Paintball loader

A loader for supplying paintballs to a paintball gun having a barrel and a hollow firing chamber, the loader comprising:

• a housing for storing a plurality of paintballs, the housing having an outlet opening;
• a feed tube having a first end connected to the outlet opening of the housing and a second end connectable to the firing chamber of the paintball gun;
• a paddle wheel rotatably disposed in said housing for feeding the paintballs into the feed tube against the force of gravity;
• a drive spring coupled to the paddle wheel to provide a driving force to rotate the paddle wheel;
• an electric motor coupled to the drive spring such that the motor is operable to wind the drive spring;
• and
• a controller including an electronic circuit that monitors the amount of current drawn by the electric motor and turns off the electric motor when the amount of current drawn exceeds an upper limit.

A paintball gun assembly comprising:

• a gas-operated paintball gun having an firing chamber for sequentially receiving paintballs to be fired by the gun;
• a paintball loader having a housing positioned generally below the gun for receiving and internally storing a plurality of paintballs, the housing having an outlet opening through which the stored paintballs may pass;
• a feed tube having a first end connected to the outlet opening of the housing and a second end connected to the firing chamber of the paintball gun;
• a paddle wheel rotatably disposed in said housing for feeding the paintballs into the feed tube against the force of gravity, the paddle wheel having a plurality of individual paddles equally spaced along the outer circumference of the paddle wheel;
• a drive spring having a first end and a second end, the first end of the drive spring coupled to the paddle wheel;
• a motor coupled to the second end of the drive spring, the motor being operable to wind the drive spring, wherein the drive spring can unwind to provide the required driving force to rotate the paddle wheel within the housing;
• and
• a controller in operative communication with the motor, the controller operating the motor to maintain a constant tension on the drive spring as paintballs are fed into the feed tube by the paddle wheel.

A loader for supplying paintballs to a paintball gun having a barrel and a hollow firing chamber, the loader comprising:

• a housing for storing a plurality of paintballs, the housing being positionable generally below the barrel and firing chamber of the paintball gun, the housing having an outlet opening located below the infeed passage of the paintball gun;
• a feed tube having a first end connected to the outlet opening of the housing and a second end connectable to the infeed portion of the paintball gun;
• a paddle wheel rotatably disposed about a horizontal axis within the housing for feeding the paintballs into the feed tube, the paddle wheel having a plurality of individual paddles equally spaced along the outer circumference of the paddle, each individual paddle having an open slot;
• a wedge portion mounted to the housing at the outlet opening, the wedge portion positioned to pass through the open slot in each paddle to divert the paintballs from the paddle wheel to the feed tube;
• a driving means including a motor and a drive spring for rotating the paddle wheel, the motor winding the drive spring to introduce tension to the drive spring such that the drive spring can exert a driving force on the paddle wheel to rotate the paddle wheel;
• and
• a controller operatively connected to the driving means to control the operation of the driving means to maintain a predetermined tension on the drive spring as paintballs are fed into the feed tube by the paddle wheel.

A loader for supplying paintballs to a paintball gun, the loader comprising:

• a housing for storing a plurality of paintballs, the housing having an outlet opening;
• a paddle wheel rotatably disposed in the housing for feeding the paintballs from the housing to the paintball gun, wherein the paddle wheel rotates to supply one of the paintballs to the paintball gun after one of the paintballs has been discharged by the paintball gun;
• a drive spring having a first end and a second end, the first end of the drive spring being coupled to the paddle wheel;
• an electric motor coupled to the second end of the drive spring, the electric motor being operable to wind the drive spring wherein when one of the paintballs is discharged by the paintball gun, the drive spring exerts a driving force on the paddle wheel to rotate the paddle wheel and supply one of the paintballs to the paintball gun;
• and
• an electronic controller operatively connected to the electric motor, the electronic controller initially operating the drive motor to wind the drive spring to a predetermined tension, and wherein the electronic controller monitors the rotation of the paddle wheel and operates the electric motor to wind the spring back to the predetermined tension after a predetermined number of paintballs have been discharged by the paintball gun.