Firearm Sight IMU Compensation for Aiming Jitter
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Solution Overview
Problem
Firearm movements due to natural aimer movements, muscle fatigue, and environmental factors cause azimuth and elevation angle fluctuations, leading to jitter and reduced target accuracy when firing.
Innovation Solution
An inertial measurement unit (IMU) is mounted on the firearm sight to determine and compute azimuth and elevation jitters, generating an output signal to delay the fire command and compensate for these movements, ensuring accurate targeting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the firearm is held steady by the aimer, then the weight of the firearm must be continuously compensated, causing muscle fatigue and movement jitter
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical human body stabilization system with an electronic stabilization system consisting of an IMU sensor, processor, and display unit. The IMU detects firearm movements and the processor calculates compensation values, which are then displayed to guide the aimer's aiming adjustments, eliminating the need for continuous muscle compensation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a computational intermediary (the processor and display system) between the aimer and the target. Instead of directly compensating for firearm movements through muscle effort, the aimer follows visual guidance from the display, which acts as an intermediary that translates complex stabilization tasks into simple follow-up movements.
2Reliability
If the firearm moves during aiming, then the azimuth and elevation angles change abruptly causing jitter, but adding stabilization technology increases device complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex mechanical stabilization mechanisms with an electronic sensing and computation system. The IMU provides digital movement data, the processor performs mathematical calculations to determine compensation values, and the display presents the information electronically, eliminating the need for complex mechanical counterweights or active stabilization mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the state of the firearm from a purely mechanical system to an electronic-digital system by incorporating the IMU and processor. The continuous physical parameters (azimuth and elevation angles) are converted into digital signals that can be processed, stored, and displayed, enabling sophisticated compensation algorithms without mechanical complexity.
3Productivity
If the fire command is executed immediately, then the response time is fast, but the firearm movement during trigger squeeze causes reduced accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary calculation of compensation values during the aiming phase, before the firing decision is made. The system continuously calculates what the azimuth and elevation angles should be to compensate for predicted firearm movements, so that when the fire command is executed, the corrected aiming values are already prepared and can be applied immediately without delay.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The IMU's compensation mechanism improves target accuracy by synchronizing the fire command with the average responses of azimuth and elevation jitters, thereby stabilizing the firearm's aim and enhancing bullet precision.
Implementation Method 1
An inertial measurement unit (IMU) mounted on the firearm sight determines an azimuth jitter and an elevation jitter corresponding to a movement of the firearm
Data Source
AI summary
In an example, the firearm includes a firearm sight and an inertial measurement unit (IMU) mounted on the firearm sight. The IMU configured to determine an azimuth jitter and an elevation jitter corresponding to a movement of the firearm, compute an average response of the azimuth jitter and an average response of the elevation jitter, and generate an output signal to compensate for the movement of the firearm based on the average response of the azimuth jitter and the average response of the elevation jitter. The firearm further includes a firing actuation unit communicatively coupled to the IMU to delay a fire command based on the output signal.