Patent Application
20130133234
The present invention relates generally to devices for improving safety of firearm ownership and use. More specifically, the present invention provides a public safety feature within a firearm that emits distinctly separate signals warning of the proximity of the firearm and readiness of use. The signal transmitting system must be functioning for the firearm to be operable.
Gun violence is a major problem in the United States of America and to a lesser extent other countries around the globe. There are many incidences of a gunman carrying undetected arsenal of guns to a public place and firing indiscriminately to kill innocent people. Recently, such incidents have been on the rise with many individuals killed in movie theaters, schools, shopping malls and the like.
The main approach to curbing gun violence has been through implementing gun control laws at State and Federal levels. Such attempts have faced fierce resistance by second amendment advocates who consider gun ownership a right that cannot be restricted. As a result, there has been little meaningful impact on the magnitude of gun violence through this approach.
Another approach has been through increased security at public places by means of deploying law enforcement personnel and installing metal detectors at potential target facilities. This approach has limited effectiveness because of the numerous facilities that need protection and comparative scarcity of resources. Recently, the use of passive Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tagging for guns has been suggested as a potential viable solution. However, this method suffers from the ease with which the RFID tag can be disabled, thereby rendering the technique ineffective.
Currently, there is widespread consensus on the necessity of adopting an effective approach to reduce gun violence and provide better protection for innocent citizens. However, the main approach continues to be restrictive gun legislation, which is likely to face continued resistance and take a long time to produce meaningful results.
Therefore, there remains a need for an effective approach that can address the gun violence problem on urgent basis and be employed in a timely manner to improve protection of civilians against the guns in the public place.
The present invention provides an answer to the above stated need with a simple and effective method that equips the gun with an embedded self-warning system that must be functioning for the gun to operate. As employed herein, the term “embedded” will be understood to signify that the embedded elements are so intimately located within the structure of the firearm that they are not capable of being removed without dismantling the firearm or performing work on the firearm other than its customary use. The system produces and broadcasts two levels of clearly detectible warning signals within a certain design distance from the gun. The signals can be different frequency radio waves, inaudible high frequency sound waves, or any modulation within the electromagnetic wave spectrum.
The first level warning signal is emitted continuously and is intended to make the mere presence of a firearm within the design distance detectible at all times. As employed herein, terms such as “gun” and “firearm” will refer to both small weapons held in one hand and also larger weapons such as rifles and shotguns, and be used interchangeably unless context clearly dictates otherwise. The second level warning is emitted whenever the gun is loaded with bullets for use and is intended to alert of the loaded status of the gun. The system is configured such that the gun cannot be operated if either the first or the second level alarm is disabled or non-functional, through either tampering, loss of battery charge, or external blocking of signal transmission.
It is an object of the present invention to enhance public safety by providing an advanced warning system to alert of the presence and status of firearms such that precautionary safety measures can be implemented. It is also an object of the present invention to make guns safer for use in normal sporting and hunting applications by communicating the status of the gun to others present. It is envisaged that the present invention would be preferred as a safer alternative to ordinary guns and can be successfully legislated into law as a requirement for all publicly available firearms.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.
Referring to
The system 100 may be provided with alarm apparatus which is separate from and optionally remote from the firearm. The alarm apparatus may include at least one wireless receiver and a generator of audible or visible alarms for indicating presence of the firearm and readiness of the firearm to fire. Receiver 171 can detect the signal from transmitter 122 once the gun is in a predetermined distance, which will be referred to hereinafter as the design range and energize the alarm 173 with a pre-designated audible tone, visible sign, or characteristic vibration indicating the presence of an unloaded firearm within range, while the optional computer monitoring system 174 can initiate a range of appropriate warnings and actions. Illustratively, the computer monitoring system 174 may be adapted to communicate with a security station remote from the computer monitoring system 174, civil authorities such as the police, or other parties.
It should be noted that the solenoid 141 is configured in series with both transceiver 121 and transmitter 122 such that it cannot be energized to operate safety latch 151 if either transceiver 121 or transmitter 122 is not operating as a result of damage, intentional tampering, and being automatically disabled because of external shielding. Therefore, trigger 161 can only be unlocked to fire the gun only if both transceiver 121 and transmitter 122 are operational.
This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/745,316 filed Dec. 21, 2012 and the disclosure of which is incorporated by this reference.
