US 6,684,873 B1Granted

Paint ball gun magazine with tilt sensor

OwnerJoel A. Anderson, Louis Spicerinventors

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Abstract

A paint ball gun includes an agitator mounted on the end of a rotary motor shaft. Rotational direction of the motor shaft is controlled by an electronic circuit responsive to a tilt sensor. The inclusion of tilt sensor provides an enhanced paint ball gun capable of operating optimally during periods of gun tilt. Several preferred magazine designs incorporating the tilt sensor are illustrated. An additional double-rotation of the motor is disclosed which enables short bursts of oppositely directed agitator rotation, which frees any jams that may occur. These short bursts may be triggered manually, electronically responsive to a sensed condition indicative of a jam, or through a timed interval. The paint ball gun is capable of rapidly firing more paint balls under otherwise sub-optimal conditions than previously known in the art.

Claims9

Dependent claims

A controller for a paint ball gun magazine agitator motor, said magazine agitator motor coupled to a paint ball gun magazine agitator within a paint ball gun magazine, comprising:

a tilt sensor which senses tilt of said paint ball gun magazine, and, responsive to said tilt generates an active electrical direction indicator signal representative of a one of at least two different directions of said tilt;
a tilt duration detector for detecting when said active electrical direction indicator signal is active longer than a threshold time period, and, responsive to said detection, produces a signal indicating a minimum duration tilt which is of greater duration than necessary and of appropriate direction to obtain an increase in paint ball feed rate by reversing said paint ball gun magazine agitator motor;
and
an electrical circuit which controls an electrical potential applied to said paint ball magazine agitator motor responsive to said minimum duration tilt signal, wherein said paint ball magazine agitator motor reverses when said minimum duration tilt signal is produced and represents a benefit in said reversing.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.