US2012167423A1PendingUtilityA1

Load-sensing cartridge counter

41
Individually held — no corporate assignee on recordPriority: Jul 8, 2009Filed: Jul 7, 2010Published: Jul 5, 2012
Est. expiryJul 8, 2029(~3 yrs left)· nominal 20-yr term from priority
Inventors:John C. KindtRobert G. Wiley
G01G 19/52F41A 9/62G01G 19/42
41
PatentIndex Score
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Cited by
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Claims

Abstract

A load-sensing base, cartridge and method are provided for use with a firearm. The cartridge includes a support element that moves a cartridge into a chamber of the firearm. The base includes a load sensor that senses a load applied by the support element and outputs a load sensing signal. The bases also include a cartridge counter, coupled to the load sensor, that uses the load sensing signal to determine a number of cartridges remaining.

Claims

exact text as granted — not AI-modified
1 . A load-sensing magazine for use with a firearm, comprising:
 a shell configured to hold a plurality of cartridges, a first end of the shell configured to couple to the firearm;   a push tile within the shell and configured to receive a cartridge from the plurality of cartridges;   a biasing element that biases the push tile toward the shell first end to load the cartridge into a chamber of the firearm;   a base enclosing a second end of the shell, the base comprising a load sensor that senses a load applied by the biasing element and outputs a load sensing signal; and   a cartridge counter, coupled to the load sensor, that uses the load sensing signal to determine a number of cartridges in the magazine.   
     
     
         2 . The load-sensing magazine of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 an output device that outputs an indication of the number of cartridges.   
     
     
         3 . The load-sensing magazine of  claim 2 , wherein the output device is configured to alter the brightness and wavelength of illumination of the display. 
     
     
         4 . The load-sensing magazine of  claim 3 , wherein the output device is configured to automatically alter the brightness and wavelength of illumination of the display. 
     
     
         5 . The load-sensing magazine of  claim 3 , wherein the output device is configured to alter the brightness and wavelength of illumination of the display in response to a user input. 
     
     
         6 . The load-sensing magazine of  claim 1 , wherein the output device includes:
 a tactile transducer that causes a vibration to alert the user silently that the number of cartridges is at or below a threshold number.   
     
     
         7 . The load-sensing magazine of  claim 1 , wherein the load sensor is a strain-gauge load cell. 
     
     
         8 . A load-sensing base for use with a firearm magazine that includes a support element that moves a push tile toward a shell first end to load a cartridge into a chamber of the firearm, the base comprising:
 a load sensor that senses a load applied by the support element and outputs a load sensing signal; and   a cartridge counter, coupled to the load sensor, that uses the load sensing signal to determine a number of cartridges remaining.   
     
     
         9 . The base of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 an output device that outputs an indication of the number of cartridges remaining.   
     
     
         10 . The base of  claim 9 , wherein the output device includes a display that displays the number of cartridges. 
     
     
         11 . The base of  claim 10 , wherein the display is a digital number display. 
     
     
         12 . The base of  claim 9 , wherein the output device includes an audio device that outputs the indication of the number of cartridges as an audio output. 
     
     
         13 . The base of  claim 12 , wherein the audio device outputs the audio output as a number corresponding to the number of cartridges. 
     
     
         14 . The base of  claim 9 , wherein the output device includes an actuator that selectively enables or disables the audio output. 
     
     
         15 . The base of  claim 9 , wherein the output device is configured to output the indication of the number of cartridges or other signal when the number of cartridges in the firearm or magazine is at or below a threshold number. 
     
     
         16 . The base of  claim 15 , wherein the output device includes:
 a tactile transducer that causes a vibration to alert the user silently that the number of cartridges is at or below the threshold number.   
     
     
         17 . The base of  claim 9 , wherein the output device is configured to alter the brightness and wavelength of illumination of the display. 
     
     
         18 . The base of  claim 17 , wherein the output device is configured to automatically alter the brightness and wavelength of illumination of the display. 
     
     
         19 . The base of  claim 17 , wherein the output device is configured to alter the brightness and wavelength of illumination of the display in response to a user input. 
     
     
         20 . The base of  claim 8 , wherein the load sensor is a strain-gauge load cell. 
     
     
         21 . The base of  claim 8 , wherein the number of cartridges includes one or more cartridges in the chamber and cartridges in the magazine. 
     
     
         22 . The base of  claim 8 , wherein the cartridge counter is configured to count a number of cartridges fired from the firearm. 
     
     
         23 . The base of  claim 8 , wherein the cartridge counter uses a predetermined load-to-cartridge relationship to determine the number of cartridges. 
     
     
         24 . A method of determining a number of cartridges in a firearm, comprising:
 sensing a load applied by an element supporting cartridges within a magazine;   generating a load sensing signal in response to the sensed load;   determining a number of cartridges remaining from the load sensing signal; and   outputting an indication of the number of cartridges.   
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein a predetermined load-to-cartridge relationship is used to determine the number of cartridges. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 24 , further comprising:
 outputting the indication via an output device.   
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein outputting the indication includes generating a display representing the indication. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the display includes a number of cartridges. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the display brightness is variable. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein outputting the indication includes causing a vibration of the firearm. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein outputting the indication includes generating an audio output representing the indication. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the method includes providing the output or other signal when the number of cartridges in the shell is at or below a threshold number. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein determining the number of cartridges remaining includes determining one or more cartridges in the chamber and cartridges in the magazine. 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 24 , further comprising:
 determining a number of cartridges fired.

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