Redesigning
The Handgun
For CIVILIAN HOME DEFENSE
SENIOR INDUSTRIAL DESIGN THESIS | Virginia Tech 2015
Kristina Danielyan
Redesigning
The Handgun
For CIVILIAN HOME DEFENSE SENIOR INDUSTRIAL DESIGN THESIS | Virginia Tech 2015
Kristina Danielyan
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION Research PROCESS 2 KEY QUESTIONS 3 4 RESEARCH RESULTS 6 THE STATUS QUO 7 DESIGN GOALS FORM ANALYSIS OF GUNS 8 Environmental analysis 12 13 User persona Process documentation 14 16 Form studies
17 SIDE CONCEPTS FORM DEVELOPMENT (ANALOG) 18 FORM DEVELOPMENT (DIGITAL) 22 24 First Renders High fidelity Prototyping 26 28 SENTINEL Safety DESIGN 30 Grip design 31 32 Night Functionality Loading and cocking 34 35 Battery and electronics
36 Technical details Logo and branding 38 Visual inspiration 40 42 Safecase 43 Vein Reading Technology 44 Safecase details Technical drawings 47 Storage and use 48 50 Digital interFacing
The firearm plays a crucial role in the culture of the United States. Starting from the nation’s roots in the Revolutionary War, the concept of a citizen’s right to bear arms is deeply integrated into many Americans’ views of liberty. The question of civilians having a law-protected right to bear arms is also a deeply political one. There are a great many opinions about the cause and effects of injury in gun-dense areas remain divided. The majority of people who buy guns in the U.S. do so for self-protection, with less than a third using the guns for hunting (Pew Research Center and Gallup). Currently in the United States, many people keep a weapon in their residence, and the majority of them are motivated to do so by the desire to protect themselves and their families. However, keeping a deadly weapon in one’s home can open up the owner and their family to a number of other dangers, both accidental and self-inflicted. Owning a gun in a domestic space creates the opportunity for improper access and use on the part of the owner and other family members, and leads to accidental discharges on the part of both children and adults, as well as a much higher rate of successful suicides, especially on the part of vulnerable demographics, such as adolescents and veterans. Current designs for weapons take little, if any, consideration of the heightened danger that the ownership of a weapon
poses. Once a gun is introduced into a home, the opportunity is created for the misuse of that weapon. In fact, for every one time a gun is used at home for self-defense, there are seven assaults or murders, eleven suicide attempts (NIH, Emory University). However, aside from the safety switch, there are few design considerations made for minimizing these undesirable scenarios. Although modern weapons have changed their designs in some respects to appeal to consumers, like the emergence of plastic receivers, the design of a gun is still far from self-explanatory, safe or user-oriented. There is a great deal of opportunity for revisiting the design of the handgun with the consumer in mind, taking cues from other appliances that address the dangers of their use through their design features. Power tools provide a good example; what was one the realm of contractors has become functionally accessible to every homeowner or tinker with a project in mind. The strength of the rotations and the sharpness of the edges are offset by the outstanding ergonomics, clear inputs, material differentiation and instruction manuals. One can find instances of danger being designed for in many other products around the house, ranging from the safety razor to the clothing iron. These products have all come a long way from their original form factors and methods of use. Guns have not. Why is this?
PROPOSAL: The creation of A HANDGUN USED FOR SELF-DEFENSE THAT US DESIGNED for UNTRAINED civilians TO USE in their home. The goal of the design is to maximize the effectiveness of self-defense, while minimizing collateral risk and damage associated with gun ownership. 1
Research Process - Methodology What is this project trying to acheive? My aim is to design a civilian gun intended for self-defense that minimizes the risk of self-inflicted or accidental harm. What information do I need to know? I need to understand my typical user. I need to understand what users want in a self-defense gun. I need to identify concerns the user might have.
User: Goals Values Beliefs Attitudes Lifestyle
Current Experience: Emotions Benefits Features Attributes Behaviors
In-Person Interview Questions: - What kind of gun(s) do you own? Why did you buy it (or them)? - What drew you to that specific gun, over others? - How do you feel about your safety now as opposed to before you bought your gun? - Have you taken any classes in shooting or gun safety? - Do you have a concealed carry permit? Do you carry your gun with you in public? - How confident are you when it comes to handling, storing and taking care of your gun? - Is there something you wish you could be more skillfull or confident in when it comes to your gun? - Do you carry your gun around with you? Where do you usually keep it during the day and at night? - Do you live with other people? Do you live with your family? - Do you own a holster? How many bullets do you own, and where do you keep them? - Is there anything you wish you could change about your gun? Intervewees: 5 Secondary Research: Various forums
2
Ideal Experience: Emotions Benefits Features Attributes Behaviors
Key Questions - GunS AND GUN CULTURE What kind of personas can accurately portray the various types of people who own guns and the reasons they own them? What kind of user do I want to focus on? How exactly do guns work? What do gun owners enjoy about the current design of their weapons, and what do they want changed? Do any users currently push for new gun designs? How does this vary across user groups/ personas? How does revamping the gun fit into current norms of gun ownership and gun use? How does it fit into gun culture? Does my design even want to fit into gun culture? Do I want to redefine gun culture? What message should the design project? Does there need to be a ‘message’ at all? What does a gun do for a consumer and their lifestyle? What drives a person to buy, use or collect a gun? Do all consumers consider guns as part of their identity? Is there room for creating an alternative gun identity? Or should the ownership of a gun be no more self-defining than the ownership of a household applicance?
3
Research Results - Actionable Findings rear sight front sight
200 million guns are owned in the U.S.
slide lock lever
barrel
safety backstrap
60% of US gun owners use guns for protection magazine release guard
Annual Gun Deaths:
100 annual deaths in kids under 14
Suicide 19,308
trigger
Homicide 11,015, Accident 600
1,400 annual deaths in teens 14 - 18
grip
Possible Technology Direction | Smart Guns
Sucide risk increased 3x Women, 4x Men
magazine
RFID
Keeping Guns at Home: Best Practices Keep your guns in a safe; don’t simply hide them | Keeping a weapon locked away prevents anyone else from accessing the gun, whether they be invited or uninvited guests in your home.
Biometrics
Magnetism
Radio
"(Our studies concluded) if you have a firearm readily available and something bad has happened to you, you might make a rash, impulsive decision that will have a bad outcome" - Andrew Anglemyer
Keep your firearms and ammunition stored separately | This is especially important if you forgo using a safe. Treat the gun and ammunition like dynamite and a match.
Study design and data analytics specialist at the University of California, U.S. Army veteran.
Don’t keep your firearms loaded in the house | This is unsafe and can be illegal.
But where are guns actually kept? Surveys indicate: on the nightstand, in a purse, lodged between the headboad and the matress, under the pillow, in a safe, in the holster, etc. In spaces of convenience.
What can alter this status quo? Many gun owners are not fully informed about gun safety, but classes and training are widely available. In addition, 64% of people improved their gun storage practices when they were verbally advised to do so by their doctor.
4
Suicide | Roots Empirical evidence suggests that most suicides happen in a brief, impluslive moment of high vulnerability.
Accidents | Roots The U.S. General Accounting Office estimates that 31% of accidental deaths caused by firearms might be prevented by the addition of a child proof safety lock (8%) and a loading indicator (23%)
REASONS FOR GUN OWNERSHIP IN THE US
60 Personal Safety/Protection 36 Hunting 13 Sports 8 5 5 5 4 3 1 1 1 Gallup Poll, 2013. Conducted over phone with 1,028 adults living in all 50 states, with minimum quotas per region. 50% cell phone respondents and 50% landline respondents, with additional minimum quotas by region. Weighted to match the national demographics of gender, age, race, Hispanic ethnicity, education, region, population density, and phone status.
5
DESIGNING A CIVILIAN GUN - THE STATUS QUO Residential BurgLARS vs Home invasion robbers The
user
CIVILIANS
The Majority of guns are bought for self-defense ( gallup ) For every time a gun is used in self-defense in the home, there are 7 assaults or murders, 11 suicide attempts, and 4 accidentS ( National Institute of Health, Center for Injury Control at Emory University )
Best Practices A) Seperate the gun and the ammo B) Facilitate calling for help C) Visually Emphesize the capabilities and deadliness of the Weapon as a deterrent
work mostly during the day and when a residence is more likWely to be unoccupied.
D) Simplify SAFETY indicators - make it easy to tell if the gun is ready to fire
Works alone
nearly 10 times more people were shot and killed in arguments than by civilians trying to stop a crime. ( Federal Bureau of Investigation )
e) keep the weapon easy to get in case of need, but out of sight and access
How can a gun be designed to improve these statistics and HELP THE OWNER DEFEND THEir HOME?
f) Encourage and facilitate proper arms and safety training g) Alert owner when the gun is in use
This project aims to take into consideration from the very beginning the fact that this gun will be used by a civilian, and will therefore need to take the user’s level of experience into account. Guns are difficult to use, and someone who does not practice with a weapon every week will have very different shooting capabilities from someone who does, particularly in stressful situations.
6
BurgLARs
will avoid a confrontation and will usually flee when approached
t threa The ould be w u o y h g wit dealin
INVADERs work more often at night and on weekends when homes are more likely to be occupied.
Works with a Partner
Will sometimes target the resident as well and use violence
IN THE U.S., THE MAJORITY OF GUNS ARE BOUGHT FOR SELF-PROTECTION. HOWEVER, KEEPING A deadly weapon in One’s Home can open up the owner and their family to a number of other POTENTIAL dangers.
THE DESIGN OF THIS GUN HAS 2 GOALS: 1. To IMPROVE CIVILIAN DEFENSE AGAINST INTRUDERS 2. TO REDUCE THE RISKS OF GUN OWNERSHIP
7
FORM ANALYSIS - Various Handguns
Some guns ha ve a debonair sense of style and ornementatio n
is of gun rdly This kind but it ha , ul f ti a beau ross as ac es com . n object utilitaria
Tiny guns are somehow harder to take seriously.
Visual balance is important. This gun lacks it.
8
flimsy details. Note: avoid eady visually alr e ar ns Gu gh without complex enou s. weird addition
definitely Wood details aesthetic. change the yle be rural, Could this st re hipster? or maybe mo
I’ll need to think about the importance of color and material differentiation.
sthetic could A military ae e r setting th be useful fo the weapon tone of what s? i color is for. Khak
l The revolver is a coo gun, but old fashioned. ler My gun should be simp and more reliable.
I’m enjoying this aesthetic. It’s simple, dynamic, and means buisness.
How short is too short?
This also looks cool, but what’s a movable detail, and what’s just a molded part?
There’s something very appealing about that forward lean.
9
FORM ANALYSIS - Various Handguns
Super sleek and simple. I like it.
s like a good Plastic seem it work with material to weight and ce du re ld ou sh coil. help with re
This form is a little too saggy and soft. I like the idea of something tectonic, possibly.
10
Maybe a solid grip over a hook shape wou ld look more solid and be easier on the trigger fing er.
I like the idea of put ting a small accent on the area that matters (ex: safety).
Gun surfaces nee d to become less muddled .
All this visual noise on the grip is pretty unnecessary.
I’m not sure why the recoil assembly is always made to look like a second barrel. I know for a fact that this is very confusing for a lot of gun novices (my past self included), par ticularly those who don’t know that the top of the gun is a slide.
I don’t know whethe r designing the ma gazine would be within the feasable scope of this thesis, but I really like the idea of the gun having a window tha t shows you the slot the clip (not all clip of s have this).
The user could the n easily tell how muc h ammo they have left that round.
11
ENVIRONMENT - GUN STORAGE IN THE BEDROOM The closet is actually a very good place to keep a gun because it’s the only place large enough for a safe. However, safes take quite a while to open - how can I reduce this access time?
guns their keep er people s, or und lly f o pillow is genera A lot their is ber under ttress. Th or a num a f the m ill advised y t pret . asons of re
wer e dra bedsid ood place g ottom The b like a very rticularly a t s seem e a gun, p asion. I jus or inv ke to st nighttime o ma t y a for a d a w to fin need re. u it sec
12
A dre sser d rawer good pla co there’s ce for sto uld be a rage, u s u a but lly choos quite e fro a fe m. Co chaoti uld be w to c. a little
THE USER - VIEWS AND EXPECTATIONS
I bought a gun when I bought my house to feel safe in my home. Most of the time my gun is in the closet shelf, and I don’t think much about it. I haven’t had to use it yet for self-defense.
I know I’m supposed to keep my gun in a safe when I’m not carrying it, but I usually leave it in a drawer. However, I do know my basic safety training when it comes to carrying and shooting.
I definitely don’t trust smart guns. Putting technology in a gun will make it less reliable, and I’m worried that a power source will leave me vulnerable at times when I may need to defend myself. Traditional guns are powerful and reliable. My aim isn’t always accurate. I try to go to the range to practice when I have the time, but it’s very easy to get out of practice when you don’t shoot for a few months at a time. And frankly, I haven’t had to shoot in a high-tension situation before.
A gun isn’t just a way for me to defend myself; it’s a hobby and a part of my culture. I pride myself on my knowledge and have a lot of good memories of shooting with my father as a child.
13
PROCESS DOCUMENTATION - BLOG
14
I made a Tumblr blog for my thesis, and used a visuals-heavy theme to create a digital scrapbook of varvious ideas, resources, links and sketches. This format made it very easy to keep track of my ideas, and which concepts predated each other. I also wrote down various trains of thought I had about where my project was headed.
PROCESS DOCUMENTATION - BOOK
The second component of my process documentation was my process book, which featured a combination of written pages of thoughts, glued-in digital work, collages of research compilations, concept sketches, and annotations. This was my analog companion to the blog, and material from one space would often cross over into the other.
15
GUN STUDIES I spent a lot of time at the beginning of the project learning everything there was to know about handguns. I dove into the mechnaics of how guns work, what types of guns exist, how magazines and hammers operate, etc. I also did my best to become as educated as possible on gun safety and developing a guideline of best practices when it comes to handling a weapon and owning/storing it properly. This latter part was particularly tricky, because there are very widely varying and contradictory opinions on what’s best when it comes to being a responsable and prepared gun owner. I had to take some information with a grain of salt, and ended up creating my own best practices based on official and unofficial recommendations and guidelines,
16
SIDE CONCEPT- SAFETy ATTACHMENT
An early idea that I let go of was creating an attachment for an existing handgun design that would promote safer practices. However, I ended up deciding that a full redesign of a weapon and a system for its management was the way to go. Designing an attachment would be a little too much like tacking on a solution attempt on a fundamentally flawed product and system.
17
FORM FACTOR - LEARNI Learning from Power Tools NG FROM POWER TOOLS Using rubber, plastic and metal material differentiation to inform the user. Power tools user partitioning and materiality to very clearly inform where the user needs to keep their hands and how to use the device. Something as simple as making the moving top half of a gun metallic and not grip-friendly could help avoid shooting accidents
18
Form IDEATION My ideas began pretty geavily rooted in the idea of a smart gun, and I spent some time trying to figure out how to integrate a screen convincingly into the body of a weapon. I eventually realized this was unnecessary, as my design couldn’t be smart becasue of current mistrust on the part of the consumer. I also came to the conclusion that a screen wouldn’t have much useful information to show on it, and the gun would be a lot harder to take seriously as a durable weapon. My form then became all about visually, functionally and ergonomically rethinking what a handgun could be.
19
DESK WORK
I spent a lot of time going back and forth between sketching, cross-referencing my ideas online and with my interviewees to see if they were feasable, and then bringing that idea into 3D with a quick foam study.
20
EARLY PROTOTYPING
My prototyping happened in 2D and 3D. I used a workflow that involved cutting sheets into the width of my proposed gun, then using a knife to quickly make a shape, test it, outline it and write notes and markups on it to use on the next model.
21
My 2D and 3D methods of prototyping were limited, however, by the complexity of the shape I was trying to create. To finesse out the details of the gun, I had to go into CAD pretty early on to be able to ideate in 3D with a greater level of detail and flexibility, without the limitations of my modeling materials. This led to a process of making a dozen models with slight changes in construction, geometry and proportion in every instance. This method was very useful for hammeroind out the details of my design in high fidelity, with the amility to print out or mill my ideas into precise 3D models for testing.
Modeling attempt #1
Modeling attempt #2
Original autocad vector drawing used to drive dimensions
To the right: sample note documents I made for myself to keep track of what chnages I was making in my iterations.
Notes:
play more with polygon form check that this is comfortable think about tapering this narrow the handle
make grip-friendly for priming
22
There are a lot of form issues. This is definitely not the way to do it. I’m going to talk to Maureen about the technique she used to model her Raid cannister from last year and see if that helps me model my ideas more accurately.
Simplify this outline, keep angle
Figure out the interface function
Next steps: modeling the guts
CAD ITERATION - WORKING OUT THE DETAILS
V1A
V1B
V2A
V2B
V3A
V3B
V4A
V4B
V5A
V5B
V6A
V6B
V7A
V7B
V8A
V8B
V9A
V9B
23
First Full Render - Handgun
TRITIUM SIGHTS
NO HAMMER SIMPLIFIED USAGE
LED WHEN SAFETY OFF VISUAL DETERRENT
GRAVITY-BALANCED FORM FACTOR
ACCEPTS 40 CALIBER MAGAZINES
24
LED WARNING SHOWS AREA THAT SLIDes BACK
REVISED SAFETY PRACTICES PLACE FINGER ON SIDE RATHER THAN ON TIP OF TRIGGER GUARD
REDESIGNED SAFETY TACTILE AND VISUAL FEEDBACK
SENDS MESSAGE TO PHONE IF SAFETY IS OFF
Textured grip
First Full Render - Safecase
40 CALIBER MAGAZINES
KEPT IN THE BEDSIDE DRAWER EASY TO ACCESS, BUT OUT OF SIGHT
SENTRY GUN PLACE PALMS ON TOP TO OPEN (BACKUP COMBINATION LOCK AVAILABLE)
Handle for easy transportation Facilitates training at the range FOAM HOUSING FOR ALERT REMOTE (TRIGGERS SECURITY ALARM/CALLS FOR HELP)
MATERIALS FOAM POLYCARBONATE STIFF SYNTHETIC FABRIC ELECTRONICS
Magnets snap case in Place
FOAM HOUSING FOR GUN (DOES NOT ACCOMODATE WHILE LOADED)
I presented these two versions of my design at the thesis preview. At this point this was as far as I had gotten in my design, and managed to get a lot of valuable feedback on what was working and what wasn’t. The gun subsequently went from a variety of changes, including a more high-fidelity rendering that communicated the intended materiality more effectively. The safecase went through much more drastic form changes, although the premise of its functionality stayed pretty much the same.
25
PROTOTYPING - YELLOW FOAM
This model helped me address some ergonomic issues, including trigger and guard size, as well as button forms and receiver form details.
Annotations and linework
26
Original Geometry
Revised Geometry
PROTOTYPING - 3d Printing This 3D printed model was the second stage of my high-fidelity 3D modeling. Although the print job was crude and the model missed some of the tectonic details in the handle, this model was an invaluable tool, as it printed in much higher fidelity than my milled foam model.
Some of the revisions included reworking the buttons for releasing the magazine and the release of the component housing the lithium battery. I also changed the proportions of the hexagonal barrel, which looked a little squished, and some of the back and grip details.
27
INTRODUCING
Safety Design The expression ‘red is dead’ is used by many training classes to remind the user how to read their gun’s safety; if they can see any trace of red, that means the safety is off and the gun is capable of being fired. This safety is designed with the expression in mind, and uses tactile feedback to let the user know, even in the dark, if the safety is on or off. The safety’s poped out when it’s off, allowing the red panel on the side to be seen. Pressing the safety in will pivot it to be flush against the surface of the gun, clicking it into place. This hides the red surface. This system also ensures that the safety is on when the gun is stored - the 3D surface of the safety when it’s turned off interferes with the gun fitting properly in the foam inlay. The 3D design also means that if the user forgets to turn the safety on and puts the gun on its side, the safety has a chance of clicking into the on position . The reverse would be hard to acheive, becasue for the safety to be turned off accidentally the button would have to be depressed below the surface.
It’s easy to see the status of the safety when you hold the gun up.
Easy to remember and keeps you safe
RED IS DEAD
Safety’s on, and flush against the surface.
30
GRIP Design
A selection of options the consumer can choose from for the grip texture.
I redesigned the way the gun is supposed to be held to improve ergonomics for users of all hand sizes. Usually, the user is supposed to put their trigger finger on the tip of the trigger guard when they don’t intend to fire. However, the distance the finger has to reach is usually longer than comfortable for women and men with smaller hands. Sentinel has a redesigned trigger guard whose side has a big surface area with a textured surface. The new protocol for holding the handgun safety with no intention of shooting is to put the finger on the side of the trigger guard. This allows for easy placement for fingers of all sizes, with no need to strain. The barrel has also been redesigned so that the bottom half has an outward taper. This prevents the trigger finger from easily moving up to where the slide is, where it’s easy to get injured is the slide moves back suddenly when firing.
Angle of the barrel prevents finger from traveling up to the slide New default location to place the trigger finger when in neutral position
31
THE USER CAN EASILY LINE UP THE TRITIUM SIGHTS WHILE KEEPING IN MIND THE SLIDE AND THE SAFETY 32
The BARREL IS LIT UP FROM the FRONT AND ACTS AS A WARNING AND DETERRENT
33
Magazine And SLIDER Sentinel doesn’t rely on a hammer to function for a variety of reasons. The hammer can easily snag in storage, which is a safety concern, it interferes with the simplicity of the form and it’s an unnecessary additional step in the firing process. Instead, the user would need to pull back the slider to load the first round into the chamber. This is facilitated by a textured grip on either side of the slider that the user can grasp of firmly. Racking the slide cocks an internal striker, which causes the bullet to fire when the trigger is pulled.
34
The button for releasing the gun’s magazine can be found in the same place than the vast majority of such release buttons are. However, the button on Sentinel has been bulked up in size and clearly labeled so the user can easily identify its purpose. Sentinel is also designed to accomodate a .40 claiber clip of ammo. Although the design of the ammunition was outside the scope of this project, I would recommend redesigning the clip to fit better with the gun geometry and to make it more apparent how many bullets are left in the clip.
Battery RELEASE The electronics for powering the LEDs and the wireless transmitter are stored isnide the back of the gun, above the beaver tail (part of the gun that the palm and thumb wrap around in the back). These electronics are powered by a small lithium button battery that only activates if the safety is turned off, allowing it to run for a very long time. The battery can be replaced by sliding out this small compartment that houses the battery in a channel on its sunderside. It can be clicked out along a groover in the gun, and then slid right back in.
Slides out
35
7.00’’ Materials FOR RECEIVER: tritium (For sights) DuPont™ Zytel® (GLASS-NYLON HYBRID, INDUSTRY STANDARD FOR PLASTIC GUNS) Manufacturing: INJECTION MOLDING
5.25’’
36
Tritium sights - their radioactioactivity makes it easy to aim in the day or at night
TECHNICAL DETAILS Slide (moves when bullet is shot)
Barrel
Striker (strikes CARTRIDGE)
Recoil assembly
Battery and Wireless Transmitter Receiver (houses components)
Magazine (40 Caliber)
37
Branding Development
I derived a lot of inspiration from power tool logos, and how they managed to make a clear, impactful statement with their name using angular, non-serif typefaces and detailing. The primary color palette also fit in with the aesthetic and mood I was going for.
38
Gun company logos are definitely interesting, and many of them have a rich history. However, they were too excessive for my taste and used too many flourishes and ‘handwritten’ typefaces.
REGISTRATION NUM. SEN7826386 Registration identification methodology
Color and fill variations
Palettes and radius proportions for corner-curve alternation
39
AESTHETICS & MATERIAL DIFFERENTIATION
UNAMBIGUOUS AGGRESSIVE DETERRING MODERN Seating for the Exige
40
Hood detail
MATTE VS GLOSSY Inspiration: The Lotus Exige
ReaR details
41
INTRODUCING THE SAFECASE
The safecase relies on an infrared hand vein sensor to operate. I propose that my case will use an experimental model that is less than half a centimeter thick. The infrared sensor is about the same size and appearance as a phone camera lens, and can be discreetely embedded into the plastic lid.
42
How Palm vein Technology Works
Fujitsu’s vascular biometrics sensors use a near-infrared light to map and capture vein patterns beneath the skin and then uses that image as the basis for individual identification. Hand veins are a more reliable biometric than fingerprint technology becasue there are many more points of reference to use, leaving less room for error, and is more reliable in the case of injuries like scrapes and burns.
43
SAFECASE
The SAFECase Consists of Two Seperate, SELF-CONTAINED CASES (ONE FOR THE GUN, AND ONE FOR THE AMMO) that slip into an outer carbon fiber case with a handle FOR EASY AND SAFE TRANSPORTATION. 44
Coordination with HOME SECUIRTY SYSTEM
The security remote for your home secuirty system can be quickly accessed in this foam insert. This can trigger your home’s alarm system as a deterent to the invader, and send a worldess, fast call for help to your secuirty company
45
SAFECASE DETAILS THe safecase is powered by a cord that runs into a standard outlet. However, it also has rechargable batteries in its electronics core underneather the foam, and they kick in if the case has been cut off from its power source. CollapsABLE HANDLE - Easy to transport securely for practice (the straps can retreat into the handle with pressure)
Rubber tabs Allow the smaller cases to click into place into the carrier SAFETY DETAIL- THE GUN CAN’t be inserted into its case if the magazine is loaded into it, as there’s no space in the foam to accomodate the bottom of the clip, which would be sticking out.
46
TECHNICAL DRAWINGS INSERT FOR MAGAZINES (FOAM)
MAGAZINE CASE (THERMOSET PLASTIC)
INSERT FOR GUN AND SECURITY REMOTE (FOAM)
GUN AND REMOTE CASE (THERMOSET PLASTIC) CARRIER CASE (CARBON FIBER)
A key part of the design of the Safecase is that the individual cases can be seperated and stored in different locations if the owner wants to be particularly cautious. If they’re stored together in the carrier case, it’s very convenient to just grab the whole assembley by the handle to transport the gun and ammo to the range for practice.
47
EnviRonment
The safecase is intended to be held in the side table near one’s bed. This is an ideal location for quick access in the case of a nighttime invasion, and it’s in a sufficiently private place to avoid access during the majority of the time, and suits the targeted situation of a nightime home invasion. The placement also allows the case to be easily plugged into an outlet, which wouldn’t be the case in a place like a closet.
48
49
PHONE ALERTS AND APP SETUP The user gets A Text message if: Your gun safe has been opened. 2:19 P.M.
Your gun’s safety has been turned off. 2:46 P.M.
1. One of the safes has been opened This INDICATES THE GUN OR AMMO HAVE BEEN ACCESSED, AND KEEPS THE USER INFORMED ABOUT THEIR GUN’S SECURITY 2. One of the safes has had aN Access ATTEMPT FAIL by a 50% error margin THIS LEVEL OF DEVIATION IN THE VEINPRINT MEANS THE DENIAL OF ACCESS WASN’T JUST A MISREADING OF AN UTHORIZED HAND, BUT AN TTEMPT OF ACCESS BY AN UNAUTHORIZED PERSON 3. The gun’s safety is turned off This LETS THE USER KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON, AND WHETHER THE WEAPON IS BEING USED
50
ALL YOU NEED IS A LAPTOP FOR SETUP AND ANY PHONE THAT CAN RECEIVE TEXTs.
PRODUCT SETUP
1. PLACE HANDS ON SENSORS TO REGISTER YOUR HANDPRINTS.
2. ENTER PHONE NUMBER TO RECEIVE A NOTIFICATION WHEN THE SAFE IS OPENED OR THE SAFETY’S TURNED OFF.
3. BASED ON YOUR IP ADDRESS, THIS IS THE SHOOTING RANGE CLOSEST TO YOU.
51
Handgun APP
SAFE