Abstract:
A paintball marker for launching a paintball using a bolt with an internal impact ring for contacting a power tube sized to fit within the bolt. The power tube has an internal gas passage for supplying launching gas to the paintball and an external striking surface that is contacted by the bolt&#39;s impact ring. A main seal is positioned selectively seal the internal passage of the power tube from a gas supply. Movement of the bolt causes the impact ring to contact the striking surface to unseat the power tube from the main seal to release gas from the main gas chamber through the internal passage into the breach to launch the paintball.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This application claims priority to and is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Application Ser. No. 60/931,767, filed May 26, 2007. 

   STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
   Not Applicable. 
   REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX 
   Not Applicable. 
   RESERVATION OF RIGHTS 
   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 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to improvements in constructions for valves for compressed gas control. More particularly, the invention relates to improvements particularly suited for controlling internal operation of gas release valves in paintball markers. 
   2. Description of the Known Art 
   The game of paintball uses pneumatic guns that frangible capsules containing a marking material (paintballs). Participants fire the paintballs in an attempt to hit the other player and “mark” them as eliminated from the game. Thus, the physical devices used to launch the paintball are called “markers.” These markers have two basic mechanisms including one for loading the paintball into the firing position and the other for releasing a quantity of gas to launch the paintball from the marker. 
   The original style of paintball markers used a two tube system with one tube housing a bolt that loads a paintball into position and another tube housing a poppet valve for releasing a quantity of Compressed gas. In these designs a hammer in the lower tube is connected to a bolt in the upper tube and the two usually move together to chamber a ball and strike a poppet style pin valve. While the setup requires few o-rings it has its drawbacks in needing separate components for the bolt and hammer, a connecting linkage between the two, a large body and heavy springs to generate the force required to open the poppet valve. 
   Newer marker designs are incorporating the valve and bolt into a single tube to reduce the material costs of the paintball marker. These single tube designs are commonly referred to as “spool valve” style guns. The bolt is moved axially forward to chamber the ball into the breach. At the apex of the motion either a valve is released or the bolt moves past some form of seal that allows high pressure gas to enter the breach and propel the ball out of the barrel. 
   The bolt is usually moved by means of applying gas pressure to a chamber on the outside of the bolt which then acts against a lip on the bolt&#39;s exterior. The main gas pressure chamber is usually behind the bolt or around a rear section of the bolt. While this design provides for a fast actuation and a simple design, it also requires a significant amount of axial length to accommodate the necessary components. Furthermore, the number of seals required for these designs introduces a large amount of friction force. The friction force can vary from shot to shot which causes inconsistent ball release and launching speed. This variation can cause variation in how long the bolt is forward and how much gas is released to the ball. To minimize the variations in how much gas is released to the ball, some of these “spool valve” markers incorporate an “on-off” mechanism as part of the bolt. When the bolt is rearward a gas chamber is allowed to fill with gas. When the bolt moves forward it closes the chamber off to any more incoming gas. The chambered gas is what propels the ball when the gun fires. This on-off mechanism necessitates more seals, and hence more complexity to the paintball gun. Finally, the use of an exterior lip on the bolt to propel it forward and rearward usually makes the gas passages from the air chamber to the ball smaller then they might otherwise be. The small passages create the need for higher gas pressures to move the needed gas from the chamber to the ball. These higher pressures tend to make the internal seals fail faster and further contribute to the increase in friction with these designs. These higher pressures also make it necessary to use high pressure solenoid valves to actuate the bolt or a secondary pressure regulator to allow use of standard, low pressure solenoid valves. Both situations increase the cost of the paintball marker. 
   As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, launching device have been known for a long time. Patents disclosing information relevant to projectile launching devices includes: U.S. Pat. No. 645,932, issued to Ferrant on Mar. 27, 1900; U.S. Pat. No. 1,167,178, issued to Hill on Jan. 4, 2016; U.S. Pat. No. 1,343,127, issued to Hallinan on Jun. 8, 2020; U.S. Pat. No. 1,743,576, issued to Smith on Jan. 14, 1930; U.S. Pat. No. 2,550,887, issued to Tratsch on May 1, 1951; U.S. Pat. No. 2,568,432, issued to Cook on Sep. 18, 1951; U.S. Pat. No. 2,845,055, issued to Collins et al. on Jul. 29, 1958; U.S. Pat. No. 3,089,476, issued to Wolverton on May 14, 1963; U.S. Pat. No. 3,494,344, issued to Vadas et al. on Feb. 10, 1970; U.S. Pat. No. 3,572,310, issued to Kensuke Chiba on Mar. 23, 1971; U.S. Pat. No. 3,695,246, issued to Filippi et al. on Oct. 3, 1972; U.S. Pat. No. 3,818,887, issued to Akiyama et al. on Jun. 25, 1974; U.S. Pat. No. 4,066,000, issued to Rostocil on Jan. 3, 1978; U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,327 issued to Smith on May 20, 1986; U.S. Pat. No. 4,679,487, issued to Houseman on Jul. 14, 1987; U.S. Pat. No. 4,694,815, issued to Hung on Sep. 22, 1987; U.S. Pat. No. 4,770,153, issued to Edelman on Sep. 13, 1988; U.S. Pat. No. 4,779,245, issued to Chelminski on Oct. 18, 1988; U.S. Pat. No. 4,819,609, issued to Tippmann on Apr. 11, 1989; U.S. Pat. No. 4,899,717, issued to Rutten et al. on Feb. 13, 1990; U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,282, issued to Dobbins et al. on Jun. 26, 1990; U.S. Pat. No. 5,063,905, issued to Farrell on Dec. 12, 1991; U.S. Pat. No. 5,078,118, issued to Perrone on Jan. 7, 1992; U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,427, issued to Gardner, Jr. on Jul. 20, 1993; U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,384, issued to Hu on Nov. 16, 1993; U.S. Pat. No. 5,280,778, issued to Kotsiopoulos on Jan. 25, 1994; U.S. Pat. No. 5,282,454, issued to Bell, et al. on Feb. 1, 1994; U.S. Pat. No. 5,462,042, issued to Grenwell on Oct. 31, 1995; U.S. Pat. No. 5,503,137, issued to Fusco on Apr. 2, 1996; U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,483, issued to Lukas et al. on Mar. 25, 1997; U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,456, issued to Perrone on Jun. 3, 1997; U.S. Pat. No. 5,727,538, issued to Ellis on Mar. 17, 1998; U.S. Pat. No. 5,736,720, issued to Bell, et al. on Apr. 7, 1998; U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,232, issued to Bell on Oct. 6, 1998; U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,736, issued to Lotuaco, III on Mar. 9, 1999; U.S. Pat. No. 5,881,707, issued to Gardner, Jr. on Mar. 16, 1999; U.S. Pat. No. 5,890,479, issued to Morin on Apr. 6, 1999; U.S. Pat. No. 5,913,303, issued to Kotsiopoulos on Jun. 22, 1999; U.S. Pat. No. 5,967,133, issued to Gardner, Jr. on Oct. 19, 1999; U.S. Pat. No. 6,003,504, issued to Rice et al. on Dec. 21, 1999; U.S. Pat. No. 6,035,843, issued to Smith et al. on Mar. 14, 2000; U.S. Pat. No. 6,065,460, issued to Lotuaco, III on May 23, 2000; U.S. Pat. No. 6,138,656, issued to Rice et al. on Oct. 31, 2000; U.S. Pat. No. 6,142,137, issued to MacLaughlin on Nov. 7, 2000; U.S. Pat. No. 6,349,711, issued to Perry et al. on Feb. 26, 2002; U.S. Pat. No. 6,439,217, issued to Shih on Aug. 27, 2002; U.S. Pat. No. 6,474,326, issued to Smith et al. on Nov. 5, 2002; U.S. Pat. No. 6,532,949, issued to McKendrick on Mar. 18, 2003; U.S. Pat. No. 6,553,983, issued to Li on Apr. 29, 2003; U.S. Pat. No. 6,590,386, issued to Williams on Jul. 8, 2003; U.S. Pat. No. 6,615,814, issued to Rice et al. on Sep. 9, 2003; U.S. Pat. No. 6,637,420, issued to Moritz on Oct. 28, 2003; U.S. Pat. No. 6,637,421, issued to Smith et al. on Oct. 28, 2003; U.S. Pat. No. 6,644,295, issued to Jones on Nov. 11, 2003; U.S. Pat. No. 6,694,963, issued to Taylor on Feb. 24, 2004; U.S. Pat. No. 6,739,322, issued to Rice, et al. on May 25, 2004; U.S. Pat. No. 6,763,822, issued to Styles on Jul. 20, 2004; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,802,306, issued to Rice on Oct. 12, 2004. Each of these patents is hereby expressly incorporated by reference in their entirety. 
   Even with this plethora of designs, these prior art systems continue to have the major disadvantages previously discussed. Thus, it may be seen that these prior art patents are very limited in their teaching and utilization, and an improved paintball marker is needed to overcome these limitations. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention is directed to an improved paintball marker using a bolt and power tube combination. In accordance with one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a paintball marker for launching a paintball is provided using a bolt with an internal impact ring for contacting a power tube that is sized to fit within the bolt. The power tube has an internal gas passage for supplying launching gas to the paintball and an external striking surface that is contacted by the bolt&#39;s impact ring. A main seal is positioned selectively seal the internal passage of the power tube from a gas supply. Movement of the bolt causes the impact ring to contact the striking surface to unseat the power tube from the main seal to release gas from the main gas chamber through the internal passage into the breach to launch the paintball. 
   One advantage of the present invention is the provision of a valve that is more compact in size and reduces the overall length and complexity of the paintball marker. This present design operates with the minimum amount of seals, and only requires two internal main passage seals. Furthermore the design provides for large air passages to minimize the pressure needed to operate the marker and requires relatively little force to open the valve that fires the ball. 
   Finally, the mechanism is adaptable to most popular bolt actuating designs, including but not limited to, open bolt blowback, open bolt air forward spring return, open bolt air forward air return, closed bolt with a separate hammer mechanism, electro-pneumatic, and mechanical grip frames. 
   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 
     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: 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic view of a paintball gun showing the internal loading position. 
       FIG. 2  is a schematic view of a paintball gun showing the internal firing position. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   As shown in  FIG. 1  of the drawings, one exemplary embodiment of the present invention is generally shown as a paintball marker  100 . The paintball marker  100  includes a main body  200  with a barrel  214  attached to the front  201  of the main body  200 , a grip frame  218  connected to the bottom  211  of the main body  200 , and also a pressure regulator  234  connected to the bottom  211  of the main body  200  to supply pressurized gas  232  into the main body  200 . 
   The main body  200  defines both a main gas passage  202  that allows for pressurized gas  232  to flow into the main gas chamber  204  and the valve  229 , a separate controlling gas passage  206  that is connected to a bolt chamber  208  and the valve  229 , and an atmospheric pressure passage  207  that is connected to the valve  229 . These chambers and passageways are used by the valve  229  to control the supply and quantity of gas released into the breach  210  of the main body  200 . The breech  210  has a first initial diameter  213  sized to the paintball  230 , the bolt chamber  208  has a bolt stop shoulder  209  which steps up to the second diameter  215 , and then a main shoulder  233  steps up to the main chamber diameter  231 . A seal support  201  is used to seal the main chamber diameter  231  of the main gas chamber  204 . A paintball supply passage  212  is also connected to the breach  210  so that paintballs  230  can be supplied into the breach  210 . The barrel  214  is connected to front  201  of the main body  200  so that the paintballs  230  can be loaded from the breach  210  into the rear  216  of the barrel  214 . 
   Pressurized gas  232  is supplied from an external source (not shown) through the pressure regulator  234 . The outlet  236  of the pressure regulator  234  is connected to the main gas passage  202  to supply the pressurized gas into the main gas chamber  204 . 
   A grip frame  218  is connected to the bottom  211  of the main body  200 . The grip frame  218  includes a trigger guard  220  protecting a trigger  222  and internally houses a trigger switch  224  connected to a circuit board  226  powered by a battery  228 . The circuit board  226  controls the operation of a three way valve  229 . The three way valve  229  is connected between the main gas chamber  204  and the controlling gas passage  206 , and the controlling gas passage  206  and the atmospheric pressure passage  207 . 
   A bolt  250  is mounted within the main body  200  in the bolt chamber  208 . The bolt  250  has a front  252  defining bolt gas passages  262 , a back  254  with a spring contact ring  255 , an outer surface  256  with a shoulder stop  257 , and a front inner surface  258  with an internal impact ring  260  and a back internal diameter  259  within the bolt  250 . The bolt moves between the loading position  264  shown in  FIG. 1  and the firing position  266  shown in  FIG. 2 . The bolt  250  slides over an annular cylinder  272  and is slideably sealed with the annular cylinder  272  by a bolt seal  268 . The bolt  250  is biased backwards by a bolt spring  270  that pushed against both the spring contact ring  255  of the bolt  250  and the bolt stop shoulder  209  of the main body  200 . 
   The annual cylinder  272  has a back face  279  with chamber diameter  273  matching the bolt chamber  208  with face step  278  to a bolt diameter  276  matching the back internal diameter  259  of the bolt  250 , and an internal diameter  277  for holding the power tube  280 . In addition to the seal to the bolt  250 , the annual cylinder  272  is sealed to the main body  200  by sealing rings  274  and is sealed to the power tube  280  by the tube seal  275 . 
   The power tube  280  has an inside  282  defining an internal tube passage  283 , a front  284 , a back sealing surface  286 , and an outer surface  288  with a main body diameter  290  and a striking surface  292 . An outer pressure ring  300  is mounted to the outer surface  288  of the power tube  280  so that a valve spring  304  can biased the power tube  280  backwards in relation to the main body  200  to press against the main seal  302  that is mounted on the chamber extension  205  to form the release valve  306 . 
   Operation of the paintball marker  100  can be understood from this construction. Paintballs  230  are fed downwardly through the paintball supply passage  212  into the breech  210  in front of the bolt  250 . Pressurized gas  232  such as compressed air, nitrogen, or CO2 is supplied to the pressure regulator  234  from a tank or supply line (not shown). The pressure regulator  234  regulates the incoming gas and supplies this regulated pressurized gas  232  at outlet  236 . The outlet  236  is flowably connected to the main gas passage  202  to supply gas into the main gas chamber  204 . The main gas passage  202  can be an internal channel or an external hose that connects the outlet  236  to the chamber  204 . 
   The control valve  229  is a solenoid 3-way valve that is controlled by the circuit board  226  according to the operation of the trigger  222 .  FIG. 1  shows the control valve  229  connecting the controlling gas passage  206  to the atmospheric pressure passage  207 . With only atmospheric pressure on the back of the bolt  250 , the bolt spring  270  forces the bolt into the loading position  264  shown in  FIG. 1 . Similarly, the release valve spring  304  seats the power tube  280  against the main seal  302 . Thus, the paintball  230  is loaded in the breach  210  and the main gas chamber  204  is charged so that the marker  100  is ready to fire. 
   Upon sensing the pull of the trigger  222 , the circuit board  226  uses an electric signal to change the position of the three way control valve  229  to that shown in  FIG. 2 . The control valve  229  is now connecting the main gas chamber  204  with the controlling gas passage  206  so that pressurized gas  232  can flow to the back  254  of the bolt  250 . The force of the pressurize3d gas  232  on the back  254  of the bolt  250  overcomes the force of the bolt spring  270  and forces the bolt  250  forward. As the bolt  250  moves forward, the front  252  of the bolt  250  chambers a paintball  230  into the rear  216  of the barrel  214 . The impact ring  260  of the bolt  250  then contacts the striking surface  292  of the power tube  280  to move the power tube  280  forward. The forward movement of the power tube  280  separates the back sealing surface  286  of the power tube  280  from the main seal  302  to allow the pressurized gas  232  to flow out of the main gas chamber  204  and into the inside  282  of the power tube  280 . The pressurized gas  232  flows forward through the bolt  250  and out of the gas passages  262  to the paintball  230  to launch the paintball  230  out of the barrel  214 . 
   After an appropriate time delay, the circuit board  226  then shifts the control valve  229  back to the normal position shown in  FIG. 1 . This again connects the controlling gas passage  206  to the atmospheric pressure passage  207  to relieve the gas pressure from the back  254  of the bolt  250 . The bolt spring  270  returns the bolt  250  to the position shown in  FIG. 1  so that another paintball  230  can be loaded. Similarly, the valve spring  304  return the power tube  280  to the position shown in  FIG. 1  where the back sealing surface presses against the mail seal  302  to seal off the main gas chamber  204  so that the pressure regulator  234  can recharge the main gas chamber  204  for the next operation cycle. 
   It should be understood that the mechanical springs and pressurized gas systems are interchangeable. For example an easily recognizable alternative would be to include a bolt that uses a spring to propel it forward and compressed gas to move it rearward, or a bolt that uses compressed gas to move it both forward and rearward. Similarly, the electronic valve control could be replaced by the prior art&#39;s spring and mechanical sear combinations to control movement of the bolt and the power tube. 
   Reference numerals used throughout the detailed description and the drawings correspond to the following elements:
     paintball marker  100     main body  200     main front  201     main gas passage  202     seal support  201     main gas chamber  204     chamber extension  205     controlling gas passage  206     atmospheric pressure passage  207     bolt chamber  208     bolt stop shoulder  209     breach  210     main bottom  211     paintball supply passage  212     first initial diameter  213     barrel  214     second diameter  215     rear  216     grip frame  218     trigger guard  220     trigger  222     trigger switch  224     circuit board  226     battery  228     three way valve  229     paintballs  230     main chamber diameter  231     pressurized gas  232     a main shoulder  233     pressure regulator  234     outlet  236     bolt  250     front  252     back  254     a spring contact ring  255     outer surface  256     shoulder stop  257     inner surface  258     back internal diameter  259     impact ring  260     gas passages  262     loading position  264     firing position  266     o-ring seal  268     bolt spring  270     annular cylinder  272     large diameter  273     sealing ring  274     tube seal  275     small diameter  276     internal diameter  277     face step  278     back face  279     power tube  280     inside  282     internal tube passage  283     front  284     back sealing surface  286     outer surface  288     main body diameter  290     striking surface  292     outer pressure ring  300     main seal  302     valve spring  304     release valve  306     

   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. 
   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.