Abstract:
A firearm using a laser in place of a firing pin mechanism. Special cartridges have a lasing chip, which lases to ignite the propellant when a beam from the laser impinges on the lasing chip through a port in the breechblock. An electronic control system prevents the unauthorized use of the firearm by preventing connection of the laser power supply to the laser unless the user of the firearm is in close proximity and is authorized by an ID card.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of prior filed abandoned provisional application serial No. 60/210,992 filed Jun. 12, 2000. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVESTIGATION 
     This invention relates generally to an electronically controlled firearm and to cartridges especially adapted therefor, which employs an improved impactless ignition system for the projectile propellant. The invention also relates to an improved electronic control system for restricting the use of the firearm to authorized users. 
     A conventional firearm utilizes a mechanically actuated firing pin to strike a primer cap at the rear of the cartridge, to thereby ignite the propellant for the projectile. The ejection system for the spent shell may be mechanically operated or may be operated by the propellant itself. Control of the firearm is entirely within the hands of the user, whether authorized or not. This leads to possible criminal uses of the firearm, or dangerous use by children. It would be desirable to provide an improved impactless propellant ignition system for the firearm and the cartridge. 
     It would be desirable to provide an improved shell injection and ejection system, which simplifies firing of multiple rounds in a firearm. It would also be desirable to provide an electronic identification system, which would limit use of the firearm to authorized users. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Propellant Ignition System for Firearm and Cartridge 
     This weapon will function comparably to existing projectile-based weaponry, whereby a cartridge consisting of a casing which houses a slug and explosive powder is activated by a firing device of sorts. The firearm incorporates a diode laser, which is used to ignite the explosive powder within ammunition of modified design. This is achieved by modifying the ammunition to facilitate a neodymium chip (ND:VYO  4  ) at the tail of each shell initiating an internal combustion of the propellant as an internal “lasing” takes place. In order to render the weapon&#39;s laser capable of firing, a lithium-ion battery is implemented into the weapon design along with accompanying circuitry. Depression of the trigger will complete the circuit providing power to the laser, in turn, firing off a round. 
     Shell Injection Ejection 
     Due to the non-mechanical nature of the weapon&#39;s firing mechanism, an alternative method of introducing live rounds into the chamber from an ammunition clip are implemented. Spring activated components are no longer necessary in order to reactivate the firing device. The weapon will inject rounds and eject spent casings utilizing a chain-linked method. A spring-loaded ammunition clip will house a number of bullets connected by a flexible plastic chain link upon which each bullet is snapped into place. The loaded clip is then snapped into place on the underside of the weapon in its respective slot, wherein a safety mechanism on the clip is activated allowing a shell to pass through an opening in the chamber. The ammunition chain will fragment successively as each bullet is carried into the chamber and fired. The explosion within the chamber will cause such an action to occur. As each round is fired, the spent casing is directed through an opening in the side of the barrel along with the recently fragmented chain link. Alternate methods of shell injection/ejection may be utilized with said firing mechanism and/or supplemental circuitry. 
     Data Gathering 
     The electronic control system for weaponry incorporating these technologies, will hold an advantage over traditional mechanical weaponry for many reasons. Due to the electronic nature of the weapon, control possibilities increase dramatically through the utilization of digital technology. By incorporating an onboard microcomputer with accompanying circuitry and RAM, storage of user identification and firing data can be made possible. The onboard microcomputer can be made to be extremely small, as it will need to process and store minimal data. A data transfer card will supplement the onboard computer in order to retrieve data and store it on a mainframe computer (PC compatible). The data card will connect internally to the weapon via the ID card circuit connection prongs and will feed data to a PC or mainframe via a computer interface cable to be hooked up to any of the various ports (as options present). The onboard microcomputer will store data such as users logged on with accompanying dates of use and firing dates and times (military versions will allow multiple users to operate each weapon given military clearance coded ID cards). The firing data can be used to confirm or disconfirm criminal or unauthorized activity by identified users and further attempt to keep the weapon out of the hands of unauthorized users. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
     The invention will be better understood by reference to the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a simplified side elevation view of the improved firearm, partly in section, and schematically indicating the hidden internal components with dashed lines, 
     FIG. 2 is an enlarged side elevation view, in cross section, of a portion of the firearm breech housing illustrating the cartridge clip and firing ignition system in schematic form, 
     FIG. 3 is a rear elevation view of the firearm breech housing, in cross section, taken along lines III—III of FIG. 2, 
     FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the breech housing in cross section, taken along lines IV—IV of FIG. 2, 
     FIG. 5 is a side elevation view of a cartridge link with cartridges before insertion in the cartridge clip, 
     FIG. 6 is a cross section of the cartridge link and cartridges taken along lines VI—VI of FIG. 5, 
     FIG. 7 is a rear perspective view of a single cartridge, and 
     FIG. 8 is a simplified schematic block diagram of the electronic identification system. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring now to FIG. 1 of the drawing, the firearm, shown generally at  10  comprises a barrel  12 , breech housing  14 , removable magazine or clip  76  with clip retaining wall  17 , hand grip  18 , and trigger  20 . Internal components contained inside handgrip  18  include a power supply, comprising battery  22  and a spring loaded trigger switch  26  operated by trigger  20 . A manual switch  27  controls mode of operation, either automatic or semi-automatic. The battery  22  and switches  26  and  27  are connected to the control module  24 . A card slot  28  is arranged to include internal terminals  30 , which are also connected to control module  24 . Card slot  28  receives an electronic identification system card  31 , having terminals (not shown) contacting terminals  30  when the card  31  is inserted into slot  28 . 
     Control module  24  is connected to operate a 2.0 watt gallium-arsenide diode laser  32 . Laser  32  is disposed in an internal chamber  34  in breech housing  74 . Breech housing  14  also defines a cartridge chamber  36 , which is separated from chamber  34  by a breech block  38  having a laser firing port  40 . Breech block  38  also is shaped with a sloping surface on the side adjacent the cartridge chamber  38  to provide a sloping breech ejection wall  42 , which is partially seen in FIGS. 2 and 3. The laser port  40  is aligned with the laser beam outlet of laser  32  and is centered and directed at the center of the rear of cartridge  44  when it is in the cartridge chamber  36 . An ejection port  43  permits the ejected cartridge casing to exit from cartridge chamber  36 . 
     Referring to FIGS. 2,  3  and  4  of the drawing, the fully loaded firearm is arranged to receive ammunition clip  16  into the breech housing  14  using the clip retaining wall  17  attached to the clip. Retaining wall  17  is received in a recess in the lower part of breech housing  14  and clamped by a conventional mechanism (not shown) to hold the clip  16  securely in place. The loaded clip  16  contains cartridges  44 ,  45 ,  46 ,  47  and  48  connected by a flexible plastic chain-link belt  50 . The chain-link belt  50  includes an opening  52  in each web between cartridges  44 - 48 . A conventional spring loaded platform  54 , with a spring  55  biases the linked cartridges  44 - 48 toward the cartridge chamber  36 . Five cartridges are shown but the number of cartridges is purely a matter of design choice. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 5,  6  and  7 , the special cartridges adapted to operate with the firearm described above will be described in greater detail. As seen in FIG. 5, each of the cartridges, such as cartridge  44 , includes a cartridge casing  58  containing a propellant such as gun powder, and a projectile  60 . Casing  58  is provided with raised circumferential stabilizing lands  62 ,  64 . These may also be seen in FIG. 4, and are of the proper dimension to hold cartridge  44  stabilized and centered in chamber  36 . The flexible plastic chain-link belt  50  includes circumferential walls  66  separated by webs  68 . The webs are perforated with small holes  68   a  which weaken the section to tear along the web when the belt fragments during firing. The walls  66  have a smaller radius than the stabilizing casing lands  62 ,  64 , so that the link  50  will not cause the cartridge to jam in the chamber  36 . 
     Reference to the perspective view of FIG. 7 shows the casing  58  of cartridge  44  with stabilizing lands  62 ,  64  to include a rear cartridge wall  71 , which is recessed and contains a central opening  73 . Inserted into opening  73  is a chip of neodymium  75 , which is in communication with an internal ignition primer (not shown) arranged to ignite at an elevated temperature. 
     Cartridge Ignition and Operation of Ejection 
     When the trigger switch  26  is closed by actuating trigger  20 , and assuming that other switches to be discussed later are also closed, a pulsating laser beam is generated from diode laser  32  which passes through port  40  and onto the neodymium (ND:VYO  4 ) chip  75 . As is known, the energy of the laser beam will cause the neodymium chip  74  to lase immediately, generating heat, which ignites the internal primer. Alternative materials include a layer of gallium arsenide or synthetic ruby for igniting the propellant. A ruby laser may be substituted for the diode laser. 
     The primer is in contact with the propellant, such as gun powder, which will be ignited by the primer in the conventional fashion, expelling projectile  60  down the barrel  12  and forcing cartridge casing  58  rearwardly toward the breech ejection wall  42 . The cartridge casing  58  strikes the sloping breech ejection wall  42 , which is angled to direct the casing from the shell ejection port  43  in breech housing  14 . At the same time, the web  68  of the plastic chain-link is fragmented along the weakened section provided by holes  68   a,  allowing the cartridge casing  58  to exit, so that the next cartridge  45  may be inserted by the spring loaded clip  76  into the cartridge chamber. 
     Electronic Identification System 
     Referring to FIG. 8 of the drawing, the simplified block diagram shows the insertable electronic identification system card  31  electrically connected to the control module  24  (enclosed within dot-dash lines) via the terminals  30 , which make contact when the card  31  is inserted into slot  28  in the breech housing. Card  31  includes a ROM  70 , a shift register  72  and a clock circuit  74 . ROM  70  is connected to shift register  72  via a parallel data bus  76 , and arranged to hold a 128-bit identification code. Control module  24 , which is disposed in the breech housing, includes a similar ROM  78 , shift register  80  and a logic compare circuit  82 . ROM  78  also contains a 128-bit verification code which, in order for the weapon to fire, must be identical to the code stored in ROM  70 . When enabled, ROM  78  transfers data to logic compare circuit  82  via bus  84 . Serial data received from EIS card  31  by shift register  80  is connected to parallel data bus  86  and transferred over parallel data bus  86  to logic compare circuit  82 . The two codes are compared in circuit  82  and supplied to an output lead  88 . Lead  88  is connected to one terminal of a solid state switch, depicted as a relay operated switch  90 . The other terminal of switch  90  is connected to a solid state switch depicted as a relay operated firing power switch  92 . One terminal of switch  92  is connected to the power supply input line  94 . The other terminal of switch firing power switch  92  is connected to trigger switch  26  discussed previously via a firing mode switch  27 . A timing circuit  96  is connected in parallel with switch  27 . 
     An optional safety device which may be utilized by the electronic identification system is shown as an r.f. receiver module  98 , operating in conjunction with an r.f. transmitter  99 . The r.f. receiver module  98  may be integrated with other circuitry on the circuit board of control module  24 , receiver  98  is connected to operate switch  90  whenever a signal is received from r.f. transmitter  99 . The receiver/transmitter pair  98 ,  99  are designed so that r.f. receiver  98  will actuate switch  90  to close the contacts of the switch whenever transmitter  99  is in close proximity, i.e., carried on the person of the operator of the firearm. 
     Operation of the Electronic Identification System (EIS) 
     The EIS is designed such that the firearm  10  cannot be fired unless: 
     1. The EIS card  31  is inserted into the card slot and the codes in ROMs  70  and  78  match one another, 
     2. The r.f. transmitter  99  carried by the operator is in close proximity to the r.f. receiver  98  in the weapon, 
     3. Either the manual switch  27  for semi-automatic fire is closed or the timing circuit  96  is active, and 
     4. Trigger switch  26  is closed by actuation of trigger  20 . 
     When DC voltage is applied to ROM  70  by inserting the card, ROM  70  is enabled sending parallel data into shift register  72 . The DC voltage also activates a clock circuit to provide timing to both shift registers  72  and  80 . Serial data is then sent from the card into shift register  80 , where it is converted from a serial data format into a parallel format and transmitted via bus  86  to a logic compare circuit  82 . Data from ROM  78  is also fed via bus  84  to a logic compare circuit  82 . The comparing circuit consists of exclusive NOR gates wired such that the output of two XNOR gates is fed into one terminal of the next XNOR gate, and the next two XNOR gate outputs are fed into the other terminal. This process continues until there is only one XNOR gate left, and if the data from the weapon shift register  80  and the ROM  78  match perfectly, the signal from the last XNOR gate activates the firing power relay  92  to enable firing power to be distributed to the weapons firing components. While there is a intermediate r.f. link relay switch  90  shown between output  88  from the logic compare circuit and firing power relay  92 , to enable the r.f. link safety device, the r.f. link can be eliminated and output  88  connected directly to firing power relay  92 . 
     If manual switch  27  is closed, the weapon is in the semi-automatic mode, and each actuation of the trigger  20  will close the contacts in switch  26  to fire the weapon. 
     Provision for automatic fire employs a timing circuit  96  connected in parallel with manual switch  27 . Timing circuit  96  is a millisecond timer that automatically resets whenever power is applied. Thus, whenever the trigger is operated, timing circuit  96  allows power to be supplied to the laser for a predetermined millisecond time frame and then resets itself. 
     The main purpose of parallel connected switch  27  and timing circuit  96  is to time the firing and discharging and re-firing of the weapon in semi-automatic mode. Switch  27  is an externally located, normally open switch, which can be controlled by the operator. In the normally open position, switch  27  allows the weapon to be fired in semi-automatic mode, while in the closed position, the weapon fires in automatic mode. In the automatic mode, the laser continuously pulses under the control of its own internally pulsed power supply. 
     INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY 
     The provision of a laser fired impactless propellant ignition system enables simplified shell injection/ejection. Internal mechanical linkages and firing pin devices with conventional safety mechanisms are eliminated and electronic components substituted. The substitution of electronic components provides for a safe and reliable way to insure that the weapon is utilized only by authorized users. Each user will be issued a personalized EIS card upon approval for the purchase of a weapon, or the issuance thereof to law enforcement officers and/or military personnel. The weapon circuitry can only be activated when the card is inserted into the card slot in the weapon and, for a civilian weaponry, only one card will activate any one weapon. On the other hand, military and law enforcement officers may be provided ID cards to activate any weapon utilizing this technology. 
     While there is shown what is considered to be the preferred embodiment of the invention, other modifications will occur to those skilled in the art, and it is desired to include all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.