Patent Application
20220205751
The present invention relates to a firearm analytics system, device and method.
In today's world firearms are prevalent in every part of the world. They are also widely used for non-military and military purposes. In both cases there is a need to establish and completely document the usage of a firearm both during handling of the firearm, as well as pre and post firing of the weapon. The information that can be collected and securely stored is vital for analysis for both the individual user and law enforcement as well as legal and societal usage. Storing this information in a secure and encrypted (optional) form is also imperative.
The following detailed description of various embodiments is better understood when read in conjunction with the drawings provided herein. For illustrative purposes, exemplary embodiments are shown in the drawings; however, the presently disclosed subject matter is not limited to the specific systems and methods shown in those embodiments
The present invention provides a solution for recording the usage of a firearm and helping a user during usage of the firearm using multiple sensors to gather various information.
Referring to
The plurality of sensors 102 are communicatively coupled to the communication module 106. The communication module 106 is further connected to the processor 104. The processor is also connected to a memory 112, a clock chip 108 and the information disseminating device 110.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the plurality of sensors 102 are configured to gather various information about a firearm device that may be a pistol, a revolver, a gun, etc. after being attached to the firearm device. In addition to the operational information, some of the sensors out of the plurality of sensors 102 may gather information about surrounding environment of the firearm like lighting conditions, wind flow etc. The system 100 may be attached in the form of an add on module to the firearm device. This add on module may be a single item module or several modules that connect with each other to form the complete system.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the plurality of sensors 102 may include target angle calculating sensor to calculate angles of a target, specific location etc. The target angle calculating sensors may be any one or a combination of a Global positioning system (GPS) sensor, an accelerometer, a gyroscope and a gimbal.
According to yet another embodiment of the invention, the plurality of sensors 102 may include firing determinations sensors configured to determine firing of the firearm device. The firing determination sensors may include any one or a combination of a smoke detector and a sound detector.
According to yet another embodiment of the invention, the plurality of sensors 102 may include infra-red sensors configured to determine amount of ammunition or bullets in the cartridge of a firearm or within the chamber of the firearm.
According to yet another embodiment of the invention, the plurality of sensors 102 may include at least one imaging sensor that may be a CCD camera. The CCD camera may be a wide angle camera, or a self-focusing camera. The CCD camera may be configured further to determine light conditions around the firearm and propose targeting help to the user of the firearm. Further, the CCD camera may also be configured to determine subjects in target view of the firearm device. Furthermore, the CCD camera may also be configured to determine in case the target being targeted by the user is hit and also a preliminary extent of damage to the target. Also, the CCD camera may be configured to determine in case the target, in case it is a human, is using a weapon and also determine type of the weapon being used by the target.
According to yet another embodiment of the invention, the plurality of sensors 102 may include a bio detector to detect the user of the firearm. In an embodiment, the bio detector may be a DNA detector, a fingerprint detector, a facial recognition detector or a vein pattern detector.
According to yet another embodiment of the invention, the plurality of sensors 102 may include a sensitivity detector that is configured to determine when the trigger of the firearm is accessed or pressed. In an embodiment, the sensitivity detector may be a pressure sensor to detect change in pressure applied to the trigger of the firearm.
The communication module 106 receives operational information gathered by the plurality of sensors 102. The communication module 106, as described earlier, is connected on one side to the plurality of sensors 102 and on the other side it is communicatively coupled to the processor 104. The communication module collects all the operational information from the plurality of sensors and further may transmit the same to the processor 104 or also to a remote server or database (not shown in figures) for storage. In an embodiment of the invention, the communication module 106 may be any one of a Wi-Fi module, a Bluetooth module, an NFC module, a near NFC module, or an infrared module. Hence, the communication module 106 may be able to communicate the operational information to the remote server or database through wireless communications. The communication module 106 may also be configured to connect wirelessly to other like systems in order to form a closed group of similar systems wherein the information exchanged within this configuration may be in an encrypted format. In a further configuration, the communication module 106 may be configured to be user activated through voice or touch input through a user interface.
The processor 104, amongst other capabilities, may be configured to fetch and execute computer-readable instructions stored in the memory 112. The processor 104 may be implemented as one or more microprocessors, microcomputers, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, central processing units, state machines, logic circuitries, and/or any devices that manipulate signals based on operational instructions. The functions of the various elements shown in the figure, including any functional blocks labelled as “processor(s)”, may be provided through the use of dedicated hardware as well as hardware capable of executing software in association with appropriate software. The processor 104 receives various operational information from the communication module 106. The processor 104 may also be configured to control the plurality of sensors 102 and their functioning. The processor 104 may also be connected to an input module (not shown in the figure) that may take a user's input for requesting various help options. The input module may be a voice activated chip or a touch screen display. The input module may also be a separate device communicating with the processor 104 through the communication module 106. The processor 104 may provide various information automatically or induced by the user's input queries for example providing better targeting guidance while using the firearm. The processor 104 may be connected to a memory 112 to record various operational information and usage information of the firearm. The processor 104 may record user identification, using the bio detector and the clock chip 108, for usage of the firearm, may also record time of day when the firearm was used including location where it was used through target angle calculating sensors and firing determination sensors. It may also record when safety was switched off, when trigger pressure was applied but, not fired or when it was fired through information gathered by the sensitivity detector. Processor 104 may also record firing time and location of the firing, using target angle calculating sensors, and lighting conditions, using the at least one imaging sensor information, while usage of the firearm. For helping the user using the firearm it may record the number of bullets within the firearm remaining in the cartridge or used or within the chamber of the firearm through information gathered by the IR sensors.
Furthermore, the processor 104 may also use the information gathered by the firing determination sensors and the target angle calculating sensors to determine and record angle of the firearm pre and post firing. Also, as stated above the lighting conditions around the firearm may also be determined to help the user and record the same using the information gathered by the image sensor that may be a wide angle CCD camera. The processor 104 may also record the target using the image sensor and assess the extent of damage if the user fires the firearm on the target. The processor 104, may also be able to recommend some suggestions to the user of the firearm about weapon of the target. The processor may recommend actions based on the weapon identified of the target and also how and from where the target is firing its weapon. For example, what angle to take for a counter firing etc.
The information disseminating device 110 may be configured to determine and provide an analytics information to the user of the firearm. As, the information disseminating device 110 is communicatively coupled to the processor 104, it can determine the guidance to be provided itself or may relay the information as determined and provided by the processor 104. The information disseminating device 110 may be a display screen like a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display, etc. or may be a speaker provided to provide an audio output to the user. The information disseminating device 110 may further be configured to make service recommendation to the user of the firearm based on the information gathered by the plurality of sensors 102.
Furthermore, the system 100 or specifically the information disseminating device 110 may be configured to include a communication port 114. The communication port 114 may be provided to attach any other accessory like audio accessory for e.g. headphones or a visual accessory like an augmented reality headset, a helmet with audio and visual capabilities like a heads up display (HUD). The user may be able to communicate to other systems using these accessories connected through the communication port 114 to be described later in the description.
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At step 502, the plurality of sensors 102 gather various operational information and surrounding information about and around the firearm like as described above in conjunction with
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Further, to this, there may also be a block 606B, that may provide guidance to the user on how to place the firearm. For example, in the depicted block 606B, the system 100 sends a message to the user “Please move firearm to right for exact targeting”. This will help the user to obtain a better target shot. However, this may not be considered limiting and there may also be certain other information that may be provided to the user for using the firearm.
While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Indeed, the novel methods, devices, and systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions, and changes in the form of the methods, devices, and systems described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.
It is to be appreciated that the prior art systems do not take care of the surrounding environment and the information of the weapon to perform analytics department. In prior art, information is provided however, no pro-active systems are present that provide sufficient information to the user of such a system in order to support and guide for the usage of the weapon. Also, multiple sensors provide redundant and accurate information to gather usage and further details that help the law enforcement agencies to capture necessary information about the usage of the weapon for proper maintenance of records and instill responsible weapon usage by their users.
