Abstract:
A paintball loader for use on a paintball gun for feeding paintballs is provided. The paintball loader includes a container for holding a plurality of paintballs, a paintball agitator rotatably mounted in the container, the paintball agitator including at least two fins extending substantially perpendicular to the axis of rotation, the fins spaced apart from each other forming a gap therebetween large enough to accommodate more than one paintball. At least two paintballs are positioned in the gap between the fins. A motor is configured to rotate the paintball agitator. The container includes an exit tube exiting from the bottom portion of the container and leading to an inlet tube of the paintball gun. A microprocessor in communication with a sensor may also be provided for controlling the motor. A deflector for deflecting paintballs may also be provided, the deflector movably attached to the interior surface of the container.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/301,265, filed Nov. 21, 2011, issuing as U.S. Pat. No. 8,561,600 on Oct. 22, 2013, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/040,119, filed Feb. 29, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,061,342, issued Nov. 22, 2011, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/522,708, filed Sep. 18, 2006, now abandoned, which is a continuation U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/851,837, filed May 21, 2004, now abandoned, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/949,440, filed Sep. 7, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,792,933, which issued on Sep. 21, 2004, which is a continuation-in-part of a U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/689,573, filed Oct. 12, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,502,567, which issued on Jan. 7, 2003, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/465,440, filed Dec. 16, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,213,110, which issued on Apr. 10, 2001, the entire contents of all of which are incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. 
     
    
     FIELD OF INVENTION 
       [0002]    This invention relates to paintball loaders, and more particularly, to a paintball loader for feeding paintballs into a paintball gun. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    A popular war game has developed over the years, which uses paintball guns. Players use the paintball guns to shoot paintballs. These paintballs are gelatin-covered spherical capsules filled with paint. During play of the game, the players on each team advance towards each other. A player is eliminated from the game when the player is hit by a paintball fired from an opposing player&#39;s gun. When the paintball hits a player, a “splat” of paint is left on the player. 
         [0004]    Typically, an existing paintball loader includes a housing which is placed on an upper portion of a paintball gun. The housing is shaped to hold a large quantity of paintballs. At the bottom of the housing is an outlet tube through which the paintballs drop by the force of gravity. The outlet tube leads to an inlet tube located on the upper portion of the gun. 
         [0005]    During the operation of existing paintball loaders, paintballs sequentially drop by gravity through the outlet tube into the inlet tube of the gun. The inlet tube directs each paintball into the firing chamber of the gun, where the paintball is propelled outwardly from the gun by compressed air. 
         [0006]    Co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/689,573 (&#39;573), now U.S. Pat. No. 6,502,567, describes a paintball feed system providing enhanced performance over existing paintball feed systems. Additionally, &#39;573 discloses a paintball loader which reliably and forcibly delivers paintballs to a paintball gun at a rapid, selectable rate, while actively preventing paintball jams. However, paintball jams may still occur in the loader disclosed in &#39;573. Specifically, the disclosed paintball loader utilizes a plurality of fins spaced at such a distance as to create gaps to accommodate a single paintball. Due to the close proximity of the fins, there is a tendency for the paintballs to partially fall into a gap, which can result in a paintball jam. In addition, if a paintball breaks within the paintball loader, because of the large amount of fins and the small area of the gaps, cleaning the paintball loader can be difficult. Since existing paintball loaders utilize several fins, space for which paintballs could be accommodated is lost to allow space for the fins. Thus, the paintball feed rate is reduced for each rotation of the cone because of this lost space. 
         [0007]    It would be a distinct advantage to have a drive cone which feeds the paintballs at a faster rate, while preventing jams of partially fallen paintballs into the gaps located between the fins. It is an object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0008]    In one aspect, the present invention is a rapid feed paintball loader for use on a paintball gun. The paintball loader includes a container for holding a plurality of paintballs and a drive cone rotatably mounted on a bottom portion of the container. At least one fin is affixed to a top feed surface of the drive cone. The fin divides or separates the top feed surface into at least a gap or section which is preferably large enough to accommodate more than one paintball. The loader also includes a motor that rotates the drive cone. In addition, an exit tube exits from the bottom portion of the container and leads to an inlet tube of the paintball gun. The motor actuates upon demand. 
         [0009]    In another aspect, the present invention is a drive cone for use on a paintball loader of a paintball gun having a container for holding a plurality of paintballs and an exit tube located on the container leading to the paintball gun. The drive cone includes a drive cone rotatably mounted on a bottom portion of the container and at least one fin affixed to a top feed surface of the drive cone. The fin divides or separates the top feed surface of the drive cone into at least one gap which is preferably large enough to accommodate more than one paintball. The drive cone receives paintballs from the container and drives the paintballs from the gap into the exit tube. 
         [0010]    In still another aspect, the present invention is a rapid feed paintball loader for use on a paintball gun. The paintball loader includes a container for holding a plurality of paintballs and at least one fin located at a bottom portion of the container. The fin divides or separates the top feed surface into at least one gap that is preferably large enough to accommodate at least one paintball. The fin rotates on an axis running perpendicularly through the bottom portion of the container. The paintball loader also includes an exit tube exiting from the bottom portion of the container and leads to an inlet tube of the paintball gun. The exit tube has a sloped exit portion. In addition, a tube extension is mounted on an interior surface of the container adjacent to the sloped exit portion of the exit tube. The tube extension is mounted at a height which is above the top feed surface of the fin and has a radius of curvature that is approximately equal to the radius of a paintball. The paintball loader also may include a deflector for deflecting paintballs downward into the gap or upward to pass over the tube extension. The deflector is pivotably mounted on the interior surface of the container adjacent to the tube extension. The deflector is mounted at a height which is above the top feed surface of the fin and which is below a bottom portion of the tube extension. A motor rotates the drive cone upon demand. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]    The invention will be better understood and its numerous objects and advantages will become more apparent to those skilled in the art by reference to the following drawings, in conjunction with the accompanying specification, in which: 
           [0012]      FIG. 1  is a side elevational view of a rapid feed paintball loader constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention and operatively attached to a representative paintball gun illustrated in phantom; 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  is a top view of a drive cone of a paintball loader; 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  is a top interior cutaway view of the paintball loader illustrating an improved drive cone, the exit tube, and a plurality of paintballs in the preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  is a side view of the drive cone of  FIG. 3  separated from the paintball loader in the preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  is a top interior cutaway view of the paintball loader illustrating the improved drive cone, the exit tube, a plurality of paintballs, and an outer shell of the paintball loader in the preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0017]      FIG. 6  illustrates a top perspective view of the drive cone of  FIG. 4 ; 
           [0018]      FIG. 7  illustrates a separate drive cone having three fins in a first alternate embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0019]      FIG. 8  illustrates a drive cone having four fins in a second alternate embodiment of the present invention; and 
           [0020]      FIG. 9  illustrates a separate drive cone having five fins in a third alternate embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0021]    A drive cone for use in a paintball loader  40  for rapidly delivering paintballs while preventing paintball jams is disclosed.  FIG. 1  is a side elevational view of a rapid feed paintball loader  40  constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention and operatively attached to a representative paintball gun  20  illustrated in phantom. The paintball gun  20  includes a main body  22 , a compressed gas cylinder  24 , a front handgrip  26 , a barrel  28 , and a rear handgrip  30 . The paintball gun  20  also includes an inlet tube  32  leading to a firing chamber in the interior of the main body  22  and a trigger  34 . The front handgrip  26  projects downwardly from the barrel  28  and provides an area for gripping by an operator of the paintball gun  20 . The compressed gas cylinder  24  is typically secured to a rear portion of the paintball gun  20 . The compressed gas cylinder  24  normally contains CO2, although any compressible gas may be used. 
         [0022]    In operating the paintball gun  20 , the trigger  34  is squeezed, thereby actuating the compressed gas cylinder  24  to release bursts of compressed gas. The bursts of gas are used to eject paintballs  68  outwardly through the barrel  28 . The paintballs  68  are continually fed by the paintball loader  40  through the inlet tube  32  to the firing chamber. Although  FIG. 1  depicts an automatic paintball gun  20 , the paintball gun  20  may also be a semi-automatic gun. 
         [0023]    The rapid feed paintball loader  40  includes a paintball container  42  having a container wall  44  forming an interior area  46 . The container  42  is divided into an upper portion  48  and a lower portion  50 . An exit tube  52  leads from the bottom portion of the container  42  to an outlet opening  54 . The exit tube  52  is positioned on top of the inlet tube  32  of the paintball gun  20 . 
         [0024]      FIG. 2  is a top view of the lower portion  50  of a rapid feed paintball loader  40  showing a drive cone  56  of a paintball loader  40 . Mounted along a vertical center axis  58 , located in the approximate center of the interior area  46 , is the drive cone  56  having a conically-shaped interior surface area  60  with a plurality of fins  62  projecting upwardly from the top surface of the drive cone  56  and spiraling outwardly from an outer circumference of the interior area  46 . The drive cone  56  is rotatably attached to a bottom portion of the paintball container  42 , allowing rotation about the center axis  58 . The exit tube  52  projects outwardly from a rim  64  of the lower portion  50  of the container wall  44  at an approximately 45 degree angle from the Y-axis. In addition, an upper part of the exit tube  52  extends towards the interior area  46  to form a paintball tube extension  72 . A pivotable deflector  66  extends inwardly towards the vertical center axis from the rim  64 . A paintball  68  is illustrated between two fins  62 . 
         [0025]    The drive cone  56  shown in  FIG. 2  positions the plurality of fins  62  in such a fashion that only one paintball  68  may fit in between two fins  62 . Since only one paintball may fit in each gap, there is an increased possibility that a paintball may only partially fall into the gap. By merely falling partially into the gap, the paintball may cause a jam. Additionally, since there are several fins  62  located on the drive cone  56 , the space used for accommodating paintballs  68  is reduced by the number of fins  62 . Also, when a paintball breaks within the paintball loader  40 , since there are so many fins  62 , and the gaps between the fins  62  are relatively small, cleaning the residue of the broken paintball may be very difficult. 
         [0026]      FIG. 3  is a top interior cutaway view of the paintball loader  40  illustrating an improved cone  99 , the exit tube  52 , and a plurality of paintballs  68  in the preferred embodiment of the present invention. The container wall  44  is curved and extends upwards to form the upper portion  48  (not shown in  FIG. 3 ). The interior area  46 , formed by the container wall  44 , stores a plurality of paintballs  68  prior to being used by the paintball gun  20 . Although a circular shape is illustrated in the top view of  FIG. 3 , the container  42  may be any size and shape which permits the paintballs  68  to drop towards the drive cone  99 . 
         [0027]      FIG. 4  is a side view of the drive cone  99  of  FIG. 3  separated from the paintball loader  40  in the preferred embodiment of the present invention. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the drive cone  99  includes two fins  101  and  103 .  FIG. 5  is a top interior cutaway view of the paintball loader  40  illustrating the improved drive cone  99 , the exit tube  52 , a plurality of paintballs  68 , and an outer shell  105  of the paintball loader  40  in the preferred embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 6  illustrates a top perspective view of the drive cone  99  of  FIG. 4 . 
         [0028]    Referring to  FIGS. 3-6 , the drive cone  99  includes a conically-shaped interior area  61 . The two fins originate at an outer circumference of the interior area  61  and project outwardly towards the rim  64  of the container wall  44 . Between each fin is an enlarged gap  107  which may accommodate a plurality of paintballs  68  (as illustrated, five paintballs  68  may be positioned between each gap  107 ). However, the drive cone  99  may be sized to accommodate any amount of paintballs  68 . 
         [0029]    A feed surface  109  of the drive cone  99 , which is the feed surface  109  between the fins  101  and  103  where the paintball  68  rests, is sloped downwardly at an angle of Φ (approximately 45 degrees in the preferred embodiment). The surface is preferably sloped at any angle which matches the slope of the exit tube  52  and allows paintballs  68  to feed into the exit tube  52 . However, any slope angle may be utilized by the feed surface  109 . The exit tube  52  is a circular tube with an inside diameter slightly larger than a conventional paintball. The exit tube  52  leads from an entry opening  74  to the outlet opening  54  which engages with the inlet tube  32  of the paintball gun  20 . The exit tube  52  includes a sloped exit portion  76  and a vertical outlet portion  78 . In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the sloped exit portion of the exit tube  52  is sloped downwardly at an angle of approximately Φ which is the same slope as the top feed surface  109  of the drive cone  99 . The pivotable deflector  66  is positioned above the top portion of the fins  101  and  103  and below the tube extension  72 . 
         [0030]    A tube extension (shown in  FIG. 2 ) is preferably located at the entry opening  74 . The tube extension is an extension of the exit tube  52 . The tube extension extends towards a center axis  59 , while maintaining a clearance above the fins  101  and  103 . The paintball tube extension is formed as a scoop which has an interior radius of curvature approximately equal to the curvature of a paintball. The top of the scoop is positioned so that it partially covers a paintball that is pushed into position by the fins  101 ,  103  at the entry opening  74  of the exit tube  52 . In this manner, the sloped surface of the drive cone  99 , the fins  101 ,  103 , the angled orientation (approximately 45 degrees) of the exit tube  52 , and the tube extension all equate to forcibly drive the paintball into the exit tube  52 . 
         [0031]    The drive cone  99  is rotated around the center axis  59  by a drive motor  70  (shown in  FIG. 1 ). Additionally, the pivotable deflector  66  may be installed within the loader  40 . The pivotable deflector  66  is attached to the rim  64  at pivot point  86 , allowing the deflector to rotatably move as indicated in  FIG. 3 . 
         [0032]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 , and  3 - 6 , the operation of the rapid feed paintball loader  40  having the improved drive cone  99  will now be explained. The rapid feed paintball loader  40  is positioned on the top of the paintball gun  20 . The loader  40  is connected to the gun  20  by attaching the exit tube  52 , at the outlet opening  54 , to the inlet tube  32  with an attaching device such as a clamp (not shown). 
         [0033]    When an operator of the paintball gun  20  wishes to shoot paintballs, the trigger  34  is squeezed, which actuates the compressed gas cylinder  24 . The compressed gas cylinder  24  releases bursts of compressed gas which are used to eject paintballs  68  through the barrel  28 . A plurality of paintballs  68  is stored in the paintball container  42  and pass down the exit tube  52  for use by the paintball gun  20  when demanded by the operator. 
         [0034]    The plurality of paintballs  68  located in the container  42  rest on top of the drive cone  99 . The bottom-most paintballs  68  drop into either of the two enlarged gaps  107 . The drive cone  99  is rotated by the drive motor  70 , forcing the paintballs  68  outward and downward from the center axis  59  and forward toward the tube extension. The pivotable deflector  66  helps prevent jams by causing paintballs  68  to either fall into one of the gaps between the fins  101 ,  103  or to rise above the tube extension. The paintball  68  is forced into the entry opening  74  of the exit tube  52  by the tube extension. In addition, since the drive cone  99  is downwardly sloped toward the exit tube  52 , the paintball falls downwardly, with the assistance of gravity, and outwardly towards the rim  64 . 
         [0035]    After the paintball enters the entry opening, the next paintball located adjacent the first paintball within the gap  107  is sequentially grasped by the tube extension and driven into the entry opening  74  behind the first paintball. Additional paintballs  68  located in the container  42 , are drawn downwardly and outwardly by gravity and fill the vacated gaps. Positioning the fins  101 ,  103  on the outer circumference of the interior dome-shaped area  77  prevents paintballs  68  from being lodged in the upper portions of the gaps. 
         [0036]    Once the paintball  68  enters the entry opening  74 , it passes through the sloped exit portion to a vertical outlet portion of the exit tube  52 . As the paintball passes through the exit tube  52 , the paintball may actuate an optional electro-mechanical motor actuator switch/sensor  83  (shown in  FIG. 3 ). As shown in  FIG. 3 , the motor actuator switch  83  may be utilized to detect the paintball passing through the exit tube  52 . When the paintball  68  enters the exit tube  52 , the motor actuator detects the paintball in the exit tube  52  and shuts off the motor  70 . Thus, when the exit tube  52  fills up with paintballs, the motor  70  is automatically turned off. Then as paintballs  68  vacate the exit tube  52 , the motor actuator does not detect a paintball and engages the motor  70  and rotates the drive cone  99 . In this way, the exit tube  52  is always kept full of paintballs, ready for use when demanded by the paintball gun  20 . 
         [0037]    Although an electro-mechanical switch has been described to detect the presence of paintballs  68  in the exit tube  52 , it should be understood that other devices may also be utilized to detect the paintballs  68  (e.g., infrared sensors, contact pads, optical sensors, etc.) without departing from the scope of the present invention. In the preferred embodiment, a reflective infrared (IR) optical sensor  83  may be utilized. 
         [0038]    The pivotable deflector  66  may optionally be used to provide an additional, active device to prevent the jamming of paintballs  68  within the paintball loader. In existing paintball loaders, a paintball may be lodged between the tube extension or entry opening  74  of the exit tube  52  and one of the fins  101 ,  103  or “agitators” driving the paintball towards the exit tube  52 , causing the loader to jam and stopping the rotation of the drive cone  99 . To prevent the paintball from lodging between the tube extension (or extension of the exit tube  52  in existing loaders) and a fin (or agitator in existing loaders), the pivotable deflector  66  forces the paintball to either fall into one of the gaps between the fins  101 ,  103  or to rise upwardly away from the tube extension. In addition, the deflector pivots away from the paintball, thus preventing the paintball from lodging between the fin and the deflector. The deflector, although depicted with the paintball loader  40  illustrated in  FIGS. 1-5 , may be utilized on any active feed paintball loader to prevent the inadvertent lodging of paintballs  68  between a fin (or other agitating device) and the entry of the exit tube  52 . 
         [0039]    The improved drive cone  99  provides many advantages over existing drive cones. First of all, by enlarging the gaps to allow the accommodation of more paintballs, more paintballs  68  are fed into the entry opening  74  for each rotation of the drive cone  99 . By feeding the paintballs  68  at a greater rate per rotation of the drive cone  99 , the drive cone  99  enables the paintball loader  40  to feed the paintball gun  20  at a faster rate than existing drive cones. In addition, in existing paintball drive cones, the gaps between the fins  101 ,  103  only allow the accommodation of a single paintball. This reduced area in existing drive cones results in an increased likelihood that the paintball may only partially fall into the smaller gap. When the paintball can only fall partially into the smaller gap of the existing drive cones, a jam results between the paintball and fin. With the improved drive cone  99 , the paintball has a large area for which the paintball may fall into. This results in less partial drops of the paintballs  68  into the gaps, which decreases or eliminate any jams which may occur. 
         [0040]    The improved drive also allows for easy cleanup of the interior of the paintball loader  40  when paintballs  68  break within the loader  40 . In addition, the improved drive cone  99  allows for manual feeding of the paintball when the feed system of the paintball loader malfunctions. For example, when a motor  70  fails on the paintball loader  40 , a paintball gun  20  operator need only shake the gun  20  to move the paintballs  68  into the gun  20 . 
         [0041]    The improved drive cone  99  only requires one fin  101 . However, in alternate embodiments of the present invention, the drive cone  99  may have more than one fin.  FIG. 7  illustrates a separate drive cone  199  having three fins  201 , 203 , and  205  in a first alternate embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 8  illustrates a drive cone  299  having four fins  301 ,  303 ,  305 , and  307  in a second alternate embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 9  illustrates a separate drive cone  399  having five fins  401 ,  403 ,  405 ,  407 , and  409  in a third alternate embodiment of the present invention. It should be understood that the drive cone may have any number of fins which allows the accommodation of more than one paintball within each formed gap. In addition, the drive cone may be used on a wide variety of paintball loaders. 
         [0042]    In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the paintball loader  40  may include a microprocessor  82  ( FIG. 1 ) to enhance the performance of the loader  40  as well as providing useful information to a paintball gun  20  operator (not shown). The microprocessor  82  also deactivates the drive motor  70  when the exit tube  52  is full. The microprocessor  82  is attached to or in communication with the motor actuator switch  83  ( FIG. 3 ) and is attached to or in communication with the motor  70  ( FIG. 1 ). When the motor actuator switch  83  detects the presence of a paintball at the top of the exit tube  52 , the motor actuator switch  83  sends a signal to the microprocessor  82 . In turn, the microprocessor  82  sends a signal to disengage the motor  70 . When the motor actuator switch  83  does not detect any paintballs  68  within the exit tube  52 , the motor actuator switch  83  signals the microprocessor  82  that the exit tube  52  is empty. The microprocessor  82  can then signal the motor  70  to engage and rotate the drive cone, providing additional paintballs  68  to the paintball gun  20 . 
         [0043]    In the preferred embodiment, the microprocessor  82  may also be used to monitor jams within the paintball loader. If paintballs jam within the paintball loader, the drive motor experiences additional resistance in rotating the drive cone. This produces increased torque on the motor and a rise in electrical current. This rise is detected by a motor controller which may be, for example, the microprocessor  82 . Upon detection of the rise in electrical current, the microprocessor immediately stops the motor to prevent jamming of a paintball within the exit tube. The microprocessor automatically commands the motor to start up after the jam clears. The microprocessor may be attached to the motor  70  or in any position which allows communication with the motor. 
         [0044]    It is thus believed that the operation and construction of the present invention will be apparent from the foregoing description. While the apparatus shown and described has been characterized as being preferred, it will be readily apparent that various changes and modifications could be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.