Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02334086 2001-02-02
TITLE: PORTABLE BULLET RESISTANT SCREEN
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates generally to portable bullet resistant screens.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Bullet proof shields are well known. Generally they consist of a rigid shield
behind
which a person may hide if faced with gunfire. These rigid shields generally
have handles to
permit the user to grasp the shield. Since the shields are generally designed
as rigid structures
they tend to be cumbersome and heavy.
Over the years, lightweight shields have been produced from bullet resistant
materials
such as LexanT'~'', KevlarTM and Ballistic Nylon. While these lighter weight
materials have
resulted in lighter weight shields, the rigid designs of existing bullet proof
shields still limit their
use. A portable bullet resistant screening shield device able to protect a
number of different
people and which is portable and easily assembled in the field would be of
great benefit.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, a portable bullet resistant screen
is disclosed.
The bullet resistant screen includes a flexible sheet having a length, a width
and opposite first
and second ends. The flexible sheet is made of a bullet resistant material.
The portable screen
also consists of a first member rigidly attached to the first end of the sheet
and a second member
rigidly attached to the second end of the sheet. The first and second members
are each adapted
and configured to support the sheet in a substantially upright position. The
first member is also
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adapted and configured to gather the sheet for storage.
With the foregoing in view, and other advantages as will become apparent to
those
skilled in the art to which this invention relates as this specification
proceeds, the invention is
herein described by reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part
hereof, which
includes a description of the preferred typical embodiment of the principles
of the present
invention, in which:
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIGURE 1. Is a perspective view of the present invention in it's rolled up
configuration.
FIGURE 2. Is a perspective view of the present invention in it's deployed
configuration.
In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in
the different
figures.
FIGURE 3. Is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the present
invention in its
deployed configuration.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring firstly to Figure 2, a bullet resistant screen made in accordance
with the present
invention is shown generally as item 10 and consists of a flexible sheet 12
having opposite ends
18 and 20 mounted to elongated support members 14 and 16, respectively.
Elongated support
members 14 and 16 are provided with collapsible legs 22 and 24 and member 16
has handle
portion 28, respectively. Elongated members 14 and 16 are rigidly mounted to
the opposite ends
of sheet 12 and span the entire width of the sheet between top edge 30 and
bottom edge 32.
Flexible sheet 12 is made of a flexible bullet resistant material such as
KevlarTM or
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Ballistic Nylon. The sheet must be sufficiently bullet resistant such that
bullets fired from small
caliber rifles or handguns impacting on sheet 12 will cause sheet 12 to deform
without actually
penetrating the sheet. Preferably sheet 12 will consist of multiple layers of
bullet resistant
sheeting material. Suitable bullet resistant sheeting material is generally
available on the
marketplace under a variety of brand names.
Elongated member 14 is rigidly attached to end 18 of sheet 12 along it's
entire width
between edges 30 and 32. Elongated member number 14 is provided with
collapsible leg 22
having opposite ends 38 and 40. End 38 of leg 22 is preferably pivotally
attached to elongated
member number 14. Member 14 has slot 46 which is dimensioned to receive
collapsible leg 22.
Collapsible leg 22 is also supported by brace member 34 which holds leg 22 at
a set angle
relative to elongated member 14. Brace 34 may comprise an elongated member
having opposite
ends 50 and 52 movably attached to elongated member 14 and leg member 22,
respectively.
Alternatively, brace 34 may comprise a strong cable. Elongated member 16 is
also provided
with collapsible leg 24 having opposite ends 42 and 44. End 42 is pivotally
attached to
elongated member 16. Elongated member 16 has slot 48 which is dimensioned to
receive
collapsible leg 24, such that the leg can be folded into the slot. Brace 36
helps to position leg 24
against elongated member 16. Legs 22 and 24 are dimensioned and configured
such that they
can support members 14 and 16, respectively, when the legs are fully deployed.
Elongated member 16 is provided with handle 28. Handle 28 permits a user to
grab the
elongated member and position the screen as required. When screen 10 is to be
stored,
collapsible legs 22 and 24 are first folded in towards elongated members 14
and 16 respectively.
Elongated member 14 may then be used to roll up sheet 12 as shown in Figure 1.
The device is
then more compact and portable. In an emergency situation where the unit is to
be deployed
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quickly, a user may simply grab elongated member 16 via handle portion 28 and
then unroll
sheet 12 from elongated member 14. Collapsible legs 22 and 24 may then be
deployed in order
to stand the screen up to form a shield.
Referring again to figure l, top edge 30 of screen 12 has elongated envelope
60 having a
slit like opening 71. Elongated envelope 60 is dimensioned such that foldable
spar 26 can
unfolded and then inserted into the envelope through opening 71 to stiffen top
edge 30.
Likewise, bottom edge 32 has elongated envelope 62 having opening 72 which is
also
dimensioned to receive another spar 26. Spar 26 is preferably made from a
plurality of hollow
rigid spar elements 25 which are linked together by an elastic cord. Suitable
foldable spars are
available on the market. When folded out and inserted into both envelopes 60
and 62, spar 26
stiffens both upper edge 30 and lower edge 32.
Referring back to Figure 2, elongated members 14 and 16 are provided with
bottom ends
54 and 56 respectively. Bottom ends 54 and 56 are preferably configured to
firmly secure the
ends to the ground. Preferably ends 54 and 56 are provided with high friction
rubber pads
which are adapted to make good frictional contact with the ground. Likewise,
ends 40 and 44 of
collapsible legs 22 and 24 are also provided with high friction rubber pads
permitting the unit to
be stood up in substantially an upright position. Since upper and lower edges
30 and 32 are
stiffened by spars located in envelopes 60 and 62, respectively, screen 10 has
sufficient rigidify
to stand upright.
Sheet 12 also has portals 64 and 66 adjacent top edge 30 and adjacent
elongated members
16 and 14, respectively. These portals permit a user to look through the
portals when positioning
screen 10.
When screen 10 is fully deployed, sheet 12 acts as a bullet resistant shield.
People hiding
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behind sheet 12 will be relatively safe from gunfire. Bullets striking sheet
12 will cause the
sheet to deform and pull against elongated members 14 and 16. The energy of
the bullets will be
displaced by sheet 12 from the impact point to elongated members 14 and 16 and
then through
legs 22 and 24, respectively. If ends 54, 40, 56 and 44 are firmly attached to
the ground, then
elongated members 14 and 16 will be able to absorb the energy of the impacting
bullet while
maintaining screen 12 in a substantially upright position. The spars
stiffening edges 30 and 32
also help transmit the energy of the impacting bullet towards elongated
members 14 and 16.
The present invention can be made available in a variety of different grades
of bullet
resistant material, depending on the type of gun fire a user may be faced
with. If the user is
likely to face only small handgun fire, then sheet 12 forming screen 10 may be
made of a
relatively light weight gauge of bullet resistant material. However, if the
user is likely to face
fire from higher velocity weapons such as larger caliber rifles, then sheet 12
may be made more
robust. Since sheet 12 may be made from a plurality of sheets of bullet
resistant fabric such as
KevlarTM, it is relatively simple to produce screens intended to protect
against higher caliber fire
simply by increasing the number of bullet resistant fabric sheets forming
sheet 12.
Referring now to figure 3 an alternate embodiment of the present invention is
shown as
item 100 and consists of elongated member 102 and 104 securely attached to
flexible sheet 106.
Flexible sheet 106 is also made of a flexible bullet resistant material as in
the previous
embodiment. Also as in the previous embodiment, sheet 106 is provided with
elongated
envelopes 110 and 112 which are adapt to receive a collapsible reinforcing
spar (not shown). As
in the previous embodiment, elongated member 104 and 102 are configured to
permit sheet 106
to be rolled on to the elongated members for storage. Elongated member 102 is
provided with a
handle 114 and elongated member 104 is provided with handle 116. Since both
members 104
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and 102 are provided with handles, the entire screen mechanism 100 can be
manipulated by two
individual officers, 120 and 122. Officer 120 can grasp handle 116 in order to
maneuver
member 104 such that sheet 106 partially covers the officer. Likewise, officer
122 can grasp on
to handle 114 in order to manipulate and 102 such that he is protected by
sheet 106. In this way,
S both officers 120 and 122 can enter a zone of fire while being protected by
screen 106. If both
members 102 and 104 were not provided with handle members, then it would be
very awkward
for both officers to manipulate screen 106 while ensuring that the screen
covers both officers.
A specific embodiment of the present invention has been disclosed; however,
several
variations of the disclosed embodiment could be envisioned as within the scope
of this invention.
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the
embodiments described
above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the
following claims.
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