Firearm Safety and Training Aid

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/574,551 filed on 4 Apr. 2024, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The present disclosure relates generally to projectile weapons and more particularly to a firearm safety and training aid.

Gaining proficiency with a shooting device such as a rifle, pistol, shotgun, or bow requires practice. That practice typically involves hundreds or thousands of shots to be fired at a suitable shooting range. Currently, in the case of firearms, each pull of the trigger can cost anywhere between $0.10 and $3.80 or more depending on the caliber and the quality of the ammunition being used. For someone who is simply maintaining proficiency, the person may fire several hundred rounds per training session. For example, a beginner may fire 30-50 rounds per week, while an avid or competitive shooter may fire hundreds or thousands of rounds per week. This amount of shooting can quickly add up to a considerable expense—often quickly exceeding the cost of the firearm itself. Techniques and embodiments of the present disclosure are discussed with reference to a firearm (e.g., a rifle, pistol, or shotgun that uses a cartridge with a combustible charge), but the principles of the present disclosure are not limited to firearms and can be applied to other projectile weapons, such as a paint-ball gun, an airsoft gun, a pellet gun, a bow, a crossbow, or any other handheld or shoulder fired device having similar concerns relative to safe and accurate usage.

In addition to proficiency in properly placing a projectile on a target, there are safety concerns associated with firearm use. For example, it is important to know that the firearm is pointed at the correct target, that the proper firearm is being used, that there is little risk of causing damage or injury to unintended targets, that the firearm is loaded (or unloaded), that the firearm is held in an appropriate manner, that the safety mechanisms on a particular firearm are enabled (or disabled), and other concerns that would be apparent to one skilled in the use of firearms.

In the art there are several devices that address some aspects of proper firearm use. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,423 (“Bertrams”) describes a system that replaces the bullet in a pistol with a device to generate a beam of infrared light that, if the pistol is properly aimed when the trigger is pulled, is detected by a photosensor that gives the user feedback that they hit the target. Recognizing that systems such as Bertrams lack the tactile feedback of the recoil of a pistol and its effect on point of impact, U.S. Pat. No. 6,869,285 (“Jones”) incorporates a mechanism to use compressed gas to actuate the slide of a pistol to emulate the feel of recoil when a shot is fired. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0227298 (“Charles”) expands on the concept of Bertrams by incorporating a radio transmitter and a receiver in an audio device that allows, for example, simulating the sound of a firearm being fired, or which provides instruction from a human instructor. U.S. Pat. No. 8,908,045 (“Stewart”) attempts to train shooters by capturing images of the target around the time when the firearm is discharged. This system allows the shooter to compare the sight pictures of various successful and unsuccessful shots to facilitate learning the correct sight picture.

Unlike previous inventions, the inventions described herein use devices integrated within, or attached to a firearm to not only facilitate training the user of the firearm (herein referred to as the shooter), but to also assist in improving the situation awareness of the shooter in order to avoid unintended consequences of using the firearm.

As a training aid, a camera attached to the firearm allows tracking the motion of the firearm as it is being held on a target. This camera image can be used to track the motion of the firearm relative to the target before the trigger is actuated, at the time of actuation, and subsequent to actuation during dry-fire (no live ammunition used) or live-fire (live ammunition is used) exercises. Images may be analyzed by a computer system incorporated with the camera, allowing feedback to the user about shot placement, or the images may be transmitted via Bluetooth™, Wi-Fi, or other suitable transmission means to a portable device, such as a cellphone, or to another computing device for analysis or archiving. In applications as a training aid an accelerometer having one or more axes may be used in addition to the camera images to track the motion of the firearm before, during, and after trigger actuation.

As a safety aid, the camera can be used in conjunction with an image processing system to perform target recognition. In this way an annunciator can be used to signal the user to shoot, or don't shoot. For example, an image recognition system could be used to recognize a proper target (such as a standard bullseye target), and the annunciator could signal the shooter to shoot the target. If the firearm is not pointed at a proper target the annunciator could signal the shooter to not shoot. It is within the scope of this invention that such a target recognition system could be trained, for example, to recognize family members so that, in the event of a potential intruder, if the firearm was accidently pointed at a family member the shooter would be signaled to not shoot. Additionally, the target recognition system could be integrated with the mechanical safety systems typically found on firearms to mechanically disable the firearm if the firearm is pointed at an inappropriate target.

In another aspect as a safety and training aid, the inclusion of an accelerometer having one or more axes allows for tracking the movement of the firearm. This can be useful when, for example, multiple firearms are being carried by a single shooter. In these embodiments when a firearm is drawn from, for example, a holster, an annunciator can signal that a pistol was drawn or that a taser was drawn. In such embodiments, for example, training is enhanced by giving the shooter feedback as to which weapon was drawn in a given scenario, and safety can be enhanced by providing the shooter additional feedback that the correct weapon is being used.

In another aspect as a safety aid, Bluetooth™, Wi-Fi, or other suitable radio technology can be used to associate a firearm with a portable device such as a cellphone. In this manner, the shooter and the firearm can be linked together when both are in proximity of each other. This enables the firearm, for example, to be disabled when the shooter and firearm are not in close proximity. It also makes the firearm impossible to fire if the shooter (or another authorized person) is not in the proximity of the firearm.

In another aspect as a safety aid if the firearm incorporates Bluetooth™, Wi-Fi, cellular, or other suitable radio technology and one or more accelerometers, then a notification can be broadcast if the firearm has been moved. For example, if a firearm is moved from its storage location without the shooter in proximity, then an alarm may sound or the shooter is notified of the unauthorized movement of the firearm. By incorporating an ability to broadcast a signal using Bluetooth™, Wi-Fi, or other suitable radio technology, it is also possible for a compatible receiver to detect if the firearm has moved into the proximity of the receiver. By locating receivers at the entrance to facilities where firearms are not allowed (such as schools, hospitals, post offices, courtrooms, and the like) it is possible to alert security personnel of the presence of an unauthorized firearm at a particular location.

In yet another aspect of the invention, a location determining system such as a global positioning system (GPS) receiver can be included on the firearm to track the location of the firearm. In the event of theft, Bluetooth™, Wi-Fi, cellular, or other suitable radio technology could be used to locate and possibly recover the firearm. Such a location determining system can include, without limitation, GPS-based, cellular-based, Wi-Fi-based, or other position-determining technologies.

Features and advantages described herein are not all-inclusive and, in particular, many additional features and advantages will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art in view of the drawings, specification, and claims. Moreover, it should be noted that the language used in the specification has been selected principally for readability and instructional purposes and not to limit the scope of the disclosed subject matter.

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments of the inventions disclosed herein. It will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that these embodiments may be practiced without some of these specific details. It will also be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the descriptions provided are an example of how an invention might be realized, but that there may be other equivalent ways that a particular invention may be realized.

depicts one possible embodiment of safety deviceattached to a representative firearm. In, safety deviceis illustrated as attached below the slide of firearm, however it is envisioned that safety devicemay be placed at any convenient location on firearm, including, but not limited to, the slide, a Picatinny rail, the butt, or a location interior to firearm. Similarly, firearmis illustrated as a semi-automatic pistol, however it is envisioned that safety devicemay be used with any type of device such as a pistol, revolver, rifle, shotgun, airsoft gun, paintball gun, pellet gun, bow, crossbow, or other similar instrument that causes a projectile to be discharged. Note that not all components are required in all embodiments.

illustrates the components that are used to realize the various inventions realizable by safety device. As illustrated in, safety devicegenerally includes devices used to perform various functions such as the detection and interpretation of images in the vicinity of safety device, detection of the motion of firearm, inhibiting the operation of firearm, detection of the proximity of firearmto other devices, detection of the location of firearm, providing audible or tactile alerts to the user of firearm, or other operations as described herein.

To realize the various inventions described herein, firearmincludes various sensors, actuators, and processors. For example, safety devicemay include one or more optical sensorswhich, for example, provide visual data such as still images, video images, biometrics such as fingerprint data and the like; it may include optical emitters such as laser, infrared, or other light sources; or it may include sensors and emitters configured as a rangefinder as is known in the art. Inertial measurement unit, for example, may include accelerometers which measure acceleration along one or more axes, gyroscopes that measure rotational rate around one or more axes, and magnetometers that measure orientation relative to one or more axes.

Solenoidmay be an electromechanical solenoid or other device such as a motor or electromagnet, that can be used to enable or disable the trigger mechanism of firearm. Solenoidprovides a mechanism for using an electrical signal to allow, or prevent, the discharge of a projectile from firearm.

USB interfacegenerically refers to a wired interface that can be used for connecting a computer or a battery charger to firearm. Element USBis not intended to be limited strictly to the known USB family of standard protocols and may include such things as USB, Thunderbolt, RS-232, SPI, IIC, near-field communications (NFC), wireless charging interfaces and the like. In this context, a person of skill in the art would understand USBto simply provide a means for communicating with processorand/or charging battery. Functions provided by USBinclude, without limitation, an ability to update the software of safety device, an ability to download data collected by Optical sensor, IMU, Wireless, and/or GPS.

Processormay consist of one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, graphics processors, signal processors and the like. Processoralone, or in combination with other processors, executes program instructions that receive data from the various sensors,, and, processes that data, and outputs results to output devicesand. Additionally, program instructions executing on processorprovide the functions necessary to interact with input/output interfaces such as USB, and Wireless. Memorymay be a combination of volatile and non-volatile memory devices. Typically, non-volatile memory devices such as, but not limited to, solid-state drives (SSDs), EPROM, EEPROM, flash, or battery backed-up random access memory (RAM) would be used to store program instructions and other data that must remain stored in the event of power failure. Memorymay also include other types of volatile memory, known generally as random-access memory, to store transient data that need not be preserved in the event of a power failure.

Wirelessis intended to refer to one or more wireless communications techniques and includes, without limitation, interfaces such as Bluetooth™, Wi-Fi, cellular, or ZigBee radio frequency interfaces, but in some embodiments may also include NFC or optical communications technologies.

Batterysupplies power to operate the various electronic components included in safety device. Batterymay be a conventional battery using Li-ion, Li-Po, NiMH, Ni—Cd, or other known rechargeable battery technology, it may be a non-rechargeable lithium, alkaline, zinc-carbon, or other non-rechargeable battery technology. In some embodiments, batterymay harvest power through the motion of firearmavoiding the need for charging or replacing more conventional batteries. In other embodiments, batterymay utilize so-called super capacitor technology to store sufficient energy to supply the power needed to operate safety device.

Annunciatorprovides aural and/or tactile feedback to the user of firearm. This annunciator can be a vibration motor, loudspeaker, piezoelectric alarm, or other annunciator. In some embodiments the annunciator provides an alarm if the processor determines that it is not safe to discharge a projectile. In other embodiments the annunciator may provide status information about firearm.

GPSrefers to a device, such as a Global Positioning System receiver, for determining an absolute location, for example in latitude and longitude, of firearm. While GPSis referred to as a GPS receiver, it can be any positioning system receiver including a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver, a cellular-based positioning system, a Wi-Fi based positioning system, or other radio-based positioning system as is known in the art.

Mobile devicecommunicates with safety devicethrough wireless interface. In various embodiments mobile devicemay be a conventional Apple or Android cellular telephone, but the mobile devicecan be any other device such as a tablet, laptop, or desktop computer, an iPad, or any other device supporting the protocol(s) used by wireless interface. The characteristics of the signalpassed between mobile deviceand safety devicedepends on the requirements for a specific embodiment of the invention. For example, and without limitation, when the user is in close proximity to firearm, signalmay be a Bluetooth low energy (BLE) signal. Similarly, if the user is distant from firearm, signalmay be cellular or Wi-Fi signal. In this way a user can be notified of any change in the status of firearmregardless of the proximity of the user to the firearm.

In some embodiments IMUincludes accelerometers that measure the accelerations of firearmalong one or more axes. For example, in one embodiment the accelerometers in IMUare arranged to measure the accelerations along three orthogonal axes, X, Y, and Z where, in one case, the Y axis points along the barrel of firearm, the X axis points along the right-hand side of firearm(from the user's perspective) and the Z axis points vertically upward from firearm, such as shown in.

In one embodiment, it is desirable to determine if firearmis in motion. For example, the owner may have stored firearmwhen not in use and wishes to be alerted if firearmis moved for any reason.illustrates an example acceleration profile which might occur if firearmis stored laying on its side (+X axis pointing downward). When the firearm is stationary, processorwould receive little or no acceleration data from IMU. During quiescent periodwhen firearmremains stationary, any acceleration measurements would be due to random noise from the accelerometers or possible vibrations in the storage environment. However, if firearmis moved, there will be a notable change in the acceleration measured during quiescent periodresulting in larger accelerations,, which provide an indication of the movement of firearm. While this example describes accelerations along a single axis for simplicity, a person of ordinary skill in the art would understand that this same principal can be applied to acceleration measurements along multiple axes.

provides an example algorithmthat could be implemented in program code for processorfor detecting movement of firearm. At stepit is assumed that firearmis placed in storage, or in some other condition where it is expected to remain. Accelerations can then be measuredin one or more axes to determine the quiescent level of acceleration associated with bias errors or noise from the accelerometer(s) or from other relatively small vibrations in the environment. Based on the sample data collected in step, the mean value, m, and the standard deviation, s, about the mean can be calculated. This deviation about the mean provides a basis for selecting a threshold value gamma, g, that provides a statistical basis for determining whether a detected acceleration indicates movement of firearmor if it is simply a random acceleration that does not indicate movement. One of skill in the art would understand that setting the threshold value g too low will result in false alarms, while setting the threshold too high might result in ignoring an actual movement. A typical setting for g would require the absolute value of an acceleration measurement made in stepto be approximately m+2s=g as shown in step. Of course, this value may be adjusted to assure acceptable probabilities of missed detections and false alarms based on the specific components being used and the specific requirements of a particular embodiment. If the acceleration exceeds the threshold, it is determined that firearmhas moved and in stepan alert is sent to mobile device. If the threshold has not been exceeded, then the program flow returns to step. While this description focuses on the use of acceleration measurements from IMU, this description is not intended to be limited to the use of acceleration data. Indeed, a person of ordinary skill in the art would understand that an analogous algorithm could use rotational rate from one or more gyroscopes or heading changes from a magnetometer in place of acceleration measurements to achieve substantially the same result.

In another embodiment, safety devicecan be used in a training mode in order to provide a user feedback on their technique. It is well known that when using firearmwithout rigid supports that the firearm will be constantly have some amount of motion. When training for accuracy, shooters learn to compensate for these inevitable motions through practice.

shows the Z-Axis accelerationsof a hand-held pistol prior to firing, as well as during the firing of three shots. Regionshows a relatively low acceleration period where firearmis being held on a target. Regionsshow the significantly higher acceleration that results as a result of firing firearm. Regionshows a period where there is oscillatory behavior as the user recovers from the recoil associated with discharging a firearm, eventually settling back on target, and firing again.

provides a closeup view of the area around the first acceleration peak shown in. Ata brief negative acceleration is observed, suggesting that the user tipped firearmdown slightly as the trigger was pulled. Following this brief negative acceleration,shows the positive acceleration resulting from discharging the firearm. Regionclearly shows the post-discharge oscillations associated with recoil recovery.

Using data such as that shown in, an analysis of how firearmwas being moved before, during, and after discharge can be determined. For example, by integrating the acceleration associated with regionthe velocity of the downward motion of firearmcan be estimated. By integrating that velocity estimate, the amount of vertical movement of firearmcan also be estimated. If these estimates are created along the X, Y, and Z axes identified in, the direction firearmis pointed at the time of discharge can be estimated. This, in turn, allows predicting the point of impact of a projectile discharged from firearm. While this embodiment has been described under the assumption that there is significant recoil from discharging a projectile, similar patterns as those shown inandoccur even in so-called dry-fire exercises. While the magnitudes of the accelerations are significantly smaller, these accelerations also allow predicting the point of impact based on the accelerations prior actuating the trigger on firearm. In such an embodiment, safety deviceallows a user to practice and improve their technique without ever discharging the firearm.

If IMUcontains gyroscopes in addition to accelerometers additional information about the trajectory of firearmcan be estimated and any prediction of point of impact can be improved. The point of impact of a projectile discharged from firearmdepends not only on translational movements along the X, Y, and Z axes of the firearm, but also on any rotations about those axes. These rotations are often characterized in Euler angles referred to as roll, pitch, and yaw. In the example of, roll is a rotation around the Y axis of the firearm, pitch is a rotation about the X axis of the firearm, and yaw is a rotation about the Z axis of the firearm. A person of ordinary skill in the art would understand that these six degrees of freedom, translation in X, Y, and Z and rotation in roll, pitch and yaw, completely specify the movement of an object in a three-dimensional space. While Euler angles can be used to express rotational movements, other ways of representing rotations, such as quaternions, can be used to achieve substantially the same results.

provides an example algorithm for predicting point of impact as discussed above. In this embodiment, algorithmbegins with the collectionof acceleration data samples from a 3-axis accelerometer, a, a, a, and collection of angular rate samples from a 3-axis gyroscope, w, w, w. This data collection occurs throughout the time that firearmis used in this mode. As described previously, as firearmis aligned with a target there will be relatively low-level accelerations due to the inevitable motion of the user. During this time an average orientation of firearmis determined as the oscillations about the desired target point as the user aims the firearm will be approximately correct and is established as the baseline, on-target, position of the firearm. As part of the sample collectionprogram code executing within processorwill determine a mean and standard deviation of the motion during periodas well as a threshold g as described previously.

When the trigger of firearmis actuated, threshold g will be exceeded and at this time the acceleration samples are integrated once to obtain the velocity that firearmis moving along each axis and integrated again to obtain the distance the firearm has moved along each axis. In this manner, the translation of firearmrelative to the baseline, on-target, position of the firearm is determined. If more accuracy is desired, in stepthe rotations about each axis may be determined using angular rate measurements from the 3-axis gyroscope. Program code executing within processorcan integrate these angular rates to determine the amount of rotation of firearmaround each axis. Since the translations and rotations of firearmare now known, in stepthe actual muzzle orientation relative to the baseline, on-target, position of the firearm previously determined can be calculated by simply transforming the coordinates and projecting the estimated point of impact based on the estimated direction of the muzzle of firearm(in this example this direction would be along the Y axis).

In some embodiments safety deviceincludes one or more optical sensorsthat may be used within vision system. In vision systemcamerareceives optical input which is processed by vision processor. Depending on the specific embodiment, vision systemmay perform one or more functions including, but not limited to, prediction of point of impact of a projectile, detection and identification of a proper target, and detection and identification of an improper target.

For the prediction of point of impact, vision systemmay operate independently, or in combination with the acceleration detection system described above.illustrates an example of a possible embodiment of a system for predicting point of impact. In this embodiment, safety deviceincludes camerawhich provides image data to vision system. Initially, firearmis oriented such that the muzzle is pointed towards the centerof target.

As described previously, unless firearmis rigidly supported, there will inevitably be small motions as firearmis aligned with target. These motions will appear in the camera image as the target moving within the field of view of camera. However, as discussed previously while firearmis being steadied on target, an average orientation of firearmis determined since the orientation of the firearm will be approximately correct. Therefore, the location of the target within the camera image can be established as the baseline, on-target, position of the firearm.

As was the case with detecting the movement of firearmbased on acceleration data, it is expected that the firearm may tend to move as the trigger is actuated and then move upward due to recoil as a projectile is discharged.illustrates the situation in which the muzzle tilts downward as the trigger of firearmis actuated. In this case, the muzzle rotates downward by anglethereby lowering the point of aimof firearm. Since camerais fixed to firearm the image of targetwill appear to move up in creating image. The amount of upward movement of imagerelative to the baseline, on-target, imageis proportional to the amount of downward movementof firearm.

A possible algorithm for predicting point of impact based on image data is illustrated in. In stepimage data from camerais collected for processing by vision processorand/or processor(choice of processor or processors is dependent on system requirements). Program code in vision processorcan then process the incoming image data by, for example, using image processing libraries, such as those provided in OpenCV, to perform noise removal, frame-to-frame subtraction, dilation, and thresholding in order to quantify the motion of the target within the image. Once movement has been detected, the amount and the direction of movement can be determined by calculating the difference in the pixel locations in the X and Y axes in the image. As was the case with acceleration-based motion detection, due to movement of an unsupported firearm, the image seen by optical sensorwill also exhibit small movements. As before, the amount of movement can be characterized by its mean and standard deviation of the image data collected at stepallowing a threshold, g, to be determined at stepthat allows for smaller movements while steadying firearmbut which detects the larger movements associated with pulling the trigger, discharging the firearm, flinching, or other causes of movement.

Once a threshold associated with steadying firearmhas been determined, image data collection continues at stepas long as movements are below threshold. If the threshold has been exceeded at step, then the previous image acquired is saved in stepand images continue to be collected to allow tracking the movement of the image (which is proportional to the movement of the muzzle of firearm). By tracking the movement above threshold g the peak movement can be determined at step. Based on the movement relative to the baseline image data along the X and Y axes of the image, the change in direction of the muzzle of firearmcan be determined and the predicted point of impact can be calculated inbased on the change in orientation of the muzzle of the firearm. In some embodiments, if optical sensorincludes, for example, a laser rangefinder, it is possible to correct for the parallax error caused by the distance between the muzzle of firearmand camera. However, for training purposes, this refinement may not be necessary.

One additional advantage of including optical sensoris that it becomes possible to validate that the target is, in fact, an appropriate target. Using optical sensoralong with processing using vision processorand/or processor, it is possible to not only track movement of a target, but to identify that target and determine if, in fact, it is a proper target. For example, using the techniques of Lu, Siyuan. “Lightweight target shooting image analysis device based on Raspberry Pi.” Journal of Physics: Conference Series. Vol. 2170. No. 1. IOP Publishing, 2022, incorporated herein by reference, it is possible to detect the various types of targets used in shooting sports as well as predict the point of impact of projectiles. Similar techniques are also disclosed in Gregorová, Jana. “Innovating Sports Shooting With Computer Vision.” 2021, incorporated herein by reference. Additional techniques described in Hartmann, Jacob, et al. “Target detection using image processing techniques.”2015. (p. 2030), included herein by reference, described detecting particularly shaped targets using blob detection, color analysis (HSV), and bounding box algorithms written in the Python programming language.

This ability to recognize images can be extended to detecting animated objects such as dogs, cats, and other animals as well as detecting humans and differentiating between male, female, adult or child using machine learning using deep neural networks, or other known techniques such as tensor flow, Mask RCNN, YOLOR, YOLO or other techniques to recognize and localize images.

provides a flow diagram for an embodiment in which image recognition is used to determine if a target is proper. The detection of a proper targetbegins with the collectionof image data from one or more optical sensors. This image data is processed and analyzedas described above to detect features present in the image data. Once processed, image recognition is performedto determine whether the firearmis pointed at a proper image. If the collected image is determined to be proper, the firing mechanism of firearmis enabledusing, for example, solenoid, and a projectile may be discharged toward the target. If the target is not proper, the firing mechanism is disabled, and the discharge is firearmis inhibited. In this example, solenoidprovides a mechanism to mechanically enable or disable discharging a projectile by actuating a safety interlock, inhibiting the hammer, preventing trigger movement, or other mechanisms for preventing discharge appropriate for firearmas described further below or an audio or visual alert is presented to the user. In this embodiment, regardless of the decision made by the image processing system, control returns to image collectionto allow algorithmto continuously re-evaluate the decision to enable or disable the discharge of firearm. In other embodiments the decision made inmay or may not be re-evaluated.

provides a flow diagram provides a flow diagram for an embodiment in which image recognition is used to perform, for example, facial recognition, to determine assist in making a shoot/don't shoot decision. In an embodiment using facial recognitionthe process begins with collecting image dataand performing image analysisusing facial recognition software such as TrueKey, Face First, BioID, or other facial recognition software. Once analysis is performed a decision can be made to enable or disable the discharge of firearm. For example, atthe collected image is compared against family members stored in memory, a database, or other storage media in communication with the image recognition system, to determine whether the image is that of a family member. At, the image is compared to, for example, known animals in the area or family pets. Atthe image is analyzed to determine if the image is that of a child. Atthe image is analyzed to determine if it includes a potential threat. A person of skill in the art would understand that the order of making decisions about image content in example embodimentmay be changed based on the specific requirements of the system being created. The main point of exampleis that by incorporating facial recognition software with the ability to enable or disable the discharge of firearm, the potential for accidental discharge is reduced.

illustrates a cross-sectional view of a firearm frameand a blocking mechanism. In this example, the blocking mechanismincludes a solenoid actuatorthat moves a blocking componentbetween a blocking position (shown) and a non-blocking position based on the solenoid being energized or not. As will be appreciated, the blocking position can correspond to an energized state or a non-energized state of the solenoid. In one embodiment, the blocking componentis a pin; in other embodiments, the blocking component can be a plate or some other shape.

In some embodiments, the pin occupies the non-blocking position in a default or non-energized state of the solenoid. In other embodiments, the blocking componentoccupies the blocking position by default unless and until the solenoid is energized. In this example, the pinengages, passes through, or otherwise blocks movement of a transfer barfrom moving to a firing position, as discussed in more detail below with reference to. The pincan be arranged to interact with any one or more components of the fire control assembly, including a trigger, a trigger bar, a transfer bar, a sear, a disconnector, a hammer, a striker, or some other component that can be used to prevent firing the gun by pulling or attempting to pull the trigger. In yet other embodiments, the blocking componentobstructs the hammer, striker, or firing pin from making contact with the cartridge primer. For example, the blocking componentis a plate or bar that moves into the path of the hammer, striker, or firing pin when in the blocking position, so that when the trigger is pulled, the hammer, striker, or firing pin contacts the blocking componentrather than the cartridge primer.

illustrates components of a handgunthat can be equipped with the blocking mechanismdiscussed above, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. In this example, the handgunis configured as a revolver that includes a trigger, a transfer bar, a scar, a firing pin, and a hammer. The blocking mechanismcan be applied to any other firearm, including semiautomatic handguns, short-barreled rifles, bolt-action rifles, semi-automatic and fully automatic rifles, and shotguns, to name a few examples.

When cocked, the hammer springholds the hammerunder tension against the scar, which falls into position when the hammeris pulled back. The triggerboth moves the searout of engagement with the hammerand simultaneously moves the transfer barupward so that it is between the hammerand the firing pin. To fire the handgun, the hammerrotates forward to contact the transfer bar, which in turn transfers the force to the firing pin. In this way, if the searbecomes disengaged without the triggerbeing pulled, the transfer barwould not move and the hammer would fall harmlessly against the frame. Accordingly, the firing pinwould not be struck due to the gap between the hammerand the firing pin. Only when the triggeris pulled does the transfer barfill that gap, allowing the handgunto fire.

The blocking mechanismcan be installed at one or more locations on the frame, the grip, or some other location. Thus, the blocking componentcan engage the triggerat position A, the transfer barat position B, the hammerat position C, or the searat position D, for example. Numerous variations and embodiments will be apparent in light of the present disclosure.