Airgun Gas Cylinder Piercing Needle for Faster First Shot
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional gas cylinder piercing mechanisms in airguns result in slower firing speeds due to the needle's need to advance and retract, and subsequent trigger pulls require significant effort due to friction, which is inefficient and disliked by users.
Innovation Solution
A gas cylinder piercing mechanism with a triangular column needle head featuring a gas passage and a retractable design, allowing instantaneous gas flow and reduced effort for subsequent trigger pulls by enabling the needle to partially reenter the cylinder after each operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If the piercing needle advances and retracts to pierce the cylinder, then the cylinder can be pierced and gas can be released, but the firing speed of the first projectile becomes slower
Solution Approach 1:
The piercing needle is pre-loaded in a forward position before triggering, so that when the trigger is pulled, the needle is already in place to immediately release gas upon cylinder insertion, eliminating the need for advancement motion during firing and thus improving firing speed
Solution Approach 2:
The piercing needle is designed to be movable between a forward position (for initial piercing) and a rearward position (for subsequent operations), allowing the system to adapt its state based on whether it is the first or subsequent trigger pull, thereby optimizing performance for both scenarios
2Ease of operation
If the entire needle head is cylindrical-shaped, then the structure is simple, but the user must exert considerable effort during subsequent trigger pulls to overcome friction
Solution Approach 1:
The needle head is designed with an asymmetric shape featuring a flat surface that contacts the cylinder, which reduces the contact area and friction compared to a fully cylindrical shape, making subsequent trigger pulls easier while maintaining structural simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
Only the portion of the needle head that contacts the cylinder is modified to have a flat surface, while the rest of the needle maintains its cylindrical shape, thus locally optimizing the contact interface to reduce friction without unnecessarily complicating the overall needle structure
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances the firing speed of the first projectile and reduces the effort required for subsequent trigger pulls by ensuring unimpeded gas flow and minimizing friction, thus improving operational efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a movable piercing needle in the expansion channel defining an internal gas passage configured to direct the compressed gas from the cylinder into the expansion channel such that compressed gas flows to the gas supply channel when the piercing needle pierces the cylinder
Implementation Method 2
subsequent trigger operations after initial piercing of the gas cylinder are easier than the first. Put another way, the piercing mechanism provides a labor saving benefit in that subsequent trigger pulls require less effort to operate the trigger
Data Source
AI summary
A gas cylinder piercing mechanism for an airgun includes a housing, a piercing needle, and a trigger assembly. The housing includes an expansion channel, a gas supply channel, and a receiving space for receiving a cylinder of a compressed gas. The trigger assembly, connected to the housing, drives the piercing needle in the expansion channel to pierce the gas cylinder. The piercing needle includes a head portion having an internal gas passage and an oblique cutting surface. The gas passage includes a gas inlet in the oblique cutting surface and a gas outlet spaced from the oblique cutting surface that links the gas passage to the gas supply channel via the expansion channel so that compressed gas flows from the cylinder into the expansion channel and on to the gas supply channel upon operation of the trigger.