US 6,871,594 B1 · Reusable paint grenade

Abstract

A reusable paint dispersing grenade of the type employed in paint ball games is constructed in such a manner as to avoid the use of any combustible materials, and also to avoid the requirement for access to a source of compressed air for operation. The paint grenade of the invention has a hollow, fluid-tight casing defining an enclosed cavity that is divided internally into a marking paint chamber, a first propellant component chamber, and a second propellant component chamber. The propellant component chambers are each filled separately with propellant components, but remain isolated from each other until the paint dispersing grenade is used. At that time the propellant components chemically react with each other in a noncombustible manner to produce a quantity of gas under pressure. The expanding gas produced by the chemical reaction builds to a pressure sufficient to break a paint seal in the casing or a gas seal initially separating the gas from the paint, whereupon the gas under pressure forces the paint out through one or more paint expulsion ports. The device may be recharged with marking paint and the chemically reactive propellant components any number of times.

Claims18

Dependent claims

A reusable paint grenade comprising a rigid, reusable casing defining a hollow cavity therewithin and defining at least one paint ejection port and a plunger port and said hollow cavity is subdivided into a paint storage chamber, a first propellant compartment storage chamber, and a second propellant component storage chamber,

a fluid-tight paint/propellant barrier separating said paint storage chamber from said first propellant component storage chamber,
a fluid-tight propellant component isolation barrier separating said first and second propellant component storage chambers from each other,
first and second propellant components located respectively in said first and second propellant storage chambers, and said first and second propellants, when mixed react without combustion to form a gas that is under pressure in said casing,
a plunger mounted in said casing and projecting from said plunger port and directed toward said second component storage chamber, whereby depression of said plunger into said casing breaches said propellant component isolation barrier, and
a breachable paint seal separating said paint storage chamber from said at least one paint ejection port.

2 more elements

A reusable paint grenade comprising

a hollow casing defining a cavity therewithin which is formed by releaseably engageable body members, and which has at least one paint expulsion port and a plunger port,
a movable fluid-tight paint/propellant barrier within said hollow casing that delineates a paint storage chamber from a first propellant component storage chamber within said cavity,
a paint seal between said paint storage chamber and said at least one paint expulsion port,
a fluid-tight propellant component isolation barrier within said hollow casing that delineates a second propellant component storage chamber from said first propellant component storage chamber within said cavity,
a plunger that is mounted within said cavity and which protrudes from said plunger port of said casing and which is directed toward said second propellant component storage chamber,
a first propellant component located within said first propellant component storage chamber,
a second propellant component located within said second propellant component storage chamber, and
a quantity of paint located within said paint storage chamber, whereby said plunger is depressible externally from said casing to breach said propellant component isolation barrier, whereupon said first and second propellant components contact each other and chemically react to expand against said movable fluid-tight paint/propellant barrier, thereby breaching said paint seal.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Reusable paint grenade

Life of this patent

Reusable paint grenade

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims18