Patent ID: 7591260

Claim:
A paintball hopper, comprising: (a) a container having a bottom and defining a bottom paintball guide in form of a well at said bottom of said container, being defined by an inwardly facing surface that is substantially circular over an arc of about three-quarters of a circle, said inwardly facing surface thereby defining a curve, which at every point defines a tangent direction; (b) a paintball moving assembly, adapted to move paintballs in a path determined by said bottom paintball guide; (c) a chute leading from said paintball guide and being so disposed that paintballs may reach said chute from said guide without undergoing a substantial change in direction; and (d) wherein said inwardly facing surface that defines said well includes a portion of relaxed curvature, and wherein said portion of relaxed curvature does not rejoin said substantially circular portion to form a closed shape, but rather partially defines an opening in said well-defining inwardly facing surface, which is the entrance to said chute, and wherein said tangent direction of said curve of said inwardly facing surface, over a path of a paintball traveling along said inwardly facing surface, varies over said path, and undergoes no discontinuities over said path.