Patent Application
20240159487
This invention relates generally to a firearm safety device and more particularly to an accidental discharge avoidance device for use with a weapon.
Accidental discharges of weapons, such as firearms, often occur when a person picks up the weapon, inadvertently uses the trigger as a grasping point, applies pressure to the trigger and thereby firing the weapon. Some weapons do not have safeties that lock the trigger from moving to prevent discharge of the weapon. Additionally, other conventional devices used to prevent firing of the weapon include trigger locks and the like, wherein a locking device is coupled to a trigger well that has a combination or key to unlock the trigger lock and remove the lock. These conventional devices are not effective and are cumbersome to remove.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved accidental discharge avoidance device that is effective to inhibit accidental discharge of the weapon and easy to remove for operation of the weapon.
An embodiment includes an accidental discharge avoidance device comprising: a base member larger than a trigger well of a weapon; a first protrusion extending from the base member; a second protrusion extending from the base member; and a trigger channel formed between the first protrusion and the second protrusion, wherein the first protrusion and the second protrusion are configured to couple within the trigger well of the weapon with a trigger of the weapon located within the trigger channel when the first protrusion and the second protrusion are coupled within the trigger well of the weapon.
Another embodiment includes a method of using an accidental discharge avoidance device by a shooter, the method comprising: picking up a weapon having an accidental discharge avoidance device removably coupled to a trigger well of the weapon, the accidental discharge device comprising: a base member larger than the trigger well of the weapon; a first protrusion extending from the base member; a second protrusion extending from the base member; and a trigger channel formed between the first protrusion and the second protrusion, wherein the first protrusion and the second protrusion are coupled within the trigger well of the weapon by friction with a trigger of the weapon located within the trigger channel; avoiding an accidental discharge of the weapon when picking it up in response to providing a tactile barrier to accessing the trigger, wherein the tactile barrier comprises a finger engaging the accidental discharge avoidance device coupled to the trigger well; and applying a force to the first protrusion of the accidental discharge avoidance device in a direction toward the base member to remove the accidental discharge avoidance device from the trigger well.
The foregoing and other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following more detailed description of the particular embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
A more complete understanding of the present invention may be derived by referring to the detailed description and claims when considered in connection with the Figures, wherein like reference numbers refer to similar items throughout the Figures, and:
As discussed above, embodiments of the present invention relate to an accidental discharge avoidance device for use with a weapon. The device operates to provide a tactile barrier to the trigger well and avoid accidental discharge by disrupting access to the trigger of the weapon.
Referring to
In embodiments, the trigger channel 18 is curved. Curved surface 15 of protrusion 14 and curved surface 17 of second protrusion 16 form two opposing sides of the trigger channel 18. The curvature of the curved surfaces 15 and 17 and the distance between the surfaces forming the width of the channel are such to allow a plurality of different types of triggers to be inserted within the trigger channel without the need to change the curvature of the curved surfaces 15 and 17.
The device 10 may comprising a lip 24 formed from the base member 12, that extending beyond the dimensions of the first and second protrusions 14 and 16. The lip 24 is configured to engage a trigger guard 34 of the weapon 30 to prevent the device 10 from extending all the way through the trigger well 36 (see
Further, the trigger channel 18 comprises a channel surface 19 between the first and second protrusions 14 and 16, wherein the channel surface 19 is parallel to and offset from the lip 24 and configured to engage a side of the trigger 32 when the first and second protrusions 14 and 16 are coupled within the trigger well 36. Further, the first protrusion 14 comprises a first end surface 20 opposite the base member 12 and the second protrusion 16 comprises a second end surface 22 opposite the base member 12. In embodiments, the first end surface 20 and the second end surface 22 may be coplanar. In other embodiments, they may be parallel surfaces. The first end surface 20 and the second end surface 22 may also be parallel to the lip 24 and parallel to a surface of the base member 12 opposite from the side the first and second protrusions 14 and 16 extend from. The first end surface 20 may be utilized by a shooter to extract or remove the device 10 from the trigger well 36 by the shooter using a finger to apply a force to the first end surface 20 in a direction toward the base member 12. If the force is greater than the friction force holding the device 10 within the trigger well 36, the device 10 will be pushed out of the trigger well 36 and the shooter can access the trigger 32 of the weapon 30 to shoot the weapon 30.
In embodiments, the first and second protrusions 14 and 16 extend from the base member 12 in a direction to be inserted from a left side of the weapon 30 for a right-handed shooter, or the first and second protrusions 14 and 16 extend from the base member 12 in a direction to be inserted from a right side of the weapon 30 for a left-handed shooter.
In operation, and in reference to
The embodiments and examples set forth herein were presented in order to best explain the present invention and its practical application and to thereby enable those of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention. However, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the foregoing description and examples have been presented for the purposes of illustration and example only. The description as set forth is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the teachings above without departing from the spirit and scope of the forthcoming claims.
