Patent ID: RE43756

Claim:
A rapid feed paintball loader for use on a paintball gun, the paintball loader comprising: a container for holding a plurality of paintballs having an interior space ; a paintball agitating device mounted on a bottom portion of the container , said paintball agitating device including a plurality of fins, said fins forming gaps therebetween; wherein the paintball agitating device includes a drive cone rotatably mounted on a bottom portion of the container, said drive cone having a top feed surface that slopes downward from a center axis of said drive cone; and the plurality of fins affixed to the top feed surface of the drive cone, each fin having a top feed surface and forming a gap with an adjacent fin large enough to accommodate a paintball ; a motor that rotates the paintball agitating device; an exit tube having an entry way exiting from the bottom portion of the container and leading to and configured to lead to lead to an inlet tube of the a paintball gun , the exit tube including a sloped exit portion ; a tube extension mounted on an interior surface of the container adjacent to the exit tube , the tube extension mounted at a height which is above the top feed surface of the fins and having a radius of curvature that is approximately equal to the radius of a paintball ; a deflector for deflecting paintballs downward into the gaps between the fins or upward to pass over the tube extension, said deflector having a first end pivotably attached to the interior surface of the container separately from and adjacent to the tube extension, said deflector having a free end that extends away from the first end into the interior space of the container and pivots away from a paintball driven toward the entry way by the paintball agitating device, said deflector being mounted at a height above a top surface of the agitating device and below a bottom portion of the tube extension ; and means for actuating the motor upon demand ; wherein the means for actuating the motor upon demand includes a detector for detecting a presence of paintballs at a selected position within the exit tube; wherein said means for actuating the motor upon demand includes a microprocessor which variably controls a speed of the motor, said microprocessor decreasing the speed of the motor when receiving a signal from the detector that the presence of paintballs is detected in the exit tube and increasing the speed of the motor when receiving a signal from the detector that paintballs are not present in the exit tube .