Paintball gun with sound effects

Abstract

A paintball gun is made with a control circuit controlling the operation of the gun. The control circuit is provided substantially as a circuit board installed through an opening of the gun housing. The circuit board performs some novel functions including storing and replaying sound clips from stored digital files, The sound clips could include instructions to the user, music, audible indications of various operations and/or parameters related to the operation of the paintball gun, and so on.

1 . A paintball gun comprising:
 a body with a barrel selectively ejecting paintballs and a handle;   an electronic circuit disposed in the body and configured to control the paintball ejection in response to commands, said electronic circuit including a memory storing files corresponding to sounds, an audio device driver receiving said files in the presence of an event and an audio device receiving analog signals corresponding to said files and generating corresponding sound signals.   
   
   
       2 . The paintball gun of  claim 1  wherein said electronic circuit operates in one of several modes, further comprising a selection member for selecting said mode. 
   
   
       3 . The paintball gun of  claim 2  wherein said electronic circuit is adapted to select a sound clip indicative of a selected mode of operation. 
   
   
       4 . The paintball gun of  claim 1  wherein said body is formed with a removable panel, and said electronic circuit is formed on a circuit board that is replaceable through said panel. 
   
   
       5 . The paintball gun of  claim 4  further comprising a visual indicator mounted on said panel and driven by said circuit board. 
   
   
       6 . The paintball gun of  claim 5  wherein said visual indicator is selected from a group consisting of a display screen selectively showing alphanumeric characters and an element including an indicating lamp that is selectively activated from said circuit. 
   
   
       7 . The paintball gun of  claim 1  wherein said audio device is a speaker. 
   
   
       8 . The paintball gun of  claim 1  wherein said audio device is an earphone. 
   
   
       9 . The paintball gun of  claim 8  wherein said earphone is wired to the electronic circuit. 
   
   
       10 . The paintball gun of  claim 1  wherein said audio device is remote from the gun further comprising a wireless connection connecting the electronic circuit to the audio device. 
   
   
       11 . A paintball gun comprising:
 a body with a barrel for selectively ejecting paintballs using compressed gas;   a control circuit including:
 a processor receiving commands and generating control signals; 
 valves responsive to control signals and controlling gas flow to the barrel; 
 a memory storing digital files corresponding to sound clips; 
 an audio device driver receiving a digital file from said memory in the presence of predetermined event; 
   an audio device generating sounds corresponding to said digital file; and   a first connector selectively receiving external signals from a remote location and transmitting said external signals to said processor, said external signals including digital files for said memory.   
   
   
       12 . The paintball gun of  claim 7  wherein said memory stores a plurality of digital files, further comprising a selector used to select at least one of said digital files to be paid by said audio device. 
   
   
       13 . The paintball gun of  claim 11  wherein said audio device is external of said gun further comprising a second connector for transmitting audio signals to said audio device. 
   
   
       14 . The paintball gun of  claim 13  wherein said second connector is a wired connector. 
   
   
       15 . The paintball gun of  claim 13  wherein said second connector is a wireless connector. 
   
   
       16 - 20 . (canceled) 
   
   
       21 . The paintball gun of  claim 11  further comprising an audio output circuit generating audio indications to a user about the operation of the control circuit. 
   
   
       22 . The paintball gun of  claim 21  wherein said audio output circuit includes a buzzer. 
   
   
       23 . The paintball gun of claim wherein said audio output circuit includes a speaker generating audio clips in response to audio files from a memory. 
   
   
       24 . The paintball gun of  claim 11  wherein said control circuit includes at least a demo mode in which various operational characteristics of the gun are demonstrated and a drill mode in which the user can exercise various functions of the gun.