SLEEVE SHUTTLE AIR GUN

摘要

S P E C I F I C A T I O N SLEEVE SHUTTLE AIR GUN Inventor: Stephen V. Chelminski A sleeve shuttle air gun is described which can be fired by a solenoid valve without dumping compressed air into the ambient prior to firing, thereby avoiding the generation of premature impulses caused by such dumping and avoiding the heavy duty complex solenoid dump valves of the prior art or the complex two-stage dump valves of the prior art. The sleeve shuttle is automatically returned to its initial closed and sealed position after each firing of the air gun by the refilling flow of pressurized air. Only one level of pressurized air is required for operation of this gun; there is no requirement for a separate low level pressure source to control the sleeve shuttle. A relatively long acceleration path may be provided so that the sleeve shuttle attains a high velocity prior to opening the discharge ports for producing a sudden, powerful discharge. The end of the sleeve shuttle advantageously travels completely beyond the discharge ports, and thereafter the shuttle motion is damped by interaction with damper ports located beyond the main discharge ports. The trigger chamber for initiating firing is defined by an inner annular lip at one end of the sleeve shuttle engaging the firing seal in the initial closed position and by an outer annular shoulder (or flange) on the outside of the shuttle engaging with an encircling seal. A stationary piston ring in sliding engagement with the inner wall surface CONT'D of the shuttle sleeve is replaceable for accommodating wear. A replaceable stationary cylinder sleeve in sliding engagement with the annular shoulder on the outside of the shuttle sleeve also accommodates wear. The volume of the firing chamber is conveniently changed by removing and replacing a chamber member on the opposite end of the air gun from the solenoid valve. The instant of firing is advantageously monitored from the sudden increase in pressure occurring at the end of the return chamber toward which the sleeve shuttle moves when this air gun is fired.