Abstract:
An armored booth that functions as a protective enclosure permitting the occupants to approach armed individuals with reduced risk of harm to the occupants. The booth includes a housing formed of armored material and proportioned to be able to enter the doorway of a building. The housing has armored windows and gun ports. The housing has wheels and may be moved from place to place by the occupant walking inside of the housing.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    This invention relates generally to an armored booth and more particularly to a protective enclosure that permits the occupants to approach armed individuals with reduced risk of harm to the occupants.  
           [0003]    2. Description of the Relevant Art  
           [0004]    In recent years, there have been frequent situations in which a school, place of business, home or residence is occupied or taken over by an armed individual or individuals, such as, a deranged student, disgruntled employee or unhappy lover. In many cases there are hostages involved. The police authorities are faced with a difficult problem. In order to obtain access to the premises and arrest the perpetrators, they must risk personal injury or death. Frequently the result is a standoff with the hope that the perpetrators will come to their senses and surrender and that any hostages will not be injured or killed. The desired outcome does not always happen, however, and it is therefore desirable that improved means be provided for aiding the police authorities in overcoming such perpetrators and rescuing any hostages.  
           [0005]    There are available in the prior art various devices which might be used in such situations. For example, the U.S. Pat. No. 4,781,101 to Zevuluni discloses a mobile maneuverable crowd control shield within which a policeman can be protected and can move from place to place. The U.S. Pat. No. 4,245,546 to Chaves discloses a bulletproof or armored shield that protects the occupant and allows the occupant to move from place to place. The U.S. Pat. No. 1,253,964 to Hack discloses a guardhouse that is movable from place to place by the person inside the guardhouse who is protected by the guardhouse. These devices, however, are not completely satisfactory, in that they do not, for example, deal with the problem of the policeman entering a building or with the perpetrator shooting at the feet of the policeman as the policeman moves toward the perpetrator.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    One embodiment of the armored booth of the present invention might involve a housing formed of armored material. The housing has walls having gun ports therein adapted to permit gun shooting through the gun ports from the interior of the housing. There are also provided windows formed of transparent armored material mounted in the walls. Wheels are mounted on the housing and are adapted to support the housing above a ground or floor surface. A flange is mounted on the housing so as to extend inwardly above at least a portion of the wheels whereby a person inside of the housing can stand on the flange to prevent gun shots from harming the feet of the person.  
           [0007]    Another embodiment of the armored booth of the invention includes a housing formed of armored material. Wheels are mounted on the housing and are adapted to support the housing in spaced relation above a ground or floor surface. The housing has a transverse dimension that is less than 36 inches. The housing and wheels have a vertical dimension which is less than 82 inches whereby the housing is capable of passing through a rectangular building door opening of a dimension 36×82 inches or greater. The housing has walls having windows formed of armored glass the walls having gun ports therein adapted to permit gun shooting through the gun ports from the interior of the housing.  
           [0008]    Still another embodiment of the invention is an armored booth including a housing formed of armored material. The housing includes walls which have gun ports therein adapted to permit gun shooting through the gun ports from the interior of the housing. Windows formed of transparent armored material are mounted in the walls. The walls include a rectangular front wall, a rectangular rear wall and two rectangular side walls. Wheels are mounted on the housing and are adapted to support the housing in spaced relation above a ground or floor surface. The front wall and housing have a horizontal dimension that is less than 36 inches. The housing and wheels have a vertical dimension that is less than 82 inches whereby the housing is capable of passing through a rectangular building door opening of dimensions 36×82 inches or greater. The front wall has a pair of arm openings therein. There is also provided a pair of armored closure members each having an upper edge that is pivotally attached to the front wall above a respective opening of said pair of arm openings. Each of the closure members is hung over a respective one of the arm openings and closes the respective arm opening but is pivotal outwardly away from the front wall to permit a person inside of the housing reaching his arm through a respective arm opening to open a door handle of a door in a building door opening whereby the armored booth may be moved through the building door opening.  
           [0009]    Still a further embodiment of the armored booth involves a housing formed of armored material. The housing includes walls having gun ports therein adapted to permit gun shooting through the gun ports from the interior of the housing. Windows formed of transparent armored material are mounted in the walls. The walls include a rectangular front wall, a rectangular rear wall and two rectangular side walls. A first pair of wheels is mounted on the front wall and a second pair of wheels is mounted on the rear wall. The wheels are adapted to support the housing in spaced relation above a ground or floor surface. The first set of wheels is swivel mounted whereby the wheels can turn in multiple directions. The second pair of wheels is swivel mounted whereby the wheels can turn in multiple directions but also are restrainable so that they can turn only in a plane extending front to rear of said housing. Bearings are mounted on the rear wall and are movable to restrain the second pair of wheels to turn in only a front to rear extending plane relative to said housing.  
           [0010]    Still a further embodiment of the invention is an armored booth comprising a housing formed of armored material. The housing includes walls having gun ports therein adapted to permit gun shooting through the gun ports from the interior of the housing. Windows formed of transparent armored material are mounted in the walls and wheels are mounted on the housing and adapted to support the housing above a ground or floor surface. The walls include a rear wall that has a door opening in the rear wall. A door formed of armored material is hung on the rear wall and is pivotal in a horizontal direction between a first position closing the door opening and a second position opening the door opening. Posts are mounted on the rear wall. The door is hung on the posts and is liftable off of the posts to serve as an armored shield.  
           [0011]    Another embodiment of the invention is an armored booth comprising a housing formed of armored material. The housing has a wall with a window formed of transparent armored material mounted in the wall. The wall has a pair of arm openings therein. There is provided a pair of armored closure members each having an upper edge pivotally attached to the wall above a respective one of the arm openings and closing the respective arm opening but pivotal outwardly away from the front wall to permit a person inside the housing reaching his arm through the respective arm opening to open a door handle or a door in a building door opening whereby the armored booth may be moved through the building door opening.  
           [0012]    Still a further embodiment of the invention involves providing a leveraged lift for lifting an armored housing over obstacles when the housing wheels are impeded.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]    [0013]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the armored booth of the present invention showing in dotted lines the booth entering a door opening in a building.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the armored booth looking toward the rear of the booth.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing the rear door of the armored booth removed.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the front of the armored booth of FIG. 1 showing one of the steps in opening the door of a building.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view similar to FIG. 1 of an alternative embodiment of the armored booth of the present invention.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view of an alternative wheel arrangement of the present invention.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 7 is a fragmentary view of an alternative armored booth of the present invention.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 8 is a fragmentary view of an alternative wheel arrangement of the present invention.  
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0021]    For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated device, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates.  
         [0022]    Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a preferred embodiment of an armored booth  20  which includes a housing  21  including a front wall  22 , rear wall  25  and side walls  26 . Each of the walls  22 ,  25  and  26  has a window  27  that is located at the normal height of the eyes of a person so that the occupant of the booth can see to shoot a gun through the gun port  30  located in each of the front and side walls of the armored booth. In the case of the front wall  22  there is an additional window  31  provided which allows the occupant of the armored booth to see what sort of obstacles might be in front of the armored booth as it is moved along the ground or floor. The windows  27  and  31  are formed of armored transparent material such as armored glass or the like. Also the walls  22 ,  25  and  26  are formed of armored material. One example of an appropriate material for the walls is ⅛” thick aluminum and Level 3 or 4 Kevlar fabricated by Supreme Corporation of Goshen, Ind. Level 3 or 4 refers to the commercial bullet resistant rating system known as ______ .  
         [0023]    The Kevlar fabric armored material may also be obtained commercially under the trade name Yellow Jacket. The armored glass is also available commercially from Protective Armored Systems of 140 Crystal Street, Lenox Dale, Mass. 01242. The gun ports may be merely openings or may be commercially available gun ports available, for example, from Supreme Corporation of P.O. Box 483, Goshen, Ind. 46627. Such gun ports can be closed with an armored closure so as to obstruct a bullet from coming into the booth from outside of the booth.  
         [0024]    The housing also includes an armored top  35  that is rectangular and has a rectangular ventilation opening  36  in the center of the top. Mounted directly above and completely covering the ventilation opening  36  is an armored member  37  secured to the top  35  by four spacers  40  located at the corners of the member  37 . The top  35  and member  37  are formed of the same armored material as the walls  22 ,  25  and  26 .  
         [0025]    The armored booth has a first pair of wheels  45  mounted on the front of the booth and a second pair of wheels  46  mounted on the rear of the booth. The wheels in a preferred embodiment of the invention have a diameter of eight inches which allows them to roll over bumps in the ground or floor surface. The wheels  45  and  46  are swivel mounted by mounting members  47  and  50 . The wheels  45  and  46  support the housing in spaced relation above the ground or floor surface. It is preferred that this spacing be approximately two inches although the booth is usable with spacings less than and greater than two inches. The housing  21  has a flange  50  mounted on the housing and specifically on the rear, front and side walls of the housing. The flange extends inwardly above the wheels and allows a person inside the housing to stand on the flange so as to prevent gun shots from harming the feet of the person.  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 1 also shows in dotted lines the entryway or door opening  55  of a building. The armored booth of the present invention is intended to be able to go through a door opening of a building. Typical door openings have dimensions that are 36×82 inches. Therefore the vertical height of the housing  21  and the wheels which support the housing off the ground or floor surface should be less than 82 inches. Also the transverse dimension of the housing is less than 36 inches, which is the typical transverse dimension of a door opening in a building.  
         [0027]    Referring to FIG. 2 the rear of the armored booth is illustrated in more detail and includes the rear wall  26 . The housing has a door opening  60  in the rear wall  26 . The door opening  60  is closed by the housing door  61  which is formed of armored material and is hung on the rear wall and is pivotal in a horizontal direction between a first position closing the housing door opening and a second position illustrated in FIG. 2 opening the housing door opening  60 . The door  61  has a latch  64 . FIG. 2 also shows handles  62 ,  63  and  65 . The handles  62  and  63  are mounted on the housing door  61  and used to lift the door  61  off of the posts  66  shown in FIG. 3. The posts  66  are mounted on the rear wall  26  and project upwardly and are normally received within the sockets  70  mounted on the rear door  61 . When the rear door  61  is removed as in FIG. 3 it can be used as an armored shield. Also as illustrated the rear door  61  has an armored transparent window  27  and gun port  30  that is available to the user of the shield and door  61 . The door  61  may be formed of the same armored material used for the walls  22 ,  25  and  26 .  
         [0028]    As described above the rear wheels  46  are swivel mounted by mounting members  50 . The rear wheels  46  however may be restrained in a plane extending front to rear of the housing by means of bearings  71  which are mounted on shafts  72 . The shafts  72  are fixed in and project from a bar  75 . The bar may be latched in an upward position which causes the bearings to be moved away from the wheels  46  so that they are free to swivel. When the bar  75  is not latched in the upward position it may be moved down to the illustrated position of FIG. 2 whereby the wheels  46  are restrained by the bearings  71  so that they can only turn in a plane front to rear of the housing. It is normally easier to move the housing from place to place with the rear wheels  46  restrained in the front to rear plane and with the front wheels in a swiveling condition. However, if it is desired to rotate the armored booth in place it is preferred to allow the rear wheels to swivel.  
         [0029]    Referring to FIG. 6 an alternative embodiment of the invention includes having a peripheral slot  80  surrounding each rear wheel  46  and the projection  72 ′ being only a single projection instead of a projection on either side of the wheel so that the projection  72 ′ has a bearing  71 ′ on its distal end. The arrangement illustrated in FIG. 6 operates in the same fashion as the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2 to restrain the wheels  46 ′ in a plane extending front to rear of the housing. Still another alternative embodiment is shown in FIG. 8 wherein the wheel  46 ″ may be restrained in a plane extending front to rear of the housing by projecting flat members  72 ″ which are mounted on a plate  125  that is horizontally slidably mounted on the rear wall  26 ″ of an armored booth.  
         [0030]    Referring to FIG. 5, there is shown an alternative embodiment wherein the front wheels  45 ′ are mounted on a plate  85 ′ pivotally mounted at the center  86 ′ of the plate to the front wall  22 ′. The wheel mounting members  90 ′ to which the wheels  45 ′ are swivel mounted by the swivel members  47 ′ are secured to the opposite ends  87  of the plate  85 ′. Thus if the housing encounters a bump that raises one of the wheels  45 ′ relative to the other wheel  45 ′, the plate  85 ′ pivots about the axis of mounting  86 ′ so that it is easier to move the housing from place to place.  
         [0031]    Referring to FIGS. 1 and 4, the front wall  22  has a pair of arm openings  99  therein each of which is covered by a respective armored closure member  100 . Each of the closure members  100  has an upper edge which is pivotally attached to the front wall  22  above a respective one of the openings. Each of the closure members can be swung away from the front wall to permit a person inside the housing reaching his arm through a respective opening to open a door handle  101  of a door  102  in a building door opening such as the door opening  55  of FIG. 1. Two arm openings  99  are provided one on each side of the armored booth  20  so that a door handle on either side of the building door can be opened.  
         [0032]    When in use the armored booth may be impeded by a large bump, step up or other variation from flat surface over which the armored booth is moved. A leveraged lift  110  is provided to clear such obstacles. The leveraged lift is pivotally mounted on the housing and the lever arms  111  and  112  are suitably proportioned to ease lifting the housing over the obstacle. This feature may or may not be provided in the embodiment of FIGS.  1 - 7 . Also this feature may be provided in wheeled armored booths having housing of other shapes and sizes than described in connection with FIGS.  1 - 6 . Alternatively two of the leveraged lifts  110  may be provided, one on each of the two sides of the housing. The two leveraged lifts may be used independently or both may be used at the same time to lift the front two wheels  45  over an obstacle blocking both wheels.  
         [0033]    While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood that only some of the preferred embodiments have been shown and described and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the invention are desired to be protected.  
         [0034]    As examples of some of the other embodiments of the invention that are desired to be protected, the armored booth might have an outside housing configuration other than the rectangular configuration of FIGS.  1 - 3  and might have the configuration for example as shown in the Zevaluni U.S. Pat. No. 4,781,101. Alternatively, the outside housing configuration might be as shown in the Chaves U.S. Pat. No. 4,245,546 but with the modification that wheels such as  45  or  45 ′ and  46  would be provided and mounted on the housing or shield of the Chaves patent to support the housing in spaced relation to the ground or floor as described and shown above in connection with the preferred embodiment of FIGS.  1 - 3 . Each of these other embodiments of this paragraph would be provided with the flange  50  mounted on the housing at the lower edge thereof so as to allow the person inside the housing to stand on the flange so as to prevent gun shots from harming the feet of the person.  
         [0035]    Still other embodiments of the invention desired to be protected involve use of an outside housing configuration other than the rectangular configuration of FIGS.  1 - 3  and also eliminating the wheels  45  and  46 . Such an alternative embodiment is shown fragmentarily in FIG. 7 as having the doors  100 ′, arm openings  99 ′ and armored windows  27 ′ and  31 ′ in the wall  22 ′.  
         [0036]    Still further embodiments of the invention include providing an armored housing of any configuration and dimensions for the housing but having the above-described wheel system. Specifically the housing is provided with front wheels  45  which are swivel mounted. The housing also has rear wheels  46  which are also swivel mounted but are also restrainable so that they turn only in a plane extending front to rear of the housing. These embodiments are also provided with bearings mounted on the housing and movable to restrain the rear wheels to turn only in a front to rear extending plane relative to said housing.