Intrinsically Safe Firearm with Pivot-Link Stowed Configuration
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional personal defense firearms are designed for quick and easy operation, which compromises safety features, leading to increased risks of accidental or unintentional discharge, especially when carried by users for close proximity personal defense, and can be operated by children due to design features that prioritize concealment and ease of use.
Innovation Solution
An intrinsically safe firearm design featuring a frame and handle connected by a pivot pin, with a slide and magazine that can be fixed in stowed or deployed orientations using latches, incorporating a trigger safety, magazine safety, and an integral laser sight, ensuring the firearm is not dischargeable in the stowed orientation and can be quickly converted to ready-to-fire by an adult user.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If personal defense firearms are designed with limited safety features for quick and easy operation, then the effectiveness for self-defense is improved, but the risk of accidental discharge increases
Solution Approach 1:
The firearm requires preliminary authentication actions (biometric scan, code entry, or physical manipulation sequence) before the firearm transitions from safe mode to ready-to-fire mode. This preliminary action ensures that only authorized users can activate the firearm, preventing accidental discharge by unauthorized persons while maintaining quick operation for authenticated users.
Solution Approach 2:
The firearm dynamically transitions between two operational states: safe mode (concealed configuration) and ready-to-fire mode (deployed configuration). The system automatically adjusts its safety features and operational readiness based on the detected user authentication, providing high safety during storage and rapid response capability when needed.
2Ease of operation
If personal defense firearms are designed for concealment and ease of use, then the effectiveness for self-defense is improved, but the firearm can be operated by children
Solution Approach 1:
The authentication mechanism serves as a preliminary anti-action that prevents harmful operation by children. The system requires complex authentication (biometric verification, multi-step code entry, or coordinated physical manipulations) that children cannot perform, thereby blocking unauthorized access while maintaining simple operation for authenticated adults.
Solution Approach 2:
An intermediary authentication system is introduced between the user and the firearm's firing mechanism. This intermediary layer (biometric sensor, code input interface, or mechanical authentication device) verifies user identity and authorization before enabling firearm operation, preventing children from operating the weapon while maintaining ease of use for authorized users.
3Reliability
If safety features are enhanced to prevent accidental discharge, then the risk of unintentional discharge is reduced, but the time and effort to prepare the firearm increases
Solution Approach 1:
The authentication system performs preliminary verification of user identity and authorization before the firearm becomes operational. This preliminary action ensures safety by confirming the user is authorized, while the entire authentication process is designed to complete quickly (within seconds) so that the time penalty for enhanced safety is minimal.
Solution Approach 2:
Complex mechanical safety mechanisms are replaced with faster electronic or optical authentication systems (biometric sensors, electronic code verification). These substitution systems provide equivalent or superior safety while reducing the time required for preparation compared to traditional mechanical safety procedures.
Data Source
AI summary
An intrinsically safe firearm may include a handle and a frame connected by a pivot pin. One or more latches of the firearm can temporarily fix the firearm in a stowed orientation or a deployed orientation. In the deployed orientation, a magazine of the firearm can be removed from the handle; a slide of the firearm can be removed from the frame; a magazine safety allows a firing pin to strike a primer of a round in the firearm; and a trigger of the firearm is accessible to discharge the round in the firearm. In the stowed orientation, the magazine is not removable from the handle; the slide is not removable from the frame; the magazine safety prevents the firing pin from striking the primer; and the trigger of the firearm is not accessible.