Jun 3, 2025

US12320611 - Firearm ammunition availability detection system

A linear encoder may be used to accurately determine a number of cartridges within a magazine. Further, using a set of magnetic sensors within a buffer tube of a firearm, it is possible to determine whether a cartridge is loaded within a chamber of the weapon and/or whether the firearm is jammed. The determination of cartridges within the magazine in conjunction with the determination of whether a cartridge is in a chamber of a firearm can give a user an accurate ammunition count. Further, the use of the linear encoder makes it possible to accurately determine the cartridge count when different cartridges are loaded into the magazine or when the magazine degrades in quality over time. Moreover, the ability for magazines to communicate with a firearm enables a user to determine a total available ammunition to the user in a single display without individually checking each magazine.

Assignee: Maztech Industries, LLC
Inventors: David Michael Masarik, Michael Raymond Masarik, Matthew James Masarik
Filing date: 2024-05-07

firearmammunitiondetectionmagazine

The patent describes a magazine system that utilizes a linear encoder and magnetic sensors to accurately count the number of cartridges in a magazine and determine if a cartridge is loaded in the chamber of a firearm. This technology allows for real-time ammunition availability detection, providing users with a comprehensive ammunition count displayed without the need to check each magazine individually.

Claim 1

A magazine system configured to determine a count of ammunition within the magazine system, the magazine system comprising: a magazine comprising a housing, a follower, a set of sensors, a first magnet, and a second magnet, wherein the magazine is configured to house ammunition; a memory comprising specific computer-executable instructions; and a hardware processor in communication with the memory and configured to execute the specific computer-executable instructions to at least: obtain sensor values from a set of sensors of the magazine; identify a first sensor from the set of sensors associated with a largest value from the sensor values; determine a first magnet location based at least in part on a location of the first sensor; determine a first aggregate value based on a first subset of sensors located on a first side of the first sensor; determine a second aggregate value based on a second subset of sensors located on a second side of the first sensor; determine a second magnet location based at least in part on the first aggregate value and the second aggregate value; generate a centroid data structure based at least in part on a subset of sensors from the set of sensors; determine a position of a follower of the magazine based at least in part on the centroid data structure, the first magnet location, and the second magnet location; and determine the count of the ammunition within the magazine based at least in part on the position of the follower. a magazine comprising a housing, a follower, a set of sensors, a first magnet, and a second magnet, wherein the magazine is configured to house ammunition; a memory comprising specific computer-executable instructions; and a hardware processor in communication with the memory and configured to execute the specific computer-executable instructions to at least: obtain sensor values from a set of sensors of the magazine; identify a first sensor from the set of sensors associated with a largest value from the sensor values; determine a first magnet location based at least in part on a location of the first sensor; determine a first aggregate value based on a first subset of sensors located on a first side of the first sensor; determine a second aggregate value based on a second subset of sensors located on a second side of the first sensor; determine a second magnet location based at least in part on the first aggregate value and the second aggregate value; generate a centroid data structure based at least in part on a subset of sensors from the set of sensors; determine a position of a follower of the magazine based at least in part on the centroid data structure, the first magnet location, and the second magnet location; and determine the count of the ammunition within the magazine based at least in part on the position of the follower. obtain sensor values from a set of sensors of the magazine; identify a first sensor from the set of sensors associated with a largest value from the sensor values; determine a first magnet location based at least in part on a location of the first sensor; determine a first aggregate value based on a first subset of sensors located on a first side of the first sensor; determine a second aggregate value based on a second subset of sensors located on a second side of the first sensor; determine a second magnet location based at least in part on the first aggregate value and the second aggregate value; generate a centroid data structure based at least in part on a subset of sensors from the set of sensors; determine a position of a follower of the magazine based at least in part on the centroid data structure, the first magnet location, and the second magnet location; and determine the count of the ammunition within the magazine based at least in part on the position of the follower.

Google Patents

https://patents.google.com/patent/US12320611

USPTO PDF

https://image-ppubs.uspto.gov/dirsearch-public/print/downloadPdf/12320611