Patent Publication Number: US-7594505-B2

Title: Gas gun having a pressure driving device

Description:
This application is a Continuation-in-Part of application Ser. No. 11/335,401 filed Jan. 19, 2006 now abandoned. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to a gas gun, and more particularly to a gas gun having a pressure driving device that may decrease the consumption of the pneumatic air and increase the propel times of the paintballs in a certain amount of the pneumatic air supplied by a gas bottle. 
   2. Description of the Prior Arts 
   A conventional gas gun comprises a projectile feed tube for supplying paintballs into a barrel of a gun body one at a time, and the paintballs are preferably spherical in form and contain a marking fluid therein, a loading bolt is slidably disposed in the rear portion of the barrel for engaging with the one paintball supplied or fed into the barrel and for feeding or loading the paintball slightly forwardly toward a firing position. 
   For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,371,099 to Lee discloses one of the typical gas guns comprising a loading bolt slidably disposed in a rear portion of a barrel of a gun body for engaging with the paintball and for feeding or loading the paintball forwardly toward a firing position to wait for being fired. Normally, a hammer and a complicated control device are further required to be provided and attached to the gun body for moving or operating or actuating the loading bolt to engage and to feed or load the paintballs. 
   However, such a conventional air gun will quickly consume the pneumatic air, and may not be easily manufactured and assembled, thus increasing manufacturing cost. 
   The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The primary object of the present invention is to provide a gas gun having a pressure driving device including a third chamber formed in an upper housing for storing the pneumatic air, and as the third chamber is completely full of the pneumatic air, a control valve may stop inputting the pneumatic air, thus decreasing the consumption of the pneumatic air and increasing the propel times of the paintballs in a certain amount of the pneumatic air supplied by a gas bottle. 
   The secondary object of the present invention is to provide a gas gun having a pressure driving device including a loading device which may be moved between first and second positions based on the flowing direction of the pneumatic air so as to open or close a projectile member or a tubular member, thus shortening the propel time. 
   Another object of the present invention is to provide a gas gun having a pressure driving device that may simplify the structure of the gas gun for decreasing production cost and increasing portable mobility. 
   In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a gas gun having a pressure driving device comprising 
   a hollow upper housing including a feeding inlet provided on and passing through the top surface thereof, a front port and a rear port disposed on and communicating with the bottom thereof respectively, and a hand grip mounted on and extending from the lower side thereof and having a control valve arranged therein, the front and rear ports communicating with the control valve through a front hose and a rear hose individually, such that the control valve may control the pneumatic air to flow into the front port or the rear port, wherein 
   the upper housing further includes an end cap fixed at the opening of the distal end thereof for being tightly covered, and a loading device is disposed therein so as to be pushed by the pneumatic air to move frontward and backward between first and second positions, such that when the loading device is located at the first position, the feeding inlet is closed, and when the loading device is located at the second position, the feeding inlet is opened, the loading device includes a projectile member and a tubular member, one end of the projectile member is provided to propel a paintball, and another end thereof is inserted into the tubular member, the projectile member includes a projectile channel axially mounted therein, and the tubular member includes an internal passage axially arranged therein and a plurality of bores formed therearound, one end of the tubular member is provided to receive the projectile member, and another end thereof is inserted into the end cap; between the loading device and the upper housing are provided with a first chamber and a second chamber, the first chamber is in communication with the rear port, and the second chamber is in communication with the front port, between the tubular member and the upper housing is formed a closed third chamber for communicating with the internal passage through the bores; 
   between the projectile channel and the internal passage is defined with an air valve, and the air valve is pushed by the pneumatic air to move frontward and backward between the first and second positions, as the air valve is located at the first position, it closes the projectile channel so that the pneumatic air flows among the first chamber, the internal passage and the third chamber, and the loading device is pushed to move from the first position to the second position; as the third chamber is completely full of the pneumatic air, the control valve may stop releasing the pneumatic air, at the moment the pneumatic air in the third chamber flows back to impact the air valve to move toward the second position, opening the projectile channel and closing the internal passage, such that the pneumatic air may flow through the projectile channel to propel the paintball outwardly; additionally, as the pneumatic air released from the control valve is inputted into the second chamber through the front hose, the loading device is pushed back to the first position. 
   The present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, which show, for purpose of illustrations only, the preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a cross sectional view illustrating the assembly of a gas gun having a pressure driving device according to the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view illustrating the exploded components of an end cap and a loading device of the gas gun according to the present invention; 
       FIG. 2A  is a perspective view illustrating the exploded components of an air valve of the gas gun according to the present invention; 
       FIG. 3  is a cross sectional view illustrating a paintball being waiting for being propelled; 
       FIG. 4  is another cross sectional view illustrating the paintball being propelled; 
       FIG. 5  is a cross sectional view illustrating another paintball being fed for waiting to be propelled. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   Referring to  FIG. 1 , a gas gun having a pressure driving device in accordance with the present invention comprises a hollow upper housing  10  including a feeding inlet  11  provided on and passing through the top surface thereof to hold a feeding funnel, such that a plurality of paintballs A can be fed into the feeding inlet  11  through the feeding funnel in order, including a front port  12  and a rear port  13  disposed on and communicating with the bottom thereof respectively; a hand grip  20  mounted on and extending from the lower side of the upper housing  10 . The hand grip  20  includes a control valve  21  arranged between the front and rear ports  12 ,  13 , and communicating with the front port  12  through a front hose  23 , and also communicating with the rear port  13  through a rear hose  22 , such that the control valve  21  controls pneumatic air to flow into either the front port  12  or the rear port  13 . The upper housing  10  further includes an end cap  30  fixed at an opening of a distal end thereof to tightly cover the opening of the distal end thereof. The end cap  30  includes a receiving cavity  31  secured therein in a radial direction to receive a second conduit portion  422 , and includes an aperture  32  affixed therein in an axial direction to communicate the receiving cavity  31  and the rear port  13  with each other, between the aperture  32  and the bottom of the receiving cavity  31  is defined with a recess  33 . 
   The upper housing  10  includes a loading device  40  (as show in  FIG. 2 ) disposed therein so as to be pushed by the pneumatic air to move frontward and backward between first and second loading device positions, such that when the loading device  40  is located at the first loading device position, the feeding inlet  11  is closed and then the paintball A is pushed toward the feeding position by an end portion of the loading device  40 , and when the loading device  40  is located at the second loading device position, the feeding inlet  11  is open so that the paintball A can be further fed into the upper housing  10 . As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the loading device  40  is comprised of the projectile member  41  and a tubular member  42 , the projectile member  41  includes a peripheral bulge  411  having a loading bolt  412  and an outer thread  413  formed on two sides thereof individually, and an extension  414  is extendedly attached on the outer thread  413 . The peripheral bulge  411  abuts against the inner sidewall of the upper housing  10 , and the outer thread  413  is screwed with the tubular member  42  so that the extension  414  is received in the tubular member  42 . An opening of a distal end of the loading bolt  412  is formed in the shape of a dented arcuation to propel the paintball A, and between the loading bolt  412  and the extension  414  is axially mounted the projectile channel  415 . The tubular member  42  includes a first conduit portion  421  and the second conduit portion  422  between which an internal passage  423  is axially arranged. The first conduit portion  421  includes an inner thread  424  provided in the internal cutout thereof to screw with the outer thread  413  of the projectile member  41 , and the first conduit portion  421  includes a plurality of bores  425  formed therearound and proximate to the inner thread  424 , the second conduit portion  422  includes the semi-arcuate segment  4221  extending from the end portion thereof to be inserted into the receiving cavity  31  of the end cap  30 , such that the tubular member  42  can be located in the upper housing  10  and the diameter of the first conduit portion  421  is greater than that of the second conduit portion  422 . Moreover, between the end portion of the extension  414  and the connecting portion of the first and second conduit portions  421 ,  422  is an air valve  50  around which an outer peripheral flap  51  is affixed (as shown in  FIG. 2A ) for retracting or expanding based on the flowing direction of the pneumatic air, thus moving between first and second valve positions, wherein the first valve position is located at a distal end of the extension  414  of the projectile member  41 , and the second valve position is located at a distal end of a hollow exterior of the first conduit portion  421 . 
   A first chamber B is formed inside of the tubular member  42  and between the tubular member  42  and the end cap  30 , and a second chamber C is formed between the loading device  40  and the upper housing  10 , the first chamber B is in communication with the rear port  13 , and the second chamber C is in communication with the front port  12 . The first chamber B includes the aperture  32  of the end cap  30  and the space formed between the receiving cavity  31  and the internal passage  423 , and the second chamber C includes the space formed between the projectile member  41  and the upper housing  10 . By screwing the tubular member  42  and the projectile member  41  together and by inserting the tubular member  42  into the receiving cavity  31 , a third chamber D is formed between the tubular member  42  and the upper housing  10  to communicate with the internal passage  423  through the bores  425 . 
   With reference to  FIG. 3 , as a user has not pulled a trigger  24 , the pneumatic air released from the control valve  21  flows into the aperture  32  of the end cap  30  through the rear hose  22  and the rear port  13 , and then flows into the second conduit portion  422  of the tubular member  42  through the receiving cavity  31 . While the pneumatic air further flows into the first conduit portion  421  through the second conduit portion  422 , its pressure pushes the air valve  50  toward the first valve position to close the cutout of the extension  414 , and some pneumatic air flows into the chamber D through the bores  425  of the first conduit portion  421  to be stored. It is to be noted that as the third chamber D is completely full of the pneumatic air, the control valve  21  can stop releasing the pneumatic air. 
   Referring to  FIG. 4 , as the user pulls the trigger  24 , the control valve  21  is urged to stop inputting the pneumatic air into the rear hose  22 , meanwhile the pneumatic air in the third chamber D flows back to the first conduit portion  421 , and the outer peripheral flap  51  of the air valve  50  is impacted to communicate the third chamber D with the projectile channel  415 , and the air valve  50  is further pushed toward the second valve position, hence the flowing of the pneumatic air between the first and second conduit portions  421 ,  422  can be stopped. Simultaneously, the pneumatic air stored in the third chamber D urges the paintball A to move forward along the projectile channel  415 , thus propelling the paintball A. As illustrated in  FIG. 5 , the control valve  21  inputs the pneumatic air to the front hose  23  for further flowing into the second chamber C through the front port  12 , thereby expanding the second chamber C and pushing the loading device  40  toward the second loading device position. As the second conduit portion  422  inserts into the rear end of the receiving cavity  31 , the control valve  21  stops inputting the pneumatic air to the front hose  23 , and the rear hose  22  is opened to input the pneumatic air, such that the pneumatic air flows into the receiving cavity  31  through the cutout formed between the recess  33  of the end cap  30  and the semi-arcuate segment  4221  of the second conduit portion  422 , hence the pneumatic air pushes the loading device  40  to move toward the first loading device position by means of the air valve  50  once more, indirectly pushing the paintball A to the predetermined propelling position, and then the feeding inlet  11  is closed and the pneumatic air starts to be stored in the third chamber D for providing the user to pull the trigger  24  again. 
   The invention is not limited to the above embodiment but various modifications thereof may be made. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.