Abstract:
A paintball work table having a paintball pod carry suspender, helmet cavity and paintball gun cavity is described herein. The paintball work table permits the paintball player to effectively and efficiently manage his/her equipment between paintball scrimmages. Also, the paintball work table may be foldable and easy to carry.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    Not Applicable 
       STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not Applicable 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    The present invention relates to a work table for preparing and/or storing paintball equipment including a paintball gun, paintball helmets and paintball pods. 
         [0004]    Paintball players invest hundreds and thousands of dollars in their paintball equipment. By way of example and not limitation, a quality paintball gun may cost approximately one thousand to fifteen hundred dollars ($1,000-$1,500). Accordingly, paintball players take care of their equipment such that their equipment is not scratched, dinged, etc. 
         [0005]    During paintball play, a paintball player may play a number of paintball scrimmages during the day. Between each paintball scrimmage, the paintball player may perform maintenance on his/her paintball gun and also reload the paintball pods with paintballs. 
         [0006]    Unfortunately, the paintball player must lay his/her equipment on the ground or the back of a truck bed to perform maintenance. In doing so, the paintball player may scratch or ding his/her paintball equipment. Additionally, to fill the paintball pods with paintballs, the paintball player must use one hand to hold the paintball pod and the other hand to pour the paintballs from the paintball container. 
         [0007]    Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a device to assist the paintball player during paintball play. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY 
       [0008]    The paintball work table discussed herein addresses the needs discussed above, discussed below, and those that are known in the art. The paintball work table may be traversed between a folded position and an unfolded position. In the folded position, the paintball player may carry the paintball work table with a handle. In the unfolded position, the paintball work table provides an area for the paintball player to lay his/her paintball pod belt. Also, there is a cavity for holding the player&#39;s paintball helmet and also a cavity for holding the player&#39;s paintball gun. Empty paintball pods may be removed from his/her paintball pod belt and placed in a paintball pod carry suspender attached to the paintball work table. The empty paintball pods may be oriented in a vertical direction such that the paintball player may conveniently fill the empty paintball pods with paintballs. 
         [0009]    More particularly, a paintball work table for preparing and/or storing paintball equipment including a paintball gun, paintball helmet and paintball pods is discussed herein. The paintball work table may comprise a table top foldable into a compact configuration. A handle may be attached to the table top for carrying the folded table top. A plurality of legs may be attached to the table top and foldable into the compact configuration. For example, four legs may be foldably disposed at corners of the tabletop. A paintball gun cavity may be formed in the table top for holding the paintball gun. A paintball helmet cavity may be formed in the table top for holding the paintball helmet. Also, a paintball pod carry suspender may be attached to the table top for holding the paintball pods in an upright position for reloading of the paintball pods with paintballs. 
         [0010]    The paintball gun cavity may be a first aperture formed in the table top. A flexible support layer may be attached to an inner peripheral portion of the first aperture for supporting the paintball gun. The flexible support layer may be an elastic band. The paintball gun cavity may also include a rigid support structure disposed below the table top when the table top is in the open position. The flexible support layer may extend below the table top when the table top is traversed to an open position. The flexible support layer may be disposed between first and second parts of the table top when the table top is traversed to a folded position. 
         [0011]    The paintball helmet cavity may be a second aperture formed in the table top. A flexible support layer may be attached to an inner peripheral portion of the second aperture for supporting the paintball helmet. The flexible support layer of the paintball helmet cavity may extend below the table top when the table top is traversed to an open position. Similarly, to the flexible support layer of the paintball gun cavity, the flexible support layer of the paintball helmet cavity may be disposed between first and second halves or parts of the table top when the table top is traversed to a folded position. The flexible support layer may extend sufficiently below the table top so the paintball helmet does not protrude above the table top when the paintball helmet is disposed in the paintball helmet cavity and the work table to traverse to the unfolded position. 
         [0012]    The paintball pod carry suspender may be a first elastic band attached to an outer peripheral portion of the table top. The first elastic band may form a plurality of slots for inserting individual paintball pods. The table top may include a rim. The first elastic band may be attached to the rim to form the plurality of slots for inserting individual paintball pods. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0013]    These and other features and advantages of the various embodiments disclosed herein will be better understood with respect to the following description and drawings, in which like numbers refer to like parts throughout, and in which: 
           [0014]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a paintball work table in an unfolded position; 
           [0015]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the paintball work table in a folded configuration for easy carry and transport; 
           [0016]      FIG. 3  is a top perspective view of the paintball work table shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0017]      FIG. 4  is a bottom perspective view of the paintball gun cavity; 
           [0018]      FIG. 5  is a bottom perspective view of a helmet cavity; and 
           [0019]      FIG. 6  is a top view of a paintball pod carry suspender. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0020]    Referring now to  FIG. 1 , a paintball work table  10  in an unfolded position is shown. The paintball work table  10  may have a tabletop  12  comprised of two halves  14 ,  16 . The paintball work table  10  may additionally have four legs  18   a, b, c, d . The legs  18   a, b  may be pivotably attached to the second half  16  of the tabletop  12  at its distal end portion. The legs  18   c, d  may be pivotably attached to the first half  14  of the tabletop  12  at its distal end portion. The legs  18   a, b, c  and  d  are traversable to the unfolded position with a telescoping brace  20  (see  FIG. 3 ) and a cross member  22  (see  FIG. 3 ). The cross member  22  may be rigidly secured to the legs  18   a, b  at its upper portion. The telescoping brace  20  may be pivotably attached to the middle section of the cross member  22  and the underside of the second half  16  of the tabletop  12 . The telescoping brace  20 , as shown in  FIG. 3 , may have a first tube  24  slidably disposable within a second tube  26 . The first tube  24  may be slid into the second tube  26  to reduce the overall length of the telescoping brace  20 . Conversely, the first tube  24  may be slid out of the second tube  26  and locked to a predetermined length by detent  28 . Likewise, the legs  18   c ,  d  may be attached to a cross member  30  and a telescoping brace  32 , as shown in  FIG. 1 . The cross member  30  and telescoping brace  32  from the first half  14  may have the same structure as the telescoping brace  20  and the cross member  22  discussed above. 
         [0021]    Each of the legs  18   a, b, c  and  d  may comprise first and second tubes  34 ,  36 , as shown in  FIG. 1 . The first tube  34  may be slid into the second tube  36  to shorten the length of the leg. Conversely, the first tube  34  may be extended out of the second tube  36  and locked into position with detent  38 . 
         [0022]    To traverse the paintball work table  10  to the folded position, as shown in  FIG. 2 , the first tubes  34  of the legs  18   a, b, c  and  d  are slid into the second tubes  36  of each of the legs  18   a, b, c  and  d . The detents  38  are depressed to unlock the first and second tubes  34 ,  36  and the first tubes  34  are slid into the second tubes  36  to shorten the legs  18   a, b, c  and  d . Thereafter, the detents  28  of the telescoping braces  20 ,  32  are depressed to shorten the length of the telescoping braces  20 ,  32 . The legs  18   a, b  are pivoted inward (see arrow  40   a ) and lay flush to the underside of the second half  16  of the tabletop  12 . Likewise, the legs  18   c, d  are pivoted inward (see arrow  40   b ) and lay flush or against the underside of the first half  14  of the tabletop  12 . The pivoting of the legs  18   a, b  and legs  18   c, d  are shown by arrows  40   a, b . The two halves  14 ,  16  are then folded upon each other in the direction of the arrows  42   a, b . The first and second halves  14 ,  16  may each have a rim  44 ,  46 . The rims  44 ,  46  extend downward from the first and second halves  14 ,  16  and provide a small gap between the upper surfaces  48 ,  50  of the first and second halves  14 ,  16  when the work table is traversed to the folded position. After the paintball work table  10  is folded, handles  52   a, b  (see  FIG. 2 ) which are attached to the distal ends of the first and second halves  14 ,  16  of the tabletop  12  and aligned to each other may be used to lift the paintball work table  10  and easily transport the paintball work table  10 . 
         [0023]    The first half  14  may have a helmet cavity  54  (see  FIGS. 4 and 5 ). The helmet cavity  54  may be formed by an aperture defined by inner periphery  56 . The inner periphery  56  may have a rectangular configuration and be sized and configured to have a paintball helmet  58  pass there through. A plurality of elastic bands  60  may be attached to the inner periphery  56 . The elastic bands  60  may be configured to drop below the upper surface  48  of the first half  14  of the tabletop  12 . This is better shown in  FIG. 5 . By way of example and not limitation, three elastic bands  60  may be attached to opposed longitudinal edges of the inner periphery  56 . Two elastic bands  60  (see  FIG. 4 ) may be attached to opposed sides of a lateral edge of the inner periphery  56 . The matrix of elastic bands  60  drops below the upper surface  48  of the first half  14  of the tabletop  12  a sufficient distance such that the paintball helmet  58  does not extend above the upper surface  48 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . In this manner, the paintballs helmet  58  does not interfere with the player while the player works on the paintball gun or paintball pods. The helmet cavity  54  may be located anywhere on the first and second halves  14 ,  16  of the tabletop  12 . However, preferably, the helmet cavity  54  is located on a lateral side of the first half  14  of the tabletop  12  such that the helmet  58  does not interfere with the telescoping brace  32  (see  FIG. 5 ). 
         [0024]    The paintball gun cavity  62  may be defined by inner periphery  64  (see  FIGS. 3 and 4 ). The inner periphery  64  may have a rectangular configuration. Additionally, the paintball gun cavity  62  may be disposed centrally on the second half  16  of the tabletop  12  such that the telescoping brace  20  and the cross member  22  may support the paintball gun  66 . (See  FIG. 3 ). Elastic bands  68  may be attached to opposed longitudinal edges of the inner periphery  64 . The elastic bands  68  may be positioned so as to support the paintball gun  66 . More particularly, the paintball gun  66  may comprise a compressed gas tank  70  and a fitting  72  attached to a handle  74  of the paintball gun  66  (see  FIG. 1 ). To support the paintball gun  66  in the paintball gun cavity  62 , the gas tank  70  of the paintball gun  66  may be inserted into the paintball gun cavity  62 , as shown in  FIG. 1 . The gas tank  70  rests against the cross member  22  and the telescoping brace  20  such that the paintball gun  66  does not fall through the paintball gun cavity. To provide additional support, the elastic bands  68  may be stretched out and provide support to the gas tank  70 . (See  FIG. 3 ). The fitting  72  may be laid against a lateral edge of the inner periphery  64 , as shown in  FIG. 1 . The paintball gun  66  may be balanced within the paintball gun cavity such that the paintball gun  66  stands upright as shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         [0025]    Paintball pod carry suspenders  76  may be attached to the rim  44  of the first half  14  (see  FIGS. 4 and 6 ) or the second half  16  of the tabletop  12 . The suspenders  76  may comprise a first inner elastic band  78  and a second outer elastic band  80 . The first inner elastic band  78  may be secured to the rim  44  at preset intervals with securement means such as rivets  81 . The first inner elastic band  78  may have some slack to permit the paintball pods  82  to be insertable between the first inner elastic band  78  and the rim  44 . As shown in  FIG. 6 , the first inner elastic band  78  may form a plurality of slots (e.g., four slots). One paintball pod  82  may be inserted into each of the slots. Upon insertion, the first inner elastic band  78  is tightened onto the pods  82  to prevent the pods  82  from slipping through. The outer elastic band  80  may be secured to the rim  44  and provide additional tension to the paintball pods  82  such that the paintball pods  82  do not slip downward and through the slots. It is also contemplated that the first inner elastic band  78  may form additional slots to support additional paintball pods  82 . 
         [0026]    To load the paintball pods  82  which have been emptied during paintball play with paintballs, the player may insert paintball pods  82  into the slots of the paintball pod carry suspenders  76 . The lids  84  may be flipped open as shown in  FIG. 6 . The player may then pour paintballs into the empty paintball pods  82  until filled. This provides a convenient and easy method of refilling paintball pods. The player may use one hand to tilt the container containing the paintballs and guide the paintballs into the paintball pods with the other hand. 
         [0027]    The paintball work table  10  provides a convenient device for assisting the paintball player in managing his/her equipment. The paintball work table  10  provides a convenient location for the paintball helmet  58 . The paintball helmet  58  is recessed below the upper surface  48  of the first half  14  of the tabletop  12 . The paintball helmet  58  does not interfere with the preparation of the next game. The player may also place his/her paintball pod belt  86  on the upper surface  48 . The paintball gun  66  may be stored in the paintball gun cavity  62 . Between paintball scrimmages, the player may use the paintball work table  10  to store his/her equipment, to refill his/her paintball pods, and to fix any broken or damaged equipment. 
         [0028]    After use of the paintball work table  10 , the paintball work table  10  may be folded into a compact configuration for storage and/or transport. 
         [0029]    The helmet cavity  54  may have a plurality of elastic bands  60  which support the helmet  58 . It is also contemplated that the elastic bands  60  may be replaced with a cloth member or other flexible support to support the paintball helmet  58 . Likewise, in relation to the paintball gun cavity  62 , the elastic bands  68  may be replaced with a flexible support to help balance the paintball gun  66  in the paintball gun cavity  62 . 
         [0030]    It is also contemplated that the inner surfaces of the elastic bands  60 ,  68  or the replacement flexible supports may have anti-slip coating. The upper surfaces  48 ,  50  of the first and second halves  14 ,  16  may also have anti-slip material or coating. 
         [0031]    In an aspect of the paintball work table  10 , the paintball gun  66 , and more particularly, the gas tank  70  of the paintball gun  66  is rested upon the cross member  22  and the telescoping brace  20 . The telescoping brace  20  and the cross member  22  provide a rigid support for the gas tank  70 . Alternatively, it is contemplated that a collapsible rigid support member may be attached to the underside of the second half  16  (or first half  14 ) of the tabletop  12 . The collapsible support may be a part of the frame of the paintball work table  10  or a separate rigid support. 
         [0032]    The above description is given by way of example, and not limitation. Given the above disclosure, one skilled in the art could devise variations that are within the scope and spirit of the invention disclosed herein, including various ways of collapsing the paintball work table. Further, the various features of the embodiments disclosed herein can be used alone, or in varying combinations with each other and are not intended to be limited to the specific combination described herein. Thus, the scope of the claims is not to be limited by the illustrated embodiments.