US2418822A

US2418822A - Pistol trainer

Info

Publication number: US2418822A
Application number: US573233A
Authority: US
Inventors: Florez Luis De
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1945-01-17
Filing date: 1945-01-17
Publication date: 1947-04-15
Anticipated expiration: 1964-04-15

Description

z E L F E D PISTOL. mmm

2 Sheetet l Filed

Jam

17, 1945 INVEN'I'OR Luis DE FLoRx-:z

April l5, i947.

l.. DE FLQREZ PISTOL TRAINER Filed Jan.. 1'7, 1945 2 Sheets-Shea?I 2 .AIIIIIIII .l .Illll LUIS DE FLOREZ Patented pr. l5, 1947 gan UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE (Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) Claims.

The present invention relates -to training devices and has general reference .to devices intended for small arms marksmanship training without the use of actual ammunition.

In general, it is the aim of the device to provide means for training marksmen better, more quickly, and at lower cost than by practice of the methods heretofore commonly employed. In considering the following disclosure of the invention, it Will be obvious that training by the method and means here disclosed will be less expensive than usual target practice, since the -device herein shown does not require the expenditure of arnmunition. Less obvious, but more important is that the present invention provides means for teaching quicker and better than conventional methods of practice.

In this connection it may be well to point out that it is a common assumption that training can be best accomplished by actual practice. However, this assumption is not necessarily a fact, and the present inventor submits that better overall training can be accomplished by a planned synthetic training program which utilizes both synthetic and actual practice. Thus the purpose of the device shown in this disclosure is not primarily to provide a substitute for training of other kinds. Rather, it is a part of a new method of synthetic training, intended to be used in conjunction with practice with live ammunition as a part of a denite training pattern, designed to establish proper muscular habits prior to beginning practice with live ammunition.

In developing marksmanship, it is not only necessary to provide sound instruction and sufficient practice to develop good muscular habits; it is also essential to prevent the acquisition of improper habits or physical reactions having a detrimental effect on the skill of the student. More specifically, it is deemed desirable to avoid the use of live ammunition in the initial stages of the training, since the recoil and muzzle blast of the weapon tend to cause the student to develop habits of flinching at the instant of firing. In fact, in training novices in pistol marksmanship by conventional methods, it is common to see a student re his first two or three shots with reasonable accuracy, and to then grow steadily more inaccurate until after 30 or 40 shots he is unable to maintain any reasonable degree of control. The reason for this appears to be that the acts of aligning the sights and squeezing the trigger of a nre-arm are essentially simple and may be done with a reasonable degree of accuracy by almost any person having normal muscular control.

However, the recoil and sharp muzzle blast associated with the ring may quickly cause an involuntary flinching in anticipa-tion of the blast, throwing the sights completely off the target so that the shot will be wild. This is particularly true of practice with large caliber pistols, but is true to a lesser extent with small caliber pistols, rifles, or any other small arms.

The synthetic training pattern with which the present disclosure is used proceeds on the theory that it is more effective to avoid the iiinching tendency than to try to overcome it after it develops. To this end, the pattern contemplates the provision of means for training so that proper muscular habits of .trigger squeeze and sight alignment will be thoroughly developed before the student is required to re live ammunition, It is a well known fact that performance oi a physical act repeated many times will soon form a definite habit that will thereafter be difcult -to change. In conventional training Ithis works to the disadvantage of the student since the first tendency in firing live ammuition is to flinch and the student soon develops a well iixed habit of flinching that may take years of practice to overcome. With the synthetic training devices here disclosed, however, the formation of the habit works to the advantage of the student, since the first synthetic practice will serve to rmly establish proper muscular habits of trigger squeeze and of sight alignment, which will become so rmly xed that they will not be materially changed even when the student is subjected to the muzzle blast and recoil of live ammunition.

Further, the use of the present device permits the student to concentrate his attention on one thing at a time. That is, it is possible to develop proper trigger squeeze while the student is not disturbed by the shock of actual firing. Similarly it is easier to overcome any fear of the recoil or muzzle blast if correct habits of trigger squeeze are already firmly established.

The present invention contemplates the p'ro vision of a device for marksmanship training in which a student may learn to align the sight of a weapon properly and to squeeze the trigger of the weapon without disturbing the sight alignment, yet in which he need not subject himself to the recoil and muzzle blast normally accompanying rearms practice. It is regarded as desirable that the synthetic training provide practice with a weapon closely approaching an actual weapon in weight, balance, general method of operation and feel of the trigger. For this reason the present invention contemplates the provision of a synthetic training device including a weapon having a stock, barrel, trigger and lock mechanism of identical weight and operating characteristics to those of the arm in whose use the student is to be trained. This aim is conveniently accomplished by adapting an actual firearm to use as a synthetic trainer, so that all of lthe characteristics of weight, balance and feel are exactly the same as the student will encounter when iiring live ammunition, but in which the structure has been modied to provide audible and visual means for evaluating the proficiency and skill of the VAstudent while engaged in synthetic practice.

In the drawings attached to and forming a part of this specication,

Figure 1 is a side View of a synthetic pistol trainer as contemplated by this disclosure.

Figure 2 is a central sectional view of a tubular section of the device, arranged to be positioned in the barrel of the weapon,

Figure 3 is a muzzle end View o1 Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a breech end view oi Figure 2,

Figure 5 is a fragmental sectional view of a standard Government model pistol as adapted for the purpose of synthetic training;

Figure 6 is a fragmental side view of the left side of a standard Government model pistol as modied for the purpose; and

Figure 7 is a schematic wiring diagram of the electrical instrumentalities utilized by the device.

In the form of the invention illustrated in the drawings, a standard Government model military pistol is adapted for use as a synthetic training device by the provision of attachments including an aiming wire extending from the weapon to a target, aiming contacts within the barrel of the weapon to indicate alignment of the weapon with the target, and iiring contacts associated with the lock mechanism of the pistol; together with an electrical scoring device to give an evaluation of the degree of skill with which the weapon is manipulated.

The pistol illustrated includes a reeciver il), stock H, slide I 2 and barrel I3. The ring mechanism includes a trigger I4, disconnector i5, sear I6, spring-urged hammer l1 and ring pin lf3. Obviously, since the pistol is a standard weapon, it also includes all of the other conventional parts, but it is not deemed necessary to describe it more fully in this disclosure. It may be pointed out, however, that the slide I2 is provided with a front sight 2| and a rear sight 22 so that the weapon may be aimed by aligning the sights with the aiming point of the target.

The aiming contacts associated with the barrel of the weapon are carried by an aiming tube 23, designed so that it may be slipped into the barrel of the pistol and connected with the scoring device by flexible wires extending out the breech end of the barrel through the magazine chamber. The aiming tube may be of insulating material or metal. It is provided with an insulating head 24 at the muzzle end and an insulating plug 25 at the breech end. If desired, the plug 25 may include a flange 2t to secure the aiming tube in position within the barrel I3. The head 2d is provided with an annular contact disc 28 having a small center opening 29. The plug 25 includes a central bore 3l in which one end of a slender wire 32 is anchored. The wire 32 extends outwardly through the opening 29 in the contact 23 to the aiming point 33 on a target 3d and thence over a pulley 35 to a counterweight 36, so that moderate tension is maintained on the wire. The point 33 on the target will not necessarily corre- 4 spond with the center of the bull, but it will be so positioned that when the sights 2l and 22 of the arm are properly aligned on the target the alming wire 322 will be suspended in the center o the opening 2S and will not make electrical contact with the annular disc 28. Thus, a student may hold the pistol and align the sights in the usual manner and the accuracy with which the weapon is aimedL will be indicated by whether the aiming wire is suspended in the center of the orice or whether it contacts the disc and establishes an electrical circuit. Thus, the accuracy oi alignment of the weapon may be scored and the pro- -iciency of the student determined by providing electrical means for indicating whether the contacts 28 and 32 are closed or open at the time the arm is fired. To this end a pair of ring contacts il and i2 are mounted on an insulated bracket i3 on the stock of the weapon. The contact i2 is provided with a lateral extension 413 to extend under the hammer il so that when the hammer is drawn back to cocked position the contacts di and i2 will be open. When the weapon is red, however, the trigger will act through the disconnector and sear to release the hammer and allow its spring to snap it down on the firing pin IS. Since the contact 112 is no longer held back, the spring mounting of the contacts il-l2 will cause them to close. The closing of the electrical contacts ll- |12 operates through the scoring circuit to indicate whether the aiming contacts 28 and 32 are opened or closed at the instant of ring and to thus indicate whether the shot should be registered as a hit or a miss.

The scoring is accomplished by a scoring register having a shots counter It and a hits counter lll. The register l5 is connected to the pistol by a exible cable d8 and is supplied with power thro-ugh a second flexible cord 49. The register i5 is provided with a local low voltage battery 5l, switch 52 and pilot lamp 53 to indicate the position of the switch. The circuit from the battery 5l extends through the iii-ing contacts d! and i2 to the winding of a relay 5E having a pair of normally closed contacts and 56 and a pair of normally open contacts 5l and 58. When the weapon is in ring position the switch 52 will be closed and the contacts il and d2 will 4be open so that the contacts of the relay 54 will be as indicated in the drawing. That is, the contacts 5l and 58 will be open, but the

contacts

55 and 56 will be closed, so that a circuit is completed from the battery 5I through the winding of the latching relay fil. Thus the relay armature 62 will be held against the core 63 and out of engagement with the armature Ed of the relay 65, and the spring of the relay 65 will tend to ho-ld the arma-ture 6d and contact 65 closed. However, when the aiming contacts 28 and 32 are closed, a circuit will be completed from the battery to the winding 65, to open the contacts Bd and E55. The circuit from the high voltage supply lead i'i'i extends directly to the contact 58 and the circuit from the contact 51 extends directly to the winding of the shots counter and back thence to the high voltage lead B8. A circuit from the contact 5l also extends through the contacts 6i and 66 to the winding of the hits counter il and a winding of an electrical sco-ring gong 69, and thence back to the lead t8.

The operation of the circuit is as follows:

The switch 52 is closed, bringing the

relay contacts

55, 5t, 5i and 53 to the position shown. The relay contacts 6d and @d will be closed or open depending on whether the aiming contacts 28 and 32 are open or closed. With the contacts 2B and 32 open, (the condition of proper sight alignment of the weapon) the winding 65 will not be energized and the contacts 64 and 66 will remain closed. If the weapon is red in this position, closing of the contacts lil and t2 will complete the circuit through the winding of the relay 511i to open the contacts 55 and 5B and close the contacts 5l and 58. The closing of the contacts 5l and 58 completes the circuit from the high voltage lead E51 through the shots counter #l5 to the lead 68 to register one shot. The circuit will be also completed through the contacts 5ft and 66 to the hits counter #i1 and gong 69, to register a hit and sound the gong.

If the arm is fired when improperly aimed, the contacts 2B and 32 will be in closed position, and the contacts 64 and B6 will be open. Thus the shots counter 46 will score, but the hits counter il and gong will not be actuated. As this occurs, the opening of the

contacts

55 and 56 will de-energize the relay BI and allow the armature 62 to move above the armature 55 of the relay 65. Thus the contacts Ell and 65 will be held open and subsequent closing of the contacts 28 and 32, after the instant of firing, will not register a false score.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that by the practice of the teachings of this invention it is feasible to evaluate the manipulation of a firearm so that synthetic training with the arm may be followed until a high degree of skill is established accurately in aligning the sights and in properly squeezing the trigger. Thus these essential habits may be formed prior to practice with live ammunition, and will become so iirmly fixed as to avoid the usual tendency to flinch when actualring is undertaken.

Moreover, synthetic training with the device here disclosed simulates actual practice so closely as to give the student a sense of realism, which aids in developing proper habits and in maintaining interest and enthusiasm throughout the period of training. The reasons for this are many, but it may be mentioned that the weight and balance of the weapon, as well as its general appearance, are the same in the synthetic training as in actual practice, and thus tend to impart a sense of realism to the synthetic training.

More important, however, is the fact that the scoring means is designed to give a true indication of the degree of the students skill. lI'his is accomplished, first, by scoring the accuracy or the shots with reference to a fixed target remote from the weapon, and, second, by scoring the shots at the time of firing, rather than at the time of trigger squeeze. In any actual firing, it is desirable to hold the weapon as steadily as possible, but some amount of weaving back and forth will invariably be present. If this weaving takes place so that the sights are moving in a parallel motion at the time of iiring the shot will be reasonably accurate, even with considerable weaving, but if the weaving includes an angular swing the angle of the sights will be changed and a small amount of movement will throw the shot completely off of the target. That is, the degree of inaccuracy introduced by movement of the Weapon is quite small if the movement is a lateral translation maintaining the sights in alignment, but the same amount of motion may result in a very great error if the movement is of the nature of an angular swinging of the sights. The actual relative eect of error resulting from either type of motion, or from a combination of both motions, is accurately determined by the scoring contacts of the device here shown, since these lcontacts will close in response to a small angular movement of the weapon but will not be greatly affected by a small amount of lateral movement.

Similarly, in actual firing, the accuracy of a shot does not depend on the alignment of the weapon when the trigger is squeezed, but on the alignment at the instant the shot leaves the barrel. The difference in time, though only a fraction of a second, is of extreme importance; since it is easily possible to have the sights in eX- act alignment but to flinch so severely as to throw them olf in the split second required for the hammer of the weapon to fall and iire the cartridge.

This effect is duplicated in the present disclosure by the combination of the relay 54 and the contacts M and d2. The contacts can close only after the hammer has started its fall, and the time required for the relay to close and establish the scoring circuit provides the split second de.- lay in scoring required to simulate results obtained in actual ring.

While I have sho-wn and described what is believed to be the present preferred embodiment of the invention I am aware that it is subject to vario-us modications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as deiined in the appended claims.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

Having thus described the invention, I claim:

l. As a marksmanship scoring device, a. tubular sleeve adapted to be positioned within the barrel of a firearm and a plurality of aiming contacts carried by said sleeve; a plurality of ring contacts adapted to be secured to the rearm and to be actuated by the lock mechanism of the firearm; a target; one of said aiming contacts being in the form of a wire connected With the point of aim on said target, whereby said aiming contacts are closed when the iirearm is incorrectly aimed; together with an electrical circuit I including all of the aforementioned contacts and an electric sco-ring device adapted to operate in response to the operation of the aforementioned aiming and firing contacts.

2. As a marksmanship scoring device, a tubular sleeve adapted to be positioned within the barrel of a. firearm, said sleeve having a pair of aiming contacts comprising a fixed annular contact adjacent one end of the sleeve and a cooperating shiftable contact universally secured within the sleeve at a point remote from the xed contact, a target; said shiftable contact extending through the annular contact; and being connected to the point of aim of said target together with an electrical scoring circuit adapted to operate in response to the operation of the aforementioned aiming contacts.

3. In a marksmanship scoring device, the combination of a training weapon and a pair of aiming contacts comprising an annular contact and a cooperating contact in shiftable relationship with each other; a target; means connected with said target for actuating said contacts in response to changes in the position of the weapon; together with a pair of electrical ring contacts adapted to be actuated in response to manipulation of the trigger of the Weapon, and an elec- 7 trical circuit having a scoring device adapted to operate in response to the operation of the aforementioned ring contacts and second scoring device adapted to operate in response to the operation of the aforementioned aiming contacts.

4. In combination with a training Weapon having a barrel, stock, trigger and trigger-actuated lock mechanism, a marksmanship scoring device including a tubular sleeve positioned within the barrel; a plurality of aiming contacts carried by said sleeve, a target, a wire connecting one of said aiming contacts with the point of aim on said target, a. plurality of ring contacts adapted to be actuated by the lock mechanism of the Weapon, together With an electrical circuit including all of the aforementioned contacts and a pair of electric scoring devices, one of which is adapted to operate in response to the operation of the aforementioned aiming contacts and the other in response to the operation of the ring contacts.

5. In combination with a training weapon having a barrel, stock, trigger and trigger-actuated lock mechanism, a marksmanship scoring device including a tubular sleeve carried by the barrel and having a pair of aiming contacts comprising a xed annular contact adjacent the muzzle of the barrel and a cooperating shiftable Wire contact universally secured Within the barrel at a point remote from the muzzle, a target, said shiftable contact extending outwardly from the barrel through the annular contact adjacent the muzzle and being connected to said target at a point of aim remote from the Weapon; together with electrical firing contacts actuated by the lock mechanism of the weapon and an electrical circuit including a scoring device adapted to operate in response to the operation of the aforementioned firing contacts and a second scoring device adapted to operate in response to the operation of the aforementioned aiming contacts.

6. In combination with a training weapon having a barrel, stock, trigger and trigger-actuated lock mechanism, a marksmanship scoring device including a pair of aiming contacts associated with the barrel of the Weapon; a target; one of said contacts being in the form of a Wire connected to the point of aim on said target for opening and closing said contacts in response to shifting of the position of the barrel with respect to the point of aim remote from the Weapon; together with electrical ring contacts actuated by the lock mechanism, and an electrical scoring circuit including the aforementioned firing contacts.

7. In combination with a training weapon having a barrel, stock, trigger and trigger-actuated lock mechanism, a marksmanship scoring device including a plurality of electrical aiming elements associated with the barrel of the weapon; means for shifting the relative position of said aiming elements in response to shifting of the barrel of the Weapon With respect to a point of aim remote from the weapon; said means including an 8 electrically conductive tension member extending from the aiming elements to said point of aim; together with electrical ring contacts actuated by the lock mechanism of the weapon, and an electrical scoring circuit including a shots register and a hits register, means responsive to the actuation of the iiring contacts to operate the shots and hits registers simultaneously, and means responsive to the action of the aiming elements to prevent operation of the hits register.

8. In a marksmanship scoring device, the combination of a training Weapon including a trigger and trigger-actuated lock mechanism with a pair of aiming contacts carried by the weapon; a target, one of said aiming contacts being in the form of a Wire and Ymechanically actuated in resp-onse to changes in the position of the Weapon, together with a second pair of electrical firing contacts adapted to be actuated by the lock mechanism of the Weapon; a pair of electromagnetic scoring devices consisting of a shots register and a hits register respectively; electrical means t0 actuate both of said registers in response to actuation of the aforementioned firing contacts, and means responsive to the action of the aiming contacts to prevent operation of the hits register.

9. In combination with a training weapon, a marksmanship scoring device including a pair of electrically conductive aiming contacts associated with the Weapon; means for opening and closing said contacts in response to shifting of the position of the weapon with respect to a point of aim remote from the arm; said means including a tension member extending from the Weapon to said point of aim; and means for registering the number of shots taken and the number of hits.

10. In combination with a training weapon, a marksmanship scoring device including a pair of aiming contacts comprising a fixed annular eontact and a cooperating shiftable contact universally secured to the weapon at a point remote from the fixed annular contact, said shiftable contact extending through the annular contact and being connected to a point 0f aim remote from the weapon; and means for registering the number of shots taken and the number of hits.

LUIS .DE FLOREZ.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the ille of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Moss Sept. 1, 1936 OTHER REFERENCES Number