Abstract:
The latching gas ON/OFF assembly includes a housing with a female threaded bore for receiving a male threaded neck of a gas tank cylinder having a tank valve with a pin. A bonnet is slidably connected to the housing and slides between a forward OFF position and rearward ON position. A pin depressor connected to the bonnet with a transverse latch button for locking the bonnet in the ON position and for releasing the bonnet from the ON position. When the bonnet is slid to the rearward ON position it causes the pin depressor to contact the pin of the tank valve to permit gas to flow therefrom. The latching button is spring-biased toward a locked position where a plate on the free end thereof removably resides in a complementary seat in the housing.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application is related to and claims priority from earlier filed provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/357,766, filed Jun. 23, 2010, the entire contents thereof is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The invention relates generally to paintball markers. More specifically, the present invention relates to the supply of gases to the marker to enable it to operate and launch a projectile. 
         [0003]    In the sport of paintball, the paintball markers are powered by typically by compressed air, hydrogen or carbon dioxide. These gases are stored in cylinders that attach to the marker with, normally, a common threaded fitting. The cylinders that are attached to such an adapter assembly generally have a “pin valve” assembly as a means of keeping the gases retained in the cylinder. Pin valves allow free low of gases into the cylinder, but prevent flow out of the cylinder unless the pin in the assembly is depressed. This is a common area known to the art. 
         [0004]    It is normal for the cylinder to screw into an adapter attached to the paintball marker, or gas line to the marker. This adapter is then used to allow or deny flow of gases to the marker. They are generally referred to as “ON/OFF” assemblies as they allow the gas supply from the cylinder to the marker to be turned on and off. 
         [0005]    To permit gas to exit the cylinder and then flow into the marker, there must be some type of ON/OFF assembly or adapter that is arranged to depress the pin in the Pin Valve assembly of the cylinder to allow flow of gases from the cylinder into the paintball marker. 
         [0006]    This can be carried out in many different ways. For example, in the prior art, there are several different designs of ON/OFF assemblies ranging from lever operated, tap operated, or knob operated. These often require multiple turns of a knob to go from the ON position to the OFF position. Some require a one-quarter turn of a tap to turn allow flow, and a one-quarter turn to prevent flow. Lever-based interconnection assemblies require an unnatural motion to flip the lever to the appropriate position across a long throw. In general, the foregoing gas interconnection assemblies are not well suited for use in a paintball marker, particularly during gameplay. 
         [0007]    In view of the foregoing, there is a demand for a latching gas ON/OFF assembly that is easy and fast to operate. There is a need for such an assembly to require little effort by the user to lock and unlock the cylinder interconnection. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    The present invention preserves the advantages of prior art gas interconnection assemblies for paintball markers. In addition, it provides new advantages not found in currently available assemblies and overcomes many disadvantages of such currently available assemblies. 
         [0009]    The present invention is directed to a new and novel assembly for controlling the flow of gas from a supply cylinder to a paintball marker. The latching gas ON/OFF assembly includes a housing with a female threaded bore for receiving a male threaded neck of a gas tank cylinder having a tank valve with a pin. A bonnet is slidably connected to the housing and slides between a forward OFF position and rearward ON position. A pin depressor connected to the bonnet with a transverse latch button for locking the bonnet in the ON position and for releasing the bonnet from the ON position. When the bonnet is slid to the rearward ON position it causes the pin depressor to contact the pin of the tank valve to permit gas to flow therefrom. The latching button is spring-biased toward a locked position where a plate on the free end thereof removably resides in a complementary seat in the housing. 
         [0010]    It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an assembly for controlling the flow of gas from a gas supply cylinder to a paintball marker. 
         [0011]    Another object of the present invention is to provide a latching gas ON/OFF assembly that quickly and easily turns on and off the flow of gas. 
         [0012]    A further object of the present invention is to provide a latching gas ON/OFF assembly that includes a linear/in-line operation, which is more natural for switching during paintball gameplay. 
         [0013]    Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a latching gas ON/OFF assembly that quickly moves to a locked ON position without pressing any buttons or moving any levers. 
         [0014]    Another object of the present invention is to provide a latching gas ON/OFF assembly that requires minimal movement and actuation to effectuate the turning on and off of gas flow. 
         [0015]    Another object of the present invention is to provide a latching gas ON/OFF assembly that will vent gases stored in the paintball marker when the ON/OFF assembly is in the OFF position. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0016]    The novel features which are characteristic of the present invention are set forth in the appended claims. However, the invention&#39;s preferred embodiments, together with further objects and attendant advantages, will be best understood by reference to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which: 
           [0017]      FIG. 1  is a side view of a paintball marker equipped with the latching gas ON/OFF assembly of the present invention, shown in a forward OFF position; 
           [0018]      FIG. 2  is a close-up side view of the assembly of  FIG. 1  of the present invention; 
           [0019]      FIG. 3  is the close up side view of  FIG. 2  with internal components shown in shadow for illustration purposes; 
           [0020]      FIG. 4  is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the assembly shown in  FIG. 3  shown from the front side of the assembly; 
           [0021]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the assembly shown in  FIG. 3  with components shown in shadow for illustration purposes shown from the rear side of the assembly; 
           [0022]      FIG. 6  is a front view of the latch button and spring-biased spring employed in the present invention; 
           [0023]      FIG. 7  is a bottom perspective view of the latch button being pressed from the front side of the assembly against the forces of the spring to lift the plate of the latch button out of its complementary seat to unlock the assembly to turn the gas OFF. 
           [0024]      FIG. 8  is a side view of the rear side of the housing with the plate of the latch button; 
           [0025]      FIG. 9  is a side view of the rear side of the housing with the plate of the latch button in a middle portion of the slot when the gas is in an OFF position; 
           [0026]      FIG. 10  is a side view of the rear side of the bonnet showing an exit port for receiving a free end of the latch button when the gas is in an OFF position; 
           [0027]      FIG. 11  is a side view of the devices installed on a paintball marker and in a gas ON position; 
           [0028]      FIG. 12  is a close-up side view of the assembly of  FIG. 11  of the present invention shown in a gas ON position; 
           [0029]      FIG. 13  is a close up side view of  FIG. 11  with gas ON with internal components shown in shadow for illustration purposes; 
           [0030]      FIG. 14  is a longitudinal cross section of  FIG. 12  with gas ON with for illustration purposes; 
           [0031]      FIG. 15  is a bottom perspective view of the latch button spring-biased toward a locking position against the inside of the bonnet; 
           [0032]      FIG. 16  is a side view of the rear side of the housing with the plate of the latch button in a leftmost portion of the slot when the gas is in an ON position; 
           [0033]      FIG. 17  is an end view of the assembly of the present invention showing the pin depressor and gas port; 
           [0034]      FIG. 18  is perspective view of the latch button being depressed to permit movement of the bonnet relative to the housing; and 
           [0035]      FIG. 19  is a side view of the rear side of the housing with the plate of the latch button in a rightmost portion of the slot when the assembly is not in use to permit complete removal of the latch pin and spring for disassembly and cleaning of the assembly of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0036]    The present invention is directed to a new and novel latching or locking gas ON/OFF assembly  10  that interconnects a paintball marker  12  to a cylinder  14  containing a gas supply for operation of the marker. Details of the present invention are discussed below in connection with the attached drawing figures. 
         [0037]    The ON/OFF assembly of the present invention of this device  10  is new and novel in that it has no rotary device as seen on any prior art. Instead, it has a linear (in-line) actuator that can be “pulled” or “pushed” into a position that opens the pin valve and then “locks” or “latches” into place. This is a much more natural motion that the motion that is required to operate prior art ON/OFF assemblies. Once locked in place it retains the actuator and hence the pin valve in the open position, allowing flow of gases from the cylinder into the marker for operation thereof. 
         [0038]    In general,  FIGS. 1-10  show the assembly  10  of the present invention in an forward OFF position while  FIGS. 10-15  show the assembly  10  of the present invention in a rearward ON and locked position.  FIGS. 16-18  show other aspects of the invention. 
         [0039]    Referring first to the assembly  10  of the present invention in a forward off position as in  FIGS. 1-10 . More specifically, as in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the present invention generally includes a housing  16  and an actuatable bonnet  18  that slides back and forth. As can be seen in  FIGS. 17 and 18 , the housing  16  of the assembly includes a female threaded bore  20  to receive a gas cylinder  14 , the structure of which are so well known in the art that they need not be discussed in detail herein. The depressor pin  22  of the assembly  10  actuates in and out to communicate with a pin valve  24  on the gas cylinder  14 , as seen in  FIGS. 4 and 14 . Threaded communication of the housing  16  creates a substantially airtight seal so that when the depressor pin  22  contacts the pin valve  24  of a gas cylinder  14 , gas  15  is routed through the gas port  26  and into the paintball marker  12  for use by the pneumatic system thereof. The present invention uniquely provides for control of the opening and closing of the pin valve  24  of a gas cylinder  14  by controlling movement of the depressor pin  22  according to the present invention. 
         [0040]      FIGS. 1 and 2  show the bonnet  18  in a forward position relative to the housing  16  of the assembly  10 . In this condition, as will be discussed in detail below, a front free end  28   a  of a latch button  28  is substantially flush with the front face  18   a  of the bonnet  18 . At this point the bonnet  18  may freely slide relative to the housing  16  of the assembly  10 . 
         [0041]    Further detail of the construction of the assembly  10 , as seen in a forward OFF position, is shown in  FIG. 3 , which is a view of the front side of the assembly  10 . A latch button  28  is positioned transversely through the bonnet  18  and the housing  16  at the top thereof. Thus, the latch button  28  controls the movement of the bonnet  18  relative to the housing  16 . Also, at a lower portion of the assembly  10 , is a fixed transverse dowel  30  that is connected to the depressor pin  22  that runs longitudinally through the housing  16  of the assembly  10 . The dowel  30  travels in slot  31 . The free end  22   a  of the depressor pin  22  can be seen in  FIG. 17 . Thus, as the bonnet  18  moves relative to the housing  16  so does the depressor pin  22  proximal to the pin valve  24  of a gas cylinder  14 . 
         [0042]      FIG. 4  further illustrates the construction of the assembly  10  when view from the front side of the assembly  10 . It can be seen that the transverse button  28  are both secured to the bonnet  18  so that movement of the bonnet  18  also causes movement of both the transverse latch button  28  and the transverse dowel  30 . The latch button  28  is for control of the locking of the bonnet  18  while the dowel  30  is used for opening the pin valve  24  of the gas cylinder  14 . In  FIG. 4 , the bonnet  18  is in a center position, which results in the free end  22   a  of the depressor pin  22  not being in contact with the pin valve  24  of the gas cylinder  14 . As a result, such a center position of the bonnet  18  does not permit gas flow from the cylinder thereby resulting in the assembly  10  being in an OFF position. However gas may be permitted to exit from the paintball marker to atmosphere with the assembly  10  in the OFF position. 
         [0043]    Turning now to  FIGS. 5-10  views from the opposing or rear side of the assembly  10  are shown. These figures provide more details concerning movement of the latch button  28  relative to the housing  16 . In  FIG. 5 , a small portion of the rear end of the latch button  28  emanates through a hole  33  in the bonnet  18 .  FIG. 5  shows the internal component in shadow while  FIG. 9  does not show the internal components in shadow. The transverse latch button  28  includes a main shaft  28   b  and a circumferential plate  28   d , such as a circular disk, that is positioned a distance away from the rear free end  28   c  of the latch button  28 . The latch button  28  travels transversely along arrows A and also longitudinally along arrows B. 
         [0044]      FIG. 6  shows the construction of the latch button  28  and spring  34  for spring-biasing the disk  28   d  of the latch button  28  away from the bonnet  18  and toward slot  36 . For ease of illustration, the spring  34  is not shown in  FIG. 5 , however, the spring  34  is located between the rear side of the bonnet  18  and the disk  28   d . As a result, the latch button  28  is spring-biased in a direction that is opposite to that indicated by arrow A, which is showing the positioning of the latch button  28  in the OFF position. Therefore, the latch button  28  is spring-biased toward the slot  36 , as can be generally seen in  FIG. 7  in conjunction with  FIG. 8 . Most notably,  FIG. 8  shows the profiling of the slot  36  on the rear side of the housing  16  of the assembly  10  of the present invention.  FIG. 9  shows the positioning of the disk  28   d  when the assembly  10  is in the gas OFF position. Essentially, the slot  36  has profiling to control the lateral positioning of the latch button  28  depending on the longitudinal position thereof. 
         [0045]    In  FIG. 9 , the latch button  28  is in a center position whereby the disk  28   d  attached to the latch button  28  is seated on a shallow shelf  38  that is bounded on the right side by a pair of shoulders  40  but is not bounded on the left side thereof. This center position matches with the forward OFF position. In can be seen in  FIG. 9  that the left (rearward) side of the slot  36  is not bounded by shoulders  40  and feeds directly to a deeper pocket  42  with a lower floor  44  defined by the leftmost side of the slot  36 . As will be discussed below in connection with  FIG. 16 , when the bonnet  18  is moved rearwardly, even without pressing any buttons, to turn ON the gas flow, the disk  28   d  will drop into the deeper pocket  42  which serves as a lock seat with assistance of the spring-biasing of the spring  34  to lock the assembly  10  into a ON position. 
         [0046]    Such movement of the bonnet  18  to a rearward ON position is shown in  FIG. 11 . A front view of the assembly  10  can be seen in  FIGS. 11-13 . To turn the gas flow ON, the bonnet  18  is moved rearwardly, as indicated by the arrow C in  FIGS. 11-13 . In  FIG. 13 , it can be seen that the latch button  28  is no longer in the center of the slot  36  but located in a rearwardmost location. As in  FIG. 14 , at the lower portion of the assembly  10 , this location causes the dowel  30  to also move rearwardly to, in turn, cause the depressor pin  22  to impact the pin valve  24  of the gas cylinder  14  to permit the free flow of gas  15  through the gas port  26  of the assembly  10  and then out to the pneumatic system of the paintball marker  12  via a connector  46 . 
         [0047]    At the upper portion of the assembly  10 , further details of the locking of the bonnet  18  in an ON position can be seen to maintain flow of gas  15 . The cross-sectional view of the assembly  10  is seen in  FIG. 14  to further show the rearward location of the latch button  28  in the slot  36 . As indicated by arrow D, the shaft  28   c  of the latch button  28  has moved from the center of the slot  36  to the rearmost portion. This occurs by the user simply pulling bonnet  18  rearwardly without pressing the latch button  28 . As can be seen in  FIG. 16 , such movement of the bonnet  18  rearwardly causes the latch button  28  to pop toward the front of the assembly  10  with the assistance of the spring  34  when the disk  28   d  is no longer bearing against the center shelf  38 , which corresponds to the OFF position. This sliding of the bonnet  18  in the rearward direction will result in the disk  28   d  of the latch button  28  being pushed into the deep pocket  42  and onto the lower shelf  44  at the rear of the slot, which corresponds to the left side of the slot  36  in  FIGS. 8 and 16 .  FIG. 15  shows this positioning of the latch button  28  where the spring  34  bears against the inside surface of the bonnet  18 . Once the disk  28   d  is residing in the deep pocket  42  at the rearward side of the slot  36 , it will stay in that position due to the spring  34  retaining it in that deep pocket  42  in the slot  36 . 
         [0048]    To turn OFF the gas supply, the front end  28   a  of the latch button  28  is depressed to lift the disk  28   d , on proximal to the opposing end  28   c  of the latch button  28 , out of the deep pocket  42 . When the disk  28   d  is clear of the walls  42   a  of the pocket  42 , the bonnet  18  may slide freely forwardly. In fact, pressing the front end  28   a  of the latch button  28  will automatically cause the bonnet  18  to jump forwardly into the center seat  38  due to existing back pressure of the gas supply  15  from cylinder  14 . Once in the center seat  38 , the bonnet  18  is centrally positioned with its dowel  30  also centrally positioned thereby removing the depressor pin  22  out of contact with the pin valve  24  of the gas cylinder  14 . Therefore, the assembly  10  prevents gas flow until the bonnet  18  is urged rearwardly again when gas flow is again desired. 
         [0049]    When the bonnet  18  is in the centre seat  38  gases stored in the ON/OFF assembly and the paintball marker may be released to atmosphere through the ON/Off assembly. 
         [0050]    The assembly of the present invention can also be disassembled, if desired, such as for cleaning and the like. As seen in  FIG. 19 , the slot  36  in the housing of the assembly is also provided with a rightmost portion, which is a complete pass-through  48  without a supporting seat. This enables the disk portion  28   d  of the latch button  28  to complete pass through the housing  16  for removal of the entire latch button  28 , including the spring  34 . This is contrast to the center portion  38  of the slot  36  that has a shallow seat  38   a  and the rearward position  42  with a deep pocket and deeper seat  44 . 
         [0051]    To carry out the complete removal of the latch button  28 , the disk  28   d  attached thereto must clear the bounding shoulders  40 , as can be seen in  FIG. 18 . The travel of the front end  28   a  of the latch button  28  outside the front of the bonnet  18  is limited by the distance between the shallow seat  38   a  and the deep pocket seat  44 . So, when a user presses the latch button  28  in so that it is flush with the front of the bonnet  18 , the disk  28   d  will only travel enough out of the deep pocket  42  to reach to the shallow seat  38   a . It will not be able to also clear the shoulders  40 . To accomplish this, the front end  28   a  of the latch button  28  must be depressed beyond the front surface of the bonnet  18 . This is designed to prevent accidental disassembly of the assembly  10  of the present invention. 
         [0052]    A tool (not shown), such as the tip of pen, is used to press the front end  28   a  of the latch button  28  below the front surface of the bonnet  18  so that the disk  28   d  can travel further against the forces of the spring  4  so that it can also clear the bounding shoulders  40 . Once the latch button  28  is depressed to this extent, the bonnet  18  can be moved all the way forward so that the latch button  28  can be completely routed out through the forwardmost portion  48  of the slot  36 . 
         [0053]    The simplicity of the design means that turning the assembly  10  into the ON position is as simple as pushing or pulling the bonnet  18  through a fraction of an inch to operate and engage the pin valve  24  in the tank cylinder  14 , at which point the lock is automatically engaged to retain the assembly  10  in the ON position. Turning the system to the OFF position is carried out by simply depressing the front side  28   a  of the latch button  28 . 
         [0054]    The present invention can be manufactured of any suitable material for use in paintball markers. For example, the components of the assembly  10  can be made of metal, such as machined aluminum or steel, as well as plastic. Also, the engagement of the pin  24  of the tank valve  14  can be carried out in many different ways when a bonnet  18  is moved rearwardly. 
         [0055]    It would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made to the illustrated embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present invention. All such modifications and changes are intended to be covered by the present invention.