ELECTROMECHANICAL TRIGGER

Abstract

An electromechanical trigger assembly can be used for engaging a firing pin assembly of a firearm and discharging a cartridge placed within the barrel of the firearm. The electromechanical trigger assembly can have a trigger shoe that has minimal travel for releasing a sear to discharge a cartridge and increase precision and accuracy of the firearm. The electromechanical trigger can also mechanically decouple the trigger pull from the releasing of the sear to discharge the cartridge and increase precision and accuracy of the firearm.

Description

FIELD

Embodiments of this invention generally relate to trigger mechanisms for firearms, and more particularly relate to trigger mechanisms where a trigger pull is decoupled from releasing a sear.

BACKGROUND

Generally, firearms are barreled weapons that launch projectiles driven by rapidly expanding, high-pressure gas, produced by exothermic combustion of a chemical propellant, such as black powder or smokeless powder.

In the most basic sense, in modern day firearms, a projectile, such as a cartridge (which is a bullet temporarily secured to a casing housing a primer and storing the chemical propellant therein) is loaded or positioned at a rear of the barrel. Located at the rear of the barrel is a firing pin, which is operable between a resting position and a firing position. The firing pin can be placed into battery or otherwise biased into its firing position. A trigger mechanism maintains the firing pin in its firing position until the trigger mechanism is released, such that the firing pin strikes the primer housed in the casing. The striking of the primer causes the exothermic combustion of the powder (chemical propellant), creating a large volume of hot gas which causes the bullet to be released from the casing, and propels the bullet through the barrel and out of the firearm.

Mechanically speaking, the trigger mechanism is the catalyst that initiates a chain of events, starting with the release of the firing pin from its firing position to strike the primer in the cartridge.

Trigger mechanisms, generally actuate the firing sequence of a firearm, and basically comprises a trigger shoe, a sear and springs or other means for biasing the trigger shoe and sear. In the context of this instant application, when a firing pin is positioned into its firing position, the sear is engaged and is locked and positioned into a ready to fire position. The sear can be released from its ready to fire position to cause the firing pin to strike the primer by pulling on the trigger shoe.

Accuracy of firearms relies on many different factors, which can be broken down into three broad categories: the firearm, the cartridge, and the shooter. Accurizing generally refers to the processes that are applied to the firearm. With all things being equal, accurizing a firearm can significantly increase the precision and consistency of shot placement. One factor in accurizing a firearm is the trigger mechanism.

The dynamics of the trigger are one of the most important aspects of usability, since any movement of the firearm caused by pulling of the trigger can affect the placement of the shot. Trigger pulls consist of three stages: 1) takeup or pre travel, which is the movement of the trigger which happens before the sear moves; 2) break, the movement during which the trigger moves the sear to the point of release; and 3) overtravel, which is the distance a trigger moves after the sear releases.

The takeup is the least critical stage of the trigger pull, and individual preferences vary widely. The break is a more critical stage of the pull, as it happens just prior to the shot being fired. However, the overtravel, or more commonly known as trigger creep or just creep, can be the most critical factor in the trigger pull, as any movement caused at this point will happen as the shot is fired. This is especially important with firearms where there is a sudden release of resistance when the sear breaks.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention, illustrating an electromechanical trigger assembly housed within a housing and having a trigger shoe;

FIG. 2 is a side cross sectional view of the embodiment of the present invention in accordance to FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view of an embodiment of the present invention, illustrating the positions of a sear and a sear linkage when the firing pin assembly is open;

FIG. 4 is a side cross sectional view of the electromechanical trigger assembly illustrating a safety interlock in a “safe” position;

FIG. 5 is a side cross sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention, illustrating an electronic component having an armature and solenoid; and

FIG. 6 is a side cross sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention, illustrating a sear linkage disengaged with a sear for releasing the sear.

SUMMARY

An electromechanical trigger mechanism for use with firearms has a trigger shoe that does not travel or has minimal travel for releasing a sear to discharge a cartridge.

In embodiments, the electromechanical trigger mechanism for use with firearms has a trigger mechanism that decouples trigger pull from releasing a sear to discharge a cartridge.

In a broad aspect, an electromechanical trigger assembly for engaging a firing pin assembly of a firearm comprises a sear pivotally operable to engage and disengage the bolt assembly, a sear linkage for pivotally engaging and disengaging the sear, a trigger shoe, actuable between a resting position and a firing position, and electronic components for physically decoupling actuation of the trigger shoe from a releasing of the sear. In embodiments, when the trigger shoe is actuated from its resting position into its firing position, the trigger shoe engages the electronic components to cause a release of the sear for discharging the firearm.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A firearm can be equipped with an embodiment of the present invention. An electromechanical trigger assembly 10 can be operatively secured within the firearm and be caused to actuate a discharge of a cartridge placed within a breach of the firearm by a user. With reference to FIG. 1, a user or operator of the firearm can actuate a trigger shoe 20 of the electromechanical trigger assembly 10 to initiate a cascade of electronic and mechanical motions to ultimately result in the releasing of a sear 30 to cause a firing pin to strike a primer of the cartridge.

As shown, and in an embodiment of the electromechanical trigger assembly 10, the trigger assembly 10 comprises a housing 40 for encasing mechanical and electrical components of the present invention. The entirety of the housing 40 can be secured to an action of the firearm to which embodiments of the invention are used thereon, by known methods in the prior art.

With reference to FIG. 2, the trigger assembly 10 mechanism comprises the housing 40 for encasing a trigger shoe 20, a sear 30, a sear linkage 50, and electronic components 60 therefor. Also shown is a mechanical safety mechanism or a safety interlock 100 for preventing discharge of the firearm when not in use.

In embodiments, the electronic components 60 can comprise at least a solenoid (not shown) and a sensor 80 for causing the sear linkage 50 to disengage from the sear 30 and releasing the sear 30 from engaging the firing pin.

With reference to FIG. 3, in a resting position, a biasing member, such as a sear return spring 90, applies a force to ensure that the sear 30 is in constant physical engagement with the firing pin assembly (not shown). As shown, the sear linkage 50 does not engage the sear 30 at this moment in time.

As with all firearms, in operation, an operator can open a breach of the firearm by pulling back on the bolt to open the bolt. For select fire or semi-automatic action firearms, this can entail pulling back on a cocking handle. For bolt action firearms, this can simply entail pulling back on the bolt with the bolt handle.

With specific reference to the present invention, and as shown in FIG. 4, when the bolt is opened, the bolt forces the sear to overcome the force applied by the sear return spring 90, causing the sear 30 to reset so that it can engage the sear linkage 50 when the bolt is closed. Opening the bolt allows the operator to position a cartridge within the breach of the firearm (not shown).

After a cartridge is positioned within the breach, the operator can close the bolt and place the firearm in battery. The closing of the bolt allows the sear return spring 90 to force the sear 30 to once again engage the bolt and a cocking piece thereof. The firearm is now ready to discharge a bullet.

As shown in FIG. 4, in embodiments, the electromechanical trigger assembly 10 can comprise a physical safety mechanism such as a safety interlock 100. The safety interlock 100 is operably connected to a printed circuit board (PCB) 110 which communicates electrical signals from the sensor 80 to the electronic components 60 for actuating the sear linkage 50. In embodiments, and as shown, the safety interlock 100 is also mechanically operable to interrupt movement of the sear linkage 50. By placing the safety interlock 100 in its “SAFE” position, not only are all communications between the sensor 80 and the electronic components 60 (via electrical signals) disrupted, but the mechanical movement of the sear linkage 50 is also prohibited, preventing discharge of the cartridge. Only when the safety interlock 100 is in the “FIRE” position, will the PCB allow electrical communication between the sensor 80 and the electronic components 60 to actuate the sear linkage 50 for releasing the sear 30, and allow mechanical movement of the sear linkage 50.

In embodiments, the safety interlock 100 can serve as a manual override for the sear return spring 90. In instances where the sear linkage 50 is not returned into its resting position, the safety interlock 100 can reset the sear linkage 50 in place to catch the sear 30 again.

With reference to FIG. 1, the electronic components 60 further comprises a solenoid 120, and a power source 130. As shown in FIG. 5, the solenoid 120 further comprises an actuable armature, such as a piston 140. As skilled persons in the art would understand, by applying an electrical current to the solenoid 120 via the power source 130, the piston 140 can be caused to move and actuate the sear linkage 50. As shown in FIG. 5, actuation of the piston 140 would result in the upward movement of the piston 140, which would result in a corresponding downward movement of the sear linkage 50 at its distal end 150.

In embodiments, the actuation of the piston 140 results in an initial upward movement of the distal end 150 of the sear linkage 50. The initial upward movement of the distal end 150 can ensure that the sear 30 cannot force its way to fire or otherwise accidentally discharge a cartridge. Nonetheless, the resultant movement of the piston 140 moves the sear linkage 50 so that the sear 30 can enable the firing pin assembly to fire.

The downward movement of the distal end 150 of the sear linkage 50, would cause the sear linkage 50 to disengage from the sear 30, allowing the force of the sear return spring 90 acting on the sear 30 to actuate the sear 30 to pivotally move upwards to come into engagement with or otherwise contact the bolt assembly.

In embodiments, the safety interlock 100 can be used to activate or otherwise turn the entire system on or off.

In further embodiments, the electronic components further comprises an accelerometer which can relay or otherwise communicate with the PCB 110 to signal the PCB 110 to actuate the piston 140. In such embodiments, even when the safety interlock 100 is in its “FIRE” position, the accelerometer can prevent the actuation of the piston 140 (causing the accidental discharge) when a drop/shock event occurs as the accelerometer will not detect movement of the trigger shoe 20.

Referring back to FIG. 2, in an embodiment, the trigger shoe 20 is operable between a resting position and a firing position. In its resting position, the trigger shoe 20 is disengaged or otherwise is not in contact with the sensor 80. When an operator applies pressure to squeeze or otherwise actuate the trigger shoe 20 (ie. commonly known as pulling the trigger), the trigger shoe 20 can travel a distance before coming into contact with or otherwise engaging the sensor 80. The engagement of the trigger shoe 20 with the sensor 80 creates an electrical signal which is electrically communicated to the PCB 110.

In other embodiments, the trigger shoe 20 can be in constant contact or engagement with the sensor 80. In such embodiments, the sensor 80 can be “tared” or otherwise programmed to respond to an increase of pressure applied to the sensor 80 from a resting pressure to a threshold pressure by sending an electrical signal to the PCB 110 to cause the actuation of the solenoid 120.

In further embodiments, in addition to a basic function of the trigger shoe 20 imparting a force onto the sensor 80, a force profile can be programmed on a processor (not shown). The sensor 80, in combination with the processor, can be programmed or adapted to respond to the force applied to the sensor 80 by an operator. The programming can include instructions for the processor to determine the timing of the discharge based on a force profile. This force profile can be customized for each individual operator and can be set to a baseline threshold force value. In embodiments, this force profile can have a certain curve. In other embodiments, the force profile can also be a complex pattern of forces applied for certain individuals.

As shown, the trigger shoe 20 can be operated by a user or operator to cause a cascade of actions to ultimately discharge a cartridge positioned within the barrel of the firearm. In an embodiment and as shown, the trigger shoe 20 can further comprises a pad 160 at a top end 170 thereof, which can be actuated to come into physical contact or engagement with the sensor 80, such as a pressure sensor, of the electronic components 60. The sensor 80 is adapted to measure a pressure exerted by the pad 160 of the trigger shoe 20 when an operator actuates or otherwise applies a pressure onto the trigger shoe 20. At a predetermined threshold pressure, the sensor 80 creates an electrical signal that is relayed to the PCB 110 to cause the piston 140 within the electronics components 60 to move from its resting position to its actuating position to cause the release of the sear 30 when the firearm is in battery.

As shown, the sensor 80 is positioned within the electronic components 60 and when a pressure exerted on the sensor 80 reaches a threshold pressure, the piston 140 is actuated in an upwards direction. Due to a rotational interface between the piston 140 and the sear linkage 50, upward movement of the piston 140 causes the distal end 150 of the sear linkage 50 to pivot in a clockwise direction, causing the distal end 150 of the sear linkage 50 to disengage from the sear 30. Once the sear linkage 50 is disengaged from the sear 30, the sear 30 is forced down by the firing pin (not shown), releasing the firing pin to strike a primer of a cartridge.

With reference to FIG. 6, upon receipt of the electrical signal, the PCB 110 then directs the solenoid 120 to actuate, moving the piston 140 upwardly. This upward movement or actuation of the piston 140 correspondingly causes the distal end 150 of the sear linkage 50 to move downwardly and disengage from the sear 30 to release the sear and allow it to travel downwardly to disengage from the firing pin assembly. In embodiments, this electrical communication can be limited or otherwise governed through the accelerometer.

As the sear linkage 50 is pivotally secured to the housing 40, the general upward movement of the sear linkage 50 causes a clockwise rotation of the sear linkage 50 where the sear linkage engages the sear 30. After the firearm discharges, and the firearm is placed into battery for the next cartridge, a downward force from the breeching mechanism (ie. bolt) causes the sear 30 to engage the distal end 150 of the sear linkage 50, causing a counter-clockwise rotation thereof, and the downward actuation of the piston 140. The downward reset of the piston 140 can be initiated by the sear linkage 50 return spring before the bolt is placed into battery. The electronic components 60 is now ready for the subsequent discharge of the firearm.

In alternate embodiments, the sear linkage can be replaced with a rotary actuator. However, Applicant has found that use of a rotary actuator increases the cost for manufacturing and increases the space requirements within the trigger mechanism.

As shown in FIG. 2, the distance the trigger shoe 2 travels is minimal. This travel of the trigger shoe 20 is kept at a minimum to reduce overtravel (commonly known as trigger creep) and increase the precision and accuracy of the firearm.

The introduction of the electronic components 60 to release the sear 30 mechanically decouples the pulling of the trigger shoe 20 with the releasing of the sear 30. This mechanical decoupling effectively reduces the negative effects of the break, or impact of the actual trigger pull and also increases precision and accuracy of the firearm.

Accordingly, in embodiments, the mechanical decoupling of the trigger pull from the release of the sear can be accomplish not by actuating or applying a pressure onto a trigger shoe, but rather pressing on a push button. Embodiments of the invention allow for a low trigger pull force while still maintaining a level of safety which is not achievable by mechanical parts and springs. Embodiments of the invention mitigate and reduce the risk associated with drops/shocks that would otherwise cause a firearm to discharge a cartridge.

In embodiments, the trigger shoe 20 has zero takeup, break and over travel.

Claims

1. Electromechanical trigger assembly for engaging a firing pin assembly of a firearm, the electromechanical trigger comprising: a sear pivotally operable to engage and disengage the firing pin assembly;a sear linkage for pivotally engaging and disengaging the sear;a trigger shoe; andelectronic components for physically decoupling actuation of the trigger shoe from a releasing of the sear,wherein the trigger shoe engages the electronic components to cause a release the sear for discharging the firearm.

2. The electromechanical trigger of claim 1, wherein when the trigger shoe engages the electronic components, the trigger shoe travels a minimal distance.

3. The electromechanical trigger of claim 1 or 2, wherein the electronic components further comprises a solenoid having an armature for actuating the sear linkage.

4. The electromechanical trigger of claim 3, wherein the sear linkage and the armature have a rotational interface therebetween.

5. The electromechanical trigger of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the sear linkage further comprises a distal end for engaging the sear.

6. The electromechanical trigger of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the electronic components further comprises a sensor and the trigger shoe engages the sensor.

7. The electromechanical trigger of claim 6, wherein the sensor creates an electrical signal for actuation of the solenoid when a pressure exerted by the trigger shoe on the sensor is greater than a threshold pressure.

8. The electromechanical trigger of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the trigger shoe further comprises a pad.

9. The electromechanical trigger of any one of claims 1 to 8 further comprising a safety interlock.

10. The electromechanical trigger of any one of claims 1 to 9 further comprising biasing means for biasing the sear to engage the firing pin assembly.