Abstract:
A handheld device for incapacitating dangerous suspects without endangering nearby civilians. The user holds the handgrip which has a trigger connected to a source of thrust, such as an air cartridge. When the user pulls the trigger, the air cartridge is fired and extends a shaft outwards, which has an end piece at the other end for catching suspects. The end piece unfolds into a flat surface and has needles with retractable barbs attached to the flat surface. These retractable barbs engage the suspect and incapacitate him. A cam inside of the end piece can be operated to retract the barbs and release the suspect.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates generally to devices used to subdue suspects. More specifically, the present invention relates to a device equipped with an air cartridge and an extendable end piece that has needles attached to it for catching and incapacitating a dangerous suspect from a safe distance.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Police, security personnel, and similar persons in authority often rely on non-lethal weapons to restrain dangerous individuals. These devices, including batons, stun guns, and tear gas, are powerful enough to incapacitate without actually killing. Additionally, non-lethal weapons are the best way to subdue violent suspects without unnecessarily jeopardizing the public safety.  
         [0003]     There is presently a need for incapacitating devices that are more powerful and far-reaching than the simple stick-type baton that can be used to place suspects in custody without endangering nearby civilians.  
         [0004]     U.S. Pat. No. 5,529,300 to Frazier attempts to solve this need with a self-powered extensible projectile launching police baton. The device in Frazier relies on a source of gas under pressure to forcefully extend a blunt knob toward a suspect, or alternatively, to launch projectiles at the suspect.  
         [0005]     The problem with the prior art is that it cannot reliably subdue a violent suspect. The blunt knob embodiment only operates at very short distances, while the projectile embodiment takes too much time to load and reload and also endangers nearby civilians.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     The device of the present invention can quickly and reliably restrain even the most violent suspect in a non-lethal manner without endangering nearby civilians.  
         [0007]     In general, the present invention is a baton-type device having a hand grip at one end, which houses an air cartridge or other device creating a thrusting force. A shaft made up of telescoping tubes connects the handgrip at one end to an end piece equipped with needles at the other end. In a preferred embodiment, the end piece comprises two parts that are folded when not in use and unfold into a flat surface for operation. Alternatively, the end piece does not fold. The tubes have spring-loaded buttons that snap and lock into position when the tubes are fully extended, preferably at an overall length of about 6 to 8 feet. The user can thus engage and restrain even the most violent suspect from a safe distance and hold that suspect indefinitely.  
         [0008]     There are several techniques known in the art for connecting a trigger to an air cartridge to release bursts of compressed gas. While a cartridge of compressed air or other gas is the preferred source of thrust to launch the end piece of the present device at a suspect, other sources of thrust that might be used to launch the head outwards, such as springs, chemical explosives (e.g., gunpowder), and other small explosives. One skilled in the art would appreciate all the different sources of thrust that are capable of launching an end piece outwards.  
         [0009]     The extendable shaft is made up of a series of telescoping tubes that are housed within each other. The outer tube is the largest tube and is fixed to the handgrip. This outside tube houses a middle tube which is an identical oval shape so that it fits neatly within the outer tube and minimizes any rotational slippage in the clockwise or counterclockwise direction due to the oval shape. In turn, this medium tube houses an inner tube which fits neatly within the middle tube. This inner tube extends out the farthest and is connected to the end piece. It is within the scope of this invention to vary the number of tubes as the user sees fit.  
         [0010]     When the user triggers the device, the two halves comprising the end piece unfold into a flat surface with barbed needles. The air cartridge will preferably be powerful enough to cause the end piece to unfold on its own. If not, the simplest way to unfold the end piece is for the user to manually unfold it before triggering the device. It is contemplated that handles could be attached to the outside of the halves for manually unfolding the two pieces.  
         [0011]     In another embodiment, springs are attached to the outside of each half as well as the fixed outside tube, unfolding the end piece.  
         [0012]     The hollow needles on the end piece have retractable barbs which are positioned in one of two positions: the catch position or the retracted position. In the catch position, barb tips extend outside of a side opening in the hollow needles to engage a suspect. In the retracted position, the barbs are pushed back inside of the hollow needle by a cam which is rotated by the user. The barbs are designed to stay fixed within the material they penetrate, until they are retracted back into the hollow needle.  
         [0013]     Once the barbs have engaged the assailant, the device can be used in a number of incapacitating ways.  
         [0014]     In one embodiment, the device is simply used to hold the assailant.  
         [0015]     In another embodiment, the needles are connected to a high voltage source for shocking the assailant.  
         [0016]     In another embodiment, the needles contain a tranquilizer that can be injected into the prisoner to render him unconscious. This embodiment could be used against extremely violent people or even large rampaging animals.  
         [0017]     In another embodiment, handcuffs are attached to the end piece so that the user can trigger the device to extend the handcuffs to a suspect without painfully engaging that person. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0018]      FIG. 1  is a side view of a baton in accordance with the invention prior to use.  
         [0019]      FIG. 2  is a cross-section of the baton of  FIG. 1  taken along line  2 - 2  of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0020]      FIG. 3  is a side view of the end piece of the baton of  FIG. 1  in an unfolded configuration.  
         [0021]      FIG. 4  is a cross-section of the unfolded end piece with needles and retractable barbs in the catch position.  
         [0022]      FIG. 5A  is a close-up view of the barbs in a catch position.  
         [0023]      FIG. 5B  is a close-up view of the barbs in a retracted position.  
         [0024]      FIG. 6  is a side view of the device after being triggered and the cam shaft. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0025]     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , the user holds the device by gripping the handgrip  2  with one hand and optionally gripping the shaft  8  with the other hand. The handgrip  2  houses an air cartridge  6  which is connected to a trigger  4 . When the user pulls the trigger  4 , it releases a pressurized burst from the cartridge  6 , which travels through the inner tube  34  to the end piece  20 . This pressure powerfully thrusts the end piece  20  outwards.  
         [0026]     The air cartridge  6  can be fired with short or long bursts to control speed. The use of compressed-gas cartridges to deploy projectiles is well-known in the art. In another embodiment, the end piece  20  is launched out with the use of springs loaded in the back of the handgrip  2  which snap forward when triggered. In yet other embodiments explosive gasses are used to supply thrust.  
         [0027]     Referring now to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the shaft  4  is preferably comprised of a series of three telescoping oval shaped tubes  30 ,  32  and  34  which fit inside of each other, respectively. The outer tube  30  is connected on one end to the handgrip  2  by screws or other fasteners, and on the other end to the middle tube  32  by spring buttons  10 . The middle tube  32  is connected on one end to the outer tube  30  by spring buttons  10 , and on the other end to the inner tube  34  also by spring buttons  10 . The inner tube  34  is connected on one end to the middle tube  32  by spring buttons  10 , and on the other end to the end piece  20  by rolling pins  18  which allow the halves  22  and  24  to unfold outward.  
         [0028]     These rolling pins  18  are well-known in the art and can be any type of rolling pin that facilitates the swinging back movement of the halves from a position parallel with the shaft to a position orthogonal to the shaft. It is contemplated that each of the halves  22  and  24  connects to a corresponding rolling pin, but one skilled in the art could modify this in any number of ways.  
         [0029]     Since the tubes  30 ,  32  and  34  are ovally shaped, not circularly shaped, the spring buttons  10  should stay aligned with their corresponding spring button holes  12 . Although spring buttons  10  should lock the middle and inner tubes  32  and  34  into place, stops  14  are built into one end of tubes  32  and  34 , with corresponding stop ends  16  built into the other end. When the user pulls the trigger and the end piece projects outward, the stops  14  engage the stop ends  16  at the point of full extension of the shaft  8 .  
         [0030]     When fully extended, the shaft  8  preferably extends about 6 to 8 feet outwards as measured from the handgrip  2  to the retractable barbs  40 . The actual number and shape of the tubes can vary. For instance, the middle tube  32  can be removed, or another tube or tubes can be added.  
         [0031]     The tubes are preferably constructed out of a strong, lightweight material, such as carbon fiber, and are preferably coated with TEFLON® to minimize the friction between the tubes during deployment. It is contemplated that any other stretchable material capable of being extended by thrust and locked in an extended position can be used in place of telescoping tubes, such as scissor jacks.  
         [0032]     Referring now to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the end piece  20  has two halves  22  and  24 , each lined with hollow needles  28  housing retractable barbs  40 . The halves are connected to the inner tube  34  by rolling pins  18 . The rolling pins  18  engage the two halves  22  and  24  at their ends, so that the two halves  22  and  24  can radially unfold until they are flush with each other and orthogonal with the shaft  8 , as shown in  FIG. 3 . The hollow needles  28  penetrate into the suspect&#39;s clothing, skin, or surface muscles and preferably stay fixed until the user retracts the retractable barbs  40 .  
         [0033]     It is also contemplated that the end piece  20  has a handcuff holder  26 .  
         [0034]     The total surface area of the end piece  20  when the two halves  22  and  24  are unfolded will preferably be between nine and sixteen square inches, and the length of the hollow needles  28  will be one-eighth to one-quarter inch in length. By unfolding into a large, flat surface, the end piece  20  covers a substantial contact surface area, therefore compensating for the loss of accuracy and preparation common in conflict situations.  
         [0035]     The end piece  20  is preferably made of material similar to that used to construct the shaft  8 , such as carbon fiber. One skilled in the art would appreciate that many other types of materials could be used in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0036]     Preferably, the halves  22  and  24  unfold naturally due to the powerful thrust supplied by the air cartridge  6 . However, one skilled in the art will appreciate all the numerous other ways to unfold the two halves. For instance, the user could manually unfold them before triggering the device.  
         [0037]     In another embodiment, a tube connected to the air cartridge directs a small amount of pressurized gas through the shaft and out of small openings drilled into the needles surface of each half, effectively blowing the halves apart when the trigger is pulled.  
         [0038]     In yet another embodiment, springs connect the outside of the halves to the fixed handgrip, pulling the halves open as the end piece launches outward. If the springs are metal, they can further be used to supply electric current to the needles from a separate current source.  
         [0039]     Referring now to  FIGS. 4, 5A  and  5 B, the retractable barbs  40  can be in one of two positions: the catch position, as shown in  FIG. 5A , or the retracted position, as shown in  FIG. 5B .  
         [0040]     In general, the surface plate  42  is a fixed part of the end piece&#39;s frame, while the middle plate  44  moves up and down. In the catch position, springs  36  continuously apply a force to the middle plate  44  that keeps the middle plate  44  pushed down from the surface plate  42 . The catch position is the default position of the device and is the position required to use the retractable barbs  40 . If the user wants to switch into the retracted position, the user turns a cam  38  which pushes the middle plate  44  up towards the surface plate  42 , retracting the retractable barbs  40  and releasing the suspect. The cam  38 , an eccentric wheel mounted on a rotating shaft  50 , is well known in the art.  
         [0041]     The two positions are described in more detail immediately below.  
         [0042]     Regarding the catch position as shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 A, the hollow needles  28  are mounted on the surface plate  42 . Retractable barbs  40  are mounted on the middle plate  44  and protrude into the hollow needles  28 . As a result of the springs  36  pushing the middle plate  44  down from the surface plate  42  within the end piece&#39;s frame, the retractable barbs  40 , attached to the middle plate  44 , are also pushed down. This downward force from the springs  36  causes the retractable barbs  40  to slide partially down and out of the hollow needles  28 , causing the barb tips  48  to slide down and out of the openings  46  in the hollow needles  28 . This is the catch position.  
         [0043]     Regarding the retracted position as shown in  FIG. 5B , the user. operates the cam  38 , located under the middle plate  44 , to overcome the downward force of the springs  36  and push the middle plate  44  back up towards the surface plate  42 . Preferably there is one cam in each half  22  and  24 . Since the retractable barbs  40  are connected to the middle plate  44 , the cam also pushes the retractable barbs up towards the surface plate  42 . As a result, the barb tips  48  slide back through the openings  15  and the retractable barbs  40  slide back up into the hollow needle  28 . This is the retracted position.  
         [0044]     Regarding the cam as shown in  FIG. 6 , to retract the retractable barbs  40 , the user rotates the rotating cam shaft  50 , which is a series of tubes identical to the three tubes  30 ,  32  and  34  both in design and composition, only smaller. This rotating cam shaft is connected to the cam  38  at one end and preferably the handgrip  2  at the other end, although it does not necessarily have to extend all the way back to the handgrip  2 . The user rotates the rotating cam shaft  50  and the cam  38  rotates in an eccentric motion due to its eccentric shape, as depicted in  FIGS. 4 and 6 . The use of a cam is well-known in the art.  
         [0045]     With the aforementioned description of the preferred embodiment in mind, the following paragraphs illustrate how to use the device to catch suspects.  
         [0046]     The user grips the handgrip  2  and pulls the trigger  4 , releasing a burst of gas from the cartridge  6 . This gas travels through the shaft  8  to the end piece  20  and launches the end piece  20  towards the assailant.  
         [0047]     As the end piece  20  moves outward, it pulls the inner tube  34  out with it because the two are connected by rolling pins  18 . At the same time, the halves  22  and  24  of the end piece  20  unfold, exposing the retractable barbs  40 . When the inner tube  34  extends almost all the way out of the middle tube  32 , spring buttons  10  from the inner tube lock into spring button holes  12  in the middle tube  32 . The inner tube&#39;s thrust pulls the middle tube  32  out with it. This process is repeated between the middle and outer tubes,  32  and  30 , respectively. The telescoping motion occurs until all the tubes have been fully extended or the barbs  40  have engaged the suspect, whichever occurs first.  
         [0048]     The retractable barbs  40  and hollow needles  28  engage the suspect. The needles  9  can simply hold the suspect, or administer tranquilizers, or shock the suspect, or do any number of other things apparent to those skilled in the art of law enforcement. When the user has satisfactorily incapacitated the suspect, the user can rotate the rotating cam shaft  50  to disengage the suspect.  
         [0049]     In practice, the entire telescoping motion should occur in a fraction of a second due to the powerful nature of the pressurized burst and the lightweight design of the device.  
         [0050]     The invention can be modified in various ways. It should be understood that the terminology which has been used is intended to be in the nature of words of description rather than of limitation. Many modifications and variations of the invention are possible in light of the above teachings. These and other modifications, which will be apparent to those skilled in the art, should be considered within the spirit and scope of the following claims.