Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02488068 2004-11-19
PROJECTILE AND RELATED GUN
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a projectile having one of either hook
or loop fasteners thereon and a gun suitable for launching the projectile.
BACKGROUND
Paintball is a known game in which guns are provided with a chamber
of compressed gas which is selectively released to propel paintball
projectiles.
Paintball projectiles typically include a spherical shell which is ruptured on
impact to
release liquid dye contents within the shell. Accordingly the paintball
projectiles are
not reusable and cause considerable mess upon impact.
US patent 5,845,629 proposes the use of reusable projectiles having
an outer shell with either hook or loop type fasteners thereon which does not
rupture
nor contains liquid dye therein, but rather is intended to stick to a
corresponding
hook or loop fastener type target to indicate a hit. In order to project the
hook or
loop fastener type projectile, due to its textured surface, it is taught by
this patent
that it is required that the projectile be somewhat larger in diameter that
the typical
17mm internal diameter barrel of commonly available paintball type guns.
Accordingly a complex loading system is required to load the projectiles under
compression into the barrel. Due to the compression required, jamming of
projectiles in the barrel readily occurs.
SUMMARY
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a
projectile for use with a compressed gas operated gun having a tubular barrel
for
receiving the projectile and a compressed gas release mechanism for propelling
the
projectile, the projectile comprising:
CA 02488068 2004-11-19
-2-
a spherical core; and
a covering of material having one of hook or loop fasteners thereon
which surrounds the spherical core;
the projectile having an overall diameter, including the covering, which
is equal to or less than an internal diameter of the tubular barrel of the
gun.
The use of projectiles having an overall diameter which is equal or less
than the internal diameter of the barrel of the gun permits gravity fed, drop
loading of
projectiles into the barrel because jamming isn't ever a problem. The
resultant small
gap surrounding the projectile within the barrel further permits some
pressurized gas
to escape around the projectile when firing, thus limiting the velocity of the
projectile.
This permits a considerably safer operation of the gun as the velocity can be
reduced from a conventional paintball velocity of approximately 300 feet per
second
to an actual velocity of approximately 250 feet per second.
The projectile is preferably in combination with a paintball type gun
which is adapted for projecting dye-filled 68 calibre paintball projectiles
wherein the
barrel has an internal diameter of approximately 17 millimetres.
The covering of material may be formed of a plurality of sections
extending radially from a common point, each section having a pair of opposing
sides which are convex in profile and which converge at an apex at a free end
of the
respective section spaced from said common point. The sections are preferably
formed integrally of a single sheet of material so as to remain attached with
one
another as they are cut from the single sheet of material. In addition, the
sections
preferably form an enclosed spherical shape when the apexes are brought
together.
The core may have a solid interior formed of rigid material with an
overall diameter between 10 millimetres and 12 millimetres, but more
preferably
approximately 11 millimetres. A resulting overall diameter of the projectile
is
CA 02488068 2004-11-19
-3-
preferably between 16 millimetres and 17 millimetres. When forming the core of
dense plastic, weight of the projectile may be between 0.8 grams and 1.4
grams, but
is preferably approximately 1.1 grams.
In alternative embodiments, the core may be formed of solid or hollow
resilient material. A denser rubber type resilient material is preferred.
According to a second aspect there is provided a gun comprising:
an elongate tubular barrel extending longitudinally between a loading
end and a dispensing end;
a feed aperture in the barrel adjacent the loading end for receiving a
projectile;
a shuttle slidabfe through the barrel for pushing the projectile through
the barrel;
a resilient band coupling the shuttle to the dispensing end of the barrel;
a trigger mechanism for selectively holding the shuttle in a cocked
adjacent the loading end of the barrel with the resilient band under tension
and the
feed aperture being located between the shuttle and the dispensing end of the
barrel.
Distance along a path which the resilient band follows between the
shuttle and a mounting point of the band on the barrel is preferably
adjustable in the
cocked position for adjusting tension applied to the resilient band.
There may be provided a magazine coupled to the feed aperture
comprising an elongate chamber for supporting a plurality of projectiles
therein and a
spring loader biased towards the barrel for urging the projectiles through the
feed
aperture into the barrel.
There may be provided a blocker slidably supported in the barrel
between the shuttle and the loading end of the barrel, the blocker being
biased away
CA 02488068 2004-11-19
-4-
from the loading end of the barrel and including a stop member formed thereon
which is slidably received within a slot in the barrel, the slot terminating
at a point
wherein the blocker extends across the feed aperture to prevent entry of
further
projectiles into the barrel.
When the barrel has an internal diameter substantially equal to a 68
calibre projectile, the gun may be provided in combination with a projectile
having a
diameter which is equal to or less than 17 millimetres as described above.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate exemplary
embodiments of the present invention:
Figure 1 is an exploded view illustrating the cover removed from the
core of the projectile.
Figure 2 is a perspective view of the assembled projectile.
Figure 3 is a sectional view along the line 3-3 of Figure 2.
Figure 4 is a side elevational view of a paintball gun including a gravity
fed loader and a compressed air chamber for storing compressed air to be
selectively released for launching the projectiles.
Figure 5 is an exploded view of a further embodiment of the projectile.
Figure 6 is a sectional view of the projectile according to Figure 5.
Figure 7 is a partly sectional perspective view of a related gun suitable
for launching the projectiles.
Figure 8 is a top plan view of the gun according to Figure 5.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring to the accompanying drawings, there is illustrated a projectile
generally indicated by reference numeral 10. The projectile is suitably
arranged for
being fed into and launched from a conventional 68 calibre paintball gun 12.
CA 02488068 2004-11-19
-5-
As illustrated in Figure 4 the conventional 68 calibre paintball gun
includes a tubular barrel 14 having an internal diameter in the order of 17mm
across.
A gravity feed mechanism 16 is mounted above the barrel to permit projectiles
to be
fed by gravity into the barrel 14. A trigger mechanism 18 controls dispensing
of
compressed air from a compressed air chamber 20 which stores gas therein under
pressure to launch the projectiles when released by the trigger 18. The gun 12
is
accordingly arranged for launching conventional paintball projectiles of the
type
having an outer shell which can be ruptured to release liquid dye content
thereof.
The projectile 10 according to the present invention includes a core 22
formed of a rigid dense plastic material formed as a solid bead. Other
suitable
materials include a dense yet resilient rubber material or other materials
having
similar properties.
The outer diameter of the bead is approximately 11 mm across. A layer
of adhesive 24 surrounds the core 22 for securing a cover 26 to fully surround
the
core 22. The cover 26 is a single piece of fabric material having loop type
fasteners
for co-operation with hook type fasteners similar to hook and loop fasteners
available under the trademark name Velcro. The cover 26 is oriented with the
hook
fasteners 28 on an outer side thereof when wrapped about the core 20.
The cover 26, as shown in Figure 1, is formed in a single piece by
being punched from a single sheet of material to form a patterned piece 30
including
a centre portion 32 and a plurality of radially extending sections 34
integrally formed
with the centre portion and the remaining sections from the single piece of
material.
Each radial section 34 extends generally radially outwardly from a common
point at
the centre portion 32 to define opposing sides 36 thereof which are convex in
profile
and which converge at an apex 38 spaced outwardly from the common point at the
centre portion 32.
CA 02488068 2004-11-19
-6-
The sections 34 are identical in shape and dimension to one another.
Ideally 6 sections are formed so that when the apexes 38 are brought together
to a
common point diametrically opposite from the common point at the centre
portion
32, the single piece of material 30 forms a generally spherical shape which
fully
surrounds the core 22. A knot 40 is sewn between all of the apexes 38 to
ensure
that the radial sections 34 remain in the spherical shape illustrated in
Figure 2.
The thickness of the material forming the cover 26 and the layer of
adhesive 24 are arranged such that the overall diameter of the projectile
including
the hook type fasteners 28 of the outer surface of cover is in the order of 16
to 17
mm. Density of the core 22 is selected such that overall weight of the
assembled
projectile is approximately 1.1 g.
Turning now to Figures 5 and 6, an alternative embodiment of the
projectile 10 is illustrated in which the core 22 is formed of a dense and
resilient
rubber material. The core in this instance is hollow and includes a cover 26
of loop
material formed of two identical arcuate halves having a pattern similar to a
covering
for a baseball or tennis ball. The cover 26 is machine glued resulting in a
layer of
adhesive 24 similar to the previous embodiment.
Turning now to Figures 7 and 8, an alternate gun 50 is provided which
can be used to shoot the projectiles 10 in place of the paintball gun of
Figure 4. The
gun 50 includes a 68 calibre tubular barrel 52 having an internal diameter of
17
millimetres and extending from a loading end 54 to a dispensing end 56. A
shuttle
58 is slidable within the internal diameter of the barrel and includes
projections 60
extending externally of the barrel through respective longitudinal slots 61
along the
barrel to permit gripping with a persons hand to move the shuttle within the
barrels.
A cap 62 is mounted at the dispensing end 56 of the barrel and
includes a through aperture therein in alignment with the hollow interior of
the barrel
CA 02488068 2004-11-19
_7_
for receiving projectiles therethrough.
A resilient band 64 couples to opposing sides of the shuttle 58 and
extends through mounting apertures 66 on opposing sides of the cap. The
resilient
bands 64 are then anchored on opposing sides of the barrel externally
therefrom at
selected mounting points 68.
The mounting points 68 are provided at various spaced positions from
the cap 62 such that the path that the resilient band follows from the shuttle
in a
cocked position adjacent the loading end of the barrel, through the cap 62 to
the
mounting points 68 can be adjusted to adjust the overall tension that the band
applies to the shuttle to urge the shuttle towards the dispensing end in the
cocked
position.
A trigger mechanism 70 selectively holds the shuttle adjacent the
loading end 54 in the cocked position.
A feed aperture 72 is provided in the barrel 52 adjacent the loading
end but spaced between the shuttle and the dispensing end 56 in the cocked
position of the shuttle. The feed aperture 72 is suitably sized for receiving
one of the
projectiles therethrough.
A magazine 74 couples to the feed aperture 72. The magazine
comprises an elongate tube for receiving a plurality of projectiles in series
therein. A
loader 76 is slidably mounted within the chamber of the magazine in
communication
with a spring 77 which biases the loader and accordingly the projectiles
therein
towards the barrel through the feed aperture 72.
A blocker 78 is slidably mounted within the barrel between the shuttle
58 and the loading end 54 of the barrel. The blocker includes a stop member 80
which is slidably received in a slot 82 extending in the longitudinal
direction of the
barrel. A spring 84 is coupled to the blocker so that the blocker is urged
towards the
CA 02488068 2004-11-19
dispensing end of the barrel to cover the feed aperture as soon as the shuttle
has
passed thereacross to prevent entry of additional projectiles until the
shuttle is
returned to the cocked position subsequent to shooting a projectile from the
barrel.
The stop member 80 is arranged to reach a terminal end of the slot 82 when
positioned above the feed aperture.
On opposing sides of the barrel adjacent the dispensing end 56
thereof, shuttle stop members 86 are provided which span across the path of
the
projections 60 of the shuttle as the shuttle is displaced towards the
dispensing end
56. The shuttle stops 86 may each include resilient material which is
resiliently
deformed upon impact from the projections 60 of the shuttle when the gun is
fired so
as to minimize stressful impact of the shuttle at the dispensing end 56 of the
barrel.
The magazine 74 is selectively separable from the gun body and barrel
for replacing it with a replacement magazine 74 when more projectiles are
required.
The magazine includes a projectile retainer clip 90 which is slidable across
an open
top end of the magazine when the magazine is separated from the gun body to
prevent projectiles from being released. A locking clip 92 is slidably
supported
adjacent the retainer clip 90 for selectively retaining the magazine on the
gun body.
The locking clip 92 is biasing into locking engagement with the gun body by a
spring
94, but releasing the holding pin 96 against the force of the spring 94
permits the
magazine to be separated from the gun body.
The projectiles 10 are designed for use in all standard 68 caliber
paintball markers as well as for use in the specially designed non-air powered
gun
50 described herein. The fibrous surface of the projectile tends to expand
during the
course of regular use. To prevent the projectile exceeding the internal
diameter of
the barrel thereby preventing it from passing freely through the barrel
without
compression, a lesser diameter of the projectile as manufactured is used to
allow
CA 02488068 2004-11-19
_g_
some expansion in use to remain less than the internal diameter of a 68
calibre
barrel even after expansion. In the event that expansion occurs beyond the
internal
diameter of the barrel, the projectiles can make use of additional means for
loading
and aligning the projectiles within the barrel while being circumfrentially
compressed.
This is preferably avoided as the larger diameter projectiles would not be
able to
pass freely through the feed mechanism of a typical paintball gun without
considerable modification or a new feed apparatus.
Therefore, the projectiles 10 are intentionally a slightly undersized
projectile which will accommodate the expansion of surface fibers without
exceeding
the size of the internal diameter of the barrel and causing the balls to jam
in a typical
paintball gun loader.
Another advantage of the smaller sized projectile 10 is that it allows a
certain amount of gas to blow past the ball when firing, thus significantly
reducing
the overall velocity. This is particularly advantageous in limiting the
velocity even if
the gun is tuned to its maximum setting. In addition, the smaller diameter
contributes to a lighter weight which also helps in facilitating its use in a
game where
the projectiles are fired at participants wearing special velcro body armour
and head
gear or at closer range.
While some embodiments of the present invention have been
described in the foregoing, it is to be understood that other embodiments are
possible within the scope of the invention. The invention is to be considered
limited
solely by the scope of the appended claims.
