Rapid-firing projectile launcher

Abstract

A projectile launcher has a magazine of launching chambers for holding a plurality of projectiles at the launcher's front end. The projectiles are launchable by the delivery of a blast of compressed air through each chamber's respective air inlet. The air inlets are uniformly spaced in a substantially cylindrical array about the magazine. A piston with a handle is adjacent to the rear end of the launcher body. The piston has a longitudinal axis coaxial with the cylindrical array, and the piston is movable in back-stroke and fore-stroke motions along that axis for inhaling air into the launcher during the back-stroke and exhaling air from the launcher though one of said air inlets in blasts of compressed air during the fore-stroke. A rotatable diverter directs the blasts to one of the air inlets individually and sequentially upon successive backstroke and fore-stroke cycles of the piston.

1 . A projectile launcher comprising a launcher body having a front end with a magazine adjacent thereto, said magazine comprises a plurality of forwardly directed launching chambers, each of said launching chambers comprises an air inlet and each of said chambers is adapted for receiving a projectile therein so that the projectile is launchable there-from by the delivery of a blast of compressed air through said chamber's respective air inlet, said air inlets are substantially uniformly spaced in a substantially cylindrical array about said magazine to define a central axis; 
 said launcher further comprises a piston and said launcher body further has a rear end with a handle adjacent thereto for engaging said piston, said piston having a longitudinal axis coaxial with said central axis of said cylindrical array, and said piston being reciprocally movable in back-stroke and fore-stroke motions along its longitudinal axis by grasping said handle for inhaling air into said launcher body during said back-stroke motion and exhaling air from said launcher body though one of said air inlets in blasts of compressed air during said fore-stroke motion, said blasts of compressed air being discharged through a rotatable diverter adapted to direct said blasts to one of said air inlets of said launching chambers individually and sequentially upon successive back-stroke and fore-stroke cycles of said piston.    
     
     
         2 . The projectile launcher of  claim 1  wherein substantially all fore-stroke force is directed along said central axis.  
     
     
         3 . The projectile launcher of  claim 1  wherein said rotatable diverter comprises a set of forward ratcheting teeth and a set of rearward ratcheting teeth and said launcher body comprises a set of rear ratchet teeth adapted to mate with said rearward ratchet teeth and a set of front ratchet teeth adapted to mate with said forward ratchet teeth, and wherein said rotatable diverter is adapted to move longitudinally along said central axis in the same direction as and during movement of said piston so that said rear and rearward ratchet teeth are engaged during said back-stroke and said front and forward ratchet teeth are engaged during said fore-stroke, and wherein said ratchet teeth are adapted so that said engagements cause rotation of said rotatable disk from a first rotational position before said backstroke wherein said diverter is positioned to direct air to a first chamber's air inlet to a second rotational position during said fore-stroke wherein said diverter is positioned to direct air to a second chamber's air inlet, said second chamber being adjacent to said first chamber.  
     
     
         4 . The projectile launcher of  claim 3  wherein substantially all fore-stroke force is directed along said central axis.  
     
     
         5 . The projectile launcher of  claim 3  further comprising an intake hole for allowing air to be inhaled into said launcher body and wherein said rotatable diverter is adapted to unblock said intake hole during said back-stroke so air can be more efficiently inhaled during and said rotatable diverter is adapted to block said intake hole during said fore-stroke so that substantially all of said inhaled air is exhaled during said fore-stroke through said second chamber's air inlet.  
     
     
         6 . The projectile launcher of  claim 5  wherein substantially all fore-stroke force is directed along said central axis.  
     
     
         7 . The projectile launcher of  claim 6  wherein said magazine is disposed in stationary and nonrotatable relation to said body.  
     
     
         8 . The projectile launcher of  claim 7  wherein the plurality of launching chambers is a first number and the number of teeth in each set of said front, forward, rear and rearward ratchet teeth is equal to said first number.  
     
     
         9 . The projectile launcher of  claim 8  wherein said first number is an even number.  
     
     
         10 . The projectile launcher of  claim 9  wherein said first number is eight.