Patent Publication Number: US-2011056469-A1

Title: Roulette wheel-type funnel device for use with hopper of paintball marker

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present invention relates to a roulette wheel-type funnel device for use with a hopper of a paintball marker. More particularly, the present invention relates to a roulette wheel-type funnel device, wherein a roulette wheel is directly driven to rotate and configured to facilitate rolling of paintballs, and wherein a ball channel is in tangential communication with a receiving chamber so as to form a smooth guide path, thereby allowing the paintballs to be easily fed into the ball channel. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     In a survival game incorporated with the sport of paintball, players shoot one another with paintball markers either in the field or in other settings, and those who are hit by paintballs and therefore marked with paint exploding therefrom are eliminated. Such games are tense and exciting and have become a very popular leisure activity at home and abroad. 
     Paintball markers play a critical role in the aforesaid survival games. A paintball marker mainly includes a loader connected to an upper end of the paintball marker and configured for receiving paintballs. The paintball marker is further connected with a high-pressure cylinder. When the trigger of the paintball marker is pulled, gas in the high-pressure cylinder propels the paintballs outward such that the paintballs are fired.  FIG. 8  illustrates a conventional loading device of a paintball marker. As shown in the drawing, a loader B for receiving paintballs E is connected to a marker body A of a paintball marker. The loader B is engaged in a housing fixing seat and formed with a receiving chamber B 1 . The receiving chamber B 1  is directly connected with a vertically and downwardly extending tube B 2 . A rotary disk seat B 3  is provided in the loader B and directly fixed in position by a bolt C. At least one pushing plate B 4  is mounted outside the rotary disk seat B 3  and driven by a motor D, which is also engaged in the housing fixing seat. The paintballs E in the loader B are pushed into the tube B 2  by the at least one pushing plate B 4  before the paintballs E. 
     As the at least one pushing plate B 4  pushes the paintballs E in the loader B into the tube B 2 , the paintballs E are loaded into the marker body A. However, the foregoing design has the following drawbacks in use: 
     1. With the receiving chamber B 1  of the loader B being directly connected with the vertically and downwardly extending tube B 2 , the travel path of the paintballs E is not a smooth one. As a result, the paintballs E are fed into the tube B 2  with difficulty and tend to be stuck therein. 
     2. Since the rotary disk seat B 3  is directly fixed in position by the bolt C, and the paintballs E are pushed into the tube B 2  by the at least one pushing plate B 4 , the paintballs E located directly above the at least one pushing plate B 4  tend to press against the at least one pushing plate B 4  and thus lower loading efficiency. 
     3. As the loader B is engaged in the housing fixing seat, and the rotary disk seat B 3  is directly fixed in position to the loader B by the bolt C, the conventional loading device described above requires a complicated, labor-intensive, and therefore costly assembly process. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In order to overcome the aforesaid drawbacks, particularly the difficult paintball loading process, of the conventional loading device, the present invention provides a roulette wheel-type funnel device for use with a hopper of a paintball marker as an improvement over the prior art. 
     Therefore, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a roulette wheel-type funnel device for use with a hopper of a paintball marker, wherein a funnel body is connected with a ball channel in tangential communication with a receiving chamber so as to form a smooth guide path, thereby allowing paintballs to be fed synchronously into the ball channel. Furthermore, a roulette wheel is directly driven to rotate and configured to facilitate rolling of the paintballs, thus enabling smooth loading and preventing jamming of the paintballs. 
     To achieve the above and other objectives, the present invention provides a roulette wheel-type funnel device for use with a hopper of a paintball marker, wherein the roulette wheel-type funnel device is configured according to the hopper of the paintball marker, and the hopper is provided with a passageway. The roulette wheel-type funnel device includes a funnel body, a roulette wheel, a motor, a cap, and a control unit. The funnel body is formed therein with a receiving chamber. The receiving chamber is connected with a ball channel fitted correspondingly in the passageway of the hopper. The ball channel is in tangential communication with the receiving chamber so as to form a smooth guide path. A covering plate is formed in the guide path and adjacent to an inlet of the ball channel. The covering plate has an inclined surface and extends into the receiving chamber. The roulette wheel is positioned centrally in the funnel body and has a sloped surface, wherein the sloped surface is formed with at least one fin. The motor is configured for delivering power and is connected to a main gear. The main gear meshes with a toothed wheel, and the toothed wheel receives therein at least one planetary gear. The at least one planetary gear are used to actuate a transmission shaft configured for driving the roulette wheel. The cap is provided on the transmission shaft and has a top end formed with a conical surface. The control unit is electrically connected to the motor and includes a starting switch and a reverse rotation switch. 
     Therein, a plurality of equally spaced grooves are arranged peripherally on the roulette wheel, and each of the at least one fin is inclined. 
     Implementation of the present invention at least involves the following inventive steps: 
     1. With the ball channel of the funnel body being tangent to the receiving chamber and thus forming the smooth guide path, the paintballs guided therein can move smoothly without being stuck. 
     2. With the roulette wheel being directly driven to rotate, the paintballs can be rotated synchronously and enter a rolling state. Furthermore, as the rotation generates a centrifugal force which pushes the paintballs outward, the at least one inclined fin can directly and readily guide the paintballs into the ball channel, thereby increasing loading efficiency. 
     3. The covering plate of the funnel body that is formed adjacent to the inlet of the ball channel not only ensures that the paintballs enter the ball channel but also prevents the paintballs from bouncing. When the roulette wheel is rotated reversely, the paintballs in the funnel body can move upward along the inclined surface of the covering plate to facilitate elimination of a paintball jam. 
     4. As the paintballs sit directly on the roulette wheel, the grooves of the roulette wheel increase friction between the paintballs and the roulette wheel, thereby ensuring that the paintballs are properly fed. 
     5. The roulette wheel-type funnel device is configured as a one-piece unit for simple installation. The roulette wheel-type funnel device can be conveniently placed in the hopper, with the ball channel of the funnel body being fitted correspondingly into the passageway of the hopper, thus achieving easy assembly and reducing the time and costs required for assembly. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives, and advantages thereof will be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a roulette wheel-type funnel device according to the present invention when installed in a hopper; 
         FIG. 2  is a top view of the roulette wheel-type funnel device according to the present invention when installed in a hopper; 
         FIG. 3  is a sectional view taken along line A-A of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a sectional view taken along line B-B of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a sectional view of the roulette wheel-type funnel device according to the present invention when installed in a hopper and assembled to a paintball marker; 
         FIG. 6  is a top view of a roulette wheel according to the present invention when rotated to feed paintballs; 
         FIG. 7  is another top view of the roulette wheel according to the present invention when reversely rotated to eliminate a paintball jam; and 
         FIG. 8  is a sectional view of a conventional loading device of a paintball marker. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 through 3 , the present invention provides a roulette wheel-type funnel device for use with a hopper of a paintball marker, wherein the roulette wheel-type funnel device is configured according to a hopper  6 , and the hopper  6  has a passageway  61 . The roulette wheel-type funnel device includes a funnel body  1 , a roulette wheel  2 , a motor  3 , a cap  4 , and a control unit  5 . 
     The funnel body  1  is formed therein with a receiving chamber  11 . The receiving chamber  11  is connected with a ball channel  12  fitted correspondingly in the passageway  61  of the hopper  6 . The ball channel  12  is in tangential communication with the receiving chamber  11  so as to form a smooth guide path. In addition, a covering plate  13  is insertedly provided in the guide path and adjacent to an inlet of the ball channel  12 . The covering plate  13  has an inclined surface  131  and extends into the receiving chamber  11 . 
     The roulette wheel  2  is provided centrally in the funnel body  1  and has a sloped surface  21 , as shown in  FIG. 3 . The sloped surface  21  is formed with at least one fin  22 . Each of the at least one fin  22  is inclined. Moreover, a plurality of equally spaced grooves  23  are arranged peripherally on the roulette wheel  2 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 4 , the motor  3  is configured for delivering power and is connected to a main gear  31 . The main gear  31  meshes with a toothed wheel  32 . The toothed wheel  32  receives therein at least one planetary gear  33 . The at least one planetary gear  33  are used to actuate a transmission shaft  34  configured for driving the roulette wheel  2 . 
     The cap  4  is provided on the transmission shaft  34  and has a top end formed with a conical surface  41 . 
     The control unit  5  is electrically connected to the motor  3  and includes a starting switch  51  and a reverse rotation switch  52 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , the roulette wheel-type funnel device of the present invention is installed in the hopper  6  and assembled to a paintball marker  7  in the following manner. To begin with, the roulette wheel-type funnel device is placed in the hopper  6  such that the ball channel  12  of the funnel body  1  is fitted in the passageway  61  of the hopper  6 . Then, the hopper  6  is assembled to the paintball marker  7 . 
     To fire paintballs, referring to  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 6 , the starting switch  51  of the control unit  5  (as seen more clearly in  FIG. 1 ) is pressed. Since the control unit  5  is electrically connected to the motor  3 , the motor  3  delivers power and drives the main gear  31 , which meshes with the toothed wheel  32 . Consequently, the at least one planetary gear  33  received in the toothed wheel  32  actuates the transmission shaft  34 . The transmission shaft  34  directly drives the roulette wheel  2  to rotate, such that paintballs  8  on the roulette wheel  2  are rotated synchronously and begin to roll. The at least one inclined fin  22  guides the paintballs  8 , which are pushed outward by a centrifugal force generated by rotation, into the ball channel  12 . Meanwhile, the grooves  23  on the roulette wheel  2  ensure that the paintballs  8  are properly driven. As the ball channel  12  of the funnel body  1  is tangent to the receiving chamber  11  and thus forms the smooth guide path, the paintballs  8  guided along the guide path can move smoothly without being stuck. 
     To stop firing the paintballs  8 , the starting switch  51  of the control unit  5  is pressed again. As a result, the motor  3  stops delivering power, and the roulette wheel  2  stops rotating. 
     Should a paintball jam occur, referring to  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 7 , the reverse rotation switch  52  of the control unit  5  (as seen more clearly in  FIG. 1 ) is pressed so as for the motor  3  to drive the roulette wheel  2  for reverse rotation. Consequently, the paintballs  8  on the roulette wheel  2  move upward along the inclined surface  131  of the covering plate  13  of the funnel body  1 , and the paintball jam is thus relieved, allowing the paintballs  8  to be fed and fired smoothly next time.