WO2002048634A1

WO2002048634A1 - Back mounted paintball loader

Info

Publication number: WO2002048634A1
Application number: PCT/CA2000/001491
Authority: WO
Inventors: Chris Green; Andrew Desmond
Original assignee: Chris Green; Andrew Desmond
Priority date: 2000-12-11
Filing date: 2000-12-11
Publication date: 2002-06-20

Abstract

A loader mounted on a persons back, by means of back pack or belt/harness, for feeding a supply of paintballs into the firing chamber of a paintball gun. The loader includes a mechanically driven rotating disc (7), with multiple paddles that assists in creating more momentum so the paintballs will roll along the bottom of the loader housing (4) and into a feed tube (3) at a high velocity. The feed tube connects the outlet (10) of the housing to the firing chamber (14) of the paintball gun such that the combination of the feed tube (3) and rotating disc (4) continuously supply paintballs to the firing chamber (14) of the paintball gun. The loader includes a motor (13) for rotating the paddle wheel (7) within the housing (4). An electronic sensor (11) at the end of the feed tube (3) activates the motor (13) when there is an absence of paintballs to keep the feed tube (3) full.

Description

BACK MOUNTED PAINTBALL LOADER

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a paintball gun. More specifically, the present invention relates to a paintball loader that is mounted on a persons back to sequentially feed a supply of stored paintballs to the firing chamber of a paintball gun by a remote hose that is a few feet long.

While the prior bulk loaders have proven to be relatively effective in rapidly delivering paintballs to a gun for firing, the loaders of the prior art typically sit above the gun and are a large target for opposing players to hit. When this type of loader is used in paintball games, the rather large loader positioned above the gun can be cumbersome, some loaders are attached below the gun, but this is also very awkward. These types of loaders also only hold about 200 paintballs, requiring the player to reload often, if shooting fast. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a. paintball loader which can be mounted on a players back while still being able to supply a very large amount of paintballs to the firing chamber at a high rate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of this invention is to provide a paintball loader which can be mounted on a players back, by means of back pack or belt/harness, while still being able to supply a very large amount of paintballs to the firing chamber at a high rate. When 300-500 rraintballs are loaded into the top of the housing, they drop down and fill the upper half or the housing. They are then funnelled down to the bottom of the loader and to a mechanically driven rotating disc. The disc has multiple paddles that assist in creating more momentum so the paintballs will roll along the bottom of the loader housing and into a feed tube at a high velocity. The feed tube connects the outlet of the housing to the firing chamber of the paintball gun, a few feet away. The combination of the feed tube and rotating disc continuously supply paintballs to the firing chamber of the paintball gun. The loader includes a motor for rotating the disc within the housing. An electronic sensor at the end of the feed tube activates the motor when there is an absence of a paintball at the end to keep the feed tube full al all times, whether the paintball gun is firing fast or if the paintballs start to roll back. DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings illustrate the presently contemplated mode of carrying out the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front close up view of the back mounted paintball loader;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the interior of the back mounted paintball loader's housing;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the interior of the back mounted paintball loader's housing;

FIG. 4 is a conceptual view of the back mounted paintball loader mounted on a paintball players back and connected to a paintball gun;

Referring initially to FIG. 1, the back mounted paintball loader of the present invention is comprised of; a motor housing 1, a battery housing and on/off switch 2, and a feed tube wrapped with a wire 3, connected to the loaders housing 4. The loaders housing also has an opening lid and it is attached. to a shoulder harness 5, and a waist belt 6. Illustrated in FIG. 2, inside the housing the rotating disc 7, is fed paintballs from the housing 4, by a funnel 8, which then roll past the disc 7, and are forced low and into the outlet opening 10 by a moulded ridge 9. Illustrated in FIG. 3, the funnel 8 and the moulded ridge 9 are low enough and behind the rotating disc 7, to allow the disc to spin freely without touching them. The disc 7 is spun by the motor 13 when the electronic sensor 11 detects the absence of a paintball at the end of the feed tube 3 which is wrapped with a wire to power the sensor. The end of the feed tube 3 also has an adapter 12 to fit standard paintball gun firing chamber feeds. Illustrated in FIG. 4, is the back mounted paintball loader on a paintball players back. It is mounted on the shoulders by the shoulder harness 5 and would be secured by the waist belt 6. The feed tube 3 would then be attached to the feed port of a paintball gun's firing chamber 14.

Claims

ClaimsI claim:

1. A loader for supplying paintballs to a paintball gun having a hollow firing chamber^ the loader comprising:

a housing for storing a multitude 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 mechanically driven rotating disc, with multiple paddles, disposed in the housing for assisting the paintballs into the feed tube;

a motor coupled to the rotating disc, wherein the motor operates to spin the disc, when an electronic sensor detects the lack of a paintball at the end of the feed tube, just before the firing chamber, as paintballs are discharged by the paintball gun.

2. The loader of claim 1 wherein the rotating disc includes a multitude of individual paddles equally spaced along the outer circumference of the disc.

3. The loader of claim 1 further comprising a moulded plastic portion of the housing at the outlet opening for directing the paintballs to roll from the paddles on the disc and into the feed tube.

4. The loader of claim 1 wherein the feed tube is curved away from the outlet opening of the housing, and off a couple of feet to the firing chamber of the paintball gun.

5. The loader of claim 1 wherein the housing includes an opening loading lid that provides access to the interior of the housing.

6. The loader of claim 1 being mounted on a belt or back pack/harness for the purpose of being worn on a persons back.