Systems and methods for halting locomotion

Abstract

A weapon halts locomotion by a human or animal target, for example, for arresting the target. The device includes a charging circuit and a discharging circuit. The charging circuit charges a capacitance of the device. The discharging circuit overwhelms voluntary use by the target of the skeletal muscles of the target when passing a current through tissue of the target. Each pulse has a pulse width greater than 9 microseconds. The current may include a plurality of substantially equally spaced apart pulses of from 2 to 40 pulses per second.

1 . A weapon that halts locomotion by a human or animal target, the weapon comprising: 
 an energy storing circuit; and    an energy discharging circuit that overwhelms voluntary use by the target of ambulatory skeletal muscles of the target when passing a current a distance of at least about  6  inches through any tissue of the target, the current comprising a plurality of pulses, each pulse of the plurality having a pulse width greater than 9 microseconds, wherein voluntary use is overwhelmed whether or not the target feels pain.    
   
   
       2 . The weapon of  claim 1  wherein the plurality of pulses has a rate of from 2 to 40 pulses per second.  
   
   
       3 . The weapon of  claim 1  wherein the pulse width is from 9 to 100 microseconds measured into a load of about 1000 ohms in place of the target.  
   
   
       4 . The weapon of  claim 1  wherein each pulse of the plurality has a width of about 13 microseconds.  
   
   
       5 . The weapon of  claim 1  wherein the plurality of pulses has an average of about 162 milliamps RMS for one second.  
   
   
       6 . The weapon of  claim 1  wherein the discharging circuit comprises a transformer that generates the current in a secondary of the transformer.  
   
   
       7 . A weapon that halts locomotion by a human or animal target, the weapon comprising: 
 an energy storing circuit; and    an energy discharging circuit that overwhelms voluntary use by the target of ambulatory skeletal muscles of the target when passing a current a distance of at least about 6 inches through any tissue of the target, the current comprising a plurality of pulses, each pulse of the plurality having a pulse width of about 13 microseconds measured into a load of about 1000 ohms in place of the target, wherein voluntary use is overwhelmed whether or not the target feels pain.    
   
   
       8 . The weapon of  claim 7  wherein the plurality of pulses has a rate of from 2 to 40 pulses per second.  
   
   
       9 . The weapon of  claim 7  wherein plurality of pulses has an average of about 162 milliamps RMS for one second.  
   
   
       10 . The weapon of  claim 7  wherein the discharging circuit comprises a transformer that generates the current in a secondary of the transformer.  
   
   
       11 . A method for halting locomotion by a human or animal target to arrest the target, the method comprising passing a current a distance of at least about 6 inches through any tissue of the target, the current comprising from 2 to 40 pulses per second, each pulse having a pulse width greater than 9 microseconds, wherein voluntary use is overwhelmed whether or not the target feels pain, and wherein voluntary use is overwhelmed whether or not the distance traverses any ambulatory skeletal muscle.  
   
   
       12 . The weapon of claim  1 I 1  wherein the plurality of pulses has a rate of from 2 to 40 pulses per second.  
   
   
       13 . The method of claim  1 I 1  wherein the pulse width is from 9 to 100 microseconds measured into a load of about 1000 ohms in place of the target.  
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 11  wherein each pulse of the plurality has a pulse width of about 13 microseconds.  
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 11  wherein the plurality of pulses has an average of about 162 milliamps RMS for one second.  
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 11  further comprises generating the plurality of pulses in a secondary of a transformer.  
   
   
       17 . A method for halting locomotion by a human or animal target to arrest the target, the method comprising passing a current a distance of at least about 6 inches through any tissue of the target, the current comprising a plurality of pulses, each pulse of the plurality having a pulse width of about 13 microseconds measured into a load of about 1000 ohms in place of the target, wherein voluntary use is overwhelmed whether or not the target feels pain.  
   
   
       18 . The weapon of  claim 17  wherein the plurality of pulses has a rate of from 2 to 40 pulses per second.  
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 17  wherein the plurality of pulses has an average of about 162 milliamps RMS for one second.  
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 17  further comprising discharging energy through a transformer to generate the current in a secondary of the transformer.