Abstract:
A combination weapon having a firearm with a barrel for firing a lethal projectile at a remote target and an electronic immobilization device positioned adjacent the barrel of the firearm for propelling electrically charged immobilizing non-lethal darts at the remote target and a trigger switch positioned on a surface of the electronic immobilization device which is to be operated by a hand which supports the weapon as opposed to the hand of the operator which fires the firearm.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)  
       [0001]     This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/237,275, filed Sep. 9, 2002. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention relates generally to apparatus for improving the versatility of rifles and more specifically to a forend grip configured to provide an electrical discharge weapon (i.e., TASER) which can receive either a cartridge having wire-tethered darts or a strobe light for signaling friends or for blinding enemies.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     TASERs are weapons that can connect a disabling shock from a remote power supply to a violent assailant. The TASER launches a pair of electrically opposed darts with trailing wires from its power supply to an assailant to connect the assailant to the supply. TASERs have a lower lethality than conventional firearms. U.S. Pat. No. 3,803,463 was issued to Cover for the TASER in 1974. Since that time, the TASER has seen application in the United States as a law enforcement tool and the U.S. military has interest in the TASER for policing actions. TASERs are regularly used by peace officers to humanely capture suicidal or otherwise violent, even armed suspects, who may themselves be victims of intoxicants, drugs and/or emotional disturbance, without serious injury to suspects, officers or bystanders.  
         [0004]     The main problem with the TASER, which has several tactical limitations, is that it is a discrete weapon. To be readily accessible for potential application, it must be separately holstered on the already quite limited space on a peace officer&#39;s utility belt or otherwise on the already quite limited space available for additional ordnance and weight on the person of the peace officer or soldier. Sufficient unused space to holster a TASER may not be available.  
         [0005]     The TASER is necessarily a relatively large side arm. The space is needed to isolate the weapon&#39;s arcing high voltage circuitry. A typical TASER is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,654,867 to Murray. At least partially for the above reasons, the TASER has only been deployed on a limited basis by law enforcement, and the TASER has not seen use in military policing actions. Deployment of conventional weapons could be reduced and countless lives saved and injuries avoided, if the TASER were more convenient for peace officers to bear and, thereby, more available for their use.  
         [0006]     Combining the TASER with a conventional firearm can overcome the TASER&#39;s heretofore described storage and transport disadvantages. Several patentees, including the inventor herein, have previously attempted to combine the TASER with conventional firearms. U.S. Pat. No. 5,698,815 issued to Ragner. The Ragner apparatus has proved impractical and has never been commercially manufactured. U.S. Pat. No. 5,831,199 issued to McNulty. With the current state of the art, the ammunition cartridge described therein can only be manufactured as a minimum 38 to 40 mm diameter cartridge and is, therefore, only suitable for discharge through the barrels of grenade launchers and breech loading tear gas guns. Manufactured as the discharger cup described in the specification, the apparatus has no transport or storage advantages over discrete TASERs.  
         [0007]     Combinations of lethal and non-lethal weapons are previously known, for example, combinations of assault rifles and electronic discharge immobilization weapons. U.S. Pat. No. 5,831,199 to McNulty and U.S. Pat. No. 5,962,806 to Coakley disclose cartridges which can be loaded into an M-203 grenade launcher to convert the launcher into an electronic discharge immobilization weapon. When operational, the M-203 grenade launcher is necessarily mounted beneath the barrel of an M-16A series automatic rifle. The M-203 grenade launcher is installed on an M-16A series weapon by connecting its rectangular forend grip about the barrel of the M-16 in lieu of its stock cylindrical forend grip. This design is intended to compensate somewhat for the reduction in stability of the combined M-16 and M-203 platform caused by the grasping pivot supporting the combinations forend now being at the cylindrical grenade launcher&#39;s barrel further beneath the axis of the M-16 barrel. With the box sleeve structure, the system of forces acting upon the M-16 and the M-203 combination when it is fired is now balanced to greatly reduce any torqueing movements of the combination.  
         [0008]     These combinations have two major disadvantages. First, the M-203 grenade launcher is fired in the alternative to the M-16 full automatic rifle upon which it necessarily mounts by the shooter&#39;s removing his firing finger and hand from the trigger, trigger guard and/or trigger well of the M-16 rifle and, then, repositioning that hand and finger to the separate trigger of the M-203 grenade launcher. The shooter can either fire the M-16 rifle or the M-203 grenade launcher, but they cannot both be fired effectively at the same time. After firing one of the weapons in the combination, the shooter must take time to reposition his firing hand before firing the other weapon. Hence, the rifle is not available as an immediate back-up weapon, should the electronic weapon fail for any of a number of reasons to immobilize an assailant, or should the incident escalate to a point where use of lethal force becomes necessary. If the shooter held the trigger guard of the M-16 with one of his hands and the trigger guard of the M-203 weapon with the other of his hands to fire both weapons simultaneously or to have both weapons at the immediate ready for alternate firing, he would destabilize the entire M-16 and M-203 weapon platform.  
         [0009]     Secondly, if the shooter held the combination in the latter manner, because of the hands&#39; positioning, they would risk responsively firing a potentially lethal rifle burst when discharging the electronic discharge immobilization weapon. Consequently, a need exists for an improved firearm and electronic immobilization combination which addresses the problems of prior designs.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0010]     The present invention improves upon the prior art by housing the electronic discharge immobilization weapon of the combination, so a shooter can support the forend of the long arm with which the immobilization weapon combines by grasping stock supports of the original long arm or after market devices intended to enchance the shooter&#39;s support of the long arm&#39;s forend. A long arm is defined as a rifle or a shot gun.  
         [0011]     In one embodiment of the present invention, a TASER or electronic immobilization device and a vertical grip are combined to be attached to a stud post or rail under the forend or the barrel of a conventional long arm. A TASER or electronic immobilization device may also be combined with the forend or barrel of a conventional long arm itself. The TASER and vertical grip combination eliminates the TASER&#39;s earlier described storage and transport disadvantages. It also allows for the forend of the long arm to be supported as originally designed. It also eliminates many of the other of the TASER&#39;s problems described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,831,199 to McNulty. The TASER is less likely to be fired at an ineffectively close range because the firearm barrel extending beyond the TASER&#39;s launcher, serves as a stand off. Conventional firearms used for home protection need not be kept loaded, thereby, risking injury and death to innocent children and others, as the combined TASER can serve as the first line of home defense. If a TASER deployment should fail or if a confrontation should escalate, the peace officer or soldier would have the conventional firearm for immediate backup.  
         [0012]     Alternatively, the electronic immobilization device can be mounted along the side of the barrel for applications including, or not including, other under-barrel attachments, such as a grenade launcher. In yet a further configuration, an electronic immobilization device can be integrated into a shotgun slide handle which is attached to a shotgun slide and at least one ring to the shotgun magazine, so the slide can be positioned to trigger mechanisms to load cartridges into and eject cartridges from the shotgun&#39;s chamber and where the electronic immobilization device can be fired when the slide is positioned to eject a cartridge from the shotgun&#39;s chamber. This configuration prevents accidental responsive firing of the shotgun and the shotgun remains properly supported as designed when it is racked forward and a cartridge is loaded into its chamber.  
         [0013]     In any of the configurations, a trigger switch is positioned on a surface of the electronic immobilization device so that it can be fired with the extended thumb and/or extended and then flexed thumb of the grasping hand supporting the forend of the long arm with which the electronic immobilization device is combined. This design will greatly reduce the tendency of the shooter to responsively fire the long arm when firing the electronic immobilization device because the electronic immobilization device is not fired by the index or trigger finger. Furthermore, the electronic immobilization device can include a configuration where the trigger switch is positioned within a recess and can have a manual safety switch.  
         [0014]     Moreover, the TASER may alternately serve as a signaling device or rescue beacon for both combatants or sportsmen in need of rescue. The TASER power supply can serve as a power source for a strobe lamp, which may be sighted by rescuers either visually or with infrared night viewing or other special viewing equipment for miles.  
         [0015]     An optical signal could be produced in the infrared, visible light and ultraviolet light regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Visible light occupies the region with wavelengths from approximately 400 nanometers to 700 nanometers. When produced outside of the visible light region of the spectrum, the signal would be visible to rescuers with special viewing equipment while the signaler remained concealed to less technically sophisticated enemies. The signal lamp is inserted into a TASER&#39;s firing chamber in lieu of an ammunition cartridge. The TASER power supply&#39;s high voltage output might alternatively be switched from the TASER&#39;s firing chamber to the lamp. It would be undesirable to operate both the lamp and shock circuits simultaneously as this would likely give away the combatants position to his enemies. With either configuration, after the lamp or beacon is switched on, the frequency of the power output might be decreased to extend operation time. When detached from the rifle, the forend grip lantern might also serve as a roadside hazard marker or as a landing zone marker for emergency helicopters.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0016]     The aforementioned objects and advantages of the present invention, as well as additional objects and advantages thereof, will be more fully understood hereinafter as a result of a detailed description of a preferred embodiment when taken in conjunction with the following drawings in which:  
         [0017]      FIG. 1  is a side view of the invention shown installed on an M-16 rifle;  
         [0018]      FIG. 2  is a three-dimensional view of a vertical grip electronic immobilization device of the invention;  
         [0019]      FIG. 3  is a side view of the embodiment of  FIG. 2 ;  
         [0020]      FIG. 4  is a top view of the embodiment of  FIG. 2 ;  
         [0021]      FIG. 5  is a partial perspective view of the embodiment of  FIG. 2  with a strobe light installed in the invention instead of a TASER cartridge;  
         [0022]      FIG. 6  is a partial side view of the invention shown on a rifle and being used to propel wire-tethered electrode darts toward a target;  
         [0023]      FIG. 7  illustrates a military scenario for use of the embodiment with a strobe light or infrared light attachment;  
         [0024]      FIG. 8  illustrates a non-military scenario similar to that of  FIG. 7 ;  
         [0025]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment electronic immobilization device of the present invention;  
         [0026]      FIG. 10  is a back view of the embodiment of  FIG. 9 ;  
         [0027]      FIG. 11  is a back view of an alternative configuration of  FIG. 10 ;  
         [0028]      FIGS. 12   a  and  12   b  illustrate the embodiment of  FIG. 9  in use;  
         [0029]      FIG. 13  is a front view of another alternative embodiment electronic immobilization device of the present invention; and  
         [0030]      FIG. 14  is a side view of the invention in combination with a shotgun. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0031]     Referring to the accompanying drawings, and particularly  FIG. 1 , it will be seen that a rifle  10  comprises a main body  12 , a butt stock  14 , a magazine receptacle  15 , a pistol grip  16 , a hand guard  18  (hand guard may also be referred to as a forend, forend grip, forestock, forearm, or slide hand on long arms incapable of automatic or semi-automatic firing), a site  19 , a barrel  20 , a forend grip  22  and a sling  24 . The rifle depicted in  FIG. 1  will be recognized as an M-16-A2 semiautomatic rifle which is currently the U.S. military standard. However, the present invention is not limited to deployment in an M-16-A2 rifle, which is shown in  FIG. 1  solely for purposes of illustrating a configuration of the invention and a method of attachment to a rifle. One aspect of the invention herein resides in the forend grip  22  which uniquely provides an additional and highly advantageous function of backup weapon and/or strobe light. A prior art standard vertical forend grip, such as that grip sold under the trademark “Steadyhold” by Steadyhold Products of Cedar Rapids, Iowa or the grip sold under the Trademark “Ergogrip” by Falcon Industries of Tijeras, New Mexico, is known in the firearms trade as an after-market accessory for rifles. It provides a comfortable additional holder for the non-trigger hand and adds a stabilizing function for better accuracy. It is typically a substantially monolithic, rubberized structure having means for attachment to the rifle along the barrel or hand guard.  
         [0032]     One embodiment of the present invention provides a vertical forend grip substitute which, for the most part, retains the external configuration of prior art grips. However, in the present invention the grip is configured to enclose a battery and electronics to house a TASER electronic immobilization weapon having a chamber for receiving a TASER cartridge. One embodiment of this unique, grip-configured TASER apparatus is seen best in  FIGS. 2-5 .  
         [0033]     Grip  22  will be seen as comprising a chamber  30  in a housing  32  integrally constructed as a part of the grip body  34 . The latter is hollow to provide an interior for receiving a battery and electronics (not shown) for TASER weapon operation. Such electronics are well known in the TASER art and need not be described herein in any detail. Suffice it to say that such electronics are substantially the same as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,803,463 and 4,253,132 to Cover, the content of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference as if fully set forth herein. Chamber  30  receives a standard two-wire tethered dart cartridge  35  which may be selectively activated by a trigger switch  40 . Grip/TASER  22  is attached to the rifle using a grip latch  36  and a latch lock  38 , both of which are prior art elements of the existing forend grip and need not be described herein in greater detail. A sling hook  42  permits the sling  24  to be attached to the grip/TASER  22  in a conventional manner.  
         [0034]     Because the TASER cartridge is typically activated by a high voltage pulsed signal, cartridge  35  may be replaced by a strobe light  45  as shown in  FIG. 5  which is configured to operate at the same voltage and pulse rate to provide a visual signal as depicted in  FIGS. 7 and 8 . The light from strobe  45  may be either in the visual spectrum or in the infrared, the latter providing surreptitious optical signaling in a hostile environment. As shown in  FIGS. 7 and 8 , it may be desirable to remove grip TASER  22  from the rifle to facilitate its use as an optical signaling device.  
         [0035]     Operation of the invention is depicted in  FIG. 6  which illustrates deployment of the grip/TASER  22  as an immobilization weapon. More specifically, the trigger switch  40  has been depressed thereby activating propellant in the cartridge  35  to propel darts  44  toward a target, each such dart being tethered by a thin wire  46  to the electronics in the grip/TASER body  34 .  
         [0036]     Referring to  FIGS. 9 and 10 , an alternative embodiment combination rifle  50  and electronic immobilization device  52  is shown. In this embodiment, electronic immobilization device  52  is attached to the hand guard  54  of the rifle such that the dart cartridge  56  is positioned along the side of the barrel  58  of the rifle. The electronic immobilization device  52  includes a housing  60  that extends over the top of the hand guard  54  and along the side of the hand guard. It is attached to the hand guard by fasteners  62  extending through the top surface of the housing and into holes  64  positioned along the top surface of the hand guard  54 . The dart cartridge  56 , which includes two-wire tethered darts, as previously discussed herein, may be selectively activated by a trigger switch  66  positioned on a front surface of the housing  60 , as shown in  FIG. 9 . Alternatively, as can be seen in  FIG. 10 , the trigger switch  66  can be positioned on a rear surface of the housing  60  along with a safety switch  68 . Both trigger  66  and safety  68  can be positioned in a contoured surface  70  on the housing based upon ergonomic considerations for activation by a thumb of the shooter. Although the trigger switch and the safety switch are illustrated on specific surfaces of the housing, it is to be understood that they can be positioned on any surface of the housing, depending upon the particular weapon or application for convenience and usability by the shooter.  
         [0037]     As shown in  FIG. 11 , the housing  60  also can include an aperture or recess  72  for positioning of the trigger switch  66  and safety  68 . In this configuration, the trigger and safety are positioned within the recess to prevent accidental firing of the electronic immobilization device. As with the embodiment shown within  FIGS. 1-8 , the housing  60  includes an internal chamber to provide an interior for location of a battery and electronics (not shown). Housing  60  also includes a chamber  74  for receipt of the dart cartridge  56 . As shown in  FIGS. 12A and 12B , chamber  74  can be angled such that dart cartridge  56  is positioned such that the darts would be fired at an angle with respect to barrel  58 .  FIG. 12A  illustrates the position of the combination weapon when firing the rifle, and  FIG. 12B  illustrates the position of the combination weapon when firing the electronic immobilization device. For firing the electronic immobilization device, the rifle barrel must be raised so that the darts are propelled towards the target. Such a configuration prevents an unwanted lethal round from being fired at the target accidentally during operation of the electronic immobilization device.  
         [0038]     The housing  60  of the electronic immobilization device  52  may also include a laser site  76  for aiming of the darts. The chamber  74  also can be positioned within the housing at an angle in a horizontal plane and the laser  76  can be adjusted so that the darts are propelled at an angle with respect to the barrel which would require the rifle to be moved in a horizontal plane when the electronic immobilization device is operated. This configuration also would prevent accidental lethal rounds being fired at the target when the electronic immobilization device is operated. It is to be understood that the positioning of the chamber for receipt of the dart cartridge can be perpendicular, parallel or at an angle, depending upon its specific use. The discussion herein with respect to angling the chamber for receipt of the dart cartridge is optional as a safety precaution, however, there may be applications where this is not desired.  
         [0039]     Although the electronic immobilization device  52  as shown in  FIGS. 9-12  is L-shaped, it is to be understood that other shapes are also possible, such as a U-shape shown in  FIG. 13 . The U-shaped configuration  78  includes leg portions  80  and  82  along with a top portion  84 . Leg portions  80  and  82  would extend along the sides of the hand guard of the rifle and the top portion  84  would extend over the top surface of the hand guard. In this configuration, typically one leg would include the dart cartridge, trigger and safety, while the other leg would include the battery and electronics. This configuration seeks to minimize the profile of the electronic immobilization device on either side of the rifle, yet allow for the darts to be fired from the side of the rifle and not interfere with other under-barrel devices. Operation of the weapons shown in  FIGS. 9-13  is similar to that for the embodiments shown in  FIGS. 1-8  wherein the trigger switch is depressed, thereby activating a propellant in the cartridge to propel darts toward the target, each such dart being tethered by a thin wire to the electronics located within the housing.  
         [0040]      FIG. 14  illustrates yet another alternative embodiment combination weapon comprising a shotgun  86  and an electronic immobilization device  88 . The electronic immobilization device is integrated into the slide handle  90 , which is attached to a slide  92  by a ring  94  positioned around the magazine  96 . The forearm and slide can be positioned and operates in a conventional manner to load shells and eject spent shells from the shotgun&#39;s chamber  98  and the electronic immobilization device  88  can be fired when the slide is positioned to eject a shell from the shotgun&#39;s chamber or in the fully extended position. By firing the electronic immobilization device when the slide is in the eject position prevents accidental responsive firing of the shotgun during firing of the electronic immobilization device.  
         [0041]     The electronic immobilization device  88  is similar to the other embodiments disclosed herein and includes a chamber  100  for receipt of a dart cartridge  102 . A trigger switch  104  and a safety  106  are positioned on an exterior surface of the device for firing of the darts. As with the other embodiments disclosed herein, the trigger mechanism and the safety can be positioned on a contoured surface or in a cavity as desired for a particular application. Similarly, power source and electronics are contained within the housing. The trigger switch preferably is positioned on a surface so that it can be fired with the extended thumb or extended and then flexed thumb or grasping hand supporting the forend of the shotgun. This will greatly reduce the tendency of the shooter to responsively fire the shotgun when firing the electronic immobilization device, since the electronic immobilization device is no longer capable of being fired with the index or trigger finger.  
         [0042]     Having thus disclosed illustrative examples of the present invention, it will be understood that the disclosed embodiments are not limiting of the invention, but merely a description of its salient features in the presently contemplated best mode. By way of example, those having skill in the relevant art and having the benefit of applicant&#39;s teaching herein, will now perceive various modifications and additions which may be beneficial. Other structures, means for attachment to a rifle and activation will almost certainly come to mind, particularly in conjunction with other rifles. Thus, the scope hereof is to be limited only by the appended claims and their equivalents.