The present invention relates to the field of firearms and, more specifically, to safety devices and mechanisms for hunters or persons participating in hunts or on hunting preserve grounds as described in
The main object of the present invention is hunting safety equipment and a hunting safety procedure that increase hunters' safety by reducing the number of accidents caused by "friendly fire" between hunters positioned in the same line of fire, thereby saving a large number lives.
Numerous current studies confirm that ten million shots are fired annually during hunts and on hunting preserve grounds. Therefore, a hunter often has another hunter or stroller in the same line of fire as potential prey, with the associated grave dangers. Another frequent dangerous situation arises when a hunter, thinking he sees prey hiding behind some bushes, shoots and then realises that it was not an animal but rather a hunting companion, with the ensuing fatal consequences. We are constantly hearing in the media about hunting accidents that occur every year for this reason; as a result of these accidents, many hunters are injured in varying degrees, suffering serious after-effects or even losing their life.
At present, the only safety systems for hunting events and hunting preserves available on the market are of the optical type, based on the use of reflective vests, the use of which is already mandatory in some Spanish autonomous communities.
Therefore, the technical problem being raised herein is that current safety systems for hunters and persons participating in hunts or on hunting preserve grounds are ineffective and unsafe systems, as reflective vests, in addition to being useless in certain poor visibility situations, alert the animals of the hunter's presence, allowing them to escape quickly; not to mention the fact that said vests are bothersome and uncomfortable for hunters, who normally prefer not to wear them.
The present invention aims to solve the aforementioned technical problem by providing hunting safety equipment and an operating procedure for said equipment aimed at increasing the personal safety of hunters, persons who are working on and/or strolling through grounds where hunts are held or belonging to hunting preserves, and even of hunting dogs, and reduces "friendly fire" accidents to a minimum, i.e. fire between hunters in the same line of fire, thereby saving a large number of lives.
More specifically, the hunting safety equipment object of the invention is destined for being carried by hunters, hunting dogs and/or persons participating in hunts or on hunting preserve grounds, said hunting safety equipment comprising an emitter device configured to emit electromagnetic signals; a receiver adapted to detect electromagnetic signals emitted by other hunters, hunting dogs and/or persons participating in hunts or on hunting preserve grounds also carrying the hunting safety equipment described herein; and alarm means, preferably acoustic and/or luminous, associated with the receiver device and adapted to become activated and alert the hunter in the event that said receiver device detects an electromagnetic signal emitted by another hunter, warning him that there is another hunter in the direction in which he is pointing his gun, due to which he must abort the shot. The term "another hunter" shall be understood to be a secondary hunter, a person participating in a hunt or strolling through hunting preserve grounds, or even the hunting dogs.
In accordance with the invention, the hunting safety equipment also comprises a GPS global positioning device which allows the hunter to establish his geographic position at all times, while the aforementioned emitter device comprises wireless transmitter means that include the hunter's geographic position (latitude, longitude and altitude) in the electromagnetic signal emitted. Said wireless transmission means can be based on radio frequency (RF) transmission or on the use of the general packet radio service, better known as GPRS. At this point it is advisable to indicate that when reference is made herein to global positioning system (GPS), it should be understood that it can be based on American, Russian (GLONASS) or European (GALILEO) satellites or any other similar system.
Likewise, it has been envisaged that the hunting safety equipment object of the invention will also include a device for estimating the orientation of the hunter's gun, adapted to calculate the direction of the shot, i.e. the direction in which the hunter is pointing his gun at any given time, and preferably coupled to the gun barrel. More specifically, said device for estimating the orientation of the gun comprises at least one device selected from among: an electronic compass, an accelerometer and a gyroscope, in accordance with the requirements and needs of each application and wherethrough it is possible to obtain greater accuracy and precision. However, for the purpose of protecting the physical integrity of companions, strollers or even the dogs that frequently accompany hunters at hunts, it has been envisaged that another version of the hunting safety equipment will only include a GPS device, transmitter and receiver devices and alarm means, without an orientation estimation device.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the emitter device comprises a directional transmitting antenna coupled to the hunter's gun barrel, adapted to emit electromagnetic signals only in the direction of fire, preferably at an angle comprised between ±5° and ±10° with respect to the line of fire, depending on the reach and characteristics of the gun; said emitter device also comprising a multidirectional antenna adapted to emit electromagnetic signals in all directions in the event that the receiver device of a secondary hunter receives electromagnetic signals from a first hunter, indicating that the secondary hunter is being pointed at by the first hunter.
It has been envisaged that said electromagnetic signals emitted will be radio frequency (RF) signals that include information about the hunters and identification data such as their licence plate number, personal identifier, etc., in order to identify the emitter of said signals. However, in relation to said electromagnetic signals emitted, it has been envisaged that these can also be audible or luminous, such as a laser beam, where each hunter must be equipped in this specific case with a vest or fabric especially adapted to detect said light beams. Similarly, for the purpose of protecting companions, strollers and/or hunting dogs, it has been envisaged that a much simpler version of the hunting safety equipment will only include transmitter and receiver devices and alarm means, without a directional emitting antenna.
Further, in accordance with a preferred embodiment, the emitter device comprises a multidirectional antenna adapted to emit electromagnetic signals in all directions, while the receiver device preferably comprises a directional receiving antenna coupled to the hunter's gun barrel, adapted to receive only electromagnetic signals in the gun's direction of fire so that the other signals received by the hunter do not affect his decision as to whether or not to fire the shot. Similarly, in order to protect companions, strollers and/or hunting dogs, it has been envisaged that a simpler version of the hunting safety equipment of the present invention will only include transmitter and receiver devices and alarm means, without a directional receiving antenna.
Additionally, it has been envisaged that the hunting safety device described herein can also comprise means for disabling a gun's trip function in the event that the alarm means become activated, indicating that there is another hunter in a hunter's line of fire.
Likewise, the hunting safety equipment can also comprise data storage means for saving and recording the hunters' identification data, positions, distances, dates, times or miscellaneous information that could aid a possible investigation in the event of an accident.
Lastly, it must be noted that the hunting safety equipment of the present invention is applicable both to hunts and hunting preserves and to State security forces (army, police, etc.), and even to leisure and recreational activities such as paintball.
In order to complement the description being made and with the object of helping to better understand the characteristics of the invention, in accordance with a preferred embodiment thereof, said description is accompanied, as an integral part thereof, by a set of drawings where, in an illustrative and non-limiting manner, the following has been represented:
Following are several examples of preferred embodiments making reference to the foregoing figures, without limiting the scope of protection of the present invention in any way.
In a first preferred embodiment, shown in
In a second preferred embodiment of the hunting safety equipment (1) shown in
Lastly,
In accordance with another object of the invention, following is a description of the operating procedures for each of the three embodiments of the previously described hunting safety equipment (1). According to the first preferred embodiment of the equipment, the operating procedure comprises:
In accordance with the present embodiment, stage a1) is executed by means of a GPS global positioning device (40) and wireless transmission means (14). In turn, stage a2) is executed by at least one device for estimating the orientation (50) of the gun (2) selected from among: an electronic compass, an accelerometer and a gyroscope.
In turn, in accordance with the second preferred embodiment of the equipment, the operating procedure for the hunting safety equipment (1) comprises:
In the present embodiment, stage b1) is executed by means of a directional emitting antenna (12) coupled to the gun (2) barrel, said directional emitting antenna (12) emitting electromagnetic signals (11) at an angle of ±5° with respect to the line of fire, as shown in
Lastly, according to the previously described third preferred embodiment of the equipment, the operating procedure comprises:
In the three aforementioned embodiments, stages a3), b3) and c2) are executed by means of acoustic and/or audible alarm means. Lastly, it should be noted that when reference is made to electromagnetic signals (11) in the three previously described embodiments, it has been envisaged that these can be radio frequency (RF) signals, GPRS signals, ultrasonic signals or a light source.
Also, as mentioned earlier, when the terms "another hunter (3')" or "second hunter (3')" are used, they shall be understood to be equally applicable to the "hunting dogs" that often accompany the hunters (3) and which can be visually confused with potential prey. Therefore, the physical integrity of the dogs is protected by simply coupling the hunting safety equipment (1) of the present invention to the dogs' collars.
This list of references cited by the applicant is for the reader's convenience only. It does not form part of the European patent document. Even though great care has been taken in compiling the references, errors or omissions cannot be excluded and the EPO disclaims all liability in this regard.