Claims
- 1. A firing probe assembly for use in a firearm having a firing apparatus adapted to fire a non-impact fired cartridge, said firing probe assembly comprising:a conductive probe shaft immovably mounted on a frame of said firearm and in electrical communication with said firing apparatus; a probe tip reciprocally slidable relative to said probe shaft for movement into and out of contact with said cartridge; a probe spring engaged between said probe tip and said probe shaft for electrically engaging said probe shaft with said probe tip and urging said probe tip toward contact with said cartridge; and a dielectric annular actuator bushing slidably disposed within a countersunk bore of said frame and having an exterior shoulder bearing against a bushing spring seated within said frame bore, said actuator bushing defining an inner bore having an annular bearing surface engageable with said probe tip, said bushing spring positioned within said frame to resist forward movement of said actuator bushing and having an annular bearing surface facing rearwardly and positioned to be engaged and moved axially by a firing mechanism of the firearm, said actuator bushing being slidable fore and aft within said frame to govern fore and aft movement of said probe tip in response to actuation of said firing mechanism.
- 2. The firing probe assembly of claim 1, further comprising a dielectric recoil plate bushing mounted within said frame forward of said actuator bushing and having a bore positioned to slidably receive said probe tip and insulate said probe tip from the frame.
- 3. The firing probe assembly of claim 2, wherein said probe tip is retracted by rearward movement of said actuator bushing a distance of approximately 0.002 inches within said recoil plate bushing and away from contact with said cartridge.
- 4. The firing probe assembly of claim 1, wherein rearward movement of said probe tip is governed by location of said probe shaft, said probe tip moving into contact with said probe shaft upon retraction of said actuator bushing within said frame.
- 5. The firing probe assembly of claim 1, wherein said firearm is a revolver having a plurality of firing chambers capable of housing an equal plurality of said cartridges.
- 6. A firing probe assembly for use in a firearm having a firing apparatus adapted to fire a non-impact fired cartridge, said firing probe assembly comprising:a first electrically conductive shaft portion having a first center bore; a second electrically non-conductive shaft portion, said first shaft portion nesting within a second center bore of said second shaft portion; an electrically conductive probe tip for rectilinear movement into and out of contact with said cartridge; a first biasing member disposed within said first center bore for biasing said probe tip in the direction of engagement with said cartridge; and a second biasing member for biasing said probe tip in the direction out of engagement with said cartridge, wherein a biasing force of said second biasing member is greater than a biasing force of said first biasing member.
- 7. The firing probe assembly according to claim 6, wherein:said first biasing member comprises a first spring disposed within said first center bore; said second biasing member comprises a second spring disposed about the exterior of said second shaft portion; and a spring constant of said second spring is greater than a spring constant of said first spring.
- 8. The firing probe assembly according to claim 7, wherein:said second shaft portion includes an outwardly extending annular shoulder formed about a distal end thereof against which one end of said second spring abuts, wherein another end of said second spring abuts against an internal counterbore formed within a frame of said firearm; and a firing mechanism of said firearm selectively contacts said annular shoulder to move said second shaft portion against said biasing force of said second spring.
- 9. The firing probe assembly according to claim 6, wherein:said second shaft portion includes an internal annular shoulder formed at a distal end of said second center bore, thereby narrowing said second center bore at said distal end; and said probe tip includes a rear lip, wherein said first spring biases said rear lip into contact with said internal annular shoulder.
- 10. The firing probe assembly according to claim 8, further comprising:an insulating bushing fixed within said frame adjacent said another end of said second spring, said insulating bushing including a probe tip bore formed in the approximate center thereof; and wherein selective operation of said firing mechanism operates to move said probe tip through said probe tip bore and into contact with said cartridge.
- 11. The firing probe assembly according to claim 10, wherein:said insulating bushing is formed from a ceramic material.
- 12. The firing probe assembly according to claim 6, wherein:said first shaft portion is in electrical communication with a power source of said firearm, wherein operation of a firing mechanism of said firearm selectively induces a firing signal to be conducted through said probe tip.
- 13. The firing probe assembly according to claim 12, wherein:said first shaft portion is in electrical communication with a high voltage circuitboard which is in electrical communication with said power source of said firearm.
- 14. The firing probe assembly according to claim 12, further comprising:a hammer terminal for contacting said firing mechanism during a firing operation and indicating thereby operation of said firing mechanism to a controller of said firearm.
- 15. The firing probe assembly according to claim 6, wherein:said probe tip includes a rounded front end for mating engagement with said cartridge.
- 16. The firing probe assembly accordingly to claim 6, wherein said firearm is a revolver having a plurality of firing chambers capable of housing an equal plurality of said cartridges.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
Some of the material disclosed herein is disclosed and claimed in the following pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/205,391 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,286,241, filed Dec. 4, 1998, entitled: “FIRING CONTROL SYSTEM FOR NON-IMPACT FIRED AMMUNITION”; pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/206,013, filed Dec. 4, 1998, entitled: “FIREARM HAVING AN INTELLIGENT CONTROLLER”; pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/629,745, filed Jul. 31, 2000, entitled: “A SECURITY APPARATUS FOR USE IN A FIREARM”; pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/642,753, filed Aug. 21, 2000, entitled “AN ELECTRIC FIRING PROBE FOR DETONATING ELECTRICALLY-FIRED AMMUNITION IN A FIREARM; pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/642,269, filed Aug. 18, 2000, entitled “A SLIDE ASSEMBLY FOR A FIREARM”; pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/629,531, filed Jul. 31, 2000, entitled “A TRIGGER ASSEMBLY FOR USE IN A FIREARM HAVING A SECURITY APPARATUS”; pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/629,532, filed Jul. 31, 2000, entitled “A BACKSTRAP MODULE CONFIGURED TO RECEIVE COMPONENTS AND CIRCUITRY OF A FIREARM CAPABLE OF FIRING NON-IMPACT FIRED AMMUNITION”; pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/643,024, filed Aug. 21, 2000, entitled “A METHOD OF ASSEMBLING A FIREARM HAVING A SECURITY APPARATUS”; pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/629,534, filed Jul. 31, 2000, entitled “AN AMMUNITION MAGAZINE FOR USE IN A FIREARM ADAPTED FOR FIRING NON-IMPACT DETONATED CARTRIDGES”; pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/616,722, filed Jul. 14, 2000, entitled “AN ELECTRONICALLY FIRED REVOLVER UTILIZING PERCUSSIVELY ACTUATED CARTRIDGES”; pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/616,696, filed Jul. 14, 2000, entitled “AN ELECTRONIC SIGHT ASSEMBLY FOR USE WITH A FIREARM”; pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/616,709, filed Jul. 14, 2000, entitled “A FIRING MECHANISM FOR USE IN A FIREARM HAVING AN ELECTRONIC FIRING PROBE FOR DISCHARGING NON-IMPACT FIRED AMMUNITION”; pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/616,837, filed Jul. 14, 2000, entitled “A SECURITY APPARATUS FOR AUTHORIZING USE OF A NON-IMPACT FIREARM”; and pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/616,697, filed Jul. 14, 2000, entitled “A BACKSTRAP MODULE FOR A FIREARM”, which are hereby incorporated by reference as part of the present disclosure.
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