US20090101128A1

US20090101128A1 - Paintball gun with synchronous setting unit

Info

Publication number: US20090101128A1
Application number: US11/976,098
Authority: US
Inventors: Sheng-Jen Lian
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2007-10-22
Filing date: 2007-10-22
Publication date: 2009-04-23

Abstract

A paintball gun with a synchronous setting unit. The paintball gun includes a gun grip and a first setting unit disposed in the gun grip. The first setting unit is composed of an input element, a calculation element and a communication element. The first setting unit transmits a signal in a wired or wireless manner through the communication element. The first setting unit and a corresponding portable second setting unit respectively set and transmit a parameter signal for the paintball gun. Thus, a user may rapidly and remotely set parameters according to the live situation so that the user's mobility and the convenience are greatly enhanced.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a paintball gun structure, and more particularly to a paintball gun with a synchronous setting unit.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
A conventional paintball gun structure performs a shooting action through a pneumatic action, and the number of times of shooting the paintballs is determined according to the frequency of triggering a trigger. Recently, the paintball gun structure has an electronic shooting controller disposed in the paintball gun in order to make a shooting procedure more real and more exciting. A shooting mode may be changed according to differently set parameters of an electronic apparatus. That is, the user may set the mode according to different purposes, and the data after the gun shoots is transmitted to an interface on a computer or a personal digital assistant (PDA).
In order to overcome the problem induced by the electronic apparatus disposed in the paintball gun, U.S. Pat. No. 6,615,814 discloses a paintball gun, which is an electronic paintball gun structure.
The electronic paintball gun structure has a circuit board disposed in the paintball gun, and a setting unit disposed on a gun grip. The shooting state may be set using the setting unit, and the data after the gun shoots may be transmitted to various display instruments in a wireless manner.
However, the above-mentioned electronic paintball gun structure still has some imperfect issues to be improved.
First, the electronic controller is attached to the gun grip of the electronic paintball gun in order to accommodate the control circuit board. Thus, if the user wants to adjust the shooting mode, he or she has to press the setting button and wait for an indicator to display a signal and thus to judge whether the setting mode has been connected. The next situation option cannot be proceeded until the setting mode has been connected. The processes are performed repeatedly according to various objects, and the complicated setting procedures waste a lot of time. In addition, the touch area of the setting button on the gun grip is restricted. Thus, the user may feel difficult and inconvenient in operating the gun.
Second, the electronic controller is disposed on the paintball gun, the user may personally set the parameters. However, a lot of manpower and time have to be wasted during a team activity or when the manufacturer has to correct the gun simultaneously, thereby causing inconvenience.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A main object of the invention is to provide a paintball gun with a synchronous setting unit. The paintball gun includes a first setting unit, which is composed of an input element, a calculation element and a communication element. The first setting unit, which utilizes the communication element, and an independent portable second setting unit to respectively set and transmit a parameter signal for the paintball gun in a wired or wireless manner.
The invention solves the following conventional problems.
First, the paintball gun of the invention has the portable second setting unit for improving the conventional drawbacks, in which the conventional electronic paintball gun has the smaller setting buttons that cannot be easily operated by the user, and the user has to perform the complicated operation procedure and waste a lot of time when he or she uses the paintball gun firstly or urgently. Thus, the user may perform the simple, rapid and remote setting operations through the portable second setting unit according to the live situation when he or she is shooting in a mobile manner or firstly uses the paintball gun. Therefore, the user's mobility and the convenience may be greatly enhanced.
Second, the paintball gun of the invention has the portable second setting unit to solve the conventional problems, in which the control circuit board is disposed in the gun grip, and only one paintball gun can be set and adjusted at a time. So, the invention can set a lot of parameters for many guns through the portable second setting unit.
Third, the paintball gun of the invention has a set of setting units capable of transmitting signals synchronously. One of the setting units is mounted on the paintball gun, and the other of the setting units is an independent and portable unit. Thus, the problem that the conventional controller of the electronic paintball gun cannot set many parameters simultaneously can be improved, and the records and the set parameters after the paintball gun shoots may be transmitted to an electronic processor, such as a computer. In addition, the simple design of the structure of the invention may also reduce the manufacturing cost greatly. The reduced cost can inevitably meet the trend in the price raising age. Thus, the invention also satisfies the cost effectiveness.
The structural design of the paintball gun with the synchronous setting unit will be described according to the following embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Further aspects, objects, and desirable features of the invention will be better understood from the detailed description and drawings that follow in which various embodiments of the disclosed invention are illustrated by way of examples.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration showing a paintball gun with a synchronous setting unit according to the invention.

FIG. 2 shows signal transmission between a portable second setting unit of the invention and an electronic processor.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration showing a paintball gun with a synchronous setting unit according to the invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the paintball gun of the invention is the paintball gun with the synchronous setting unit. The paintball gun includes a paintball gun body 10, a magazine 11 and a pneumatic device 12. The paintball gun has a gun grip 13 and a first setting unit 14 disposed in the gun grip 13. The first setting unit 14 is composed of an input element 141, a calculation element 142 and a communication element 143. The input element 141 is disposed on a surface of the gun grip 13 and is a press button for being pressed to set parameters according to the purpose of use. The calculation element 142 is a circuit board for connecting the input element 141 to the communication element 143, and for processing parameter signals to be transmitted to the gun. The communication element 143 of the first setting unit 14 is a receiver disposed at one end of the surface of the gun grip 13. The receiver receives a parameter signal of a portable second setting unit 20 and transfers the parameter signal to the calculation element 142. The receiver may transmit the signal through a wired transmission cable or in a wireless manner through the radio, infrared or bluetooth transmission technology.
In addition, the invention also has the portable second setting unit 20, which is an independent setting unit. A binder is attached to each of two sides of the portable second setting unit 20 so that the user may wear the second setting unit 20. The second setting unit 20 is composed of a button set 21, a compiler 22 and a communication element 23. The used gun mode and function are set by the portable second setting unit 20 through the button set 21 on the surface thereof, and the inputted data is transferred to the compiler 22, which encodes and computes the inputted data so that the inputted data is converted into a parameter value. Then, the communication element 23 of the setting unit responds to the communication element 143 on the paintball gun and verifies that the connection is established. Then, the parameter value may be transmitted to the first setting unit 14 of the paintball gun body 10 so that a setting procedure is completed.
FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the portable second setting unit 20 may utilize the communication element 23 to transmit data to an electronic processor 30 or receive the data from the electronic processor 30. The electronic processor 30 may be a personal computer 31, a personal digital assistant (PDA) 32, a display 33 or a notebook computer 34. That is, the portable second setting unit 20 and the electronic processor 30 may set or transmit the parameter signal for the paintball gun.
According to the synchronous setting unit of the paintball gun, the problem of the build-in controller of the conventional electronic paintball gun may be solved. Basically, the predetermined structural effects and targets include the following features.
First, the portable second setting unit 20 may remotely control the paintball gun so that the shooting mode or the situation parameter may be immediately set synchronously. In addition, the portable second setting unit 20 may also be worn on the user so that the user may immediately adjust the shooting mode and immediately respond with the live condition to have the best behavior when the user is shooting in the practical situation.
Second, the portable second setting unit 20 is a setting unit with the synchronously transmission function in the paintball gun according to the invention. The portable second setting unit 20 may set many parameter signals for many paintball guns so that the precision and the efficiency are enhanced during the team activity or when the manufacturer is correcting many paintball guns.
Third, the invention utilizes the portable second setting unit 20 to transmit the mode and the parameters, which are set by the user, to the electronic processor 30 so as to facilitate the storage of the shooting data. Thus, the second setting unit 20 is really a convenient apparatus in a team competition in which many users participate.
New characteristics and advantages of the invention covered by this document have been set forth in the foregoing description. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention. Changes in methods, shapes, structures or devices may be made in details without exceeding the scope of the invention by those who are skilled in the art. For instance, the portable second setting unit 20 may be attached to any other electronic processor 30 to achieve the effect of data setting. So, the scope of the invention is, of course, defined in the language in which the appended claims are expressed.
New characteristics and advantages of the invention covered by this document have been set forth in the foregoing description. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention. Changes in methods, shapes, structures or devices may be made in details without exceeding the scope of the invention by those who are skilled in the art. The scope of the invention is, of course, defined in the language in which the appended claims are expressed.

Claims

1. A paintball gun, comprising:

a gun grip; and

a first setting unit, which is disposed in the gun grip and is composed of an input element, a calculation element and a communication element, wherein the first setting unit transmits a signal in a wired or wireless manner through the communication element, and the first setting unit and a corresponding portable second setting unit respectively set and transmit a parameter signal for the paintball gun.

2. The paintball gun according to claim 1, wherein the input element of the first setting unit is disposed on a surface of the gun grip, and is a press button, through which parameters may be set according to a purpose of use.

3. The paintball gun according to claim 1, wherein the calculation element of the first setting unit is a circuit board for processing the parameter signal.

4. The paintball gun according to claim 1, wherein the communication element of the first setting unit is a receiver, which is disposed at one end of a surface of the gun grip and is for transmitting and receiving the parameter signal for the portable second setting unit.

5. The paintball gun according to claim 4, wherein the receiver transmits and receives the parameter signal by way of radio transmission.

6. The paintball gun according to claim 4, wherein the receiver transmits and receives the parameter signal by way of infrared transmission.

7. The paintball gun according to claim 4, wherein the receiver transmits and receives the parameter signal by way of bluetooth transmission.

8. The paintball gun according to claim 4, wherein the receiver transmits and receives the parameter signal through a transmission cable.

9. The paintball gun according to claim 1, wherein the portable second setting unit is composed of a button set, a compiler and a communication element.

10. The paintball gun according to claim 9, wherein the portable second setting unit may transmit data to an electronic processor.

11. The paintball gun according to claim 9, wherein a binder is attached to each of two sides of the portable second setting unit so that a user may wear the portable second setting unit when the user is shooting.

12. The paintball gun according to claim 10, wherein the electronic processor is a personal computer.

13. The paintball gun according to claim 10, wherein the electronic processor is a personal digital assistant (PDA).

14. The paintball gun according to claim 10, wherein the electronic processor is a display.

15. The paintball gun according to claim 11, wherein the electronic processor is a notebook computer.