WO2002063232A1

WO2002063232A1 - Safety device for firearms

Info

Publication number: WO2002063232A1
Application number: PCT/NO2002/000048
Authority: WO
Inventors: Tom DIGERÅS; Knut-Erik Solheim
Original assignee: Digeraas Tom; Knut-Erik Solheim
Priority date: 2001-02-06
Filing date: 2002-02-05
Publication date: 2002-08-15
Also published as: NO312607B1; NO20010617A; NO20010617D0

Abstract

A safety device (1) for inserting and locking in position in a firearm chamber or barrel (14). The device has a lock (2) that establishes a radial trust against the inner wall of the barrel (14), and an activator (4) for additional blocking in case of an attempt to remove the safety device (1) with force. A lock housing (10) encloses said lock (2) and comprises a container (12) filled with an expansion fluid (26) under pressure. An attempt to bring the device out of the locked position activates a sharpened pin (30) to penetrate the wall of the container (12) so that the fluid (26) expands, fills the voids within the safety device (1) and blocks the weapon completely.

Description

Safety device for firearms The present invention relates to a safety device, particularly for firearms but also fully usable for hollow bodies other than the barrel of firearms or shot guns. The application is particularly suited for weapons kept in military depots, arms dealers, guns in the home or during transport.

All experience demonstrates that the majority of weapon misuse is impulsively related, in connection with burglary, alcohol and drug consumption etc., situations that could have been avoided by a better weapon securing. Fair enough, various regulations and security rules for weapon storage are intended to prevent and reduce serious accidents, but experience has shown that none of the safety devices of today are fully satisfactorily in practice. An example of such a device and particularly suited for shot guns is found in GB patent 8916310. The device has the overall size and configuration of a shot gun cartridge and incorporates a lock which enables it to be locked into the gun chamber and into engagement with the chamber wall by means of a radially outwardly cammed ring. Devices like that suffer, however, from the disadvantage that they can be forced from the weapon chamber by applying an axial force upon a suitable drift that is introduced into the gun barrel from the muzzle end.

Other safety devices for securing of weapons and having locking mechanisms for securing weapons are also known but have turned out too simple so that they more or less easily can be removed by picking the lock or breaking it out, see WO 88/09475 and WO 92/06345, both disclosing a blind plug or similar to be locked into place in the weapon chamber. Alternatively the attempt to remove a locking mechanism or safety device by forcing will cause a detonation of a minor explosive charge with the result that an inserted security plug is driven into locking engagement with the chamber walls. If the safety device then is tried to be driven out in an unauthorized way the weapon becomes permanently damaged. Said principle using a small explosive charge was developed during the last decade or so and has been protected under the following patents: SE 512 056, SE 506 749 and US 5 044 105.

Due to various reasons these solutions have been found fully practical and have therefore not come into wide use, probably due to: • A possible unintended activating of the device will unavoidably lead to a substantial damage of the weapon, and • there is a certain probability that said damage at the same time brings about a significant damage risk in the weapon environment. The situation today therefore seems to be that fire enabled weapons are too easily accessible. This is quite a problem in several countries, and there is obviously a need for an improved safety device to be easily inserted and locked in position in a firearm chamber or barrel, a device that - instead of using an explosive - employs a different and somewhat less "drastical" means for effectively preventing the use of the weapon unless it is unlocked with a proper key or similar.

The market for an advanced means of this kind for the securing of firearms is assumed to be quite extensive.

These advantages would be obtained: The weapon is not permanently damaged even if a forced extraction or drifting out of the safety device should be attempted, in comparison to a device comprising an explosive, and the risk for dangerous and damaging effects in the near-by environment is avoided.

According to the present invention these advantages are in fact obtained, in that there is provided a safety device for inserting in a firearm chamber or barrel and locking to a locked condition in a given position by means of locking elements, said safety device comprising a lock for locking the safety device in the given position by establishing a radial trust against the inner wall of the firearm chamber or barrel, and an activator for additional blocking of the locking elements in the locked position of same within said firearm, as a result of an attempt to remove the safety device with force from the locked position thereof, characterised in that said activator comprises a lock housing enclosing said lock and the locking elements, and a container containing an expansion fluid under pressure, said locking elements comprising a penetration pin for the penetration of said container so as to release the expansion fluid for filling all the voids in the safety device, when the force during the attempt to bring the device out of the locked position within the firearm exceeds a predetermined value.

In further aspects of the invention the container comprises external threads for engagement in internal threads in one end of said lock housing, and is provided with a diaphragm for controlled penetration by said penetration pin of the locking elements, said penetration pin being provided on a cam shaft forming an extension of a lock cylinder of the lock, said penetration pin being kept a given distance from said diaphragm of the container in the locked position of said lock within the lock housing, said locking elements comprising trust elements radially extending from said cam shaft, and an expansion mechanism to urge said trust elements to a locking bearing under pressure against the inner wall of the firearm chamber or barrel, said expansion mechanism comprising cams on said cam shaft and arranged for the urging of said trust elements radially outward as a result of a rotating under force of said lock from the firearm chamber side, said trust elements comprising a trust arm and a trust pad at one end of said trust arm, said trust pad being shaped and structured so as to achieve a high friction against the firearm barrel or chamber even under a moderate rotating momentum to the lock from the chamber side, and said lock cylinder comprising a holding mechanism controlled by at least one key or similar for locking/unlocking said lock, said holding mechanism being adapted to engage a ratchet mechanism within said lock housing, thereby preventing a rotating backwards of said lock and maintaining the radial pressure of said trust elements .

According to further aspects of the invention there is provided a safety device wherein the at least one key or similar for locking/unlocking said lock is/are adapted for remote control and/or is/are programmable so as to be unlocked by an individual code only, said key or similar comprising a remotely releasable first locking part combined with a second locking part to be unlocked locally and/or wherein the remotely releasable first locking part comprises a radio, an audio or an optical receiver.

The invention will be better understood from the following description of a preferred embodiment, given as an example. It is further referred to the accompanying drawings of which: Fig. 1 schematically, partly in axial cross section and partly having a portion broken away illustrates a preferred embodiment of the safety device of the invention locked in position in a firearm barrel,

Fig. 2 is a view according to the section I-I in Fig. 1, illustrating three locking pads to be cammed radially outward by tapered cams, and Fig. 3 further illustrates the safety device components within a firearm barrel or cartridge chamber.

A preferred and typical embodiment of the safety device according to the invention is illustrated in Fig. 1 and comprises two main components: an outer activator 4 and a lock 2 centrally arranged within same. The activator comprises an outer lock housing 10 surrounding the lock at the inner end, that is the end opposite the weapon muzzle, and a sealed container 12 at the other end of the activator, that is nearest the muzzle. A safety mechanism is provided within the lock housing 10 and partly belonging to it and/or the lock 2. In the preferred embodiment the lock 2 comprises a lock cylinder 6 to be locked in position within the lock housing 10 by means of a key or similar, and a central extension protruding inwards within the lock housing, preferably in the form of a cam shaft 8. By interaction between the lock 2 and the activator 4, after the insertion of the safety device 1 in a firearm chamber and barrel 14, the safety mechanism is activated, thereby securing the firearm so that nobody except the owner or another authorized person can use it. The safety device 1 is locked into position in the weapon with the aid of a locking means comprising a number of, such as three, trust elements 16 which are pressed radially against the barrel 14 inside. The pressure is generated by turning the lock 2 and its cam shaft 8 and is due to a camming action between a cam below the inner end of each trust element 16 (see also Fig. 2 and 3). Each trust element 16 comprises a radially directed trust arm 19 in the illustrated embodiment having a trust pad 20 at the outer end, said pad being adapted to be pressed with force against the inner wall of the barrel 14. The shape and structure of the trust pads 20 can be varied in order to establish a high friction but without damaging the barrel wall. Alternatively the outer surface of the pads 20 could be transversely machined and being of a high density material so as to be pressed further into the barrel wall in a situation where the lock housing is pressed or driven with force in either direction in the barrel, in an attempt to overcome the securing of the weapon. A window 22 in the lock housing 10 wall, for each trust pad 20 allows these to freely move between an outer trusting position in the locking position of the complete safety device 1, and an innermost position where each trust arm 19 is camming on a part of the corresponding cam 18 having a minimum radius. The trust elements 16 can be supported in several ways, either to the lock housing 10 by the use of a supporting cage or similar (not shown), or to the lock cam shaft 8 in a similar way.

In Fig. 2 is shown the situation where the trust elements 16 are riding on their corresponding low portion of each cam 18, and no radial trust is then applied between the trust pads 20 and the barrel. The safety device 1 thus can be inserted into and removed from the gun barrel quite easily. In the proper position for securing the weapon, the safety device 1 is activated by turning the lock clockwise, thereby pressing the trust elements radially outward due to the interaction between the cams 18 and the trust arms 19. Fig. 3 indicates how a sufficient momentum can be transferred to a corresponding trust force for each of the elements 16, in that openings 24 are provided in the outer surface of the lock cylinder 6, for a suitable locking tool (not shown). A holding means (not shown) can be arranged for interaction between the lock cylinder 6 and the inner wall of the lock housing 10, such as protruding teeth circumferentially arranged on the cylinder 6 and adapted to interact with a ratchet groove or similar in the housing 10. The function of the holding means is of course to avoid that the cam shaft 8 can be moved in the opposite direction without unlocking the lock 2.

The releasing and deactivating of the safety device in order to make the firearm enabled requires the use of at least one key or the like. Fig. 3 indicates the use of a more conventional single key, in that there is provided a keyhole centrally in the lock cylinder 6. However, several other types of locking/unlocking devices also fall within the scope of the invention, comprising code elements, magnetic cards, finger scanners and similar, devices that also conveniently are suited for remote and/or central control. In an advanced version of the safety device according to the invention, the lock cylinder is equipped with a programmable electronic key that can be released from a remote unit by encoded radio or audio signals or by optical means using modulated light. The remote enabling signals can very well be transmitted from a command central, such as a military station. In addition the safety device lends itself to the combinations of keys, for example a centrally generated enabling command that unlocks a first locking part in all the weapons in a given area, combined with a code transferred by phone to each weapon owner or soldier for the unlocking of a second locking part.

Fig. 3 illustrates further how the container 12 is fixedly mounted in the muzzle end of the lock housing, in the preferred embodiment. According to the invention the container is filled with an expansion fluid 26 under pressure. The container 12 end facing the lock 2 comprises a diaphragm 28, and a sharpened penetration pin 30 is arranged centrally at the free end of the cam shaft 8 a short distance from said diaphragm 28 when the lock 2 is in its hold position within the lock housing 10. In this position the safety device 1 is locked and securing the weapon, but the device is not activated in order to withstand a forcing attempt. An activating of this kind will, however, take place if the lock and its cam shaft 8 is forced towards the container, either by an attempt to drift said container and the lock housing further into the weapon from the muzzle side, if the lock 2 is driven by force into the barrel towards the container, or if the lock housing 10 is attempted to be withdrawn with force in the direction from the muzzle end. In either case the penetration pin 30 will penetrate the diaphragm 28 and immediately release the container 12 content, in this case the expansion fluid. Said fluid will very rapidly expand due to the pressure decrease and the reaction with the surrounding air, and the result is that the expanded fluid fills all the voids between the container 12 and the lock 2, trusting the pads 20 further radially outward and blocking the weapon finally, although not involving a permanent damage. Various types of expansion fluids can be used, but a requirement should be that they are rapidly drying upon activation and provide such an effective expansion that the secured weapon will be completely unusable. The expanded fluid is, however, removable by use of time and experts in weapon maintenance.

It is thereby provided an effective securing of a weapon so that it cannot be used unintentionally, disregarding type and calibre. An attempt to remove the safety device without proper unlocking will provoke the ultimate activation of the safety device mechanism so that the weapon becomes completely blocked and useless, until a workshop overhaul can be done at a later stage.

The safety device of the invention is quite simple to use. The various elements can be of steel, other metal types or plastic materials, depending on the requirement. Reference numerals to the drawings

Safety device 18 Cam

Lock 19 Trust arm

Activator 20 Trust pad

Lock cylinder 22 Window in housing wall

Cam shaft 24 Opening for torque tool

Lock housing 26 Expansion fluid

Container 28 Container wall diaphragm

Barrel of weapon/firearm 30 Penetration pin

Trust element

Claims

P a t e n t c l a i m s

1. A safety device for inserting in a firearm chamber or barrel (14) and locking to a locked condition in a given position by means of locking elements (8, 16, 18, 30), said safety device comprising a lock (2) for locking the safety device in the given position by establishing a radial trust against the inner wall of the firearm chamber or barrel (14), and an activator (4) for additional blocking of the locking elements in the locked position of same within said firearm, as a result of an attempt to remove the safety device (1) with force from the locked position thereof, characterised in that said activator (4) comprises a lock housing (10) enclosing said lock (2) and the locking elements (8, 16, 18, 30), and a container (12) containing an expansion fluid (26) under pressure, said locking elements comprising a penetration pin (30) for the penetration of said container (12) so as to release the expansion fluid (26) for filling all the voids in the safety device (1), when the force during the attempt to bring the device out of the locked position within the firearm exceeds a predetermined value.

2. A safety device according to claim 1, characterised in that the container (12) comprises external threads for engagement in internal threads in one end of said lock housing (10), and is provided with a diaphragm (28) for controlled penetration by said penetration pin (30) of the locking elements.

3. A safety device according to claims 1-2, characterised in that said penetration pin (30) is provided on a cam shaft (8) forming an extension of a lock cylinder (6) of the lock (2), said penetration pin (30) being kept a given distance from said diaphragm (28) of the container (12) in the locked position of said lock (2) within the lock housing (10).

4. A safety device according to claims 1-3, characterised in that said locking elements comprise trust elements (16) radially extending from said cam shaft (18), and an expansion mechanism (18) to urge said trust elements (16) to a locking bearing under pressure against the inner wall of the firearm chamber or barrel (14).

5. A safety device according to claims 1-4, characterised in that said expansion mechanism comprises cams (18) on said cam shaft (8) and arranged for the urging of said trust elements (16) radially outward as a result of a rotating under force of said lock (2) from the firearm chamber side.

6. A safety device according to claims 4-5, characterised in that said trust elements comprise a trust arm (19) and a trust pad (20) at one end of said trust arm, said trust pad (20) being shaped and structured so as to achieve a high friction against the firearm barrel or chamber even under a moderate rotating momentum to the lock (2) from the chamber side.

7. A safety device according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that said lock cylinder (6) comprises a holding mechanism controlled by at least one key or similar for locking/unlocking said lock (2), said holding mechanism being adapted to engage a ratchet mechanism within said lock housing (10), thereby preventing a rotating backwards of said lock and maintaining the radial pressure of said trust elements (16).

8. A safety device according to claim 7, characterised in that the at least one key or similar for locking/unlocking said lock (2) is/are adapted for remote control and/or is/are programmable so as to be unlocked by an individual code only.

9. A safety device according to one of the preceding claims 7-8, characterised in that the at least one key or similar for locking/unlocking said lock (2) comprises a remotely releasable first locking part combined with a second locking part to be unlocked locally.

10. A safety device according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the remotely releasable first locking part comprises a radio, an audio or an optical receiver.