Abstract:
Systems and methods for tracking ammunition supply in a magazine are disclosed herein. A method for tracking a number of cartridges remaining within a magazine includes tracking an indicator strip coupled to a spring housed within a magazine housing, the magazine housing having the spring coupled at a first end to a follower and at a second end to a foot plate, the spring tangent to the foot plate. The method further includes selectively altering a number of cartridges in the magazine housing and monitoring an indicator window attached to the foot plate and configured to guide the indicator strip, the indicator strip aligned with a reference on the indicator window showing the number of cartridges remaining

Description:
PRIORITY CLAIM 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/943,796 as filed on Jun. 13, 2007; which is incorporated by reference herein. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    With the increasing complexity of small arms weapons systems and the increasing complexity of urban warfare, the importance of knowing the ammunition count within a weapon&#39;s ammunition magazine becomes more relevant. Death or serious bodily injury may result if an operator of a weapon with a magazine runs out of ammunition in the duration of a small arms altercation. Current magazines with full metal casings do not allow for a direct view into the ammunition storage inside a magazine, while plastic magazines allow a limited view at the ammunition source, but not beyond where the magazine goes into the weapon and is covered by the magazine well of the weapon. In many situations, knowing when a magazine is at its last five to ten rounds is more crucial than knowing when it has lost its first five to ten rounds, as usually indicated to a limited degree by most clear magazines, in the decision process for tactical magazine replacements. 
         [0003]    Several strategies have been developed to aid the decision to change magazines in a weapon. One of the more popular is to add tracer ammunition at a predetermined count of ammunition. However, the disadvantage of this method is that in warfare, tracer ammunition can potentially create fires in buildings. Also, besides warning the operator of the weapon of the low ammunition count, tracers can likewise warn the operator&#39;s adversaries of the operator&#39;s position in the battlefield, which could be catastrophic for the operator. Furthermore, the use of tracer ammunition does not communicate the actual ammunition count to the operator, but just a warning of a low count of it. 
         [0004]    Another method devised to aid with the magazine replacement decision process is keeping mental track of a magazine&#39;s remaining ammunition. By keeping a count, even if not with complete accuracy, an approximation of the count will provide enough information for the magazine change decision process. However, with the intensity and high stressfulness of small arms altercation situations, this becomes an impractical practice, as even an operator&#39;s momentary loss of focus could lead to the loss of count. Likewise, if the magazine that the operator is using does not contain the initial amount of ammunition that he or she believes it initially does, the basis for which the magazine replacement would occur will be faulty. 
         [0005]    One of the more popular methods for deciding a magazine change is for an operator to estimate the amount of ammunition he or she has based on the weight of his or her weapon with ammunition. To a limited extent, this may be a useful approximation, however with the incorporation of different add-ons onto the operator&#39;s weapon, such as night sights, scopes and other accessories, the operator&#39;s judgment of the count can be hindered, increasing the liabilities associated with this method. 
         [0006]    Understanding some of the limitations to the current systems and methods for keeping track of unspent ammunition, one embodiment of the present invention is devised to eliminate the risks caused from the overestimation of one&#39;s ammunition count, while avoiding the waste of ammunition caused by the premature replacement of magazines due to underestimation. By doing so, the aims of one embodiment of the present invention include, but are not limited to making the use of the ammunition within a given as efficient as possible with little compromise to the magazine&#39;s weight or profile, by aiding an operator in his or her decision process for changing magazines in high stress situations. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    Systems and methods for tracking ammunition supply in a magazine are disclosed herein. A method for tracking a number of cartridges remaining within a magazine, includes tracking an indicator strip coupled to a spring housed within a magazine housing, the magazine housing having the spring coupled at a first end to a follower and at a second end to a foot plate, the spring tangent to the foot plate. The method further includes selectively altering a number of cartridges in the magazine housing and monitoring an indicator window attached to the foot plate and configured to guide the indicator strip, the indicator strip aligned with a reference on the indicator window showing the number of cartridges remaining. 
         [0008]    A magazine configured for use in a firearm, the magazine including a floor plate; a follower configured to support a cartridge; a spring coupled and tangent to the floor plate and the follower to cradle a cartridge for use in a firearm; a round counter defining an aperture, coupled to the floor plate; and a material strip having a first end and a second end, the first end coupled to the spring and the second end inserted into the aperture defined by the round counter, the material strip aligning with a marker on the round counter representing the number of cartridges remaining. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]    The preferred and alternative embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the following drawings. 
           [0010]      FIG. 1A  is just one of the possible ammunition magazines to which all embodiments of the present invention may be attached; 
           [0011]      FIG. 1B  is a breakdown of the present invention; 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is a side view in cross section of the ammunition magazine shown in  FIG. 1A  with the present invention from  FIG. 1B  attached; 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a similar side view in cross section as shown in  FIG. 2 , however the view of the present invention displays the counter gauge of the invention; 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is another ammunition magazine to which all embodiments of the present invention may be attached; 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  is a drawing of another embodiment of the present invention which uses vibration as opposed to an number gauge as the means of alerting the operator of a low ammunition count within the ammunition magazine the present invention is attached to; 
           [0016]      FIG. 6  is a side view in cross section of the ammunition magazine shown in  FIG. 4  with the vibrating embodiment of the present invention shown in  FIG. 5  at its inactivated state; 
           [0017]      FIG. 7  is a similar side view in cross section as  FIG. 6 , but the alternative embodiment of the present invention is in its activated state which is triggered by the low count of ammunition within the ammunition magazine; 
           [0018]      FIG. 8  is a drawing of the second vibrating embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0019]      FIG. 9  is a side view in cross section of the ammunition magazine shown in  FIG. 4  with the second vibrating embodiment of the present invention shown in  FIG. 8  at its inactive state; 
           [0020]      FIG. 10  is a similar side view in cross section as  FIG. 9 , however the alternative embodiment of the present invention is in its activated state, triggered by the low count of ammunition within the ammunition magazine; 
           [0021]      FIG. 11  is a side view in cross section of the ammunition magazine shown in  FIG. 1A  with the alternate embodiment of the present invention displayed in  FIG. 13A  and  FIG. 13B  attached; 
           [0022]      FIG. 12  is a rear diagonal view of  FIG. 11  from which the display gauge is visible; 
           [0023]      FIG. 13A  is a drawing of the flexible strip indicator of another alternate embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0024]      FIG. 13B  is a drawing of the casing and display gauge of the embodiment displayed in  FIG. 13A ; 
           [0025]      FIG. 14A  is a drawing of the round counter slider embodiment in an un-retracted position; 
           [0026]      FIG. 14B  is a drawing of the round counter slider embodiment in a retracted position; 
           [0027]      FIG. 14C  is a top view of  FIG. 14B  with the display gauge visible; 
           [0028]      FIG. 14D  is a front view of  FIG. 14B ; 
           [0029]      FIG. 15A  is a side view in of the ammunition magazine shown in  FIG. 1A  with the round counter slider embodiment displayed in  FIG. 14A  attached; 
           [0030]      FIG. 15B  is a breakdown of the round counter slider embodiment, less the casing and display gauge, attached to the magazine spring in  FIG. 1A ; 
           [0031]      FIG. 16  is a side view in cross section of  FIG. 15A ; 
           [0032]      FIG. 17  is a side view in cross section of another embodiment; 
           [0033]      FIG. 18  is a top view of the ammunition magazine shown in  FIG. 1A  with the embodiment displayed in figure  FIG. 17  attached; 
           [0034]      FIG. 19A  is a side view of  FIG. 18 ; 
           [0035]      FIG. 19B  is a breakdown of the embodiment displayed in  FIG. 17 , less the casing and display gauge, attached to the magazine spring in  FIG. 1A ; 
           [0036]      FIG. 20  is a side view in cross section of  FIG. 19A ; 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0037]    In reference to  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 4 , an ammunition magazine is an apparatus which is used in conjunction with a firearm which dispenses ammunition into the firearm&#39;s firing chamber. Most magazines, as shown in,  FIG. 1A , being composed of a protective casing  101 ,  FIG. 4  dispense ammunition  109  by means of spring tension from a spring  103 ,  112  which raises a follower  102 ,  111  that brings up ammunition into an area of a firearm from which then can be stripped from the magazine top. When a magazine is first loaded, ammunition is horizontally placed within the magazine and pressed against a follower which in turn presses against a spring. The spring is compressed while loading and decompressed while extracting ammunition. The compression and decompression of the spring is used as means to determine an approximation for the count of ammunition within the magazine. 
         [0038]    In reference to  FIG. 2-3 , the count of ammunition within the magazine is accomplished by the tilting movement of a rod piece  105  that is attached to a mount  104  that attaches to the fourth or fifth spine of the magazine spring. The lower half of the rod piece  105  has a horizontal rod  137  that goes into the grooves of a  107 . 
         [0039]    As the magazine spring compresses and decompresses, it does so at a consistent ratio which is coordinated to the number marks on the number gauge  108 . The compression and decompression of the spring caused by the loading and unloading of ammunition into the magazine causes the mount  104  to move down or up respectively, causing the rod piece  105  to move rod  137  in the path dictated by the grooves of the side plate  107 . This sideways movement forced by the grooves causes rod  137  to move the indicator strip piece  106  across the number gauge  108  at intervals dictated by the compression and decompression of the spring. The number of unspent ammunition within the magazine is coordinated to the number marks on the side of the number gauge  108 . 
         [0040]    The add-on variant of the main embodiment of the present invention may be attached to a pre-manufactured magazine by removing the magazine&#39;s floor plate and sliding in the hinges  138  of attachment to where the floor plate was attached to prior to its removal. 
         [0041]    In reference to  FIG. 5-7 , an alternate embodiment uses the upward vertical movement of the follower  111  during unloading of ammunition from the magazine in order to activate a mechanical motor  121 . Starting from a magazine at its fully loaded state, as ammunition is unloaded, a string  113  attached to the follower  111 , through a loop in the follower or any other means, is pulled upwards, rotating a spindle  115  on which the string  113  is wrapped around. The rotation of the spindle  115  causes it to move rearward according to the directionality of the screw spirals on the rear half of rod  116 . The rotation of the spindle  115  likewise compresses a spiral spring  114  which is mounted to the attachment casing  123  at its outer loose end with a nail  119 . While rotating, the gear teeth  122  attached to the spindle  115  turn a second set of gear teeth  117  which are attached to a second spiral spring  120 . This spiral spring  120  is similarly attached to the attachment casing  123  by a nail  119  at its outer loose end. Motor head  121  is likewise attached to the second spring  120  and second gear teeth  117  and is likewise turning while the magazine is being unloaded. 
         [0042]    At a preset ammunition count that is considered by a manufacturer to be a low ammunition count, the two sets of gear teeth  117  and  122  will no longer be tangent due to the rearward movement of the spiral  114 , spindle  115  and gear teeth  122  that are on the screw portion of the rod  116 . This will cause spiral spring  120  to decompress because the force holding back the spring from unwinding has been lifted by the separation of the two gear teeth  122  and  117 , causing the gear teeth  117  and motor head  121  attached to the spring  120  to rotate rapidly. The rapid rotating of the motor head  121  causes an uneven shift in weight throughout the attachment and the magazine, causing vibration. 
         [0043]    When the magazine is reloaded, the string  113  attached to the magazine follower  111  will become slacked, allowing the rearward spiral spring  114  to decompress, causing the spring  114 , spindle  115  and rearward gear teeth  122  to move forward on the screw portion of the rod  116 . The rotating gear teeth  122  will rotate the still gear teeth  117 , therefore working against the fully decompressed spring  120  that is attached to the motor head  121 . Therefore, that spring  120  and gear head  121  will not rotate, but the still gear teeth  117  will move forwards on the rod  116  against a spring  118 , forced by the rotating gear teeth  122  that will press against the still gear teeth  117  with the diagonal side of its teeth until the magazine is fully loaded or is empty. 
         [0044]    In reference to  FIG. 8-10 , an alternate embodiment uses the upward movement of the magazine follower  111  by using a strip  126  attached to the magazine follower  111 . The unloading of the magazine causes the strip  126  to rotate two spindles  131  and  141  which in turn compresses a spring forward of the magazine  129  and rotates gear teeth  134  through gear teeth  133 , compressing another spring  135 . 
         [0045]    As shown in  FIG. 10 , the spindle  131  closer to the rear end of the magazine has little gear teeth  140  which hold on to the strip  126  by holding on to its perforated holes  139 . When the ammunition count of the magazine is at its preset low count, again determined by the manufacturer, the little gear teeth  140  will let go of the perforated holes  139  on the strip  126 , causing the rearward spiral spring  135  to decompress freely, spinning both sets of gear teeth  133  and  134 , the spindle  131  and rod  130  to which the rearward spindle  131 , forward gear teeth  133  and the motor head  128  are attached to. The uneven movement of the weight of the motor heard  128  causes vibration throughout the magazine attachment, magazine and weapon. 
         [0046]    When the magazine is reloaded, the downward movement of the magazine follower will cause the strip  126  to become slackened, causing the forward spiral spring  129  to decompress, in turn matching up the perforated holes  139  on the strip  129  with the gear teeth  140  on the rearward spindle  131 . The rearward spindle  31  will rotate causing the diagonal side of the gear teeth  133 ,  134  connected to the spindle  131  to force the rearward gear teeth  134  and rearward spiral spring  135  backwards against a spring  136  until the magazine is fully reloaded or reloading ceases. 
         [0047]    The add-on variants of the alternate embodiments may be attached to a pre-manufactured magazine by removing the magazine&#39;s floor plate and sliding in the hinges  138  of attachment to where the floor plate was attached to prior to its removal. In an alternate embodiment the device may be built into a magazine. 
         [0048]      FIGS. 11-13  show a strip reader in one embodiment. As the spring  201  of the magazine is depressed or compressed by the loading or unloading of ammunition into the magazine, its downward or upward motion is translated into a respective opposite motion by means of the flexible strip  202  which is attached to the spring  201  by a connector  203 . The curvatures of the corners  204  found in a housing case  205 , which is connected to the magazine case  206 , facilitate the redirection of the strip&#39;s  202  movement 180 degrees. The strip&#39;s translated movement is displayed through a clear viewing window  207  where the position of its tip  209  may be used to reference the count of ammunition within the magazine by its flush position in relation to the number markings  208 . The number markings  208  are set to correlate with the known and pre-measured level of ammunition that they are set to represent. The number markings  208  may likewise be color or patterns and not necessarily numbers. 
         [0049]      FIGS. 14-16  show a round count slider in one embodiment. Sliding body  301  is attached to fixed body  302  by pegs  303  which hang on to the fixed body  302 . These pegs are likewise tangent to the grooves  304  on the fixed body  302 . The sliding body  301  is retracted by sliding it out along the path of the grooves  304 . When the sliding body is slid out, indicator rod  322  likewise slides out by sliding out along the connector  305  connected to the strip  322 . 
         [0050]    As a magazine spring is compressed by the loading of the magazine with ammunition, a flexible material strip  320  connected to the spring by a ring  328  transfers the downward motion of the compressing magazine spring to the horizontal movement of an indicator rod  322  along a gauge  324  lined with measurement markers  326 . The position of the indicator rod  322  in relation to the positions of the measurement markers  326 , whose positionings are coordinated to known measures of ammunition based on the spring&#39;s compression level, communicates the level of ammunition remaining in the magazine to the operator of the magazine. 
         [0051]      FIGS. 17-21  show a round count slider in one embodiment. As a magazine spring is compressed by the loading of the magazine with ammunition, a flexible material strip  420  connected to the spring by a ring  428  transfers the downward motion of the compressing magazine spring to the horizontal movement of an indicator rod  422  along a gauge  424  lined with measurement markers  426 . The position of the indicator rod  422  in relation to the positions of the measurement markers  426 , whose positionings are coordinated to known measures of ammunition based on the spring&#39;s compression level, communicates the level of ammunition remaining in the magazine to the operator of the magazine. 
         [0052]    The round counter casing  430  is made of a clear or see-through (also opaque) material. (The angling of the top of the casing has no drastic effect on the better visibility of the indicator rod  422 . A slope  432  aids in the translation of the vertical movement of indicator rod  422  to a horizontal movement by cutting down on the friction associated in the bending of the strip  422 . This translation may be done without slope  432  because the material used in strip  420  is flexible enough to turn vertical movement into a horizontal one when it deflects off or bends against horizontal plane  434  through indicator rod  422 . The vice versa is also true, as horizontal movement is translated into a vertical when the strip  420  through the indicator rod  422  is deflected off or bent off vertical plan  436 . 
         [0053]    While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, as noted above, many changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is not limited by the disclosure of the preferred embodiment.