Gas Powered Gun Barrel
An improved barrel system for gas powered guns that improves the performance of the guns, by employing adjustable inserts in slots in the barrel to provide an effective barrel diameter less than the bore diameter. The barrel system may optionally include barrel liners, inserts and spin-control components.
This application claims the benefit and priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application 61/667,521, filed Jul. 3, 2012, the contents and disclosure of which are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
BACKGROUND1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to improved barrel systems and barrels for gas powered guns such as paintball guns and airsoft guns. More specifically, it relates to a gas powered gun barrel system with adjustable inserts to provide an effective barrel diameter that improves the performance of the guns.
2. Background
Obtaining a correct match of barrel diameter with projectile (paintball) diameter is a significant problem with paintball (marking) gun performance. Because paintballs have pliable skin and a soft (usually liquid) center, the diameter is not consistently uniform and varies with temperature and other ambient conditions. Moreover, paintball projectiles from the same manufacturer vary in diameter slightly from batch to batch, which leads to unpredictable shot placement and poor accuracy. Different manufacturers also specifically make paintballs in different diameters. If the barrel diameter is too small it produces excess drag and stress on the ball which can seriously impede its velocity and can cause the projectile to rupture in the barrel. A barrel with an inner diameter too large will cause a paintball to ricochet in the barrel as it travels along the barrel and exit in an unpredictable path resulting in unstable trajectory and inconsistent accuracy. Traditional barrels, when sized correctly create two (2) stress points on the paintball projectile. Those points are on the equator of the ball. Most balls are created from two (2) halves mated together where the ends overlap, creating the slightly larger equator of the ball. This method of paintball manufacturing is very similar to the manufacturing of medicine capsules. More than two contact points would be desirable.
Others have tried to address the problem of barrel and ball match with grooved or “rifled” barrels-see U.S. Pat. No. 6,453,593 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,802,393. But these patents disclose grooved barrels that are of fixed diameter and do not adequately address the problems of variation in ball diameter nor are they adjustable. U.S. Pat. No. 6,823,857 describes a popular method of changing effective barrel diameter by providing varying diameter replacement barrels.
The barrel system of this invention, having variable inserts, allows for three or more points of contact and is easily adjustable or tunable to optimize the effective barrel diameter. The more contact points there are on the paintball, the more distributed the force is on the paintball. This enables players to shoot more brittle paintballs that are more likely to break on their target. Using more brittle paintballs in traditional barrels makes them more likely to break in the barrel.
The barrel/insert system of the present invention allows for different designs of inserts to be used in the same barrel. The inserts are tailored to achieve the effect and action desired. In one embodiment, flexible or elastomeric inserts flex to allow for a dynamic inner diameter effect.
When ball breaks do occur in the barrel, traditional barrels force the paintball to pass through the broken paintball shell pieces which can alter the paintball path unpredictably and result in poor accuracy. The system of this invention allows balls to shoot through a broken ball more easily since the ball never touches the barrel bore surface; it reduces contact with the broken paintball shell pieces.
SUMMARYA gas powered gun barrel system comprising a barrel having slots, inserts to fit into the slots and, optionally, means, such as a cover, to hold the inserts into position when in use. In broad aspect the system comprises a barrel (hollow cylinder) either as a single section or multiple sections having a plurality of longitudinal slots, each less than the length of the barrel.
In one embodiment there is also provided means at the distal end of the barrel for effecting spin on a traversing ball.
The gas powered gun (such as a paint gun or marking gun) barrel system of the invention comprises a barrel having slots, inserts to fit into the slots and, optionally, means, such as a cover, to hold the inserts into position when in use. The system of the present invention is also useful for Airsoft guns that can shoot small caliber, 0.50 caliber paintballs which can benefit from the system of this invention in the same way as paintball guns, e.g. centering the ball, putting spin on the ball etc.
In broad aspect the system comprises a barrel (hollow cylinder) having a plurality of longitudinal slots for receiving inserts, each less than the length of the barrel, wherein the slots are arranged in sets.
Preferably, in a single barrel embodiment, there are at least two sets of slots spaced around the circumference of the cylindrical barrel at the breech or proximal end of the barrel, one set offset from the other and spaced longitudinally on the barrel. The slots may or may not overlap longitudinally. In a preferred embodiment they do not overlap, but inserts fit into the slots with a portion that extends beyond the slot opening inside the barrel to accomplish much the same effect as overlapping slots. In an embodiment in which the slots do overlap, each set partially overlaps a slot longitudinally in the next adjoining set and is spaced apart from the slots of the other set so the paintball does not experience a loss of contact with inserts over the length of the barrel. In this embodiment the projectile material support structure is not compromised by sharp or irregular ends of slots that may cut into the projectile. It is preferred that the slots not span the length of the barrel so as to allow variation in types and placement of the inserts. In a two piece (or multi-piece) barrel described below there is at least one set of slots in the breech end barrel section and one set in the distal end barrel section.
The barrel slots (openings through the barrel wall) provide housing for inserts. It is beneficial to have three (3) inserts (three rows of slots) so that there are three contact points on the projectile ball instead of the normal two as is the case with a smooth bore barrel where the larger circumference of the ball (where the halves of the ball are joined in manufacture) contacts the barrel inside wall. The more contact points that touch the ball, the less force is exerted per contact point which, in turn allows the use of more brittle paintballs. The added contact points reduce the chance of the paintball breaking in the barrel and increase the chance of the paintball breaking on target. U.S. D559,923 is a design patent of a barrel having slots but the slots are not of the kind disclosed in this invention—the slots not being opened through the barrel wall except at the distal end.
The system of the invention allows for different effects on the paintball to be obtained by varying the kind of insert used and by the placement of the inserts in the barrel. The inserts provide the ability to change the effective inner diameter of the barrel. The inserts help to ensure centering of the paintball projectile when there is a poor bore size to paintball match; in one embodiment by using inserts that flex to change the effective inner diameter dynamically. In some embodiments the inserts are designed to induce spin on a paintball by using inserts that provide a large surface area for friction on one side of the paintball, while using inserts with a low surface area and low friction on the opposite side of the paintball. The system can be arranged to create a choke effect with different sized inserts creating larger effective inner diameters on one end of the barrel then transitioning to smaller effective inner diameters on the other end of the barrel. Traditional barrels place great importance on honing the finish of the inner diameter of the barrel, to make it as smooth as possible in order to lower the drag that, in turn, causes the paintball to spin and lead to unpredictable flight paths and inaccuracy. Over time this finish degrades. Dropping the barrel can also scuff up the inner end of the barrel, all leading to increased chances of breaking paintballs in the barrel. In the system of this invention barrel bore finish is not an issue since the ball does not contact the bore wall but only the insert surface. Inserts are easily changed, a solution far less expensive than a purchasing a new barrel.
The system is very adaptable since the barrel can be made from different materials, the position of slots can be varied, the size and shape of slots can be different, the total number of slots can be changed and the orientation of the slots can be varied. Inserts can have diverse design shapes that create special effects on the path of the paintballs and can made of different materials. Attachment of the inserts in the slots is also very adaptable as they may be held in place by a cover, clamps, magnetically, physically attached to the barrel or secured by a snap fit design as detailed below.
The optional use of an inner barrel liner (or barrel sections of different diameters) will enable more efficient use of gas propellants by limiting the amount of void space around the paintball. As used herein and in the claims the term “slots” mean longitudinal, generally rectangular, openings extending entirely through the wall of the barrel, the opening having a length to width ratio of at least 2/1, and preferably 4/1.
BarrelReferring to the Figures,
Alternatively, adapters are provided (182/183 of
In some embodiments the distal or exit end may have a support ring at the end; see 140 in
The barrel is shown in
Longitudinal overlap of the slots or of the inserts provides smooth transition of the ball as it travels from one set of slots or inserts to the next. The overlap allows for a continuous effective barrel diameter inside the barrel as explained below. Spacing other than equidistance around the circumference may be appropriate for some circumstances, but in general, equidistance spacing is preferred. As shown in
The placement of slots allows inserts to be placed where the balls will have maximum air pressure, a feature that distinguishes the slots of this invention from previous barrel designs with openings for venting usually placed near the distal end of the barrel. It is, of course, within the scope of the invention to have slots only on the distal end but this would reduce many of the advantages of the invention and is not preferred.
The inserts are preferably held in place in the slots by a snap-fit design as shown in
In another embodiment, grooves, of which 120 is one, shown in
Rather than the inserts slot patterns as those shown in
There is also optionally provided an inner barrel liner to be used in the barrel to reduce the annular space formed between the barrel actual bore diameter and the effective diameter formed by the inserts. Generally these will be of shorter length than the barrel and disposed at the breech or proximal end of the barrel. Liners are further explained in the Insert section—see
In another embodiment, illustrated in
As shown in
Another embodiment is a breech adapter with the ability to house barrel liners of different diameters.
The barrel may be made of any suitable material, including, but not limited to, steel, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, brass, shape memory alloys and/or polymers, and other more exotic metals and synthetic materials such as engineered polymer materials, plastics, reinforced polymers such as fiberglass, carbon fiber reinforced polymers and the like.
Spin Control EmbodimentIn another embodiment the barrel system is fitted with means to impart top, side or backspin on the paintball. U.S. Pat. No. 7,699,048 describes a paintball barrel attachment that imparts backspin on the ball as it exits the barrel attachment by providing an adjustable means to provide friction on the top of the ball which causes it to begin to rotate backwards. In the '048 patent this is accomplished by an inverted trough that tilts slightly from the direct line of flight of the ball. The tilt, downward incline, of the trough may be adjusted by a slideable wedge mechanism that pushes the trough downward to increase the incline. In one embodiment of the present invention, friction is exerted on the ball to cause backspin (or other spin direction) by an insert in a slot in the barrel and adjusted by the extent the insert extends into the barrel bore. Referring to
In another embodiment the spin adapter is shown in
The bottom of the inserts, that is the surface that is placed inside the barrel and forms the sides of the effective diameter barrel bore, may be any as shown in
These cross sections are merely illustrative and are not inclusive of all possible configurations. The important dimension of the inserts is that they be sized to extend into the barrel, that is, extend beyond the inside surface of the inside bore diameter of the barrel. This will provide an effective diameter (diameter of a circle that would touch the inserts) smaller than the inside bore diameter of the barrel. The bottom (underside, usually shaped) of the insert are the only points of contact for the paintball projectile—paintballs do not touch the inner bore surface of the barrel. Different types of inserts can be used to provide different benefits, but can all fit the same barrel. For example, the thickness (distance from top to bottom) of the inserts determines the effective inner diameter of the barrel. This provides a means to obtain a better match of the barrel to the size of paintballs. Inserts may also be sectioned, shaped to fit together to make a single insert and may be connected together in any conventional way such as by an interlocking configuration. Sectioned inserts will be useful where the slot is relatively long as when one slot substantially traverses the length of the barrel. The insets may also be ported to allow venting of pressure at the distal section of the barrel.
Since the effective diameter is less than the actual inside bore diameter of the barrel there is an annular space between the ball and the inside bore surface which is an added benefit. The annular space allows gas to surround the ball as it traverses the barrel, to escape and thus reduce noise and also provide a space for the debris of balls broken in the barrel. Traditional barrels use porting (holes in the barrel) to lessen the noise signature of the barrel by lowering the air pressure behind the ball to atmospheric pressure once the paintball passes the first ported holes.
The present invention allows for annular areas between the barrel inner diameter and the paintball for air pressure to equalize and lessen the “pop” when the paintball exits the barrel. Generally, porting in traditional barrels is located near the distal or exit end of the barrel since it would be undesirable to port the barrel near the breech end and exhaust the air pressure at that point. In the present invention the barrel may also include traditional porting.
When ball breaks do occur, traditional barrels force the paintball to pass through the broken paintball shell pieces and can alter the paintball path unpredictably resulting in poor accuracy. The annular space of the barrel with inserts allows the ball to shoot through the break more easily since the ball never touches the bore surface of the barrel and the debris will be located in the annular space. It does not have to pass through the broken paintball pieces and paint.
In one aspect there is also provided an inner barrel insert or liner to be used in the breech or proximate longitudinal section of the barrel as shown in
The inserts as shown have a transition taper (203 on
Inserts may be made of many different materials, including but not limited to, steel, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, brass, other more exotic metals such as shape memory alloys, magnetic metals and synthetic materials such as engineered polymer materials, elastomers, plastics, reinforced polymers such as fiberglass, carbon fiber reinforced polymers and the like. The inserts may be different colors or in a variety of colors or may be engraved with numbers or symbols to aid in identification. This is especially useful where there is a variety of inserts to be used for different projectiles or shooting situations. Color coding the inserts will allow easy identification.
CoverA cover is used in some embodiments to hold inserts in place. Before the cover is in place, the inserts have to be in proper position. The cover keeps all inserts pushed against the barrel and prevents the inserts from moving outwards when the projectiles contact them. For this purpose, in one embodiment, there are optional grooves, 120, for O rings in the barrel and in each insert, 220. The O rings are installed first held in position by the grooves, to keep the inserts from falling out before the cover is installed over the O rings and insert.
The O rings are not essential as the user can simply hold inserts in place manually or use other methods to hold them in position until they are secured as by a cover. The cover may also have apertures positioned so that inserts may be adjusted through with the cover in place. The cover also gives the barrel a neat appearance and provides added support.
Other means such as clamps, pressure fitted inserts, hook and loop (Velcro™) straps, tape or other like means may be used to hold inserts to the barrel instead the cover.
An embodiment with the cover in place is shown in
The cover may be a single piece as shown, in multiple pieces that snap together or otherwise connected, or may be in the form of multiple clamps to accomplish the same purpose. Clamps can clamp onto the barrel where the O ring slots are shown in
While the invention has been particularly shown and described as referenced to the embodiments thereof, those skilled in the art will understand that the foregoing and other changes in form and detail may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. The specification is, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. The scope of the invention should be limited only by the appended claims.
Claims
1. A barrel system for gas powered guns comprising a hollow cylindrical barrel having a plurality of longitudinal slots spaced around the circumference of the cylindrical barrel and inserts, portions of which that fit into the slots and extend through the barrel wall and beyond the surface of the inside wall of the barrel.
2. The system of claim 1 wherein the inserts are constructed to snap fit into slots constructed to accommodate snap-fit inserts.
3. The system of claim 1 wherein the inserts have a bottom cross section selected from the group consisting of flat, concave, convex, pointed, dual and curved.
4. The system of claim 1 wherein the inserts are, at least partially, constructed of a flexible material.
5. The system of claim 1 wherein there are at least two sets of slots spaced around the circumference of the cylindrical barrel, one offset from the other and spaced longitudinally on the barrel so that each slot in each set partially longitudinally overlaps a slot in the next adjoining set and is spaced apart from the slots of a second set; or the slots are spaced without overlap but with inserts configured to have a portion of the insert extend beyond the barrel surface inside the barrel so that inserts longitudinally overlap.
6. The system of claim 1 wherein the slot opening and the inserts are structured to allow the insert to be fitted into the slot opening so that the inserts fit into the slots and the top surface of the insert(s) is positioned even with or extends slightly above the surface of the outside circumference of the barrel.
7. The system of claim 1 wherein the barrel as a single piece or combined sections of barrel has a proximal end and a distal end and wherein the proximal end has an adapter that is adapted to mate with and connect to the breech connection of a gas powered gun.
8. The system of claim 1 also comprising a means for holding the inserts in place when the system is in use.
9. The system of claim 8 wherein the means is a cover.
10. The system of claim 1 wherein the barrel comprises at least two sections, a proximal end section and a distal end section, that can be connected together to form a single slotted barrel.
11. The system of claim 1 also comprising a slotted inner liner to be placed inside the bore of the barrel, wherein slots in the liner match and communicate with the slots in the barrel.
12. The system of claim 7 wherein there is a removable liner that fits inside the adapter inside bore.
13. The system of claim 12 wherein the 1 adapter is slotted and the liner grooved so that when assembled there are ridges inside the barrel for a projectile to ride upon.
14. The system of claim 1 comprising means for inducing spin on a projectile located on or attached to the distal end of the barrel.
15. The system of claim 14 wherein the distal end section has a cover and slideable wedge that engages a strip disposed on top of an insert that can flex downward to move an insert further into the bore of the barrel thereby exerting increased friction on a projectile in flight to cause it to spin.
16. The system of claim 14 comprising housing for inserts located inside a cylindrical spin attachment attached to the distal end of the barrel and means to position the inserts into a portion of the bore of the barrel to contact a projectile passing through the attachment.
17. A barrel system for gas powered guns comprising a hollow cylindrical barrel having narrow, shaped ridges disposed on the inside of the barrel or on the inside of a barrel liner, spaced around the circumference of the cylindrical barrel or liner.
18. The barrel system of 17 wherein the ridges are malleable.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 29, 2013
Publication Date: Jan 9, 2014
Inventor: Erik K. Schlosser (College Station, TX)
Application Number: 13/931,848
International Classification: F41A 21/04 (20060101); F41B 11/70 (20060101);