Systems and methods to make safe a firearm

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for the making safe of a firearm. A safety system includes a lock mechanism coupled to an engagement member and a user interface. The engagement member is movably coupled to the firearm and rotatable between an unlock position and a lock position. A contact face of the engagement member is in contact with an outer surface of a distal portion of a breechblock in the lock position and precludes a distal movement of the breechblock. The engagement member is configured to transition between the lock position and the unlock position while remaining movably coupled to the handgun. Movement of the engagement member from the lock position is restricted by the lock mechanism until disengaged via the user interface.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A safety system for a handgun, the handgun having a slide movably coupled to a frame, a longitudinal axis of the handgun is defined by a midline of the slide, the safety system comprising:
 an engagement member movably coupled to the frame, the engagement member being rotatable between an unlock position and a lock position while remaining movably coupled to the frame, the engagement member having a contact face that is in contact with an outer surface of a distal portion of the slide in the lock position, a distal end of a primer actuator of the handgun being maintained spaced apart from a primer activation plane of the handgun by a separation distance in response to the engagement member being in the lock position;   a lock mechanism operably coupled to the engagement member and positioned to restrict a movement of the engagement member from the lock position while the lock mechanism is in an engaged state; and   a user interface operably coupled to the lock mechanism and configured to transition the lock mechanism between the engaged state and a disengaged state.   
     
     
         2 . The safety system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the engagement member is rotatable about a pivot axis that is parallel to the longitudinal axis;   the contact face is at a first lateral location in response to the engagement member being in the lock position and a second lateral location in response to the engagement member being in the unlock position; and   the second lateral location is displaced from the longitudinal axis a greater distance than the first lateral location.   
     
     
         3 . The safety system of  claim 2 , wherein the first lateral location of the contact face is laterally offset from the longitudinal axis when the engagement member is in the lock position. 
     
     
         4 . The safety system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the engagement member is rotatable about a pivot axis that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis;   the pivot axis is laterally displaced from the longitudinal axis;   the contact face is on a plane that is orthogonal to the longitudinal axis on a condition that the engagement member is in the lock position; and   the contact face is configured to traverse an arc of at least 90 degrees on a condition that the engagement member is rotated to the unlock position.   
     
     
         5 . The safety system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the engagement member is rotatable about a pivot axis that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis;   the pivot axis is vertically displaced from the longitudinal axis;   the contact face is at a first longitudinal location when the engagement member is in the lock position and a second longitudinal location when the engagement member is in the unlock position; and   the second longitudinal location is distal to the first longitudinal location.   
     
     
         6 . The safety system of  claim 1 , wherein the engagement member is configured to rotate from the lock position to the unlock position in response to a motive force applied to the engagement member. 
     
     
         7 . The safety system of  claim 6 , further comprising:
 a spring positioned to apply the motive force to the engagement member, the spring having a potential state on a condition that the engagement member is in the lock position and a released state on a condition that the engagement member is in the unlock position.   
     
     
         8 . The safety system of  claim 6 , further comprising:
 an electrical machine positioned to apply the motive force to the engagement member in response to the lock mechanism being transitioned to the disengaged state.   
     
     
         9 . The safety system of  claim 6 , wherein the motive force is applied to the engagement member by a distal movement of the slide of the handgun, the distal movement of the slide being in response to a force exerted on the slide by a recoil spring assembly of the handgun. 
     
     
         10 . The safety system of  claim 9 , wherein the engagement member is shaped such that a force vector resulting from the motive force is non-parallel to the longitudinal axis and produces the rotation of the engagement member. 
     
     
         11 . The safety system of  claim 1 , wherein the lock mechanism further comprises:
 a sear removably coupled to the engagement member on a condition that the engagement member is at the lock position and the sear is at a restrain position, the sear configured to preclude the rotation of the engagement member from the lock position when the sear is coupled to the engagement member, the sear being movable to a release position that permits the rotation of the engagement member from the lock position to the unlock position;   an electrical machine operably coupled to the user interface, the electrical machine being configured to generate a rotational force to transition the lock mechanism from the engaged state to the disengaged state; and   a cam operably coupled to the electrical machine, the cam being positioned to move the sear from the restrain position to the release position in response to the rotational force of the electrical machine.   
     
     
         12 . The safety system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the slide is in a fully-retracted position in response to the engagement member being in the lock position; and   the transition of the lock mechanism to the disengaged state facilitates a distal movement of the slide and chambering of a cartridge to place the handgun in an operational condition.   
     
     
         13 . The safety system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a housing supporting the user interface, the housing including:
 a coupling portion oriented to receive a mounting structure of the handgun, 
 a lock cavity defined by an inner face of the housing, the lock cavity containing at least a portion of the lock mechanism, and 
 an interface orifice oriented to facilitate the operable coupling of the engagement member to the lock mechanism. 
   
     
     
         14 . The safety system of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 a fastener positioned adjacent the coupling portion and oriented to secure the mounting structure of the handgun within the coupling portion, the fastener being at least partially occluded by the engagement member when in the lock position thereby precluding a loosening of the fastener.   
     
     
         15 . The safety system of  claim 1 , wherein the user interface includes at least one of a fingerprint reader, a radio frequency identification reader, a numerical input apparatus, a microphone, a magnetic key, or a mechanical key. 
     
     
         16 . A method of operating a handgun with a safety system, the handgun having a slide movably coupled to a frame, a longitudinal axis of the handgun is defined by a midline of the slide, the safety system being coupled to the frame and including a lock mechanism operably coupled to an engagement member, and a user interface operably coupled to the lock mechanism, the method comprising:
 moving the slide in a proximal direction relative to the frame;   rotating the engagement member from an unlock position to a lock position, the engagement member having a contact face that is in contact with an outer surface of a distal portion of the slide when the engagement member is in the lock position;   restricting a movement of the engagement member from the lock position via the lock mechanism in an engaged state;   maintaining a separation distance between a distal end of a primer actuator of the handgun and a primer activation plane of the handgun via the engagement member in the lock position, the separation distance precluding contact between the primer actuator and a cartridge primer in response to an actuation of a firing mechanism of the handgun;   transitioning the lock mechanism to a disengaged state in response to a user input via the user interface;   rotating, in response to the transition of the lock mechanism to the disengaged state, the engagement member from the lock position to the unlock position;   moving the slide in a distal direction relative to the frame; and   actuating the firing mechanism of the handgun to discharge a cartridge while maintaining the coupling of the safety system to the handgun.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein rotating the engagement member from the lock position to the unlock position includes rotating the engagement member about a pivot axis that is parallel to the longitudinal axis in response to a motive force applied to the engagement member by a spring. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein rotating the engagement member from the lock position to the unlock position includes rotating the engagement member about a pivot axis that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis in response to a motive force applied to the engagement member by a distal movement of the slide of the handgun. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 actuating, after rotating the engagement member from the unlock position to the lock position, a slide release of the handgun to bring the distal portion of the slide into contact with the contact face of the engagement member in the lock position.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 maintaining the coupling of the engagement member to the handgun when the engagement member is in the lock position, the unlock position, and during a transition between the lock position and the unlock position.