Mounting systems and methods for positioning a detector on a weapon holster

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11815328-B2
Application number	US-202217861774-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 11, 2022
Priority date	Feb 14, 2017
Publication date	Nov 14, 2023
Grant date	Nov 14, 2023

Abstract

A detector for detecting the removal and/or insertion of a firearm out of and/or into a holster. The detector may transmit a message each time the firearm is removed from the holster. A recording system may receive the message and determine whether or not it will begin recording the data it captures. A detector may detect the change in a magnitude of an inductance and/or an impedance of a circuit to detect insertion and removal of the firearm into and out of the holster. A placement mode may be invoked to determine an optimal mounting location of the detector relative to the holster. The optimal mounting location may be a location of maximum sensitivity of the detector with respect to the weapon and/or a location wherein the measurements obtained via the detector exceed a threshold. The detector may provide indicia corresponding with the optimal mounting location.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method performed by a detector for identifying an acceptable location of the detector with respect to a provided holster for mounting the detector on the provided holster, the detector for detecting at least one of a presence and an absence of a provided weapon in the provided holster, the method comprising:
initiating a placement mode;
while in the placement mode, obtaining measurements via a sensor located within the detector as the detector is moved about a surface of the provided holster;
in accordance with the measurements, determining the acceptable location of the detector with respect to the provided holster; and
indicating the detector is at the acceptable location of the detector with respect to the provided holster, wherein the acceptable location allows the detector to be mounted to the provided holster in a manner that permits the detector to detect the at least one of the presence and the absence of the provided weapon in the provided holster without interfering with removal or operation of the provided weapon.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein obtaining the measurements via the sensor comprises detecting values of one of inductance, impedance, or frequency.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein determining the acceptable location of the detector with respect to the provided holster comprises determining a position at which a value of the values of one of inductance, impedance, or frequency exceeds a threshold.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the acceptable location of the detector with respect to the provided holster comprises determining a position of maximum sensitivity to the provided weapon inserted in the provided holster.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein indicating the detector is at the acceptable location comprises providing indicia via an indicator.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the indicator comprises a visual display, and wherein providing indicia via the indicator comprises displaying the indicia on the visual display.

7. The method of claim 5 , wherein providing indicia via the indicator comprises providing continuous indicia as the detector is moved about the surface of the provided holster.

8. The method of claim 5 , wherein providing indicia via the indicator comprises providing one of tactile, visual, and audible indicia.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein initiating the placement mode comprises:
receiving a first electronic signal from a control; and
responsive to the first electronic signal, initiating the placement mode.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
responsive to receiving a second electronic signal from a control, determining whether the detector is at the acceptable location of the detector with respect to the provided holster; and
in response to determining that the detector is at the acceptable location of the detector with respect to the provided holster, exiting the placement mode.

11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
responsive to receiving a second electronic signal from a control, determining whether the detector is at the acceptable location of the detector with respect to the provided holster; and
in response to determining that the detector is at a nonoptimal location with respect to the provided holster, remaining in the placement mode.

12. A detector comprising:
a sensor circuit;
a memory; and
a processor communicatively coupled to the sensor circuit and the memory, wherein the sensor circuit is configured to detect at least one of a presence or an absence of a provided weapon in a provided holster, and wherein the processor is configured to execute computer-executable instructions stored in the memory to perform operations comprising:
initiating a placement mode;
while in the placement mode, obtaining measurements with the sensor circuit as the detector traverses a surface of the provided holster;
in accordance with the measurements, determining an acceptable location for mounting the detector with respect to the provided holster; and
indicating the detector is at the acceptable location, wherein the acceptable location allows the detector to be mounted to the provided holster in a manner that permits the detector to detect the at least one of the presence or the absence of the provided weapon in the provided holster without interfering with removal or operation of the provided weapon.

13. The detector of claim 12 , further comprising a communication circuit, wherein initiating the placement mode comprises receiving a message communicated to the detector via the communication circuit from a smart phone that includes a touch screen, and wherein the message is communicated to the communication circuit responsive to user interaction with the touch screen of the smart phone.

14. The detector of claim 12 , wherein obtaining the measurements with the sensor circuit comprises detecting values of one of inductance, impedance, or frequency.

15. The detector of claim 14 , wherein determining the acceptable location for mounting the detector with respect to the provided holster comprises determining a position at which a value of the values of one of inductance, impedance, or frequency exceeds a threshold.

16. The detector of claim 12 , further comprising an indicator, and wherein indicating the detector is at the acceptable location comprises providing indicia via the indicator.

17. The detector of claim 16 , wherein providing the indicia via the indicator comprises providing continuous indicia as the detector is moved about the surface of the provided holster, and wherein providing the continuous indicia comprises the indicator fluctuating between a first visual output and a second visual output, and wherein the first visual output and the second visual output comprise different colors, brightness, and/or hues.

18. The detector of claim 16 , wherein providing indicia via the indicator comprises providing visual indicia.

19. The detector of claim 12 , further comprising a communication circuit, wherein the operations further comprise:
while in the placement mode, receiving a signal via the communication circuit in response to a user input received at a remote user input interface; and
exiting the placement mode responsive to receiving the signal.

20. The detector of claim 19 , wherein the operations further comprise:
after exiting the placement mode, entering a calibrate mode, and while in the calibrate mode, determining, with the sensor circuit, a magnitude of an inductance or an impedance that indicates the at least one of the presence or the absence of the provided weapon in the provided holster.

Assignees

• Axon Entpr Inc

Inventors

• Hatcher Jonathan
• Wilson John
• Shekarri Nache
• Tiwari Shlesh
• Sathyanarayan Varun

Classifications

• F41C33/029 Primary

  combined with electronic devices, e.g. GPS · CPC title

• F41C33/04

  Special attachments therefor · CPC title

• F41C33/041

  for connecting a holster to a belt, webbing or other object · CPC title

• G01D5/145

  influenced by the relative movement between the Hall device and magnetic fields (see G01R33/06) · CPC title

• G08B5/22

  using electric transmission; using electromagnetic transmission · CPC title