Provisional Application Ser. The present invention pertains to an electronic ignition system which uses an electric arc to ignite the propellant in a personal firearm and a firearm using such a system. Hunting and shooting with muzzleloaders is rapidly gaining popularity as a sport. The muzzleloader is essentially a primitive rifle, shotgun, or pistol, based on designs used during the early days of America and lacking the effective range of more modem center fire rifles and the speed of reloading available to cartridge firearms.
Because of their popularity, many states have adopted special muzzleloader seasons for hunting with these weapons to allow sportsmen using them who generally have to get much closer to their targets and be more sure of their aim than those using modem cartridge rifles to be able to effectively hunt. With the creation of these special seasons, many hunters are moving from more modem rifles to muzzleloaders to take advantage of the special season.
As opposed to a more modem firearm which is loaded with a cartridge at the breach, in a muzzleloader loose powder or powder pellets and the projectile are loaded into the barrel via the muzzle of the gun and tamped against the breach plug. The modem smokeless powder used in cartridges and shotgun shells, however, cannot be safely used with most muzzleloaders. Black powder firearms currently use one of two systems to ignite the powder charge and discharge the projectile from the firearm.
The most primitive type of firearm is a flintlock which utilizes a flint which is thrown forward by the hammer which is generally mounted on the side of the firearm into a piece of steel generating a spark.
The spark is used to ignite a priming pan of fine black powder. The burning priming powder sends a spark through a touchhole which is a small hole in the side of the firearm's barrel.
The spark then ignites the main powder charge in the barrel which discharges the firearm. More modern black powder firearms are caplocks. The traditional caplock still has the hammer on the side of the gun but the flint, steel, and priming pan are eliminated. Instead the hammer swings into a percussion cap which contains an explosive fulminate of mercury.
The percussion cap is resting on a nipple through which the spark travels to reach the main charge in the barrel. The most modem type of muzzleloader was developed to provide more effective discharge. This is an in-line caplock which operates in the same manner as a traditional caplock but instead of having the hammer, nipple, and cap on the side of the gun, they are placed in line with the barrel.
The in-line caplock is essentially a modernized muzzleloader which retains the firing and loading profile of a traditional muzzleloader with a more modem ignition system. By their very nature, muzzleloaders are essentially primitive firearms, and for many hunters and shooters this primitive nature is part of their appeal.
The weapon's decreased effective range requires the hunter to be a more effective stalker. Further, the time it takes to reload a muzzleloader generally means that the hunter gets only a single shot at a target requiring them to be sure of their aim before firing.
There is also polarization in muzzleloading hunting. These hunters generally use in-line caplocks and are always interested in improving on the design without altering the basic loading and shooting characteristics of the firearm. Many of these improvements relate to modernized projectiles that provide improved flight characteristics, modem propellants which provide improved propulsion and ignition and the in-line caplock design which provides for surer ignition.
Because the powder, projectile and percussion cap are separately loaded for each shot and are not subject to mechanical assembly as in a cartridge rifle, muzzleloaders are particularly vulnerable to conditions known as hangfire or misfire where the gun does not discharge immediately upon the trigger being pulled.
A misfire occurs when the gun does not fire at all. A hangfire occurs when the cap or flint successfully flames and sends sparks toward the main charge, but the main charge does not ignite for a few seconds after the trigger is pulled. A hangfire can be particularly problematic because the action of the hammer may startle the intended target, and the gun may discharge later without the intended target in the field of fire.
Further, a hangfire may result in the user positioning the gun unsafely, thinking the gun has misfired, prior to it discharging. Most of these problems result from imperfect operation of the ignition systems. In a cartridge firearm, the ignition system and primary propellant are both encased in the cartridge which allows them to be in direct contact when the gun is fired. Therefore, hangfires are unlikely. In a muzzleloading firearm, there is always some distance that the flame needs to travel to get from the cap or priming pan to the primary propellant.
The travel time of the spark can be undesirably increased if the conditions are wet or if there is powder in the hole which must burn, essentially like a fuse, for the spark to reach the primary propellant. Because of these and other problems in the art, described herein, among other things, are electronic ignition systems which are designed for use with personal firearms utilizing black powder or black powder substitutes such as shotguns, rifles, and pistols.
The terms black powder firearm and muzzleloader are used interchangeably in this disclosure to refer to firearms of the same general type. In particular, to firearms where the propellant charge is not encased in a cartridge with the projectile and ignition material, but where the principal propellant is in contact with the barrel of the firearm.
The electronic ignition systems discussed herein generally provide for a more predictable and reliable ignition of the primary propellant charge in the firearm when the firearm is triggered which helps to improve safety and reliability of the firearm compared to a similar firearm utilizing a propellant cap.
At the same time, the electronic ignition systems described herein do not alter the ballistics of the projectile or dramatically accelerate the reloading time of the firearm. In this way, a black powder hunter can be more certain that his firearm will both discharge safely and discharge when triggered, even in inclement weather, without having to give up the characteristics of a black powder firearm that many hunters particularly seek out.
Described herein, in an embodiment is an electronic ignition system for a firearm, the system comprising: an electrode, the electrode being capable of producing an electric arc; a battery electrically connected to said electrode for providing electricity to said electrode; and a firing switch electrically connected between said battery and said electrode such that when said firing switch is closed said electricity from said battery produces an electric arc from said electrode; wherein said electrode is sized and shaped so that said electric arc contacts a propellant charge in said firearm igniting said propellant charge.
In an embodiment of the electronic ignition system, the system further comprises a capacitor, said capacitor placed between said battery and said firing switch such that said capacitor is charged by said battery and discharges when said firing switch is closed; an arming switch electrically connected between said capacitor and said battery wherein said capacitor cannot charge when said arming switch is open, a safety switch electrically connected between said capacitor and said firing switch wherein said electric arc cannot be generated unless both said firing switch and said safety switch are closed, and an indicator electrically connected to said capacitor, said indicator indicating when said capacitor is charged.
This may be retrofitted into an existing personal firearm or originally manufactured into a new personal firearm. In an embodiment of the electronic ignition system, the firearm is one of: a rifle, a shotgun, or a pistol.
In another embodiment, the electric arc may generated between said electrode and a second electrode, or if there is a breach plug supporting the electrode, between said electrode and said breach plug. In another embodiment, there is described herein, a firearm comprising a barrel; a breach plug; at least two electrodes in said breach plug; a source of electricity electrically connected to said at least two electrodes; and a firing switch electrically connected between said at least two electrodes and said source of electricity such that when said firing switch is closed, an electric arc is created between said at least two electrodes, said electric arc being inside said barrel.
In an embodiment of the firearm, the firearm also comprises a capacitor, said capacitor electrically connected between said source of electricity and said firing switch such that said capacitor is charged by said source of electricity and discharges when said firing switch is closed, an arming switch electrically connected between said capacitor and said source of electricity wherein said capacitor cannot charge when said arming switch is open, a safety switch electrically connected between said capacitor and said firing switch wherein said electric arc cannot be generated unless both said firing switch and said safety switch are closed, and an indicator electrically connected to said capacitor, said indicator indicating when said capacitor is charged.
In another embodiment of the firearm, the firearm further comprises a propellant charge and projectile within said barrel wherein said electric arc ignites said propellant charge and the explosion of said propellant charge expels said projectile from said barrel. In still another embodiment of the firearm, the firearm is a muzzleloader, a rifle, a shotgun, a pistol.
In a yet further embodiment, there is described herein, a firearm comprising: a barrel; means for producing an electric arc in said barrel; and switching means electrically connected to said means for producing said electric arc such that when said switching means is switched from a first state to a second state said electric arc is generated in said barrel. The embodiments of the invention discussed herein are principally shaped and designed for use to replace the firing mechanism of a modem in-line caplock muzzleloading rifle.
However, one of ordinary skill in the art would understand how the electronic ignition systems discussed herein can be used to replace the firing system on a sidelock or flintlock simply by reshaping components. Further, while the ignition system is also principally discussed herein for use on a rifle, the ignition system can be used on a shotgun, pistol, or any other style of personal black powder firearm without undue experimentation.
Still further, while the systems discussed herein are discussed to be retrofitted into an existing in-line caplock rifle replacing the in-line caplock mechanism, this is done simply to show comparison to existing systems and the ignition system will often be built into an originally constructed black powder firearm providing a completely new class of black powder firearm.
In FIG. The electrode is a wire or similar component arranged so that at least a portion of the electrode is unshielded and extends from the front end of the breach plug Electricity may, therefore, pass from the electrode to material in contact with the electrode. Generally, electrical discharge from the electrode will be an electric arc generated between the electrode to the breach plug which acts as an opposing electrode.
The breach plug will be used to replace the existing breach plug on a muzzleloading firearm of the type known to the prior art with the front end placed toward the barrel of the firearm, as shown in FIG. The electrode is electrically connected to wiring toward the rear end of the breach plug The wiring will preferably be insulated so as to decrease the risk of electric shock or short in the system The breach plug is preferably made of metal and can act as a ground for the electrode The wiring is in turn connected to a Printed Circuit Board PCB or other circuit arrangement which comprises a flash circuit An embodiment of a flash circuit which may be used is included as FIG.
The flash circuit will generally be a circuit to allow discharge of a capacitor included within the flash circuit The Flintlock was developed in France around The main difference between the Flintlock and Snaphaunce is that in the Flintlock the striking surface and flashpan cover are all one piece, where in the Snaphaunce they are separate mechanisms.
This made the mechanism simpler and more reliable than its predecessor. This simplicity allowed for more creative gun designs, such as guns with multiple barrels and miniature pistols. The genius behind the flintlock was that the pan containing the priming charge was always closed and therefore more protected from the elements until the hammer containing the flint would fall, opening it, creating sparks and igniting it.
The small flash fire created in the pan would ignite the main charge in the barrel via a flash-hole. Note: It was at the time of the flintlock that rifling inside the barrel was now seen thus ending the era of muskets and musketeers. The guns without rifling were retained for shooting multiple pellets shot at shorter ranges and they were called fowling pieces, or shot guns now shotguns where as rifled guns rifles were used to propel one projectile at a time much further and more accurate do to the spin imparted to the projectile.
The first Percussion Cap ignition system was patented in by Joshua Shaw in Philadelphia, and then further developed in by the Reverend John Forsyth of Aberdeenshire. This firing mechanism is a great step in advancement from its predecessors because it does not use an exposed flashpan to begin the ignition process. The key to this system is the explosive cap which is placed on top of a tube that is attached to the main powder charge in the barrel.
The cap contains fulminate of mercury, a chemical compound which explodes when struck. When the cap is struck by the hammer, the flames from the exploding fulminate of mercury go down the tube, into the gun barrel, and ignite the powder inside the barrel.
This firing mechanism provided a major advance in reliability, since the cap was almost certain to explode when struck. The percussion cap was the key to making reliable rotating block guns revolvers which would fire reliably, and in the early s several manufacturers began producing these multiple shot sidearms in mass quantities.
These are used with traditional blackpowder. Flintlock Muzzleloader: The flintlock muzzleloader evolved in the late s. Flint is secured tightly by the hammer, and pulling the trigger causes the flint to strike the frizzen—the cover of the pan containing the priming powder. The striking opens the frizzen and creates sparks. Black powder is the only type of powder that should be used in muzzleloaders.
Be sure to use only approved substitutes. Pyrodex is less sensitive to ignition than black powder, and uses the same shipping and storage guidelines as smokeless powder. Pyrodex is more energetic per unit of mass than black powder, but it is less dense, and can be substituted at a ratio by volume for black powder in many applications. There are differences, though, and this is where things get a bit convoluted. It is even farther away from black powder by actual weight; grains volumetric equals about They found Pyrodex to be no more corrosive than black powder.
Cleaning of Pyrodex residue is the same as black powder. No petro solvents, only water based or polar solvents. The Cap is what will go bad. If you protect the powder from oil or being inundated with water it will be good for centuries.
However, antique firearms are not exempt from the provisions relating to carrying without a license or possession by prohibited persons. But muzzleloaders are not subject to federal gun control laws because they use antiquated firing mechanisms without modern ammunition, said Max Kingery, chief of the Firearms and Ammunition Technology Criminal Branch of the ATF. In most states, we ship straight to your door! No FFL is required. However, certain muzzleloaders like the Remington and Traditions NitroFire require a form and must be shipped to an FFL dealer.
Unload a muzzleloader by discharging it into a suitable backstop. Do not fire into the air or into the ground at your feet in case the projectile ricochets. Use a CO2 discharger to clear the barrel.
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