Motorized airgun

Abstract

An airgun has a pneumatic mechanism that is driven by an electrical motor to provide a blast of air, wherein the pneumatic mechanism is in a non-coaxial and angled position relative to the barrel, and wherein the air is delivered to the barrel via a preferably angled intermediate conduit. Spatial separation of the pneumatic mechanism from the axis of the barrel allows for substantially simplified constructions and use of light-weight material, and further provides a wide variety of handgun designs as the only space requirement for the projectile delivery portion is the barrel. Therefore, in one especially preferred aspect of the inventive subject matter, the airgun is configured a revolver.

1 . A motorized airgun, comprising:
 an electric motor operatively coupled to a gear set, wherein the gear set has at least one drive gear and at least one output gear;   a piston having a rack portion and a plunger portion, wherein the rack portion is coupled to a spring and wherein the plunger portion is disposed in a pneumatic cylinder;   wherein the piston is configured to be movable between a first position and a second position, and wherein the output gear and the rack portion are configured to allow movement of the piston from the first to the second position;   a barrel fluidly coupled to the pneumatic cylinder, wherein the barrel has a longitudinal axis and the piston has a longitudinal axis, and wherein the longitudinal axis of the barrel and the longitudinal axis of the piston are in a non-coaxial and angled position relative to each other; and   an intermediate conduit configured to fluidly couple an opening of the pneumatic cylinder with one end of the barrel and further configured to transmit an air blast from the pneumatic cylinder to the one end of the barrel along a curved or angled path.   
   
   
       2 . The motorized airgun of  claim 1  wherein the airgun comprises a handle, and wherein the motor and at least part of the gear set are disposed within the handle. 
   
   
       3 . The motorized airgun of  claim 2  wherein at least part of the piston and at least part of the pneumatic cylinder are disposed within the handle. 
   
   
       4 . The motorized airgun of  claim 1  further comprising a power source. 
   
   
       5 . The motorized airgun of  claim 1  wherein the opening of the pneumatic cylinder and the one end of the barrel are permanently open. 
   
   
       6 . The motorized airgun of  claim 1  wherein the intermediate conduit is configured such that the longitudinal axis of the barrel and the longitudinal axis of the piston have an angle of between 30 degrees and 80 degrees relative to each other. 
   
   
       7 . The motorized airgun of  claim 1  wherein the gear set, the piston, and the intermediate conduit are manufactured from a plastic. 
   
   
       8 . The motorized airgun of  claim 1  wherein the piston has a first area that moves air from the pneumatic cylinder to the intermediate conduit, and wherein a cross section of the one end of the barrel has a second area, and wherein the second area is smaller than the first area. 
   
   
       9 . The motorized airgun of  claim 1  further comprising a trigger assembly and an electronic control device that controls operation of the electric motor in response to actuation of the trigger assembly. 
   
   
       10 . The motorized airgun of  claim 1  further comprising a retainer mechanism that retains the piston in the second position. 
   
   
       11 . The motorized airgun of  claim 10  further comprising a trigger assembly that is configured to cooperate with the retainer mechanism to thereby release the piston from the second position upon actuation of the trigger assembly. 
   
   
       12 . The motorized airgun of  claim 1  wherein the piston and the pneumatic cylinder are configured to allow movement of a gas volume of between  2  cm 3  and  10  cm 3  when the piston moves from the second to the first position. 
   
   
       13 . The motorized airgun of  claim 1  wherein the barrel predominantly comprises aluminum. 
   
   
       14 . The motorized airgun of  claim 1  wherein the airgun is configured to have an outward appearance of a revolver. 
   
   
       15 . A motorized airgun comprising an intermediate conduit that is fluidly coupled between a barrel and a pneumatic cylinder, wherein the intermediate conduit is configured to direct pressurized air from the pneumatic cylinder to the barrel at an angle that is substantially identical with an angle formed between the barrel and a longitudinal axis of a handle of the airgun. 
   
   
       16 . The motorized airgun of  claim 15  wherein the pneumatic cylinder is directly coupled to the intermediate conduit, and wherein a piston is movably disposed within the pneumatic cylinder to provide a blast of air upon movement of the piston. 
   
   
       17 . The motorized airgun of  claim 16  wherein the piston is actuated via a rack gear and a transmission gear, and wherein the transmission gear is actuated by an electric motor. 
   
   
       18 . The motorized airgun of  claim 17  further comprising a power source that provides electric current to the electric motor. 
   
   
       19 . The motorized airgun of  claim 15  further comprising a spring loaded mechanism that delivers a projectile to the barrel. 
   
   
       20 . The motorized airgun of  claim 15  wherein the airgun is configured to have an outward appearance of a revolver.