Hopper for paintballs

Abstract

There is disclosed a paintball hopper for providing a plurality of paintballs to a paintball gun comprising a feeder tube. The hopper comprises a rigid material defining a chamber and having an outer surface, the chamber adapted for receiving the plurality of paintballs therein, an opening in the rigid material for introducing the plurality of paintballs into the chamber, a hopper feed tube adapted for feeding paintballs from the chamber to the feeder tube of the paintball gun, and at least one shock absorbing panel bonded to the outer surface. There is also disclosed a hopper for containing a plurality of paintballs and for supplying the plurality of paintballs to a paintball gun during operation of the paintball gun. The hopper comprises a housing defining an internal chamber configured to contain a plurality of paintballs, the housing further comprising an outer surface, a first opening in the housing to permit the plurality of paintballs to be introduced into the chamber, a second opening in the housing configured to communicate with a feed neck of a paintball gun to supply the plurality of paintballs from the chamber to the paintball gun during operation of the paintball gun, a flexible panel securely attached to the outer surface of the housing and configured to deflect paintballs from the housing while reducing the likelihood that a paintball striking the housing will break on impact with the housing, and a rapid loading mechanism for permitting a plurality of paintballs contained in a paintball pod to be quickly transferred from the pod to the hopper chamber.

1 . A paintball hopper for providing a plurality of paintballs to a paintball gun comprising a feeder tube, the hopper comprising:
 a rigid material defining a chamber and having an outer surface, said chamber adapted for receiving the plurality of paintballs therein; an opening in said rigid material for introducing the plurality of paintballs into said chamber;   a hopper feed tube adapted for feeding paintballs from the chamber to the feeder tube of the paintball gun; and   at least one shock absorbing panel bonded to said outer surface.   
   
   
       2 . The hopper of  claim 1 , wherein said at least one shock absorbing panel is over molded on said outer surface. 
   
   
       3 . The hopper of  claim 1 , wherein said at least one shock absorbing panel is manufactured from an elastomeric polymer. 
   
   
       4 . A paintball hopper configured to receive a plurality of paintballs from a tube containing the plurality of paintballs and having a tube opening, the hopper comprising:
 a rigid material defining a chamber, said chamber adapted for receiving the plurality of paintballs therein;   an opening in said rigid material for introducing the plurality of paintballs into said chamber;   a seal adapted for attachment to said opening and defining a first aperture;   a flange arranged opposite said seal and defining a second aperture and having an outer flange surface adapted for receiving the tube opening;   a passageway located between said first aperture and said second aperture, and wherein said passageway, said first aperture and said second aperture are each dimensioned to allow passage of the paintballs there through;   a means for biasing said flange away from said seal; and   an iris occluding said passageway;   wherein when the tube opening is pressed against said outer flange surface and sufficient force is exerted to overcome said biasing means, said flange is moved towards said seal and said iris opens, thereby allowing passage of the plurality of paintballs from the tube into said chamber.   
   
   
       5 . A paintball hopper comprising:
 a housing defining an internal chamber configured to contain a plurality of paintballs, said housing further comprising an outer surface;   a first opening in said housing to permit the plurality of paintballs to be introduced into the chamber;   a second opening in said housing configured to communicate with a feed neck of a paintball gun to supply the plurality of paintballs from the chamber to the paintball gun during operation of the paintball gun; and   a flexible panel securely attached to the outer surface of the housing and configured to deflect paintballs from the housing while reducing the likelihood that a paintball striking the housing will break on impact with the housing.   
   
   
       6 . A paintball hopper according to  claim 5 , further comprising a plurality of flexible panels securely attached to the outer surface of the housing, wherein each panel is configured to deflect paintballs from the housing while reducing the likelihood that a paintball striking the housing will break upon impact with the housing. 
   
   
       7 . A paintball hopper according to  claim 6 , wherein the plurality of flexible panels comprises a first panel and a second panel securely attached to opposing sides of the hopper housing. 
   
   
       8 . A paintball hopper according to  claim 7 , wherein the plurality of flexible panels further comprises a third panel securely attached to a rearward facing surface of the hopper housing. 
   
   
       9 . A paintball hopper according to  claim 7 , wherein the first and second panels are configured to cover a forward facing surface area of the hopper housing as well as side facing surface areas of the hopper housing. 
   
   
       10 . A paintball hopper according to  claim 5 , wherein the flexible panel is comprised of an elastomeric material. 
   
   
       11 . A method of reducing the likelihood of a paintball breaking when impacting an outer surface of a hopper, said method comprising:
 securely affixing one or more flexible panels to the outer surface of the hopper to deflect paintballs from the hopper and reduce the likelihood of a paintball breaking upon impact with the hopper.   
   
   
       12 . A method according to  claim 11 , further comprising securely affixing a plurality of flexible panels to the outer surface of the hopper. 
   
   
       13 . A method according to  claim 12 , further comprising affixing a first panel to a first side of the hopper, and affixing a second panel to a second side of the hopper. 
   
   
       14 . A method according to  claim 13 , further comprising affixing a third panel to a rearward facing surface area of the hopper. 
   
   
       15 . A hopper for containing a plurality of paintballs and for supplying the plurality of paintballs to a paintball gun during operation of the paintball gun; said hopper comprising:
 a housing defining an internal chamber configured to contain a plurality of paintballs, said housing further comprising an outer surface;   a first opening in said housing to permit the plurality of paintballs to be introduced into the chamber;   a second opening in said housing configured to communicate with a feed neck of a paintball gun to supply the plurality of paintballs from the chamber to the paintball gun during operation of the paintball gun;   a flexible panel securely attached to the outer surface of the housing and configured to deflect paintballs from the housing while reducing the likelihood that a paintball striking the housing will break on impact with the housing; and   a rapid loading mechanism for permitting a plurality of paintballs contained in a paintball pod to be quickly transferred from the pod to the hopper chamber.   
   
   
       16 . A hopper according to  claim 15 , wherein the rapid loading mechanism comprises:
 a seal adapted for attachment to said opening and defining a first aperture;   a flange arranged opposite said seal and defining a second aperture and having an outer flange surface adapted for receiving a pod opening;   a passageway located between said first aperture and said second aperture, and wherein said passageway, said first aperture and said second aperture are each dimensioned to allow passage of the paintballs there through;   a means for biasing said flange way from said seal; and   an iris occluding said passageway;   wherein when the pod opening is pressed against said outer flange surface and sufficient force is exerted to overcome said biasing means, said flange is moved towards said seal and said iris opens, thereby allowing passage of the plurality of paintballs from the pod into said chamber.   
   
   
       17 . A paintball hopper according to  claim 15 , further comprising a plurality of flexible panels securely attached to the outer surface of the housing, wherein each panel is configured to deflect paintballs from the housing while reducing the likelihood that a paintball striking the housing will break upon impact with the housing. 
   
   
       18 . A paintball hopper according to  claim 17 , wherein the plurality of flexible panels comprises a first panel and a second panel securely attached to opposing sides of the hopper housing. 
   
   
       19 . A paintball hopper according to  claim 18 , wherein the plurality of flexible panels further comprises a third panel securely attached to a rearward facing surface of the hopper housing. 
   
   
       20 . A paintball hopper according to  claim 18 , wherein the first and second panels are configured to cover a forward facing surface area of the hopper housing as well as side facing surface areas of the hopper housing.