PROJECTILE FEEDER
A projectile feeder having a housing, a cap and a cap tether. The housing has an enclosed shell with a fill opening for loading projectiles, a receiver adjacent the fill opening, an internal cavity, and a discharge opening at a bottom of the shell. The cap has a rotatable securing member extending from a top of the cap. The cap tether has a first end and a second end. The first end of the tether is connected to the receiver and the second end is connected to the rotatable securing member of the cap.
1 . A projectile feeder, comprising:
a housing comprising an enclosed shell, the shell having a fill opening for loading projectiles, a connector adjacent the fill opening for removably securing a cap thereto to close the fill opening, the fill opening leading to an internal cavity of the shell, a receiver adjacent the fill opening on an exterior of the housing, and a discharge opening at a bottom of the shell for discharging projectiles located in the internal cavity;
a cap having a mating member for rotatably securing the cap to the connector with one of a one-half turn or one-quarter turn of the cap, the cap having a rotatable securing member extending from a top of the cap;
a cap tether having a first end and a second end, the first end connected to the receiver on the housing, and the second end connected to the rotatable securing member of the cap; and,
a feeder plate in the internal cavity, the feeder plate being a substantially planar member with a crowned top and having securing arms to secure the feeder plate to interior walls of the housing.
2 . The projectile feeder of claim 1 , wherein a distance between a bottom of the interior of the housing and a bottom of the feeder plate is less than twice a diameter of the projectiles used with the feeder.
3 . The projectile feeder of claim 1 , wherein a longitudinal axis through the discharge opening extends generally vertically.
4 . The projectile feeder of claim 3 , wherein a longitudinal axis through the fill opening is generally at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the discharge opening.
5 . The projectile feeder of claim 1 , wherein the shell is made of two parts that are connected together.
6 . The projectile feeder of claim 1 , further comprising a discharge tube extending from the discharge opening.
7 . The projectile feeder of claim 1 , wherein the feeder plate extends a distance from a front and rear of the inner wall of the shell to allow for movement of the projectiles in the housing.
8 . The projectile feeder of claim 1 , wherein the receiver comprises a pivotable securing member, and wherein the first end of the cap tether is connected to the pivotable securing member.
9 . The projectile feeder of claim 1 , wherein the cap tether has a width and a thickness, and wherein the width is greater than the thickness.
10 . The projectile feeder of claim 9 , wherein the width of the cap tether is at least 3 times greater than the thickness of the cap tether.
11 . A projectile feeder, comprising:
a housing comprising an enclosed shell, the shell having a fill opening for loading projectiles, a connector adjacent the fill opening for removably securing a cap thereto to close the fill opening, the fill opening leading to an internal cavity of the shell, a receiver adjacent the fill opening on an exterior of the shell, and a discharge opening at a bottom of the shell for discharging projectiles located in the internal cavity;
a cap having a mating member for rotatably securing the cap to the connector, the cap having a rotatable securing member extending from a top of the cap; and,
a cap tether having a first end and a second end, the first end connected to the receiver on the housing, and the second end connected to the rotatable securing member of the cap.
12 . The projectile feeder of claim 11 , further comprising a feeder plate in the internal cavity, the feeder plate being a substantially planar member with having securing arms to secure the feeder plate to interior walls of the housing.
13 . The projectile feeder of claim 11 , wherein the mating member of the cap is secured to the connector with one of a one-half turn or one-quarter turn of the cap.
14 . The projectile feeder of claim 11 , wherein the receiver comprises a pivotable securing member, and wherein the first end of the cap tether is connected to the pivotable securing member.
15 . A projectile feeder, comprising:
a housing comprising an enclosed shell, the shell having a fill opening for loading projectiles, the fill opening leading to an internal cavity of the shell, a receiver adjacent the fill opening on an exterior of the shell, and a discharge opening at a bottom of the shell for discharging projectiles located in the internal cavity;
a cap for closing the fill opening, the cap having a rotatable securing member extending from a top of the cap; and,
a cap tether having a first end and a second end, the first end connected to the receiver on the housing, and the second end connected to the rotatable securing member of the cap.
16 . The projectile feeder of claim 15 , further comprising a connector adjacent the fill opening for removably securing a cap thereto to close the fill opening,
17 . The projectile feeder of claim 16 , wherein the cap has a mating member for rotatably securing the cap to the connector.
18 . The projectile feeder of claim 15 , wherein the cap tether has a width and a thickness, and wherein the width is greater than the thickness.
19 . The projectile feeder of claim 18 , wherein the width of the cap tether is at least 3 times greater than the thickness of the cap tether.
20 . The projectile feeder of claim 15 , further comprising a discharge tube extending from the discharge opening, and a discharge cap to cover the discharge opening, wherein the discharge cap has a tether secured around the discharge tube.