DE29917534U1 - Handgun to fire non-lethal agents - Google Patents

Description

Handgun for firing non-lethal weapons

The handgun is designed for single firing of non-lethal weapons. It consists of

• an open launch tube with threaded flange,

• a screw-on end piece that serves as a breech and holder for the ignition device, and into which the handle is screwed,

• a fold-out grip with safety, trigger and firing pin (commercially available part).

The arrangement is dimensioned in such a way that when the prescribed load is used, there is no danger to the shooter even in the event of an explosion of the ammunition in the barrel, i.e. the arrangement withstands the internal barrel pressure generated by the explosion without bursting or external damage.

Different types of ammunition are available for use with this weapon. However, part of the present invention is only ammunition that contains individual bullets filled with irritant, which burst when they hit the body and release their contents in such a way that the irritant in most cases gets into the eye and forces the target person to temporarily close their eyes. The irritant itself is not the subject of this invention.

The ammunition is built into the weapon when delivered. After firing, the weapon can only be reloaded using special tools and ammunition specially designed for this weapon, so that the misuse of discarded, empty weapons can be avoided.

State of the art

Non-lethal agents are usually offered as 37mm or 40mm standard cartridges, which are fired from large-caliber firearms ("gas guns"; Heckler & Koch MZP1 etc.). There are gas, wood, rubber, lead shot bullets ("bean bags") and also a cartridge with a pull-out catch net (Foster-Miller Inc., Waltham / MA, USA.; US Patent No. 5,750,918). There are a number of protective rights for catch nets, e.g. DE 4439762 C1. The applicant himself holds a patent for a catch net with an integrated high-voltage pulse generator (DE 19716527).
A special weapon for firing fishing nets is known from GETEC / Leipzig, which is, however, fundamentally different from the solution proposed here (PCT WO 95/00814).

Problem

A weapon is required from which very large caliber projectiles can be fired, since non-lethal agents generally require considerably more volume

Page 1 All rights reserved.

BST Schutztechnik GmbH · ··.. " J

DASA site Il J * JJ

D-81663 Munich ··· ·«

Tel. +49 89 607-28170 Fax -28107
e-mail: bst.otn@t-online.de
http://www.bst-schutztechnik.de

than conventional ammunition. The lower limit is probably the shotgun caliber 4 (approx. 26mm), although there is currently no non-lethal ammunition for this except for irritants. The calibers 37mm and 40mm are common, the latter being a caliber also used in the military (explosive cartridges).

However, the requested weapon should be much smaller and easier to handle than the weapons of this caliber; instead of the dimensions of a large-caliber shotgun, it should be more like a handgun and should be able to be carried in a holster or on a belt. Furthermore, it should not be able to be reloaded or used by unauthorized persons. This requirement arises from the intended use by the police, who may throw away fired weapons in order to be able to arrest the perpetrator. This means that the weapon should be single-shot and have a special caliber. Furthermore, the design should be as simple as possible for cost reasons.

Solution

The presented hand weapon for firing non-lethal ammunition meets the requirements according to claim 1

• by choosing a special caliber (35mm)

• through built-in ammunition

• through a split design in which the launch tube and the breech face are detachably connected to each other with a screw thread

• by using a simple, commercially available grip from military stocks, the trigger of which can only be pulled once.

Benefits achieved:

The weapon presented allows police and security forces to carry a non-lethal system in a handy, police-standard form and thus avoid counterproductive escalation, which would be unavoidable when carrying heavier weapons (long guns).

The weapon is designed to be much stronger than any other handgun; it is "fireproof" and thus offers optimal protection against ammunition failures. The chosen design also allows the manufacturer to easily clean and recondition the fired weapon, so that replacements can be purchased at lower prices.

The usual practice of throwing away the fired weapon to free up one's hands does not lead to a safety problem, as the weapon can no longer be used by unauthorized persons.

Further design:

The weapon according to claims 1 to 4 is currently used to fire otherwise protected net ammunition. Claims 5 to 8, however, refer to non-net-shaped non-lethal ammunition, which can be built into the weapon in the manner described. They contain drug-filled projectiles which have a thin, brittle or very soft surface and, when they hit the ground or the body,

Page 2 All rights reserved. AILBights Rese[ved.ß 19aäBST.Sciiutzteclviik.GnTj)H

BST Protection Technology GmbH

DASA site

D-81663 Munich

Tel. +49 89 607-28170 Fax -28107

e-mail: bst.otn@t-online.de

http://www.bst-schutztechnik.de

shatter or burst without risk of serious injury and spray the active substance so that it gets into the eyes of the target person. The approved active substances CN, CS and OC can be used (the latter currently - 1999 - only for police use). To eject these projectiles, a special device is required to protect them from the direct effect of the powder gases and thus from destruction in the barrel. This device also fulfils the function of a sabot.

A further improvement relates to the handle used, which releases the trigger in the unfolded position, so that the weapon is unsafe and ready to fire in this state. Re-safety requires the use of both hands (pressing the two locking buttons and folding in the handle), which is disadvantageous from a police tactical point of view. The device proposed in claim 10 does not represent a trigger safety in the conventional sense, but holds the trigger lever in a forward, non-critical position and increases the trigger resistance. Claims 11 and 12 relate to a simple trigger safety with which the task can be solved inexpensively.

Figure 1 shows the unloaded weapon according to claims 1 to 4. (1) the barrel, (2) the bolt and (3) the handle are in the unfolded state.

Figure 2 shows the weapon with irritant ammunition according to claims 5 to 7. (4) are the drug-filled projectiles.

Figure 3 shows a sabot according to claim 8 for the ejection of large-caliber drug pellets. (4) is the drug-filled projectile pellet and (5) the segments of the sabot.

Figure 4 shows a sabot according to claim 9. Here, (6) is the recess for receiving the propellant charge, (7) the film for sealing the propellant charge and (8) the cup reducing the scatter.

Figure 5 shows the handle with the device according to claim 10. Here (9) is the spring which holds the trigger lever in the forward position.

Figure 6 shows the trigger safety according to claim 11. Here (10) is the rotatable ring with thumb lever (11) and safety fork (12).

Figure 7 shows the trigger safety according to claim 12. Here (13) is the snap lever
(in position "safe").

Page 3 All rights reserved. All Rights Reserved.

Claims (12)

1. Handgun for firing non-lethal agents, characterized in that the chamberless handgun is composed of three parts which can be screwed together, whereby a simple, explosion-proof metal tube with an external thread serves as the barrel, an overlapping metal cap with an internal thread serves as the breech block, breech plate and receptacle for the ignition device, and a fold-out handle with trigger and firing pin serves as the grip. 2. Handgun according to claim 1, wherein the breechblock is provided with a recess at the bottom of the threaded hole into which a metal disk is fitted, by means of which, when the grip is screwed in, the ignition means is held in its bore even if excessive internal pressures occur in the barrel during an ammunition explosion. 3. Handgun according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the caliber is selected so that the firing of standard ammunition and thus unauthorized use of the weapon once fired are not possible. 4. Handgun according to claim 1, 2 or 3, with permanently installed ammunition, consisting of a propellant charge and an ammunition body, wherein the ammunition body contains a non-lethal active agent and a device for its appropriate deployment. 5. A handgun with non-lethal ammunition according to claim 4, wherein the non-lethal ammunition contains an active agent in the form of a projectile which is a soft plastic hollow ball filled with an irritant. 6. A handgun with non-lethal ammunition according to claim 4, wherein the non-lethal ammunition contains an active agent in the form of a projectile which is a hollow gelatin ball filled with an irritant. 7. A handgun with non-lethal ammunition according to claim 4, wherein the non-lethal ammunition contains an active agent in the form of a number of projectiles (shot), which are hollow soft plastic or gelatin balls filled with an irritant. 8. Handgun with non-lethal ammunition according to claims 5 or 6, wherein the device for the appropriate application of the non-lethal agent consists of a longitudinally segmented molded piece made of structural foam which encloses the filled hollow ball in a form-fitting manner. 9. Handgun with non-lethal ammunition according to claims 4, 5, 6, 7, wherein the device for the appropriate application of the non-lethal agent consists of a sabot which has a cavity on the bottom side, which can be closed with self-adhesive film, for receiving the propellant charge and a releasably connected cup on the agent side, which gives the agent balls a small scattering angle when fired. 10. Handgun according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the trigger resistance when the grip is unfolded is increased by an inserted leaf spring in order to prevent unintentional pulling. 11. Handgun according to one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the trigger lever is held in the forward, secured position by a fork rotatably mounted on a ring on the breech piece and the safety is released by turning the fork away from the trigger lever when the handle is opened. 12. Handgun according to one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the trigger lever in the "safe" position is held in the front, safe position by a counter-lever attached to the underside of the bolt, which is only allowed one of two possible positions (safe / unsafe) by a spring.