Patent Application
20120279106
This invention relates to weapons and more particularly to a firearm that can be loaded with a plurality of cartridges each of which is capable of incapacitating an individual without the use of potentially lethal force. The ability to limit a fire arms capability to less than lethal under all circumstances is problematic. If the weapon is intended to fire less than lethal type cartridges it still may fall into wrong hands and be used as a more lethal weapon to fire more powerful cartridges.
Law enforcement has long operated with what is called a “continuum of force”. It provides guidance to officers for selecting the type of weaponry to use in a variety of situations. The continuum normally begins with verbal commands. Should the subject or subjects not respond, the continuum may advise the next level of force until lethal force is absolutely necessary. In situations such as riots, prisons disturbances, hostages rescues, and the like the continuum of force is utilized. However, officers have long recognized that a wide and dangerous gap exists in the range of tools available to them. In the past, officers had very few options for riot control after verbal commands. Common tactics included advancing walls of officers with batons, or a charge by officers using flats of sabers. However, these tactics still resulted in serious bodily injury due to trampling or excessive police force as they march through crowds; furthermore, innocent civilians were at times injured by inadvertent striking or trampling. It was often that the tactics used were either too weak or too strong a response to some situations. As a result the use of high-pressure fire houses, electroshock weapons, and non-lethal chemical agents (such as tear gas and offensive odor canisters) were employed to disperse a crowd. Unfortunately, the discretion of officers in utilizing these weapons and tactics led to either misuse by officers or insufficient force applied by officers to maintain peace.
While law enforcement has long recognized the gap in the force of continuum, the concept is relatively new to the military. More and more, military forces are being deployed to situations involving peacekeeping and noncombat operations. A solider must be equipped and trained for peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance operations. In certain situations, law enforcement officers and military soldiers are required to use force to control crowds or individuals, as such less than lethal means are recommended by the force continuum. Less than lethal weapons and tactics are intended to be unlikely to kill or cause great bodily injury, thus minimizing civilian casualties and providing soldiers or officers with an alternative to lethal force.
A less than lethal projectile, provided in a less than lethal weapon, assures that the requisite less than lethal consequence exists and minimizes the soldiers or officers subjectivity in determining the amount of force to use when necessary. Thus heightening the margin of safety for civilians in a riot without minimizing the primary objective: to temporarily incapacitate, confuse, delay, or restrain. One type of projectile commonly used is a beanbag. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 6,655,294 discloses a beanbag suitable for installation in a cartridge or shell of a projectile found in a conventional handgun and the process for making the same. The beanbags are fabric bags that contain lead shot or pellets. The round is intended to flatten on impact, hitting face on, thereby spreading its energy over a larger area. When the bag leaves the gun it unrolls and rotates into the flat orientation to strike the target. Unfortunately, if the bag hits before it is completely unfurled or an edge-on orientation, the full force of the impact is distributed over a smaller area, causing more damage. Furthermore, because of their shape (square, rectangular, or circular) the bags are regarded as wildly inaccurate and have been known to veer off course.
Another type of impact device launched from a cartridge shell is a less than lethal projectile. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 7,089,864 discloses a projectile launched from a weapon shell required at impact to have a low lethality consequence, in which the projectile is fitted in the shell in a shape characterized by a blunt or flat end in the direction of flight. Unfortunately, this low lethality projectile is susceptible to being unstable during its path of flight due to its relatively low weight and slower rate of speed. Furthermore, the projectile is only capable of being fired from a 37 mm or 40 mm weapon shell thus limiting the selection of munitions available to the officer or soldier. In addition, the disadvantages associated with the low lethality projectile also include the method of producing the same. U.S. Pat. No. 6,374,742 discloses a method of shaping a projectile comprising the steps of filling an unbounded rear end of an unfilled tubular sock having a closed front end, forming folds in the tubular sock immediately forward of the rear opening, and manually inserting the tubular sock into a projectile compartment of a 37 mm or 40 mm weapon shell. In so far as the method of sealing the projectile is disclosed as a fold, it is possible that upon impact the projectile may bust, spilling the rubber pellets. Therefore a more reliable seal is desired. Additionally, the method disclosed is not conducive for mass production of the device because it cannot be manufactured on an automated production line. In point of fact, many of the steps of production in the '742 patent involve manual labor.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,614,349 discloses a high-density composite material and its use in the manufacture of less-lethal ammunition projectiles. The composite ammunition projectile material is produced from a compact mixture of fine iron powder, a highly damping inert, non toxic elastomer and an insert of non-toxic thermoplastic elastomer. The composite ammunition projectile material is first blended, then the projectile is injection molded or compression molded. The density of the composite ammunition projectile is adjustable in terms of the ratio of iron powder to elastomer to thermoplastic elastomer block co-polymer, but a minimum density of 2.4 gcm−3 is preferred. A blend comprising an elastomer and a thermoplastic elastomer with low creep is also disclosed.
While these prior art devices may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they would be unsuitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described. As a consequence of these aforementioned problems, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a less than lethal fire arm.
The invention is directed to a fire arm that will fire low power cartridges, and will be destroyed when a full power cartridge is loaded into the weapon and fired. Should a full powered cartridge fired from the weapon the weapon will be destroyed and the velocity of the bullet will be significantly reduced.
The firearm is a gun having a plurality of frangible barrels arranged in a two by two pattern. At the proximal end of each barrel is a chamber that receives a cartridge. Each cartridge contains a charge that is less than a conventional standard charge. Each barrel may include an inner sleeve formed out of a deformable metallic metal. The outer sleeve is comprised of a rigid material such as, but not limited to, a filled plastic. The inner sleeve is sufficiently strong to withstand the pressure of a reduced charge that is fired with the weapon, but will deform when exposed to the pressure of the firing of a standard charge. When the inner sleeve expands from the pressure exerted by the standard charge, the outer member will fragment, thereby destroying the firearm. Simultaneously, the expansion of the inner sleeve and fragmentation of the outer member of the barrel will reduce the propelling force on the bullet. Therefore, an attempt to use a standard cartridge within this weapon will result in the destruction of the weapon as well as the firing of a bullet with greatly reduced force.
The plurality of barrels of the firearm are stationary and do not rotate. The hammer of the weapon is mounted on a revolving mechanism that is rotated in a circular pattern from one barrel to the next by pulling the trigger. As the trigger is pulled backwards a trigger latch will catch and then release the revolving mechanism via lead-in and lead-out ramps formed on the revolving member. Pulling the trigger will pull the revolving mechanism rearward and compress a drive spring which in turn will cause the revolving mechanism to move forward thereby causing the hammer to impact the firing pin and then into primer of the cartridge. When the trigger is pulled all the way, the firing spring is fully compressed, and the revolving mechanism has moved the hammer part way to the next barrel. The trigger latch mechanism then releases the revolving mechanism. As the revolving mechanism is moved forward by the spring, it completes its rotation to the next barrel and the hammer impacts the firing pin which in turn fires the charge. The rotation of the revolving mechanism is provided by a helical cam mechanism. A cam follower in the revolving mechanism follows the helical path in the revolving mechanism is pulled back by the trigger to rotate the firing pin part way to the next barrel. When the trigger latch releases the revolving mechanism, the spring forces the revolving mechanism forward and the cam follower, riding in the second helical groove in the cam completes the rotation to the next barrel and the firing pin then fires the cartridge. The inertia of the revolving mechanism is required in order to store the spring energy as kinetic energy but the spring drives the revolving mechanism all the way forward. A weaker spring that is also compressed by the revolving member during firing is strong enough to pull the firing pin back after firing so that it will not fire a round when the firearm is closed after loading.
Accordingly, it is an objective of the instant invention to provide a gun that will fire low power cartridges, but be destroyed when a full power cartridge is fired.
It is a further objective of the instant invention that even if a full power cartridge is attempted to be fired from the gun the bullet will be fired with a reduced velocity even as the gun is destroyed by the firing.
It is yet another objective of the instant invention to provide a less than lethal hand gun that is capable of firing a plurality of rounds between reloads.
It is a still further objective of the invention to provide a less than lethal weapon that is intended to be unlikely to kill or cause great bodily injury, thus minimizing civilian casualties and providing soldiers or officers with an alternative to lethal force.
Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with any accompanying drawings wherein are set forth, by way of illustration and example, certain embodiments of this invention. Any drawings contained herein constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments of the present invention and illustrate various objects and features thereof.
The firearm of the instant invention includes a plurality of barrels. As shown in the exploded side view of
The molded barrel member 1 is formed from a rigid material such as, but not limited to, a filled plastic (i.e. glass or nylon fibers). Each barrel of barrel member 1 may optionally include a barrel sleeve 2 that is molded within the barrel member 1. The sleeve 2 is formed from a deformable metal can be made from, but not limited to, 321 stainless steel—seamless mil spec 0.020 inch thickness tubing. Rifling grooves are then added to the metal barrel. Alternatively the metal sleeve can be eliminated and the rifling grooves can be molded directly on to the interior surface of each of the four barrels during the molding process. In either instance the barrel member 1 would not be able to withstand the pressure created by the firing of a conventional round within the weapon.
Typically the cartridge would have a projectile that would weigh 8 to 15 grams and contain 1 to 3 grains of gun powder. The pressure generated within the firing chamber by firing the reduced charge shell cartridge will not exceed 2000 psi. Preferably the reduced shell cartridge will produce a pressure within the firing chamber within the range of 500 to 1000 psi. The muzzle velocity of the projectile leaving the firearm using the reduced charge cartridge will not exceed 600 ft/second. The muzzle velocity will be in the range of 300 to 600 ft/second, preferably approximately 500 ft/second. The cartridge used would preferably be a 45 caliber but other sized cartridges and barrel sizes could be used.
All patents and publications mentioned in this specification are indicative of the levels of those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains. All patents and publications are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.
It is to be understood that while a certain form of the invention is illustrated, it is not to be limited to the specific form or arrangement herein described and shown. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention and the invention is not to be considered limited to what is shown and described in the specification and any drawings/figures included herein.
One skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the present invention is well adapted to carry out the objectives and obtain the ends and advantages mentioned, as well as those inherent therein. The embodiments, methods, procedures and techniques described herein are presently representative of the preferred embodiments, are intended to be exemplary and are not intended as limitations on the scope. Changes therein and other uses will occur to those skilled in the art which are encompassed within the spirit of the invention and are defined by the scope of the appended claims. Although the invention has been described in connection with specific preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited to such specific embodiments. Indeed, various modifications of the described modes for carrying out the invention which are obvious to those skilled in the art are intended to be within the scope of the following claims.
