Tethered Electrode Assembly with Spreading Structure for Weaponry
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional electronic weapons face challenges in reducing manufacturing costs, labor required for assembly, and filament damage during assembly, while also aiming to minimize trauma to targets with their electrodes.
Innovation Solution
The development of a wire-tethered electrode assembly that includes a cylindrical body with a spear for mechanical coupling, a binding structure for filament attachment, and a spreading structure to reduce current density and facilitate efficient deployment and electrical coupling with targets, using a propellant for launch and aerodynamic design for accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a sharp barbed tip is used on the electrode to acquire and remain in position in or near the target, then the electrode can effectively lodge in the target, but relatively high field strengths and current densities occur at the electrode tip causing trauma
Solution Approach 1:
The electrode is divided into distinct functional segments: a sharp spear tip for penetration and positioning, and a separate spreading structure (such as a diffuser or flared section) for current distribution. This segmentation allows the spear to perform its mechanical function while the spreading structure mitigates electrical trauma by distributing current over a larger area.
Solution Approach 2:
The spreading structure acts as an intermediary element between the sharp spear tip and the target tissue. It receives the current from the filament and redistributes it across a broader surface area, preventing direct concentration of high current density at the spear tip while maintaining effective electrode-tissue contact.
2Ease of manufacture
If conventional assembly methods are used with sharpened shafts and crimping, then the electrode can be assembled, but manufacturing costs and labor requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The spear and cylindrical body are designed to be formed as a single integrated piece through molding or extrusion processes, eliminating the need for separate sharpening and crimping operations. The filament attachment is incorporated into the same molding process, creating a unified assembly that reduces both manufacturing steps and labor requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The electrode components are designed with geometric features (such as integrated attachment points, molded-in spear tips, and built-in spreading structures) that enable formation through continuous molding or extrusion processes rather than discrete machining and assembly steps, fundamentally changing the manufacturing parameters from mechanical assembly to formative processing.
3Power
If conventional electrodes with sharp tips are used, then current delivery is effective, but filament damage occurs during assembly
Solution Approach 1:
The filament is pre-positioned and secured within the cylindrical body through integrated attachment features molded into the body structure, such as recesses, channels, or mechanical interlocks. This preliminary positioning prevents the filament from being subjected to mechanical stress during subsequent assembly operations, thereby preventing damage while maintaining current delivery capability.
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
This solution reduces manufacturing costs, minimizes labor and filament damage, and effectively interferes with target locomotion by distributing current density, ensuring accurate and safe deployment with reduced trauma.
Implementation Method 1
a propellant for launch
Implementation Method 2
a spreading structure to reduce current density
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic weapon has an installed deployment unit, from which at least one tethered electrode is launched, provides a stimulus current through a target to inhibit locomotion by the target. The wire tether, also called a filament, conducts the stimulus current. The one or more electrodes, according to various aspects of the present invention, perform one or more of the following functions in any combination: binding the filament to the electrode, deploying the filament from the deployment unit, coupling the electrode to the target, and distributing a current density with respect to a volume of target tissue. An electrode may include conductive material and insulative material. Relatively high electric field flux density at a tip of the electrode may be reduced or avoided by practice of the invention.