Abstract:
A personal protection ring device and system worn on a finger that utilizes a relatively unseen spiked weapon that can be used in self-defense situations.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the priority of U.S. Provisional 61/530,924, filed Sep. 2, 2011. 
     
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not applicable. 
       REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISC APPENDIX 
       [0003]    Not applicable. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    1. Field 
         [0005]    The invention to be described relates to a personal protection ring device and, more particularly to a ring that is adapted to be worn on a finger and includes a relatively unseen spiked weapon that can be used in self-defense situations. 
         [0006]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0007]    Personal safety and protection is increasingly becoming a main concern for many people. For this reason, many different types of portable protection devices are now readily available in today&#39;s marketplace and it is not uncommon to find many people, particularly women, carrying such personal protection devices. Often, these known types of personal protection devices are kept in a pocket, purse or bag and removed when needed. Unfortunately, under various circumstances, time does not always permit these devices to be accessed. 
         [0008]    This problem has been recognized in the art and therefore various personal protection devices have been proposed which are more readily accessible. For example, it has been proposed to construct jewelry, such as rings and bracelets, with some type of personal protection feature. Many of these though suffer from being too visible to others or from requiring adjustment before use, or result in a self-defense response which is not useful. 
         [0009]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,398,524 to Rochez describes a ring which has a tubular member on the top (and visible) which can be shifted from a retracted position in which an internal pin is located within the tubular member to an extended position in which the pin projects from the tubular member and can be used for defensive purposes. 
         [0010]    U.S. Pat. No. 3,995,447 to Levsunov describes an ornamental finger ring formed of a plurality of ring sections that can be rotated into a new configuration that exposes cutting edges for defensive purposes. 
         [0011]    These and others suffer from the aforementioned limitations. 
         [0012]    Therefore, there exists a need in the art for a personal protection device that can be carried or worn in a readily accessible manner and which is not only constructed so as to be generally cosmetically appealing, but constitutes an effective weapon that can be used very quickly and unexpectedly. 
         [0013]    The solution to be described herein addresses this need. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0014]    The solution can be realized by a personal protection ring device and system including at least a ring member having a central aperture and being adapted to be worn by a user of the personal protection ring device with a finger of the user extending through the central aperture; an extended metal spike with the proximal end attached to the ring member on the underside of the ring member and adapted to reside along the palm of the hand with the distal end of the spike extending past the wrist along the forearm and ; a band around the forearm of the user enclosing the distal end of the spike. 
         [0015]    In another aspect the extended metal spike is attached to the ring member by being welded to the ring member on the underside of the ring member. 
         [0016]    In another aspect extended metal spike is adapted to have a hole in the proximal end that is attached to the ring member by a semicircular metal loop attached to the ring member. 
         [0017]    In another aspect the extended metal spike is adapted to be attached to the ring member by a swivel. 
         [0018]    In another aspect the extended metal spike tapers from the proximal end to the distal end. 
         [0019]    In another aspect the extended metal spike has a sharp point on the distal end. 
         [0020]    In another aspect the sharp point on the distal end is curved outward away from the forearm of the user. 
         [0021]    In another aspect the band around the forearm of said user is a watchband. 
         [0022]    In another aspect the band around the forearm of said user is a bracelet. 
         [0023]    In another aspect the band around the forearm of said user is an elastomeric band. 
         [0024]    In anther aspect the elastomeric band around the forearm of said user can be a rubber band. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
         [0025]      FIG. 1  is a view of the personal protection ring device with attached extended metal spike. 
           [0026]      FIG. 2  is a view of the personal protection ring device and system on the index finger. 
           [0027]      FIG. 3  is a more detailed view of one connection of the spike to the ring member. 
           [0028]      FIG. 4  is a more detailed view of the sharp curved spike at the distal end. 
           [0029]      FIG. 5  is a view of the person protection ring device gripped in the hand. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
       [0030]      FIG. 1 , shown generally as the numeral  10  is a rendering of a ring member  20  with attached extended metal spike  30 . Ring member  20  has a central aperture through which a users finger can be extended. Ring member  20  can be any standard ring and can be plain or highly decorative. Metal spike  30  can be manufactured of any metal. A corrosion free metal such as a stainless steel is preferred but not required as part of the inventive concept. Metal spike  30  tapers from a wider width at the proximal end  40  to the distal end  50 . At the distal end  50  the extended spike tapers to a sharp point. In one preferred embodiment that sharp point is curved. 
         [0031]      FIG. 2 , shown generally as the numeral  100 , is a rendering of the personal protection ring device and system as shown on a users hand. Ring member  20  is shown on the index finger. Extended metal spike  30  attached to ring member  20  is adapted to lie flat along the palm  110  of users hand and extend past the wrist  120  and along the forearm  130  as shown. Extended metal spike  30  is held in place against the palm of user by a band  140  around forearm  130 . In this configuration it has been found that the personal protection ring device and system can be worn comfortably and is relatively invisible to casual observers. The sharp point at the distal end  50  of extended metal spike  30  is pointed slightly away from the forearm  130 . 
         [0032]    In use the personal protection ring device and system represents a formidable weapon in case of a sudden attack by a threatening person. When attacked an instinctive move by most victims is to quickly raise the arm as a shield against an attack. By simply pulling back with the index finger as the arm is brought fiercely across the face of the attacker the outward pointed sharp distal end of the metal spike is raked across the face of the attacker, and can inflict painful damage. There is no need to remove the metal spike from the band to achieve this so no time is lost. Unlike other prior art ring devices this personal protection ring device has the element of surprise in that no time is lost trying to reconfigure the device for use. 
         [0033]    It should be noted that the band  140  shown in  FIG. 2  could take a number of forms. It could simply be a watchband that the user normally wears. It could also be a bracelet. In a preferred embodiment the band would be an elastomeric band that allows extended distal end  50  metal of metal spike  30  to extend out from the forearm further when the user pulls back on the index finger. In a related embodiment the elastomeric band could simply be a rubber band. The invention described herein anticipates any of these band options. 
         [0034]    It should also be noted that the embodiment of  FIG. 2 , with ring member  20  on the index finger is not the only possibility as ring member  20  could be placed on other fingers. Any finger is anticipated by this disclosure. 
         [0035]      FIG. 3 , shown general as the numeral  200 , shows the detail of a possible configuration of the attachment of extended metal spike  30  to ring member  20 . In this embodiment the proximal end  40  of extended metal spike  30  has a drilled hole and a semicircular metal loop  210  is attached to ring member  20  on the underside (palm side) of the ring member. The metal loop  210  passes through the hole in the proximal end, allowing a free movement of the extended metal spike so that it easily adjusts to hand movements during normal work. It has been found that with this arrangement as well as in the use of a swivel attachment of the spike to the ring member (to be described) the personal protection ring device and system can be comfortably worn even while performing routine tasks like eating or typing. 
         [0036]    It should be noted that other adaptations for attaching metal spike  30  to ring member  20  are possible. Instead of the metal loop configuration of  FIG. 3  the extended metal spike  30  could be attached to ring member  20  through a swivel configuration (not shown). The term swivel in this context could be any link, pivot, or other fastening so designed that it permits the free turning of extended metal spike  30  in any direction. In another aspect, although not preferred, extended metal spike  30  could be hard welded to ring member  20  in a configuration that extends the metal spike  30  directly along the palm of the user toward the forearm. Any of these adaptations are anticipated in this disclosure. 
         [0037]      FIG. 4 , shown generally as the numeral  300 , is a more detailed view of the distal end of extended metal spike  30  showing the sharper and curved distal end  50  that curves away from the forearm of the user. 
         [0038]      FIG. 5 , shown generally as the numeral  400 , exhibits the personal protection ring device and system in an alternate configuration. After disabling an assailant with the personal protection ring device and system in its normal configuration with the metal spike  30  within the forearm band  140  metal spike  30  can be quickly withdrawn from the band and gripped in the hand (without removing ring member  30  from the index finger. In this configuration the extended metal spike  30  with the sharp distal end  50  can be use in a more aggressive stabbing motion. 
         [0039]    Although certain embodiments of the present invention and their advantages have been described herein in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Moreover, the scope of the present invention is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments described herein. As a person of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from this disclosure, configurations presently existing or later to be developed that perform substantially the same function or achieve substantially the same result as the corresponding embodiments described herein may be utilized according to the present invention. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to include within their scope such configurations.