Firearms – Electric appliances
Reexamination Certificate
1998-12-04
2001-11-27
Carone, Michael J. (Department: 3641)
Firearms
Electric appliances
C042S070110, C089S027120, C089S028050
Reexamination Certificate
active
06321478
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention pertains generally to firearms and, more specifically to firearms designed to fire ammunition with non-percussion primers.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
Some of the material disclosed herein is disclosed and claimed in the following pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/205,392, filed Dec. 4, 1998 , entitled “FIRE CONTROL SYSTEM FOR NON-IMPACT FIRED AMMUNITION” which is hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In conventional firearms, either a striker or a hammer and firing pin is provided for detonating percussion primers. Although many advances in conventional firearm design have been made over the years, the underlying principle of ignition by impact is based on technology essentially optimized in the last century. Percussion primers in today's ammunition and the complexity of moving parts in a firearm having a mechanical fire control system are key design constraints in implementing significant improvements in safety, performance and reliability using conventional technology.
The complexity of moving parts in a mechanical fire control system is especially problematic in a handgun having multiple chambers, such as a revolver, in which a cylinder is rotatable about its centerline on a center pin, and pivotable on a yoke in order to insert and remove the cartridges.
Although electronic components have been designed into the ignition systems of firearms, generally the electrical components either supplement or displace existing parts of the mechanical firing mechanism. The percussion primer is still detonated in the conventional manner, e.g., by impact from a firing pin or striker. U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,085
Electronic Firing System for Target Pistol,
for example, shows a pistol in which a mechanical trigger bar is displaced by a solenoid. U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,153
Firearm Battery and Control Module
describes a firearm incorporating a microprocessor in an ignition system for a firearm using conventional percussion primers.
Electronic safety mechanisms have been developed for use in revolvers as well as pistols, as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,970,819
Firearm Safety System and Method,
in which actuation of the firing mechanism is blocked until a grip pattern sensing means on the handgrip of the firearm provides a signal to a microprocessor that corresponds to a prestored grip pattern. Typically, however, the electronic safety system of the '819 patent adds an additional layer of complexity to the revolver, by blocking but not replacing, the conventional mechanical firing mechanism for firing percussion primers.
Electronics have also been designed into ignition systems for firearms that use non-conventional primers and cartridges. U.S. Pat. No. 3,650,174 for
Electronic Ignition System for Firearms
describes an electronic control system for firing electrically primed ammunition. The electronic control of the '174 patent, however, is hard-wired and lacks the multiple sensor interfaces or the programmable central processing unit that is found with the present invention. U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,972 for a
Gun With Electrically Fired Cartridge
describes an electrically fired gun in which a heat-sensitive primer is ignited by a voltage induced across a fuse wire extending through the primer. U.S. Pat. No. 5,272,828 for
Combined Cartridge Magazine and Power Supply for a Firearm
shows a laser ignited primer in which an optically transparent plug or window is centered in the case of the cartridge to permit laser ignition of the primer. Power requirements and availability of fused and/or laser ignited primers are problematic however.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,755,056, for
Electronic Firearm and Process for Controlling an Electronic Firearm
shows a firearm for firing electrically activated ammunition having a round sensor, and a bolt position sensor. The technology of the '056 patent, however, is limited to a firearm with a bolt action.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide a gun capable of achieving major improvements in performance and safety through the use of an all electronic fire control system that has the capability to interface with a wide variety of safety and fault detection sensors and to integrate the sensor data to verify authorized and safe firing conditions prior to ignition.
It is another object of this invention to provide an electronically controlled gun with a simplified modular design for enhanced reliability, maintainability, and competitive cost to manufacture.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a firearm with superior performance by eliminating the mechanical forces associated with the mechanical linkages and the impact fired ammunition, which tend to pull the firearm off target.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a firearm with an ignition system such that the energy to fire is available in user perceived real time. Another object of the present invention is to ensure that generation of an ignition signal is enabled only after authorized and safe firing conditions have been verified.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a firearm having an electronic fire control system with all of the aforementioned safety and diagnostic features that can be implemented in either a pistol, a revolver, or a multiple chambered firearm.
Still another object of the present invention to is provide a firearm of the foregoing type which is adaptable for use with several types of ammunition, including electrically fired, optically fired and other types of direct energy initiated ammunition.
The present invention is directed to a firearm adapted to utilize an ammunition round having a non-impact primer adjacent one end thereof. The firearm includes a frame, a movable slide assembly, a power source, and a control module for selectively permitting communication of an ignition signal from the power source to the non-impact primer.
The firearm further includes an ammunition chamber formed in the movable slide for releasably housing the ammunition round, as well as including an electrically conductive ignition probe housed within the movable slide for permitting communication of the ignition signal from the power source to the non-impact primer when the ammunition round is disposed in the chamber.
A sensor assembly is utilized to generate a status signal to the control module indicative of an operational mode of the firearm. The control module permits generation of the ignition signal in response to an actuation of the trigger assembly only when the sensor assembly indicates that the firearm is in a firing mode.
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“Is This a Smart Gun?”, by Kerby C. Smith, Sigarms Inc.
Carone Michael J.
McCormick Paulding & Huber LLP
Smith & Wesson Corp.
Thomson Michelle
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