Non-lethal / training ammunition shell
The non-lethal training ammunition shell addresses manufacturing and cost issues by incorporating a novel gate configuration and direct charging mechanism, achieving cost-effective and efficient projectile discharge.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- WO · WO
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-08-29
- Publication Date
- 2026-03-12
AI Technical Summary
Existing non-lethal training ammunition systems face issues with manufacturing complexity, high costs, and limitations in adopting similar designs and charging systems across various sizes, due to inferior materials and designs, and the need for specialized fill apparatuses.
A shell design with a novel gate configuration, high-strength ball bearings, and a polyurethane bumper, combined with a direct charging mechanism that eliminates the need for a dedicated fill valve, allowing for cost-effective manufacturing and reusability using compressed air.
The design reduces manufacturing complexity and cost, enables reusability, and allows for consistent performance with a smaller cartridge size, while maintaining efficient projectile discharge.
Smart Images
Figure CA2025051134_12032026_PF_FP_ABST
Abstract
Description
[0001] TITLE: Non-Lethal / Training Ammunition Shell
[0002] FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH: Not Applicable
[0003] SEQUENCE LISTING OR PROGRAM: Not Applicable
[0004] TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTIONT
[0005] The present invention relates to non-lethal training ammunition. More particularly, the invention relates to a shell used in non-lethal training ammunition.
[0006] BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0007] Prior art non-lethal training systems using air powered shells have many shortcomings ranging from charging pressures, charging complexity, and limitations in adopting the same or similar shell and charging system to various sizes.
[0008] With respect to manufacturing, current prior art air shell systems are being manufactured based on inferior designs and with inferior materials, where only expensive machining and materials metallurgy can overcome the poor design but result in extreme cost increases.
[0009] Therefore, what is needed is a shell used in non-lethal training ammunition and a corresponding charging apparatus which reduces the complexity of manufacturing and usage, while also being manufacturable at reasonable cost.
[0010] The present invention teaches such a system where a gate in the shell has a novel and non-obvious feature not found in other prior art. The separation of the sealing surface between the interior (compressed air) region of the pressure vessel and the projectile is smaller in diameter compared to the sealing surface between the interior and the lock side of the mechanism.
[0011] Therefore, it is possible to modify the force acting on the ball bearings as a function of the internal pressure while simultaneously allowing for a faster or slower discharge time, due to the change in opening acceleration when the mechanism is activated.
[0012] While high strength materials are required where the ball bearings contact other surfaces, it is, however, not necessary to make the entire pressure vessel of a high strength material as the radial sizes are small enough to allow aluminum alloys to be used that have a sufficiently high yield stress. For this reason, the material in contact with the ball bearings as well as the ball bearings themselves only need to be of high strength, all other materials can be of lower strength as their stresses are spread out over significantly larger surface areas. The primary benefit of making only the ball bearing retainer from a high strength steel is that this greatly reduces the cost as well as lowers the overall weight in comparison to prior art devices.
[0013] Another improvement over prior art is the inclusion of a small, polyurethane or plastic bumper at the end of the lock that is impacted by the firing pin. Other, similar, units make use of a full metal component. Though this is perfectly acceptable for use in non-firing weapons, when a firing pin of a firearm impacts another hard metal surface, significant damage can be done over time. For this reason, a small bumper is used that is highly durable but still transfers a large percentage of the firing pin’s energy to the lock system is taught.
[0014] Prior art makes use of a Schrader valve (sometimes also called “American valve”) system to allow external, high-pressure air (HPA) or liquified carbon dioxide (CO2) to pressurize a pressure vessel within the design. In this case however, the internal discharge mechanism is being used both for charging and discharging the unit. This requires a specialized fill apparatus that contains a few special capabilities.
[0015] It would therefore be desirable to teach a fill apparatus that does not contain a dedicated fill valve. The shell and the charger taught by the present invention do not provide function on their own but only in combination of them does the technical and financial benefit become apparent. By utilizing a more complicated method by which a shell is pressurized (as opposed to a simple hand tool), the option is made available to charge the shell directly through its primary valve, thereby removing the necessity of a secondary (Schrader) valve. Not having such a valve provides two benefits. The first benefit is that the cost of a separate component is removed. The second, and arguably larger, benefit is that the space for the valve is no longer required and therefore the cartridge size can be made substantially smaller.
[0016] Prior art has the valve on the rear (rim) end of a 40mm equivalent ammunition design. At this scale, that is a possibility, however, if the dimensions are reduced, there is insufficient space to have both the valve and the firing mechanism located here and the only location for the valve would be on the outer shell side which would complicate the manufacturing and assembly process greatly.
[0017] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0018] The device of the present invention is a shell used in non-lethal training ammunition. The shell is comprised a series of components contained within the shell body, enclosed on opposing ends by a projectile and a rim. The projectile encloses one end of the outer case of the shell. A pressure vessel extends from the projectile to the rim and is threaded to the rim, which encloses the opposing end of the outer case of the shell. The pressure vessel contains the gate, where the gate encloses the damper and spring. A retainer secures the gate and locks the pressure vessel. The lock engages the inner surface of the gate using one or more bearings.The rim contains a bumper connected to the lock. The rim uses thread to be removablyconnected to the pressure vessel. The bumper is the section of the shell which received pressure from a firing pin of a gun apparatus which creates a force on the lock that is transmitted through the bearings, spring, damper, and gate so that the gate engages the pressure vessel in a manner that release the pressure thrusting the projectile out of and away from the outer case of the shell. Beyond these items, a set of generic o-rings are used to provide a positive seal internal to the pressure vessel.
[0019] The shell is a primer and powder-less ammunition targeting reusability in a training and self-defense scenario. A primary differentiation between existing ammunition in this field is that this is aimed at the 12-Gauge shotgun market utilizing compressed air (rather than a primer-only or primer and smokeless powder system). By using high-pressure compressed air (HPA), the shell can be made completely re-usable.
[0020] Once the pressure vessel has been charged with the desirable pressure of air, activation of the mechanism is accomplished by means of a regular firing pin. The pin strikes the bumper which in turn transfers the impact to the lock. The lock slides forward and after a short distance of 1.00-2.00mm allows the ball bearings to fully clear the retainer part. Once this occurs, the gate disengages from the retainer and can move rearwards, based on the force imbalance between the front and rear sealing cross sectional area. Once the gate moves the short distance, the front sealing surface allows air to pass and thereby propels the projectile.
[0021] The charger is comprised of an outer body on one end, with the other end open for the insertion of a shell which can then be capped for charging by a threaded rear cap. The outer body encloses a pre-setting assembly against which a shell is placed. The threaded rear fitting includes a setting pin which engages the bumper of the shell upon action of a lever.
[0022] The outer case contains the shell assembly and is closed on one side by a fill fitting or pressure regulator assembly and on the other by the removable rear cap. Both sides utilize o-rings to make a pressure-tight seal and the threads on the rear cap side are coarse to allow the cap to be removed with only a few turns while maintaining a high strength way of retaining the internal pressure.
[0023] Prior to charging the unit, the lever is depressed part of the way until it reaches a ball bearing-detent stop which indicates that the internal mechanism of the shell has been sufficiently engaged to allow the gate to be opened by the force applied through the spring- loaded pre-setting plunger.
[0024] Once this has been done and the user lets go of the lever, the unit is pressurized, likely using a high-pressure air source such as a tank or pump system. The optional regulator aids in setting a consistent charge pressure which is important for a consistently performing device. Though combining a regulator with the charging system is novel, it can be considered an obvious derivation.
[0025] Within a short period of time, the internal volume becomes pressurized to the level provided by the exterior air source. At this time, the lever is fully depressed which causes the setting pin to push forward the shell’s lock unit which in turn compresses the spring which then allows the lock to contact the damper and thereby pushing forward the gate until the o-ring at the front of the pressure vessel makes a positive seal. Once the lever is released, the lock can move back to its original location, relaxing the spring and at the same time pushing the ball bearings radially outwards from the gate and into the recess in the retainer, thereby locking the gate in place.
[0026] With this step completed, the pressure can be released and once it has dropped to ambient pressures, the coarse thread between the rear cap and outer case no longer has high friction and can be turned by hand to remove the shell.
[0027] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0028] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form a part of the specification, illustrate the present invention and, together with the description, further serve to explain the principles of the invention and to enable a person skilled in the pertinent art to make and use the invention.
[0029] Fig. 1 is an isometric section view of shell with the components identified.
[0030] Fig. 2 is a side, cross section view of the components.
[0031] Fig. 3 is a side assembly view of the charger.
[0032] Fig. 4 is a cross-section assembly view of the charger.
[0033] INDEX OF ELEMENTS / COMPONENTS
[0034] 10: Projectile
[0035] 11: Outer Case
[0036] 12: Pressure Vessel
[0037] 13: Gate
[0038] 14: Bearings
[0039] 15. Retainer
[0040] 16. Rim
[0041] 17. Damper
[0042] 18. Spring
[0043] 19. Lock
[0044] 20. Bumper
[0045] 21. Shell
[0046] 22. Charger
[0047] 23. Rear Cap
[0048] 24. Outer Body
[0049] 25. Lever Spring
[0050] 26. Setting Pin
[0051] 27. Lever
[0052] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0053] In the following detailed description of the invention of exemplary embodiments of the invention, reference is made to accompanying drawings (where like numbers represent like elements), which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific exemplary embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in art to practice the invention, but other embodiments may be utilized, and logical, mechanical, electrical, and other changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined only by appended claims.
[0054] In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, it is understood that the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and techniques known to one of ordinary skill in art have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure theinvention. Referring to the figures, it is possible to see the various major elements constituting apparatus of the present invention.
[0055] The device of the present invention is a shell 21 used in non-lethal training ammunition. Now referring to Figs. 1-2, the internal components of the shell 21 are shown in isometric and side view respectively with occluding surfaces removed. The shell 21 is comprised a series of components contained with the shell 21 body, enclosed on opposing ends by a projectile 10 and a rim 16.
[0056] The projectile 10 encloses one end of the outer case of the shell 21. A pressure vessel 12 extends from the projectile 10 to the rim 16 and is threaded to the rim 16, which encloses the opposing end of the outer case of the shell 21.
[0057] The pressure vessel 12 contains the gate 13, where the gate 13 encloses the damper 17 and spring 18. A retainer 15 secures the gate 13 and locks the pressure vessel 12. The lock 19 engages the inner surface of the gate 13 using one or more bearings 14.
[0058] The rim 16 contains a bumper 20 connected to the lock 19. The rim 16 uses thread to be removably connected to the pressure vessel 12. The bumper 20 is the section of the shell 21 which received pressure from a firing pin of a gun apparatus which creates a force on the lock 19 that is transmitted through the bearings 14, spring 18, damper 17, and gate 13 so that the gate 13 disengages from the pressure vessel 12 in a manner that release the pressure thrusting the projectile 10 out of and away from the outer case of the shell 21.
[0059] Beyond these items, a set of generic o-rings are used to provide a positive seal internal to the pressure vessel 12 between the surfaces of the gate 13 and the pressure vessel 12.
[0060] The shell 21 is a primer and powder- less ammunition targeting reusability in a training and self-defense scenario. A primary differentiation between existing ammunition in thisfield is that this is aimed at the 12-Gauge shotgun market utilizing compressed air (rather than a primer-only or primer and smokeless powder system). By using high-pressure compressed air (HPA), the shell 21 can be made completely re-usable.
[0061] Once the pressure vessel 12 has been charged with the desirable pressure of air, activation of the mechanism is accomplished by means of a regular firing pin. The pin strikes the bumper 20 which in turn transfers the impact to the lock 19. The lock 19 slides forward and after a short distance of 1.00-2.00mm allows the ball bearings 14 to fully clear the retainer 15 part. Once this occurs, the gate 13 disengages from the retainer 15 and can move rearwards, based on the force imbalance between the front and rear sealing cross sectional area. Once the gate 13 moves the short distance, the front sealing surface allows air to pass and thereby propels the projectile 10.
[0062] In alternative embodiments, the lock 19 slides forward and after a short distance of 1.50- 1.75mm allows the ball bearings 14 to fully clear the retainer 15 part. In specific embodiments, the lock 19 slides forward and after a short distance of 1.50mm allows the ball bearings 14 to fully clear the retainer 15 part. In an alternative specific embodiment, the lock 19 slides forward and after a short distance of 1.75mm allows the ball bearings 14 to fully clear the retainer 15 part.
[0063] The component referred to as the gate 13 has a novel and non-obvious feature not found in other prior art. The separation of the sealing surface between the interior (compressed air) region of the pressure vessel 12 and the projectile 10 is smaller in diameter compared to the sealing surface between the interior and the lock 19 side of the mechanism. This difference in cross sectional area (where the o-rings make contact) is what generates a net positive force towards the locking mechanism. By tailoring the ratio between these two areas, the net differenceis the force in the common equation F=m*a. Therefore, it is possible to modify the force acting on the ball bearings 14 as a function of the internal pressure while simultaneously allowing for a faster or slower discharge time, due to the change in opening acceleration when the mechanism is activated. Ideally, the opening time is short (on the order of <0.1 milliseconds) but this needs to be balanced against the bearing forces generated on the surfaces of the gate 13, lock 19, and ball bearing retainer 15 as well as the ball bearings 14 themselves.
[0064] All the internal force generated by the pressurized container is statically opposed by the bearings 14, retainer 15 and lock 19 mechanism. Once the lock 19 component is moved forward by means of the impact generated by the firing pin, the bearings 14 disconnect from the ball bearing retainer 15 and pass through the gate 13 in a radial fashion. Therefore, high strength materials are required where the ball bearings 14 contact other surfaces. However, the entirety of this force is of Hertzian type (forming spherical indentations in the ball bearing retainer 15, gate 13, and lock 19). It is, however, not necessary to make the entire pressure vessel 12 of a high strength material as the radial sizes are small enough to allow aluminum alloys to be used that have a sufficiently high yield stress. For this reason, the material in contact with the ball bearings 14 as well as the ball bearings 14 themselves only need to be of high strength, all other materials can be of lower strength as their stresses are spread out over significantly larger surface areas. The primary benefit of making only the ball bearings 14, gate 13, lock 19 and retainer 15 from a high strength steel is that this greatly reduces the cost as well as lowers the overall weight.
[0065] Another improvement over prior art is the inclusion of a small, polyurethane or plastic bumper 20 at the end of the lock 19 that is impacted by the firing pin 26. Other, similar, units make use of a full metal component. Though this is perfectly acceptable for use in nonfiring weapon systems (soft-air systems or similar), when a firing pin of a firearm impactsanother hard metal surface, significant damage can be done over time. For this reason, a small polyurethane or plastic bumper 20 is used that is highly durable. Polyurethane of a rigid durometer can be chosen with a balance between resilience and impact absorption, but polyurethane still transfers a large percentage of the firing pin’s energy to the lock 19 system. Using silicone instead does not yield good results as silicone is generally too soft and is also more difficult (although not impossible) to install. It has been determined through extensive research and development that a plastic bumper 20 is most suitable for this application.
[0066] One unique aspect of the aforementioned shell system is that it does not contain a dedicated fill valve. Prior art makes use of a Schrader valve (sometimes also called “American valve”) system to allow external, high-pressure air (HPA) or liquified carbon dioxide (CO2) to pressurize a pressure vessel 12 within the design. In this case however, the internal discharge mechanism is being used both for charging and discharging the unit. This requires a specialized fill apparatus that contains a few special capabilities.
[0067] Referring to Figs. 3-4, the charger 22 is comprised of an outer body 24 on one end, with the other end open for the insertion of a shell 21 which can then be capped for charging by a threaded rear cap 23. The outer body encloses a pre-setting assembly against which a shell 21 is placed. The threaded rear fitting includes a setting pin which engages the bumper 20 of the shell 21 and a lever 27.
[0068] The outer case 24 contains the shell assembly 21 and is closed on one side by a pressure regulator assembly or fill fitting and on the other by the removable rear cap 23. Both sides utilize o-rings to make a pressure-tight seal and the threads on the rear cap 23 side are coarse to allow the cap to be removed with only a few turns while maintaining a high strength way of retaining the internal pressure.
[0069] Prior to charging the unit, the lever 27 is depressed part of the way until it reaches a ball -detent stop which indicates that the internal mechanism of the shell 21 has been sufficiently engaged to allow the gate 13 to be opened by the force applied through the spring - loaded pre-setting plunger.
[0070] Once this has been done and the user lets go of the lever 27, the unit is ready to be pressurized, likely using a high-pressure air source such as a tank or pump system. The optional regulator aids in setting a consistent charge pressure which is important for a consistently performing device. Though combining a regulator with the charging system is novel, it can be considered an obvious derivation. Release of the pressure from the source is generally done by means of a valve integral to the tank or compressor where the gas originates or an intermediary valve located integral to a connecting hose.
[0071] Within a short period of time, the internal volume becomes pressurized to the level provided by the exterior air source. At this time, the lever 27 is fully depressed which causes the Setting Pin 26 to push forward the shell’s lock 19 unit which in turn compresses the spring 18 which then allows the lock 19 to contact the damper 17 and thereby pushing forward the gate 13 until the o-ring at the front of the pressure vessel 12 makes a positive seal. Once the lever 27 is released, the lock 19 can move back to its original location, relaxing the spring 18 and at the same time pushing the ball bearings 14 radially outwards from the gate 13 and into the recess in the retainer 15, thereby locking the gate 13 in place.
[0072] With this step completed, the pressure can be released at the external source and once it has dropped to ambient pressures, the coarse thread between the rear cap 23 and outer case 24 no longer has a high friction and can be turned by hand to remove the shell 21.
[0073] The shell 21 and the charger 22 do not provide function on their own but only in combination of them does the technical and financial benefit become apparent. By utilizing a more complicated method by which a shell 21 is pressurized (as opposed to a simple hand tool), the option is made available to charge the shell 21 directly through its primary valve, thereby removing the necessity of a secondary (Schrader) valve. Not having such a valve provides two benefits. The first benefit is that the cost of a separate component is removed. The second, and arguably larger, benefit is that the space for the valve is no longer required and therefore the cartridge size can be made substantially smaller. Prior art has the valve on the rear (rim 16) end of a 40mm equivalent ammunition design. At this scale, that is a possibility, however, if the dimensions are reduced, there is insufficient space to have both the valve and the firing mechanism located here and the only location for the valve would be on the outer shell 11 side which would complicate the manufacturing and assembly process greatly.
[0074] It should be noted that it is not necessary to fully enclose the shell 21 in this way to charge it. An alternative method may be used whereby there is a sealing surface between two components that maintain force against both the front face of the shell 21 where the projectile 10 and pressure vessel 12 meet and the rear rim 16 end and thereby generate sufficient pressure at the gate 13 side to pressurize the system. Such a design is possible and perhaps to be implemented in the future, but at this junction, a more reliable, fully enclosing system is preferred as it minimizes amount of force required to close the gate 13 (in a one-sided pressurizing system, the force required to close the gate 13 is calculated based on the full cross- sectional area of the larger side of the gate 13 seal alone. For this specific design, this force would be approximately 120 Ibf for a 1000 psi charge.)
[0075] The design of such a charger and shell 21 combination can be applied to a range of ammunition calibers, such as 12 Gauge, 10 Gauge (shotgun), .50 BMG, 37mm and 40mm (Grenades) as well as several others. Smaller ammunition is also possible but once the design enters the region of micro-machining and with very small gas volumes, the efficiency and use of such ammunition becomes questionable.
[0076] Thus, it is appreciated that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variation in size, materials, shape, form, function, and manner of operation, assembly, and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one of ordinary skill in art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in above description are intended to be encompassed by the present invention.
[0077] Furthermore, other areas of art may benefit from this method and adjustments to the design are anticipated. Thus, the scope of the invention should be determined by appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given.
Claims
CLAIMSThe embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
1. A shell used in non-lethal training ammunition, comprising a shell body out case, the shell body outer case enclosed on opposing ends by a projectile and a rim; a projectile encloses one end of the outer case of the shell; a pressure vessel extends from the projectile to the rim and is threaded to the rim, which encloses the opposing end of the outer case of the shell from the projectile; the pressure vessel contains the gate, the gate encloses the damper and spring; a retainer secures the gate and lock to the pressure vessel; the lock engages the inner surface of the gate using one or more bearings; the rim contains a bumper connected to the lock; the rim uses thread to be removably connected to the pressure vessel.
2. The shell of claim 1, wherein a set of o-rings are used to provide a positive seal internal to the pressure vessel.
3. The shell of claim 1, wherein once the pressure vessel has been charged with the desirable pressure of air, activation of the mechanism is accomplished by means of a regular firing pin;the pin strikes the bumper which in turn transfers the impact to the lock; the lock slides forward and after a short distance of 1.00-2.00 mm allowing the ball bearings to fully clear the retainer part; the gate disengages from the retainer and moves rearwards, based on the force imbalance between the front and rear sealing cross sectional area; once the gate moves the short distance, the front sealing surface allows air to pass and thereby propels the projectile.
4. The shell of claim 3, wherein the lock slides forward a short distance of 1.5-1.75 mm allowing the ball bearings to fully clear the retainer part.
5. The shell of claim 4, wherein the lock slides forward a short distance of 1.50 mm allowing the ball bearings to fully clear the retainer part.
6. The shell of claim 4, wherein the lock slides forward a short distance of 1.75 mm allowing the ball bearings to fully clear the retainer part.
7. The shell of claim 1, whereinthe separation of the sealing surface between the interior (compressed air) region of the pressure vessel and the projectile is smaller in diameter compared to the sealing surface between the interior and the lock side of the mechanism.
8. The shell of claim 7, wherein by tailoring the ratio between these two areas, it is possible to modify the force acting on the ball bearings as a function of the internal pressure while simultaneously allowing for a faster or slower discharge time, due to the change in opening acceleration when the mechanism is activated.
9. The shell of claim 8, wherein the opening time is short (on the order of <0.1 milliseconds) but this needs to be balanced against the bearing forces generated on the surfaces of the gate, lock, and ball bearing retainer.
10. The shell of claim 1, wherein all the internal force generated by the pressurized container is statically opposed by the bearing and lock mechanism; once the lock component is moved forward by means of the impact generated by the firing pin, the bearings disconnect from the ball bearing retainer and pass through the gate in a radial fashion.
11. The shell of claim 10, wherein high strength materials are required where the ball bearings contact other surfaces ; andall other materials can be of lower strength as their stresses are spread out over significantly larger surface areas.
12. The shell of claim 1, wherein the bumper is a small, plastic component at the end of the lock that is impacted by the firing pin.
13. The shell of claim 1, wherein the internal discharge mechanism is used both for charging and discharging the unit.
14. A shell charger used in non-lethal training ammunition, comprising one end open for the insertion of a shell which is capped for charging by a threaded rear cap; the outer body encloses a pre-setting assembly against which a shell is placed; the threaded rear fitting includes a setting pin which engages the bumper of the shell and a lever; and the outer case contains the shell assembly and is closed on one side by the removable rear cap; both sides utilize o-rings to make a pressure-tight seal and the threads on the rear cap side are coarse to allow the cap to be removed with only a few turns while maintaining a high strength way of retaining the internal pressure.
15. The shell of claim 14, whereinprior to charging the unit, the lever is depressed part of the way until it reaches a balldetent stop which indicates that the internal mechanism of the shell has been sufficiently engaged to allow the gate to be opened by the force applied through the spring-loaded pre-setting plunger; and once this has been done and the user lets go of the lever, the unit is pressurized, likely using a high-pressure air source such as a tank or pump system.
16. The shell of claim 15, wherein an optional regulator aids in setting a consistent charge pressure which is important for a consistently performing device.
17. The shell of claim 14, wherein during pressurization of the volume contained by the outer case and the two ends, the presetting plunger experiences a net outward directed force due to it being sealed from the exterior by means of an o-ring but forced into the initial state by means of a spring; during pressurization, the spring is compressed, leading the contacting surface that has been holding the gate open to retract; within a short period of time, the internal volume becomes pressurized to the level provided by the exterior air source; at this time, the lever is fully depressed which causes the setting pin to push forward the shell’s lock unit which in turn compresses the spring which then allows the lock to contact the damper and thereby pushing forward the gate until the o-ring at the front of the pressure vessel makes a positive seal;once the lever is released, the lock can move back to its original location, relaxing the spring and at the same time pushing the ball bearings radially outwards from the gate and into the recess in the retainer, thereby locking the gate in place.
18. The shell of claim 17, wherein the pressure can be released and once it has dropped to ambient pressures, and the coarse thread between the rear cap and outer case no longer has high friction and can be turned by hand to remove the shell.
19. The shell of claim 14, wherein a shell is charged directly through its primary valve.
20. The shell of claim 14, wherein the shell is only partially enclosed; and a sealing surface between two components that maintain force against both the front face of the shell and the rear rim end and thereby generate sufficient pressure at the gate side to pressurize the system.
21. The shell of claim 14, wherein the charger and shell combination is applied to a range of ammunition calibers, such as12 Gauge, 10 Gauge (shotgun), .50 BMG, 37mm and 40mm (Grenades) as well as several others.