Combustion-gas-powered paintball marker

A method of propelling paintballs from a paintball marker, comprising the steps of:

• providing a paintball marker with a barrel for containing a paintball to be propelled from said barrel, and for controlling the direction of propulsion of the paintball when the paintball is propelled out from said barrel;
• loading a magazine with a plurality of paintballs, to be individually propelled from said paintball marker, wherein said magazine is operatively connected to said barrel at a breech location through which the plurality of paintballs, within said magazine, may be individually and sequentially introduced from said magazine into said barrel;
• positioning a piston within a cylinder head such that said piston is movable within said cylinder head between a retracted position and an extended position, and wherein said piston divides said cylinder head into a mixing chamber, defined upon a first side of said piston, for forming an air-fuel mixture to be combusted, and a combustion chamber, defined upon a second side of said piston, within which said air-fuel mixture is to be combusted;
• operatively mounting a first valve within said cylinder head so as to permit air to be ingested into said mixing chamber so as to form part of said air-fuel mixture within said mixing chamber;
• operatively associating a fuel injector with said mixing chamber so as to inject fuel into said mixing chamber and thereby form said air-fuel mixture together with said air ingested into said mixing chamber through said first valve;
• operatively mounting a second valve upon said piston so as to permit said air-fuel mixture to be conducted from said mixing chamber into said combustion chamber;
• disposing ignition means within said combustion chamber for igniting said air-fuel mixture within said combustion chamber;
• defining an exit port within said piston;
• and
• fixedly connecting a discharge conduit, to said piston such that said discharge conduit is movably disposed within said barrel between a retracted position, for uncovering said breech location of said magazine so as to permit a leading one of the paintballs, disposed within said magazine, to enter said barrel in preparation for propulsion from said barrel, and an extended position for covering said breech location of said magazine so as to prevent other ones of the paintballs, disposed within said magazine, from entering said barrel;
• and
• igniting said air-fuel mixture within said combustion chamber so as to initiate firing of said paintball marker and the propulsion of the leading one of the paintballs, disposed within said barrel, out from said barrel as a result of said discharge conduit being fluidically connected to said combustion chamber, through means of said exit port defined within said piston, for conducting combustion products from said combustion chamber into said barrel so as to propel the leading one of the paintballs, disposed within said barrel, out from said barrel.