Importance

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Abstract

A projectile substance is pneumatically propelled. The projection substance is inserted onto a longitudinal bore of a barrel and a rupture disk is attached to a first end of the barrel. Next, the first end of the barrel is coupled to a first end of a pneumatic reservoir having a chamber therein. The rupture disk, as attached, acts to form a seal between the longitudinal bore and the chamber. Then, a gas is introduced into the chamber until a sufficient pressure is attained within the chamber to rupture the disk. When the disk ruptures, the gas in the chamber rushes into the longitudinal bore with sufficient force to propel the projectile substance out of the barrel. One or more pistons may be slidably disposed within the chamber to form more than one chamber portion. An average pressure for propelling the projectile substance may be increased by various methods of forcing the piston(s) toward the projectile substance as it is being driven out of the barrel. Additionally, if more than one piston, for example two pistons, are provided, the pistons may have different end surface areas to create a pressure multiplication effect. Accordingly, the pressure available for propelling the projectile substance can be greater than the source pressure. Also, rupture pressure in the chamber can be achieved by heating a liquid in the chamber.

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First Claim