Simulated shooting device and system

Abstract

A simulated shooting device ( 10 ) comprises a portable body ( 12 ) in the shape of a hunting rifle with a barrel ( 18 ) extending outwardly at an operatively front end ( 20 ) of the device. The device includes a digital camera unit ( 34 ) mounted on the body and activated by a trigger ( 50 ) to take a photograph of a target object at which the barrel and camera unit are pointing when the trigger is pulled, the photograph being stored in a digital memory ( 102 ) in the body for later retrieval and analysis. A recoil mechanism ( 52 ) is provided in the body to generate recoil when the trigger is pulled, and a gunshot emulator ( 54 ) generates the sound of a gunshot. A laser rangefinder ( 40, 42 ) is provided to measure the distance to the target object at the moment the trigger is pulled. Other components are also activated upon pulling of the trigger, including a GPS unit ( 104 ), receiver for a heart rate monitor ( 106 ), wind speed meter ( 108 ), digital magnetic compass ( 110 ) and temperature sensor ( 112 ), so as to store information associated with the photograph on the digital memory for later retrieval and analysis.

1 . A simulated shooting device comprising a portable body in the shape of a firearm with a barrel extending outwardly at an operatively front end of the device, the device including a digital camera unit mounted on the body and activated by a trigger to take a photograph of a target object at which the barrel and camera unit are pointing when the trigger is pulled, the photograph being stored in a digital memory in the body for later retrieval and analysis, and a GPS unit providing an output to record the position of the device onto the digital memory when the trigger is pulled, and to record the movement of the device over a selected time to enable a hunt to be mapped. 
     
     
         2 . A simulated shooting device as claimed in  claim 1  in which the device is in the shape of a hunting rifle with a shoulder stock at an operatively back end of the device and an intermediate portion connecting the shoulder stock and barrel. 
     
     
         3 . A simulated shooting device as claimed in  claim 1  in which the device includes a laser rangefinder mounted on the body or provided integral with the camera unit for measuring the distance to the target object when the trigger is pulled, the measured distance being stored in the digital memory in association with the photograph. 
     
     
         4 . A simulated shooting device as claimed in  claim 1  in which the body includes a gunshot emulator operable to create a sound similar to a gunshot when the trigger is pulled. 
     
     
         5 . A simulated shooting device as claimed in  claim 4  in which the gunshot emulator includes a pin that strikes a firing cap, the pin being actuated by one of: an electric solenoid, a compressed gas canister, or a spring mechanism. 
     
     
         6 . A simulated shooting device as claimed in  claim 4  in which the gunshot emulator includes a speaker or a headphone port for playing a pre-recorded sound of a gunshot to a user. 
     
     
         7 . A simulated shooting device as claimed in  claim 1  in which the device includes a telescopic sight for aiming at the target object and with which the camera unit is integrated, the telescopic sight including an image-splitter for splitting the image received by the sight between an eyepiece of the sight and the camera unit so that the camera unit field of view is the same as the field of view seen by a user through the eyepiece of the telescopic sight. 
     
     
         8 . A simulated shooting device as claimed in  claim 18  in which the recoil mechanism includes a compressed gas canister and a movable piston connected to an abutment head at the operatively back end of the device, the mechanism being operable to exhaust an amount of gas from the canister so as to move the piston and drive the abutment head against a user's shoulder. 
     
     
         9 . (canceled) 
     
     
         10 . A simulated shooting device as claimed in  claim 1  in which the device includes a wind speed meter, a heart rate monitor or heart rate monitor receiver, a digital magnetic compass, and a digital temperature sensor, the device being configured by means of these components to record the instantaneous wind speed, the heart rate of the user, the direction in which the barrel and camera unit are pointing and the ambient temperature onto the digital memory when the trigger is pulled. 
     
     
         11 . A simulated shooting device as claimed in  claim 1  in which an interface is provided on the device which permits one of a number of predefined weapon calibres to be selected by a user. 
     
     
         12 . A simulated shooting device as claimed in  claim 1  any in which the body includes a processor and a display by means of which the photographs can be viewed and selected options displayed, and the body further includes a data transfer port or digital memory slot by means of which the photographs and other data can be downloaded onto a computer for further processing by a software program. 
     
     
         13 . A simulated shooting device as claimed in  claim 12  in which the data downloaded onto the computer includes one or more photographs and, associated with each photograph, a digital file with data representing one or more of: the distance to the target object, the selected weapon calibre, the heart rate, wind speed, compass direction and temperature. 
     
     
         14 . A simulated shooting device as claimed in  claim 13  wherein the software is configured to use the photograph, distance to the target object, selected weapon calibre and pre-programmed bullet trajectory data associated with the selected weapon calibre to compute the drop of a bullet and to indicate the point of impact that an actual bullet would have had on the target object. 
     
     
         15 . A system for simulated shooting comprising a simulated shooting device and an associated software program to be operated on a computer connectable to the device, the device including a body in the shape of a firearm with a barrel extending outwardly at an operatively front end of the device, a digital camera unit mounted on the body and activated by a trigger to take a photograph of a target object at which the barrel and camera unit are pointing when the trigger is pulled and to store the photograph on a digital memory in the body, a laser rangefinder mounted on the body or integral with the camera unit for measuring the distance to the target object when the trigger is pulled and storing the measured distance on the digital memory, and a GPS unit the output of which records the position of the device onto the digital memory when the trigger is pulled, and records the movement of the device over a selected time to enable a hunt to be mapped, the software program being configured to use the photograph and the distance to the target object to compute the expected drop of a bullet and to indicate the point of impact that an actual bullet would have had on the target object. 
     
     
         16 . A system for simulated shooting as claimed in  claim 15  in which the software is configured to indicate the point of impact by overlaying a dot or cross at the appropriate point on the particular photograph, for the software to be configured to identify an animal displayed as the target object, either through a manual identification by the user, or through automatic image recognition, for the software program to be operable to display the point of impact on a skeletal or muscular three-dimensional view of the animal so as to indicate where the point of impact would have been in relation to the animal's vital organs, and for the software to rank the shot as a kill shot, miss shot, limb shot or the like based on the point of impact in relation to the animal's vital organs. 
     
     
         17 . A system for simulated shooting as claimed in  claim 15  in which the software program includes a portal which allows the details of a hunter to be selected and historical details displayed, including one or more of: the heart rate per shot, walking distance per shot, time of day vs. accuracy, preferred calibre weapon, percentage of kill shots as well as information on the location of those shots, percentage of miss shots, and percentage of wounding shots. 
     
     
         18 . A simulated shooting device as claimed in  claim 1  in which a recoil mechanism is provided in the body to generate recoil when the trigger is pulled.