Patent Publication Number: US-2022228829-A1

Title: Improved firearm tracking, communication, and monitoring apparatus and system

Description:
PRIORITY CLAIM 
     Priority is claimed to 62/938,538 FIREARM TRACKING, COMMUNICATION, AND MONITORING APPARATUS AND SYSTEM 
    
    
     CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not Applicable 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH 
     Not Applicable 
     PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT 
     Not Applicable 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The field of the present invention generally relates to the detection and tracking of firearm location and firearm discharge events and reporting such data through wireless communications to mobile phone, cloud based and dedicated internet-based reporting systems. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Gun shoot detection systems exist for determining the location of a firearm discharge and report to a central authority. These systems are based on sensors placed on lighting posts and other structures throughout the area to be served by the system. These systems use triangulation between multiple sensors to determine the firearm discharge location. These systems report shot detection data to a central authority for further investigation and possible dispatch of authorities to the location of the intendent. These systems provide valuable assistance in the detection and location of shots fired in areas where they are installed, yet they are limited in installation to areas with high crime rates, not homes and schools. 
     Weapon detection systems are in use at court houses, police stations, airports along with many other locations to detect illegal firearms for the protection of the general population. The design and goal of these systems is to detect all firearms, yet in some situations with individuals with concealed firearms, it is desirable that their firearms do not trigger these detection systems. One example is an undercover police officer searching for a fugitive that maybe tipped off by the triggering of the detection system. 
     Gun safes and gun locks provide some protection for securing firearms from unauthorized use, yet these passive systems have been shown to be vulnerable to attack, enabling unauthorized individuals to steal firearms and use them to cause many deaths. 
     Biometric devices, including fingerprint sensors can be built into the grip of firearms to prevent unauthorized, disabling the firing mechanism except for authorized users. The problem with these devices is that fingerprint sensors are subject to false readings if the finger is wet or covered with a glove. One false reading could prevent an authorized user to use the firearm when lives are at stake. 
     All of the weapon and shot fired detection systems cited in [0007-0010] are used to protect against unauthorized use of firearms and do not address the need to detect the use of firearms by authorized individuals in performing their duties. When a police officer draws and discharges their firearm there is a need to record the event and inform others that a firearm discharge has occurred so that backup support can be dispatched in a timely manner. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Disclosed herein is a firearm location and shots fired detection system which overcome at least one of the deficiencies of the prior art. 
     In operation a device is attached each of the firearms to be monitored containing a sensor capable of detection a shot fired event detector, a location (GPS) sensor, a communication method, a battery and a controller. 
     During periods of no shot detection the device attached to the firearm periodically communicates with a remote server, indication the status and location of the firearm. In one case, the method of communication is a cell-based LTE data connection. When a shot fired event is detected, a message is immediately sent to the remote server. The server then sets an alarm condition, notifying the appropriate authorities with the alarm event and the firearms location. 
     In another case the method of communication is a Bluetooth connection to a police officer&#39;s cell phone. An app on the cellphone monitors the status of the firearm and provides the programed response if required. The device mounted on the firearm can provide additional information to the app, including and not limited to, the physical orientation and movement of the firearm, such as the firearm is pointed down as in the case of being holstered or being drawn and leveled as would be the case prior to firing. 
     In all the afore mentioned summaries of the current invention the ability to accurately detect shots fired and shots detected events is critical. Acceleration and orientation provided by the devices motion sensors attached to the firearm is not adequate to detect shots fired by another firearm, and in detecting shots fired by the monitored firearm, the acceleration caused by a weapon discharge is similar in magnitude to the firearm being held while running. 
     The primary method of detecting local and remote shots fired and shots events is using two acoustic sensors attached to the firearm. In the case of a Glock 17 or 19 handgun, these two sensors are placed within the grip of frame of the gun. One sensor located near and acoustically coupled to the barrel while the other is located near the bottom of the grip ported to the outside of the gun. Each sensor is isolated from the other with an acoustic dampener placed within the grip between the two sensors. In the case of the Glock 17 and 19 the grip has a cavity suitable for sliding in the described firearm monitor device, requiring no modification to the firearm. 
     The two acoustic sensors are used to measure the time differential between sound coming from the barrel close to the grip and the barrel muzzle to determine if the discharge was local to the gun or some distance away, indicating shots fired and shots heard. In addition to the time differential between the sensors, the waveform frequency and cadence of the event is analyzed to discriminate between a shot fired and other events such as a door being slammed. Advanced waveform analysis can be used to determine what class and type of firearm is being discharged. 
     In addition to the primary method of detecting shots described in [0017], an inertia and magnetic sensor are employed to detect the direction of the discharge for later forensic review. 
     Also disclosed is a gun storage system with improved security. A firearm with this monitoring device and enabled with cell-based communication can be used to alert the firearm owner when is has been moved from its storage location via text message or other methods. In the case of a firearm placed in a gun safe, RF communication is disrupted by the safes steel structure and the periodic communication attempts from the device attached to the firearm are not detected by the remote server. In essence, no news is good news. When the firearm is removed from the safe the device connects to the remote server indicating the firearm has been moved and alerting the firearm owner of the movement. 
     Also disclosed is a gun storage system with improved security where the firearm is not placed in a gun safe and may be secured with a gun lock or unsecured. The device attached to the firearm periodically communicates to the remote server detailing the firearms location and orientation. Using a phone-based app the owner of the firearm requests notification if the firearm is moved. If the firearm condition changes to the requested notification parameters an alarm is sent to the app and a text message is sent to the phone of the owner. 
     A potential drawback with this wireless based detection system are the charges related to the communication carrier. GSM network connections have costs that could be prohibitive where there are many firearm monitoring devices or for a private party that wants to monitor one firearm that rarely is removed from a gun safe. In these cases, the 911 emergency service can be used when the firearm maybe used to cause immediate harm. In this case the firearm mounted device would dial 911, which does not require an activated account, and deliver an alert message as to the firearms location and status. 
     Also disclosed is a device attached to a firearm the processes acoustic data from one or more acoustic sensors to determine if the acoustic data representative of gun shot, and further determines if the gun shot fired acoustic signature data represents one of a number of firearms. A signature database containing signatures from one or more firearms stored in the device attached to the phone. In addition to locally comparing the acoustic data signatures thee device attached to the firearm may send the acoustic data to the remote server for further analysis and archrival storage. 
     In addition the device attached to the firearm may send acoustic data in addition to shoot detection signature data for further analysis. Acoustic data local to the firearm including speech, sirens and other background audio data are send to the remote server. The remote server processes this data and displays on a dashboard. In addition, the audio data is selectively forwarded to a central authority, such as a police dispatch office ort the owner of the firearm. 
     Also disclosed is a firearm location and shots fired detection system that employs other low-cost communication methods such as Lora wan, long range Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and mesh networks. In one such case community service vehicles are equipped with Lora wan to GSM gateways. Each gateway monitors for the firearm attached device and when such a device is detected, relies the device communication to the remote server. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       These and further features of the present invention will be apparent with reference to the following description and drawings, wherein: 
       FIG. I is an perspective view of a Glock 17 hand gun used to describe the current invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective top view of shot detection device hardware PCB board; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of shot detection device hardware encased, ready for installation not the handgun of FIG. I; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective bottom view of shot detection device hardware PCB board of FIG. 
     
    
    
     It should be understood that the appended drawings are not necessarily to scale, presenting a somewhat simplified representation of various preferred features illustrative of the basic principles of the invention. The specific design features of the bilge pump switch as disclosed herein, including, for example, specific dimensions, orientations, locations, and shapes of the various components, will be determined in part by the particular intended application and use environment. Certain features of the illustrated embodiments have been enlarged or distorted relative to others to facilitate visualization and clear understanding. In particular, thin features may be thickened, for example, for clarity or illustration. All references to direction and position, unless otherwise indicated, refer to the orientation of the bilge pump switches illustrated in the drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art, that is, to those who have knowledge or experience in this area of technology, that many uses and design variations are possible for the firearm location and shots fired detection system disclosed herein. The following detailed discussion of various alternative and preferred embodiments will illustrate the general principles of the invention. Other embodiments suitable for other applications will be apparent to those skilled in the art given the benefit of this disclosure. 
     Referring now to the drawings,  FIGS. 1 to 4  illustrate a firearm location and shots fired detection system according to the present invention. The illustrated Glock 17 handgun  100  incorporates a open space in the hand grip  101 , into which the firearm location and shots fired detection module  300  is inserted. 
       FIG. 2  is the top view of the firearm location and shots fired detection PCA module contained within the firearm location and shots fired detection enclosure  300 . 
       FIG. 3  is the firearm location and shots fired detector enclosure  300  which slides into the grip of the Glock 17 at  103 . The acoustic detector ports  302 ,  303  in the detector enclosure  300  located near the gun firing chamber  302  and the base of the handgrip  303 , when slid into the hand grip cavity  101 , align with the acoustic sensors  401  and  402 . Acoustic sensor  401  aligns with port location  302  while sensor  403  aligns with port location  303 . 
       FIG. 4  is the bottom view of the firearm location and shots fired detection PCA module contained within the firearm location and shots fired detection enclosure  300  showing the two acoustic sensors  401 ,  402 . 
     in one preferred embodiment, a potential shot fired event, which maybe a gun discharge or another noise source such as a door being slammed or a fire siren, triggers a timer which measure the time between the two acoustic sensors being triggered. In addition, the trigger event causes the output of each acoustic sensor to be sampled and recorded using a high speed A2D converter. The data is logged for a period corresponding to the cadence of a firearm being discharged, of ½ second. The logged data is processed and compared to the cadence of a shot being fired, and if a match is found a shot detected alarm is set. The time between the two acoustic sensors being triggered and the order in which the sensors are triggered are used to evaluate if the shot originated in the firearm being monitored or remotely from another firearm. The acoustic sensor  102  located near the firing chamber and the acoustic sensor located at the base of the grip  101  will see a time differential of −440 uS differential between the two acoustic sensors being triggered during a discharge form the firearm attached to the monitoring device. In addition, the acoustic sensor located at  102  will trigger first. For a remote gunshot the acoustic sensor  402  located at the base of the gun grip  103  will trigger first. 
     From the foregoing disclosure and detailed description of certain preferred embodiments, it is also apparent that various modifications, additions and other alternative embodiments are possible without departing from the true scope and spirit of the present invention. The embodiments discussed were chosen and described to provide the best illustration of the principles of the present invention and its practical application to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. All such modifications and variations are within the scope of the present invention as determined by the appended claims when interpreted in accordance with the benefit to which they are fairly, legally, and equitably entitled.