and  116  (see  FIG. 9 ). Augur channel  26  has an exit port  136 . Feed tube  131  has opposite ends  131   a  and  170   a . End  131   a  is coupled to exit port  136  and end  170 a is coupled to breech  170  of paintball marker  12 . The augurs are coupled to drive mechanism  22 . Drive mechanism  22  is configured to rotate the augurs in a counter rotating fashion in order to drive paintballs between the augurs and through feed tube  131  and into breach  170 .  
         [0043]     Drive mechanism  22  consists of an electric motor  108  coupled to pulley  106  which is in turn coupled to dampening spring  109 . Dampening spring  109  is coupled to augur  114 . The augurs are coupled to each other by gears  28 . Dampening spring  109  is configured to store a torsional force. Dampening spring  109  preferably comprises an elongated helical spring which is coupled to pulley  106  at one end and to augur  114  at the other end. Electric motor  108  is controlled by motor controller  125  which is configured to stop the motor when motor  108  draws too much current. Paintball sensor  123  is positioned adjacent end  170   a  of feed tube  131 . Paintball sensor  123  is coupled to motor controller  125  and is further configured to send an electrical signal to the motor controller when paintballs pass by the sensor. Preferably, sensor  125  is a capacitive sensor having electrodes  402  and  403  mounted adjacent end  170   a . Preferably, motor controller  125  is programmed to start up motor  108  when the motor controller receives the electrical signal from sensor  123 .  
         [0044]      FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2  show various views of the paintball loading device of the present invention. The plastic housing of the paintball loading device is generally comprised of four primary components. Two main halves  129  and  130  form the generally oblong elliptical compartment which holds quantity of paintballs, typically in the range of 150 to 250 paintballs, as well as a lower portion which contains the primary drive components. For the purpose of describing the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the individual molded components of the main housing will be described as a complete part  140  (hereinafter referred to as the “main housing”). The main housing  140  comprises the two main halves  129  and  130 , an internal mounting plate  127  and a lower cover  128 . The flip-top lid  126  and feed tube  131  however will not be included in this generalized description. An opening  133  on the top side of the storage compartment allows the supply of paintballs to be replenished during game time, the hinged flip-top lid  126  is used to seal the opening  133  when not opened for refilling. The removable feed tube  131  directs paintballs out of the paintball loading device to an attached paintball marker  100  (not shown). The feed tube  131  may be a flexible conduit, but also may be made of a rigid material. Geometry of the feed tube  131  will vary according to what style of marker the paintball loading device is connected to. The inlet end  131   a  of the feed tube  131  is slidably attached to the outlet port  140   g  of the main casing  140 . The lower cover  128  encloses the electrical and drive components. The internal mounting plate  127  is used to separate the feed system from the rest of the internal components. It should be apparent that these molded components can be altered in shape while still performing their intended function. Therefore, deletion or modification of individual parts can be made provided the overall general function of the paintball loading device is not compromised.  
         [0045]      FIG. 2, 9 ,  10  and  11  show various views of the internal mechanical components of the paintball loading device. For the purpose of simplifying some of the following description, components of the paintball loading device may be grouped together. As well, these groupings may share components of another system. For instance, the drive system  22  includes motor  108 , drive pulley  106 , o-ring belts  107  and the DCE shroud  105  (which is described in more detail below). The drive system also includes the two helical augers  114  and  115  and their respective shafts  116  and  117 . A brake mechanism  40  is comprised of a brake arm  101 , a biasing spring  102  and a roller brake  103 . The drive system is powered by a small DC motor  108 , of the kind typically used in toy cars. The motor  108  is securely attached to one of the molded plastic housing components. Power is supplied by a rechargeable battery  119  via an electronic control unit  125 . A drive pulley  106  is fitted to the shaft of the motor  108 . One or more nitrile o-rings  107  are used as drive belts to transfer power from the drive pulley  106  to a larger pulley  105  (hereinafter referred to as the DCE shroud  105 ). DCE is an acronym for “Dynamic Coupling Element”, whose function will be made clearer in the following paragraphs. The purpose of the DCE shroud  105  is twofold. Firstly, it is a component of the drive mechanism used to reduce the rotational speed of the motor  108  to a speed practicably usable by feed system  30 . The diameter of the DCE shroud  105  is generally two to three times larger than the drive pulley  106 . Its second purpose is to act as a coupling element between the speed reduction unit  20  (of which it is a part) and the feed system  30 . The DCE shroud  105  is rotatably mounted on a first auger shaft  116  (hereinafter referred to simply as the first shaft) and is positioned adjacent to the first gear  110 . The DCE  109  or “dynamic coupling element” in the preferred embodiment is a coil spring with two axial tangs  109   a ,  109   b  at either end. It can also take the form of a flexible molded rubber or plastic part, similar to that shown in  FIG. 15   b . The DCE  109  is secured to the first gear  116  by a first tang  109   a . A second tang  109   b  of the DCE  109  secures the DCE  109  to the DCE shroud  105 , thereby forming a dynamic link between the DCE  109 , the DCE shroud  105  and the first gear  110 . The first shaft  116  rotates within bushings  113  positioned at either end of the first auger  114 . The bushings  113  are located within recesses  140   b  in portions of the main housing  140 , adjacent to either end of the first auger cavity  140   c . The first auger  114  is securely over-molded to the first shaft  116 , the molded material being a flexible thermoset or thermoplastic polymer. The first shaft  116  generally is a 0.25 inch diameter hollow steel shaft with a typical wall thickness of 0.035 inches or less. The first gear  110  is friction fit on the first shaft  116  and meshes with a second gear  111 , said second gear  111  being friction fit to a second shaft  117 . Said second shaft rotates within bushings  113  positioned in recesses  140   d  in portions of the main housing  140 , adjacent to either end of the second auger cavity (not shown), said second shaft also typically made of 0.25 inch diameter hollow steel tubing.  
         [0046]     The first and second gear  110 ,  111  are generally molded from a thermoplastic resin. Both are 1.25 inch pitch diameter, involute tooth spur gears. Since the first gear  110  directly meshes with the second gear  111 , the first auger  114  and second auger  115  are caused to counter-rotate at the same speed.  
         [0047]      FIG. 14   a  illustrates in perspective the brake mechanism  40  as attached to the drive system  10  and feed system  30  as well as a frontal view in  FIG. 14   b . The brake mechanism  40  is located adjacent to the DCE shroud  105  on the side opposite to that of the first gear  110 . The brake mechanism  40  consists of a brake arm  101 , a roller brake  103  and a torsional biasing spring  102 . The axis of rotation of the brake arm  101  is collinear with the axis of rotation of the DCE shroud  105 . The brake arm  101  in its at-rest state is skewed slightly off-center from vertical plane defined by the axis of rotation of the DCE shroud  105  and the pivot axis of the brake arm  101 . This allows the roller brake  103  to engage between the o-ring belts  107  and a top surface of a braking ramp  140   f . The braking ramp  140   f  is a molded feature of the main casing  140 . The skewed relationship of the brake arm  101  relative to said defined vertical plane is required to prevent the roller brake  103  from going over-center and binding between the DCE shroud  105  and the braking ramp  140   f . The biasing spring  102  acts to bias the brake arm  101  so that the roller brake  103  will wedge between the o-ring belts  107  and the braking ramp  140   f  when the drive system is at rest.  
         [0048]      FIG. 9  shows a section view of the drive unit, speed reduction unit and feed system and illustrates the geometry of the first and second augers  114 ,  115 . The augers  114 ,  115  are designed such that when configured as shown, a paintball  132  will fit loosely in the voids  135  created between the flutes  114   a ,  115   a  of the augers  114 ,  115 . The surfaces  114   b ,  115   b  on either side of the flutes  114   a ,  115   a  have an approximate radius of 0.375 inches, slightly larger than the nominal radius of a paintball  132 , that being 0.340 inches.  
         [0049]      FIG. 6  and  FIG. 8  show the electrical components which are part of the preferred embodiment of this invention. All of the electrical components, with the exception of the capacitive sensor  123  and the trigger switch  134  are contained within the molded casing  140  of the paintball loading device. The electrical control unit (or ECU)  125  is used to process signals from the capacitive sensor  123 , the gear-tooth position sensor  124 , trigger switch  134  of the paintball marker  100  and current level feedback from the electrical motor  108 . The capacitive sensor  123  is mounted between the outlet end of the feed tube  131   b  and the input port  170   a  to the breech  170  of the paintball marker  100 . Signal leads  123   a  from the capacitive sensor  123  are routed to the ECU  125  by the most convenient route possible, preferably along the feed tube  131 . Other components of the electrical system include: an HMI (Human Machine Interface)  120  which may consist of an LED bank or LCD to indicate various fault and/or status conditions, one or more potentiometers and/or switch banks  121  for adjustment of control settings and a rechargeable battery  119  for-power supply.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED OPERATION  
       [0050]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view showing a paintball loading device mounted forward of the underside of a paintball marker. The paintball loading device is attached to the marker  100  via a metal bracket  167  which mounts to the underside of the marker grip-frame  169 . Note that the marker  100  is comprised of several components, these being the body  171 , bolt  161 , barrel  164 , grip  169  and trigger  162 .  
         [0051]     Prior to use, the paintball loading device is filled with a quantity of paintballs. The paintballs are loaded into the storage cavity  140   j  of the main casing  140  via an opening  133  near the front end of the paintball loading device. A flip-top lid  126  is used to prevent the paintballs from spilling out of the loading device during game time. An activation button  122  is used to prime the system. Depressing the activation button  122  initializes the motor  108  causing the augers  114 ,  115  to spin. The paintballs  132  are thus fed into the feed tube  131  until the first paintball reaches the breech inlet port  170   a , at which point it will come to rest against the bolt  161  of the paintball marker  100 . At this point the feed tube  131  will be filled with paintballs. Since the internal diameter of the feed tube  131  is just slightly larger than the nominal diameter of a paintball, it should be understood that the paintballs in the feed tube  131  must form a contiguous stream. Although not shown in the figures, this contiguous stream of paintballs in the feed tube  131  shall henceforth be referred to as the “paintball stack”. The amperage drawn by the motor  108  increases when the movement of the paintball stack within the feed tube  131  is halted. Current draw feedback to the ECU  125  alerts the motor control portion of the ECU  125  to stop the motor  108 . The DCE  109  builds up tension as the motor  108  slows down, thereby storing energy and exerting a force on the paintball stack. The force exerted on the paintball stack is sufficient to advance one or more paintballs into the breech  170  when the bolt  161  opens prior to the motor  108  in the paintball loading device initializing.  
         [0052]     Activation of the paintball loading device during game time may be accomplished by one or more sensor inputs to the ECU  125 . The primary method of activation is by the capacitive sensor  123  mounted between the outlet end  131   b  of the feed tube  131  and the breech input port  170   a . The capacitive sensor  123  is activated when a paintball passes through said capacitive sensor  123 . The capacitive sensor  123  is typically composed of a molded plastic body  123   a , a plug  123   f , a first charge plate  123   b  and a second charge plate  123   c , a first shield  123   d  and second shield  123   e  and a driver  123   g . The driver  123   g  is comprised of a digital circuit which may be part of the capacitive sensor  123  (as shown in  FIG. 12   a  and  12   b ) or part of the circuitry of the ECU  125  in the main housing  140  of the paintball loading device. The driver  123   g  applies a positive voltage to the first charge plate  123   b  and a negative voltage to the second charge plate  123   c . An electric field is thus created between the two charge plates  123   b ,  123   c . When there is no paintball between the charge plates  123   b ,  123   c  the amount of charge which can build up between the plates  123   b ,  123   c  is determined by the dielectric constant of air.  
         [0053]     The capacitive sensor  123  operates by detecting the dielectric strength of a paintball as it passes between the charge plates  123   b ,  123   c . All materials have an associated dielectric strength, which is represented as “K”. For example: for air K=1.0, for vegetable oil K=4.0, for distilled water K=80. The capacitance of two parallel charged plates of area “A” and separated by a distance “d”, with a material of dielectric strength “K” between said plates is given by the equation C=(A*K)/d. As can be seen in  FIG. 12   a  and  FIG. 12   b , the geometry of the capacitive sensor  123  is different than the case of two parallel plates separated by a thin gap. However, the general relationship of the equation will apply. Therefore, as a paintball exiting the feed tube  131  comes into the proximity of the capacitive sensor  123 , the higher dielectric strength of the paintball relative to that of ambient air will cause the charge between the two charge plates  123   b ,  123   c  to increase. The primary constituents of a paintball are vegetable oil and vegetable oil shortening (or similar ingredients), the balance being colorants and fillers which give the oil/shortening mixture a more viscous and colorful nature. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,656,092 for more detail on the general composition of the fill in paintballs. With the primary constituents of the paintball being vegetable oil, the dielectric constant “K” is generally four times greater than that of air. Therefore, the corresponding charge between the charge plates  123   b ,  123   c  will increase fourfold when the centroid of the paintball is coincident with the center of the capacitive sensor  123 . The change in charge between the charge plates  123   b ,  123   c  will cause a proportional change in voltage as detected by the driver  123   g . The driver  123   g  then conditions this voltage signal so that the ECU  125  can use it for controlling the response of the drive system within the paintball loading device.  
         [0054]     A useful aspect of the capacitive sensor  123  is the output of a differential signal. As a paintball just begins to enter the charge field of the capacitive sensor  123 , the charge capacity of the capacitive sensor  123  will change ever so slightly. As the paintball continues to advance through the capacitive sensor  123  the charge capacity will continue to increase, until the centroid of a paintball is coincident with the center of the capacitive sensor  123 . As the paintball begins to exit the capacitive sensor  123  the charge capacity will begin to decrease. Because of this relative sensing capability, the capacitive sensor  123  can detect the change of position of a paintball as it passes through the capacitive sensor  123 , not just the presence or absence of a paintball. If a steady stream of paintballs is fed through the capacitive sensor  123 , the voltage output will resemble a sinusoidal waveform, the peaks and the troughs of the waveform representing the points at which the center and edge of the paintballs are coincident with the center of the sensor, respectively. The usefulness of this feature will become more apparent as the description of the present invention is further elaborated.  
         [0055]     When a voltage is applied to the first and second charge plates  123   b ,  123   c , an electric field is generated all about the plates  123   b ,  123   c . To inhibit extraneous sources of signal noise or interference, shields  123   d ,  123   e  are positioned on the exterior of the molded body  123   a  of the capacitive sensor  123 . The driver  123   g  applies voltages of the same magnitude as the first and second charge plates  123   b ,  123   c  to the first and second shields  123   d ,  123   e , respectively. Since there is no difference in the voltage between the charge plates  123   b ,  123   c  and their respective shields  123   d ,  123   e , no electric field will be created. The charge plates  123   b ,  123   c  are thus shielded from any extraneous interference.  
         [0056]     Two alternative embodiments to the capacitive sensor are shown in  FIG. 13   a  and  13   b . The capacitive sensor of  FIG. 13   a  is designed to be mounted in the body of a paintball marker. The sensor is comprised of two oppositely charged charge plates  402 ,  403 , respective charge plate shields  404 ,  405  and a driver (not shown in  FIG. 13   a ). The charge plates  402 ,  403  of this embodiment are actually cylindrical in shape. Since the sensor components are mounted in the body  401  of a paintball marker a molded sensor housing is no longer required. The section of the paintball marker body  401  shown in  FIG. 13   a  is shown cut-away for clarity. The capacitive sensor of  FIG. 13   a  operates on the same principals as the sensor of  FIG. 12   a  and  12   b . However, instead of sensing the paintballs as they pass through the sensor, the charge plates  402 ,  403  are mounted on either side of the breech  406  and the paintball is detected as it passes though the inlet port  407  and into the breech  406 . A second alternative embodiment is shown in  FIG. 13   b  illustrates a capacitive sensor  500  which uses a slightly different method of operation. This sensor is comprised of an emitter  501 , a shell  502  and a driver  503 . In this embodiment, the capacitive sensor utilizes a method called fringing, whereby the electric field is not generated between two opposed plates. Rather, the electric field wraps back from the emitter  501  to the shell  502 . The fringing effect is represented by a number of three-dimensional arrows  504  which depict the general shape of the electric field. If a paintball is presented in front of the emitter  501 , the electric field that wraps back onto the shell  502  will be altered. The driver  503  then sends a conditioned signal to the ECU  125  for processing. The alternative embodiment of the capacitive sensor as illustrated in  FIG. 13   b  is particularly well suited to applications where using two opposed charge plates is inconvenient as only one sensor element is required.  
         [0057]     A second method of activating the paintball loading device is via direct coupling of the ECU  125  to a trigger switch  134  of the paintball marker  12 . This is only achievable on markers equipped with electronic control modules, or on specially modified markers. The signal type generated by the trigger switch  134  is of a discrete nature, that being, either “on” or “off”.  
         [0058]     A third sensor used for general diagnostics which can also be used to generate an activation signal is the gear tooth position sensor  124 . This sensor is mounted within the main casing  140  adjacent to the second gear  111 . The gear tooth position sensor  124  may either be a “through beam” type sensor or a “diffuse infrared” sensor. A through beam sensor (as shown in  FIG. 14   a ) has an emitter  124   a  placed on one side of the gear  111  and a receiver  124   b  placed on the opposite side. The emitter/receiver pair are placed so as to direct an infrared beam through the tooth portion of the gear  111 . When the gear  111  moves, the teeth cut the through beam and a discrete signal is generated. Alternately, a diffuse infrared sensor may be placed in the radial plane of the gear  111  (see  FIG. 14   b ), pointing towards the center of the gear  111 . The diffuse infrared sensor directs a diffuse infrared beam at the face of the gear teeth, which is redirected back to the diffuse sensor. The diffure beam is displayed as an arrow  124   e  in  FIG. 14   b . When the gear  111  begins to rotate, the beam is reflected away from the sensor at a different angle and a discrete signal is generated. In a diffuse infrared sensor the emitter  124   c  and receiver  124   d  are placed side-by-side. Back pressure exerted on the paintball stack in the feed tube  131  of the paintball loading device is released when the paintball marker  12  is cycled (fired). The back pressure on the paintball stack is exerted by the stored tension in the DCE  109 , which is connected directly to the first shaft  116  and hence the second shaft  117  via the gears  110 ,  111 . Therefore, when the back pressure in the paintball stack is released, the feed system  30  will rotate, which will activate the gear tooth position sensor  124 , sending a discrete signal to the ECU  125  to initiate the paintball loading device drive system  10 .  
         [0059]     In the preferred embodiment of this invention, the method of activating the paintball loading device is via the capacitive sensor  123 . With the paintball loading device primed as described in paragraph [ 0050 ], and attached to an appropriate semi-automatic marker, the paintball loading device is now ready to be used. Upon pulling the trigger  162  of the paintball marker  12 , the bolt  161  is retracted and a paintball is advanced into the breech  170 . The tension stored in the DCE  109  after priming imparts a torque on the augers  114 ,  115 , in turn exerting a force on the paintball stack in the feed tube  131 . This is the mechanism by which the paintball adjacent to the bolt  161  is forced into the breech  170  when the marker  100  is cycled. The movement of the first paintball at the top of the paintball stack into the breech  170  causes the other paintballs in the feed tube to advance. This movement is sensed by the capacitive sensor  123  and a signal is sent to the ECU  125 . What actions the ECU  125  take next will depend of the sequence of events to follow.  
         [0060]     If the paintball marker  12  is only fired once, the ECU  125  will signal the motor  108  to run for a very brief moment, just enough to rewind the DCE  109  up to its stand-by tension. This is required so that sufficient force is applied to the paintball stack to force one paintball into the breech  170  the next time the marker  12  is cycled.  
         [0061]     If the operator continues to cycle the marker  100 , the capacitive sensor  123  will continue to sense the passage of paintballs through the feed tube  131  into the breech  170 . The signal from the capacitive sensor  123  will be used by the ECU  125  to activate the motor  108  as long as the marker  100  is cycled. The ECU  125  is equipped with a motor control feature that delivers power to the motor  108  in “pulses”. This is referred to as Pulse Width Modulation (PWM). In the past, motor speed was controlled using a simple variable resistor. This wastes energy as heat dissipated by the resistor. Pulse width modulation sends pulses of energy to the motor  108 . For a slow speed, the motor controller sends widely spaced pulses of energy to the motor  108 . As the speed requirement increases, the pulses of energy become more frequent. For full speed, the energy ceases to be pulsed and becomes constant. Voltage regulation may also be used to control motor speed. This is accomplished via digital voltage regulation circuitry. The end result of using pulse width modulated and regulated voltage is increased battery life, as well as finer control of the output performance of the paintball loading device.  
         [0062]     The main component on the ECU  125  is a high-speed digital processor. This processor uses the signal generated by the capacitive sensor  123  to determine the instantaneous demand for paintballs by the marker  100 . The processor then uses this information to control the motor speed controlling portion of the ECU  125 . With the performance characteristics of the motor  108  known, the processor can exactly match motor speed to paintball demand. Another integral component of the control system is the DCE  109 . Although the DEC  109  is a mechanical component it performs critical damping and response functions.  
         [0063]     Consider the operational characteristics required of the motor  108  when connected directly to the feed system  30  of the paintball loading device. The paintball marker  100  is cyclical in its operation. This means that the bolt  161  must move from a forward position to a rearward position to load a paintball  132  and then move back to the forward position to chamber the paintball  132  in the breech  170 . The bolt in  FIG. 6  is shown in the retracted position. The bolt  161  must then remain in the forward position while the paintball marker  100  is fired, expelling the paintball  132  out the barrel  164 . The top-most paintball in the paintball stack within the feed tube  131  then comes to rest against the bolt  161  for the amount of time that the bolt  161  is in the forward position. The time period for which the bolt  161  comes to rest is typically at least 20 milliseconds, but varies depending on the rate of fire of the marker  100 . With a motor  108  attached directly to the feed system  30  the current drawn by the motor  108  will spike each time a paintball stops against the bolt  161 . See  FIG. 7   a  for a graphical representation of current drawn by a motor as paintballs are fed into the breech  170  at a steady rate of twenty balls per second.  FIG. 7   a  shows a 0.25 second interval. It is a well-known characteristic with electric DC motors that the current drawn by the motor rises proportionally as the torque load on the motor increases. Section  7   a.i  of the graph in  FIG. 7   a  represents the period of time where a paintball is stopped against the bolt  161 . As can be seen, the current drawn by the motor  108  increases markedly as the paintball is held in place by the bolt  161 . Once the bolt  161  opens to allow a paintball into the breech  170  the current drawn by the motor  108  diminishes to its minimum value. Note that while the bolt  161  is in the retracted position the motor still draws current since it is still under load. The current draw characteristics as shown in  FIG. 7   a  would quickly wear a motor out due to thermal fatigue of the armature windings and the motor brushes.  
         [0064]     The present invention solves this dilemma by the use of a DCE (Dynamic Coupling Element)  109  situated between the speed reduction unit  20  and the feed system  30 , as shown in  FIG. 8 ,  FIG. 9 ,  FIG. 10 ,  FIG. 15   a  and  Fig. 15   b . The DCE  109  in the preferred embodiment is a coil spring with two axial tangs  109   a ,  109   b  at either end. It can also take the form of a flexible molded rubber or plastic part, similar to that shown in  FIG. 8   b . The DCE  109  is secured to the first gear  116  by a first tang  109   a . A second tang  109   b  of the DCE  109  secures the DCE  109  to the DCE shroud  105 , thereby forming a captive link between the DCE  109  and the DCE shroud  105 . The DCE shroud  105  is rotatably mounted on the first shaft  116 . Power is transferred from the motor  108  via the drive pulley  106  mounted on the motor shaft to the DCE shroud  105  by one or more nitrile o-rings  107  that act as belts.  
         [0065]     When the paintball marker  12  is fired, a paintball will pass sensor  123  causing the sensor to send an electrical signal to the ECU  125  to start the motor  108 . The ECU  125  will continue to drive the motor  108  as long as it continues receiving a varying signal from the capacitive sensor  123 , in other words, as long as the marker  12  continues to be fired. Recall that since the paintball marker&#39;s firing action is cyclical that the load on the motor  108  cycles as well, due to the stopping action of the paintballs against the bolt  161  when the bolt  161  closes. With the DCE  109  in place, there is now a shock absorbing element to smooth out the torque experienced by the motor  108  and hence the current drawn by the motor  108 . Refer to  FIG. 7   b  for a graphical representation of current drawn by the motor versus a 0.25 second interval in which five paintballs are fired at equal time intervals of 50 milliseconds. Note that this graph represents the current draw characteristics of a motor in a paintball loading device which is equipped with a DCE  109 . In reviewing the graph it is obvious that the current does not spike as with the loading device not equipped with the DCE  109 , as shown in  FIG. 7   a . As the bolt  161  in the marker  12  moves to its forward position, the paintball stack in the feed tube  131  comes to a stop. As the paintball stack comes to a halt a force builds up in the stack and is transferred to the feed system  30  which in turn transfers the force to the drive unit  10  as an increase in torque. With the DCE  109  in place, instead of the motor  108  stopping abruptly and drawing an increased amount of current, the DCE  109  begins to wind up, absorbing the torque and storing it as potential energy. The motor  108  still experiences an increase in torque, yet at a reduced rate, as shown by the less dramatic rise in the slope (portion  7   b.i  of  FIG. 7   b ) of the current versus time curve in  FIG. 7   b . When the bolt  161  opens to its rearward position the DCE  109  partially unwinds, releasing some of the stored energy. The unwinding action aides in propelling the top-most paintball in the paintball stack into the breech  170  of the marker  12 .  
         [0066]     A brake mechanism  40  is used to maintain tension in the DCE  109  when there is no demand for paintballs by the marker  100 . When the demand for paintballs ceases, the DCE  109  has a tendency to unwind. Without a means of arresting the unwinding action the DCE  109  would not be able to store energy, and hence would not be able to force paintballs into the breech  170  of the marker  100  at the beginning of each firing sequence.  
         [0067]     As seen in  FIG. 11   a  and  Fig. 11   b  the brake mechanism is comprised of a brake arm  101 , a torsional biasing spring  102  and a roller brake  103 . The brake arm  101  is a generally elongated “S” shaped wire form. The biasing spring  102  acts to bias the brake arm  101  in a counter clockwise direction (when viewed from the front of the paintball loading device, as in  Fig. 11   b ). The top tang  101   a  serves as the point of rotation of the brake arm  101  and is located in a hole formed in the main casing  140 . The lower tang  101   b  of the brake arm  101  serves as the rotational axis for the roller brake  103 . The brake mechanism  40  functions by being wedged between the o-ring belts  107  which ride in guide grooves of the DCE shroud  105  and the top surface of a braking ramp  140   f . The braking ramp  140   f  is a molded feature of the main casing  140 .  
         [0068]     When the demand for paintballs from the marker  100  ceases, the signal from the capacitive sensor  123  to the ECU  125  terminates. As torque in the DCE  109  builds, current drawn by the motor  108  increases until it reaches a maximum allowable value, at which point the motor driver  125   b  turns the motor  108  off. The torsion built up in the DCE  109  then acts to reverse the direction of rotation of the DCE shroud  105 . Due the biasing action of the biasing spring  102  on the brake arm  101 , the roller brake  103  immediately jams between the o-ring belts  107  and the top surface of the braking ramp  140   f . The DCE  109  is thus prevented from further unwinding and exerts a torque on the feed system  30  which in turn exerts a force on the paintball stack in the feed tube  131 . The force exerted on the paintball stack holds the top-most paintball in the stack against the bolt  161  until the marker  100  cycles again. The next time the marker  100  is fired, the force exerted on the paintballs in the feed tube  131  causes the top-most paintball to advance into the breech  170 . The movement of paintballs through the capacitive sensor  123  sends a signal to the ECU  125  to restart the motor  108 . The motor  108  starts, driving the DCE shroud  105  in a clockwise direction (as viewed from the front of the paintball loading device) causing the o-ring belts  107  to dislodge the roller brake  103 . The drive system  10  is then free to drive the feed system  30  until the demand for paintballs from the marker  100  ceases, at which point the roller brake  103  is once again jammed between the  0 -rings  107  and the braking ramp  140   f.    
         [0069]      FIG. 16  shows a generalized representation of the ECU  125  and its primary components. The ECU&#39;s  125  core component is a high-speed digital microprocessor  125   a . Its function is to gather and manipulate signals from various inputs to control the motor  108  and provide status conditions to the user of the paintball loading device. Other components of the ECU  125  include a motor controller  125   b , an HMI  125   c  (Human Machine Interface, which can be either Light Emitting Diodes or a Liquid Crystal Display), various signal conditioners  125   d , and control features  125   e  (which may include DIP switches, push buttons, potentiometers or any other means of selecting/adjusting operational settings of the ECU  125 ). It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that exact placement of the forgoing elements of the ECU  125  need to be exactly as laid-out in  FIG. 16  for operational function of the paintball loading device.  FIG. 16  is for illustrative purposes only.  
         [0070]     The primary function of the ECU  125  is to control motor speed. As mentioned previously, the capacitive sensor  123  is the means by which the ECU  125  determines when to activate the motor  108 . The differential output signal generated by the capacitive sensor  123  allows proportional speed control of the motor  108 . The ECU  125  achieves proportional speed control via a PWM (Pulse Width Modulated) motor controller. The ECU  125  also determines when to stop the motor  108 . Although a termination of the signal from the capacitive sensor  123  may be used to stop the motor  108 , a specific force needs to be applied to the paintballs within the feed tube  131  when the motor  108  stops. Therefore the capacitive sensor  123  signal is not adequate for this task. Feedback from the capacitive sensor  123  cannot be related to force on the paintballs in the feed tube  131 . Recall that the current drawn by a motor is directly proportional to the torque it experiences. The torque on the feed system  30 , and hence the torque on the motor  108 , is known to be proportional to the force exerted on the paintball stack in the feed tube  131 . Since the maximum desirable force that can be exerted on a paintball prior its deformation can be determined, the controller can be set to terminate power to the motor  108  before it draws the maximum current necessary to critically deform a paintball in the feed tube  131 . The maximum current set point can be adjusted using the control features  125   e  on the ECU  125 .  
         [0071]     Stopping the motor  108  using current feedback is useful in that it provides for very consistent stored torque levels in the DCE  109 . This is particularly desirable because players may choose to use specific types of paintballs. Some players prefer brittle-shelled paintballs while others prefer strong-shelled paintballs. Brittle-shelled paintballs break easier upon impact with a target but also rupture more easily within the paintball marker  100  and the paintball loading device. Being able to adjust the maximum current set point allows for fine-tuning of the force exerted on the paintballs within the feed tube  131  of the paintball loading device. Therefore, for brittle-shelled paintballs the current (and hence force) can be set low, while for strong-shelled paintballs the current can be set high.  
         [0072]     Refer to  FIG. 3 ,  FIG. 6 ,  FIG. 9 , and  FIG. 10  for a description of the method by which the augers  114 ,  115  deliver paintballs to the paintball marker. It can be seen by virtue of their geometry, the augers  114 ,  115  are able to convert rotational motion into linear motion. The augers  114 ,  115  are comparable to two counter rotating, oppositely threaded screws. As the augers  114 ,  115  spin, the spaces  135  created between the flutes  114   a ,  115   b  move longitudinally relative to the rotational axis of the augers  114 ,  115 . In this way the augers  114 ,  115  transfer the paintballs  132  along a channel  140   i , out the exit port  136  of the main casing  140  and up through the feed tube  131  to the marker  100 . The augers  114 ,  115  are over-molded onto hollow steel shafts  116 ,  117 , the molding material being a semi-flexible thermoset or thermoplastic material.  
         [0073]      FIG. 9  shows a cross sectional profile view of the augers  114 ,  115 , which details the geometry of the augers  114 ,  115 . The geometry of the augers  114 ,  115  is as follows: both augers  114 ,  115  have a tip-to-tip diameter (of the flutes  114   a ,  115   a ) of roughly  1  inch. The center-to-center distance between the augers  114 ,  115  is 1.25 inches. A helix with a pitch of roughly 0.75 inches defines the path of the flutes  114   a ,  115   a  around the auger cores. The contact surfaces  114   b ,  115   b  have an approximate radius of 0.37 inches. The spaces  135  formed between the flutes  114   a ,  115   a  are just slightly larger (nominal diameter of 0.75 inches) than a paintball  132 , which has a nominal diameter of 0.68 inches.  
         [0074]     The secondary function of the augers  114 ,  115  is to stir the mass of paintballs in the storage cavity  140   j  of the main casing  140 . The movement of the flutes  114   a ,  115   a  beneath the paintballs in the storage cavity  140   j  results in a continuous undulating motion that prevents jamming of the paintballs in the storage cavity  140   j . The counter-rotating action of the augers  114 ,  115  also actively drag the paintballs down into the spaces  135  between the auger flutes  114   a ,  115   a.    
         [0075]     Due to manufacturing irregularities in producing paintballs it is impossible to completely eliminate paintball breakage inside the storage cavity  140   j  of the main casing  140  and in the area occupied by the augers  114 ,  115 . The present invention provides for easy and accessible cleaning on its internal feed mechanism in two ways.  FIG. 17  shows a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the paintball loading device. The second half  130  of the main casing  140  and the second auger  115  and related components have been eliminated from the drawing for better comprehension. Shown are two accessories typically used to clean paintball fill residue out of paintball equipment. The first item, a “battle swab” 190  is typically comprised of a one-foot long plastic handle  190   a  and a mop-like head  190   b  of braided fabric. It is used to swab paint residue out of the storage cavity  140   j  of the paintball loading device. The second piece of equipment is a “barrel swab”  191 , generally a flexible cable  191   a  wrapped in a wool-like material  191   b  at one or both ends. The outer diameter of the wool-like wrap is nominally 0.75 inches. Although the barrel swab  191  is typically used to clean paint residue out of the barrel  164  of a paintball marker  100 , it can also be used to clean paint residue out from between the augers  114 ,  115  of the paintball loading device of the present invention. A user must simply remove the lower portion of the feed tube  131  from the exit port  136  of the main casing  140  and insert the barrel swab  191  in through the exit port  136  to clean the augers  114 ,  115 . The user may also activate the feed system  30  while the barrel swab is between the augers  114 ,  115  in order to clean the whole circumference of the augers&#39;  114 ,  115  surface. Water under low pressure (25 psi or less) may also be used to clean out the paintball loading device. The user must simply spray water into the storage cavity  140   j  through the fill opening  133  with the feed tube  131  disconnected from the exit port  136  so that the water has a place to drain out. The electronics are sufficiently sealed off from the feed system  30  so as to eliminate the possibility of ruining the electronics.  
         [0076]     A simplified schematic of an alternative embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in  FIG. 18 . In the majority of paintball games it is most desirable and advantageous to have a paintball loading device that operates under its own power source. In games where this type of loading device is employed the quantity of paintballs used usually exceeds 1200, the games lasting as little as five or ten minutes. It is for this reason that the preferred embodiment of the present invention uses an electrical drive means to provide motive power to the feed system  30 . In some circumstances however, such as scenario games, where generally fewer paintballs are used in such a short time span, it may be desirable to power the paintball loading device from the compressed air power source  602  of the paintball marker  100 . The following paragraphs outline the method by which this is achieved.  
         [0077]     A pneumatic drive system alternative for the paintball loading device of the present invention includes an air supply line  601  from the pressurized air tank  602  connected to the bottom of the paintball marker  100 . The air supply line  601  feeds pressurized air to a regulator  603 . The regulator  603  is adjustable via a set-screw  603   a . The regulator  603  is a schrader-type regulator commonly used in paintball applications. The output port  603   b  of the regulator  603  is connected to a pneumatic motor  604 . The pneumatic motor  604  may include a gear reduction unit  605 . The output shaft  604   a  of the pneumatic drive motor  604  is attached to a drive cup  606 . The drive cup  606  couples the output shaft  604   a  of the pneumatic motor  604  to the DCE  607 . The DCE  607  of this alternative embodiment is the same in function as the DCE  109  of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. As in the preferred embodiment, a tang member of the DCE  607  attaches to a gear  608 . The remaining components of the feed system are the same as explained in detail in proceeding sections for the preferred embodiment of the present invention. An on/off valve  609  may be located in line between the pressurized tank  602  and the pressure regulator  603  to selectively supply air to the pneumatic motor  604 .  
         [0078]     The output torque of the pneumatic motor  604  is proportional to the pressure of the air it receives from the pressure regulator  603 . When the on/off valve  610  is turned to the “on” position, air flows through the pressure regulator  603  to the pneumatic motor  604 . The pneumatic motor  604  will continue to run, and draw air from the regulator  603 , until the torque exerted on its output shaft  604   a  by the feed system  30  overcomes the torque generated by the pneumatic motor  604 . The pneumatic motor  604  will then stop since the torque it is able to generate is limited by the input pressure from the pressure regulator  603 . When the paintball marker  100  is fired, the torque exerted on the output shaft  604   a  of the pneumatic motor  604  by the feed system  30  is released and the motor  604  is free to run again. The DCE  607  of this alternative embodiment performs a similar function to the DCE  109  of the preferred embodiment, in that it smoothes out the torque as experienced by the pneumatic motor  604  as well as the magnitude of the force exerted on the paintballs in the feed tube  131 .