Methods and systems for enhancing firearm safety through wireless network monitoring

• US 9,404,698 B2
• Filed: 07/30/2013
• Issued: 08/02/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/01/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yardarm Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Yardarm Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Stewart, Robert J, Menezes, Joaquin
• Primary Examiner(s): CLEMENT, MICHELLE RENEE
• Application Number:
  US13/954,903
• Publication Number:
  US 20140360073A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,099 Days
• Field of Search: 42/701.1, 42/10.1, 421/06, 340/542
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 45/005 Chain-locks, cable-locks or padlocks with alarms
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 45/06 Electric alarm locks E05B45/005 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F41A 17/063 comprising a transponder
• CPC Class Codes: F41A 17/08 for inhibiting firing in a specified direction, e.g. at a friendly person or at a protected area F41A27/02 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F41A 17/46 Trigger safeties, i.e. means for preventing trigger movement F41A17/02 - F41A17/40 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/10 using wireless transmission systems G08B25/009 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/08 Testing, supervising or monitoring using real traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

A firearm includes a firing mechanism and a sensor device. The sensor device includes a subscriber identity module configured to communicate with a server over a signaling channel of a wireless communications network. The Sensor device is configured to enable/disable the firing mechanism in accordance with instructions received by the SIM from the server. Movements and/or attempted operations of the firearm may be monitored using an application running on a mobile device, which application receives information concerning the firearm over the signaling channel of the wireless communications network.

Claims

1. A system, comprising a sensor device of a firearm, the sensor device including a subscriber identity module (SIM) for transmitting, over a dedicated signaling channel, location information regarding the firearm in response to detected movements of the firearm and a remote monitoring station for receiving the location information regarding the firearm from the SIM, wherein the sensor device further includes a motion sensor.

2. The system of claim r, wherein the monitoring station is configured to provide an alert upon one or more of:

receipt of information from the SIM corresponding to (i) movement of the firearm, (ii) an attempted operation of the firearm, (iii) disabling of a safety of the firearm, and (iv) a change in mode of the firearm.