Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
-- PCTJ~ 90iO122 :`
3 ~ ~7 9~
20c39~3~ 31 JUly 1~91
'7An assault deterrent". :
.";
THE PRESENT INVENTION relates to an assault deterrent.
;~,
At the present time there are a significant
nu~ber o~ physicaI assaults, muggings and rapes which
occur almost daily.
The present invention seeks to provide a device
; which may de~er~a potential assailant.
: : According to this invention there is pro~ided an
~: assault derren~, said assault ~deterrent comprising ~:
: means adapted to e~gage a hand or arm or other part of
.:
:the body and mean~s carried~thereby:presenti~ng at least
one container:o~ dye, characterised in that :the con-
tai~ner is in the~ orm of a bag comprisi:ng a thin plastic
~: ~ sheet which~ is~:a~;conkainer adapted t~o burst when sub-
jected to a predetermined pressure.
ConvenientIy the container or containers are
contained withln~a pad of por~us~material, and the or
",. ~
~.
'~;
,,
WO9i~02338 2 ~ ~ ~ 5~ 3 ~ PCT/~B90/012~
each container may be contained within a pocket formed
~thin 3aid pad o~ porous material, the pocket ~1aving an
open end through which the container is inserted i~ the
pocket.
'
In one embodiment the means to engage the hand or
arm comprise a glove, and ~aid breakable container or
containers may be provided on the palm of the glove,
and/or on khe back of the glo~re in the regi on to cover
the baok of the hand or the knuckles.
Alternati vely the means to engage the hand or arm
comprise a band adapted to be wrapped around the wrist ;i,~
or other part of the body, and the band may be adapted
to be fastened to ~he wrist by means of cooperating
elements of hook-and-loop material.
In a further embodiment the means for engaging a ~~;
hand eomprise a handle~. Thus the deterrent may be in a
~form~resembline that of a knuckle duster.
Preferably the deterrent is~ror~ed o~ a readily
~defDrmable plastics matorial.
Conveniently the deterrent is~ formed of an
~ex~panded or for~ed plastics~material.
The dye may be~a visible dye,~or;may~be an ordin ~-
arily invisible dye which ;5 rendered visible by being ~ ;
exposedi to ligh~ of a~predetermined nature~ Such a dye~
may be rendered visible by being exposed to ultra-violet
; light.
" Pre~erably, the dye is resistant to washing~and
dry cleaning techniques.
~ ~.
~ Advan~ageously the dye is in the form of a paste.~ `
. ~, '
9 ~ l O 1
2~ 3~ 3 1 ~Y ~991
_3_
Conveniently the dye includes an additive that
can be analysed by a microscopic or other analytical
technique.
' :
In order thak the invention may be more readily
understood~ and so that further feat~res thereof may be
appreciated, the invention will now be de~cribed, by way
of example, with reference to the accompanging drawings,
in which:
FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic view of one embodiment
of the invention, partly exploded;
FI~uRE 2 is a diagrammatic view of another embod-
iment of the in~en:tion partly exploded;
FIGURE 3 is~ a~diagrammatic view of a further
embodiment of the~invention; and
FIGURE 4 i:s a diagrammatic Y i ew of another
embodiment of~the;invention.
` Referrlng lnitially to Flgure 1 Q~ the drawings
one embodiment of the invention~comprises a glove or
mitten which may be formed of any appropriate material.
In the illustrated embodiment the glove is provided with
cut-away fingers 2, and a cut-away thumb 3.1 Bonded or
otherwise secured to the palm 4 of the:glove is a pad 5
of some porous material such as gauze. However, any
approp~riate porou:s ma~er1al may be p~rovided, for example
fleece, felt, woven or unwoven fabric or the like. The
porous:pad 5 defines therein a pocket 6 which is open at
one side 7. Slidably received within the pocket is a
bag 8 which contains an appropriate dye. The bag may be
made of a plastics material such that the bag will burst
wh~n su~jected to pressure. Thus the bag may bemade of
.
_____,
~ , , ", f . , I . ~ ,~ ~
P~TJ~ 9 0 1 Q 1 2 2
f - 2 ~ ~ ~J ~ 3 ~ y0 7 ~ 9
- 4 ::
:,
a plastic sheetJ such as a sheet of polyethylene.
The dye contained within the bag 8 may be a vi~
ible dye adapted to stain clothing or human skin.
Ideally the dye should be resistant to washing and dry-
cleaning techniques. The dye may have a bright colour
such as orange, red or yellow. The dye should prefer-
ably be a non-toxic dye, which is not at all harmful
when applied to the human skin. The dye should thus
preferably be anallergic~ Typical dyes, having the des-
ired proper~ies, are gentian violet, methylene blue,
rhodamine B and erythrosine. Such dyes may re~sist wash-
i .....
ing off for a period of several days.
" i.
: While the dy~e contained:within the bag may be in .~:
; :a l~iquid~form, it is preferred that the dye is:provided ;
:in the~form of~a~paste.; Thus the dye stuff itse'f may be
mlxed~with any appropriate material to pro~ide a paste~
lik:e~consistency. ~Any typical starch paste may be used,
or "dextr~ine" may ~b;e used to~provide~a paste having~the : .~.
appropriate consis;tencY.
"
The dye preferably has~mix~ed~with~it an addi~tivewhich ~:is capable~ of~:subsequent~ analys~is,~ either by
microscopic analys~is, ~or by any other analysis terh~
~nique. ~ The purpos~e~of the ad~ditlve is ~to identify:~the
particular dye utilized, for a purpose:that will become - ~:
: ~ :clear hereinafter:.
, ~ . .. ..
In:an alternative~embodimant~ of the~:in~entlon the `.
i dye~oontained within the bag 8 may~be inYisible under
ordinary light, but is visible under ultra-violet light 7 ,` ''
r ~om~ other light having a speciflc wavelength, suc:h
..,~,
a infra-red light. hgain the dye should be such that
: ; it will mark clothing and human skin and be resistant to
~ washing and dry-cleaning techniques. .
, ,
, ~ . ~ ,
- - PCTlG~ 9 0 / 0 1 2 2 4
09 ~ugusl 199
_ ~5~ 2~9~3~1 ~9 08
It is envisaged that the embodiment of the inven-
tion described with reference to Figure 1 will be util-
ised in the following way. A person who is concerned
that he or she may be at~acked will wear the ~love with
the bag 8 positioned within the pocket 7. If subjected
to an attack the person wea~ring the gloves will be able
to bring the palm ~ of the gloYe firmly into contact
with part of the assailant~ using a smacking action.
The bag 8 will then burst and the dye contained within
the bag will pass to the part of the assailant engaged
by the palm 4 of the glove.~ Thus part of the clothing or
skin of the assailant will be impre~nated with the dye
from the bag 8. Subsequently of course, the assailant
can readily be identified.
Should a person covered with the dye seek to
disguish that fact by covering themselves furthe~ with
~more dye, in the hope ~that the original dye can be
~explained away, if the area impregnated with the dye is
subjected to appropria~te ana~ysis, for example by means
~of microscopic techniques, the additive included in the
dye would be detected~, thus providing positive proof
that the person having a dye stain was impregnate~ with
dye from a particular assault deterrent. ~ ~
~:
Different batches of paste ~for use in assault
deterrents of the~ invention may ha;ve different
additives, or addit~ives of d~flerent stren~th or of a
diflerent natur`e.
, ~
~ Since the assailant can see that the pe~son is
wearing the glo~e, it is env1sagcd that the assailant
~^ili b~ deterred or discouraged from attacking the
person wearing tbe glove.
Preferably thP glove is ~ormed so as to be high'y
~isible 7 and i~ may thus be made of a lu~inous or lumin-
e~cent materî2', or may have patches of luminous or lum-
t .~
~ Unl~ d Kin~dam pa~Bnt Office ~ JR:;TlTlJTE~ S~F ~ T
- P~T/G~ ~ O I O ~ 2 2 '
. ~-6 2~9.~ 3 1 ~uly 19
,
inescent material. The object is that any person ob~
serving a person wearing the glove wlll realise that a
d~terrent glove is being worn, and thus the glove will
provide a positive deterrent effect,
It is to be appreciated that many modifications
may be e~fected to the embodiment illustrated în Figure
1. For example, the glo~e may ha~e further pads of por-
ous material mounted on the area of the glove which
covers the back of the hand or the knuckle~. Such
further pads of porous material will be associated with
further bags of dye.
The ~love is really only provided to maintain the
porous pad and the bag on the hand. The illustrated
glove is a ~fingerless~ glove, but:the glove could be a
conventional glove and may indeed be a "fashion" glove
~or a glove specifically adapted :to prov~ide warm:th in
winter.
~Re~erring now to Figure 2 an alternative embod~
: iment of the inventioh~may :be proYided for domestic use,
i;n a form resembling:that of a;'iknuckle duster" 9. The
- .
~knuckle duster 9 pre~sents a handle portlon 10:adapted to
be grasped: by the ~hand, whi~ch ca~rrle~s~:a porous pad 11
which deflne 3 separate~pockets 12 èa~ch open at one ~end
13 and each dimensioned to receive~a bag 14 containing
an appropriate dye. : Again the bag formed of thin
~plasti~ sheet ~soi~hat `it breaks: when subJeeted toi :
pressure.
,:,
It is envisaged that in utilising this embodiment ::
the invention the knuckle duster 9 will be left at a
c:onvenient position within the home. Should a person be ~ :
attacked within the home the person merely need~ to pick
up the knuckle duster 9 by means of the handle 10 and
' .
9 ~ 1 U ~ 2 ~
7 9 1
C ~ -7- 2 ~ ~ 9 3~ 3 l July l~91
then pressed the porous pad 11 against part Or their
assailant~
The bag may be retained in an alternative embodi-
ment of the invention using a simple strap which may
extend around the palm o~ the hand and across the back
o~ the hand, or which may extend around the wrist. Such
a s~rap is illustrated in Figure. 3. In Figure 3 a
band 15 corresponding to a so-called "~weat band" may be
provided adapted to be wrapped round the wrist and
secured in position by c;ooperating pads 15,17 of hook~
end-~OOp material (~uch as that sold under the Reg-
istered Trade Mark "VELCR0"). The ouker part o~ the
band 15 is provided;with a pocket 17 wh~ich receives the
: bag 18 of dye~
Figure $ illustrates an embodiment of the in
vention which mechaniaal1y resembles that of Figure:2.
The embodiment of :Figure~5 consists of a ha~d held
de;ter:r~ent compri:sing an~ integrally ~or~med ele~ent 19
f;ormed of a relatively ~soft7 yieldable plastics mat~
erial;,~ such as ex~pan~ded polystyrene foam. The ele~
me:nt 19 presents :a handle por:tion 20 ~adap:ted to be~
gra~sped manually~ which is~conne~cted to~a~ further~:por-~ -
t.i~on~2~1 ex~ending:~between the~ opposed ends of;the~handle
and carrying,:o~ o~uter faces the:reof7~pockets~:22 :which
retain bag~ of dye~ or the like as in th:e preYious'y d:es~
cribed embodiments:. It is envisaged tha:t a person may
pick.up thë/ldete!rr~nt .of Figure 1~9 by~ graspi~g~ t~P
handle, ~nd may br:ing:one of: the ~pockets into contact
~: : ;with an assaiIant, without any risk ~of injuring the
. .
assailant, since the structure of the deterren~ 1g is :
made of a yieldable material. :Thus, although :the
assault deterrent 19 may be damaged beyond repair,
: nevertheless the assailant will not actually be iniured, :~
but will be impregnated with dye.
:' '~
~ ~ JT~ 5'.-: ~
P ~ D ~ (1 J O ~
~ 20~)3~J~4 3 1 JUIy 1991
Many embodiments may be designed that are equiv-
alent to the embodiment of Figures 2 and 4, each
comprising a handle to be grasped by a hand, and a part
carrying the porous pad. These embodimen~s may thus
resemble, for example, a truncheon, or a desk blotter. :
. . .
While certain embodiments of tha in~ention have
been described above as being bands adapted to be
mounted on the wrist or hand, other bands may be
provided adapted to be worn, for example1 about the ;;
head. Such bands need not necessarily be bands which ;
have ends inter-connected, for example, by the hook-and~
loop material, but instead may comprise endless bands of ;~
a "stretchy" material which can readily be slipped into
place. As with the embodiments in the ~or~ of a glove,
it is prererred that~the bands~are readiIy recognisable
as an assault deterrent, and thus the bands, as des- ~;
cribed, may be made of luminous or luminescent ma~erial.
It is to be appreciate~d that~the hook-and- oop material
is only one example of a way in~which the ends of a band
can be connected together.
; ' ,;'
Whilst the invention has been ~described above
- with reference to embodiments in which a porous pad is `
provided it is to be appreciated that in further modi-
fied embodiments o:~ the invention the porous pad may be
omitted, so that dye ~rol~ the bag 8 passes directly to
the assailant. ;
' ~ '
~,
" ~i r~ r -~ ? -- ~
