SAFETY DEVICE FOR WEAPONS, DRIVE MECHANISM AND CONTROL SYSTEM FOR SAID SAFETY DEVICE

Abstract

A reliable and robust electromechanical safety device maximises the security of a weapon by preventing accidental firing situations. The safety device includes a safety element for connecting or disconnecting a kinematic shooting chain; the safety element is arrangeable inside the weapon at its rear part, connecting with the trigger bar and the backstrap of the weapon. Therefore, by controlling the position of the trigger bar, it is possible to control the safe and firing position of the weapon, in addition to, and independent of, the other original weapon safeties.

Claims

1. A safety device for a weapon that has a transition from a firing position to a safe position by disconnection of a kinematic shooting chain of the weapon, said kinematic shooting chain comprising: a trigger, a trigger bar operated by the trigger and displaceable between a high position and a low position, a striker safety lever, a striker safety, a sear and a striker; the safety device comprising a safety element configured to connect or disconnect the kinematic shooting chain; wherein said safety element is configured, when located inside the weapon, to connect with the trigger bar and a backstrap of the weapon, such that: when the weapon is in the firing position and the safety element is operated, the safety element acts on the trigger bar causing said trigger bar to move downwardly to the low position, so the trigger bar does not contact the rest of the kinematic shooting chain, so regardless of whether the trigger is pulled a shot is not produced; and when the weapon is in the safe position and the safety element is operated, the safety element acts on the trigger bar causing said trigger bar to move upwardly to the high position, so the trigger bar does contact the rest of the kinematic shooting chain, so a shot can be produced when the trigger is pulled.

2. The safety device of claim 1, wherein the safety element is a rod comprising: an upper protruding section; a lower protruding section operable by a user; and a central section located between both protruding sections.

3. The safety device of claim 2, wherein the upper protruding section is arrangeable inside the weapon, and the lower protruding section is arrangeable in the backstrap of the weapon such that it projects outwards from the backstrap.

4. The safety device of claim 2, wherein the upper protruding section of the safety element is longer than the lower protruding section so that the trigger bar is capable of moving when the trigger is at rest position, not pulled, as well as when the trigger is pulled, in both the safe and the firing positions.

5. The safety device of claim 1, wherein the safety element comprises an elastic piece for allowing the trigger bar to descend independently from the safety element.

6. The safety device of claim 1, wherein the safety element is flexible for allowing the trigger bar to descend independently from the safety element.

7. The safety device of claim 2, wherein the central section of the safety element is arranged on an axis parallel to a central axis of the weapon's magazine or grip.

8. The safety device of claim 2, wherein both the upper and lower protruding sections of the safety element are arrangeable such that they are oriented towards a rear part of the weapon, in the opposite direction to the direction of the shot.

9. The safety device of claim 8, wherein the upper protruding section of the safety element forms an angle of less than 90° with the central section.

10. The safety device of claim 8, wherein the lower protruding section of the safety element forms an angle of 90° with the central section.

11. The safety device of claim 1, further comprising a drive mechanism, the drive mechanism comprising: a motor; a spindle attached to the motor; a pusher coupled to the spindle and configured to raise the safety element of the safety device to the firing position, and the pusher further configured to lower the safety element to the safe position; and a housing on which the motor and the spindle are mounted, said housing being couplable to the weapon's backstrap.

12. The safety device of claim 11, wherein the drive mechanism further comprises at least: a fixed printed circuit board; a magnet and; a magnetic sensor; wherein both the magnet and the magnetic sensor are coupled on the fixed printed circuit board.

13. The safety device of claim 11, further comprising an elastic element located between the pusher and the housing.

14. The safety device of claim 13, wherein the elastic element is a compression spring.

15. The safety device of claim 1, further comprising a control system, the control system comprising: at least one flexible printed circuit board; an LED status indicator connected to the at least one flexible printed circuit board; a battery; a main communication circuit attached to the battery; and an electrical connection, between the main communication circuit and the at least one flexible printed circuit board.

16. A weapon comprising: a frame; a slide; a backstrap; a magazine or grip; a kinematic shooting chain comprising: a trigger, a trigger bar operated by the trigger and displaceable between a high position and a low position, a striker safety lever, a striker safety, a sear and a striker; and a safety device comprising a safety element configured to connect or disconnect the kinematic shooting chain; wherein the weapon transitions from a firing position to a safe position by disconnection of the kinematic shooting chain; wherein said safety element is configured to connect with the trigger bar and the backstrap such that: when the weapon is in the firing position and the safety element is operated, the safety element acts on the trigger bar causing said trigger bar to move downwardly to the low position, so the trigger bar does not contact the rest of the kinematic shooting chain so regardless of whether the trigger is pulled, a shot is not produced; and when the weapon is in the safe position and the safety element is operated, the safety element acts on the trigger bar causing said trigger bar to move upwardly to the high position, so the trigger bar does contact the rest of the kinematic shooting chain so a shot can be produced when the trigger is pulled.

17. The weapon of claim 16, wherein the safety element is a rod comprising: an upper protruding section; a lower protruding section located in the backstrap, the lower protruding section projecting outwards from the backstrap and being operable by a user; and a central section located between both protruding sections.

18. The weapon of claim 16, wherein the weapon or the safety device further comprises a drive mechanism, the drive mechanism comprising: a motor; a spindle attached to the motor; a pusher coupled to the spindle and configured to raise the safety element of the safety device to the firing position, and the pusher further configured to lower the safety element to the safe position; and a housing on which the motor and the spindle are mounted, said housing being coupled to the backstrap.

19. The weapon of claim 16, wherein the weapon or the safety device further comprises a control system, the control system comprising: at least one flexible printed circuit board; an LED status indicator connected to the at least one flexible printed circuit board; a battery; a main communication circuit attached to the battery; and an electrical connection, between the main communication circuit and the at least one flexible printed circuit board.

20. A method comprising: arranging a weapon comprising: a frame, a slide, a backstrap, a magazine or grip, and a kinematic shooting chain, the kinematic shooting chain comprising: a trigger, a trigger bar operated by the trigger and displaceable between a high position and a low position, a striker safety lever, a striker safety, a sear and a striker; arranging a safety device comprising a safety element in the weapon; when the weapon is in a firing position, operating the safety element such that the safety elements acts on the trigger bar thereby causing said trigger bar to move downwardly to a low position at which the trigger bar does not contact the rest of the kinematic shooting chain, thereby transitioning the weapon to a safe position so a shot cannot be produced when the trigger is pulled; and when the weapon is in the safe position, operating the safety element such that the safety element acts on the trigger bar thereby causing said trigger bar to move upwardly to a high position at which the trigger bar does contact the rest of the kinematic shooting chain, thereby transitioning the weapon to the firing position so a shot can be produced when the trigger is pulled.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] For a better understanding the above explanation and for the sole purpose of providing an example, some non-limiting drawings are included that schematically depict practical embodiments.

[0036] FIGS. 1A-1B show a conventional weapon's shooting mechanism and the main elements of the kinematic shooting chain.

[0037] FIG. 2 shows a detailed view of a weapon including the safety device according to embodiments of the present disclosure, in particular showing the interaction between the safety element and the trigger bar.

[0038] FIGS. 3A-3C show the positions of the safety element and the trigger bar in the firing and the safe positions of the weapon. A detail view of both overlapping positions is shown in FIG. 3C.

[0039] FIGS. 4A-4D show the positions of the safety element and the trigger bar during the weapon's shooting sequence.

[0040] FIG. 5 shows a side view of a weapon including a safety device according to embodiments of the disclosure, wherein the different areas of the safety element can be appreciated, according to a preferred embodiment of the disclosure.

[0041] FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of the safety element of FIG. 5.

[0042] FIG. 7 shows a detail view of the upper protruding section of the safety element, showing its length with respect the trigger bar.

[0043] FIGS. 8A-8I show the drive mechanism of the safety device from the weapon's backstrap, according to a preferred embodiment of the disclosure.

[0044] FIGS. 9A-9C show the electronic control system of the safety device according to a preferred embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0045] As shown in the detailed view of FIG. 2, the proposed safety device 1 comprises a safety element 100 for connection or disconnection of a kinematic shooting chain; wherein said safety element 100 is located inside the weapon in its rear part, connecting with (i.e. contacting) the trigger bar 20 and the backstrap 4 of the weapon, as can be appreciated in FIGS. 3A and 3B.

[0046] Thus, when the weapon is in the firing position, as seen in FIGS. 3A and 4A, and the safety element 100 is operated, the safety element 100 acts on the trigger bar 20, causing said trigger bar 20 to move downwardly to its low position, as shown in FIG. 4C. Consequently, the trigger bar 20 does not contact the rest of the kinematic shooting chain, so regardless of whether the trigger 10 is pulled, as seen in FIG. 4D, a shot is not produced.

[0047] On the other hand, when the weapon is in the safe position, as seen in FIGS. 3B and 4C, and the safety element 100 is operated, the safety element 100 acts on the trigger bar 20, causing said trigger bar 20 to move upwardly to its high position, as shown in FIG. 4A. In this situation, the trigger bar 20 contacts the rest of the kinematic shooting chain, so a shot can be produced when the trigger 10 is pulled, as can be observed in FIG. 4B.

[0048] FIG. 3C shows a detail view of the overlapping positions of the trigger bar 20 and the upper protruding section 101 of the safety element 100, both in the firing position and in the safe position of the weapon, the movement being indicated by the arrows for the sake of clarity only.

[0049] By default, as can be observed in FIG. 4A, the trigger bar 20 is in its rearmost and highest position possible, due to a weapon's spring 6 like that shown in FIG. 1A. This is the trigger bar's 20 position when the safety element 100 is at rest (firing position) and the trigger 10 is not pulled. If the trigger 10 is pulled from this position, a shot is fired, as appreciated in FIG. 4B, omitting the rest of the weapon's safeties for the sake of clarity only.

[0050] Therefore, in both FIGS. 4A, 4B, the position of the weapon is a firing position, namely the weapon is enabled, and it depends on whether a user pulls the trigger 10 that a shot occurs. In both positions shown in FIGS. 4A, 4B, the safety element 100 is in its highest position, which corresponds to the firing position of the weapon.

[0051] On the other hand, in FIGS. 4C, 4D, the weapon is in a safe position, i.e. disabled, so even if the shooter pulls the trigger 10, no shot is fired. This is because the safety element 100 is in its lowest position, which corresponds to the safe position of the weapon.

[0052] More in particular, in FIG. 4C the trigger 10 has not been pulled and is therefore in its most rearward position. FIG. 4D shows when the trigger 10 is being pulled and is therefore, temporarily, in its most forward position.

[0053] Notwithstanding the above, the weapon shall continue functioning as it originally did, so the trigger bar 20 shall have the possibility of dropping whenever the slide 3 is open. Furthermore, the safety element 100 might not require to be always in contact with the trigger bar 20 to allow the original operation of the weapon.

[0054] As represented in FIGS. 5 and 6, both the upper and lower protruding sections 101, 102 of the safety element 100 are oriented towards the rear part of the weapon, in the opposite direction to the direction of the shot. In this sense and in relation to these exemplary embodiments, it should be noted that the location of the sections 101, 102, 103 of the safety element 100 has been specifically designed to adapt to the particular morphology of the weapon, taking into account the small dimensions of a weapon (a gun in particular) and the limited space available therein.

[0055] More specifically, according to a preferred embodiment of the disclosure, the upper protruding section 101 of the safety element 100 forms an angle of less than 90° with the central section 103, preferably 75° as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. This feature is relevant since it takes into account both that the main axis of the safety element 100 is parallel to the magazine or grip 5 axis and that the upper protruding section 101 axis takes into account the position of the trigger bar 20.

[0056] The lower protruding section 102 of the safety element 100 forms an angle of 90° with the central section 103. This is also relevant because it eases and simplifies the assembly of the drive mechanism 200, as it will be explained later.

[0057] As mentioned above and shown in FIG. 6, the upper protruding section 101 of the safety element 100 is longer than the lower protruding section 102 such that the trigger bar 20 is capable of moving (forward and backward), as seen in FIG. 7, when the trigger 10 is at rest position, namely not pulled as shown in FIGS. 4A, 4C, as well as when the trigger 10 is pulled, in both the safe and firing positions, as shown in FIGS. 4B, 4D.

[0058] FIGS. 8A-8I show the drive mechanism 200 of the safety device 1 being arranged on the weapon's backstrap 4. According to a preferred embodiment of the disclosure, said drive mechanism 200 is based on a motor-spindle-pusher assembly, in particular comprising: [0059] a motor 201; [0060] a spindle 202 attached to the motor 201; [0061] a pusher 203 coupled to the spindle 202, as shown in FIGS. 8D and 8E, configured for raising (to a firing position) or lowering (to a safe position) the safety element 100; and [0062] a housing 204 on which the motor 201 and the spindle 202 are mounted, said housing being coupled to the weapon's backstrap 4.

[0063] As explained above, the firing position means that the weapon is ready to fire, with a shot being fired only if the shooter pulls the trigger 10. Taking advantage of the geometry of the original backstrap 4 of a weapon, preferably the motor 201 is housed in the central axis of the backstrap 4, since this is the area where there is more space for housing the motor 201, as shown in FIGS. 8F, 8G and 8H.

[0064] In this sense, provided that the trigger bar 20 is usually not located on the axis of the backstrap 4, as seen in FIG. 8H, a change of axis is required, which in this case is done through the pusher 203 in the backstrap 4 area, as shown in FIG. 8B. In some embodiments, said change of axis is done in other areas depending on the available space and morphology of each weapon. For example, the axis can be changed by the safety element itself.

[0065] Furthermore, the drive mechanism 200 may also at least comprise a magnet 205 and a magnetic sensor 206 as a Hall sensor like shown in FIG. 8H, both the magnet 205 and the magnetic sensor 206 being coupled on a fixed PCB. Said magnet 205 and magnetic sensor 206 make possible for a user to know the position of the pusher 203, which is important for the following reasons: [0066] By knowing the position of the pusher 203 in the assembly process of the safety device 1, the pusher can be aligned with the safety element 100, since the latter must be mounted in the safe position. It is required to know where the pusher 203 is so that both elements are in the same position, thereby allowing a safe assembly that avoids accidental shooting. [0067] In addition, the knowledge of the position of the pusher 203 allows to know the position of the weapon's safety and to warn in case of failure of the mechanical part of the safety. For example, if the motor-spindle-pusher assembly fails (it does not move enough, battery failure, and so on), the sensor reading allows anticipation and sending of a failure alert to the weapon user (for example, by means of an indicator or lighting device like e.g. an LED visible from the shooting position).

[0068] According to another embodiment, a second magnetic sensor is arranged, so that if someone, knowing that the state of the safety device is magnetically detected, wants to cause a malfunction of the status indication and brings a magnet closer to the safety device, that external magnetic field that can interfere with the status indication can be detected, and therefore it is possible to put the weapon in a safe position.

[0069] In other embodiments, the position of the safety device is made known by means of e.g. one or more mechanical stops, one or more infrared sensors, among other means for implementing such function.

[0070] The drive mechanism 200 further comprises an elastic element 207, which is a compression spring as seen in FIGS. 8H, 8I. Said elastic element 207 is located between the pusher 203 and the housing 204 of the drive mechanism 200 to counteract the force exerted by the original spring 6 of the trigger bar 20 of the weapon, which makes the trigger bar 20 to be in its highest position by default. Said original spring 6 is shown in FIG. 1A.

[0071] Regarding the above, as the trigger bar 20 is by default in its highest position (firing position), as seen in FIG. 4A, the passage from safe position to firing position is smoother than the opposite movement (passage from firing position to safe position). This conventional situation makes the shooter feel insecure because when the order to move from firing to safe position is commanded, the motor 201 has to make a bigger effort than when moving from safe to firing position. Therefore, the elastic element 207 mentioned above is capable of counteracting the original spring 6 force of the trigger bar 20, said elastic element 207 making force in the opposite direction to the original spring 6 so that the passage from firing to safe position is less abrupt.

[0072] FIG. 8C shows a cross-section of the rear area of a weapon including the safety device 1 according to embodiments of the disclosure, wherein the particular location and dimensions of the safety element 100 can be appreciated.

[0073] According to a preferred embodiment of the disclosure, not shown in the figures, a battery is housed in the backstrap 4 of the weapon, so that both the drive mechanism 200 and the battery are housed in said backstrap 4. Furthermore, the backstrap 4 can also include control or identification electronics.

[0074] Optionally, as shown in FIGS. 9A-9C, referring to the electronic control system 300 of the safety device 1, the battery and other electronic control components can be housed in other parts of the weapon. More in particular, according to the preferred embodiment of FIG. 9A, said control system 300 comprises: [0075] at least one flexible PCB 301 (Printed Circuit Board); [0076] an LED status indicator 302, connected to the flexible PCB 301; [0077] a battery 303, shown in FIG. 9C, which in this embodiment is located under the front area of the weapon's frame 2; [0078] a main communication circuit 304 attached to the battery 303; and [0079] an electrical connection 305, shown in FIG. 9B, between the main communication circuit 304 and the flexible PCB 301.

[0080] As mentioned above, introducing electronics in weapon safeties allows the weapon to be controlled in different ways, to avoid accidental firing. More specifically, the weapon can be controlled: [0081] By a controlling user other than the weapon user. For example, the controlling user has a controller (or even a mobile phone) that communicates wirelessly via RF (radiofrequency) with the electronics embedded in the weapon. The controller sends the order to change to safe position or firing position to the device embedded in the weapon and it acts on the safety device to place it in the corresponding position. [0082] By another transmitting device (for example, located in a bracelet that carries the user of the weapon) that communicates with the device embedded in the weapon. In this way, the weapon only moves from safe position to firing position when the user of the weapon carries the bracelet. This implementation prevents the weapon from being used against the authorized user. [0083] By an emitter located in a region surrounding a target and a receiving device located in the weapon, so that it can only be fired when pointing at the target area.

[0084] This is important in shooting galleries, for training purposes to prevent unexperienced users from having accidents or to avoid misuse (e.g. a shooter shoots at the target of the other lanes).

[0085] Even though reference has been made to specific embodiments of the disclosure, it is obvious for a person skilled in the art that the safety devices described herein are support numerous variations and modifications, and that all the details mentioned can be substituted for other technically equivalent ones without departing from the scope of protection defined by the attached claims.