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.

What is claimed is: 
     
         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.