Abstract:
A firearm safety system and method is disclosed. The firearm safety system includes motion and location sensors in a device that is attached to a firearm. When the motion sensor detects movement, it causes the location sensor to send a notification to the owner of the firearm on a mobile device or another computing platform. The owner interacts with an application receiving the notification to take steps to prevent the misuse of the firearm.

Description:
PRIORITY 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to provisional application U.S. Ser. No. 62/308,663 filed Mar. 15, 2016 titled Gun Safety Application That Informs The Gun Owner If And When A Gun Has Been Moved. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The invention relates generally to preventing unauthorized use of a firearm and more particularly to a device and method for notifying a firearm owner when the firearm is moved. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Gun violence is widely recognized as a serious problem. Although shootings in public receive much attention from the media, there is also a significant issue with children and youth who are accidentally shot in a home by legally owned guns. Some studies have shown that as many as 10,000 kids under the age of 19 are killed or injured each year. An incredible 89% of unintentional injuries and death of children from loaded firearms happen in the home because owners are unaware that the firearm was found or is being handled by a child. Gun violence is the second leading cause of death, among children and teens. Children exposed to gun violence at home, at school, in the community, or through the media can experience negative psychological effects including posttraumatic stress, poor school performance, increased delinquency, substance abuse, and desensitization to violence. All of these effects can make children and youth more prone to violence themselves. Guns in the home are a major public health risk. 
         [0004]    Current methods of increasing firearm safety in the home include locking the firearm in a safe and using a fingerprint control device so that only a person with a matching fingerprint can pull the trigger. However, many firearm owners are uncomfortable with these solutions and find they do not meet their needs. A firearm locked in a safe is not readily available at short notice. Fingerprint control devices can be tricky to use and are not always reliable, especially in an emergency situation. 
         [0005]    Thus, a need exists for a firearm safety system that is convenient to use and can be attached to or incorporated with a firearm to detect motion and allow a user to know if the firearm has been moved. There is also a need for a firearm safety system controls the operation of the firearm by detecting information about individuals at which the firearm is aimed. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    The invention in one implementation encompasses a firearm safety system and method including motion and location sensors in a device attached to a firearm. When the motion sensor detects movement, it causes the location sensor to send a notification to the owner of the firearm on a mobile device or other computing platform. In a further embodiment, the invention provides a system and method for detecting characteristics about an individual at which the firearm is aimed, including body surface area and the presence of another firearm. These characteristics are used to control the operation of a trigger mechanism of the firearm, providing additional safety. 
         [0007]    In an embodiment, the invention encompasses a firearm safety system having a component coupled to a firearm, the component further including a Global Positioning System (GPS) sensor, a motion sensor, and a controller; and an application on a computing device that is wirelessly coupled to the controller for displaying a location of the firearm. 
         [0008]    In a further embodiment of the firearm safety system, the component is separate from the firearm and operatively coupled to the firearm by a user or integrally coupled inside a body of the firearm. 
         [0009]    In another embodiment, the component includes interfaces for communicating between the GPS sensor and a satellite and for wirelessly communicating with a computing device. 
         [0010]    In further embodiments, the computing device is a mobile device or a tablet. 
         [0011]    In another embodiment, the firearm safety system also includes an additional component having a body surface area sensor; a red brass sensor; and a controller such that the additional component detects characteristics of an individual at which the firearm is aimed and controls an operation of a trigger of the firearm. 
         [0012]    In an embodiment, the invention encompasses a method of using a firearm safety system, including the steps of attaching a component to a firearm, said component determining a location of the firearm when the firearm is moved; and notifying a user that the firearm has been moved by wirelessly communicating the location to a computing device. 
         [0013]    In a further embodiment, the step of determining a location is not performed unless a motion sensor detects movement of the firearm and the location is determined by means of a Global Positioning System (GPS) sensor in communication with a satellite. 
         [0014]    In another embodiment, the step of notifying the user further comprises displaying a location of the firearm on a map. 
         [0015]    In a further embodiment, the method includes a step of dialing a phone number in response to an input from the user. 
         [0016]    In yet another embodiment, the method includes the steps of attaching an additional component to a barrel of the firearm close to a muzzle; detecting a body surface area of an individual at which the firearm is aimed using a first sensor in the additional component; detecting a presence of red brass in the area at which the firearm is aimed using a second sensor in the additional component; and disabling a trigger of the firearm if the first sensor detects the presence of a child and the second sensor does not detect the presence of red brass. 
     
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0017]    Features of example implementations of the invention will become apparent from the description, the claims, and the accompanying drawings in which: 
           [0018]      FIG. 1  depicts a firearm with improved safety features according to the present invention. 
           [0019]      FIG. 2  depicts a flowchart showing the method of operation of the firearm of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0020]      FIG. 3  depicts a schematic block diagram of a processing apparatus of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0021]    The invention encompasses a small device that is either attached to a firearm or incorporated within the body of the firearm, which allows its position to be known at all times on a digital map. If the firearm is moved, then the position on the map moves. The device performs this function by communicating with satellites and using the data in terms of latitude and longitude, which the device then translates into a position on a digitally displayed map used with an application on a mobile device. This allows an owner to monitor the location of the owner&#39;s firearm through the mobile or another computing device. The application works with the GPS device to capture and display the location of a firearm which has been registered with the application when the firearm is moved. This feature allows the owner to be alerted quickly if a child or other individual has moved or picked up the gun. 
         [0022]    In an embodiment, the application also allows the owner to monitor the location of the gun when requested. The feature is also useful if the gun is lost or stolen because the user can identify the location right way and notify the police. The application allows the user to store the phone number of the local police and has a feature to call the police and send the location of the gun to police immediately. 
         [0023]    A firearm safety system according to the present invention is shown in  FIG. 1 . In an embodiment, a conventional firearm  100  includes a handle/grip  10 , barrel  12 , a muzzle  14  and a trigger  16  as would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Although a handgun is shown, the present invention could be used with any type of firearm, for example, a shotgun. A small device  18  includes as least GPS sensor  20  and motion sensor  22 . When triggered by motion sensor  22 , GPS sensor  20  communicates with a satellite (not shown) to determine the 3-D location of firearm  100  according to latitude, longitude and altitude. This causes a notification to be sent to an owner of firearm  100  indicating the location of firearm  100 . Sensors  20  and  22  are incorporated in device  18  that is attached to firearm  100  by an owner or user. In an alternative embodiment, sensors  20  and  22  are incorporated within the body of the firearm, for example, in handle/grip  10 . In a representative embodiment, GPS sensor  20  may be any of several sensors manufactured by Chongqing Changjian Technology Co. LTD although any sensor that detects global position could be used. 
         [0024]    In a further embodiment, the invention provides a system and method for detecting characteristics about an individual at which the firearm is aimed, including body surface area and the presence of another firearm. These characteristics are used to control the operation of a trigger mechanism of the firearm, providing additional safety. In this embodiment, an additional device  24  is attached to firearm  100 . This device incorporates a sensor  26  for detecting a human body&#39;s Body Surface Area (BSA) and an additional sensor  28  for detecting red brass. Device  24  allows the detection of situations where a user of the firearm is pointing it at a child or teen. BSA sensor detects the difference between a child or teen and an adult by determining the body surface area. If the sensor determines that the firearm is being aimed at a child or teen, trigger  16  is locked. However, there are some circumstances in which it is preferred that the trigger is not locked, for example, when the person at which the firearm is aimed is also holding a firearm. For this situation, red brass sensor  28  detects the presence of another firearm and overrides BSA sensor  26 , allowing the trigger to be operated. Red brass sensor  28  is used because a majority of guns are made of red brass. 
         [0025]    Turning to  FIG. 2 , a flowchart illustrates a method according to the present invention. An owner of a firearm installs the device of  FIG. 1  on a firearm and downloads an associated application on a mobile device or another computing device. At step  30 , the application is invoked. At step  32 , the application determines whether the application has been invoked by a user or by the device. If the application has been invoked by a user, it is determined at step  48  if the user is new. If so, step  50  directs the user to create an account with, for example, a name, password, email and preferred emergency number. If it is not a new user at step  48 , the account directs the user to login in at step  36 . 
         [0026]    At step  38 , the user is offered a choice of determining the location of the firearm or updating account or other application information. If the user chooses to locate the firearm, at step  40 , a notification is sent to the firearm requesting that the GPS on the device determine its location, which is displayed to the user at step  42 . At step  44 , the user then is offered a choice whether to call an emergency number at step  46 , or to close/end the application at step  54 . 
         [0027]    If, at step  38 , the user chooses to update an account, the application proceeds to step  52  where the user can enter, for example, one or more phone numbers, emails, or emergency numbers, etc. Upon completion, the application ends at step  54 . 
         [0028]    At step  32 , it is determined that the notification comes from the device, at step  34 , a notification is displayed to the user displaying the location at step  42 . In an embodiment, the notification would be, for example, text message (SMS), photo (MMS), or within app notifications. As described above, from step  42  the method moves to step  44  where the user is offered a choice to call an emergency number at step  46 , or to close/end the application at step  54 . 
         [0029]    A block diagram of an embodiment of the invention is shown in  FIG. 3 . Firearm device  18  includes GPS sensor  20  and motion sensor  22 , as shown in  FIG. 1 . GPS  20  communicates through interface  64  with satellite  66 . Controller  60  interacts with motion sensor  22  and GPS  20  to control and coordinate their functioning. Controller  60  also communicates with network  68  through interface  62 . Network  68  is any type of communication network, for example, a wireless network or a telecommunications network. In an embodiment, a similar block diagram would be used for device  24  of  FIG. 1 . 
         [0030]    A computing device  70  is also connected to network  68  through an interface  80 . Computing device  70  may be, for example, a mobile device, a tablet or any other type of device capable of receiving and processing communications. CPU  72  communicates with memory  74  and display  78  to execute application  76 , with performs the method discussed above with regard to  FIG. 2 . 
         [0031]    The firearm safety system  100  in one example comprises any (e.g., horizontal, oblique, or vertical) orientation, with the description and figures herein illustrating one example orientation of the firearm  100 , for explanatory purposes. 
         [0032]    If used and unless otherwise stated, the terms “upper,” “lower,” “front,” “back,” “over,” “under,” and similar such terms are not to be construed as limiting the invention to a particular orientation. Instead, these terms are used only on a relative basis. 
         [0033]    Although example implementations of the invention have been depicted and described in detail herein, it will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art that various modifications, additions, substitutions, and the like can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and these are therefore considered to be within the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.