Novel System And Methods For Incorporating Firearm Ammunition Temperature & Thermal Susceptibility To Improve Ballistic Calculator Algorithms And Fidelity

Abstract

The present invention relates to novel firearm design, manufacture, and use, and in particular a novel firing solution acquisition system designed to improve the fidelity of a firing solution generated from a ballistics calculator in order to improve accuracy and hit probability for rifles and other firing systems while also reducing collateral damage.

Claims

1-10. (canceled)

11. A firing solution acquisition system comprising: one or more thermal sensors configured to monitor the temperature of one or more components of a rifle firing pathway; a data acquisition and ballistic calculator device having an executable program configured to receive inputs from said sensor(s) and generate a firing solution, wherein said firing solution is transmitted to a firing solution display device having an audio/visual display capable of transmitting said firing solution to and operator.

12. The system of claim 11, and further comprising one or more timers configured to predict the temperature of one or more components of a rifle firing pathway.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein said firing solution display device comprises a laptop, mobile phone, or a tablet computing device.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein said inputs are wirelessly transmitted to a data acquisition and ballistic calculator device.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein said rifle firing pathway comprises an ammunition storage components, a firing system components, and a barrel component.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein said wherein said rifle firing pathway comprises an ammunition storage components, a firing system components, a barrel component, and one or more auxiliary firing system components.

17. The system of claim 11, temperature of one or more components of said rifle firing pathway comprises a temperature change in one or more of the following components: an ammunition propellant, a cartridge, a bullet, a barrel, a receiver, a chamber, a bolt, and a magazine.

18. The system of claim 11, wherein said sensor comprises a thermocouple, a thermometer, or an infrared measurement device.

19-20. (canceled)

21. A firing solution acquisition and monitoring communication system comprising: one or more thermal sensors configured to monitor the temperature of one or more components of a rifle firing pathway; a data acquisition and ballistic calculator device having an executable program configured to receive inputs from said sensor(s) and generate a firing solution, wherein said firing solution is transmitted to a firing solution display device having an audio/visual display capable of transmitting said firing solution to and operator; an optical data capturing system configured to capture and transmit the path of a projectile traveling along said firing solution provided by said data acquisition and ballistic calculator.

22. The system of claim 21, and further comprising one or more timers configured to predict the temperature of one or more components of a rifle firing pathway.

23. The system of claim 21, wherein said firing solution display device comprises a laptop, mobile phone, or a tablet computing device.

24. The system of claim 21, wherein said inputs are wirelessly transmitted to a data acquisition and ballistic calculator device.

25. The system of claim 21, wherein said rifle firing pathway comprises an ammunition storage components, a firing system components, and a barrel component.

26. The system of claim 21, wherein said wherein said rifle firing pathway comprises an ammunition storage components, a firing system components, a barrel component, and one or more auxiliary firing system components.

27. The system of claim 21, temperature of one or more components of said rifle firing pathway comprises a temperature change in one or more of the following components: an ammunition propellant, a cartridge, a bullet, a barrel, a receiver, a chamber, a bolt, and a magazine.

28. The system of claim 21, wherein said sensor comprises a thermocouple, a thermometer, or an infrared measurement device.

29-30. (canceled)

31. The system of claim 21, wherein said system of claim optical data capturing system comprises a high resolution camera or telescope.

32. The system of claim 31, wherein said high resolution camera or telescope is positioned separately from the rifle.

33. The system of claim 32, wherein said high resolution camera or telescope is configured for visual, infrared and data capturing of the flight path of a projective along said firing solution.

34. The system of claim 21, wherein said wherein said data acquisition and ballistic calculator generates and transmits a modified firing solution to one or more secondary operators.

35. (canceled)

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0014] FIG. 1: shows a schematic firing solution acquisition system by which one or more sensors take temperature, time, or other measurements of the firing system and use these measurements in computer system to generate for the operator of the firing system a high-fidelity firing solution in one embodiment thereof.

[0015] FIG. 2: shows a schematic firing solution acquisition system by which one or more sensors take temperature, time, or other measurements of the firing system and use these measurements in computer system to generate for the operator of the firing system a high-fidelity, and a system for monitoring of the flight path and/or impact of a projectile from a firearm for subsequent refinements of the firing solution for the operator or the transmission of this information to another operator who may or may not be located near the first operator in one embodiment thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

[0016] The firing solution acquisition system of the invention may use sensors as temperature sensors (5-8) and one or more timers (14) to allow for the generation of a high-fidelity firing solution (16) that accounts for physical phenomena that cannot be eliminated from the firing system including but not limited to thermally sensitive ammunition propellant burn profiles, projectile velocities, other thermally sensitive firing system components (rifle barrels), as temperatures fluctuate due to influence from either external or internal firing system component temperatures and heat flow. As a result, the firing solution acquisition system of the invention is the first implementation of temperature sensors, timers, to allow for the optimization of a firing solution (16) despite thermally sensitive and performance-variable components inherent to and necessary for the operation of the firing system.

[0017] As generally shown in FIG. 1 below, the novel firing solution acquisition system of the invention may include an ammunition storage component (1) may be responsive to a first thermal sensor (8), also generally referred to a sensor, or temperature sensors, that may be configured to monitor the temperature of the ammunition storage component (1), which may include a temperature measurement of the ammunition stored in the ammunition storage component (1) generally being referred to as a first temperature. This first temperature data measurement may be communicated to a data acquisition and ballistic calculator device (9). Communication with the data acquisition and ballistic calculator device (9) may be through a wired or a wireless signal.

[0018] The ammunition storage component (1) of the invention may be in mechanical communication with a firing system (3), such as a chassis/receiver complex comprising an upper and lower receive and bolt and firing mechanisms. The firing system (3) of the invention may be responsive to a second thermal sensor (7) that may be configured to monitor the temperature of one or more components of the firing system (3), or the internal environment generally of the chamber formed by a chassis and receiver of the firing system (3). This measurement may generally be referred to as a second temperature. This second temperature data measurement may be communicated to a data acquisition and ballistic calculator device (9). Communication with the data acquisition and ballistic calculator device (9) may also be through a wired or a wireless signal.

[0019] Again, as shown in FIG. 1, the firing system (3) of the invention may be in mechanical communication with a barrel component (15), which may include a barrel, or a barrel assembly including a barrel, muzzle break or a suppressor. The barrel component (15) of the invention may be responsive to a third thermal sensor (6) that may be configured to monitor the temperature of the barrel component (15). This measurement may generally be referred to as a third temperature. This third temperature data measurement may be communicated to a data acquisition and ballistic calculator device (9). Communication with the data acquisition and ballistic calculator device (9) may also be through a wired or a wireless signal.

[0020] Again, as shown in FIG. 1, the firing system (3) of the invention may be in mechanical communication with one or more auxiliary firing system components (4) such as a stock, a scope mount, a scope tube, a barrel guard, a trigger guard, a folding hinge, a fore-end piece, and a grip mount. One or more auxiliary firing system components (4) of the invention may be responsive to a fourth thermal sensor (5) that may be configured to monitor the temperature of one or more firearm system components. This measurement may generally be referred to as a fourth temperature. This fourth temperature data measurement may be communicated to a data acquisition and ballistic calculator device (9). Communication with the data acquisition and ballistic calculator device (9) may also be through a wired or a wireless signal.

[0021] As further showing in FIG. 1, the novel firing solution acquisition system of the invention may include one or more timers (14) that may identify and track of predictable heat flow between thermally sensitive components of the firing system. This measurement may generally be referred to as the timer data (13). This timer data (13) measurement may be communicated to a data acquisition and ballistic calculator device (9). Communication with the data acquisition and ballistic calculator device (9) may also be through a wired or a wireless signal. Notably, the first, second, third and fourth temperatures may collectively be referred to a thermal sensor data (10) generally.

[0022] Referring again to FIG. 1, in a preferred embodiment a temperature and timing data (10, 13) may be received by a data acquisition and ballistic calculator device (9). In a preferred embodiment, the data acquisition and ballistic calculator device (9) of the invention may include a computing device which is configured with a computer executable program to convert the temperature and timing data (10, 13) into a ballistic firing solution (16). In a preferred embodiment, ballistic firing solution (16) may be transmitted to a firing solution display (11) and further displayed as a numerical or visual display of the firing solution (16). In another embodiment, the data acquisition and ballistic calculator device (9) of the invention can receive additional input apart from temperature and timing data (10,13), including but not limited to inputs from environmental sensors that can be used to compute a firing solution (16).

[0023] In a preferred embodiment, embedded data acquisition systems, such as temperature sensors, transmit temperature and timing data (10, 13) to a computer system having a computer executable program configured to process these inputs to generate an accurate firing solution (16). The computer system may further include a computer executable program configured to process this information configured to generate and transmit the firing solution (16) as well as feedback or instructions to the operator (12) of the firing system by means including but not limited to a visual display, audible instructions, autonomous corrections to the point of aim, or a combination thereof. Autonomous corrections that may be communicated to the operator may be configured such that they can be overridden by individuals including but not limited to the operator or operators of the firing system and by management/support team members both nearby and remote.

[0024] Inputs to the data acquisition and ballistic calculator device (9) may include a target range as determined by laser rangefinder, a magnetic bearing or azimuth angle (e.g., X° Northwest, Y° South, etc.), a tilt angle of the rifle, a cant angle of the rifle, and/or a wind measurement. Each of these inputs may be provided by external systems, or may be provided by sensors and displayed in real-time. Naturally, algorithms capable of calculating firing solutions (16) may be commercially available from companies such as Applied Ballistics® and/or Kestrel®. The effects of temperature on various firearm components are further incorporated into the algorithms capable of calculating firing solutions (16), which are disclosed in PCT/US2020/054637, which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0025] Again, generally referring to FIG. 1 above, the components of the novel firing solution acquisition system of the invention consist of multiple systems that may or may not be located in close proximity to each other. In general, timer and types of thermal sensors including but not limited to thermocouples, thermometers, infrared measurement devices, may be directly or indirectly connected to the components of the firing system which they measure. These sensors may use a data acquisition system to deliver their measurements to a data acquisition and ballistic calculator device (9) having an executable program configured to generate and transmit a high-fidelity firing solution (16) to one or more operators (12). The computer or network may then convey this information to the operator (12) so that they may choose to make manual corrections to the firing system's point of aim based on the output, autonomously accept the output, or ignore the output. By using the output of this novel invention, the operator's mission effectiveness is improved.

[0026] Generally referring to FIG. 2, in one embodiment a secondary device may be incorporated into the novel firing solution acquisition system of the invention and connected either physically or wirelessly to the auxiliary firing system (4), or other component of the firearm. In one embodiment, an optical data capturing system (17), such as a camera or other similar device with position sensing telemetry information (18) may be configured can observe a down range target (19) and provide its observation data back to the data acquisition and processing system (9). The data acquisition and processing system (9) can then provide further refined instructions (21) back to the operator (12) through the display device (11) or another modified firing solution (22) to one or more secondary operators (20) with their own position information equipment (23) so that their firing solution takes the feedback observed by the optical data capturing system (17) and in conjunction with the firing solution of the data acquisition and processing system (9) adjusts for the position of a secondary operator (20). In one embodiment, the use of tracer rounds may be incorporated into the system since they are more easily observable by the optical data capturing system (17) of the invention.

[0027] Naturally as can be appreciated, all of the steps as herein described may be accomplished in some embodiments through any appropriate machine and/or device resulting in the transformation of, for example data, data processing, data transformation, external devices, operations, and the like. It should also be noted that in some embodiments, software and/or software solution may be utilized to carry out the objectives of the invention and may be defined as software stored on a magnetic or optical disk or other appropriate physical computer readable media including wireless devices and/or smart phones. In alternative embodiments the software and/or data structures can be associated in combination with a computer or processor that operates on the data structure or utilizes the software. Further embodiments may include transmitting and/or loading and/or updating of the software on a computer perhaps remotely over the internet or through any other appropriate transmission machine or device, or even the executing of the software on a computer resulting in the data and/or other physical transformations as herein described.

[0028] Certain embodiments of the inventive technology may utilize a machine and/or device which may include a general purpose computer, a computer that can perform an algorithm, computer readable medium, software, computer readable medium continuing specific programming, a computer network, a server and receiver network, transmission elements, wireless devices and/or smart phones, internet transmission and receiving element; cloud-based storage and transmission systems, software updateable elements; computer routines and/or subroutines, computer readable memory, data storage elements, random access memory elements, and/or computer interface displays that may represent the data in a physically perceivable transformation such as visually displaying said processed data. In addition, as can be naturally appreciated, any of the steps as herein described may be accomplished in some embodiments through a variety of hardware applications including a keyboard, mouse, computer graphical interface, voice activation or input, server, receiver and any other appropriate hardware device known by those of ordinary skill in the art.

[0029] As used herein, a machine learning system or model is a trained computational model that takes a feature of interest, such as the generation of a firing solution. Examples of machine learning models include neural networks, including recurrent neural networks and convolutional neural networks; random forests models, including random forests; restricted Boltzmann machines; recurrent tensor networks; and gradient boosted trees. The term “classifier” (or classification model) is sometimes used to describe all forms of classification model including deep learning models (e.g., neural networks having many layers) as well as random forests models.

[0030] As used herein, a machine learning system may include a deep learning model that may include a function approximation method aiming to develop custom dictionaries configured to achieve a given task, be it classification or dimension reduction. It may be implemented in various forms such as by a neural network (e.g., a convolutional neural network), etc. In general, though not necessarily, it includes multiple layers. Each such layer includes multiple processing nodes and the layers process in sequence, with nodes of layers closer to the model input layer processing before nodes of layers closer to the model output. In various embodiments, one-layer feeds to the next, etc. The output layer may include nodes that represent various classifications. In certain embodiments, machine learning systems may include artificial neural networks (ANNs) which are a type of computational system that can learn the relationships between an input data set and a target data set. ANN name originates from a desire to develop a simplified mathematical representation of a portion of the human neural system, intended to capture its “learning” and “generalization” abilities. ANNs are a major foundation in the field of artificial intelligence. ANNs are widely applied in research because they can model highly non-linear systems in which the relationship among the variables is unknown or very complex. ANNs are typically trained on empirically observed data sets. The data set may conventionally be divided into a training set, a test set, and a validation set. Having now described the inventive technology, the same will be illustrated with reference to certain examples, which are included herein for illustration purposes only, and which are not intended to be limiting of the invention.

[0031] As used herein, “firing solution” means the setup for control of the aiming and firing of a projectile from a firearm, such as a rifle. The term “rifle” as used here, means a projectile controlling instrument or weapon configured to aim and propel or shoot a projectile, and rifle sights or projectile weapon aiming systems are discussed principally with reference to their use on rifles and embodied in telescopic sights commonly known as rifle scopes. It will become apparent, however, that projectile weapon aiming systems may include aiming devices other than rifle scopes, and may be used on instruments or weapons other than rifles which are capable of controlling and propelling projectiles along substantially pre-determinable trajectories (e.g., rail guns or cannon). The term “rifle firing pathway” means the pathway that a cartridge or bullet travels from its storage in a magazine to the rifle chamber and out the barrel. Included in this definition are all firearm components that directly or indirectly are physically or thermally coupled with the firing pathway.