Firearms – Safety mechanism – Firearm lock
Reexamination Certificate
1998-11-12
2001-05-01
Carone, Michael J. (Department: 3641)
Firearms
Safety mechanism
Firearm lock
Reexamination Certificate
active
06223461
ABSTRACT:
This invention relates to a gun or firearm safety system and corresponding method. More particularly, this invention relates to a remotely activatable trigger lock or other safety for a gun which enables a central controller such as a Government authority or a Police Department to selectively activate or deactivate select firearms in different geographical areas throughout the world.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,461,812; 4,488,370; and 5,459,957 disclose gun safety systems, and are all hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Firearm (e.g. gun) safety is a worldwide concern. Standard in many weapons is a thumb safety and/or grip safety which reduces unintentional firearm discharges. Thumb safeties may operate by manually shifting a safety lever from a safe position to a fire position. Grip safeties may be automatically shifted to fire positions when a user's hand engages the stock of the weapon or even the trigger of the weapon. Neither of these types of safety mechanisms is completely effective to prevent the unauthorized use of a firearm, and thus have proven unsatisfactory in dealing with a variety of safety concerns. Moreover, these prior art systems cannot prevent stolen, or select, weapons from being discharged.
A concern of law enforcement officials is the prevention of law enforcement officers being shot at or killed with an officer's own service weapon. Another concern is firearms of any type being utilized against law enforcement officers. Another concern is the exportation from the United States of U.S. made firearms which ultimately become used against U.S. troops or citizens in foreign countries. For example, it would be undesirable if foreign militaries or terrorists were able to acquire and use U.S. made weapons against U.S. soldiers or U.S. citizens.
There have been prior art attempts to make a weapon operable only by specific authorized users. Some prior art devices require that the user wear a special signal generating (i.e. active) component, such as a ring, bracelet, or glove. In these devices, the firing mechanism will only operate in the presence of a signal generated by the active device. Such devices are deficient for a number of reasons. The active components are cumbersome and uncomfortable to wear, thereby decreasing user acceptance and making the system less reliable. Additionally, the devices are not unique to a given user or a given geographical area because the weapon can still be operated by anyone who has the required signal generator in any area of the world. Another problem is that a firearm cannot be quickly enabled if the user is not presently wearing, or loses, the signal generating device.
In view of the above, it is apparent that there exists a need in the art for police authorities or governmental authorities to be capable of remotely activating and/or deactivating particular or select firearms in different geographical areas around the world. There also exists a need in the art for police or law enforcement officers to be capable of remotely activating or deactivating weapons which may be utilized against them, on short notice.
It is a purpose of this invention to fulfill the above-described needs in the art, as well as other needs which will become apparent to the skilled artisan from the following detailed description of this invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of this invention to enable Governmental authorities to remotely activate and/or deactivate select firearms in different geographical areas around the world.
It is another object of this invention to allow law enforcement officers (e.g. police officers) to remotely deactivate firearms which they perceive, on short notice, to potentially be utilized against them.
It is another object of this invention to utilize a satellite to enable Governmental authorities and/or law enforcement authorities to remotely deactivate and/or activate select firearms.
It is still another object of this invention to provide firearms with a processor chip therein which is capable of receiving deactivation and/or activation signals from a satellite in order to selectively deactivate/activate the firearm. When activated, the firearm may be utilized to fire or discharge bullets, and when deactivated a trigger lock or the like may be utilized to prevent the firearm from being discharged.
Another object of this invention is to provide a plurality of firearms, each with at least one processor chip therein which receives remote orders from a satellite or from a police transmitter in order to activate or deactivate the firearm. In such a manner, in certain embodiments, firearms may be shut down or deactuated by way of a trigger lock if they are reported or believed to be stolen.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a system for deactivating/activating firearms via satellite signals, by way of selective frequencies and/or codes being transmitted to firearms via satellites. In such a manner, the frequencies and/or codes may be changed on a daily basis for security purposes, with the chip in each firearm being programmed in advanced to know which frequencies and/or codes may be utilized on particular days of the year to activate or deactivate each firearm.
It is still another object of this invention to permanently deactivate a firearm (e.g. gun) if a processor chip therein is removed, tampered with, or deactivated.
This invention further fulfills the above identified needs in the art by providing a method of distributing, activating, and deactivating a firearm, the method comprising:
providing a firearm including a receiving antenna, a processor, a memory, and a locking device for selectively preventing the firearm from being able to be discharged;
distributing the firearm;
transmitting an activation signal, via a transmitting antenna located remote from the firearm, to a satellite;
the satellite receiving the activation signal including activation information therein;
the satellite transmitting an earthward-directed signal toward a first geographic area on planet earth, to the exclusion of other geographic areas on planet earth;
the firearm being located in the first geographic area and the receiving antenna of the firearm receiving the earthward-directed signal from the satellite;
the processor of the firearm causing the locking device to unlock in response to detection of the receiving antenna receiving the earthward-directed signal from the satellite so that the firearm may be discharged;
transmitting a deactivation signal, via a transmitting antenna located remote from the firearm, to the satellite;
the satellite receiving the deactivation signal including deactivation information therein, and in response thereto transmitting an earthward-directed deactivation signal toward the first geographic area on planet earth; and
the receiving antenna of the firearm receiving the earthward-directed deactivation signal from the satellite and the processor in response thereto causing the locking device to lock the firearm against discharge so as to prevent the firearm from being discharged.
This invention still further fulfills the above described needs in the art by providing a system for deactivating a firearm and preventing the firearm from discharging, the system comprising:
the firearm including a receiving antenna, a processor, a memory, and means for selectively preventing the firearm from discharging;
an antenna located remote from the firearm, said antenna for transmitting a deactivation signal to at least one satellite;
said at least one satellite for receiving the deactivation signal;
said at least one satellite for transmitting an earthward-directed deactivation signal toward a first geographic area on planet earth, to the exclusion of other geographic areas on planet earth;
the firearm being located in the first geographic area, and the receiving antenna of the firearm receiving the earthward-directed deactivation signal from said at least one satellite; and
the processor of the firearm, in response to detecting reception of the earthward-directe
Carone Michael J.
Nixon & Vanderhye P.C.
Technology Patents, LLC
Thomson Michelle
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