Paintball gun
OwnerRobert M. Slonaker, Michael de Angeliinventors
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An improved paintball gun having significantly improved range and accuracy. The barrel of the paintball gun is formed so that the compressed gas expelling the ball from the barrel exerts differential aerodynamic forces on upper and lower hemispheres of the ball, imparting significant backspin to the paintball. Accordingly, the paintball experiences lift in flight, substantially increasing its range and accuracy. The interaction of the ball with the barrel may be wholly aerodynamic. The interior of the paintball is preferably baffled so that paint therein rotates with the shell, preventing the backspin from being damped out rapidly. The surface of the paintball may be contoured to control its aerodynamic characteristics.
Claims27
An improved paintball gun for firing paintballs each comprising a substantially spherical shell of a material designed to rupture upon impact, said shell housing a quantity of a marking paint,
- said gun comprising a breech, an improved barrel, a source of compressed gas, and trigger-operated valve means for admitting a predetermined charge of said gas to said breech for expelling a paintball from said barrel, said improved barrel comprising means disposed at least in part along said barrel for controlling the flow of said charge of gas as said ball is expelled from said barrel, such that differential forces are imparted to upper and lower hemispheres of said ball as said ball is expelled from said barrel, whereby backspin is imparted to said ball, said differential forces being essentially aerodynamic in nature and provided by differential flow of said charge of gas with respect to said upper and lower hemispheres of said ball.
An improved barrel for a paintball gun, said gun comprising a breech, a source of compressed gas, and trigger-operated valve means for admitting a predetermined charge of said gas to said breech for expelling a paintball from said barrel, said improved barrel comprising means disposed at least in part along said barrel for controlling the flow of said charge of gas as said ball is expelled from said barrel, such that differential forces are imparted to upper and lower hemispheres of said ball as said ball is expelled from said barrel, whereby backspin is imparted to said ball, said differential forces being essentially aerodynamic in nature and provided by differential flow of said charge of gas with respect to said upper and lower hemispheres of said ball.
An improved barrel for a paintball gun, said improved barrel comprising:
- a tubular inner barrel and a tubular outer barrel fitting over said inner barrel;
- said inner barrel having a number of passages extending therethrough, said outer barrel fitting over said inner barrel, such that recesses are formed by said passages cut in said inner barrel,
- wherein said passages are formed differentially in upper and lower portions of said inner barrel, such that a paintball being expelled from said barrel experiences differential aerodynamic forces while traversing said barrel, and whereby backspin is imparted to said barrel by said differential aerodynamic forces.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.