EP0554905A1 - Device and process for monitoring the number of movements of at least one movable part of a gas - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a device and to a process for monitoring the number of movements of at least one moving part of a firearm, means being provided for detecting at least one parameter of the movement. <IMAGE>

Description

The invention relates to a device and a method for monitoring the number of movements of at least one movable part of a firearm.

Monitoring devices of this type are preferably used in a handgun, in particular in a rapid-fire rifle. In principle, however, they can also be used with other firearms, such as, for example, with compressed gas weapons, such as sports high-performance air rifles, guns or aircraft aircraft machine guns and the like.

In the case of military handguns, which are generally also set up to emit short bursts of fire and prolonged long-term fire, loads on components of the firearm occur during use which lead to the wear of these components. However, these loads vary greatly depending on how the firearm is used. For example, in a predominantly training company in which the firearm is often loaded by hand, but rarely fired in single fire and even rarer in bursts of fire or continuous fire, completely different loads occur than in operation, for example, where firearms are often often sharply fired becomes. The stress on components in single fire, continuous fire or burst of fire is also different.

Thus, loading by hand, single shot, burst of fire or continuous fire form different load cases, which can lead to different signs of wear.

In order to avoid that wear parts are replaced frequently or unnecessarily, a test device for checking firearms for signs of wear is known from DE-OS 37 16 883. In particular, the condition of the weapon and ammunition should be quickly determined and, if necessary, continuously checked. In order to make this possible, optical measurement sensors are provided on the firearm, a projectile or a sleeve flying past briefly changing the values usually measured on the sensor. From these changed values, a microcomputer calculates the flight speed of the casings, compares them with a target state and thereby determines the measure of the current state of the weapon and the casing. If the actual state and the target state are too wide apart, a repair is carried out by replacing wearing parts.

Since the firearm has to be fired for the purpose of the check, this check is cumbersome. In addition, it can only be carried out in a special repair unit.

Furthermore, an actuation indicator is known which has a monitoring device with an acceleration sensor and a circuit which in turn has an electronic memory connected to the sensor. This monitoring device remains permanently attached to a firearm. With every shot, but possibly also when the weapon hits the ground, the sensor accelerates so high that it emits a signal. These signals are summed up in the memory. During an inspection of the weapon, this memory, which is provided with plug connections, must be connected to a Control unit can be connected. The number of shots fired so far with the firearm or more precisely the signals emitted by the acceleration sensor can then be read off on the control device.

The memory can also record parameters, such as identifiers, which in turn enable the weapon to be identified. The identifiers can be, in particular, the date of manufacture of the weapon, the weapon number, the number of shots before commissioning, the test date during the last inspection, the type of parts replaced with the date and respective number of shots as well as test data for firing pin, energy and trigger gear / force, act. If a control unit is connected to the firearm, this specific data can also be read from the memory.

The acceleration sensor in this prior art is set so that it does not respond to manual loading. Thus, the case of stress that occurs primarily in a training unit or in a firearm used in the security service is not covered. Nevertheless, manual loading leads to wear on the firearm.

An additional disadvantage is that it is not possible to distinguish between single fire, burst of fire and continuous fire. Basically, the essential loads on the firearm are not recognized at all or not correctly. The right time for the repair of a firearm by replacing an overloaded part cannot be reliably determined with the help of this actuation indicator.

With this known actuation indicator, the plug contacts of the monitoring device must be concealed because of the risk of contamination. It is only during the inspection that they are exposed, but this is very much so is cumbersome. The risk of contamination is not completely eliminated. It should be noted that dirty contacts lead to incorrect assessments.

From DE-OS 39 11 804 a pickup is provided for receiving the shot pulse in a pistol or a rifle, which is electrically connected to an IC element. This transducer can also be designed as a shock or pressure transducer, which absorbs the recoil and momentum that occurs when the weapon is fired and transmits it as a transmitter size to the IC element. The disadvantage here is that the pickup is separated from the weapon to the extent that an effect similar to a shot on the sensor, be it by shock, sound or pressure, is also registered, but falsifies the registration results.

A similar, expanded sensor structure can be found in DE-OS 40 22 038. With the help of three sensors, pulses are differentiated according to acceleration and direction. Since DE-OS 40 22 038 is a kind of further development by the same applicant as DE-OS 39 11 804, it is not surprising that despite the differentiation of pulses, sensors and weapons are still separated, which can be attributed to a prejudice in that such a separation always seems necessary. In addition, the arrangement of several sensors according to DE-OS 40 22 038 is disadvantageous in that the susceptibility to errors in the registration and combination of measured pulses and their identification is very high.

The aim of the invention is to improve a known device and a known method for monitoring the number of movements of at least one movable part of a firearm in such a way that the aforementioned disadvantages are at least partially eliminated.

This object is achieved in that the generic device has means for detecting at least one parameter of the movement, the means having a sensor and processing devices which deliver a characteristic, distinguishable pulse for each movement of the moving part. To achieve the same goal, the generic method is designed in such a way that the duration of the movement of the movable part of the firearm is measured with the aid of a sensor, preferably evaluated via a circuit, and is finally stored in a memory.

Similar or identical functions of the firearm often have a completely different cause. If these causes are - as in the present case a measure to be used further for the processing of the firearm, then the invention comes into play here. In the prior art, a signal is also registered for each specific function of the firearm. The causal effect produces a signal that is identified with a similar or identical function and therefore always produces the same count. However, the signal would have to be analyzed further in order to be able to correctly characterize the causal effect. This is achieved with the help of the invention.

The pulses according to the invention have characteristic characteristics for them. Such marks would be, for example, intensity or amplitude, but also the course and duration of the pulse. This part can be clearly identified using the shape of the pulse as a measure of the movement of a moving part. In a further preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention, the means for detection are designed in such a way that they register the duration of the pulse which is characteristic of the respective movement of a moving part (claim 2 ). As already mentioned, different functions of the firearm also cause different loads on the moving parts. However, this is due not only to the load on the moving parts, but also the duration of this load. For example, a through-loading process takes longer than a firing process, whereby firing processes - as will be explained below - can also differ significantly from one another. A measure of the differentiation of the movement of the moving part is the duration of its stress. This in turn can be demonstrated with the help of a characteristic pulse and its length in time.

In another embodiment of the device according to the invention, the sensor has a motion detector which operates in particular electromagnetically and / or optically and / or acoustically and / or mechanically (claim 3 ). A motion detector is best suited as a component to represent the temporal sequence of movements or their time interval in accordance with the selected mode of operation of a firearm. In particular, the operating modes single fire and continuous fire and possibly also burst of fire can be easily differentiated with the help of the motion detector by simply deriving the signal function emitted by the sensor. The mechanical sensor completely ignores mechanical impacts from the outside of the firearm as long as they do not cause the respective component to activate the sensor. It is structurally basically possible to arrange the motion detector in a position in which it emits a signal each time the breech's breech reaches its opening position. Of course, this event occurs in the case of continuous fire or a burst of fire in a considerably shorter time sequence than when loading by hand or with single fire. In addition, minor movements of the component, such as the closure of a submachine gun, are not taken into account when the submachine gun falls on the floor.

The movement detector is particularly preferably arranged opposite the movement path of at least one movable part of the weapon and then generates a signal when the movable part moves out of its rest position, as in the case of the reloading process or the firing of the firearm (claim 4 ). In the case of locked firearms or firearms whose breech rotates, the impact of an external impact on the movement of components is generally negligible. Therefore, according to the previously mentioned embodiment, it is advantageous to mount a sensor so that it emits a signal when the component moves out of the rest position - which it assumes when the firearm is ready to fire. This means that the manual loading process can also be distinguished from the shooting process because it takes a long time. The time interval between two signals emitted by the sensor during manual loading is namely greater than when firing. It is advantageous to arrange a flip-flop circuit after the sensor. This generates a signal as long as the shutter is open and / or when the component has left its rest position.

Such a system is particularly advantageous for firearms whose barrel, breech and reloading device are resiliently mounted in a housing. With manual Through loading, the system remains in its end position, but the component to be monitored carries out a loading movement. When fired, the system leaves its end position and springs back to alleviate the recoil, but returns to its end position after each shot in single and continuous fire. In these two cases, however, the time interval between the signals is different and distinguishable. In the case of the burst of fire, the system carries out an extended return, so that when three shots are fired, the recoil acting on the shooter, which would be suitable for bringing the firearm out of the direction, only occurs after the third shot has been fired, i.e. when the burst of fire has already occurred is finished. In this case, the component will only reach its rest position after leaving it for a longer period of time, comparable to the case of a single shot in single or continuous fire, but after a shorter period of time than in the case of manual loading. The movement sensor preferably emits a signal when the moving part leaves the rest position and ends when this rest position is reached again.

The means for detecting at least one parameter of the movement can advantageously be accommodated in a compact housing. If necessary, a long-life power supply, such as a lithium battery, can also be accommodated in the housing. A sensor is also preferably to be arranged in this housing so that it forms a module as a whole. The module is preferably attached to or better in the firearm at a location where the sensor can record its measured values, but the function of the firearm is not disturbed. Since the size of the module depends largely on the batteries, a sensor is to be designed so that it converts the measured values of the movements to be monitored into electrical current, which in turn is used to operate the circuit mentioned below. To make this possible, the sensor comprises the Device according to the invention advantageously an acceleration sensor (claim 5 ). For this purpose, the device according to the invention particularly advantageously has a configuration in which the acceleration sensor is designed to be subject to the laws of magnetic induction and in particular has a coil and a permanent-magnetic mass which are movable relative to one another (claim 6 ). This configuration can also be modified such that a movable, steel component of the breech locking system is magnetized in order to represent the permanent magnet and the sensor is designed as an adjacent, stationary coil. The component and coil also induce a current when they move relative to each other.

According to a further advantageous embodiment of the device according to the invention, the sensor is an optically active sensor, and for the purpose of its activation the movable part of the firearm has a corresponding response device, in particular an optical reflector, an optical absorption means or the like (claim 7 ). When using a light beam, visible or ultraviolet light is preferable to infrared radiation, since this could be disturbed by heat radiation that occurs when the firearm is fired hot. An optically active sensor, which would be installed inside the firearm and is not exposed to ambient light, has the particular advantage over all magnetic sensors that it is not disturbed by external magnetic fields, such as those that can occur in the vicinity of transformation stations. The possibly possible permanent magnetization of steel firearm parts would have no influence on the measured values. It is known that optical measuring devices have a good response characteristic and are rarely subject to general interference in a closed system.

The processing device of the device according to the invention is particularly preferably a circuit which processes signals received by the sensor and in particular delivers pulses of a duration corresponding to the movement of the respective part of the firearm (claim 8 ). As a separate component of the monitoring device, the circuit can be exchanged en bloc. In addition, it is possible to use a circuit that is required for the firearm desired in each case, independently of the sensor.

A particularly preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention has a memory for storing the pulses from the means for detecting at least one parameter of the movement of moving parts of the firearm and / or for storing additional, firearm-specific information, such as, for example, weapon number, date of manufacture, repair date and / or identification of exchanged Parts (claim 9 ). The signals obtained are either entered as information directly into the memory in a form that can be distinguished there or, before being stored, divided into different memory channels and summed up there at different memory locations. However, the memory can also be set up in such a way that it itself stores the different signal forms unchanged. In this case, the different information is only differentiated during the evaluation, preferably in a control unit to be explained. In any case, the number of manual loading processes, shots fired in single fire, shots fired in continuous fire and bursts of fire can be taken directly from the store of the firearm.

The memory can also be used to hold additional, weapon-specific information. In addition to the weapon number or a similar identification code of the respective firearm also for information regarding the data of manufacture, use, repair or for example also about the parts exchanged during the repair etc. Especially with weapons in the police or guard duty each special start of duty can also be noted. When using weapons, the process can be reconstructed much better than was previously possible, since the type of use of the respective weapon can be determined without any doubt. At shooting ranges, the number of shots fired can be directly compared to the number of cartridges fired. It is not possible to misappropriate individual cartridges by pretending to fire the shot. When firearms are being tested, further data can also be stored that allow conclusions to be drawn about the loads that have occurred, such as the degree of contamination before use or before the inspection. The previously required production of protocols and their administration is superfluous. The data relevant to each firearm always remains in the firearm. Confusion is therefore excluded.

In addition to this, it is also possible to note the use of a maneuvering cartridge device that has accumulated powder gas. The shots fired after this note are then not fired with live ammunition, but with maneuvering ammunition, which under certain circumstances can lead to wear that is characteristic of them.

In another embodiment of the device according to the invention, the memory has devices for the contactless transmission of values (impulses, information) stored in the memory to a control device which is preferably separate from the firearm (claim 10 ). Such a device is to be arranged in the best possible way at a point on the firearm where it is not in contact with a sensor of the control unit Metal wall is shielded. This device is preferably integrated into the housing of the monitoring device according to the invention, which in turn sits on the inside of a non-metallic part of the firearm, for example on the inside of a plastic housing wall or a grip shell. This simplifies the inspection of the firearm even further. Errors resulting from dirty contacts are eliminated. The above-mentioned device can be formed by an induction coil in the monitoring device, which can be associated with an induction coil in the control device.

The device according to the invention is preferably designed such that values can be entered into the memory with the aid of the control device or existing values can be changed in the memory (claim 11 ). This avoids that values stored or to be stored in the firearm are manipulated by unauthorized third parties.

The sensors can be designed so that their power consumption is only low. However, in order to reduce this power consumption even further, and in this way extend the life of the battery or reduce its size, according to a further embodiment of the invention, a device for automatically switching the circuit or the power supply on or off before or at the beginning and provided after the end of use of the firearm (claim 12 ). The firearm is always moved before use. An accelerometer that can generate a little current when activated is capable of turning the circuit on and maintaining the on state whenever the firearm is handled. If the weapon does not move within a certain period of time, such as during storage before delivery, in the armory of a unit or in the rifle stand in a guard room, the circuit switches off automatically.

It is also possible to monitor the capacity or electrical charge of the firearm. The corresponding values change drastically when the firearm is picked up. A change in the magnetic field in the vicinity of the firearm can also be used as a parameter for switching on the circuit.

The invention is explained in more detail, for example, with the aid of the attached schematic drawings.

Fig. 1a - 1d

eine schematische Teilansicht des Systems einer Schußwaffe, wobei das Durchladen von Hand dargestellt ist,

Fig. 1e

das beim Durchladen von Hand im Schaltkreis auftretende Signal;

Fig. 2a

eine andere schematische Teilansicht des Systems, wobei das Durchladen beim Einzelschuß dargestellt ist;

Fig. 2b

das beim Durchladen beim Einzelschuß im Schaltkreis auftretende Signal;

Fig. 3a

die schon in Fig. 2a gezeigte schematische Teilansicht des Systems, wobei das Durchladen beim Dauerfeuer dargestellt ist;

Fig. 3b

das beim Durchladen beim Dauerfeuer im Schaltkreis auftretende Signal;

Fig. 4a

die schon in Fig. 2a gezeigte schematische Teilansicht des Systems, wobei das Durchladen beim Dreischuß (Feuerstoß mit drei Schüssen) dargestellt ist und

Fig. 4b

das beim Durchladen beim Dreischuß im Schaltkreis auftretende Signal.

In this show:

1a-1d

FIG. 2 shows a schematic partial view of the system of a firearm, the through-loading being shown by hand,

Fig. 1e

the signal that occurs in the circuit when being loaded manually;

Fig. 2a

another partial schematic view of the system, showing through-loading in single shot;

Fig. 2b

the signal appearing in the circuit when being charged by the single shot;

Fig. 3a

the schematic partial view of the system already shown in FIG. 2a, the loading through during continuous fire being shown;

Fig. 3b

the signal that occurs in the circuit when being charged during continuous fire;

Fig. 4a

the schematic partial view of the system already shown in Fig. 2a, the loading is shown in the three-shot (firing with three shots) and

Fig. 4b

the signal that occurs in the circuit when being charged by a three-shot circuit.

The reference numerals designate the same parts in all figures.

The system shown in the figures is resiliently mounted in a housing (not shown) and has a roller 1 mounted transversely to the core axis and through which a radial bearing bore aligned with the core axis passes. A pawl 2 holds the roller 1 in its respective rotational position.

Connected to the roller 1 is a connecting rod 3 (see FIGS. 2a, 3a and 4a) which is articulated with its rear end shown in FIGS. 1a to 1d on a gearwheel which is pivoted once when the roller is pivoted back and forth 1 by 90 ° in the direction of the arrow. The connecting rod carries out a translation and tilting movement.

Fig. 1a shows the rest position of the system, which it assumes until the manual loading process or until a shot is triggered. The pawl 2 locks the roller 1, the bearing bore is aligned with the core axis.

Fig. 1b shows the position of the system, which it assumes after the start of the manual loading process. The pawl 2 has released the roller 1, this has rotated 45 °, and the rear end of the connecting rod 3 is offset to the rear.

1c shows the loading position. The bearing bore of the roller 1 points upwards and is ready to receive a sleeveless cartridge which is pushed downwards. The pawl 2 holds the roller 1 in this position, and the rear end of the connecting rod 3 is set further back. If a cartridge that has not been fired remains in the bearing bore, it can fall out downwards or be expelled from the cartridge.

During the loading process, the gear continues to rotate and controls the loading process until it has reached the position shown in FIG. 1d. The roller 1 is again in this position unlocked and begins to return to the position of Fig. 1a. During this movement, the gear wheel makes about half a revolution and can, for example, tension the knock-off mechanism. After this half turn, the connecting rod 3 returns to the position shown in FIG. 1a.

During this entire process, the overall system consisting of the running, locking and reloading mechanism does not move out of its front end position. However, this occurs during the shot due to the recoil acting on the system, as can be seen in FIGS. 2a, 3a and 4a. During the single shot (Fig. 2a), the system performs a return along a first distance and then returns to the front end position. However, this process is significantly shorter than the actual reloading process shown in FIGS. 1a and 1d.

In continuous fire (Fig. 3a), each subsequent shot is only triggered when or after the system has reached the front end position again. In the case of a single shot or continuous fire, the rear end of the connecting rod 3 assumes the position shown in FIG. 1a after an identical, defined time corresponding to the return. However, in the case of continuous fire (FIG. 3a), this process is repeated at short, fixed time intervals.

This is different in the case of the three-shot, which is shown in Fig. 4a. There, the subsequent shot is not fired only when the system has returned to its front end position, but already after the reloading process has ended, when the system parts have returned to the position shown in Fig. 1a, but the entire system is still on the Return is or has only started with this. This return is thus extended twice (with three shots) backwards, so that the system only returns to the front end position after a significantly longer period of time than is the case with single-shot (Fig. 2a) or continuous fire (Fig. 3a).

The rifle of the exemplary embodiment shown contains a monitoring device integrated in a housing with a measuring sensor which has an optical transmitter for emitting a light beam and an optical receiver for receiving the reflected light radiation.

On the lower side of the rear end of the connecting rod 3, a mark 5 or a surface finish is provided such that the light beam emitted by the optical transmitter is reflected to the optical receiver only when the connecting rod 3 is in the position shown in FIG the entire system is approximately in its front end position. This requirement is met in that the connecting rod is only opposite the measuring sensor in the position of FIG. 1a and also assumes the angular position required for reflecting the light beam relative to the measuring sensor sensor. Each time the light beam is reflected in the optical receiver, the circuit starts or stops emitting a signal. This results in a characteristic signal form for each operating mode of the rifle, which can be seen from FIGS. 1e, 2b, 3b and 4b. In the case of manual loading (Fig. 1e), the signal duration is significantly longer than in the case of a three-shot (Fig. 4b) and in this case the signal duration is again significantly longer than in the case of single fire (Fig. 2b) or continuous fire (Fig. 3b) In the case of continuous fire, the individual signals follow a characteristic, particularly short time interval. This characteristic pulse sequence cannot be achieved with repeated manual loading or with repeated delivery of single or triple shots.

Each of the signals shown or the corresponding signal sequence is therefore unmistakably characteristic of manual loading, single fire, three-shot and continuous fire and is stored as corresponding information in the memory of the monitoring device. When the memory is read contactlessly by a control device, the number of the respective events and / or an immediate diagnosis of the condition of the rifle, the need for parts to be replaced, etc. can be taken from it.

The criterion in any case is the duration or the cadence of the signals, not their intensity or amplitude. Thus, a change or fluctuation in the amplitude due to contamination or oiling of the inside of the gun, weakening battery and the like. without influencing the measuring accuracy.

Should the system spring back a little when the rifle falls on the piston or when the piston hits the ground, for example when jumping down from a motor vehicle, the effect of this process can be due to its very short duration and / or due to the corresponding length extension of the reflecting area the underside of the connecting rod 3 can be identified or suppressed and does not influence the measuring process.

Claims (14)

Device for monitoring the number of movements of at least one movable part of a firearm, characterized by means for detecting at least one parameter of the movement, the means comprising a sensor (4) and processing means which provide a characteristic, distinguishable pulse for each movement of the movable part . Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized by such a design of the detection means that they register the duration of the pulse characteristic of the respective movement of a moving part. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the sensor (4) has a motion detector which in particular works electromagnetically and / or optically and / or acoustically and / or mechanically. Apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that the motion detector of the movement path at least one movable part (3) of the weapon is arranged opposite and generates a signal when the movable part - as for example in the case of reloading or firing the firearm - moves from its rest position. Device according to one of claims 1 to 4 , characterized in that the sensor (4) comprises an acceleration sensor. Apparatus according to claim 5 , characterized in that the acceleration sensor is designed to be subject to the laws of magnetic induction and in particular has a coil and a permanent magnetic mass which are movable relative to one another. Device according to one of claims 1 to 4 , characterized in that the sensor (4) is an optically active sensor, the movable part (3) of the firearm having a corresponding response device (5), in particular an optical reflector, for the purpose of its activation. an optical absorbent or the like. Device according to at least one of Claims 1 to 7 , characterized in that the processing device is a circuit which processes signals received by the sensor (4), in particular delivers pulses of a duration corresponding to the movement of the respective part (3) of the firearm. Device according to at least one of claims 1 to 8 , characterized by a memory for storing the pulses from the means for detecting at least one parameter of the movement of moving parts (3) of the firearm and / or Storage of additional, firearm-specific information, such as weapon number, date of manufacture, repair date and / or identification of replaced parts. Apparatus according to claim 9, characterized in that the memory has devices for the contactless transmission of values (pulses, information) stored in the memory to a control device, preferably separate from the firearm. Apparatus according to claim 10, characterized by such a design that values can be entered into the memory using the control device or existing values can be changed in the memory. Device according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized by a device for automatically switching the circuit or the power supply on and off before or at the start and after the end of the use of the firearm. Method for monitoring the number of movements of at least one movable part of a firearm, characterized in that the duration of the movement of the movable part of the firearm is measured with the aid of a sensor, preferably evaluated via a circuit, and is finally stored in a memory. A method according to claim 13, characterized in that the stored values are called up for checking the firearm.

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