Aspects of this document relate generally to devices for counting ammunition. Particular implementations may be used for ammunition in automatic or semi-automatic weapons, such as linked or belted ammunition.
Conventionally, to keep track of ammunition a count of rounds is performed before and after use of a weapon. Counting may be done manually by hand or using a counting device such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,414 granted to Mark A. Cook, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated entirely by reference.
Implementations of ammunition round counting devices may include: a first module and a second module coupled together, the first module and the second module configured to open and close around a belt of ammunition; a counter module including one of at least two proximity sensors or at least two light emitting diodes (LEDs); a display screen on an outside of the first module; and a battery pack operatively coupled with the counter module. The counter module may be configured to count a number of rounds in the ammunition belt that pass through the first module and the second module.
Implementations of ammunition round counting devices may include one, all, or any of the following:
The display screen may be reversibly couplable into the first module.
The display screen may be a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen.
Implementations of ammunition round counting devices may also include a button on the outside of the first module, the button may be configured to allow a user to toggle the counter module between two or more modes of the display screen.
The at least two LEDs and at least two light sensors may be configured to count a round in the ammunition belt as the round interrupts the light beam emitted from the at least two LEDs and received by the at least two light sensors.
The number of rounds in the ammunition belt may be counted in a first direction through the first module and the second module and in a second direction through the first module and the second module.
The distance between the one of at least two proximity sensors or at least two LEDs may be a predetermined distance.
The predetermined distance may be 0.7215 inches.
The counter module may be configured to count up to 3000 rounds of ammunition per minute.
Implementations of ammunition round counting devices may include: a first module; a second module; a coupler coupled at a first end of the first module and coupled at a first end of the second module where the coupler may be configured to allow the first module and the second module to open and close around a belt of ammunition. The device may include a counter module including a first section having a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen, where the counter module couples into the first module. One of at least two proximity sensors or at least two light emitting diodes (LEDs) may be included in the counter module. A button may be included on an outside surface of the first section of the counter module; and a battery pack may be included in the second module. The counter module may be configured to count a number of rounds of ammunition passing between the first module and the second module using one of the at least two proximity sensors or the at least two LEDs. The first section of the counter module may be reversibly couplable into the first module.
Implementations of ammunition round counting devices may include one, all, or any of the following:
The button may be configured to allow a user to toggle the counter module between the two or more modes of the LCD screen.
The distance between one of the at least two proximity sensors or the at least two LEDs may be a predetermined distance.
The predetermined distance may be 0.7215 inches.
The counter module may be configured to count up to 3000 rounds of ammunition per minute.
The number of rounds in the ammunition belt may be counted in a first direction through the first module and the second module and may also be counted in a second direction through the first module and the second module.
Implementations of ammunition round counting devices may utilize implementations of a for counting ammunition. Implementations of the method may include: placing a belt of ammunition between a first module and a second module; passing the belt of ammunition adjacent one of two or more proximity sensor and two or more LEDs included in the first module; and creating at least one state through detecting the passing of each round of ammunition in the belt of ammunition using the one of the two or more proximity sensors and the two or more LEDs. The method may also include using the at least one state to count each round of ammunition in the belt of ammunition as having passed through the first module and the second module using a processor and a memory included in the first module, the second module, or both the first module and second module.
Implementations of a method for counting using ammunition round counting devices may include one, all, or any of the following:
The two or more LEDs may be pulsed toward two or more light sensors included in the second module at a 2 kHz frequency and the at least one state includes 5 to 10 pulses.
The method may further include interrupting a beam of light emitted by the two or more LEDs using a round of ammunition in the belt of ammunition and detecting the interruption using two or more light sensors.
The method may further include at least three states which may include 1,0; 0,1; and 0,0.
The round of ammunition can be counted in a first direction through the first module and the second module and a second direction through the first module and the second module.
The foregoing and other aspects, features, and advantages will be apparent to those artisans of ordinary skill in the art from the DESCRIPTION and DRAWINGS, and from the CLAIMS.
Implementations will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings, where like designations denote like elements, and:
This disclosure, its aspects and implementations, are not limited to the specific components, assembly procedures or method elements disclosed herein. Many additional components, assembly procedures and/or method elements known in the art consistent with the intended ammunition round counting device will become apparent for use with particular implementations from this disclosure. Accordingly, for example, although particular implementations are disclosed, such implementations and implementing components may comprise any shape, size, style, type, model, version, measurement, concentration, material, quantity, method element, step, and/or the like as is known in the art for such ammunition round counting devices and implementing components and methods, consistent with the intended operation and methods.
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Various implementations of ammunition round counting devices also include a display screen 12 on an outside of the first module 4. In various implementations, the display screen may be a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen. In other implementations, the display screen may also include, but is not limited to, a light emitting diode (LED) display, a nixie tubes display, a segment display, and any other suitable display screen. The display screen may be operatively coupled with a counting module to display the information determined by the counting module, which will be described in greater detail later below. The device 2 may also include a button 14 on the outside of the first module 4. The button 14 may be configured to allow a user to toggle the counter module between two or more different display modes (modes) of the display screen 12. The counting module includes a processor and a memory, which are used to collect, process, store, and display the data relating to the ammunition rounds passed through the system. The processor and memory may be included in either the first module, the second module, or in both the first module and second module, depending on the implementation.
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Also visible in this view of the device 16 are at least two light emitting diodes (LEDs) 32 and at least two light sensors 24 included in the counter module. In other implementations, at least two proximity sensors may be used in place of the at least two LEDs and the at least two light sensors. The least two proximity sensors may each include a circuit that includes at least one inductor and at least one capacitor arranged in an LC circuit as described hereafter. The at least two proximity sensors may be included in the first module in a similar position to the at least two LEDs or included in the second module in a similar position to the at least two light sensors. The distance between the at least two LEDs 32 (or proximity sensors) and, where LEDs are used, the distance between the at least two light sensors 34 may be a predetermined distance. In particular implementations, the predetermined distance is 0.7215 inches, a distance that has been determined to permit the device to operate with a variety of ammunition round sizes. In other implementations, other predetermined distances may be used depending on the size of the rounds of ammunition, the speed of the ammunition and other factors that may affect counting the rounds of ammunition.
In various implementations, a method for counting ammunition may include pulsing the two or more LEDs 32 in the first module 20 to produce light that is then directed toward the two or more light sensors 34 included in the second module. The two or more LEDs 32 may be pulsed at a frequency of 2 kHz in particular implementations, though other frequencies may be used in other implementations depending on the LED type used and desired ammunition round types. In various implementations, pulsing the two or more LEDs 32 on a frequency of 2 kHz may allow the device to save power while continuing to accurately count the rounds of ammunition. A beam of light emitted by each of the two or more LEDs 32 is interrupted using a round of ammunition in the belt of ammunition as the ammunition passes through the device during counting/firing operations. At least three states are created through interrupting the beam of light and corresponding data values are stored in the memory of the counting module using the processor. In one implementation, the at least three states may include 1,0; 0,1; and 0,0 as discussed in more detail hereafter. In implementations including a fourth state, the fourth state may include 1,1. In some implementations, each state may include 5 to 10 light pulses. In other implementations, more light pulses may be included in each state. The at least three states may be used to count each round of ammunition as it passes through the space between the first module 20 and the second module 24 of the device, but without touching the ammunition or ammunition belt to aid in counting. In various implementations, the rounds of ammunition can be counted in a first direction through the first module and the second module and in a second direction through the first module and the second module. The counter module may be configured to count up to 3,000 rounds of ammunition per minute. In various other implementations, the device may be configured to count a larger amount of rounds of ammunition per minute.
In various methods of counting ammunition rounds using an ammunition round counting device at least three states are required to obtain a full quadrature. A quadrature will be understood by those skilled in the art, as representative of the relationship between two data points that are electrically 90 degrees out of phase with each other. Each full cycle includes four phases or states. In order to count the rounds of ammunition as they pass through the counter device, at least three states are needed. One state may be when no rounds interrupt the two or more LED beams of light received by the two or more light sensors, which is 0,0; another state may be when a round interrupts a first LED beam of light at a first light sensor position, which is 1,0; and still another state may be when a round interrupts a second LED beam of light at a second light sensor position, which is 0,1. In other implementations, an additional state may be used in counting rounds of ammunition using an ammunition round counting device. The additional state may include a first round interrupting a first LED beam of light at a first sensor and a second round interrupting a second LED beam of light at a second sensor, which may be 1,1.
In other implementations of ammunition round counting devices, more than two LEDs and more than two light sensors may be used in counting rounds of ammunition. In such implementations, more states would be required to achieve a full quadrature. The number of states required is 2′, where “n” is the number of sensors in the device. For example, 3 sensors would require at least 5 states, 4 sensors would require at least 7 states, and so forth.
Other implementations of a method for counting rounds of ammunition may include an inductor and capacitor circuit, also referred to as an LC. For this method, a small inductor is placed near the path of the rounds of ammunition. As the round move through the ammunition counting device near the inductor a tuned circuit incorporating the inductor and a capacitor may be used to measure the effective inductance of the circuit. The LC may detect two difference inductance values. One value (0 or 1) is detected when a round is near the sensor/inductor and another value is (1 or 0) detected when a space between the rounds is near the sensor/inductor. The two difference inductance values are equivalent to the states in the method using at least two LEDs and at least two light sensors and are similarly stored and processed in the memory and by the processor. As described previously, the at least two LC circuits may be used in place of the at least two LEDs and at least two light sensors. Various inductor and capacitor combinations may be used in implementations of an ammunition round counting device. By non-limiting example, the inductor may be a 470 μH Radial Inductor Part #11R474C and the capacitor may include a 220 pf Chip Capacitor Part # GRM1555C1H221JA01D both manufactured by Murata Manufacturing Company, Ltd. of Kyoto, Japan.
The previously described three state method of counting linked ammunition allows implementations of the device to count in a first direction and also in a second direction as previously described. A first direction may be defined as the rounds of ammunition moving from left to right when looking at the device in
In other system implementations, a method of counting ammunition in a single direction may be used. In these method implementations, less than three states are needed to count the ammunition. In particular implementations, just one state is used. In such implementations, the state is 1 when an ammunition round is detected by an LED or proximity sensor and the state is 0 when an ammunition round is not detected. By counting the sequence of 1s and 0s in the single state, the total number of rounds of ammunition in the belt passing adjacent the LED/light sensor combination or proximity sensor can be detected. In such implementations, the counting can take place if the belt of ammunition is passed in either direction through the device.
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In places where the description above refers to particular implementations of ammunition round counting devices and implementing components, sub-components, methods and sub-methods, it should be readily apparent that a number of modifications may be made without departing from the spirit thereof and that these implementations, implementing components, sub-components, methods and sub-methods may be applied to other ammunition round counting devices.
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