Location-Based Small Arms Control System

Abstract

An apparatus includes a trigger mechanism and a controller coupled to the trigger mechanism. The controller is configured to disable the trigger mechanism when the apparatus is within a gun-restricted zone.

1 . A firearm system comprising:
 a trigger mechanism; and   a controller coupled to the trigger mechanism and configured to disable the trigger mechanism when the apparatus is within a gun-restricted zone.   
     
     
         2 . The firearm system of  claim 1 , further comprising a gun scope including the controller. 
     
     
         3 . The firearm system of  claim 1 , wherein the trigger mechanism comprises at least one electrical component responsive to the controller and configured to selectively disable the trigger mechanism in response to a signal from the controller. 
     
     
         4 . The firearm system of  claim 1 , wherein the controller comprises:
 a transceiver configured to receive a radio frequency signal;   a processor coupled to the transceiver and configured to determine a location of the controller in response to the radio frequency signal.   
     
     
         5 . The firearm system of  claim 4 , wherein:
 the controller is configured to determine a distance between the location of the controller and location data of a nearest one of a plurality of gun-restricted zones in a database of gun-restricted zones; and   the controller disables the trigger mechanism when the distance is less than or equal to a distance threshold.   
     
     
         6 . The firearm system of  claim 5 , wherein the controller further comprises a memory configured to store the database of gun-restricted zones. 
     
     
         7 . The firearm system of  claim 5 , wherein the controller sends a query including the location of the controller to a database to retrieve the location data associated with the nearest one of the plurality of gun-restricted zones. 
     
     
         8 . The firearm system of  claim 1 , wherein the controller continuously monitors a location of the trigger mechanism and searches a database of gun-restricted zones for a nearest gun-restricted zone during power up and periodically thereafter. 
     
     
         9 . A method comprising:
 determining a distance between a location of a gun and a gun-restricted zone using a controller coupled to a trigger mechanism; and   disabling the trigger mechanism to prevent discharge of a firearm when the distance falls below a pre-determined threshold.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein determining the distance comprises determining the location of the gun by retrieving location data from a network. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein retrieving the location data from the network comprises communicating with a global positioning satellite (GPS) system to retrieve GPS coordinates. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein retrieving the location data from the network comprises communicating with one or more wireless communication network towers to determine the location data. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein retrieving the location data from the network comprises communicating with one or more wireless access points to determine the location data. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein disabling the trigger mechanism comprises selectively activating an electrical component of the trigger mechanism to prevent discharge of a firearm. 
     
     
         15 . A firearm system comprising:
 a small arms firearm;   a trigger mechanism coupled to the small arms firearm and including a firing mechanism configured to discharge the small arms firearm in response to a trigger pull; and   a controller communicatively coupled to the trigger mechanism and configured to disable the firing mechanism when the small arms firearm is within a pre-determined distance of a gun-restricted zone.   
     
     
         16 . The firearm system of  claim 15 , wherein the controller comprises a gun scope. 
     
     
         17 . The firearm system of  claim 15 , wherein the controller comprises at least one of a smart phone, a laptop computer, and a tablet computer. 
     
     
         18 . The firearm system of  claim 15 , wherein the controller:
 determines global positioning satellite (GPS) coordinates of the small arms firearm;   compares the GPS coordinates to location data of a plurality of gun-restricted zones in a database to identify a nearest gun-restricted zone; and   determines a distance between the GPS coordinates of the small arms firearm and a perimeter edge of the gun-restricted zone; and   wherein the controller disables the trigger mechanism when the distance falls below a threshold.   
     
     
         19 . The firearm system of  claim 15 , wherein the trigger mechanism includes a electrical component that is responsive to a control signal from the controller to prevent discharge of the small arms firearm. 
     
     
         20 . The firearm system of  claim 15 , wherein the gun-restricted zone comprises at least one of a school zone and a government agency zone.