Abstract:
A paintball hopper apparatus for supplying paintballs including a hopper body with a feed neck and sensors displaying information about the paintball loader&#39;s operating condition. Sensors are provided for sensing the force of the driven impeller, the quantity of paintballs or the open space inside the hopper body, the number of balls discharged from the container, the rate of discharge of the paintballs, the speed of discharge of the paintballs, and the available power supply for the loader operation.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to and is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 61/197,648, filed on Oct. 29, 2008, the content of which is which are incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not Applicable. 
       REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX 
       [0003]    Not Applicable. 
       RESERVATION OF RIGHTS 
       [0004]    A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to intellectual property rights such as but not limited to copyright, trademark, and/or trade dress protection. The owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records but otherwise reserves all rights whatsoever. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0006]    The present invention relates to improvements in paintball loaders. More particularly, the invention relates to improvements particularly suited for displaying information about the loader operation, history, and current status. In particular, the present invention relates specifically to an electronic sensing and display system for providing information to the user. 
         [0007]    2. Description of the Known Art 
         [0008]    As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art paintball loaders are known in various forms. Patents disclosing information relevant to paintball loaders include: U.S. Pat. No. 7,357,130 issued to Broersma on Apr. 15, 2008 entitled Spring-assisted paintball loader; U.S. Pat. No. 7,357,129 issued to Neumaster, et al. on Apr. 15, 2008 entitled Active feed paintball loader with flexible impeller; U.S. Pat. No. 7,343,909 issued to Christopher, et al. on Mar. 18, 2008 entitled Mechanical drive assist for active feed paintball loader; U.S. Pat. No. 7,322,347 issued to Broersma on Jan. 29, 2008 entitled Adjustable capacity loader for paintball markers; U.S. Pat. No. 7,021,302, issued to Neumaster, et al. on Apr. 4, 2006, entitled Active feed paintball loader with flexible impeller; U.S. Pat. No. 7,017,569, issued to Jong on Mar. 28, 2006, entitled Paintball marker loader apparatus; U.S. Pat. No. 7,011,083, issued to Ho, et al. on Mar. 14, 2006, entitled Paintball refillers and method for making and using same; U.S. Pat. No. 6,978,776, issued to Hamilton on Dec. 27, 2005, entitled Multiple column helical feeder; U.S. Pat. No. 6,889,680 issued to Christopher, et al. on May 10, 2005 entitled Differential detection system for controlling feed of a paintball loader; U.S. Pat. No. 6,860,258 issued to Farrell on Mar. 1, 2005 entitled Paintball loader; U.S. Pat. No. 6,792,933 issued to Christopher, et al. on Sep. 21, 2004 entitled Drive cone for paintball loader; U.S. Pat. No. 6,701,907 issued to Christopher, et al. on Mar. 9, 2004 entitled Spring loaded feed mechanism for paintball loader; U.S. Pat. No. 6,725,852, issued to Yokota, et al. on Apr. 27, 2004, entitled Free-flowing paintball hopper; U.S. Pat. No. 6,644,293 issued to Jong on Nov. 11, 2003 entitled Paintball marker loader apparatus; U.S. Pat. No. 6,502,567 issued to Christopher, et al. on Jan. 7, 2003 entitled Rapid feed paintball loader with pivotable deflector; U.S. Pat. No. 6,481,432 issued to Rushton, et al. on Nov. 19, 2002 entitled Paintball hopper; U.S. Pat. No. 6,418,919 issued to Perrone on Jul. 16, 2002 entitled Paintball loader with vibrating mechanism to prevent jamming; U.S. Pat. No. 6,415,781 issued to Perrone on Jul. 9, 2002 entitled Bulk loader for paintball gun; U.S. Pat. No. 6,234,157 issued to Parks on May 22, 2001 entitled Paintball gun loader speed collar; U.S. Pat. No. 6,213,110 issued to Christopher, et al. on Apr. 10, 2001 entitled Rapid feed paintball loader; U.S. Pat. No. 5,954,042 issued to Harvey on Sep. 21, 1999 entitled Paintball loader; U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,232, issued to Bell on Oct. 6, 1998, entitled Paintball loader having active feed mechanism; U.S. Pat. No. 5,809,983 issued to Stoneking on Sep. 22, 1998 entitled Lighting loader system; U.S. Pat. No. 5,736,720 issued to Bell, et al. on Apr. 7, 1998, entitled Loader mounted paintball game scorekeeper and an associated paintball game playing system; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,282,454, issued to Bell, et al. on Feb. 1, 1994, entitled Jam-free bulk loader for a paintball gun. Each of these patents is hereby expressly incorporated by reference in their entirety. These prior art patents are very limited in their teaching and utilization, and an improved loader with operational sensors and user display is needed to overcome these limitations. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    The present invention is directed to an improved paintball loader using a display. In accordance with one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a paintball loader is provided using a hopper body with a feed neck and a driven impeller that is mounted in the hopper body to drive paintballs through the feedneck. A force sensor is connected to the driven impeller for generating a signal output that is communicated to a display driver for illustrating a visual interpretation or graph of the tension level on the display. A fill level sensor can also be used inside the hopper body. The fill level sensor is also connected to the display driver to drive the display to present a fill level indicator such as a graph on the display. Another sensor is the ball discharge sensor to provide information for an incremental counter representation on the display. A clock or timer may be used to combine with the information from the ball discharge sensor to generate rate-of-fire graphs or displays. These and other objects and advantages of the present invention, along with features of novelty appurtenant thereto, will appear or become apparent by reviewing the following detailed description of the invention. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]    In the following drawings, which form a part of the specification and which are to be construed in conjunction therewith, and in which like reference numerals have been employed throughout wherever possible to indicate like parts in the various views: 
           [0011]      FIG. 1  is an end view of a paintball loader with a multiple item display. 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is an end view of a paintball loader with another version of a multiple item display. 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is an end view of a paintball loader with another version of a multiple item display. 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is an end view of a paintball loader with another version of a multiple item display. 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  is an exploded view of a paintball loader showing internal sensor positions. 
           [0016]      FIG. 6  is a view of a paintball loader body showing internal sensor positions. 
           [0017]      FIG. 7  is a schematic view of paintball sensor positions and signal paths. 
           [0018]      FIG. 8  is a schematic view of paintball sensor positions and signal paths. 
           [0019]      FIG. 9  is a schematic view of paintball sensor positions and signal paths. 
           [0020]      FIG. 10  is a schematic view of paintball sensor positions and signal paths. 
           [0021]      FIG. 11  is a schematic view of paintball sensor positions and signal paths. 
           [0022]      FIG. 12  is a schematic view of paintball sensor positions and signal paths. 
           [0023]      FIG. 13  is a schematic view of paintball sensor positions and signal paths. 
           [0024]      FIG. 14  is a schematic view of paintball sensor positions and signal paths. 
           [0025]      FIG. 15  is a schematic view of paintball sensor positions and signal paths. 
           [0026]      FIG. 16  is a schematic view of paintball sensor positions and signal paths. 
           [0027]      FIG. 17  is a schematic view of paintball sensor positions and signal paths. 
           [0028]      FIG. 18  is a schematic view of paintball sensor positions and signal paths. 
           [0029]      FIG. 19  is a flow chart of the processor signal flow showing inputs and outputs. 
           [0030]      FIG. 20  is an electrical schematic of the serial data card board. 
           [0031]      FIG. 21  is an electrical schematic of the OLED/switch board. 
           [0032]      FIG. 22  is an electrical schematic of the eye board and/or level sensors. 
           [0033]      FIG. 23  is an electrical schematic of the main board. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0034]    As shown in  FIGS. 1 through 6  of the drawings, one exemplary embodiment of the present invention is generally shown as a paintball loader  100 . Using  FIG. 5  as a reference for an exploded view of an embodiment of the loader, one can see how the paintball loader  100  can be constructed with the various sensors. This embodiment of the paintball loader  100  uses a base  110  with a mount adapter  120  to hold a display controller printed circuit board  130  that is used to drive the display  350  through connection harness  351 . This is described in more detail in the discussion of  FIG. 19 . Returning to  FIG. 5 , the display controller printed circuit board  130 , along with the raceway  140 , feed neck  142 , motor assembly  150  and primary loader controller printed circuit board  160  are all mounted into the base  110  and secured by the raceway screws  170  and motor screws  320 . A drive speed detector  152  is mounted on the motor assembly  150 , and a ball movement sensor  162  is mounted at the end of the primary loader controller printed circuit board  160 . The ball movement sensor  162  uses neck sensors  164  such as IR beams and/or bend sensors to detect movement of paintballs inside the feed neck  142  as is well known in the art. Finally, an impellor assembly  180  is connected into the motor assembly  150  with the impellor screw  190  and a primary battery harness  280  is used to supply power from the batteries  281  into the primary loader controller printed circuit board  160 . The primary loader controller printed circuit board  160  includes a battery level sensor for sensing available power. 
         [0035]    A hopper shell  192  is made up of a right housing  200  connected to a left housing  230  by housing screws  240 . The housings mount to the base  110  to form the drive compartment  196 . 
         [0036]    The upper interior of these housings  230 ,  240  form a ball compartment  194  accessed by a fill aperture  195 . Paintballs are directed from this interior space by the ball ramp  210  and ball guide  220  into the feedneck  142  for supply outside of the hopper  100 . A weight sensor  336  is mounted under the ball ramp  210  to measure the weight of the paintballs on the ball ramp  210 . The weight sensor  336  includes a coupling wire for connection to the primary loader controller printed circuit board  160 . The input aperture  249  is covered by the lid assembly  250  that is biased open with the flip lid spring  260  and which clips over the hopper shell  192  to be secured in a closed position. 
         [0037]    Input for the motor controller and the display may be made through the preferred embodiment&#39;s loader mode input button  270 . This mechanical switch is used in this preferred embodiment because it has a proven track record in actual play on the paintball field. Note that capacitance sensing of pressure on the display unit  350  can also provide input for the microprocessor on the primary loader controller printed circuit board  160 . The display controller printed circuit board  130  is a driver for an oled or electronic paper type of display with both image display control and capacitance information sensing input from the display  350 . This sensed information is transferred across the interface cable connecting harness  290  to the primary loader controller printed circuit board  160  for control input. Similarly, a reverse flow of information across the interface cable connecting harness  290  provides display information back to the display controller printed circuit board  130  from the primary loader controller printed circuit board  160 . 
         [0038]    A ball movement detector  162  is used to detect ball movement and ball discharge in the feedneck using a sensor  164  comprised of an infra-red emitter  332  and infra-red receiver  334 . The quantity of available balls is determined by using the weight sensor  336  mounted underneath the ball ramp  210  or as shown in  FIGS. 7 through 18 , a level sensor  340  may also be used consisting of infra-red emitters  341 ,  342 ,  343  and infra-red receivers  344 ,  345 ,  346 .  FIGS. 7 through 18  show how using upper  341 ,  344 , middle  344 ,  345  and lower  343 ,  346  level sensors allows for detecting a quantity of paintballs in both level and angled detection orientations inside the hopper compartment  194 .  FIG. 7  shows how the upper  341  emitter can signal, as indicated by the lines across the compartment, all three of the sensors  344 ,  345 , and  346  when the compartment  194  is empty. Similarly,  FIG. 8  shows how the middle  342  emitter can signal all three of the sensors  344 ,  345 , and  346  when the compartment  194  is empty. Finally,  FIG. 9  shows how the lower  343  emitter can signal all three of the sensors  344 ,  345 , and  346  when the compartment  194  is empty.  FIG. 10  shows how a full compartment blocks all of the infra-red emitters  341 ,  342 ,  343  from sending a signal to any of the infra-red receivers  344 ,  345 ,  346 . This allows for detection of a full hopper.  FIGS. 11 and 12  show how a partially filled compartment allows for the top infra-red emitter  341  to signal the upper mid level infra-red receivers  344 ,  345  and the middle infra-red emitter  342  to signal the upper infra-red receiver  344 . This allows for detection of a partially filled compartment along with sensing of the amount of partial fill.  FIGS. 13 ,  14 , and  15  show an even further reduced level of fill and show how the high infra-red emitter  341  is sensed by all three infra-red receivers  344 ,  345 ,  346 , how the mid level infra-red emitter  342  is sensed by the upper and middle infra-red receiver  344 ,  345 , and how the lower infra-red emitter  343  is only sensed by the upper infra-red receiver  344 . In this manner it is shows how the varying paintball levels inside the hopper can be sensed by the multiple level receivers and sensors.  FIGS. 16 ,  17 , and  18  then show how a partial fill can still be sensed even when the hopper is leaned over to one side at an angle during shooting around an obstacle. While both the weight sensor and beam type of sensor have been shown, the present invention also notes that other types of sensors are within the scope of the present invention and could also be deployed inside the hopper including a sound-echo sensor, physical float or contact type of sensor, expanding bladder sensor, and all of the other various types of sensors known to measure a volume quantity of a material or the available free volume within a container. Any of these types of sensor can be used to sense the variable difference between a full, partially full, and empty hopper so that the information can be communicated to the user. 
         [0039]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , the display  350  is preferably an electronic paper display such as that commercially offered by BRIDGESTONE AMERICA™, 535 Marriott Drive, Nashville, Tenn. 37214 under the name QR-LPD™ or by PVI™, Prime View International Co. LTD, 3, LI Shin Rd. 1, Science-based Industral Park, Hsinchu, Taiwan, R.O.C. under the name MAGICMIRROR™. The latter supplier has electronic touch sensing for the display so that the display can be used to sense user contact for inputting information into the display controller printed circuit board  130  and on to the primary loader controller printed circuit board  160 . 
         [0040]    The display  350  is illustrated in  FIGS. 1 through 4  in various embodiments showing configurations for display of a battery indicator  352 , force mode indicator  354 , speed mode indicator  356 , Average Rate of Fire Indicator  358 , Maximum Rate of Fire Indicator  360 , Logo  362 , Timer  364 /Clock  366 , Present Capacity indicator  368 , and Starting Capacity indicator  370 . The battery indicator  352  is a proportional display showing the proportionate power from full power down to the minimum power requirement as sensed by the primary loader controller printed circuit board  160 . The force mode indicator  354  is a numerical display of the force setting used by the primary loader controller printed circuit board  160  for controlling the impeller force on the paintballs. It is also envisioned that this could be supplemented by a transducer sensor measuring the actual force of the impeller on the paintballs. The speed mode indicator  356  is a numerical display of the balls per second being supplied out of the loader. This is determined by monitoring the movement of the paintballs out of the loader over a one second interval. The maximum rate of movement is displayed as the maximum rate of fire indicator  360 . The display  350  also allows for an electronic display of a logo  362  or other source indicator to allow for the same product to be sold under multiple names by simply reprogramming the logo memory file in the display controller printed circuit board  130 . A count up or count down timer  364  and/or clock  366  is displayed which is kept track of by either adding or subtracting from an internal clock on the primary loader controller printed circuit board  160 . Alternatively, this same type of display may provide a clock  366  showing the current time. Finally, the information derived from the weight sensor  336  or level sensor  340  is shown in the present capacity indicator  368  which may also indicate a maximum value using a starting capacity indicator  370 . The present capacity indicator  368  indicated the current level being sensed by the loader and the starting capacity indicator  370  indicates the maximum level that was achieved by the paintballs at the time that the measuring was initiated such as at the start of play or at the initial start up of the loader. 
         [0041]      FIG. 19  shows the basic information flow  700  into and through both the primary loader controller printed circuit board  160  and the display controller printed circuit board  130 . The speed information  702  sensed by the drive speed detector  152 , ball/space quantity information  704  from the ball detector  330 , loader mode  706  as input through the loader mode input button  270 , and the ball movement information  708  in the feed neck as determined by the driven ball sensor  162  is input into the primary loader controller  710  (physically known as the printed circuit board  160 ) for controlling operation of the motor assembly  150  and the attached impellor assembly  180 . This information is also used to calculate the values for the information to be displayed and these values are transferred to the display controller  712  (physically constructed on the printed circuit board  130 ). Note that if capacitance sensing is used for inputting information instead of the loader mode input button  270 , then this controller to display flow becomes a two way communication path through return path  714 . The display controller printed circuit board  130  outputs the information onto the display  350  for the various battery indicator  352 , time display such as the timer  364  or clock  366 , maximum rate of fire indicator  360 , average rate of fire indicator  358 , speed mode indicator  356 , force mode indicator  354 , paintball level such as the present capacity indicator  368  or starting capacity indicator  370 , and the logo  362 . This information travels across the wire interface cable/display connection  131  to the display  350  for output to the user. In this manner, information that is sensed is processed and then output to the display for communication information to the user. 
         [0042]      FIGS. 20 through 23  provide electrical schematics for the circuitry.  FIG. 20  shows the serial data flash memory connection.  FIG. 21  shows the electrical schematic of the OLED/switch board using a power converter and drive circuit.  FIG. 22  is an electrical schematic of the motion eye board, this same break beam type of connection is repeated for the level sensors. Note that only two connections are show for simplicity of the schematic such that additional repetitions of these connections will be necessary depending on the number of sensors being utilized.  FIG. 23  is an electrical schematic of the main board showing the main microprocessor, temperature sensor, oscillator, screen display connections, input connections, motor sensor, battery sensor, and motor drive. 
         [0043]    Reference numerals used throughout the detailed description and the drawings correspond to the following elements: 
         [0044]    Paintball loader  100   
         [0045]    Base  110   
         [0046]    Mount Adapter  120   
         [0047]    Display Controller PC Board  130   
         [0048]    Display connection  131   
         [0049]    Raceway  140   
         [0050]    Feed Neck  142   
         [0051]    Motor Assembly  150   
         [0052]    Drive Speed Detector  152   
         [0053]    Primary Loader Controller PC Board  160   
         [0054]    Driven Ball Sensor  162 
       Neck sensors  164         
 
         [0056]    Raceway screws  170   
         [0057]    Impellor assembly  180   
         [0058]    Impeller screw  190   
         [0059]    Hopper shell  192   
         [0060]    Ball compartment  194   
         [0061]    Fill aperture  195   
         [0062]    Drive compartment  196   
         [0063]    Right housing  200   
         [0064]    Ball Ramp  210   
         [0065]    Ball Guide  220   
         [0066]    Left Housing  230   
         [0067]    Screw  240   
         [0068]    Input aperture  249   
         [0069]    Lid Assembly  250   
         [0070]    Flip lid spring  260   
         [0071]    Loader Mode Input Button  270   
         [0072]    Primary battery harness  280   
         [0073]    Batteries  281   
         [0074]    Interface cable connecting harness  290   
         [0075]    Screw  320   
         [0076]    Ball detector  330   
         [0077]    IR Emitter  332   
         [0078]    IR Receiver  334   
         [0079]    Weight sensor  336   
         [0080]    Display  350 
       Display harness  351     Battery indicator  352     Force Mode indicator  354     Speed Mode indicator  356     Average Rate of Fire Indicator  358     Maximum Rate of Fire Indicator  360     Logo  362     Timer  364     Clock  366     Present Capacity indicator  368     Starting Capacity indicator  370         
 
         [0092]    From the foregoing, it will be seen that this invention well adapted to obtain all the ends and objects herein set forth, together with other advantages which are inherent to the structure. It will also be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims. Many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without departing from the scope thereof. Therefore, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. 
         [0093]    When interpreting the claims of this application, method claims may be recognized by the explicit use of the word ‘method’ in the preamble of the claims and the use of the ‘ing’ tense of the active word. Method claims should not be interpreted to have particular steps in a particular order unless the claim element specifically refers to a previous element, a previous action, or the result of a previous action. Apparatus claims may be recognized by the use of the word ‘apparatus’ in the preamble of the claim and should not be interpreted to have ‘means plus function language’ unless the word ‘means’ is specifically used in the claim element. The words ‘defining,’ ‘having,’ or ‘including’ should be interpreted as open ended claim language that allows additional elements or structures. Finally, where the claims recite “a” or “a first” element of the equivalent thereof, such claims should be understood to include incorporation of one or more such elements, neither requiring nor excluding two or more such elements.