US20130255525A1

US20130255525A1 - Paintball Impact Grenade

Info

Publication number: US20130255525A1
Application number: US13/437,997
Authority: US
Inventors: Everson Fortes Silva
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2012-04-03
Filing date: 2012-04-03
Publication date: 2013-10-03

Abstract

A non-lethal hand grenade having a flexible resilient tube containing a pressurized colored liquid, with a impact actuated trigger device, which overcome the deficiencies of known prior art by offering a reliable, safe, and cost effective device that never fail to goes off when is thrown towards a intended target.

The trigger device relies on the flexibility of the tube to keep the device safe to be thrown without going off until a minimal impact happens; The impact actuates a device which releases the trigger cap that keep the resilient tube blocked, allowing the pressurized liquid to be sprayed, marking anyone and anything about twenty feet of the point of impact. This non-reusable grenade is safe, reliable, environmental safe, easy to manufacture and operate, very similar in design and use to a real military grenade.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to and claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application for “Paintball Impact Grenade”, Ser. No. 61437888, Filled on Jan. 31, 2011 by the present inventor which is hereby expressly incorporated into this application by this reference thereto.

BACKGROUND

Prior Art

The following is tabulation of some prior art that presently appears relevant:

US PATENT DOCUMENTS


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TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a Paintball grenade filled with a non-toxic washable colored liquid, used on Paintball games with a impact activated trigger.

PRIOR ART

The sport of paintball is a popular game which the players simulates a combat between two teams, using guns designed for this purpose called “paintball markers”; The paintball markers fires frangible projectiles (paintballs) filled with a non-toxic washable paint using a compressed gas supply. After being struck by a paintball, the player is considerate dead, and is out of the game.
A variety of guns for firing paintballs was developed to improve this game that have increased in popularity, also other type of non-lethal marking devices are also developed. Such devices include land mines, grenades, bazookas, mortars, tanks, and many anti-personal and anti-tank weapons. The paintball hand grenades is a non-lethal device that is thrown towards an intend target, marking everyone in the area and eliminating them from the game.
Different types of hand grenades have been developed such as reusable gas powered grenades, pyrotechnics, chemical reaction grenades, exploding grenades, and the pressurized elastic tube grenades.
The reusable grenades have some undesirable problems with include:
High cost manufacturing, complicated to operate, to reload, to recovery parts and difficult to cleaning up, after use. Pyrotechnics and chemical ones are not often used, because of safety concerns. The most used and cost effective are the pressurized elastic tube grenades.
The known ones are made of some kind of elastic material, usually a natural rubber tube filled with a colored liquid, which has one end of the tube definitely blocked or tied by a crimping element such as wire tie, and another side is blocked with a plastic ball and a cap that is supposed to be dislodged from the tube, by the impact of the grenade with an object, allowing the discharge of the colored fluid.
Because all the pressurized tube grenades are made the same way, all have the same undesirable problems; they only work if you throw them very fast against a solid surface. The impact should be strong to create enough pressure inside of the tube to dislodge the protective cap and the ball that block the exit; It is not always possible to find a perfect solid surface when you playing on the woods, or in plywood scenarios, or even on inflated bunkers; If you throw on the floor by your opponent, it usually doesn't go off, and you give to your opponent a new grenade to use against you or anyone of your team.
To make these pressurized paintball grenades more reliable, is necessary to make a device able to trigger by impact.
Considering that is not reusable, it needs to be inexpensive to manufacture, safe to use, and environmental safe; should be light and inexpensive for the consumer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An impact actuated paintball grenade filled with a pressurized non-toxic washable colored liquid, comprising of a flexible resilient tube having one side permanently blocked by an crimping element and the other side blocked by an impact actuated device which releases itself from the resilient tube on impact, allowing the discharge of colored liquid in an unpredictable pattern marking the intended target.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an assembled paintball impact grenade.

FIG. 2 shows disassembled components of a paintball impact grenade.

FIG. 3 Shows the disassembled components of a trigger cap.

FIG. 4 Shows the how the components of a trigger cap are assembled.

FIG. 5 shows assembled trigger cap.

FIG. 6 is an illustrative view of a trigger device.

FIG. 7 shows disassembled components of an optional embodiment.

FIG. 8 shows an optional trigger cap which is one piece only.

FIG. 9 is an illustrative view of an optional trigger device.

FIG. 10 Shows how the resilient tube is bended and closed before install the trigger device.

FIG. 11 shows the resilient tube with the trigger device installed.

FIG. 12 shows how the resilient tube is filled with pressurized colored fluid.

FIG. 13 is an illustrative view of an assembled paintball impact grenade.

FIG. 14 shows the grenade at first moment of impact, trigger cap is lunched off.

FIG. 15 shows the grenade at the moment of impact; the trigger cap comes off, releasing the trigger device case.

FIG. 16 shows the grenade at the moment of impact, the pressurized fluid forces the tube to get straight.

FIG. 17 shows the grenade at moment of impact, spraying all the pressurized fluid.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The paintball impact grenade is illustrate on FIG. 1 to FIG. 17, and is formed from a flexible resilient tubular material 100 filled with a colored fluid which is injected inside of the tube using about sixty pounds per square inches of pressure, causing the expansion of the walls of the tube as shown on FIG. 12; This resilient tube has one end sealed by a crimping member such as wire tie 102 or a metal crimp (not shown), and at the other end it is coil on itself, compressed and sealed by a right trigger case 105 and left trigger case 104, creating the spring action needed to keep the trigger cap (FIG. 5) in place. The right trigger case 105 and left trigger case 104 is kept together one side by a retaining ring 103 and the other side by a Wire formed trigger lever 110 which have attached a nut 109 and protected by a nut rubber cap 108 forming a trigger cap as shown on FIG. 5.
The FIG. 1 shows the assembled paintball impact grenade of this embodiment, the length of the resilient tube 100 is compatible with the amount of fluid that will be injected on it, usually four to twelve ounces; the outside diameter is from three-eights of an inch, to half inch.
FIG. 2 shows the disassembled paintball impact grenade of this embodiment. FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 shows how the nut rubber cap 108, the nut 109 and the wire formed trigger lever 110 that are tied or glue together to form a single part of the trigger device as shown on FIG. 5.
FIG. 6 Shows an illustrative exploded view of the trigger device with all its parts and how it is mounted.
The process of manufacture this paintball impact grenade follows the steps:
A) First measure and cut the resilient tube 100;
B) Glue or tie the wire formed trigger lever 110 the nut rubber cap 108, and nut 109 together forming a trigger cap shown on FIG. 5.
C) Insert a pulling ring 106 on the safety pin 107.
D) Coil two or three turns of the tube on itself as shown on FIG. 10;
E) Mount the right trigger case 104 and left trigger case 105;
F) Insert the retaining ring 103 to hold the two parts of the case (104, 105) on resilient tube 100;
G) Compress the resilient tube 100 by squeezing the two parts of the case (104 and 105) together.
H) Attach a trigger cap on it and insert the safety pin.
I) Inject the measured amount of fluid on the resilient tube 100 as shown on FIG. 12
J) Bend the end of the resilient tube 100 and seal it using a wire tie 102 or any crimping member as shown on FIG. 13.
After assembled the grenade is safe until the safety pin 107 is removed by the player using a pulling ring 106, holding down the trigger cap keep it on its place until the grenade is thrown.
FIG. 14 shows what happen when the paintball impact grenade object of this application hits an intended target.
At the first moment of the impact, the trigger cap 108 is dislodge from the trigger device allowing the right trigger case 104 and left trigger case 105 to be pushed away by the spring action offered by the resilient tube 100 which was coiled and squeezed inside of them as shown on FIG. 15. FIG. 16 shows when the resilient tube 100 that was coiled and squeezed between the right trigger case 104 and left trigger case 105, start to uncoil by the pressure of the fluid inside of it.
FIG. 17 shows the paintball impact grenade expelling all the pressurized colored fluid, on an unpredictable pattern, marking anything and anyone around its point of impact.
In another embodiment the trigger device can be assembled using the parts as shown on FIG. 7; Instead of use three components glued together to build a trigger cap as shown on FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, this trigger cap 111 is made of plastic or any material that can be formed as shown on FIG. 8;
The process to manufacture on this embodiment is:
A) First measure and cut the resilient tube 100;
B) Insert a pulling ring 106 on the safety pin 107.
C) Coil two or three turns of the tube 100 on itself as shown on FIG. 10;
D) Mount the right trigger case 105 and left trigger case 104;
E) Compress the resilient tube 100 by squeezing the two parts of the case (104 and 105) together.
F) Insert the o-ring 103
G) Attach a trigger cap 111 on it and insert the safety pin.
H) Inject the measured amount of fluid on the resilient tube 100 as shown on FIG. 12
I) Bend the end of the resilient tube 100 and seal it using a wire tie 102 or any crimping member to as shown on FIG. 13.

REFERENCE NUMERALS

100 Resilient tube.
102 Wire tie.
103 Retaining ring.
104 Right trigger case.
105 Left trigger case.
106 Pulling Ring.
107 Safety Pin.
108 Nut rubber cap.
109 Nut.
110 Wire formed trigger lever.
111 Optional trigger unit.
112 Optional Hinged right trigger case.
113 Optional Hinged left trigger case.
114 Colored fluid or washable paint.

Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to particular means, materials and embodiments, from the foregoing description, one skilled in the art can easily ascertain the essential characteristics of the invention and various changes and modifications may be made to adapt the various uses and characteristics without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

OPERATION

The operation of this non-lethal hand grenade is very similar to a real military grenade. The player holds the trigger cap 108, 110 to keep it in place and remove the safety pin 107 using the pulling ring 106.
Throw the grenade towards intended target.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. An impact actuated paintball grenade filled with a pressurized non-toxic washable colored liquid, comprising of a flexible resilient tube having one side permanently blocked by a crimping element and the other side blocked by an impact actuated device.

2. An impact actuated paintball grenade of claim 1 wherein the impact actuated device releases one side of the resilient tube on impact allowing the discharge of colored liquid.

3. An impact actuated paintball grenade of claim 1 wherein the impact actuated device uses part of the resilient tube as an active component on it.

4. An impact actuated device of claim 3 wherein the spring action required on device is provided by squeezing or stretching part of the resilient tube.

5. An impact actuated non-lethal hand grenade filled with a non-toxic washable colored liquid, comprising of a flexible resilient tube having one side permanently closed by a crimping element and the other side blocked by an impact actuated device.

6. An impact actuated non-lethal hand grenade of claim 5 wherein the impact actuated device is totally or partially dislodged of the resilient tube before the discharge of colored liquid.

7. A impact activated trigger for paintball grenades, comprised of two or more parts of any non-resilient material, attached at least to one end of a resilient tube or bladder to close it.

8. A impact activated trigger for paintball grenades of claim 7 wherein on impact, the trigger is actuated reliasing the resilient tube or bladder end, allowing the discharge of the colored liquid.