U.S. patent application number 15/649417 was filed with the patent office on 2017-11-02 for method of preventing accidental shootings with a firearm safety beacon.
The applicant listed for this patent is Kenneth Carl Steffen Winiecki. Invention is credited to Kenneth Carl Steffen Winiecki.
Application Number | 20170314884 15/649417 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 58237579 |
Filed Date | 2017-11-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170314884 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Winiecki; Kenneth Carl
Steffen |
November 2, 2017 |
Method of Preventing Accidental Shootings with a Firearm Safety
Beacon
Abstract
A method of preventing accidental shooting requires a safety
beacon and a firearm that has a computing device and a wireless
receiver. The method begins by continuously transmitting a warning
signal with the safety beacon and by continuously monitoring for
the warning signal with the wireless receiver. The method then
processes the warning signal into an endangerment assessment with
the computing unit, if the warning signal is captured by the
wireless receiver. The endangerment assessment is used to determine
whether or not it is safe to shoot the firearm based on the
location of the safety beacon. Finally, the method executing a
physical response with the firearm, if the endangerment assessment
identifies a potentially unsafe situation between the safety beacon
and the firearm. The physical response can be a tactile, auditory,
or visual notification to the user of the potentially unsafe
situation.
Inventors: |
Winiecki; Kenneth Carl Steffen;
(Cupertino, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Winiecki; Kenneth Carl Steffen |
Cupertino |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
58237579 |
Appl. No.: |
15/649417 |
Filed: |
July 13, 2017 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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15355012 |
Nov 17, 2016 |
9739556 |
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15649417 |
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PCT/IB2016/052611 |
May 6, 2016 |
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15355012 |
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PCT/US15/38644 |
Jun 30, 2015 |
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PCT/IB2016/052611 |
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62262716 |
Dec 3, 2015 |
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62204208 |
Aug 12, 2015 |
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62256543 |
Nov 17, 2015 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F41A 17/08 20130101;
F41A 17/46 20130101; F41A 17/063 20130101 |
International
Class: |
F41A 17/06 20060101
F41A017/06; F41A 17/46 20060101 F41A017/46; F41A 17/08 20060101
F41A017/08 |
Claims
1. A method of preventing accidental shootings with a firearm
safety beacon, the method comprises the steps of: (A) providing at
least one safety beacon; (B) providing a firearm, wherein the
firearm includes a computing unit and a wireless receiver; (C)
continuously transmitting a warning signal with the safety beacon;
(D) continuously monitoring for the warning signal with the
wireless receiver; (E) processing the warning signal into an
endangerment assessment with the computing unit, if the warning
signal is captured by the wireless receiver; (F) executing a
physical response with the firearm, if the endangerment assessment
identifies a potentially unsafe situation between the safety beacon
and the firearm; providing a minimum safe distance stored by the
computing unit; integrating a current location of the safety beacon
into the warning signal before step (C); comparing the current
distance of the safety beacon to a current location of the firearm
during the endangerment assessment in order to calculate an offset
distance between the safety beacon and the firearm; and identifying
the potentially unsafe situation between the safety beacon and the
firearm during the endangerment assessment, if the offset distance
between the safety beacon and the firearm is less than the minimum
safe distance.
2. The method of preventing accidental shootings with a firearm
safety beacon, the method as claimed in claim 1 comprises the steps
of: prompting to select the minimum safe distance for the safety
beacon; and designating a selected distance as the minimum safe
distance with the computing unit.
3. The method of preventing accidental shootings with a firearm
safety beacon, the method as claimed in claim 1 comprises the steps
of: providing a minimum safe angle stored on the computing device;
radially distributing the warning signal from the safety beacon
during step (C); sensing an emission direction of the warning
signal with the wireless receiver; comparing the emission direction
of the warning signal to an aiming direction of the firearm during
the endangerment assessment in order to calculate an offset angle
between the emission direction and the aiming direction; and
identifying the potentially unsafe situation between the safety
beacon and the firearm during the endangerment assessment, if the
emission direction and the aiming direction intersect each other,
and if the offset angle between the emission direction and the
aiming direction is less than the minimum safe angle.
4. The method of preventing accidental shootings with a firearm
safety beacon, the method as claimed in claim 1 comprises the steps
of: providing a trigger for the firearm; and mechanically locking
the trigger as the physical response during step (F).
5. The method of preventing accidental shootings with a firearm
safety beacon, the method as claimed in claim 1 comprises the steps
of: providing a vibrator for the firearm; and activating the
vibrator as the physical response during step (F).
6. The method of preventing accidental shootings with a firearm
safety beacon, the method as claimed in claim 1 comprises the steps
of: providing a lighting device for the firearm; and activating the
lighting device as the physical response during step (F).
7. The method of preventing accidental shootings with a firearm
safety beacon, the method as claimed in claim 1 comprises the steps
of: providing an auditory device for the firearm; and activating
the auditory device as the physical response during step (F).
8. The method of preventing accidental shootings with a firearm
safety beacon, the method as claimed in claim 1 comprises the steps
of: prompting to initiate an unsafe mode for the firearm with the
computing unit; and disabling the physical response during step
(F), if the unsafe mode is initiated for the firearm.
9. The method of preventing accidental shootings with a firearm
safety beacon, the method as claimed in claim 1 comprises the steps
of: providing a plurality of safety beacons as the at least one
safety beacon; and distributing the plurality of safety beacons
throughout a designated safe zone.
10. The method of preventing accidental shootings with a firearm
safety beacon, the method as claimed in claim 1 comprises the steps
of: providing a portable power source for the safety beacon; and
powering the safety beacon with the portable power source.
11. The method of preventing accidental shootings with a firearm
safety beacon, the method as claimed in claim 10 comprises the
steps of: providing a photovoltaic module for the safety beacon,
wherein the photovoltaic module is electrically connected to the
portable power source; and recharging the portable power source by
capturing light with the photovoltaic module.
12. The method of preventing accidental shootings with a firearm
safety beacon, the method as claimed in claim 10 comprises the
steps of: providing an inductive charging pad; and recharging the
portable power source by placing the safety beacon onto the
inductive charging pad.
13. The method of preventing accidental shootings with a firearm
safety beacon, the method as claimed in claim 1 comprises the steps
of: providing a portable power source for the firearm; and powering
the computing unit and the physical response with the portable
power source.
14. The method of preventing accidental shootings with a firearm
safety beacon, the method as claimed in claim 13 comprises the
steps of: providing a photovoltaic module for the firearm, wherein
the photovoltaic module is electrically connected to the portable
power source; and recharging the portable power source by capturing
light with the photovoltaic module.
15. The method of preventing accidental shootings with a firearm
safety beacon, the method as claimed in claim 13 comprises the
steps of: providing an inductive charging pad; and recharging the
portable power source by placing the firearm onto the inductive
charging pad.
Description
[0001] The current application is a continuation application of a
U.S. non-provisional application Ser. No. 15/355,012 filed on Nov.
17, 2016. The U.S. non-provisional application Ser. No. 15/355,012
claims a priority to the U.S. Provisional Patent application Ser.
No. 62/262,716 filed on Dec. 3, 2015.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates generally to firearm
accessories. More specifically, the present invention is a method
of using a firearm safety beacon in order to indicate to the
shooter if there is a person in the line of fire.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The present invention is a method of implementing a firearm
safety beacon that alerts the shooter if someone is in their line
of fire. It is estimated that approximately 1,000 people in the
United States and Canada are accidentally shot by hunters every
year, and about 100 of those accidents are fatal. Accidental shots
are caused by the inability to see past the shooters target, thus
hitting someone behind the target or by mistaking a human for an
animal. Therefore, the present invention aims to reduce injuries
and fatalities related to hunting accidents and the like. The
present invention will alert the user through the firearm safety
beacon that a person is in their line of fire, preventing
accidental shots. In this regard, the shooter does not need to be
able to physically see if someone is in their line of fire as the
present invention will automatically detect an individual and alert
the shooter. The present invention is not limited to hunting and
can be applied to various scenarios and settings such as military
and law enforcement exercises to reduce and prevent friendly
fire.
[0004] The present invention will also have a proximity function to
prohibit firearms from being discharged when within the vicinity of
a beacon. In this regard, a plurality of beacons can be
strategically placed in public locations such as schools, hospitals
and shopping malls to prevent firearms from being discharged in
such locations. Additionally, an individual may utilize a beacon to
prevent accidental discharge when cleaning their firearm.
Therefore, the objective of the present invention is to prevent and
to reduce firearm related injuries and fatalities.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] FIG. 1A is a schematic view for a system of the present
invention that is able to generate a proximity-based warning.
[0006] FIG. 1B is a schematic view for the system of the present
invention that is generating the proximity-based warning.
[0007] FIG. 2A is a schematic view for a system of the present
invention that is able to generate a direction-based warning.
[0008] FIG. 2B is a schematic view for the system of the present
invention that is generating the direction-based warning.
[0009] FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating the overall process for
the present invention.
[0010] FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating the process of
generating a proximity-based warning with the present
invention.
[0011] FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating the process of setting
the minimum safe distance for the proximity-based warning.
[0012] FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating the process of
generating a direction-based warning with the present
invention.
[0013] FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating the process of
activating the physical response on the firearm.
[0014] FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating the process of powering
the safety beacon.
[0015] FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating the process of powering
the firearm.
[0016] FIG. 11 is a schematic view for a system using multiple
safety beacons in order to generate a designated safe zone with the
present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0017] All illustrations of the drawings are for the purpose of
describing selected versions of the present invention and are not
intended to limit the scope of the present invention.
[0018] The present invention is a method of preventing accidental
shootings with a firearm safety beacon. The present invention is
used to alert someone shooting a firearm that a friendly person is
in their line of fire. Thus, the physical system used to implement
the method of the present invention includes a safety beacon and a
firearm, which is shown in in FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2A, and 2B. The safety
beacon is worn by a user in order to communicate their presence to
the firearm and to consequently communicate their presence to the
shooter of the firearm (Step A). Alternatively, the safety beacon
could be a situated device within a safe zone. The firearm must
also be provided with a wireless receiver and a computing unit,
which allow the firearm to receive and to process signals from the
firearm (Step B).
[0019] As can be seen in FIG. 3, the overall process for present
invention includes steps that are taken by the safety beacon and
the firearm in order to prevent accidental shootings. The overall
process begins by continuously transmitting a warning signal with
the safety beacon (Step C), which allows the firearm to
continuously monitor for the warning signal with the wireless
receiver (Step D). The warning signal is preferably a low-frequency
electromagnetic wave, such as a radio wave, so that the warning
signal is able to travel from the safety beacon to the firearm even
with some kind of obstruction in between the safety beacon and the
firearm. For example, some shrubs and/or tree branches may act as
an obstruction between the safety beacon and the firearm during a
hunting session. The warning signal may also be embedded with
certain kinds of information in order to indicate whether the
warning signal is proximity-based warning or a direction-based
warning. The overall process continues by processing the warning
signal into an endangerment assessment with the computing unit, if
the warning signal is captured by the wireless receiver of the
firearm (Step E). The endangerment assessment is used to analyze
the circumstances surrounding the warning signal captured by the
wireless receiver and provides a determination as to whether or not
firing the firearm would create a potentially unsafe situation for
the user with the safety beacon. The overall process concludes by
executing a physical response with the firearm, if the endangerment
assessment identifies a potentially unsafe situation between the
safety beacon and the firearm (Step F). The physical response is
used to alert the shooter that is holding the firearm to the
potential unsafe situation. The potential unsafe situation is
defined as a scenario where the user of the safety beacon would
come into harm's way if the shooter fires the firearm.
[0020] In one embodiment, the present invention is configured to
initiate the physical response according to a proximity-based
warning, which is shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. In order to implement
the proximity-based warning, the present invention needs to be
provided with a minimum safe distance, which is stored on the
computing device of the firearm. The minimum safe distance is the
shortest allowable distance between the safety beacon and the
firearm that is deemed "safe" by the present invention. As can be
seen in FIG. 4, this embodiment varies the overall process of the
present invention by integrating the current location of the safety
beacon into the warning signal before step C so that the current
location of the safety beacon can be used as one of the
circumstances that is analyzed by the endangerment assessment.
During the endangerment assessment, the computing unit of the
firearm compares the current distance of the safety beacon to a
current location of the firearm in order to calculate an offset
distance between the safety beacon and the firearm. This allows the
computing unit of the firearm to identify the potential unsafe
situation between the safety beacon and the firearm, if the offset
distance between the safety beacon and the firearm is less than the
minimum safe distance. In other words, this embodiment of present
invention allows the physical response by the firearm to be
activated if the safety beacon is located too close to the firearm.
For example, if a user has their safety beacon and is cleaning
their firearm, then the physical response would be activated by the
firearm because the user cleaning their firearm is in a potentially
unsafe situation.
[0021] For the proximity-based warning, the present invention can
also allow the user to adjust the effective range of the safety
beacon in order to prevent accidental shootings within a larger
area, which is shown in FIG. 5. Thus, the user can be prompted to
select the minimum safe distance for the safety beacon so that the
selected distance from the user can be designated as the minimum
safe distance with the computing unit. For example, the user could
place the safety beacon in the middle of their house and set to the
minimum safe distance to be the general radius of their house so
that the firearm could not be fired within their house.
[0022] In another embodiment, the present invention is configured
to initiate the physical response based on a direction-based
warning, which is shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. In order to implement
the direction-based warning, the present invention needs to be
provided with a minimum safe angle, which is stored on the
computing unit of the firearm. The minimum safe angle is the
smallest allowable angle between a line drawn from the safety
beacon to the firearm and a trajectory line for bullets being fired
from the firearm that is deemed "safe" by the present invention. As
can be seen in FIG. 6, this embodiment also varies the overall
process of the present invention by radially distributing the
warning signal from the safety beacon during step C. This allows
the firearm to sense an emission direction of the warning signal
with the wireless receiver because the safety beacon is understood
to be the origin point for the radially-emitted warning signal.
During the endangerment assessment, the computing unit of the
firearm compares the emission direction of the warning signal to an
aiming direction of the firearm in order to calculate an offset
angle between the emission direction and the aiming direction. The
aiming direction of the firearm is typically coincident with the
barrel of the firearm. Next in the endangerment assessment, the
computing unit is able to identify the potentially unsafe situation
between the safety beacon and the firearm, if the emission
direction and the aiming direction intersect each other, and if the
offset angle between the emission direction and the aiming
direction is less than the minimum unsafe angle. In other words,
this embodiment of present invention allows the physical response
by the firearm to be activated if the firearm is aimed towards the
safety beacon. For example, if a shooter is aiming the firearm
towards an object and if the safety beacon is coincident somewhere
along the light of sight between the firearm and the object, then
the physical response would be activated by the firearm because the
user with the safety beacon is in a potentially unsafe
situation.
[0023] As can be seen in FIG. 7, the present invention allows for
different kinds of physical responses to be executed by the firearm
during step F. One kind of physical response is to mechanically
lock the trigger of the firearm, which would the safest approach to
prevent accidental shootings by the firearm. Another kind of
physical response is to activate a vibrator that is integrated into
the firearm, which would not prevent the shooter from firing the
firearm but would alert the shooter of the safety beacon. Yet
another kind of physical response is to activate a lighting device
that is externally mounted onto the firearm, which again would not
prevent the shooter from firing the firearm but would alert the
shooter of the safety beacon. Yet another kind of physical response
is to activate an auditory device that is integrated into the
firearm, which also would not prevent the shooter from firing the
firearm but would alert the shooter of the safety beacon.
[0024] As can be seen in FIG. 8, the present invention is designed
to prevent accidental shootings with the firearm but does not
intend to hinder the primary functionality of the firearm. For
example, if a burglar enters a home and has a safety beacon, then
the home owner with a firearm would be alerted not to shoot the
burglar or would not be able to shoot the burglar. However, the
present invention is designed to accommodate this situation by
prompting to initiate an unsafe mode for the firearm with the
computing unit. This allows the shooter to disable the physical
response during step F, if the unsafe mode is initiated for the
firearm. The unsafe mode is more useful for the present invention
when the physical response locks the trigger of the firearm, which
renders the firearm completely useless.
[0025] As can be seen in FIG. 11, the present invention can also be
configured to prevent accidental shootings in much larger public
areas such as schools and hospitals. In order to create this
designated safe zone, the present invention needs to be provided
with a plurality of safety beacons. The plurality of safety beacons
is distributed throughout the designated safe zone so that the
physical response is activated for the firearm if the firearm comes
too close to the designated safe zone and/or if the firearm is
oriented towards the designated safe zone.
[0026] In addition, the firearm and the safety beacon are each
provided with a portable power source because the firearm and the
safety beacon are relatively mobile in the context of the present
invention. As can be seen in FIG. 9, the portable power source for
the safety beacon allows the safety beacon to emit the warning
signal from remote locations from the firearm. As can be seen in
FIG. 10, the portable power source for the firearm is used to power
the computing unit and the componentry used to execute the physical
response. In addition, the portable power source for both the
safety beacon and the firearm can be recharged through different
mechanisms. One such mechanism is a photovoltaic module that is
electrically connected to the portable power source and recharges
the portable power source by capturing the light surrounding the
safety beacon or the firearm. Another such mechanism is an
inductive charging pad that recharges the portable power source by
simply placing either the safety beacon or the firearm onto the
inductive charging pad.
[0027] Although the invention has been explained in relation to its
preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other
possible modifications and variations can be made without departing
from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter
claimed.
* * * * *