NPS awarded a new patent...

[tasker89]

National has a new patent. # 6,708,685. The patent does mention the use of an electronic circuit to fire the gun. Thoughts?

[BobTheCow]

Link?

[tasker89]

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6708685.WKU.&OS=PN/6708685&RS=PN/6708685

[athomas]

Interesting read. I can see how this could be a very consistent marker.

Any patent is valid unless/until challenged in court and struck down. Even the Smart Parts patent may be challengable in court and struck down if someone wants to spend the money. If National puts this gun into production using an electronic trigger, Smart Parts may challenge that it infringes on their patent. But if Smart Parts challenges and loses, it opens up the door for others to also challenge the validity of the Smarts Parts patent.

[cranky_fart]

National have already signed with Smart Parts. So I doubt we'll be seeing any court action there.

[WARPED1]

Originally posted by cranky_fart
National have already signed with Smart Parts. So I doubt we'll be seeing any court action there. Eggsactly!

[bleachit]

"and a spring-biased bolt, reciprocally moveable within the breech, controlling the flow of projectiles and compressed gas into a barrel. "


this makes me think e spyder... and possibly the next phase in Smart Parts move to control electronics in paintball. I know SP doesnt own this patent, but who knows what their agreement with NPS says...

[tasker89]

I realize that NPS and SP have already reached an agreement. I was curious about the implications of having yet another patent approved which addresses the use of electronic circuits to fire the marker. My count for patented "electro markers" is now 3. Smart Parts, Perrone (Brass Eagle) and NPS.

[bleachit]

what exactly does the BE patent state?

[tasker89]

Originally posted by bleachit
what exactly does the BE patent state?

There are two patent numbers attributed to Aldo Perrone. The numbers are: 6,516,791 & 6,520,172. They cover a spring biased, electronically fired gun.

Where in Niagara Falls are you at? I grew up on Grand Island before transplanting to Chicago many years ago.

[DeeEight]

Originally posted by bleachit
what exactly does the BE patent state?

BE doesn't have that many gun patents actually. They have old ones for the nightmare, poison, stingray, etc. They also have a patent on the rainmaker design.

[tasker89]

The ownership on the patents is a little muddy. Perrone was the designer behind all the original BE guns. BE and ZAP were involved at one point. Perrone was until recently working with ZAP on the Winchester line of markers and was involved with ZAP on some kind of ownership level. He now has his own company called XO. I am not sure what he kept in terms of intellectual property...

[mrhooie]

Originally posted by cranky_fart
National have already signed with Smart Parts. So I doubt we'll be seeing any court action there.


Signed what? no one knows
only NPS and SP know

[datapimp69]

from the patent..


The term "dynamically-regulated" refers to the fact that the compressed gas-powered projectile accelerator of the present invention, in contrast to air-guns known to be in the art, fills an intermediate reservoir as an integral part of, and at the beginning of, each projectile accelerating cycle. The cycle is initiated by the operator, preferably by the action of a trigger, which causes the filling of the intermediate reservoir by compressed gas. The second step of the cycle where the projectile is accelerated is then automatically activated when the pressure reaches a set pressure threshold. In so doing, the filling of the intermediate reservoir may be used not only to regulate the projectile velocity, but the time of each cycle, making fully automatic operation possible without necessity for inertial or electronic timing. Additionally, since the gas in the intermediate reservoir is used as soon as the pressure reaches the set pressure, the problem of potential bleed-up of the pressure in the intermediate reservoir is eliminated. For further illustration, the type of regulation employed by the compressed gas-powered projectile accelerator of the present invention may be contrasted with that employed by statically-regulated air-guns known to be in the art, where the intermediate reservoir is automatically filled to the set pressure, and the gas stored until the projectile accelerating step of the cycle is triggered by the operator.

this is the new invention they are claiming.

it sounds to me like there gun dosent fill the dump chamber till you pull the trigger. then sences when the pressure is right then fires the ball.

what does this mean? i dont know. is this a kind of valve that has been made before i dont know.

it sounds to me like you could adjust FPS eletronicly with this system.

any ideas anyone? TOM?

[Meph]

Originally posted by mrhooie

Signed what? no one knows
only NPS and SP know


Here's the agreement that Gino had with the Gardners. Since Gino with NPS is one of the largest distributors of Smart Parts products, Gino said "Back off or I quit buying your stuff" and guess what? Obviously the Gardners would lose MAJOR bank if Gino stopped working with them, and they can't have that due to the already feeble capital situation they are in (In short, Gardners/SP's credit sucks!). So they agreed to back off Gino.

Basically in short, this entire suing-spree and patent stuff is a gamble. Smart Parts absolutey positively NEED to set a precident, they NEED to have this win in their favor. For it they don't they won't be able to make enough moolah to survive. If they lose this gamble many people's wish will be coming true!

[DiRTyBuNNy]

Meph,

Care to share an info you have about the other deals that have been struck with SP? I'd love to see the reasoning behind some of the other companies that turtled after talking a lot of trash before they were served.

[barrel break]

hmm, the images either arent there, or arent working

[tasker89]

You have to download a viewer to see the images on the USPTO site. This link will take you to the viewer that the USPTO recommends.
http://www.uspto.gov/patft/help/images.htm