Patent Application
20110252681
The invention pertains to the field of laser sights for firearms. More particularly, the invention pertains to a modulated laser pulse to indicate the trajectory of a real or simulated firearm projectile.
Various devices have been developed to aid in the field of firearm training, such as those for use by law enforcement and military personnel. Lasers mounted to the training firearm have become popular devices. However, they are most often associated with awkward devices mounted externally on the firearm to emit a laser pulse upon “firing”. These have their drawbacks, as explained below.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,633,285 (Sesney) describes a laser emitting device for training purposes. This device is separately mounted to the firearm, usually on top of the barrel, thus being capable of being used with any firearm. The laser is triggered when an acoustical detection device receives a distinctive sound resulting from activation of the firing mechanism. The laser beam is detected by a number of light detectors to show the path of the imaginary bullet. This device may also be used in conjunction with blank cartridges and live rounds, as well.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,938,262 (Dye et al.) describes a laser aiming device for use with rifles. The laser device uses a piezoelectric crystal, the entire device being mounted on a rifle barrel. Upon the firing of blank rounds, the resulting shock wave stimulates the piezoelectric crystal to send out a laser pulse. In addition, the piezoelectric component responds to the mechanical shockwave generated by the motion of the hammer or firing pin to trigger the emission of a laser light pulse.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,934,086 (Houde-Walter) discloses a laser device that is mounted within the recoil spring guide chamber of a semi-automatic handgun, such as the design exemplified by the well known Model 1911 Colt. The laser and its circuitry are mounted to the handgun, thus eliminating the potential for loss of adjustment that is common with externally mounted lasing devices. The laser light beam is cycled on and off by a switch mounted at a convenient location on the handgun. It emits a single beam that remains on before, during and after firing of the weapon until manually turned off by the shooter. The power source for this device is located in the grip, or optionally, may be designed into a magazine so that a fresh power source is provided with each magazine. U.S. Pat. No. 5,509,226 is an improvement on the '086 device in that the entire laser mechanism is contained within the spring guide chamber. In addition to providing a long life battery, the laser is “flashed” in order to prolong the life of the battery.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,605,461 (Seeton) discloses a firearm training device much like Dye et al., in that a piezoelectric crystal is programmed to respond to the falling of the hammer on the firing pin (or the activation of the firing pin by a spring-like device). This higher amplitude sound wave stimulates the laser light emitting device, such as a laser diode, to emit a laser pulse, the duration of which may be adjusted to determine if the trainee is “pulling” the weapon upon firing, which can result in missing the target or at least not hitting the “center mass” of the targeted object. This device is mounted on the outside of the firearm and a light detecting device receives and tracks the laser output.
Recent developments in laser sight technology include “dual mode” devices. Such devices emit a laser light for sighting purposes, and concurrently for tracking the trajectory of a projectile. Mode one is an operational mode that maintains a constant laser light to assist the shooter in aiming the firearm. Mode two is a target practice mode, which upon sensing certain functions that ultimately result in the firing of weapon, emits a laser light that is parallel to the trajectory of the bullet and identifies the point of impingement of the trajectory on a sensory target board. The second mode is intended to be used with an electronically sensitive target, so that even blanks can be employed rather than live rounds.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,344,320 (Inbar et al.) describes a dual mode laser sighting mechanism for firearms. The mechanism is mounted onto the barrel of a rifle. A manual switch is used to change from the constant light aiming mode to the firing responsive intermittent target mode. U.S. Pat. No. 6,572,375 (Schechter et al.) discloses another dual mode laser training system for use with blank cartridges. The device is mounted at any one of a number of locations on the exterior of the firearm. Sensors are provided to detect mechanical shock waves. Such sensors include accelerometers, acoustic detectors and piezoelectric crystals.
The firearm laser sighting device of an embodiment of the present invention is mounted in the recoil spring guide chamber of a semi-automatic handgun. The laser emits a constant light that allows the shooter to aim at a specific target. The laser light is then modulated to emit a pulsed light at or about the time of firing the weapon. The emission of the modulated laser light can be adjusted to pulse the laser light for any duration of time, from a few microseconds to a couple of seconds. The activation of the modulated laser light can be triggered by any number of conventional means. Such means include an acoustical sensor, a mechanical shockwave sensor to detect the movement of either the hammer or the movement of the bullet moving down the barrel, or a light sensor, to detect the flash of light at the moment the bullet leaves the end of the barrel. The laser pulse can be modulated by a stream of data from a ROM chip and programmed to emit a pulsed light code to be detected by a MILES (“multiple integrated laser engagement system”) targeting system or a variety of conventional training systems.
Such automatic and semi-automatic handguns use a recoil compression spring to absorb the energy from the rearward motion of an external slide ejection element. The stored energy is available to eject a spent cartridge from the handgun after the bullet has been fired and to enable another live round to be chambered from the magazine into the receiver of the barrel. The spring 12 and spring guide 14 are located in a recoil spring guide chamber 13 which is positioned under and parallel with the barrel 16. The recoil spring guide chamber 13 is a cavity which is closed at a first end 15 and open at the opposing or second end 17. The spring guide 14 is hollow and accommodates the installation of a pulse modulated mode laser 100.
A laser light 18 is generated by a laser diode 20 and is projected through a collimating lens 22 located in a lens holder or housing as shown in
Referring to
The battery 30 may be either rechargeable or non-rechargeable. Various types of batteries that may be used to power the pulse modulated dual mode laser include, but are not limited to, alkaline, lithium, nickel cadmium, nickel-metal hydroxide, carbon zinc, polymer lithium ion, and silver oxide. Multiple batteries may be stacked in series and are herein collectively referred to in the singular. The battery 30 is retained within the casing 29 by posterior cap 42. Between the posterior cap 42 and the battery 30 is a spring and contact pin 66.
The recoil spring 12 and casing 29 are located within recoil spring guide chamber 13 as shown in
An alignment notch 60 may be added to or integrally formed as part of the outer surface of the posterior cap 42. The alignment notch 60 sits within a corresponding receiver seat within the recoil spring guide chamber 13 to insure that the path of the laser light 18 corresponds to the path of a real or simulated trajectory from the barrel 16. Fine tuning the path of the laser light 18 may be made by manipulating the at least one adjusting screw 23.
The driver board 27 includes at least one sensor 50 which activates the emission of a pulse modulated laser light. The sensor 50 is preferably a type of acoustical sensor and can detect the powder flash as the bullet leaves the muzzle of the barrel 16. Alternatively, the sensor could be a piezoelectric vibration sensor, a MEMS (micro electro mechanical system) accelerometer, a Hall Effect magnetic sensor, a Reed Effect magnetic sensor, a capacitive sensor, a microphone, or an optical sensor. Or, the sensor could be a mechanical switch, such that laser activation can occur by the recoil motion of the slide ejection element 11 movement which temporally causes an electrical disconnect of the battery 30 and the contact pin 65 of the posterior cap 42, which instructs the laser to fire a pulse (this type of switch is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,509,226, the contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference).
In the battery position (ready to be fired) as shown in
Referring to
The laser pulse can be modulated, for example by a stream of data from a ROM chip programmed to emit an encoded stimulated pulse. A separate pulse code can be assigned to different shooters in order to track the marksmanship of each shooter. The encoded stimulated pulse can to be detected by a MILES (“multiple integrated laser engagement system”) targeting system or a variety of other laser detection systems.
A switch can be mounted on the gun and has an output coupled to an input of the pulse modulated laser to turn the laser on and off. Some examples are shown in
At time T2, the gun is fired and the intensity is modulated between L1 and a bright level L3 for a pulse train 103 comprising a series of pulses 104. After the chosen pulse duration, at T3, the laser returns to the constant level L1.
The duration of the train 103 of pulses 104 of the modulated laser light can be adjusted for any duration of time. Further, a different pulse “train” can be developed for each shooter. Different pulse “trains” can be programmed to include a different number of individual pulses, or a pattern of long-and-short pulses can be generated as a binary code, as is known to the art of pulse modulated optical signals. Each individual pulse can vary from approximately 10 nanoseconds to approximately 100 nanoseconds in duration. Each pulse “train” can consist of any number of a plurality of individual pulses and can vary in total duration from approximately 100 nanoseconds to approximately 200 microseconds.
The pulse modulated mode laser 100 may be either a single diode or a dual diode laser. A dual diode laser contains two diodes, one for use as a sighting designator and the other one responding to a stimulus to generate a pulse modulated laser light emission upon firing of the handgun. The dual mode pulse modulated laser may be programmed to operate in many ways. For example, (1) the laser may be switched “on” continuously until turned “off”; (2) the sighting laser may be programmed to pulse continuously; (3) the sighting laser may be on at all times while a pulse modulated laser signal is emitted only in response to a selected stimulus input; (4) the sighting laser may pulse with a pulse modulated laser emitting light only in response to a selected stimulus input; or (5) the sighting laser is off until triggered by a selected stimulus. Further, with a dual diode, the sighting laser may emit a visible wavelength light, while the pulse modulated diode emits an invisible or nearly invisible infrared wavelength signal, when stimulated.
In another embodiment each new magazine 34 that is inserted into the handgrip 55 of the handgun 10 may include a fresh battery (not shown) to power the laser circuitry within the casing 29 and energize the laser. This design concept alleviates the need to periodically disassemble the laser mechanism to replace battery 30.
The shooter may turn on the laser device by any of the switch means identified hereinabove. As the firing cycle begins, the driver board 27 is pre-programmed to emit the pulse modulated laser signal. If a target with an electronic sensor is used, the sensor can be programmed to detect a plurality of specific pulse modulated laser light emissions from a variety of handguns. The target impingement location of the pulse modulated laser emission provides information on the targeting skill and shooting accuracy of each individual shooter. This information can then be used to enable the shooter and/or the instructor to improve the targeting and shooting skills of the shooter.
As a training device, a light sensitive receptor on the target can be programmed to detect the specific coded pulse modulated light to indicate where the firearm was aimed and where actual projectile or electronic signal hit the target. The target may also be connected to a computer data collection system to determine how this particular shooter is performing. The laser light may be either visible or invisible to the human eye. When a visible laser light is used, it is not necessary that an electronically sensitive target be used. In military field training exercises, for example, “pop up” metallic targets are often used. Since pop up targets often have hundreds or thousands of marks on them from previous shooters, a modulated visible laser light would enable the instructor to determine that the target had been hit. In some circumstances it may be difficult of the operator of the firearm to see a modulated pulse of light, and therefore continuous light may also be used.
When multiple shooters are targeting the same object, a different color laser may be used for each different firearm, enabling the trainer to determine how each individual shooter is performing, and light receptors on the target system could be programmed to recognize the different colors. In situations where multiple shooters are firing at the same time, increased stress is imposed upon the shooters, thus enabling the instructor to determine the level of performance of each individual shooter under such critical situations. This would have application within both law enforcement and the military.
While this device has been described as a training tool, it has utility in real life, live fire situations. For example, in order not to give away a shooter's position, he or she might not want to turn on the constant laser until the last instant before firing. But, once turned on, the shooter will be able to determine where their bullet landed by seeing the continuous laser at the point of impingement. This would better protect the shooter from detection and provide the shooter with an element of surprise on their targeted victim.
Accordingly, it is to be understood that the embodiments of the invention herein described are merely illustrative of the application of the principles of the invention. Reference herein to details of the illustrated embodiments is not intended to limit the scope of the claims, which themselves recite those features regarded as essential to the invention.
This application claims one or more inventions which were disclosed in Provisional Application No. 61/322,407, filed Apr. 9, 2010, entitled “PULSE MODULATED LASER SIGHT FOR FIREARMS”. The benefit under 35 USC §119(e) of the United States provisional application is hereby claimed, and the aforementioned application is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61322407 | Apr 2010 | US |
