Pneumatic device

Abstract

An apparatus for regulating and discharging gas includes a differential piston with first and second faces of unequal area. The differential piston reciprocates within a housing between a storage chamber and a discharge chamber, and includes an aperture extending between the first and second faces to allow the storage chamber to communicate with the discharge chamber. A spring positioned against the piston face with the smaller surface area biases the differential piston in the direction of the piston face with the larger surface area. The use of the apparatus allows a pneumatic device such as a pellet gun or a nail gun to rapidly recharge the firing chamber between firing cycles.

1 . An apparatus for regulating and discharging gas, the apparatus comprising:
 a housing having an inlet and an outlet;   a differential piston including a first piston face and a second piston face opposite the first piston face and larger than the first piston face, the differential piston adapted to reciprocate within the housing and divide the housing into a first chamber adjacent the first piston face and a second chamber adjacent the second piston face, wherein one of the first and second chambers is a storage chamber in communication with the housing inlet and the other of the first and second chambers is a discharge chamber in communication with the housing outlet;   a spring adapted to bias the differential piston in a direction toward the second chamber;   an aperture extending through the first piston face to the second piston face and adapted to allow the first and second chambers to communicate with one another such that when compressed gas flows between the two piston faces of the differential piston, the spring is compressed until the forces on the first piston face and the second piston face reach an equilibrium; and   a discharge valve in the housing outlet.   
   
   
       2 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the aperture further includes an orifice. 
   
   
       3 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the spring is a preloaded spring. 
   
   
       4 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the spring is an adjustable spring. 
   
   
       5 . The apparatus of  claim 4  further comprising a screw for adjusting the adjustable spring. 
   
   
       6 . The apparatus of  claim 4  further comprising one or more spacers for adjusting the adjustable spring. 
   
   
       7 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the second chamber is the discharge chamber. 
   
   
       8 . The apparatus of  claim 1  further comprising a check valve through which compressed gas from a compressed gas source enters the storage chamber. 
   
   
       9 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the discharge valve is a compressed gas firing mechanism. 
   
   
       10 . An apparatus for regulating and discharging gas, the apparatus comprising:
 a housing having an inlet and an outlet;   a floating differential piston including a first piston face and a second piston face larger than the first piston face, the differential piston adapted to reciprocate in the housing and divide the housing into a storage chamber adjacent to the first piston face and a discharge chamber adjacent the second piston face;   a spring adapted to bias the differential piston toward the discharge chamber;   an aperture extending through the first piston face to the second piston face and adapted to allow the first and second chambers to communicate with one another such that when compressed gas flows between the two piston faces of the differential piston, the spring is compressed until the forces on the first piston face and the second piston face reach an equilibrium; and   a discharge valve in the housing outlet.   
   
   
       11 . The apparatus of  claim 10  wherein the aperture further includes an orifice. 
   
   
       12 . The apparatus of  claim 10  wherein the spring is a preloaded spring. 
   
   
       13 . The apparatus of  claim 10  wherein the spring is an adjustable spring. 
   
   
       14 . The apparatus of  claim 13  further comprising a screw for adjusting the adjustable spring. 
   
   
       15 . The apparatus of  claim 13  further comprising one or more spacers for adjusting the adjustable spring. 
   
   
       16 . The apparatus of  claim 10  further comprising a check valve through which compressed gas from a compressed gas source enters the storage chamber. 
   
   
       17 . The apparatus of  claim 10  wherein the discharge valve is a compressed gas firing mechanism. 
   
   
       18 . An apparatus for regulating and discharging gas, the apparatus comprising:
 a housing having an inlet and an outlet;   a differential piston including a first piston face and a second piston face opposite the first piston face and larger than the first piston face, the differential piston adapted to reciprocate within the housing and divide the housing into a first chamber adjacent the first piston face and a second chamber adjacent the second piston face, wherein one of the first and second chambers is a storage chamber in communication with the housing inlet and the other of the first and second chambers is a discharge chamber in communication with the housing outlet;   a spring adapted to bias the differential piston in a direction toward the second chamber;   a snap-action valve mounted in the differential piston and adapted to quickly move between an open position and a closed position such that when the snap-action valve is in the open position, the first and second chambers are in communication with one another such that when compressed gas flows between the two piston faces of the differential piston, the spring is compressed until the forces on the first piston face and the second piston face reach an equilibrium, at which point, the snap-action valve closed; and   a discharge valve in the housing outlet.   
   
   
       19 . The apparatus of  claim 18  wherein the second chamber is the discharge chamber. 
   
   
       20 . The apparatus of  claim 18  wherein the discharge valve is a compressed gas firing mechanism.