Abstract:
A mobile protection device for shielding parts of a person&#39;s body from bullets and other attack objects, comprising a normal hat, having a top and a sidewall, and at least one bullet-blocking plate, shaped to fit inside the hat and attachable to the top. Preferably the device further comprises a blast-resistant layer, lining the inner surface of the top of the hat and its sidewall, and a reinforcing layer, attached to the inner surface of the sidewall and designed to absorb momentum of a hitting bullet. Generally there is a plurality of plates, pivotally joined to form a shield while the plates are coplanar and foldable to be reversibly attachable to the top, the shield being reversibly attachable to a brim of the hat.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The field of the invention is generally mobile personal protection devices and particularly such devices that are inconspicuously wearable or carriable. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Persons may often find themselves in situations in which they are in danger of being shot at or otherwise attacked. Security personnel, such as soldiers or policemen, are usually equipped with bullet blocking vests and/or helmets. Civilians and non-uniformed security personnel, however, are generally not thus equipped. Although they may put on such devices before entering a danger zone, the wearing of the devices is generally uncomfortable and may interfere with other tasks; also, often the zone in which danger may lurk may be extended, thus prolonging the period of discomfort. Additionally, the wearing of a helmet or a bullet-blocking vest is conspicuous and may degrade the person&#39;s appearance. On the other hand, often the presence of clearly imminent danger may be detected by the person in time to take precautions. At such a situation the person could conceivably put on a helmet and/or a bullet-blocking vest just upon such detection. This practice has, however, several disadvantages: (1) It may take time to put the devices on—especially the vest; while driving a car this may be particularly cumbersome. (2) Carrying such devices along is conspicuous, especially for civilians and non-uniformed security personnel, and as such is often undesirable. (3) The device may be awkward and burdensome—especially for a pedestrian. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    According to the present invention there is provided a hat, wearable and carriable by a person similarly to a conventional hat, that is constructed as described below. The hat may be a conventional, commonly purchasable, hat, having a raised top, a sidewall and preferably a brim, that is modified as described or a specially constructed hat that appears outwardly as such a conventional hat; in all the cases the outwardly appearing part of the hat will be referred to as a “normal hat”. 
         [0004]    Basically a hat according to the present invention comprises at least one plate, made of a bullet-blocking material, such as a ceramic material and directly or indirectly attachable to the hat&#39;s top from below. Preferably, the entire inside of the hat, as well as possibly to the underside of its rim, is lined with a layer of flexible blast- or bullet resistant material, such as Kevlar; the plate, or plates, may then be attachable to the top portion of the flexible layer. Also preferably, there is affixed to the sidewall a flexible reinforcing layer; which serves to absorb any momentum imparted to the plate or to the blast-resistant material by a hitting bullet, thus preventing secondary injury to the person (so-called trauma effect). 
         [0005]    In a first configuration of the invention, there is affixed to the inside of the top of the hat at least one bullet-blocking plate that is shaped to conform with the top. Preferably there is affixed under the plate another layer of flexible blast- or bullet resistant material, such as Kevlar, designed to intercept any splinters that may be dislodged from the plate when hit by a bullet. In operation, the person, upon detecting danger, would simply place the hat in front or side of his head, with the bottom of the hat or brim close to the head and the top of the hat facing outwards. This configuration is particularly suitable for use inside a car. When worn on the head, a hat lined with the bullet-resistant layer, may provide some degree of protection from stones, shrapnel, knives and the like. 
         [0006]    In a second configuration of the invention, the hat has a brim and there is provided a foldable shield, made of a plurality of the bullet-blocking plates. The size of the plates is such that, when the shield is folded, they fit inside the hat when attached to its top. There are, furthermore, provided means for attaching the folded shield to the top of the hat from inside and for easily detaching it therefrom. Additionally there are provided means for easily attaching the unfolded shield to the bottom of the hat&#39;s brim. In operation, the shield is normally in a folded state and attached inside the top of the hat. Upon detecting danger, the person would generally detach the folded shield from inside the hat&#39;s top, unfold it and attach it to the bottom of the hat&#39;s brim. He would then place the hat either in front or side of his head, with the top of the hat close to the head and the shield (attached to the brim) facing outwards, or in front of his chest, with the top of the hat close to the chest and the shield (attached to the brim) facing outwards. Alternatively, the person may use the hat, without detaching and unfolding the shield, in any manner similar to that of the first configuration. Alternatively yet, the person would hang the unfolded shield on his neck, to cover his chest. 
         [0007]    A third configuration of the invention is, in effect, a combination of the first two configurations, namely a hat of the first configuration, with a shielding plate permanently affixed to its top, is additionally provided with a foldable shield that is reversibly attachable inside the top of the hat (under the permanent plate), when folded, and attachable to the bottom of the brim, when unfolded. Such a combination affords greater protection (for example against heavy or fast bullets), as well as greater flexibility in choosing partial protection under various circumstances. 
         [0008]    It is noted that the hat as disclosed herein, forms a personal mobile protection device for shielding a part of a person&#39;s body from oncoming firearm bullets as well as from other small missiles, such as stones and bomb shrapnel. It may also protect from direct attacks with sharp objects, such as knives, or with blunt objects. All such missiles and objects of attack are termed collectively as “attack objects”. It is further noted that, in contradistinction to conventional protective devices, such as helmets, vests and shields, the hat of the present invention, with the described additions, appears outwardly as an inconspicuous wearable and carriable item, similar to conventional hats. 
         [0009]    Concisely, there is disclosed herein a mobile protection device for shielding parts of a person&#39;s body from bullets and other attack objects, comprising—
       a normal hat, having a top and a sidewall, and   at least one bullet-blocking plate, shaped to fit inside the hat, under its top, and directly or indirectly attachable to the top.       
 
         [0012]    Preferably the device further comprises a blast-resistant layer, lining the inner surface of any of the top of the hat and its sidewall. The device preferably also comprises a reinforcing layer, directly or indirectly attached to the inner surface of the sidewall and is designed to absorb momentum of a hitting bullet or attack object. 
         [0013]    In a first configuration of the device, the plate, or plates, is fixedly attached, directly or indirectly, to the top and preferably also comprises a blast-resistant layer, attached to the bottom of the plate, or plates, or stretched across the hat underneath them. 
         [0014]    In a second configuration of the device, wherein the hat also has a brim, there is a plurality of plates, pivotally joined to each other to form a shield while the plates are coplanar and foldable to form a stack that is reversibly attachable to the top, the shield being reversibly attachable to the brim. The device preferably also comprises a blast-resistant layer, lining the lower surface of the brim. Furthermore, the shield may include a strap, designed to enable hanging the shield from the person&#39;s neck. 
         [0015]    In a third configuration of the device, the features of the first and second configurations are combined, so that the device comprises both a plate, or plates, fixedly attached to the top of the hat and, further, a plurality of bullet-blocking plates, pivotally joined to each other to form a shield while the plates are coplanar and foldable to form a stack that is reversibly attachable to the plate or plates at the top, the shield being reversibly attachable to the brim. 
         [0016]    In another aspect, the invention is of a method for shielding parts of a person&#39;s body from bullets and other attack objects, comprising 
         [0017]    (a) providing a hat, constructed as disclosed hereabove; 
         [0018]    (b) wearing the hat on the head or carrying it by hand or placing it within reachable distance; 
         [0019]    (c) when in danger, placing the hat in front of the person&#39;s head or another part of his body, facing the expected direction of attack. 
         [0020]    When the disclosed hat also includes a plurality of bullet-blocking plates, pivotally joined to each other and folded to form a stack, which is reversibly attached to said top, the method further comprises the step, to be performed prior to step ‘c’, of 
         [0021]    (d) detaching the stack from the top, unfolding it for the plates to become coplanar, thus forming a shield, and attaching the shield to the hat&#39;s brim or holding it in front of the person&#39;s body. 
     
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
         [0022]    The invention will now be described in terms of specific embodiments and with reference to drawings, of which— 
           [0023]      FIG. 1 a    depicts pictorially a typical hat that may be modified according to the invention and  FIG. 1 b    is a schematic representation of a bottom view of the hat of  FIG. 1   a.    
           [0024]      FIG. 2  shows schematically, in a bottom view and a cross-section, a hat modified according to a first configuration of the invention. 
           [0025]      FIGS. 3 a , 3 b  and 3 c    illustrate typical usages of the hat of  FIG. 2 . 
           [0026]      FIG. 4  shows a foldable shield suitable for attachment to a hat according to a second configuration of the invention. 
           [0027]      FIG. 5  shows schematically, in a bottom view and a cross-section, a hat modified according to a second configuration of the invention and including the shield of  FIG. 4 , folded. 
           [0028]      FIGS. 6 a  and 6 b    show, in a trimetric view and a schematic bottom view respectively, the hat of  FIG. 5  with the shield deployed for protection. 
           [0029]      FIGS. 7 a , 7 b  and 7 c   , illustrate various ways of using the shield of  FIG. 4 . 
       
    
    
       [0030]      FIGS. 1 a  and 1 b    depict an example of a conventional man&#39;s hat—of a type that is suitable for the modifications to be described below;  FIG. 1 a    is a trimetric (pictorial) view and  FIG. 1 b    is a schematic bottom view (such as will be used in subsequent illustration). A hat  10  of this type, which may be shaped in any of a variety of styles, including those suitable for women, is characterized by having a raised top  11 , a sidewall  12  (which is usually inclined) and a brim  13 . Other suitable styles of hat may include such that lack a brim (e.g. a so-called fez). 
         [0031]    Turning now to  FIG. 2 , there is shown a hat  20 , similar to conventional hat  10  but modified according to a first configuration of the present invention. The upper drawing is a schematic bottom view of the modified hat, while the lower drawing is a cross-sectional view thereof. The inner surface of the hat&#39;s body (i.e. of the top  11  and the sidewall  12 , as well as the bottom surface of the brim  13 ) is lined with a layer of blast-resistant material  21 , such as Kevlar. Preferably there is attached to the sidewall  12  directly, or to its lining  21  (and therefore indirectly to the sidewall), a flexible reinforcement layer  22 , made, for example, of rubber. Underneath the top  11  and attached to it directly, or to its lining  21  (and therefore indirectly to the top), a shielding plate  24 , which is made of a bullet-blocking material, such as ceramic. The plate  24  is shaped and sized to be congruent to the top as much as possible. Underneath the plate  24  there is preferably another blast-resistant layer  23 , which is attached to it or otherwise stretched across the hat underneath the plate. Optionally (for added security) the plate  24  may actually consist of a plurality of bullet-blocking plates, stacked together. 
         [0032]    A bullet-blocking hat of the first configuration, constructed as described hereabove may provide a person with a certain degree of shielding from firearm bullets (or other small missiles) when used in any of the following two ways: (1) The person may generally remove the hat from his head and lay it at a nearby place, such as a car seat, as illustrated in  FIG. 3 a   ; when in danger, the person would fetch it from where it may have been resting and place it in front of his head, as illustrated in  FIG. 3 b   , or his chest, the top of the hat facing the source of the bullets. (2) While the hat remains on the person&#39;s head, as illustrated in  FIG. 3 c   , the person&#39;s head is partly protected from shrapnel and attack objects; if facing a firearm he may bow his head toward it (possibly while crouching or lying), the plate at the top then serving to block also oncoming bullets. 
         [0033]    It is noted that the plate  24  acts as a bullet-proof shield over a certain area, which may be chosen to be the most critical part of the body (e.g. head or heart). The blast-resistant layer  21  affords some shielding for the surrounding area, mitigating any damage that may be caused by a bullet. The additional blast-resistant layer  23  at the top serves to protect the body from splinters that may be dislodged from the plate  24  when hit by a bullet. The reinforcement layer  22  serves to keep the top from collapsing onto the person&#39;s body under the momentum of a hitting bullet, thus avoiding secondary injury (trauma effect). 
         [0034]    In a second, more effective, configuration of a hat according to the invention the fixed bullet-proof plate of the first configuration is replaced by a larger, foldable shield, to be deployed as described further below. Such a foldable shield  34  is depicted, unfolded, in  FIG. 4 . It is comprised of four square plates  33   a - 33   d , arranged in a 2×2 array. Adjacent pairs of plates are pivotally attached to each other by hinges  37 —plate  33   a  to plate  33   b , the latter to plate  33   c  and that to plate  33   d —allowing the plates to be folded on to each other (as described below). The plates are made of a solid bullet-proof, preferably ceramic, material and their thickness is typically 5 mm. Their size is such that, when folded, they fit inside the hat, attached to its top. It is noted that, while the plates as shown have a square shape, the outer corners may also be truncated or rounded, so that their size (and thus also the overall size of the shield) may be increased, yet when folded would fit inside the hat. Optionally a neck strap  38  is attached to plates  33   a  and  33   b  as shown in  FIG. 4 ; the strap enables hanging the open (unfolded) shield on a person&#39;s neck. 
         [0035]    In order to fold the shield  34 , plate  33   a  is tilted up and folded about the hinges  37  on to plate  33   b ; similarly plate  33   d  is folded onto plate  33   c ; finally, plate  33   c  is tilted down and folded on to plate  33   b . The folded plates are held together by a binding strap and the final result is the folded shield in the form of the four plates stacked overlappingly, as will be shown in  FIG. 5 , with plate  33   a  at the top and plate  33   d  at the bottom. 
         [0036]      FIG. 5  shows a hat  30 , similar to conventional hat  10  but modified according to the second configuration of the invention, where again the upper drawing is a schematic bottom view of the modified hat, while the lower drawing is a cross-sectional view thereof. Similarly to the hat of the first configuration, all the inner/lower surfaces of the hat are lined with a blast-resistant layer  31  and the sidewall  12  is further lined with a flexible reinforcement layer  32 . The folded shield  34  is detachably attached to the bottom surface of the top portion of the blast-resistant layer  21  by means of one or more patches  35  of a reversible attachment means, such as a hook-and-loop fastener (known commercially as Velcro). Such a patch consists of two interlocking members; one member is permanently affixed to the top portion of the blast-resistant layer  21  and the other member is permanently affixed to the bottom surface (as viewed in  FIG. 3A ) of plate  33   a , which becomes the top surface of the folded stack (as seen in the lower drawing of  FIG. 5 ). Normally, the folded shield  34  is held inside the hat  30 , attached to its top, as seen in  FIG. 5 , whereby the two members of each patch  35  mutually engage. 
         [0037]    First members  36   a  of four similar reversible attachment patches are affixed to the bottom surface of the portion of the blast-resistant layer  31  attached to the brim  13 . Returning to  FIG. 4 , there are shown matching second members  36   b  of the four reversible attachment patches, attached to the top surfaces of the plates  33 —one near the outer corner of each plate, at positions that correspond to those of patches  36   a  under the hat&#39;s brim  13  ( FIG. 5 ). These four patches enable attaching the unfolded shield  34  to the brim  13  of the hat  30  from below, as shown in a trimetric view in  FIG. 6 a    and in a bottom view in  FIG. 6 b   , whereby both members,  36   a  and  36   b , of each patch are correspondingly aligned and made to mutually engage. 
         [0038]    There are several operational modes for using the shield  34  for protection. In a first and preferable mode, when protection is required, the person would remove the folded shield from inside the hat, by detaching it from the top, then unfold it and attach it to the hat&#39;s brim as described above. Typical manners of using the hat with the attached unfolded shield are illustrated in  FIGS. 7 a  and 7 b   . The person holds the hat in front of the most vulnerable part of his body—e.g. his head, as in  FIG. 7 a   , or his chest, as in  FIG. 7 b   —with the hat&#39;s top toward his body and the shield facing the expected source of bullets. It is noted that the shield and the lined hat function cooperate as follows: The shield, with its ceramic plates, actually blocks an oncoming bullet. However the forward momentum of the bullet causes the shield to be thrusted toward the person; such thrust is absorbed by the hat&#39;s sidewall, as reinforced by layer  22 , which accordingly collapse, thus mitigating the thrust&#39;s effect on the person. Also, as a result of a hit by a bullet, a ceramic tile may locally shatter, resulting in chips propelled forward; the blast-resistant layers  21  lining the entire hat blocks such chips from hitting the person. It is noted that, under some circumstances, such as when riding in a vehicle, the unfolding of the shield and attaching it to the brim may be undertaken ahead of time; the resultant assembly would then be ready for protection instantly when required. 
         [0039]    In a second operational mode, illustrated in  FIG. 7 c   , which may be useful under some circumstances, the person would remove and unfold the shield  34  and hang it on his neck, by means of the strap  38  attached thereto, so as to shield his chest. Alternatively, the shield may be hung by the strap over a car window (not illustrated) if a suitable hook is present above it. 
         [0040]    In a third operational mode, suitable for a situation where an immediate danger leaves no time for unfolding and attaching the shield, the person would use the hat, with the folded shield still attached inside its top, in the same manner as using the hat of the first configuration, as illustrated in  FIG. 3   b.    
         [0041]    In a third configuration of the invention (not illustrated), a hat as in  FIG. 2  is further provided with a foldable plate as in  FIG. 4 , that is attachable to its brim, as in  FIGS. 6 a  and 6 b   , and, when folded, attachable inside its top as in  FIG. 5 . In this configuration the hat may provide protection simultaneously to two parts of the body, in that the hat (with its attached plate at the top) may be held in front of one part, while the unfolded shield may be held, or hung, over another part.