Powering firearm accessories with a false battery

Abstract

Electrically powered firearm mounting rails are designed to provide electrical power to firearm accessories. A power clamp can tap into the rail electrical power and pass it to other items requiring electrical power. Principal among those items are firearm accessories having battery compartments and designed to be powered by batteries. The power clamp can be connected to power terminals in the battery compartment directly through additional circuitry, through modified battery covers, through false batteries, or through dummy batteries. In this manner, the need to install batteries in the firearm accessory is relaxed and the weight balance of the firearm improved.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for supplying electrical power to a firearm accessory wherein the firearm accessory comprises a battery compartment that comprises at least one power terminal, wherein the firearm accessory is designed to obtain electrical power from at least one battery inside the battery compartment and electrically connected directly to the at least one power terminal, and the system comprising:
 a power clamp that clamps onto an electrically powered firearm rail, wherein the power clamp obtains electrical power from the powered firearm rail, and   a means for transferring the electrical power from the power clamp and into the firearm accessory to thereby electrically power the firearm accessory from the power clamp.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the electrically powered firearm rail meets the dimensional specifications of a Picatinny rail and wherein the clamp comprises a rail mount. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the means for transferring the electrical power comprises an insulated wire between the power clamp and the firearm accessory. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the means for transferring the electrical power comprises:
 a battery cover fitting over the battery compartment wherein the battery cover comprises an external power connection and an internal power connection, wherein the external power connection receives the electrical power from the power clamp, and wherein the at least one power terminal receives the electrical power from the internal power connection. 
 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 4  wherein a false battery passes the electrical power between the internal power connection and the at least one power terminal wherein the false battery has the same size and shape as the at least one battery. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 5  wherein the false battery comprises a positive terminal, a negative terminal, and a direct electrical connection between the positive terminal and the negative terminal. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 4  wherein at least one wire passes the electrical power directly between the internal power connection and the at least one power terminal. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1  further comprising a voltage sensor that electrically disconnects the power clamp from the at least one power terminal when at least one battery is installed in the battery compartment. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 8  wherein the battery sensor comprises a voltage sensor. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 8  wherein the battery sensor is not electrically powered. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 8  further comprising a source indicator that indicates where the electrical power reaching the at least one power terminal is coming from. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 1  further comprising a battery sensor that electrically disconnects the power clamp from the at least one power terminal when the at least one battery is installed. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12  wherein the battery sensor comprises a voltage sensor. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 12  wherein the battery sensor is not electrically powered. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 12  further comprising a source indicator that indicates where the electrical power reaching the at least one power terminal is coming from. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the means for transferring the electrical power from the power clamp and into the firearm accessory comprises:
 a false battery having the same size and shape as the battery, wherein the false battery is installed in the battery compartment and wherein the false battery is electrically directly connected to the power clamp by at least one wire. 
 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16  further comprising an expanding seal that seals the false battery within battery compartment. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17  wherein the false battery has a plurality of electrical terminals wherein at least one of the electrical terminals directly contacts at least one of the power terminals to thereby conduct the electrical power between the false battery and the firearm accessory. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 18  wherein the expanding seal comprises a means for electrically connecting another of the at least one electrical terminals to another one of the at least one power terminals. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 19  further comprising power matching circuit wherein the electrically powered firearm rail supplies electrical power that is not compatible with firearm accessory and wherein matching circuit conditions the electrical power to thereby provide the firearm accessory with compatible electrical power.