Gun

• US 5,502,915 A
• Filed: 04/29/1994
• Issued: 04/02/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Intelligun Holding Company
• Original Assignee: Eddie S. Mendelsohn
• Inventors: Caspi, Shlomo, Mendelsohn, Eddie S., Hotto, Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): Jordan, Charles T.
• Application Number:
  US08/235,680
• Time in Patent Office: 704 Days
• Field of Search: 42/70.01, 42/70.11, 42/84, 42/66
• US Class Current: 42/70.11
• CPC Class Codes: F41A 17/066 having means for recognizing biometric parameters, e.g. voice control, finger print or palm print control

Abstract

A programmable gun has a body supporting a handle, a trigger and a pin actuatable between a first position providing for a trigger depression to fire a bullet and a second position restraining the trigger depression. A memory stores a print identifying an authorized person'"'"'s hand when such person inserts a key in the handle and then grips the handle. Hand prints of one (1) or more authorized persons, or several hand prints of one (1) person, may be stored in the memory when such persons move the key, after insertion, to individual positions and then grip the handle. When an authorized person thereafter grips the handle, that person'"'"'s hand generates a print for comparison with the prints in the memory. A comparison coincidence produces a pin actuation to the first position. A subsequent gun firing is recorded in the memory as to time and as to the authorized person. When a comparison coincidence is established, the ability to fire the gun continues until such authorized person relinquishes the gun. If the authorized person relinquishes the gun before firing, the pin becomes actuated to the second position after a particular time period. If the authorized person again grips the handle during such particular time period, the time period is re-initiated. When an unauthorized person grips the handle, no comparison coincidence occurs and the pin is not actuated to the first position. A print of such unauthorized person'"'"'s hand and the recording time are recorded in the memory.

Claims

1. A gun programmable to provide for its firing only by an authorized person, including,

a handle,

a trigger,

a body supporting the handle and the trigger,

an actuatable pin disposed on the body and movable between first and second stable positions and operable in the first stable position to provide for the depression of the trigger to obtain the firing of a bullet from the body and operable in the second stable position to restrain the trigger from becoming depressed,

memory means for storing prints identifying a particular portion of the hand of the authorized person,

first means disposed on the handle for receiving the particular portion of the hand of the user and for producing a print of such particular portion,

second means supported by the gun for comparing the prints from the memory means and the first means and for producing signals in accordance with the results of such comparison, and

third means for actuating the pin to an individual one of the first and second stable positions in accordance with the signals produced by the second means, the third means being operable to maintain the actuatable pin in each of the first and second stable positions until the actuation of the actuatable pin by the third means to the other one of the first and second stable positions.

2. A gun as set forth in claim 1,

means on the gun for indicating when the comparing means produces signals representing a coincidence between the prints from the memory means and the first means.

3. A gun programmable to provide for its operation only by an authorized person, including,

a handle,

a trigger,

a body supporting the handle and the trigger,

an actuatable pin disposed on the body and movable between first and second positions and operable in the first position to provide for the depression of the trigger to obtain the firing of a bullet from the body and operable in the second position to restrain the trigger from becoming depressed,

memory means for storing prints identifying a particular portion of the hand of the authorized person,

first means disposed on the handle for receiving the particular portion of the hand of the user and for producing a print of such particular portion,

second means supported by the gun for comparing the prints from the memory means and the first means and for producing signals in accordance with the results of such comparison, and

third means for actuating the pin to an individual one of the first and second positions in accordance with the signals produced by the second means,

the second means including means for producing signals with particular characteristics when the prints from the memory means and the first means coincide,

the third means including means for actuating the pin to the first position when the second means produces the signal with the particular characteristics,

fourth means for updating the comparison by the second means of the print by the first means with the print from the memory means, and

fifth means responsive to the failure within a particular period of time of the second means to provide signals with the particular characteristics during the updated comparison for actuating the pin to the second position.

4. A gun programmable to provide for its operation only by an authorized person, including,

a handle,

a trigger,

a body supporting the handle and the trigger,

an actuatable pin disposed on the body and movable between first and second positions and operable in the first position to provide for the depression of the trigger to obtain the firing of a bullet from the body and operable in the second position to restrain the trigger from becoming depressed,

memory means for storing prints identifying a particular portion of the hand of the authorized person,

first means disposed on the handle for receiving the particular portion of the hand of the user and for producing print of such particular portion,

second means supported by the gun for comparing the prints from the memory means and the first means and for producing signals in accordance with the results of such comparison,

third means for actuating the pin to an individual one of the first and second positions in accordance with the signals produced by the second means, and

means for recording the print of a portion of the hand of a person who attempts to fire the gun but whose print is not recorded in the memory means.

5. A gun programmable to provide for its firing only by an authorized person, including,

a body portion,

a handle extending from the body portion,

a trigger extending from the body portion and actuatable from a first position to a second position to obtain a firing of the gun,

a pin extending from the body portion and actuatable between first and second positions and operable in the first position to provide for the actuation of the trigger between the first and second positions and operable in the second position to prevent the actuation of the trigger from the first position to the second position,

memory means for storing a print of at least a particular portion of the hand of the authorized person,

first means disposed on the body for receiving a print of the particular portion of the hand of the person gripping the gun and attempting to fire the gun,

second means for comparing the prints in the memory means and the first means and for producing a signal when the prints coincide,

third means responsive to the signal from the second means for actuating the pin from the second position to the first position and for latching the pin in the first position, and

fourth means responsive to the failure of the first means to receive, in a particular period of time after the actuation of the pin from the second position, a print coinciding with a print in the memory means to the first position for actuating the pin from the first position to the second position and for latching the pin in the second position to prevent the trigger from being actuated from the first position to the second position.

6. In a combination as set forth in claim 5,

a solenoid included in the third means for becoming energized upon the production of the signal by the second means and for actuating the pin to the first latched position upon becoming energized.

7. In a combination as set forth in claim 5,

switch means having first and second states of operation and actuatable from the first state to the second state upon the disposition of the hand of the user on the body for providing for the operation of the first and second means in determining whether the print of the particular portion of the user'"'"'s hand coincides with the print stored in the memory means.

8. In a combination as set forth in claim 5,

fifth means responsive to a failure of the second means for a particular period of time to find a coincidence between the prints in the memory means and the first means after the production of the signal by the second means and after the release of the handle by the user for actuating the pin to the second position and for latching the pin in the second position.

9. In a combination as set forth in claim 5,

fifth means for providing individual illuminations respectively indicating the actuation of the pin to the first position, the disposition of the pin in the second position with the body of the gun being manually gripped and the inability of the gun to fire, with the gun being manually gripped, for reasons other than the non-coincidence between the prints in the storage means and the print provided by the first means.

10. A gun programmable to provide for its firing only by an authorized person, including,

a body portion,

a handle extending from the body portion,

a trigger extending from the body portion and actuatable from a first position to a second position to obtain a firing of the gun,

a pin extending from the body portion and actuatable between first and second positions and operable in the first position to provide for the actuation of the trigger between the first and second positions and operable in the second position to prevent the actuation of the trigger from the first position to the second position,

memory means for storing a print of a particular portion of the hand of the authorized person,

first means disposed on the handle for transferring a print of the particular portion of the hand of the authorized person to the memory means when the authorized person grips the handle to fire the gun,

second means having first and second states of operation and operative in the first state for providing for a transfer by the first means of the print of the particular portion of the hand of the authorized person to the memory means and operative in the second state to prevent a transfer by the first means of the print of the particular portion of the hand of the authorized user to the memory means, and

third means associated with the second means for providing for an operation of the second means in the first state at first particular periods of time and for providing for an operation of the second means in the second state at second particular periods of time different from the first particular period of time.

11. A gun as set forth in claim 10, including,

third means operative upon the transfer by the first means of the print of the particular portion of the hand of the authorized person into the memory means and upon a subsequent gripping of the handle by the hand of the authorized person for comparing the print resulting from such gripping and the print recorded in the memory means to actuate the pin to the first position upon a coincidence in such comparison.

12. In a gun as set forth in claim 11,

fourth means for preventing an actuation of the pin by the third means to the first position if there is no coincidence in the comparison by the third means of the print recorded by the first means in the memory means and the print produced by a subsequent gripping of the handle by a user other than the authorized user.

13. A gun programmable to provide for its firing only by an authorized person, including,

a body portion,

a handle extending from the body portion,

a trigger extending from the body portion and actuatable from a first position to a second position to obtain a firing of the gun,

a pin extending from the body portion and actuatable between first and second positions and operable in the first position to provide for the actuation of the trigger between the first and second positions and operable in the second position to prevent the actuation of the trigger from the first position to the second position,

memory means for storing a print of a particular portion of the hand of the authorized person,

first means disposed on the handle for transferring a print of the particular portion of the hand of the authorized person to the memory means when the authorized person grips the handle to fire the gun,

second means having first and second states of operation and operative in the first state for providing for a transfer by the first means of the print of the particular portion of the hand of the authorized person to the memory means and operative in the second state to prevent a transfer by the first means of the print of the particular portion of the hand of the authorized user to the memory means,

the second means being disposed on the handle and including a cavity for receiving a key, the cavity and the key defining a switch which is closed upon the insertion of the key into the cavity and which provides, upon such switch closure, for the transfer of the print of the particular portion of the hand of the authorized person from the first means to the memory means.

14. A gun programmable to provide for its firing only by an authorized person, including

a body portion,

a handle extending from the body portion,

a trigger extending from the body portion and actuatable from a first position to a second position to obtain a firing of the gun,

a pin extending from the body portion and actuatable between first and second positions and operable in the first position to provide for the actuation of the trrigger between the first and second positions and operable in the second position to prevent the actuation of the trigger from the first position to the second position,

memory means for storing a print of a particular portion of the hand of the authorized person,

first means disposed on the handle for transferring a print of the particular portion of the hand of the authorized person to the memory means when the authorized person grips the handle to fire the gun, and

second means for providing for a transfer by the first means of the print of the particular portion of the hand of the authorized person from the first means to the memory means,

third means operative upon the transfer by the first means of the print of the particular portion of the hand of the authorized person by the second means into the memory means and upon a subsequent gripping of the handle by the hand of the authorized person for comparing the print resulting from such gripping and the print recorded in the memory means to actuate the pin to the first position upon a coincidence in such comparison,

fourth means for preventing an actuation of the pin by the third means to the first position if there is no coincidence in the comparison by the third means of the prints recorded by the first means in the memory means and the prints produced by a gripping of the handle by a user other than the authorized user,

fifth means for retaining the print of the attempted user of the gun when there is no coincidence between the print in the memory means and the print produced on the handle by the user other than the authorized user.

15. A gun programmable to provide for its firing only by an authorized person, including,

a handle,

a trigger,

a body supporting the handle and the trigger,

an actuatable pin disposed on the body and movable between first and second positions and operable in the first position to provide for the depression of the trigger to obtain the firing of a bullet from the body and operable in the second position to restrain the trigger from becoming depressed,

memory means for storing the print of a particular portion of the hand of the authorized person,

first means for comparing the print in the memory means and the print on the handle of the particular portion of the hand of a person gripping the gun and for actuating the pin from the second position to the first position when there is a coincidence in such comparison, and

second means for storing the print of the particular portion of the person gripping the gun when there is no coincidence in the comparison provided by the user.

16. A gun as set forth in claim 15 wherein

the second means includes means for storing the date and time of the attempted use of the gun by the person gripping the gun.

17. A gun as set forth in claim 15, including,

third means for obtaining a return of the pin to the second position if there is no coincidence for a particular period of time between the print in the memory means and any print in the handle after the handle has been released by the authorized person.

18. A gun as set forth in claim 15, including,

third means for initiating successive comparisons by the first means upon a coincidence in the comparison of prints by the first means and the release of the handle by the authorized person for providing a count of the time of no such coincidence from the time of the last previous occurrence of coincidence and for reinstituting such count when such a coincidence reoccurs within a particular period of time after the initiation of the period of no such coincidence.

19. A gun programmable to provide for its firing only by an authorized person, including,

a handle,

a trigger,

a body supporting the handle and the trigger,

an actuatable pin disposed on the body and movable between first and second positions and operable in the first position to provide for the depression of the trigger to obtain the firing of a bullet from the body and operable in the second position to restrain the trigger from becoming depressed,

memory means for storing prints identifying a particular portion of the hand of the authorized person,

first means disposed on the handle for receiving the particular portion of the hand of the user and for producing a print of such particular portion,

second means supported by the gun for comparing the prints from the memory means and the first means and for producing a signal representing a substantial coincidence in such comparison,

third means responsive to the signal representing the substantial coincidence in the comparison for actuating the pin to the first position,

fourth means for providing a comparison by the second means of the prints from the memory means and the first means, after the handle has been released by the authorized person, to determine if such coincidence in the comparison is being maintained,

fifth means operatively coupled to the fourth means for determining the time that there is no coincidence in the comparison provided by the fourth means, and

sixth means operatively coupled to the fifth means for actuating the pin to the second position when the fifth means provides a determination that no such coincidence has occur red for a particular time period after there is no coincidence in the comparison provided by the fourth means.

20. A gun as set forth in claim 19, including,

seventh means for replacing the print in the memory means of the particular portion of the hand of the authorized user with a print of the particular portion of the hand of a person desiring to become authorized in using the gun.

21. A gun as set forth in claim 19, including,

seventh means for indicating in the memory means whether the print of the particular portion of the hand of a person grasping the gun coincides with the print of the authorized person in the memory means.

22. A gun programmable to provide for its firing only by an authorized person, including,

a handle,

a trigger,

a body supporting the handle and the trigger,

an actuatable pin disposed on the body and movable between first and second positions and operable in the first position to provide for the depression of the trigger to obtain the firing of a bullet from the body and operable in the second position to restrain the trigger from becoming depressed,

memory means for storing prints identifying a particular portion of the hand of the authorized person,

first means disposed on the handle for receiving the particular portion of the hand of the user and for producing a print of such particular portion,

second means supported by the gun for comparing the prints from the memory means and the first means and for producing a signal representing a substantial coincidence in such comparison,

third means for providing a comparison by the second means of the prints from the memory means and the first mean, after the handle has been released by the authorized person, to determine if such coincidence in the comparison is being maintained,

fourth means for actuating the pin to the second position if no such coincidence occurs for a particular time period after the handle has been released by the authorized user, and

fifth means responsive to the comparison from the third means for recording in the memory means the print of the particular portion of the hand of the person handling the gun if the comparison does not indicate the coincidence between the prints from the memory means and the first means.

23. A gun programmable to provide for its operation only by an authorized person, including,

a handle,

a trigger,

a body supporting the handle and the triqger,

an actuatable pin disposed on the body and movable between first and second positions and operable in the first position to provide for the depression of the trigger to obtain the firing of a bullet from the body and operable in the second position to restrain the trigger from becoming depressed,

memory means for storing prints identifying a particular portion of the hand of the authorized person,

first means disposed on the handle for receiving the particular portion of the hand of the user and for producing a print of such particular portion,

second means supported by the gun for comparing the prints from the memory means and the first means and for producing a signal representing a substantial coincidence in such comparison,

third means for providing a comparison by the second means of the prints from the memory means and the first means, after the handle has been released by the authorized person, to determine if such coincidence in the comparison is being maintained,

fourth means for actuating the pin to the second position if no such coincidence occurs for a particular time period after the handle has been released by the authorized user, and

fifth means for recording in the memory means the time of any firing of the gun and the time of any handling of the gun by a non-authorized person.

24. A gun programmable to provide for its firing only by an authorized user, including,

a handle,

a trigger,

a body supporting the handle and the trigger,

memory means for storing the print of a particular portion of the hand of the authorized user,

switching means actuatable by the hand of the user when the user grasps the gun,

sensing means for sensing the print of the particular portion of the hand of the person using the gun,

first means having first and second stable states for preventing the firing of the gun in the first stable state and for providing for the firing of the gun in the second stable state, and

second means operative upon the actuation of the switching means by the hand of the user for comparing the print in the memory means and the print in the sensing means and for providing for the operation of the first means in the second stable state when the prints in the memory means and the sensing means coincide and for providing for the operation of the first means in the first stable state when the prints in the memory means and the sensing means do not coincide, the first means being operative in an individual one of the first and second stable states until an operation of the first means by the second means to the other one of the first and second stable states.

25. In a combination as set forth in claim 24,

means for providing for the recording of the print of the hand of the authorized user in the memory means, when the authorized user initially grips the handle of the gun, provide a subsequent comparison between the print in the memory means of the hand of the authorized user and the print of the hand of a user who is attempting to fire the gun.

26. A gun programmable to provide for its firing only by an authorized user, including,

a handle,

a trigger,

a body supporting the handle and the trigger,

memory means for storing the print of a particular portion of the hand of the authorized user,

switching means actuatable by the hand by the user,

sensing means for sensing the print of the particular portion of the hand of the person using the gun,

first means operative upon the actuation of the switching means by the user for comparing the print in the memory means and the print in the sensing means and for providing for the actuation of the trigger when the prints in the memory means and the sensing means coincide, and

second means for recording the print of the particular portion of the hand of the user in the memory means, when the user actuates the trigger to fire the gun, to indicate such actuation of the trigger by the user.

27. In a combination as set forth in claim 26,

means for recording the date and the time that the user actuates the trigger to fire the gun.

28. A gun programmable to provide for its firing only by an authorized user, including,

a handle,

a trigger,

a body supporting the handle and the trigger,

memory means for storing the print of a particular portion of the hand of the authorized user,

switching means actuatable by the hand by the user,

sensing means for sensing the print of the particular portion of the hand of the person using the gun,

first means operative upon the actuation of the switching means by the user for comparing the print in the memory means and the print in the sensing means and for providing for the actuation of the trigger when the prints in the memory means and the sensing means coincide,

the first means being operative to prevent the trigger from being actuated when the prints in the sensing means and the memory means do not coincide,

means for recording the print of the particular portion of the hand of the user when the prints in the sensing means and the memory means do not coincide, and

means for recording the date and the time that such user unsuccessfully attempts to fire the gun.

29. A gun programmable to provide for its firing only by an authorized user, including,

a handle,

a trigger,

a body supporting the handle and the trigger,

memory means for storing the print of a particular portion of the hand of the authorized user,

sensing means for sensing the print of the particular portion of the hand of the person using the gun,

switching means actuatable at the handle by the user,

first means operative upon the actuation of the switching means by the user for comparing the print in the memory means and the print in the sensing means and for providing for the actuation of the trigger when the prints in the memory means and the sensing means coincide,

second means for counting a particular time,

third means responsive to the operation of the first means in providing for the actuation of the trigger for thereafter energizing the second means to obtain a count by the second means of the time after the actuation of the switching means is discontinued, and

fourth means responsive to the count of the particular time by the second means for operating upon the first means to prevent the trigger from being actuated.

30. In a combination as set forth in claim 29,

fifth means for resetting the second means to provide for an initiation of a new count of the particular time when the user actuates the switching means before the count of the particular time by the second means.

31. In a combination as set forth in claim 29,

fifth means for providing for the actuation of the trigger by an authorized user when the authorized user actuates the switching means before the count by the second means of the particular time.

32. In a combination as set forth in claim 29,

fifth means operable in a first relationship to provide for an actuation by the authorized user of the trigger and operable in a second relationship to prevent an actuation by a user other than the authorized user of the trigger, the fifth means being normally disposed in the second operative relationship, and

the fifth means including sixth means for changing the operation of the fifth means from the second operative relationship to the first operative relationship when the prints in the memory means and the sensing means coincide.

33. In a combination as set forth in claim 32,

the fifth means including seventh means for changing the sixth means from the first operative relationship to the second operative relationship when the second means counts the particular time.

34. In a combination as set forth in claim 33,

eighth means for providing for another operation of the first means when the authorized user actuates the switching means before the count by the second means of the particular time,

the first means including ninth means operative upon the re-actuation of the switching means by the authorized user for comparing the print in the memory means and the print in the sensing means and for providing for the actuation of the trigger when the prints in the memory means and the sensing means coincide.

35. In a combination as set forth in claim 34,

the first means being operative to prevent the actuation of the trigger when the prints in the memory means and the sensing means do not coincide upon the re-actuation of the switching means by the user.

36. A programmable gun to provide for its firing only by an authorized user, including,

a handle in the gun,

memory means in the gun for storing the print on the handle of the gun of the hand of an authorized user,

first means for sensing the print of the hand of the authorized user when the authorized user grasps the handle of the gun,

second means provided in the gun and having a first operative relationship for transferring the print of the hand of the authorized user into the memory means upon the grasping of the handle by the hand of the authorized user and having a second relationship for preventing such a transfer, and

third means operative in the first relationship of the second means for transferring the print of the hand of the authorized user into the memory means upon the grasping of the handle by the hand of the authorized user, and

fourth means operatively coupled to the second means for providing an operation of the second means in the first relationship at first particular times and for providing an operation of the second means in the second relationship at second particular times different from the first particular times.

37. A gun as set forth in claim 36, including,

the second means including a switch disposed in the gun and having a closed state defining the first operative relationship and an open state defining the second operative relationship, and

the fourth means being operative to close the switch at the first particular times and to open the switch at the second particular times.

38. A gun as set forth in claim 36, including,

the second means including a switch disposed in the handle of the gun and having a closed state defining the first operative relationship and having an open state defining the second operative relationship and including a member movable to a first position providing the closed state of the switch and to a second position providing the open state of the switch, and the fourth means being positionable in the handle to move the member to selective ones of the first and second positions.

39. A gun is set forth in claim 36, including,

fifth means for sensing the print subsequently provided on the handle by the hand of a proposed user after the transfer of the print of the hand of the authorized user into the memory means, and

sixth means for comparing the hand print provided by the fifth means and the hand print in the memory means to determine a coincidence between such hand prints.

40. A gun as set forth in claim 39, including,

seventh means for readying the gun to be fired when the sixth means determines from the comparison that there is a coincidence between the hand prints being compared.

41. A gun as set forth in claim 40, including,

the second means including a switch disposed in the handle of the gun and having a closed state defining the first operative relationship and having an open state defining the second operative relationship and including a member movable to a first position providing the closed state of the switch and to a second position providing the open state of the switch and the fourth means being positionable in the handle to move the member to selective ones of the first and second positions.

42. A gun programmable to provide for its firing only by an authorized user, including,

memory means for storing the print of the hand of the authorized user,

first means for sensing the print of the hand of the authorized user when the hand of the authorized user grasps the gun,

a trigger,

second means having a first stable state of operation and a second stable state of operation and operative in the first state to provide for the actuation of the trigger by the authorized user and operative in the second state to prevent the actuation of the trigger by a user other than the authorized user,

third means for comparing the hand print in the memory means and the hand print sensed by the first means,

fourth means responsive to the comparison by the third means for operating the second means to a selective one of the first and second stable states, and

fifth means included in the fourth means for maintaining the operation of the second means in each of the first and second stable states of operation without the introduction of any energy to the second means and the fourth means until the operation of the second means by the fourth means to the other one of the first and second states of operation.

43. A gun programmable to provide for its firing only by an authorized user, including,

memory means for storing the print of the hand of the authorized user,

first means for sensing the print of the hand of the authorized user when the hand of the authorized user grasps the gun,

a trigger,

second means having a first stable state of operation and a second stable state of operation and operative in the first state to provide for the actuation of the trigger by the authorized user and operative in the second state to prevent the actuation of the trigger by a user other than the authorized user,

third means for comparing the hand print in the memory means and the hand print sensed by the first means,

fourth means responsive to the comparison by the third means for operating the second means to a selective one of the first and second stable states, and

fifth means for recording in the memory means the print of the hand of a proposed user when the proposed user grasps the gun to fire the gun.

44. A gun programmable to provide for its firing only by an authorized user, including,

memory means for storing the print of the hand of the authorized user,

first means for sensing the print of the hand of the authorized user when the hand of the authorized user grasps the gun,

a trigger,

second means having a first stable state of operation and a second stable state of operation and operative in the first state to provide for the actuation of the trigger by the authorized user and operative in the second state to prevent the actuation of the trigger by a user other than the authorized user,

third means for comparing the hand print in the memory means and the hand print sensed by the first means, and

fourth means responsive to the comparison by the third means for operating the second means to a selective one of the first and second stable states,

fifth means operative in a first relationship to provide for the storage in the memory means of the print of the hand of the authorized user and operative in a second relationship to prevent the storage in the memory means of the print of the hand of a proposed user,

sixth means responsive to the operation of the fifth means in the first relationship for transferring into the memory means the print of the hand of the authorized user when the authorized user grasps the gun, and

seventh means operatively coupled to the fifth means for providing for an operation of the fifth means in the first relationship at first particular times and for an operation of the fifth means in the second relationship at second particular times different from the first particular times.

45. A gun programmable to provide for its firing only by an authorized user, including,

memory means for storing the print of the hand of the authorized user,

first means for sensing the print of the hand of the authorized user when the hand of the authorized user grasps the gun,

a trigger,

second means having a first stable state of operation and a second stable state of operation and operative in the first state to provide for the actuation of the trigger by the authorized user and operative in the second state to prevent the actuation of the trigger by a user other than the authorized user,

third means for comparing the hand print in the memory means and the hand print sensed by the first means, and

fourth means responsive to the comparison by the third means for operating the second means to a selective one of the first and second stable states, and

a source of electrical energy,

the fourth means being operatively coupled to the source of electrical energy to operate the second means to the selective one of the first and second states,

the second means being operative in the selective one of the first and second states without any additional energy from the source while the second means remains in such selective one of the first and second states.

46. A gun as set forth in claim 45, including,

fifth means operative in a first relationship to provide for the storage in the memory means of the print of the hand of the authorized user and operative in a second relationship to prevent the storage in the memory means of the print of the hand of a proposed user,

sixth means responsive to the operation of the fifth means in the first relationship for transferring into the memory means the print of the hand of the authorized user when the authorized user grasps the gun, and

seventh means operatively coupled to the fifth means for providing for an operation of the fifth means in the first relationship at first particular times and for an operation of the fifth means in the second relationship at second particular times different from the first particular times.

47. A gun programmable to provide for its firing only by an authorized user, including,

memory means for storing the print of the hand of the authorized user,

first means for sensing the print of the hand of the authorized user when the hand of the authorized user grasps the gun to fire the gun,

a trigger,

second means for comparing the hand print in the memory means and the hand print sensed by the first means,

third means responsive to the results of the comparison by the third means for activating the gun to obtain a firing of the gun by the authorized user when the second means indicates a coincidence between the hand print in the comparing means and the hand print sensed by the first means, and

fourth means responsive to the activation of the gun by the third means for maintaining the activation of the gun by the third means during the grasping of the gun by the authorized user and for a particular period of time after the authorized user ceases to grasp the gun.

48. A gun as set forth in claim 47, including,

the fourth means including fifth means for obtaining a discontinuance of the activation of the gun by the fourth means when a person other than the authorized user grasps the gun.

49. A gun as set forth in claim 48, including,

the fourth means including fifth means for obtaining a discontinuance of the activation of the gun by the fourth means when a person other than the authorized user grasps the gun, and

sixth means for recording in the memory means the firing of the gun by the authorized user and the time of such firing and the hand print of the authorized user at the time of such firing.

50. A gun as set forth in claim 47, including,

fifth means for recording in the memory means the firing of the gun by the authorized user and the time of such firing and the hand print of the authorized user at the time of such firing.

51. A gun as set forth in claim 47, including,

fifth means for providing a count of the time after the authorized user ceases to grasp the gun, and

sixth means for restarting the count by the fifth means of the time when the authorized user again grasps the gun before the end of the particular period of time.

52. A method of controlling the firing of a gun by an authorized user, including the steps of:

sensing in the gun the hand print of a person gripping a handle on the gun,

comparing in the gun the sensed hand print with the hand print recorded in a memory of the authorized user,

actuating a bistable member in the gun from a first position to a second position upon a coincidence between the sensed hand print and the hand print in the memory, and

providing for the firing of the gun by the authorized user while the bistable member is in the second position, and

maintaining the bistable member in each of the first and second positions without introducing any energy to the bistable member to maintain the bistable member in such position until the bistable member is actuated to the other one of the first and second positions.

53. A method as set forth in claim 52 wherein

the bistable member is actuated from the second position to the first position when the authorized user no longer grasps the gun.

54. A method of controlling the firing of a gun by an authorized user, including the steps of:

sensing in the gun the hand print of a person gripping a handle on the gun,

comparing in the gun the sensed hand print with the hand print recorded in a memory of the authorized user,

actuating a bistable member in the gun from a first position to a second position upon a coincidence between the sensed hand print and the hand print in the memory, and

providing for the firing of the gun by the authorized user while the bistable member is in the second position,

wherein the bistable member is responsive to energy from an electrical source in the gun to become actuated from the first position to the second position upon the coincidence between the sensed hand print and the hand print in the memory and wherein no energy is provided from the electrical source to retain the bistable member in the second position after the actuation of the bistable member to the second position and until the actuation of the bistable member to the first position.

55. A method as set forth in claim 54 wherein

the bistable member is actuated from the second position to the first position by electrical energy from the source when the authorized user no longer grasps the gun and wherein no energy from the source is provided to retain the bistable member in the first position and wherein the gun cannot be fired with the bistable member in the first position.

56. A method of controlling the firing of a gun by an authorized user, including the steps of:

providing a memory in the gun for storing the hand print of the authorized user,

providing in the gun for the recording of the hand print of the authorized user in the memory,

sensing the hand print of the authorized user when the authorized user grips the gun after the provision in the gun for the recording of the hand print of the authorized user in the memory,

recording the sensed hand print in the memory after the provision in the gun for the recording of the hand print of the authorized user in the memory, and

recording in the memory the hand print of each individual who attempts, either successfully or unsuccessfully, to fire the gun.

57. A method of controlling the firing of a gun by an authorized user, including the steps of:

providing a memory in the gun for storing the hand print of the authorized user,

providing in the gun for the recording of the hand print of the authorized user in the memory,

sensing the hand print of the authorized user when the authorized user grips the gun after the provision in the gun for the recording of the hand print of the authorized user in the memory, and

recording the sensed hand print in the memory after the provision in the gun for the recording of the hand print of the authorized user in the memory,

sensing the hand print of a person grasping the gun after the recording of the hand print of the authorized user in the memory,

comparing the hand print of the authorized user in the memory and the hand print of the person grasping the gun after the recording of the hand print of the authorized user in the memory to determine if there is any coincidence between such hand prints,

providing for the firing of the gun by the proposed user when the comparison indicates that the proposed user is the authorized user,

providing for the firing of the gun by the proposed user including the step of actuating a bistable member from a first position preventing the firing of the gun by the proposed user to a second position providing for the firing of the gun by the proposed user,

recording in the memory the hand print of each individual who attempts, either successfully or unsuccessfully, to fire the gun, and

eliminating the provision in the gun for the recording of the hand print of the authorized user in the memory after such recording.

58. A method of controlling the firing of a gun by an authorized user, including the steps of:

providing in a memory in the gun the hand print of an authorized user,

sensing the hand print of a proposed user who grasps the gun,

comparing the hand print of the authorized user in the memory and the hand print of the proposed user to determine if there is any coincidence,

enabling the gun to be fired when there is a coincidence in the comparison,

determining the time after the authorized user releases his grasp of the gun, and

disabling the gun from being fired after a determination that the authorized user has released his grasp of the gun for a particular period of time.

59. A method as set forth in claim 58, including the steps of:

providing for a continuation in the enabling of the gun to be fired when a determination is made that the authorized user has again grasped the gun within the particular period of time after the authorized user has release d the grasp of the gun.

60. A method as set forth in claim 58 wherein

the gun becomes disabled immediately after the authorized user releases the grasp of the gun and a person other than the authorized user grasps the gun even when the grasping of the gun by the person other than the authorized user occurs within the particular period of time after the authorized user releases the grasp of the gun.

61. A method as set forth in claim 58 wherein

the gun is enabled to be fired by moving a bistable member from a first position preventing the gun from being fired to a second position enabling the gun to be fired.

62. A method as set forth in claim 61 wherein

the bistable member is moved from the second position to the first position to disable the gun immediately after the authorized user releases the gun and a person other than the authorized user grasps the gun even when the grasping of the gun by the person other than the authorized user occurs within the particular period of time after the authorized user releases the grasp of the gun.

63. A gun programmable to provide for its firing only by an authorized person, including,

a handle,

a trigger,

a body supporting the handle and the trigger,

an actuatable pin disposed on the body and movable between first and second positions and operable in the first position to provide for the depression of the trigger to obtain the firing of a bullet from the body and operable in the second position to restrain the trigger from becoming depressed,

memory means for storing prints identifying a particular portion of the hand of the authorized person,

first means disposed on the handle for receiving the particular portion of the hand of the user and for producing a print of such particular portion,

second means supported by the gun for comparing the prints from the memory means and the first means and for producing a signal representing a substantial coincidence in such comparison,

third means responsive to the signal representing the substantial coincidence in the comparison for actuating the pin to the first position,

fourth means for providing a comparison by the second means of the prints from the memory means and the first means, after the handle has been released by the authorized person, to determine if such coincidence in the comparison is being maintained,

fifth means for actuating the pin to the second position if no such coincidence occurs for a particular time period after the handle has been released by the authorized user, and

sixth means for indicating in the memory means the print of the particular portion of the hand of a person firing or attempting to fire the gun and the time of such firing or attempted firing.