ELECTROSHOCK BULLET, REPLACEABLE BARREL AND CORRESPONDING WEAPON

[0001] The invention is related to wireless non-lethal remote electroshock weapons (RESW) with an electric disabling agent, and for the most part specifically to special means of restraining the actions of offenders during special force operations, in areas with possible civilian presence and for the purposes of self-defense of citizens.

[0002] The electroshock bullet (projectile with electric disabling agent; electric bullet, bullet) TASER XREP of the company TaserInternational (AxonEnterpriseInc.) is chosen as an analog of the bullet of the proposed invention according to the patent [1] and information [2]. At present it is the only mass-produced electroshock bullet in the world. The body of the aforementioned bullet consists of two parts that are connected before and during firing, but may be separated after hitting the target. The larger part of the body contains a power supply source (electric battery or accumulator) and a generator of electric current affecting a biological target (target, biological target, bio-target, offender). The larger part of the body is also equipped with hinged aerodynamic stabilizers (wings) and (or in another version, pointed needles) with which one pole of the generator of the target-disabling electric current is connected. The second pole of the target-disabling electric current generator is connected with an elongated conductor and a strong strap which are connected with sharpened electrodes fixed on the smaller part of the body (bullet head). When firing a bullet from a 12-gauge smoothbore shotgun with a weakened powder charge, the bullet flies to the target. At the same time the aerodynamic stabilizers which are pressed against the body prior to the firing open and aerodynamically stabilize the bullet during flight to the target. When hitting the target the sharpened electrodes of the head stick into the bio-target, and as a result of hitting the target the bullet splits into two parts, with the head remaining stuck to the target and and the larger part of the bullet detaching from the head and hanging on a strap from the body of the bio-target. At the same time, the disabling electric current of the electric current generator, which is switched on when the shot is fired, passes into the body of the bio-target through the current loop between the electrode of the head and the conductive aerodynamic stabilizers or needles of the larger part of the body.

[0003] The patent [1] notes the following: “Without the present invention, electroshock bullets will not be used widely in military, law enforcement or defense applications.” However, the TASER XREP bullets with the patent [1] have not been widely used by law enforcement agencies even in the U.S. territory, and even less in the rest of the world despite the attempts of TaserInternational (AxonEnterpriseInc.) to promote them on the global market. The main disadvantage of the analog consists in the high weight of a large-caliber bullet of 12 gauge (18.53-18.9 mm), which does not allow the use of the bullet at short distances due to the fact that at short distances, at which most non-lethal weapons are mainly used according to statistics, the muzzle energy of the bullet should not exceed the value of 50 Joules, since a larger muzzle energy may cause the so-called “commotio cordis” in the target [3]. At the same time in situations of long-range shooting, to ensure flatness of the trajectory it is required to obtain muzzle energy much higher than 50 Joules. Thus, attempts to use the bullet at short ranges (which inevitably occur in police conflicts with offenders) will result in mechanical injuries up to “commotio cordis”, which is incompatible with the concept of “non-lethal weapons”. The hanging part of the bullet does not always pierce the clothes of the offender with its needles, as the drop energy of the hanging part at the separation of the bullet is not enough to pierce clothes denser than a T-shirt. Moreover, since the needles of the hanging part are not equipped with burrs (which would only increase the force needed to make the needles penetrate the clothes), the hanging part is not wedged into the clothing but instead dangles chaotically along the body of the moving offender outside of the clothing layer, only preventing the contact of the needles with the body of the offender. The no-load voltage of the TASER XREP bullet electric current disabling voltage does not exceed 500V, which is completely insufficient for spark penetration of clothing even when it consists only of a T-shirt worn over a naked body. In addition, the analog bullet has unacceptable cost of use (160$ USA for 1 piece) due to the complexity of the device and the high cost of the target-disabling electric current generator. The bullet has no proven effectiveness at disabling (immobilizing) the bio-target. The media have not published any videos of actual use of the TASER XREP bullet by the police, while there are hundreds of videos of AxonEnterpriseInc. wired stun guns being used. In the only high-profile case of TASER XREP use against an offender since 2011 [4] “Expert: TasernopartinRaoulMoatdeath”, the TASER XREP bullet did not have immobilizing effect on the offender.

[0004] A bullet with electrodes extending from inside the case is selected as the prototype of the electric bullet of the proposed invention according to the patent [5], design according to FIGS. 8A and 8B. The bullet's body contains an electric power source in the form of an electric battery. In or on the surface of the body the electrodes with sharp ends are located. Some bullet designs also utilize a converter of the constant voltage of the power source into an alternating or pulsed voltage. The bullet is fired from a rifled firearm, and upon hitting the bio-target it pierces into it by sharp electrodes located on the bullet body or extended from inside the bullet body by inertial forces. A constant or pulsed electric current from an electric power source passes through the electrodes into the bio-target, which has a disabling (immobilizing) effect on the bio-target. A disadvantage of the prototype bullet of FIGS. 8A and 8B is that between the electrode tips 86 and 86′, inertially embedded in the body of the bio-target by the bullet of the specified 9 mm caliber (see below), only a very small current loop (current path) may be generated, which inevitably causes a respectively weak physiological effect of the current. The current path in the prototype design runs immediately between the electrodes embedded in the body of the bio-target beyond the epidermis in the dermis, and not along the path between the ends of the electrodes embedded in the body of the bio-target. Since the thickness of the epidermis is from 0.1 mm to 2 mm (1 mm on average), the current path between the electrodes embedded in the nerve-dense dermis of the bio-target will be only about 9-10 mm, and thus the possible distance between the tips of the bendable electrodes 88 and 88′ does not matter. The patent [5] specifies the “standard 9 mm cartridge” as one used for the proposed electroshock bullets, i.e. the most common 9×19 Para (9 mm NATO) 9 mm caliber cartridge (standard 9 mm cartridge; standard firearm) with the weight of a standard bullet of 6.0-9.5 g (average of 7.75 g). A bullet in (FIGS. 8A and 8B) with the indication of “standard 9 mm cartridge” and the drawing of a standard pistol cartridge case may have a weight similar to a standard pistol bullet due to the known and significant weight of the known types of power sources (battery) included in the bullet. The muzzle energy of the bullet exceeds 50 Joules at a velocity as small as 115 m/s and at bullet weight of 7.75 g. At the same time the energy of the bullet impact equal to or exceeding 50 Joules to the heart area of a bio-target causes “commotio cordis” [5]. The specific energy of a 9 mm caliber bullet with a muzzle energy of 50 Joules is equal to 0.781 J/mm2, which exceeds the permissible specific energy of 0.5 J/mm2 accepted as the specific energy of projectiles unlikely to cause severe mechanical injuries. Thus, based on the criterion of permissible specific energy of projectiles unlikely to cause severe mechanical injuries, the velocity of a bullet weighing 7.75 g cannot exceed 90 m/s. The bullet electrode [5] (FIGS. 8A and 8B) with a length of 25 mm and a diameter of 0.8 mm (which is the standard diameter of RESW electrode needles) has a weight of only about 0.1 g, and the impulse of an electrode weighing 0.1 g at an impact velocity of 90 m/s would be only 0.0009 kg. m/s. At the same time the shock absorber 94 located in the bullet head is flattened against the target, pressing onto the extending electrodes due to friction against the shock absorber under load, which further reduces the impulse of electrode extension. At such a negligible impulse and with also taking into account the friction of the electrodes in the oblique channels, the penetration of the electrode into the bio-target to a length of at least 5-10 mm seems practically impossible. Mentioned in [5] with respect to FIGS. 8A and 8B the allegedly achievable distance between the needle tips (after impact (of the bullet into the target) of “one to two inches” is not achievable at all, both due to the lack of electrode impulse for penetration and because it is simply physically impossible to accommodate electrodes extending 25-50 mm apart in a standard 9×19 Para pistol cartridge with a total length (together with the bullet) of 29.7 mm. The specified in the patent cone-shaped connectors 85 and 85′ cannot be securely fixed in the rings 84 and 84′, as the calculated electrode impulse is not sufficient even for full penetration into the bio-target and, correspondingly, even less sufficient for wedging and fixation of the connectors 85 and 85′ in the rings 84 84′. Mentioned in [5] with respect to FIGS. 8A and 8B, the allegedly achievable distance between the needle tips (after impact (of the bullet into the target) of “one to two inches” is entirely unachievable due to the fact that in a standard pistol cartridge (see below) with a total length (together with the bullet) of 29.7 mm it is physically impossible to place the electrode extending to a distance between them of 25-50 mm. The shock absorber mentioned in the patent [5] 94 cannot work at all, as upon impact with the target its expansion with absorption of energy is prevented by the body 90, and thus the shock absorber 94, being compressed in the bullet body 90 and unable to expand to the sides to increase the impact area, increases its density and presses onto the electrode tips 86 and 86′, slowing the exit of the electrodes from the bullet body and further reducing the possibility of penetration into the body of the bio-target. In this case, the front sharp edge of the bullet body 90 will inevitably cause a circular cutting or crushing injury to the biological tissues of the target body. If the bullet caliber (and hence its weight) is increased, to achieve the obligatory condition for non-lethal weapons of impossibility of “commotio cordis” or of exceeding of safe specific energy of 0.5 J/mm2, bullet velocity should be even less than 90 m/s, which reduces the degree of possibility of inertial introduction of electrode into bio-target through a layer of clothes, especially through dense or leather ones.

[0005] The disadvantage of the prototype bullet of FIGS. 8A and 8B is also that it cannot utilize the biologically effective on-target circuitry solution of FIG. 9 [5] due to the fact that in FIGS. 8A and 8B the battery or accumulator volume 100 together with the storage capacitor 104 and arrester 106 should occupy no more than ¼ of the volume of the cartridge case (as with battery shown in 80) due to the fact that 2/4 of the volume of the cartridge case is used just to accommodate the retracted electrode and another ¼ is occupied by the volume of the powder charge. With such a small ratio of the volume of the bullet with the electronic disabling part (mainly the volume of the power supply (battery) to the total volume of the standard 9×19 Para pistol cartridge, it is impossible to obtain the physiological effect on the target indicated in the patent [5] even with a large current loop, which as indicated above is rather small (only 9-10 mm).

[0006] The total internal volume of the 9×19 Para cartridge together with bullet is about 2 cm3. The energy source (battery) of the bullet according to FIGS. 8A and 8B occupies about 1/10 of the cartridge volume, i.e., 0.2 cm3 (0.0002 L). At the energy density of the modern lithium batteries and accumulators of about 800 W·h/L (or about 250 W·h/kg), the amount of electricity contained in a 0.0002 L battery would be 0.16 W·h. At a voltage of 15V provided by the power source and specified in [5] as the minimum voltage for bio-target containment, the battery capacity shall be 10 mAh. At the permissible short-term discharge current for lithium batteries of 50 C, a battery of the specified capacity with a small surface area of anode and cathode may provide a current of 0.5 A for 1-2 s, after which the current will sharply decrease and will not be sufficient for the task of delivering an electric shock to the bio-target. However, a current of 0.5 A at the initial maximum battery potential of 15V specified in the patent is not possible at all at the generally accepted bio-target resistance of 1000 Ohms [6], and may be only from 15 mA to a maximum of 25 mA, which at a negligible current loop and negligible voltage of 15V on the load cannot have an effective physiological effect or be able to cause even the initial stopping of the target, least of all immobilization of the target (which has already been proven in practice during laboratory tests meant to bring the alleged invention to the necessary efficiency of physiological effect (immobilization with impossibility of movement) by human tests). The value of disabling current of commercial stun guns of 3 mA specified in the patent is not at all convincing, as such value of current has physiological effect only at pulses on a load of 1000 Ohms in the range of 1500-2000V, both completely unachievable at the specified current strength (i.e. bullet output power of as much as 4.5-6 W, which is an indicator of output power of oversized stun guns, including police stun guns [7], with powerful power supply sources and corresponding output power. The circuit of FIG. 5 is absolutely inapplicable in a 9 mm caliber bullet due to the physical impossibility of obtaining an at least somewhat acceptable output power for target engagement when using a step-up transformer and then a Latour-Delon-Greinacher voltage multiplier due to losses on the transformer and the multiplier itself. The domestic industry does not produce electronic components (transformers with sufficient power and transformation ratio and voltage multipliers) with dimensions that would fit in a 9 mm bullet, and electronic components of similar dimensions produced by foreign countries for aerospace industry are currently under sanctions.

[0007] The disadvantage of the prototype bullet according to FIGS. 8A and 8B is also that, when the bullet is energized by acceleration, it is possible that the bullet's electrical circuitry may be energized by impacts of the cartridge with the bullet if dropped, for example, when loading, carrying cartridges in weapons or magazines, etc. The patent [5] does not provide known specific designs of electrical switches acting with acceleration in the dimensions of bullets of 9 mm caliber with bullet body filling and other electronic components and power supply. In this case, even if at unsanctioned switching on of the switch of undescribed design the bullet electrode will not be closed by bio-target, the discharge of the power supply source is inevitable due to current leakages in bullet capacitors continuing up to complete discharge of the power supply source at long-term storage.

[0008] In the section of analysis of the analogs (Shimizu devices) the patent [5] states that “the above-mentioned devices are not particularly effective, which can be confirmed by the fact that none of them has been very successful on the commercial market”. The patent [5] belonging to TaserInternational (AxonEnterpriseInc.), similarly to Shimizu device, has not had any success on the commercial market (although the mentioned company, the world's leading company in electroshock weapons, had and still has all the possibilities of both technical realization of the patent [5] and all the possibilities of commercial introduction on the global market), which can serve as a decisive proof of impossibility to obtain any effectiveness of electroshock bullet according to the patent [5]. Even prototypes of such a bullet are unknown.

[0009] The bullet of the patent [8] can also be accepted as an analog or a remote prototype of the electric bullet of the proposed invention. The bullet consists of a body, an electric power source, a switch, a converter of constant voltage of an electric power source into alternating or pulse voltage, needle electrodes, with the difference that inside the body there is a battery consisting mainly of thin-film micro galvanic elements, accumulators or supercapacitors with separate elements made mainly in the form of a disk with a hole in the axis of the disk or a battery in the form of a plurality of cylinders with separate galvanic elements placed inside radially around the axis of the body. Another element is an axial conductive needle with an electrically insulating coating along the length of the needle and an uncoated front end and an inertial or pyrotechnic device for extending the needle outside the bullet body when the bullet is fired, or upon target impact. The bullet has the switch mainly of the inertia-rotational type whose action has been described. The bullet has an original mechanism for producing a large current loop in the target at a small bullet caliber. According to the patent, the bullet has a caliber of 9 mm and the dimensions that allow to use it instead of kinetic energy kill bullets in a standard 9×19 Para (9 mm NATO) cartridge. The main disadvantage of this bullet is the complete impossibility to produce it in the Russian Federation, as the Russian industry, due to its slowed technological progress, cannot produce thin-film micro galvanic cells, accumulators or supercapacitors with separate elements made mainly in the form of a disk with a hole in the axis of the disk or conventional cylindrical micro batteries with the necessary overall dimensions. The industry of the Russian Federation does not produce the necessary micro-sized SMD electronic components of the prototype either. Although the industry of foreign countries produces some of the specified types of power supply sources, they are not in the form factor or with dimensions that would allow to use it in the pool of the patent. Production of such special elements requires expensive R&D of such elements and complete replacement of existing equipment of power supply elements manufacturers' plants. At the same time, it is fundamentally impossible for the Russian Federation to place such special orders of high-tech power supply sources abroad under international sanctions in the field of high technologies, as they can be used in dual-technology products, for example, in programmed detonation munitions. Besides, it is technologically impossible or commercially (financially) inexpedient to produce other microelements of bullet design under the patent in the Russian Federation as well, which is proved by the attempts of RTEKH-NO LLC to place such orders at domestic enterprises. The cost of one bullet at the pricing of domestic enterprises is absolutely unacceptable for the consumer even with the help of government orders, but at the same time electric bullets are extremely demanded in the security services as they represent a new level of innovation that allows to step away from the currently existing wire technologies of electric target-disabling while increasing the range and allowing for multi-loading of RESW. The achievable accuracy of domestic processing equipment simply does not meet the requirements of execution of micro-mechanical elements of the bullet. All electric bullets given as analogues and prototypes belong to the high-tech products (electronics, defense technologies and wireless technologies of electric energy transmission) and high-precision mechanics due to the necessity of miniaturization of electronics of disabling electric current generation and technologies of execution of precise design parts exposed to high accelerations during the firing.

[0010] The 12-gauge hunting cartridge for firing the TASER XREP electric bullets is presented as an analog of the interchangeable barrel according to the proposed invention. The cartridge has a standard 12-gauge cartridge case with a percussion cap wad and a powder charge. The TASER XREP bullet is placed inside the cartridge case on top of the wad. The cartridge is designed for firing electric bullets from Mossberg special long-barreled smoothbore shotgun Taser X12 LLS [10]. The disadvantages of the cartridge are that it can be used only for weapons with a cartridge chamber withstanding the pressure of powder gases upon firing and cannot be used for multi-loading handguns in the dimensions of classical semi-automatic pistols or revolvers due to its large dimensions. An 18×45 mm caliber cartridge of A+A Company (Russia) [11] with a plastic cartridge case and a semi-metallic bottom can be presented as an analog of the interchangeable barrel according to the proposed invention. The cartridge is designed for firing a traumatic (rubberized with metal core) bullet from a pistol-type short-barreled self-defense weapon. The cartridge case has rifling on the inner surface of the cartridge case cavity. The case of the A+A cartridge is simply a reinforced Engel cartridge case. The source of the firing energy is an electric percussion cap with an additional powder charge. The cartridge has a complex composite device consisting of polymer and metal parts inside and outside the cartridge case. The peak pressure of the powder gases of the projectile is not absorbed by the polymer cartridge case, but rather by the metal power shell which is part of the cartridge case. It is impossible to fire a cartridge without the metal casing due to the inability of the polymer cartridge case to withstand the peak pressure of the propellant gases during firing without destroying it. At the same time, the cartridge is used in tubeless self-defense weapons which always have sighting devices that are separate from the cartridge in the form of a front sight and rear sight, a sighting bar or a laser designator, which is a device with the possibility of failure to fire, which is unacceptable, and the cartridge in all variants of use is placed either in the part of the weapon imitating the chamber, or in the magazine. The disadvantage of the cartridge is that the cartridge requires the use of a weapon that has a cartridge chamber or magazine and therefore is more complex in production, and at the same time the cartridge has an additional thickness of its own power walls of the chamber or magazine and therefore increases the thickness of the weapon, which primarily determines the concealability and convenience of carrying. Thickness of the weapon for 18×45 mm A+A cartridge is equal to: in “PB 2 Egida” 27.2 mm; in PB-4 “Osa” 39 mm; in “Kordon” 25 mm.

[0011] Other analogs, both in the design of the interchangeable barrel and in the design of the weapon for the use of such barrels according to the proposed invention, are chosen to be barrels separable from the weapon and the weapons themselves, such as the revolver “MarietteBrevetePepperbox”, pistols “HarmonicaPistol”; “SchülerReformpistol”; “TommaReformpistole”; “Jones”. The disadvantage of the “MarietteBrevetePepperbox” barrels is that to load the revolver, the barrels in the screwed-in state, being the cylinder itself, were unscrewed from the rotating initiating (percussion cap) part of the revolver, which was placed in the frame of the weapon with a special key. Loading and reloading of the revolver in this way was long and cumbersome, and loading was done not by cartridges but, similarly to the muzzle-loading weapons, by pouring powder into the barrels, loading bullets through the wad, screwing the barrels and putting percussion caps on all barrels of the percussion cap part. The disadvantage of the HarmonicaPistol separable barrels is that the single block of interchangeable (detachable) barrels, equipped with pinfire cartridges, moves horizontally, which increases the size of the weapon (thickness) to the point that it is impossible to carry it at all times, and the loading and reloading of the block of barrels is possible only after all charges are used up. Neither the gun nor the barrels have any sighting devices. The “SchülerReformpistol” had the advantage of the smallest thickness of any semi-automatic pistol until D. M. Browning's invention of the “Browning M1906” semi-automatic pistol. The disadvantage of the “Schüler Reformpistol” is that it is impossible to increase the caliber of the gun above the caliber 0.25 (6.35 mm) as it increases the size of the gun both in thickness and in height due to the upward extension of the barrel block when firing, which increases the recoil shoulder to the point of impossibility of aiming cartridges with more energy than a cartridge of a caliber (and consequently size) equal to the 0.25 ACP. The disadvantages of pistols with a unitary cartridge of central ignition of a detachable barrel block that did not move either horizontally or vertically when fired, such as “TommaReformpistole”, “Jones”, etc., also consisted in their large width and correspondingly large weight when their caliber was over 0.25 ACP. The closest analog to the proposed invention is the “TommaReformpistole” pistol and its analogs, which were produced as four-shot and three-shot pistols. Among their advantages is their small width (but only in caliber of 0.25 ACP), i.e. the weapon is convenient for carrying, and their detachable barrel block that is fixed in place during shots, which improves aiming and reduces the recoil shoulder. Its disadvantages consist of the complete absence of sighting aids, the complicated and labor-intensive process of manufacturing a mechanical trigger mechanism which ensures the possibility of initiating all cartridge percussion caps in sequence, and the impossibility to use cartridges of caliber higher than the specified one because of the gun dimensions. In general, the barrel blocks of all of the above-mentioned guns, due to being made of steel (i.e. being heavy), were effectively not replaceable but rather only detachable; they also were loaded with unitary cartridges, not muzzle-loading ones, and were never equipped with replaceable or spare barrel blocks. After the introduction of the “Browning M1906” pistol and its clones, the production of all of the above designs stopped. Due to the impossibility of manufacturing electric bullets of a caliber less than 9 mm, and the effective impossibility of manufacturing electric bullets of caliber of 9 mm by domestic industry as well, the caliber of the used electric bullets must be obviously larger than 9 mm, and in this case the dimensions of all the above-described weapon analogs become unacceptable for comfortable constant carrying.

[0012] Prototypes of the proposed interchangeable barrels and weapons, that is, hand-held short-barreled weapons designed for firing electric bullets of specific and obviously workable designs, or samples of working short-barreled weapons with electric bullets, have not been found through patent search or other methods of information search.

[0013] The technical problem solved by the proposed group of inventions consists in the expansion of the arsenal of remote electroshock weapons and the simultaneous extension of their functional capabilities, as well as in the possibility of production without the use of scarce imported components and high-precision technological equipment.

[0014] The technical result is to realize the purpose of wireless remote electroshock weapon by creating a hand-held short-barreled weapon with interchangeable barrels for electric bullets, designed for firing electric bullets, as well as to ensure the non-retrievability of the electric bullet by the offender until it serves its purpose, the impossibility of false activation of the electric bullet as a result of accidental acceleration, the possibility of disabling the electric bullet to prevent unnecessary suffering of the offender, and the availability of its production without the use of highly scarce imported components and high-precision technological equipment.

[0015] The specified technical results are achieved by the fact that the body of the electroshock bullet is made in the form of a hollow cylinder. On the surface of the bullet body certain elements are installed, such as obturating elements; protective electrodes that are made of electrically conductive material in the form of straight or wrap around strips or annular strips or annular ridges; electrode-devices for fixing the bullet on the target; a switch containing the first contact of the switch located on the end of the body and functionally connected to the generator on the outer end of the body, and the second contact of the switch, located inside the body with an outlet on the outer end of the body functionally connected to the electrochemical source of electrical energy installed inside the body. At the same time the body contains an elastic element made with the possibility of compensating for contact fault between the specified generator of the target-disabling electric current, the electrochemical source of electrical energy, and the second contact of the switch, wherein said generator of the target-disabling electric current contains contacts made with the possibility of interaction with the electrode-devices for fixing the bullet on the target.

[0016] An additional feature is that the first contact of the switch is push-acting.

[0017] An additional feature is that the second contact of the switch is movable.

[0018] An additional feature is that the body is detachable.

[0019] An additional feature is that the generator of the target-disabling electric current has a shutdown timer.

[0020] An additional feature is that between the first and second contacts there is a weight-insulator with the possibility of removing it from the contact pair.

[0021] An additional feature is that the first contact of the switch is made of an adhesive material with an electrically conductive element, or is an electrically conductive elastic element that is mechanically unstable in the axial direction.

[0022] An additional feature is that it also contains a weight in a case made of electrically insulating material with the possibility of longitudinal movement, connected to the elongated electrode-devices for fixing the bullet on the target.

[0023] Interchangeable barrel for firing electroshock bullets contains a barrel body with high-and low-pressure chambers connected by a transition part and placed in the high-pressure chamber of the initiating-firing device, while the rifled low-pressure chamber is made with the possibility of placing an electroshock bullet in it.

[0024] An additional feature is that the initiating-firing device is made with the capability of low-voltage, high-voltage or impact ignition and creating a pressure pulse for firing electroshock bullets with a muzzle energy sufficient to deliver the electroshock bullet to a target and attach it thereto.

[0025] An additional feature is that a resilient or elastic sealing element is arranged between the high-pressure chamber and the low-pressure chamber.

[0026] An additional feature is that the muzzle-loading barrel body contains an electrode, a portion of which extends to an outer surface of the barrel body and another portion of which is adjacent, directly or with a gap, to the high-voltage ignition initiating-firing device.

[0027] An additional feature is that at least one gas discharge port is provided between the high-pressure chamber and the low-pressure chamber.

[0028] An additional feature is that the barrel body is provided with a front sight, and a barrel cutout is provided on a portion of the barrel diametrically opposite the front sight.

[0029] An additional feature is that the barrel body includes recesses or protrusions for inserting said barrel body into reciprocal protrusions or recesses of the interchangeable barrel locking device of the weapon.

[0030] A corresponding weapon for interchangeable barrels for firing electroshock bullets is comprised of a body, a mechanical percussion trigger, or an electric low-voltage or high-voltage trigger, a hinged or permanent interchangeable barrel retention device.

[0031] An additional feature is that said high-voltage trigger mechanism comprises a piezoelectric generator cooperating with a trigger or a key.

[0032] An additional feature is that it contains a laser designator and a laser designator switch.

[0033] An additional feature is that said hinged interchangeable barrel locking device is made with horizontal or vertical pivoting capability.

[0034] An additional feature is that said hinged interchangeable barrel locking device is locked in a fixed position on the weapon by means of a spring-loaded locking button.

[0035] An additional feature is that said permanent interchangeable barrel locking device has an interchangeable barrel slide.

[0052] FIG. 1. Views and section of the bullet before firing. Bullet body 1 with prefabricated rifling protrusions on the body, head 2, electrode-devices for fixing the bullet on the target 3 (needles with burrs) fixed on a movable insulating ring-shaped pad 4, protective electrodes 5, assembly of disk power supply elements 6 (watch batteries type), electrical insulating tube 7, centralizer 8, elastic element 9 of power supply elements, needle contact 10, membrane contact 11, board 12 of generator of the target-disabling electric current (internal device not shown), spring 13 of electrode extension, balls 14 of locks. The head 2 is connected to the body by pressing, by a ring-lock (projection-hollow) connection, by threaded connection or by gluing.

[0053] Protective electrodes 5 may be arranged as straight or wrap around strips or annular strips or annular ridges (crown-shaped rings with protrusions) running along the outer surface of the electric bullet and made of adhesive metallic foil or metallization. The number of disk power supply elements determines the output disabling voltage of the generator of the pulse electric target-disabling current voltage, which in the proposed bullet reaches 300V. The elastic element 9 can be made as a twisted cylindrical spring, or a disk or membrane spring. It can be installed (loaded) both onto the front pole of the assembly of disk power supply elements 6 and onto the rear pole as well as between disk power supply elements. The main purpose of the elastic element 9 is to compensate for possible disruption of the contact between the generator of the target-disabling electric current and the power supply source during its alternating shear displacements as a result of bullet accelerations during firing and impact of the bullet against the target. An additional purpose is to provide the springiness of the contact 28 of FIG. 7 (see below).

[0054] The spring 13 has bent retaining portions at its ends, one rear portion 15 securing the spring against rotation in the body by inserting the rear portion into a recess in the rear end face of the body cavity, and the front portion 16 serving to secure the spring in the position of the fully extended electrodes 3 in the opening 17 or internal sub-insertion of the body. The bullet is located in the cartridge or barrel before being fired with the compressed spring 13 (with the electrode 3 pushed inside the body cavity) fixed by the pad 4 resting on balls 14 pushed inside the body when the bullet was being placed in the barrel or interchangeable barrel (description of interchangeable barrel with a bullet of this design in FIG. 12). In this case, the front retaining part 16 is pressed inside the first front coil of the spring. In case of the device without a hole 17 but with an internal cavity (internal ring groove in the body cavity), the front coil of the spring has a larger (bent) coil compared to the larger part of the spring, which is compressed when the spring is wound up and falls into the cavity of the body when the spring is unclamped, thereby securing the spring from recompression.

[0055] The membrane contact 11 is a flat membrane made of metallic adhesive foil, with the adhesive layer facing the needle contact 10 but not touching it. The adhesive layer consists of a non-drying adhesive. In one of the designs, the contact 11 has a center with a diameter of 2-3 mm with the adhesive layer removed, and in another design, the adhesive layer is covered by an electrically conductive track 18 running to the center of the membrane made of metallic adhesive foil, with its adhesive layer facing the adhesive layer of the membrane. The diameter of the contact 11 can be perforated with small holes. A connecting conductor between the second power supply contact of the generator board and the membrane contact 11 with the adhesive layer removed in the center is electrically connected to the membrane. The connecting conductor between the second power supply contact of the generator board and the membrane contact 11 with the covering conductive track 18 is electrically coupled to the track. The connecting conductor between the second power supply contact of the board of the generator of the target-disabling electric current and the second contact of the switch may be laid in the form of a track or conductor along the inner forming cavity of the bullet, or outside the bullet body with a separating film insulation between the connecting conductor and the protective electrodes.

[0056] FIG. 2. View and section of the bullet after firing. When the bullet is fired from the barrel device (is shot), the pressure of hot gases of the pyrotechnic firing charge or cold gas of the pneumatic weapon impacts the wad in front of the membrane contact 11 or directly the membrane contact 11. The pressure transmitted from the gases by the wad or directly by the gas, the membrane contact 11 is pressed into the recess of the rear end of the bullet, with its glue-less center (which can serve as an insulator worsening the contact) pierced by the needle contact 10 which is rigidly fixed, for example, by glue or tight fit in the rear end of the bullet cavity. In this case, the membrane contact is glued to the surface of the recess of the rear end of the bullet that does not give the possibility of disconnection of the membrane contact 11 with the contact 10 during the shaking of the bullet (reverse accelerations due to the elasticity of the clothing and the body of the target) at the moment of target impact. Perforations of the membrane along its diameter facilitate air escape from under the membrane during its high-speed pushing into the recess of the bullet face and better settling into the recess with adhesion to it. Membrane contact 11 with covering conductive track 18 works in a similar way, but in this design, there is no need for non-technological release of the center of the membrane from the adhesive layer, and the membrane contact can be made not of metal foil but rather of adhesive polymer film. When the contact 11 is pierced by contact 10, the power supply of the generator of target-disabling electric current is closed and the generator begins to feed potentials of impulses of disabling current to the movable electrodes 3 contacting with the output contacts of the board of the generator of target-disabling electric current 12. The bullet accelerates along the rifling of the barrel channel, interacting with the rifling with its own prefabricated rifling or, in another version, with the driving band, which can be part of the body or a separate part mounted on the body similar to the driving bands of artillery shells. When the bullet leaves the barrel, the balls 14 are released and pushed out of the bullet body behind the muzzle by centrifugal forces and by the ejection force of the pad 4 under the action of the unclamping force of the spring 13 being released. The spring 13 opens and moves the pad 4 with the electrodes 3 attached thereto to extend the electrodes 3 out of the bullet body. When the pad 4 reaches the stop in the board 12, the front part 16 of the spring bending gets into the hole 17, fixing the spring from reverse compression upon the electrodes 3 target impact and the force of piercing the clothing and body of the target with a corresponding reduction in the distance of introduction of the electrodes 3 into the clothing and body of the offender. In another design of the fixation, the front coil of the spring is fixed in the inner subcavity of the bullet body. The bullet is fixed to the target and transmits the electric current of the target-disabling current generator to the target, resulting in immobilization of the target. The principle of operation of the protective electrodes 5 is considered at the end of the description of all figures of the bullet design.

[0057] FIG. 3. View and section of the bullet before firing. In another design the bullet device differs from that described in FIG. 1. and FIG. 2 in that on the cylindrical body 19 bullet does not have holes 14 and holes 17, spring 13, balls 14, movable insulating ring-shaped pad 4. Instead of the expanding spring 13, an inertial load 20 with electrode devices fixed therein for fixing the bullet on the target 3 moves in the cavity of the body along the tube 7. The load 20 consists of two parts separated by a glued insulating pad or adhesive layer 21. In another design, the load may move along longitudinal guides of the body cavity to avoid bending the electrodes 3 by centrifugal forces when firing. The load may be separate for each of the electrodes 3 and in this case is not separated by the insulating gasket 20, but rather moves between the longitudinal ridges of the body cavity protruding into the cavity, with their tops reaching the tube 7.

[0058] FIG. 4. View and section of the bullet after firing. The operation of the membrane switch bullet is not different from that described in FIG. 2. After target impact and sharp braking on the target, the load 20 with the electrode 3 is moved forward under the action of inertial forces. At that, due to the inertia force of the load 20, the electrodes 3 pierce the clothing and penetrate the target body. At the same time, due to the much greater mass of the load 20 encompassing the tube 7 (in a specific design for tungsten 6.5 g, for lead 3.6 g) resulting from the bullet structure compared to the mass of the inertial needles of the bullets of the first and second prototype, the impulse of penetration of the electrodes 3 into the target will be 0.156 kg. m/sec. at an average speed of the bullet target impact of only 24 m/sec for a short-barreled weapon. The impulse of penetration of two electrodes of the proposed bullet design is 86 times more than that of two electrodes of the first prototype, which is more than enough for introduction of electrodes into the body even through dense leather clothing. The bullet is fixed to the target and transmits the electric current of the target-disabling current generator to the target, resulting in immobilization of the target.

[0059] In both of the above described bullet designs, reliable electrical contact between the sliding electrodes 3 and the output contacts of the generator of the target-disabling electric current on the board 12, unlike the prototype of the patent [5], is achieved by the force of extension of the electrodes 3 either by the force of the spring 13 or of the load 20, which makes it possible to arrange sliding contact places with sufficient forces of elastic pressing of the electrodes 3 to the contacts of the board 12.

[0060] FIG. 5. View and section of the bullet before firing. The low-budget version of the bullet has a body 22, membrane contact 23 is an unstable in the axial direction elastic membrane made of low-oxidizing metal, with its concave side facing the contact 24 but not touching it. The contact 24 has the possibility of longitudinal movement in the body cavity of the bullet, similar to the assembly of disk power supply elements 6 loaded with an elastic element 9. In this design, the bullet has the electrodes 3 permanently extended and obliquely positioned at the angle of travel of the rifling in the barrel cartridge or gun barrel. Bullets with retractable electrodes 3 will always be more expensive due to the complexity of the design, and the main purpose of hiding the electrodes 3 inside the body of the bullet before firing is to reduce the total length of the bullet for compact placement in a short interchangeable barrel or special cartridge or magazine or cylinder of the weapon for firing and subsequently reduce the dimensions of the weapon. The connecting conductor 25 between the second power supply contact of the generator board and the membrane contact 23 is electrically connected to the membrane by soldering or welding. The membrane may have concentric or radial notches on the bending portion to facilitate its bending. In this design, the bullet does not have movable (extending) electrodes; the main purpose of hiding them inside the body of the bullet before firing is to reduce the total length of the bullet for compact placement in the barrel cartridge or magazine or cylinder of the weapon for firing and subsequently reduce the dimensions of the weapon.

[0061] FIG. 6. Section of the bullet after firing. When the bullet is fired from the barrel device (is shot), the pressure of hot gases of the pyrotechnic firing charge or cold gas of the pneumatic weapon impacts the wad in front of the membrane contact 23 or directly the membrane contact 23. The pressure transmitted from the gases by the wad or directly by the gas starts to push the membrane contact 23 into the recess of the rear end of the bullet. The membrane contact 23 at some point starts losing longitudinal stability in the axial direction and then bends completely backwards into the recess, stays in this new position and with its elasticity exerts pressure on the contact 24, which moves forward through the cavity of the body together with the assembly of disk power supply elements 6 compressing the elastic element 9 through the movable centralizer 8. When electrical contacting of the membrane contact 23 and contact 24 is reached, the generator of the target-disabling electric current of the board 12 is switched on. In another design, the contact 24 may be rigidly fixed in the body 22, and reliable contact therewith is achieved upon the bending of the membrane contact by precise execution of the parts for guaranteed electrical contacting of the membrane contact with the contact 24 after the bending position of the membrane contact is changed. The bullet accelerates and moves along the rifling of the barrel, interacting with the rifling by its prefabricated rifling or, in another design, by the projectile driving band. The bullet is fixed to the target and transmits the electric current of the target-disabling current generator to the target, resulting in immobilization of the target.

[0062] FIG. 7. Views and section of the bullet before firing. In the design with centrifugal switch, the bullet has a body 26, fixed contact 27, which is a metal plate rigidly fixed to the body. The contact 28 has the possibility of longitudinal movement in the body cavity of the bullet like the assembly of disk power supply elements 6 loaded with an elastic element 9. A connecting conductor between the second power supply contact of the generator board and contact 27 is electrically connected to contact 27. Insulating loads 29, made either entirely of non-current conducting material (e.g. polymers with heavy filler) or of metal with central protrusions 30 sectors of insulating material, are installed under the contact 27. With the elastic element 9 through the centralizer 8 and the assembly of disk power supply elements 6, the contact 28 is pressed to the protrusions 30 which do not allow it to electrically contact the contact 27. The design of contact 28 and loads 29 may be different in form factors but without changing the principle of operation indicated below.

[0063] FIG. 8 View and section of the bullet after firing. At the moment of bullet being fired from the barrel device (shot), the pressure of hot gases of pyrotechnic firing charge or cold gas of pneumatic weapon impacts the wad in front of the contact 27 and insulating loads 29. The contact 27 made with the calculation of avoiding deformation during the shot and insulating loads 29 take the load of bullet acceleration. The bullet accelerates and moves along the rifling of the barrel channel interacting with the rifling by its prefabricated rifling or in another design by the projectile driving band. As the bullet flies out of the barrel, the insulating loads 29 with protrusions 30 under the action of centrifugal forces are separated from the body 26 and are flipped away to the sides. At the same time the contact 28, released for movement under the action of the elastic element 9 through the centralizer 8 and assemblies of disk power supply elements 6, presses against the contact 27, thereby turning on the target-disabling current generator of the electric current of the board 12. The bullet is fixed to the target and transmits the electric current of the target-disabling current generator to the target, resulting in immobilization of the target.

[0064] All of the above described designs of the bullet may utilize obliquely placed electrodes 3, represented in some figures as directly placed for a better understanding of the operation of bullets to fit in the sections of the described parts. When the bullets described in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2; FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 impact the target, the obliquely placed electrodes 3 on the movable insulating ring-shaped pad 4 or on the load 20 move forward with angular rotation as the electrodes 3 are extended from the body of the bullet. Experimental shooting of the proposed bullet at different test velocities, provided that the permissible specific energy of the bullet does not exceed the permissible maximum energy of 0.5 J/mm2, showed that, contrary to initial fears, there is no the fracture occurring in the hardened steel needle-electrodes obliquely positioned relative to the axis of the bullet and set at an angle coinciding with the angle of travel of the rifling step when the bullet hits the target imitating biological tissue in thick clothing. When the bullet hits the target, the directly located electrodes bend, twisting to a greater or lesser degree depending on the thickness of the electrode wire diameter and the initial velocity of the bullet, but nevertheless reliably hold the bullet in the target without breaking. Since after the bullet is removed from the target the needle-electrodes as well as the prefabricated rifling remain intact, and the cost of electric bullets compared to kinetic projectiles is high, some of the presented bullet designs can be used as reusable and have a body consisting of front and rear parts connected by threading with a locking compound, e.g. with a thermo-softening locking compound. After the bullets have been used and removed from the targets, the bullet parts are unscrewed and the consumable parts of the switches are replaced with new ones (by tightening the spring 13 or by setting the loads 20 in the initial position) and the spent power supply is replaced with a new one. After that parts of the body are screwed back together and locked, and after operability control the electric bullets can be used again.

[0065] It is known that when electric current is applied to bio-target at low output power of RESW, in the first seconds of exposure the bio-target experiences a strong excitation from the painful sensations of electric current action with complete inability to produce meaningful actions, i.e. effective immobilization. After some time (several seconds) of exposure the bio-target becomes accustomed to the effect and seeks to remove the source of pain (e.g., when using wired RESW, the bio-target begins to try to tear out the probe electrodes fixed on the body). Electric bullets have a very low power output compared to RESW, not exceeding 0.5-1.0 W. Therefore, in order to prevent premature (before the target receives the dose of electric influence allowed by the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation) interruption of electric action by the target (tearing the bullet out of clothes and body), the described versions of the proposed bullet have protective electrodes 5 located on the surface of the bullet body. When the offender tries to tear the bullet from the body, he grabs the bullet with his hand and at the same time closes the circuit of the protective electrodes 5, which are movably in contact with the electrode 3, with the fingers of his hand. In this case the offender receives a disabling electric shock on the fingers of the hand and instantly releases the source of pain, but, as experiments have shown, in most cases of attempts to tear out the bullet the offender receives an even more severe electric shock from the hand to the body in the place where the bullet hit, as the electric current spreads through a larger current loop between one of the captured protective electrodes 5 and one of the electrodes 2 that entered the body. Protective electrodes may be absent on the body of the bullet in case the most budget version of the bullet is produced or, for example, for the purposes of export to countries where the hand-to-body current loop is considered to be highly injurious even at low effective output power of electroshock bullets. To avoid unnecessary suffering of the offender when the bullet hits the place of the body generally inaccessible to the hand of the offender (for example, between the shoulder blades), all described versions of the proposed bullet can be equipped with a timer for disabling the target-disabling current generator of the electric current after having generated a maximum dose of electric action authorized by the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation in accordance with GOST R 70017-2022.

[0066] All the described versions of the bullets, except those meant to be used in the interchangeable barrels described below, can also be used in unitary cartridges for pistols and revolvers with rifled barrels or cylinders, rifled long guns, rifled air guns.

[0067] FIG. 9. The figure shows prototype electric bullets of 14.7 mm and 11.4 mm caliber (by rifling). The 11.4 mm caliber bullets do not differ in design from the 14.7 caliber bullets described in the figures, but are miniaturized to such an extent that they can be used with the dimensions of special firearms revolvers with prefabricated rifling in the barrel chambers or large-caliber pneumatic revolvers, for example, those based on Umarex T4E HDR.50 designs.

[0068] Today the presented electric bullets are close to the size reduction limits for the electric bullets with two devices of fixation on the target and simultaneously combat electrodes in the form of needles with burrs concentrically located on the head part of the bullet not only due to the difficulties of further miniaturization, but also due to the fact that the reduction of the caliber of the bullet is reasonable only up to a certain limit, as the reduction of the caliber entails the reduction of the achieved path of the disabling electric current (electric current loop) between the needles-combat electrodes. Therefore, the weapon with electric bullets technically feasible at the present time cannot quite be miniaturized and at the same time multi-charged to the level of modern short-barreled weapons with (15-18) charges. When designing a weapon with electric bullets, the designer has to find a compromise between miniaturization (i.e., ultimately the convenience of carrying such a weapon at all times) and multi-loading. Effective target immobilization with small-caliber electric bullets may be achieved through multiple hits to achieve “pain spillage” and convulsions (as immobilization factors) over many areas of the body. Therefore, electric bullets should be used when multiple-shot weapons with electric bullets are available, which consequently reduce the cost of each shot with the costliest part of the shot, namely the electric bullet itself.

[0069] FIG. 10. Barrel body 31, electric percussion cap 32 (electric percussion cap; initiator) of low-voltage initiation (ignition), front sight 33, notches 34 of fixation, rifling 35, radius 36, notch 37 of front sight, high-pressure chamber 38, low-pressure chamber 39. The purpose of the formation on the body of the barrel of the front sight 33 and the recess 37 will be discussed in the description of the weapon below. The electric percussion caps contain a loading of the initiated pyrotechnic composition for firing electric bullets with the necessary muzzle energy to deliver the electric bullet to the target and fix it on it with epidermis piercing, but not exceeding the maximum energy of safe kinetic impact.

[0070] FIG. 11. Barrel body 40, high voltage electric percussion cap 41, electrode 42. The electrode 42 is pressed or molded into the body when the body is cast so that one part of it is located in the barrel cavity adjacent to the electric percussion cap 41 with no gap or with a gap of 0.5-1 mm, and the other part of it extends to the outer surface of the body. The figure shows an electrode passing through the body so that its two ends extend to the surface of the body. Such a device hydraulically balances the electrode against the possibility of it being dislodged from the bullet body 40 by the action of the pressure of the firing gases.

[0071] As shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, the rifling 35 begins in the barrel cavity at locations opposite the corners of the body of quadrangular cross-section, that is, at the thickest point of the barrel part. The purpose of this device is to obtain the greatest thickness of the barrel wall at the point where the rifling deepens into the barrel in the part of the barrel with remaining significant acting pressure after the impact of gases in the high-pressure chamber. The size of the radius 36 depends on the strength of the used injection molding material of the bullet body, but it is advisable to make it as large as possible to fit into the design without changing other dimensions of the barrel. The radius is necessary to reduce stresses in the stress concentrator, which is the place of transition from the high-pressure chamber to the low-pressure chamber. Instead of the radius transition, a cone transition can be used with the cone top facing the high-pressure chamber and the cone base facing the low-pressure chamber.

[0072] FIG. 12. Section of interchangeable barrel with low-voltage electric percussion cap and electric bullet. Barrel body 31, electric percussion cap 32, wad-obturator 43, bullet body 1, ball 14. The figure shows a section of a barrel with an electric bullet according to FIG. 1 with the retracted spring 13 for extending the electrodes 3. One of the balls 14 is visible, which is pressed into the wall of the barrel and prevents movement of the pad 4 fixing the electrodes 3. The wad-obturator 43 is made mainly of material with some elasticity, for example of felt, foamed polymeric materials, sponge rubber, rubber, etc. A cardboard or plastic wad may be placed between the wad and the high-pressure chamber, similar to the powder wad of hunting cartridges. The bullet is held inside the barrel by friction or by bullet wads installed between the electrodes 3 that are separated by the centrifugal force or by the force of the rushing air flow on the bullet leaving the barrel. The bullet cannot shift backwards upon unauthorized acceleration to activate the membrane switches of the above-described designs, since its finished rifling rests on the end (base) of the barrel rifling. The barrel is a muzzle-loading barrel, similar in loading conditions to a muzzle-loading weapon with a percussion cap on a brand tube. Barrel bodies are molded on injection molding machines from durable thermoplastics and have an accordingly low cost. Even experimental barrels made by the method of non-durable 3D prototyping (FDM 3D-printer, ABS material) can withstand the pressure of firing electric bullets into the target with the necessary energies for reliable fixation of bullets on the body of targets at standard distances of effective shooting from short-barreled weapons of 5-10 m. In other designs, the interchangeable barrel may also have an initiating device in the form of a “Zhevello” or “WinchesterPrimer 209” type percussion cap. In order to relieve excessive pressure of pyrotechnic combustion gases for electric bullet firing, standard (commercially or mass-produced) electric or percussion caps with energy excessive for electric bullet firing may have one or two symmetrical gas discharge openings of sufficient diameter between the high-pressure chamber and the low-pressure chamber to discharge excessive combustion gases of the pyrotechnic composition of the percussion cap coming out on the side surfaces of the barrel. The advantages of interchangeable barrels are described below at the end of the weapon description.

[0073] FIG. 13. Weapons with interchangeable barrels with a low-voltage electric percussion cap. The weapon has a body 44 consisting of two halves, hinged holder 45, interchangeable barrels 31, trigger 46, locking button 47, laser designator 48, switches 49 of the safeguard and laser designator, rear sight 50.

[0074] The weapon operates as follows. After pressing the spring-loaded locking button 47, the user rotates the hinged holder 45 by 90° horizontally on the axis 51 and loads the interchangeable barrels 31 into the holder, orienting them with the front sight up so that the notches 34 of the interchangeable barrels fall into the protrusions 52, after which the interchangeable barrel is pushed down the holder until full stop, and the rest of the interchangeable barrels are loaded in the same way. After that, the user turns the hinged holder 45 with the barrels 31 mounted thereon to the reverse position, and the tooth 53 of the holder 45 slips behind the tooth 54 of the locking device 47. The weapon is thus loaded. To fire the weapon the user turns on the power supply of the electronic circuit 55 by one of the switches 49 selected for the weapon safeguard; the circuit, with each pull of the trigger 46, supplies electric current through spring contacts 56 to low-voltage initiators 32 in sequence, producing shots. The sequence of shots starting from the upper barrel or from the lower barrel is set by the electronic circuit, but for convenience of quick reloading it is advisable to start from the upper barrel. The second switch 49, in case the weapon is equipped with a laser designator, activates the laser designator. When interchangeable barrels are loaded, the front sight 33 falls into the recess 37 of the next barrel and thus, regardless of which barrel is fired, the weapon can be reloaded, and at the same time, on the upper barrel, the front sight 33 will always coincide with the rear sight 50, providing a constant aiming device. This version of the weapon has a low cost of production, as it consists of only 4 simple injection molded parts that are made on thermoplastic injection molding machines from thermoplastics, as well as a simple electronic part of the initiation. The angle of rotation of the holder 45 can be more or less than 90° and is determined only by the specific design of the holder and its fixation device while fulfilling the condition of the possibility of free loading and discharging of the weapon with interchangeable barrels. In other designs of the weapon than the one shown in the figure, the holder can be tilted when loading and discharging not horizontally but vertically up or down similarly to the classic smoothbore rifles and rare designs with barrels tilting up.

[0075] FIG. 14. Weapons with interchangeable barrels with high-voltage electric percussion cap. The weapon has a body 57 consisting of two halves, interchangeable barrels 40, trigger 58, slide lock 59, detachable laser designator 60, detachable laser designator switch 49, and rear sight 61. The weapon operates as follows. After sliding back the locking slide 59, the user loads the interchangeable barrels 40 into the barrel seat, orienting them with the front sight of the weapon so that the recesses of the interchangeable barrels (similar to the recesses 34 of the barrels with low-voltage electric percussion cap) fall into the protrusions 62 (similar to loading the holder 45 as described in FIG. 13), after which the interchangeable barrel is pushed down until full stop, and then the rest of the interchangeable barrels are loaded in a similar manner. The user then slides the slide lock 59 back into position, thereby fixing the interchangeable barrels in place when carrying and firing. The weapon is thus loaded. To shoot the weapon the user pulls the trigger 58 which interacts with the piezoelectric element 63 (piezoelectric generator). With each pull of the trigger 58, the piezoelectric element 63 supplies electrical high-voltage pulses to the center electrode of the high-voltage initiator 41 of the barrels through a current conductor 64 connected by a conductor 65 to one pole of the piezoelectric element and to a current conductor 66 connected to the other pole of the piezoelectric element through a conductor 67, with the electrical initiation pulse passing to the other electrode of the initiators 41 through electrodes 42 adjacent to the current conductor 66 when the barrels are being loaded. The barrels are initiated sequentially but in a random order and fire. The sequence of shots in such a weapon design is not known in advance. The mechanism of such a method of initiation is described in source [11]. The switch 49, if necessary, activates the detachable battery-powered laser designator 68, which can be disconnected to reduce the width of the gun. When interchangeable barrels are loaded, the front sight 33 falls into the recess 37 of the next barrel and thus, regardless of which barrel is fired, the weapon can be reloaded; at the same time the front sight 33 of the upper barrel will always coincide with the rear sight 50, providing a constant aiming device. This version of the weapon has extremely low production cost, as it consists of only 4 simple injection molded parts made on thermoplastic injection molding machines from thermoplastics, two stamped electrodes, and a piezoelectric element used for all types of gas lighters. The cost of high voltage initiation electric percussion caps is almost an order of magnitude less than the cost of low voltage initiation electric percussion caps. For safer use, an additional spring 69 may be installed in the weapon to increase the trigger 58 pull force, since weapon s without a separate safety usually have a high trigger pull force. The safety in the weapon can also be of conventional mechanical action, blocking the trigger travel.

[0076] The advantage of the described weapon with both low-voltage electric percussion cap and high-voltage electric percussion cap with individual interchangeable barrels compared to the barrels combined into a single unit is that currently there are no special cartridges for short-barreled weapons with electric bullets, and no consumables are produced for users to equip the cartridges with electric bullets themselves. Thus, the design of the combined barrels must be used in production conditions only. Therefore, if the user uses, for example, one or two barrels of the block for self-defense but does not use the remaining barrels of the block, to use the weapon again he has to take out a half-shot block which the user can no longer reload (and which will be disposed of) and to use a new block of barrels with all the charges for self-defense, as the half-shot block does not possess the maximum multi-load capacity and, accordingly, the ability of the weapon to be used for self-defense. Individually muzzle-loading barrels make it possible to replace the fired barrels with new ones and to have the full multi-loading capability of the weapon again. Interchangeable barrels do not need fixing devices to hold them in the weapon that would increase the overall thickness of the weapon in addition to the thickness of the barrel itself as it is the case with the weapon analogs and prototypes. The thickness of the prototype weapon presented on the figures does not exceed 20 mm even with electric bullets of caliber up to 15 mm and with weapon and barrel designs constructed entirely of polymers without metal reinforcement.

[0077] When using barrels with percussion caps, the weapon may have a mechanical trigger mechanism, but in this case the cost of the weapon inevitably increases due to the need for additional operations to manufacture the metal parts of the mechanical trigger mechanism and, accordingly, for more complex processing equipment.

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