PROJECTILE FEEDER

Abstract

A projectile feeder having a housing, a cap and a cap tether. The housing has an enclosed shell with a fill opening for loading projectiles, a receiver adjacent the fill opening, an internal cavity, and a discharge opening at a bottom of the shell. The cap has a rotatable securing member extending from a top of the cap. The cap tether has a first end and a second end. The first end of the tether is connected to the receiver and the second end is connected to the rotatable securing member of the cap.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/643,980 filed May 8, 2024, which is expressly incorporated herein by reference and made a part hereof.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present subject matter relates to a projectile feeder, and more particularly, to a projectile feeder having a cap tethered to the feeder shell and having a simple quick-turn connection to the feeder shell.

BACKGROUND

Projectile feeders are known in the art. While such feeders, according to the prior art, provide a number of advantages, they nevertheless have certain limitations. The present disclosure seeks to overcome certain of those limitations and other drawbacks of the prior art, and to provide new features not heretofore available. A full discussion of the features and advantages of the present disclosure is deferred to the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.

SUMMARY

According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, the disclosed subject technology relates to a projectile feeder for projectile launchers.

The disclosed technology further relates to a projectile feeder, comprising: a housing comprising an enclosed shell, the shell having a fill opening for loading projectiles, a connector adjacent the fill opening for removably securing a cap thereto to close the fill opening, the fill opening leading to an internal cavity of the shell, a receiver adjacent the fill opening on an exterior of the housing, and a discharge opening at a bottom of the shell for discharging projectiles located in the internal cavity; a cap having a mating member for rotatably securing the cap to the connector with one of a one-half turn or one-quarter turn of the cap, the cap having a rotatable securing member extending from a top of the cap; a cap tether having a first end and a second end, the first end connected to the receiver on the housing, and the second end connected to the rotatable securing member of the cap; and, a feeder plate in the internal cavity, the feeder plate being a substantially planar member with a crowned top and having securing arms to secure the feeder plate to interior walls of the housing.

The disclosed technology further relates to a projectile feeder, comprising: a housing comprising an enclosed shell, the shell having a fill opening for loading projectiles, a connector adjacent the fill opening for removably securing a cap thereto to close the fill opening, the fill opening leading to an internal cavity of the shell, a receiver adjacent the fill opening on an exterior of the shell, and a discharge opening at a bottom of the shell for discharging projectiles located in the internal cavity; a cap having a mating member for rotatably securing the cap to the connector, the cap having a rotatable securing member extending from a top of the cap; and, a cap tether having a first end and a second end, the first end connected to the receiver on the housing, and the second end connected to the rotatable securing member of the cap.

The disclosed technology further relates to a projectile feeder, comprising: a housing comprising an enclosed shell, the shell having a fill opening for loading projectiles, the fill opening leading to an internal cavity of the shell, a receiver adjacent the fill opening on an exterior of the shell, and a discharge opening at a bottom of the shell for discharging projectiles located in the internal cavity; a cap for closing the fill opening, the cap having a rotatable securing member extending from a top of the cap; and, a cap tether having a first end and a second end, the first end connected to the receiver on the housing, and the second end connected to the rotatable securing member of the cap.

The disclosed technology further relates to a projectile feeder, wherein a distance between a bottom of the interior of the housing and a bottom of the feeder plate is less than twice a diameter of the projectiles used with the feeder.

The disclosed technology further relates to a projectile feeder, wherein a longitudinal axis through the discharge opening extends generally vertically.

The disclosed technology further relates to a projectile feeder, wherein a longitudinal axis through the fill opening is generally at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the discharge opening.

The disclosed technology further relates to a projectile feeder, wherein the shell is made of two parts that are connected together.

The disclosed technology further relates to a projectile feeder, further comprising a discharge tube extending from the discharge opening.

The disclosed technology further relates to a projectile feeder, wherein the feeder plate extends a distance from a front and rear of the inner wall of the shell to allow for movement of the projectiles in the housing.

The disclosed technology further relates to a projectile feeder, wherein the receiver comprises a pivotable securing member, and wherein the first end of the cap tether is connected to the pivotable securing member.

The disclosed technology further relates to a projectile feeder, wherein the cap tether has a width and a thickness, and wherein the width is greater than the thickness.

The disclosed technology further relates to a projectile feeder, wherein the width of the cap tether is at least 3 times greater than the thickness of the cap tether.

The disclosed technology further relates to a projectile feeder, further comprising a feeder plate in the internal cavity, the feeder plate being a substantially planar member with having securing arms to secure the feeder plate to interior walls of the housing.

The disclosed technology further relates to a projectile feeder, wherein the mating member of the cap is secured to the connector with one of a one-half turn or one-quarter turn of the cap.

The disclosed technology further relates to a projectile feeder, wherein the receiver comprises a pivotable securing member, and wherein the first end of the cap tether is connected to the pivotable securing member.

The disclosed technology further relates to a projectile feeder, further comprising a connector adjacent the fill opening for removably securing a cap thereto to close the fill opening,

The disclosed technology further relates to a projectile feeder, wherein the cap has a mating member for rotatably securing the cap to the connector.

The disclosed technology further relates to a projectile feeder, further comprising a discharge tube extending from the discharge opening, and a discharge cap to cover the discharge opening, wherein the discharge cap has a tether secured around the discharge tube.

It is understood that other embodiments and configurations of the subject technology will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, wherein various configurations of the subject technology are shown and described by way of illustration. As will be realized, the subject technology is capable of other and different configurations and its several details are capable of modification in various other respects, all without departing from the scope of the subject technology. Accordingly, the drawings and detailed description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To understand the present disclosure, it will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which embodiments of the disclosures are illustrated and, together with the descriptions below are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, and serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a projectile feeder with the lid closed, according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the projectile feeder of FIG. 1, according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a projectile feeder with the lid open, according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a projectile feeder, according to the present disclosure.

In one or more implementations, not all of the depicted components in each figure may be required, and one or more implementations may include additional components not shown in a figure. Variations in the arrangement and type of the components may be made without departing from the scope of the subject disclosure. Additional components, different components, or fewer components may be utilized within the scope of the subject disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

While this disclosure is susceptible of embodiments in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail preferred embodiments with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the disclosure and is not intended to limit the broad aspect of the disclosure to the embodiments illustrated. It should be noted that the features illustrated in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, and features of one embodiment may be employed with other embodiments as one of ordinary skill in the relevant art would recognize, even if not explicitly stated herein. Further, descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques may be omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments of the present disclosure. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the present disclosure may be practiced and to further enable those of ordinary skill in the art to practice the embodiments of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the examples and embodiments herein should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present disclosure, which is defined solely by the appended claims and applicable law.

Generally, this disclosure describes embodiments of a projectile feeder 10 that receives projectiles 12 for loading into the feeder 10, and dispenses the projectiles 12 from the feeder 10 into a projectile launcher (not shown) for launching the projectiles 12 from the launcher.

Referring now to the figures, and initially to FIGS. 1-3, there is shown an embodiment of a projectile feeder 10 for receiving and dispensing projectiles 12. In one embodiment, the projectile 12 is a paint ball or other generally round projectile 12. In one embodiment the projectile feeder has a housing 14, a cap 16, a cap tether 18, and an internal feeder plate 20.

As shown in the figures, in one embodiment the housing 14 is generally elliptical in shape. The housing 14 comprises a shell 22 having an opening 24 for loading projectiles 12, a connector 26 adjacent the opening 24 for removably securing the cap 16 thereto, the opening 24 leading to a cavity 27 within the shell 22, a receiver 28 adjacent the opening 24 for securing the cap tether 18 thereto, and a discharge opening 30 at a bottom of cavity 27 for discharging projectiles 12 therein. In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the shell 22 of the housing 14 is comprised of two halves or parts 32 that are connected together to form the complete shell 22. In one embodiment, the discharge opening 30 is generally at the bottom and in the middle of the cavity 27. The discharge opening 30 leads to a discharge tube 34 that is adapted to be connected to a launcher for loading projectiles 12 from the feeder 10 to the launcher. In a preferred embodiment, a longitudinal axis A of the discharge tube 34 extends generally vertically.

In one embodiment, an internal feeder plate 20 is provided. As shown in FIG. 2, in one embodiment the feeder plate 20 comprises a plate 36 that is provided inside the cavity 27 of the housing 14, and which is located above the discharge opening 30. The feeder plate 20 may have securing arms 38 to assist in securing the feeder plate 20 properly in place within the cavity 27. In one embodiment, the plate 36 is planar but may have a crown or a slight convex arc thereto so that the projectiles 12 roll off the plate 20 and toward the discharge opening 30 along the inner wall 43 of the cavity 27. Additionally, in one embodiment the distance from an inner surface 40 of the shell 22 and the bottom 42 of the plate 36 is less than twice the diameter of the projectiles 12 to assist an orderly discharge of projectiles 12 from the cavity 27. Further, in one embodiment the plate 36 does not extend to the front and rear inner walls 43 of the cavity 27 to allow for easy movement of the projectiles 12 within the cavity 27.

As shown in FIG. 4, a longitudinal axis F through the fill opening 24 is generally at an angle to the longitudinal axis A of the discharge tube 34. This allows for easier filling of the feeder 10 by a user. Further, in a preferred embodiment, the connector 26 adjacent the opening 24 has half-turn or quarter-turn threads, so that the cap 16 that closes the opening is secured to the connector 26 with merely a half-turn or a quarter-turn of the cap 16. Further, a rotation member 50, also referred to as a rotatable securing member 50, extending from a top of the cap 16 or connected adjacent the top 52 of the cap 16, and a first end 54 of the cap tether 18 is pivotally secured to the rotatable securing member 50. In this manner the cap 16 can be rotated the needed quarter-turn or half-turn to fully secure the cap 16 to the connector 26 and the cap tether 18 will not become twisted or inhibit rotation of the cap 16. The second end 56 of the cap tether 18 is secured to a top 58 of the housing 14. In one embodiment, a pivotable securing member 60 is pivotally secured to the top 58 of the housing 14, and the second end 56 of the cap tether 18 is connected to the pivotable securing member 60. Additionally, in one embodiment the cap tether 18 has a wide flat profile so that the cap 16 maintains its orientation with the opening 24 so that the cap 16 can be fitted on the connector 26 more easily.

As shown in FIG. 1, in one embodiment a discharge cap 62 is provided to close the discharge opening 30. The discharge cap 62 may have a tether 64 that is secured around the discharge tube 34.

The embodiments detailed hereinabove may be combined in full or in part, with any alternative embodiments described.

A reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specifically stated, but rather “one or more.” The term “some” refers to one or more. Underlined and/or italicized headings and subheadings are used for convenience only, do not limit the subject technology, and are not referred to in connection with the interpretation of the description of the subject technology. Relational terms such as first and second and the like may be used to distinguish one entity or action from another without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the various configurations described throughout this disclosure that are known or later come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and intended to be encompassed by the subject technology. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited in the above description.

Numerous modifications to the present disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the foregoing description. Preferred embodiments of this disclosure are described herein, including the best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the disclosure. It should be understood that the illustrated embodiments are exemplary only, and should not be taken as limiting the scope of the disclosure.

Several alternative embodiments and examples have been described and illustrated herein. A person of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate the features of the individual embodiments, and the possible combinations and variations of the components. A person of ordinary skill in the art would further appreciate that any of the embodiments could be provided in any combination with the other embodiments disclosed herein. Additionally, the terms “first,” “second,” “third,” and “fourth” as used herein are intended for illustrative purposes only and do not limit the embodiments in any way. Further, the term “plurality” as used herein indicates any number greater than one, either disjunctively or conjunctively, as necessary, up to an infinite number. Additionally, the term “having” as used herein in both the disclosure and claims, is utilized in an open-ended manner.

As used herein, the phrase “at least one of” preceding a series of items, with the terms “and” or “or” to separate any of the items, modifies the list as a whole, rather than each member of the list (i.e., each item). The phrase “at least one of” does not require selection of at least one item; rather, the phrase allows a meaning that includes at least one of any one of the items, and/or at least one of any combination of the items, and/or at least one of each of the items. By way of example, the phrases “at least one of A, B, and C” or “at least one of A, B, or C” each refer to only A, only B, or only C; any combination of A, B, and C; and/or at least one of each of A, B, and C.

To the extent that the term “include,” “have,” or the like is used in the description or the claims, such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprise” as “comprise” is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim. Phrases such as an aspect, the aspect, another aspect, some aspects, one or more aspects, an implementation, the implementation, another implementation, some implementations, one or more implementations, an embodiment, the embodiment, another embodiment, some embodiments, one or more embodiments, a configuration, the configuration, another configuration, some configurations, one or more configurations, the subject technology, the disclosure, the present disclosure, other variations thereof and alike are for convenience and do not imply that a disclosure relating to such phrase(s) is essential to the subject technology or that such disclosure applies to all configurations of the subject technology. A disclosure relating to such phrase(s) may apply to all configurations, or one or more configurations. A disclosure relating to such phrase(s) may provide one or more examples. A phrase such as an aspect or some aspects may refer to one or more aspects and vice versa, and this applies similarly to other foregoing phrases.

A reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specifically stated, but rather “one or more.” The term “some” refers to one or more. Underlined and/or italicized headings and subheadings are used for convenience only, do not limit the subject technology, and are not referred to in connection with the interpretation of the description of the subject technology. Relational terms such as first and second and the like may be used to distinguish one entity or action from another without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the various configurations described throughout this disclosure that are known or later come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and intended to be encompassed by the subject technology. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited in the above description. No claim element is to be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112, sixth paragraph, unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for” or, in the case of a method claim, the element is recited using the phrase “step for.”

While this specification contains many specifics, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions of particular implementations of the subject matter. Certain features that are described in this specification in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover, although features may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination.

The title, background, brief description of the drawings, abstract, and drawings are hereby incorporated into the disclosure and are provided as illustrative examples of the disclosure, not as restrictive descriptions. It is submitted with the understanding that they will not be used to limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the detailed description, it can be seen that the description provides illustrative examples and the various features are grouped together in various implementations for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. The method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed subject matter requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed configuration or operation. The claims are hereby incorporated into the detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as a separately claimed subject matter.

It will be understood that the present disclosure may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or central characteristics thereof. The present examples and embodiments, therefore, are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and the Claims are not to be limited to the details given herein. Accordingly, while the specific embodiments have been illustrated and described, numerous modifications come to mind without significantly departing from the spirit of the disclosure and the scope of protection is only limited by the scope of the accompanying Claims.

Further, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects described herein, but are to be accorded the full scope consistent with the language claims and to encompass all legal equivalents. Notwithstanding, none of the claims are intended to embrace subject matter that fails to satisfy the requirements of the applicable patent law, nor should they be interpreted in such a way.

Claims

1. A projectile feeder, comprising:

a housing comprising an enclosed shell, the shell having a fill opening for loading projectiles, a connector adjacent the fill opening for removably securing a cap thereto to close the fill opening, the fill opening leading to an internal cavity of the shell, a receiver adjacent the fill opening on an exterior of the housing, and a discharge opening at a bottom of the shell for discharging projectiles located in the internal cavity;

a cap having a mating member for rotatably securing the cap to the connector with one of a one-half turn or one-quarter turn of the cap, the cap having a rotatable securing member extending from a top of the cap;

a cap tether having a first end and a second end, the first end connected to the receiver on the housing, and the second end connected to the rotatable securing member of the cap; and,

a feeder plate in the internal cavity, the feeder plate being a substantially planar member with a crowned top and having securing arms to secure the feeder plate to interior walls of the housing.

2. The projectile feeder of claim 1, wherein a distance between a bottom of the interior of the housing and a bottom of the feeder plate is less than twice a diameter of the projectiles used with the feeder.

3. The projectile feeder of claim 1, wherein a longitudinal axis through the discharge opening extends generally vertically.

4. The projectile feeder of claim 3, wherein a longitudinal axis through the fill opening is generally at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the discharge opening.

5. The projectile feeder of claim 1, wherein the shell is made of two parts that are connected together.

6. The projectile feeder of claim 1, further comprising a discharge tube extending from the discharge opening.

7. The projectile feeder of claim 1, wherein the feeder plate extends a distance from a front and rear of the inner wall of the shell to allow for movement of the projectiles in the housing.

8. The projectile feeder of claim 1, wherein the receiver comprises a pivotable securing member, and wherein the first end of the cap tether is connected to the pivotable securing member.

9. The projectile feeder of claim 1, wherein the cap tether has a width and a thickness, and wherein the width is greater than the thickness.

10. The projectile feeder of claim 9, wherein the width of the cap tether is at least 3 times greater than the thickness of the cap tether.

11. A projectile feeder, comprising:

a housing comprising an enclosed shell, the shell having a fill opening for loading projectiles, a connector adjacent the fill opening for removably securing a cap thereto to close the fill opening, the fill opening leading to an internal cavity of the shell, a receiver adjacent the fill opening on an exterior of the shell, and a discharge opening at a bottom of the shell for discharging projectiles located in the internal cavity;

a cap having a mating member for rotatably securing the cap to the connector, the cap having a rotatable securing member extending from a top of the cap; and,

a cap tether having a first end and a second end, the first end connected to the receiver on the housing, and the second end connected to the rotatable securing member of the cap.

12. The projectile feeder of claim 11, further comprising a feeder plate in the internal cavity, the feeder plate being a substantially planar member with having securing arms to secure the feeder plate to interior walls of the housing.

13. The projectile feeder of claim 11, wherein the mating member of the cap is secured to the connector with one of a one-half turn or one-quarter turn of the cap.

14. The projectile feeder of claim 11, wherein the receiver comprises a pivotable securing member, and wherein the first end of the cap tether is connected to the pivotable securing member.

15. A projectile feeder, comprising:

a housing comprising an enclosed shell, the shell having a fill opening for loading projectiles, the fill opening leading to an internal cavity of the shell, a receiver adjacent the fill opening on an exterior of the shell, and a discharge opening at a bottom of the shell for discharging projectiles located in the internal cavity;

a cap for closing the fill opening, the cap having a rotatable securing member extending from a top of the cap; and,

a cap tether having a first end and a second end, the first end connected to the receiver on the housing, and the second end connected to the rotatable securing member of the cap.

16. The projectile feeder of claim 15, further comprising a connector adjacent the fill opening for removably securing a cap thereto to close the fill opening,

17. The projectile feeder of claim 16, wherein the cap has a mating member for rotatably securing the cap to the connector.

18. The projectile feeder of claim 15, wherein the cap tether has a width and a thickness, and wherein the width is greater than the thickness.

19. The projectile feeder of claim 18, wherein the width of the cap tether is at least 3 times greater than the thickness of the cap tether.

20. The projectile feeder of claim 15, further comprising a discharge tube extending from the discharge opening, and a discharge cap to cover the discharge opening, wherein the discharge cap has a tether secured around the discharge tube.