received by the International Bureau on 17 September 2020 (17.09.2020).

1. A modular safety device configured for retrofitting a firearm, the firearm having a barrel including a muzzle and a chamber at a distal end of the barrel, the modular safety device comprising:

a blocking rod configured to fit inside the barrel including inside the chamber and to block entry of a cartridge into the chamber, the blocking rod having a lock configured to lockingly affix the blocking rod to the barrel; and

a biometric identification system integral to a proximal end of the blocking rod adjacent the muzzle, configured to fit inside the muzzle and having a user interface surface comprising (i) a fingerprint sensor flush with or at a proximal tip of a proximal end of the muzzle, for inputting a fingerprint of a user, and (ii) a fingerprint identification processing unit configured to transmit an instruction to the lock to unlock the lock upon authentication of the fingerprint,

wherein the safety device is configured to be within the firearm such that addition of the safety device to the firearm does not alter an external shape of the firearm.

2. The safety device of claim 1, wherein the blocking rod is extensible by telescoping so as to be adjustable to four or more lengths.

3. The safety device of claim 1, wherein the blocking rod is extensible by telescoping so as to be adjustable to ten or more lengths.

4. The safety device of claim 1, further comprising a stopping means for preventing the blocking rod from entering too far into the barrel.

5. The safety device of claim 4, wherein the stopping means is a lip wider than the muzzle, the lip not thicker than 2 mms.

6. The safety device of claim 1, wherein the blocking rod comprises a first rod and a second rod substantially coaligned with one another, a third rod extensible in length situated between, and attached to, the first and second rods.

7. The safety device of claim 6, wherein the third rod has sections that telescope within each other upon exertion of a force against the proximal end of the blocking rod, the force exerted along a longitudinal axis of the blocking rod.

8. The safety device of claim 1, wherein the fingerprint sensor is flush with the proximal end of the muzzle.

9. The safety device of claim 1, wherein the lock is expandable in diameter from a non-locking position to a fully expanded locking position in which the lock firmly abuts an inner wall of the barrel, wherein the expansion is substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the blocking rod.

10. The safety device of claim 9, wherein the lock comprises an O-ring that firmly abuts the inner wall of the barrel using at least one of (i) a friction fit against the inner wall and (ii) a mating between the O-ring and a recess in the inner wall.

11. The safety device of claim 1, wherein the user interface surface in one mode prompts inputting a fingerprint on a fingerprint screen and in another mode prompts sending the fingerprint for storage.

12. The safety device of claim 1, wherein the fingerprint sensor comprises a fingerprint screen configured to receive the fingerprint of the user when the user presses a finger of the user against the fingerprint screen.

13. The safety device of claim 1, wherein the blocking rod also comprises a communication element operatively engaged to the fingerprint identification processing unit and configured to transmit to a remote receiver at least one of (i) a status of the safety device and (ii) a copy of an inputted fingerprint and is configured to receive from a remote transmitter fingerprint data for storage in the safety device.

14. The safety device of claim 1, wherein the blocking rod also comprises a communication element operatively engaged to the fingerprint identification processing unit and configured to transmit to a remote receiver a status of at least one sensor at one or both ends of the blocking rod so as to monitor each instance in which a user unlocks or attempts to unlock the lock and to receive from a remote transmitter instructions concerning the monitoring.

15. The safety device of claim 1, wherein the biometric identification system also includes a fingerprint storage unit in communication with the fingerprint identification processing unit.

16. The modular safety device of claim 1, wherein the fingerprint

identification processing unit includes a communication unit configured to communicate with a positioning system and send an alert to a remote location if the firearm is moved away from a pre-defined location more than a pre-defined distance.

17. The device of claim 1, wherein the user interface surface is configured to prompt the user to upload an inputted fingerprint to the fingerprint identification processing unit.

18. The device of claim 11, wherein the fingerprint screen is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the blocking rod.

19. A firearm that includes the device of claim 1.

20. The device of claim 1, wherein the blocking rod is fixed in length and a length of the blocking rod matches a length of the barrel.

21. The device of claim 20, wherein the user interface surface is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the blocking rod and is substantially flush with a proximal end of the muzzle.

22. The safety device of claim 20, wherein the lock is expandable in diameter from a non-locking position to a fully expanded locking position in which the lock firmly abuts an inner wall of the barrel, wherein the expansion is substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the blocking rod.

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23. The safety device of claim 20, wherein the lock comprises an O-ring that firmly abuts an inner wall of the barrel using at least one of (i) a friction fit against the inner wall and (ii) a mating between the O-ring and a recess in the inner wall.

24. The safety device of claim 20, wherein the biometric identification system includes: a fingerprint storage unit; and the fingerprint identification processing unit is in communication with the fingerprint storage unit.

25. The safety device of claim 24, wherein the blocking rod also comprises a communication element operatively engaged to the fingerprint identification processing unit and configured to transmit to a remote receiver at least one of (i) a status of the safety device and (ii) a copy of an inputted fingerprint and is configured to receive from a remote transmitter a fingerprint for storage in the safety device.

26. The safety device of claim 24, wherein the blocking rod also comprises a communication element operatively engaged to the fingerprint identification processing unit and configured to transmit to a remote receiver a status of at least one sensor at one or both ends of the blocking rod so as to monitor each instance in which a user unlocks or attempts to unlock the lock and to receive from a remote transmitter instructions concerning the monitoring.

27. The safety device of claim 24, wherein the biometric identification system includes a user interface that presents a user with a fingerprint screen in at least one mode.

28. The modular safety device of claim 24, wherein the biometric

identification system includes a fingerprint identification processing unit and includes a communication unit configured to communicate with a positioning system and send an alert to a remote location if the firearm is moved away from a pre-defined location more than a pre-defined distance.

29. The device of claim 20, wherein the safety device is configured to be within the firearm such that addition of the safety device to the firearm does not alter an external shape of the firearm.

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30. The modular safety device of claim 1, wherein the chamber is one of multiple chambers,

wherein the blocking rod is configured to fit inside a particular chamber of the multiple chambers at a time when the particular chamber is longitudinally

substantially aligned with the barrel,

wherein the blocking rod is configured to block entry of the cartridge into the particular chamber.

31. A modular safety device configured for retrofitting a firearm, the firearm having a barrel including a muzzle and a chamber at a distal end of the barrel, the modular safety device comprising:

a blocking rod configured to fit inside the barrel including inside the chamber and to block entry of a cartridge into the chamber, the blocking rod having a lock configured to lockingly affix the blocking rod to the barrel; and

a biometric identification system integral to a proximal end of the blocking rod adjacent the muzzle, configured to fit inside the muzzle and having a user interface surface comprising (i) a sensor flush with or at a proximal tip of a proximal end of the muzzle, for capturing or scanning an image of a portion of a human body, and (ii) an image recognition processing unit configured to transmit an instruction to the lock to unlock the lock upon authentication of the image,

wherein the safety device is configured to be within the firearm such that addition of the safety device to the firearm does not alter an external shape of the firearm,

wherein the sensor is configured to sense the image.

32. The safety device of claim 31, wherein the blocking rod is extensible by telescoping so as to be adjustable to four or more lengths.

33. The safety device of claim 31, wherein the blocking rod is extensible by telescoping so as to be adjustable to ten or more lengths.

34. The safety device of claim 31, further comprising a stopping means for preventing the blocking rod from entering too far into the barrel.

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35. The safety device of claim 34, wherein the stopping means is a lip wider than the muzzle, the lip not thicker than 2 mms.

36. The safety device of claim 31, wherein the blocking rod comprises a first rod and a second rod substantially coaligned with one another, a third rod extensible in length situated between, and attached to, the first and second rods.

37. The safety device of claim 36, wherein the third rod has sections that telescope within each other upon exertion of a force against the proximal end of the blocking rod, the force exerted along a longitudinal axis of the blocking rod.

38. The safety device of claim 31, wherein the sensor is flush with the proximal end of the muzzle.

39. The safety device of claim 31, wherein the lock is expandable in diameter from a non-locking position to a fully expanded locking position in which the lock firmly abuts an inner wall of the barrel, wherein the expansion is substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the blocking rod.

40. The safety device of claim 39, wherein the lock comprises an O-ring that firmly abuts the inner wall of the barrel using at least one of (i) a friction fit against the inner wall and (ii) a mating between the O-ring and a recess in the inner wall.

41. The safety device of claim 31, wherein the user interface surface in one mode prompts inputting an image of at least a portion of a face or of an eye in front of the sensor and in another mode prompts sending the image of the at least a portion of the face for storage.

42. The safety device of claim 31, wherein the sensor comprises at least one of an image sensor, a camera, an optical sensor, an iris scanner, a retinal scanner or a photoelectric sensor configured to capture or scan the image of a user when the user positions the at least a portion of the human body at a pre-defined distance from the sensor.

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43. The safety device of claim 31, wherein the blocking rod also comprises a communication element operatively engaged to the image recognition processing unit and configured to transmit to a remote receiver at least one of (i) a status of the safety device and (ii) a copy of an image or scanned data of the at least a portion of the human body and is configured to receive from a remote transmitter data of the image for storage in the safety device.

44. The safety device of claim 31, wherein the blocking rod also comprises a communication element operatively engaged to the image recognition processing unit and configured to transmit to a remote receiver a status of at least one sensor at one or both ends of the blocking rod so as to monitor each instance in which a user unlocks or attempts to unlock the lock and to receive from a remote transmitter instructions concerning the monitoring.

45. The safety device of claim 31, wherein the biometric identification system also includes an image storage unit in communication with the image recognition processing unit.

46. The modular safety device of claim 31, wherein a facial recognition system includes a communication unit configured to communicate with a positioning system and send an alert to a remote location if the firearm is moved away from a pre defined location more than a pre-defined distance.

47. The device of claim 31, wherein the user interface surface is configured to prompt a user to upload an inputted image of the at least a portion of the human body to the image recognition processing unit.

48. The device of claim 31, wherein the sensor is substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the blocking rod.

49. A firearm that includes the device of claim 31.

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50. The device of claim 31, wherein the blocking rod is fixed in length and a length of the blocking rod matches a length of the barrel.

51. The device of claim 50, wherein the user interface surface is substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the blocking rod and is substantially flush with the proximal end of the muzzle.

52. The safety device of claim 50, wherein the lock is expandable in diameter from a non-locking position to a fully expanded locking position in which the lock firmly abuts an inner wall of the barrel, wherein the expansion is substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the blocking rod.

53. The safety device of claim 50, wherein the lock comprises an O-ring that firmly abuts an inner wall of the barrel using at least one of (i) a friction fit against the inner wall and (ii) a mating between the O-ring and a recess in the inner wall.

54. The safety device of claim 50, wherein the biometric identification system includes:

a storage unit; and

the image recognition processing unit is in communication with the storage unit.

55. The safety device of claim 54, wherein the blocking rod also comprises a communication element operatively engaged to the image recognition processing unit and configured to transmit to a remote receiver at least one of (i) a status of the safety device and (ii) a copy of an inputted facial image and is configured to receive from a remote transmitter a facial image for storage in the safety device.

56. The safety device of claim 54, wherein the blocking rod also comprises a communication element operatively engaged to the image recognition processing unit and configured to transmit to a remote receiver a status of at least one sensor at one or both ends of the blocking rod so as to monitor each instance in which a user unlocks or attempts to unlock the lock and to receive from a remote transmitter instructions concerning the monitoring.

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57. The safety device of claim 54, wherein the biometric identification system includes a user interface that presents a user with a display screen in at least one mode.

58. The modular safety device of claim 54, wherein the biometric

identification system includes a facial recognition processing unit and includes a communication unit configured to communicate with a positioning system and send an alert to a remote location if the firearm is moved away from a pre-defined location more than a pre-defined distance.

59. The device of claim 50, wherein the safety device is configured to be within the firearm such that addition of the safety device to the firearm does not alter an external shape of the firearm.

60. The modular safety device of claim 31, wherein the chamber is one of multiple chambers,

wherein the blocking rod is configured to fit inside a particular chamber of the multiple chambers at a time when the particular chamber is longitudinally

substantially aligned with the barrel,

wherein the blocking rod is configured to block entry of the cartridge into the particular chamber.

61. A modular safety device configured for retrofitting a firearm, the firearm having a barrel including a muzzle and a chamber at a distal end of the barrel, the modular safety device comprising:

a blocking rod configured to fit inside the barrel including inside the chamber and to block entry of a cartridge into the chamber, the blocking rod having a lock configured to lockingly affix the blocking rod to the barrel; and

a biometric identification system integral to a proximal end of the blocking rod adjacent the muzzle, configured to fit inside the muzzle and having a user interface surface comprising (i) a fingerprint sensor flush with or at a proximal tip of a proximal end of the muzzle, for inputting a fingerprint of a user, and (ii) a fingerprint

45 identification processing unit configured to transmit an instruction to the lock to unlock the lock upon authentication of the fingerprint,

wherein the safety device is configured to be within the firearm such that addition of the safety device to the firearm does not alter an external shape of the firearm or does not alter the external shape other than by jutting out of the muzzle by up to 2 mms.

62. A modular safety device configured for retrofitting a firearm, the firearm having a barrel including a muzzle and a chamber at a distal end of the barrel, the modular safety device comprising:

a blocking rod configured to fit inside the barrel including inside the chamber and to block entry of a cartridge into the chamber, the blocking rod having a lock configured to lockingly affix the blocking rod to the barrel; and

a biometric identification system integral to a proximal end of the blocking rod adjacent the muzzle, configured to fit inside the muzzle and having a user interface surface comprising (i) a sensor flush with or at a proximal tip of a proximal end of the muzzle, for capturing or scanning an image of a portion of a human body, and (ii) an image recognition processing unit configured to transmit an instruction to the lock to unlock the lock upon authentication of the image,

wherein the safety device is configured to be within the firearm such that addition of the safety device to the firearm does not alter an external shape of the firearm or does not alter the external shape other than by jutting out of the muzzle by up to 2 mms,

wherein the sensor is configured to sense the image.

63. A modular safety device configured for retrofitting a firearm, the firearm having a barrel including a muzzle and a chamber at a distal end of the barrel, the modular safety device comprising:

a blocking rod configured to fit inside the barrel including inside the chamber and to block entry of a cartridge into the chamber, the blocking rod having a lock configured to lockingly affix the blocking rod to the barrel; and

a biometric identification system integral to a proximal end of the blocking rod adjacent the muzzle, configured to fit inside the muzzle and having a user interface surface comprising (i) a fingerprint sensor flush with or at a proximal tip of a

46 proximal end of the muzzle, for inputting a fingerprint of a user, and (ii) a fingerprint identification processing unit configured to transmit an instruction to the lock to unlock the lock upon authentication of the fingerprint,

wherein the safety device is configured to be within the firearm such that addition of the safety device to the firearm does not alter an external shape of the firearm or does not alter the external shape other than by jutting out of the muzzle by up to 4 mms.

64. A modular safety device configured for retrofitting a firearm, the firearm having a barrel including a muzzle and a chamber at a distal end of the barrel, the modular safety device comprising:

a blocking rod configured to fit inside the barrel including inside the chamber and to block entry of a cartridge into the chamber, the blocking rod having a lock configured to lockingly affix the blocking rod to the barrel; and

a biometric identification system integral to a proximal end of the blocking rod adjacent the muzzle, configured to fit inside the muzzle and having a user interface surface comprising (i) a sensor flush with or at a proximal tip of a proximal end of the muzzle, for capturing or scanning an image of a portion of a human body, and (ii) an image recognition processing unit configured to transmit an instruction to the lock to unlock the lock upon authentication of the image,

wherein the safety device is configured to be within the firearm such that addition of the safety device to the firearm does not alter an external shape of the firearm or does not alter the external shape other than by jutting out of the muzzle by up to 4 mms,

wherein the sensor is configured to sense the image.

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