Patent Publication Number: US-2009229589-A1

Title: Hopper for paintballs

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority from U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 61/035,121, filed on Mar. 10, 2008, which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a hopper for paintballs. In particular, the present invention relates to a paintball hopper displaying shock resistant panels that come in contact with paintballs during normal use of a paintball hopper. The present invention also relates to a rapid loader for a paintball hopper. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a paintball hopper, namely the addition or substitution of softer panels that come in contact with paintballs during normal use of a paintball hopper. This improvement results in better shock resistance and paintball impact resistance, reducing the incidence of paintballs breaking when striking the hopper, and reducing vibrations and sound made by the mechanical parts inside the hopper, which can sometimes reveal a player&#39;s location. This improvement also makes the hopper easier to grip, which can help if a user needs to access the moving parts inside the hopper, for example in order to change a part or clean them. 
     The sport of paintball involves the use of paintball guns (“markers”) that shoot paintfilled gelatin balls (“paintballs”) at opponents, who are trying to do the same. When a player is struck and the paintball ruptures on him or any portion of his equipment, including his marker, that person is eliminated. Paintball guns typically include a hopper on top of the marker into which paintballs are poured, and which operates as a reservoir for the ammunition. Individual paintballs drop through a hole in the bottom of the reservoir and through a feed tube connected to the firing chamber of the marker. A burst of compressed gas fires the paintball by ejecting it through the gun barrel. Reloading during a game can be difficult and time consuming, so the hoppers tend to be as large as possible, although this increases the likelihood of the player being struck on the hopper and eliminated. The hopper can consist of almost any material including metal or plastic, but is typically made out of molded plastic. 
     Considerable prior art has been directed towards the function of the hopper, but almost none has addressed its structure and how this impacts both its quality and game play. 
     For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,923,170 discloses that hoppers may be constructed with any suitable geometric shape, and from a great many suitable materials including molded plastics, but still envisions a one-piece hopper. This patent discloses a separate covering added to the hopper at a later stage, and is not as effective as a process of adding manufactured panels onto the hopper. This disclosed covering can shift, fall off, etc. especially when the hopper is being used to carry the paintball marker. 
     Accordingly, there is a need for a paintball hopper with a structure strong enough to contain the mechanical and electronic parts required for the function of the hopper, but with some exposed parts made from a softer, more elastic material in order to improve game play. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The object of the present invention is to improve the game play of paintball. Traditionally, paintballs inside a hopper were susceptible to rupture due to vibrations of the user&#39;s maneuvering and handling of his marker. Conventional hoppers also provide poor muffling of mechanical loader devices and became slippery during wet or cold weather. The present invention overcomes these problems. The hopper according to the present invention has the following characteristics:
         better shock resistance to outside hits;   better paintball rupture resistance within the hopper walls;   reduction of noise and vibrations caused by mechanical components inside the hopper; and   easier and more assured grip of the hopper for transport, reloading and maintenance.       

     According to certain principles of this invention, these results can, for instance, be attained by adding panels made of a softer and more elastic material to the loader. These are made of molded plastic by a process known as over-molding. In other embodiments, the panels could be added by other procedures, as described below, or panels could be added to other portions of the hopper where it is deemed that improved shock resistance, paintball impact resistance or grip are desirable. 
     More specifically, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a paintball hopper for providing a plurality of paintballs to a paintball gun comprising a feeder tube. The hopper comprises a rigid material defining a chamber and having an outer surface, the chamber adapted for receiving the plurality of paintballs therein, an opening in the rigid material for introducing the plurality of paintballs into the chamber, a hopper feed tube adapted for feeding paintballs from the chamber to the feeder tube of the paintball gun, and at least one shock absorbing panel bonded to the outer surface. 
     There is also provided a paintball hopper configured to receive a plurality of paintballs from a tube containing the plurality of paintballs and having a tube opening. The hopper comprises a rigid material defining a chamber, the chamber adapted for receiving the plurality of paintballs therein, an opening in the rigid material for introducing the plurality of paintballs into the chamber, a seal adapted for attachment to the opening and defining a first aperture, a flange arranged opposite the seal and defining a second aperture and having an outer flange surface adapted for receiving the tube opening, a passageway located between the first aperture and the second aperture, and wherein the passageway, the first aperture and the second aperture are each dimensioned to allow passage of the paintballs there through, a means for biasing the flange away from the seal, and an iris occluding the passageway. When the tube opening is pressed against the outer flange surface and sufficient force is exerted to overcome the biasing means, the flange is moved towards the seal and the iris opens, thereby allowing passage of the plurality of paintballs from the tube into the chamber. 
     Additionally, there is provided a paintball hopper comprising a housing defining an internal chamber configured to contain a plurality of paintballs, the housing further comprising an outer surface, a first opening in the housing to permit the plurality of paintballs to be introduced into the chamber, a second opening in the housing configured to communicate with a feed neck of a paintball gun to supply the plurality of paintballs from the chamber to the paintball gun during operation of the paintball gun, and a flexible panel securely attached to the outer surface of the housing and configured to deflect paintballs from the housing while reducing the likelihood that a paintball striking the housing will break on impact with the housing. 
     Furthermore, there is provided a method of reducing the likelihood of a paintball breaking when impacting an outer surface of a hopper. The method comprises securely affixing one or more flexible panels to the outer surface of the hopper to deflect paintballs from the hopper and reduce the likelihood of a paintball breaking upon impact with the hopper. 
     Also, there provided a hopper for containing a plurality of paintballs and for supplying the plurality of paintballs to a paintball gun during operation of the paintball gun. The hopper comprises a housing defining an internal chamber configured to contain a plurality of paintballs, the housing further comprising an outer surface, a first opening in the housing to permit the plurality of paintballs to be introduced into the chamber, a second opening in the housing configured to communicate with a feed neck of a paintball gun to supply the plurality of paintballs from the chamber to the paintball gun during operation of the paintball gun, a flexible panel securely attached to the outer surface of the housing and configured to deflect paintballs from the housing while reducing the likelihood that a paintball striking the housing will break on impact with the housing, and a rapid loading mechanism for permitting a plurality of paintballs contained in a paintball pod to be quickly transferred from the pod to the hopper chamber. 
     Other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading of the following non-restrictive description of specific embodiments thereof, given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       In the appended drawings: 
         FIG. 1  discloses a right front raised perspective view of a paintball hopper in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a side view of the paintball hopper of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a side plan view of the paintball hopper of  FIG. 1  with the lid open; 
         FIG. 4  is a top view of the paintball hopper of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a front view of the paintball hopper of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a rear view of the paintball hopper of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a side perspective view of a paintball pod for storing paintballs to be loaded into the hopper; and 
         FIGS. 8A through 8D  provide views of a paintball hopper and self sealing lid for allowing a rapid loading of paintballs into the hopper, in accordance with an alternative illustrative embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS 
     The principles of the present invention will now be described in further detail through a more complete description of several non-limiting examples, made with reference to the accompanying figures. 
     Referring first to  FIG. 1 , in an illustrative embodiment of a hopper for paintballs, generally referred to by the reference numeral  10 , the hopper  10  comprises a main body  12 , a housing  14 , a feeder tube  16 , an opening  18 , a hinged lid  20  attached to the main body  12  via a hinge  22  and relatively soft elastic panels  24 ,  26  and  28  bonded to an outer surface of the main body  12  and or the housing  14 . As seen on  FIG. 3 , the hinged lid  20  opens upwardly and outwardly on the hinge  22  to reveal access to a paintball receiving chamber  30 . 
     Typically during use, the hopper  10  is attached substantially above a paintball marker (not shown) via feeder tube  16  and filled with paintballs (also not shown). A loader mechanism (not shown) mounted inside chamber  30  feeds the paintballs through feeder tube  16  to the marker. Alternatively the paintballs can be gravity-fed into the marker. The loader mechanism may be manually separable from chamber  30  without tools, which is known in the art as “field strippable”, or may be at least substantially permanently connected. 
     Panels  24  and  26  are preferably securely fastened to main body  12 , such as by means of an over-molding process, and can be manufactured from an elastic material such as an elastic polymer, or elastomer. Panels  24  and  26  can be configured to cover as much of the hopper  10  as possible to contribute the full advantage of their addition to game performance without weakening the structure of hopper  10 . Additional panels as in  28  may also be fastened to the housing  14 . 
     In the present illustrative embodiment&#39;s configuration, the goals are accomplished in the most efficient manner: should a paintball strike the sides of the hopper, causing an external lateral shock, the panels  24  and  26  absorb at least a portion of the impact and thereby reduce the likelihood that the paintball will rupture. As rupture of a paintball on a player&#39;s hopper  10  will result in the player being eliminated, the chances of a player&#39;s elimination are thereby reduced. As a result, it will be apparent now to a person of ordinary skill in the art that the panels  24  and  26  act as shock absorbers for absorbing and disbursing impacts from rival paintballs: if an opposing player hits one of the panels  24  or  26 , the probability that the paintball would bounce off is improved due to the elastomeric properties of the material from which the panels  24  and  26  are manufactured. 
     The additional panel  28  is also preferably composed of an elastomeric material, and acts as a shock absorber should the player suddenly tilt the marker backwards. The additional panel also contributes to insulating or muffling mechanical noise made by the loader mechanism inside the chamber  30 . All three soft panels  24 ,  26  and  28  can further act as grip facilitators for the player&#39;s convenience during reloading, maintenance and transportation of the marker due to the elastomeric material remaining resilient and tacky even in cold or wet weather conditions. 
     In alternative embodiments of the invention, other means of fastening the panels  24 ,  26  and  28  to the main body  12 , the housing  14 , or both, may be employed, including but not limited to heated tool bonding, hot gas bonding, vibration bonding, spin bonding, ultrasonic bonding, induction bonding, radio frequency bonding, microwave bonding, resistance bonding, extrusion bonding, electrofusion bonding, infrared bonding, laser welding techniques, chemical bonding and adhesives, or mechanical fastening (including snap-fit methods and other forms of mechanical coupling) and the like. 
     In alternative embodiments of the invention, the panels may be of a plurality of size and shapes, and comprise either a singular panel or a plurality of elastomeric panels as in  24 ,  26  and  28  bonded to the main body  12  of the hopper  10 , said housing  14 , or both. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 7 , as known in the art, paintballs as in  32  are often stored during competition in tubes (or “pods”)  34 . Referring back to  FIG. 1  in addition to  FIG. 7 , in order to reload the hopper  10 , the hinged lid  20  is opened and the tube  34  upended into the hopper  10  thereby replenishing it. One drawback with replenishing the hopper  10  in this manner is that during competition the tube  34  becomes covered with mud, dirt and the like and when upended in order to pour the paintballs  32  into the hopper, dirt, mud and other detritus falls along with the paintballs  32  into the hopper  10 , which in turn can foul the loader mechanism as well as the mechanics of the paintball marker (both not shown). 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 8A through 8D , an alternative embodiment of the present invention provides a solution to the problem of the egress of dirt and the like into the hopper and also facilitates faster loading of the hopper with paintballs. As shown, the hinged lid (reference  20  in  FIG. 1 ) can be replaced with a self closing rapid loading lid  36  manufactured from a pliable material such as rubber. Referring to  FIGS. 7A and 7B , the self closing lid  36  preferably comprises a seal  38  for attaching the lid  36  to a ridge surrounding the opening  18 , an outer flange  40  and an iris  42  which opens and closes given relative movement of the flange  40  towards the seal  38 . In this regard, the iris  42  can be comprised of a plurality of pliable rubber teeth, as in  44 , which in a resting position serve to close a passageway  46  extending between the seal  38  and the flange  40 . The pliable nature of the teeth  44  acts as a hinge with the side wall of the inside of the passageway  46  such that when pressure is exerted on the teeth  44  by movement of the flange  40  towards the seal  38 , for example through a pod  34  of paintballs  32  being pressed against the outer edge of the flange  40 , the teeth  44  are deflected towards the seal  38 , thereby opening the passageway  40  and allowing the paintballs  32  to freely fall into the hopper  10 . 
     Still referring to  FIGS. 8A through 8D , maintaining pressure on the flange  40  via the pod  34  serves two purposes: first, opening the passageway  46  as described above and, second, preventing the egress of dirt, mud and other detritus which may have accumulated on the pod  34 , from falling into the hopper by maintaining a seal between the outer edge  48  of the pod  34  and the flange  40 . 
     Still referring to  FIGS. 8A through 8D , action of the iris  42  is biased (through molding of the rubber, for example) such that release of pressure on the flange  40 , for example by removing the pod  34 , causes the flange  40  to move away from the seal  38 , thereby returning the teeth  44  to their resting position and sealing the passageway  46 . In this manner egress of any dirt, mud or other detritus which may have come dislodged from the pod  34  is prevented from entering the hopper  10 . 
     Although the present invention has been described hereinabove by way of various specific embodiments thereof, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that it can be modified in arrangement and detail without departing from the spirit and nature of the subject invention as defined in the appended claims.