Personal protection device

A hand-held device for personal protection. The device is provided with a hook at the end of a rod. When it is desired to strike at an attacker, the hook is thrust from within the housing of the device. The device can be provided with compression bias which requires a user to apply pressure to a knob to actuate the device or with a tension bias which permits the device to be actuated upon the release of a trigger-type arrangement.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to hand-held devices for personal protection. 
More particularly, the invention relates to a lightweight protection 
device wherein an assailant is repelled from his attack upon being 
stricken by the device. 
Rapes, muggings, purse snatchings and other physical assaults are a serious 
problem in the world today. These attacks often result in bodily harm, 
mental anguish and loss of property. 
Each known method of personal protection has certain disadvantages. 
Firearms and knives, for example, cannot be carried upon the person of 
most citizens without violation of Federal and State statutes. Even those 
citizens who are permitted to carry such dangerous weapons may not wish to 
inflict as massive an injury to another as is typical with such weapons. 
In addition, such weapons have been shown to carry a substantial risk of 
injury to the owner through accidental discharge or impalement. 
Commercially sold gas cannisters, contemplated for spraying into the face 
of an attacker, for example, have also been shown to be ineffective for 
their intended purpose. In reality, such cannisters are difficult to aim 
accurately, particularly where the victim is taken by surprise. The 
deterrent effect of the spray in such cannisters, even if actually 
administered to an assailant in a strong dose has also been questioned. 
Moreover, these sprays are especially susceptible to weakening if sprayed 
any substantial distance through the ambient. 
Knowledge of assaultive techniques, such as karate and judo is also an 
unacceptable alternative for many persons. Some people simply lack the 
physical size necessary to employ such techniques effectively or lack the 
self-discipline required to master such techniques in the first instance. 
What is needed therefore is a new personal protection device which is easy 
to operate, effective in its intended purpose of deterring attack and 
which is inexpensive to manu- facture. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention accomplishes its objects by providing a lightweight, 
hand-held personal protection device which deters an attacker by means of 
a hook member, being a three-pronged fish hook, for example, mounted on 
the end of a rod, preferably in a break-away fashion, and which 
hook-provided rod is thrust from within the protection device housing by 
easy to operate displacing means. 
The invention contemplates a wide variety of embodiments wherein the 
displacing means operates against a compression bias or in co-operation 
with a tension bias, for example, through squeezing of a push member or 
releasing of a "trigger". Additionally, the invention may be applied in 
several suitable housings ranging from a relatively small gun-configured 
housing to a relatively large walking-cane configured housing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring now to the drawing, and more particularly to FIGS. 1-3 thereof, 
an example of a personal protection device 10 is shown comprising a 
housing 12, a reciprocable rod 14 slidably disposed in the housing 12, a 
hook member 16 projecting from an end 18 of the rod 14 and displacing 
means 20 coupled to the other end 22 of the rod. The displacing means 20, 
as explained hereafter, displaces the rod 14 from the inoperative position 
wherein the hook member 16 projecting from the end 18 of the rod 14 is 
disposed within the housing 12, as shown at FIG. 2, to an operative 
position wherein the hook member 16 projects outside the housing 12 as 
shown at FIG. 3. 
In the example of personal protection device 10 illustrated at FIGS. 1-3, 
the housing 12 is elongated and is provided with a tubular body portion 24 
integrally connected by a stepped or conical portion 26 to a first 
enlarged diameter portion 28 and second enlarged diameter portion 30. An 
integrally formed arcuate member 32, which aids a person in applying 
pressure to the displacement means 20, as also explained hereafter, 
extends downwardly from the exterior surface 34 of the tubular portion 24 
of the housing 12. 
In the embodiment of FIGS. 1-3 the displacing means 20 comprises a push 
member 36, in the form of a knob, which enables a person pressing the push 
member 36 towards the housing 12 to displace the rod 14 to an operative 
position against biasing means 38 acting to urge the rod 14 toward an 
inoperative position. The push member 36 is substantially hemispherical 
and is coupled to the rod 14, for example, by inserting the end 22 of the 
rod 14 into a radial bore 40 of the push member 36, which radial bore 40 
extends through an end face 42 of the push member 36. After insertion of 
the end 22 of the rod 14 into the radial bore 40 of the push member 36, a 
pin 44 is inserted through aligned transverse bores in the push member 36 
and the rod 14. The push member 36 is also a suitable location for passing 
therethrough a carrying cord or strap 50, FIGS. 1-3. 
The biasing means 38, shown as a compression coil spring, is disposed 
around the rod 14 with its ends 52 and 54 abutting respectively an end 
surface 56 of the housing 12 and the end face 42 of the push member 14. To 
protect the compression spring from becoming entangled in the material of 
a cloth pocket, for example, the spring is preferably enclosed in a sleeve 
58 made of any suitable flexible material such as canvas or flexible 
plastic. 
It is readily apparent that the purpose of the aforementioned arcuate 
member 32 extending downwardly from the exterior surface 34 of the tubular 
portion 24 of the housing 12 is to provide a leverage point to a person 
desiring to operate the device by pressing the push member 36 and 
displacing the rod 14. After placing the push member 36 in the palm of a 
hand, the arcuate member 32 is conveniently disposed for bending a finger 
around and squeezing the palm toward the finger. 
The reciprocable rod 14 is slidably disposed in the housing 12 by being 
passed through aligned, axial, longitudinal bores 60, 62 in the tubular 
body portion 24 of the housing 12 and an internal collar 64 mounted in the 
housing 12. More particularly, the internal collar 64 is configured to be 
affixed about its periphery by appropriate means to the interior surfaces 
of the first enlarged diameter portion 28 and stepped portion 26 of the 
housing 12 with a tight fit. The collar 64 permits the rod 14 to be 
supported within the housing 12 along a greater portion of its length than 
if the collar 64 is omitted. 
With the rod 14 disposed through the aligned axial bores 60, 62 of the 
tubular portion 24 of the housing 12 and the internal collar 64 of the 
housing 12, the end 18 of the rod 14 to which the hook member 16 is 
connected projects forwardly from the axial bore 62 of the collar 64. When 
the device 10 is in an inoperative condition, FIG. 2, the projecting end 
18 of the rod 14, from which the hook member protrudes is disposed within 
the first enlarged diameter portion 28 of the housing 12, and the hook 
member 16 is safely disposed within the second enlarged diameter portion 
30 which acts as a shield. When the device 10 is in an operative condition 
as a result of actuation of the displacing means 20, FIG. 3, the forwardly 
projecting end 18 of the rod 14 is displaced from the first enlarged 
diameter portion of the housing 12 through an opening 65 in the end wall 
66 of the housing 12 to outside the housing 12 with the hook member 16 
appropriately positioned at the end 18 of the rod 14 for striking at an 
attacker. 
To prevent the hook-provided, forwardly projecting, end 18 of the rod 14 
from being accidentally displaced to its operative position by actuation 
of the displacing means 20, a removable safety cap 68 is preferably 
inserted through the opening 65 of the end wall 66 of the housing 12 and 
into the second enlarged diameter portion 30 of the housing 12 such as to 
close the opening 65 in the end wall 66. The safety cap 68 illustrated at 
FIGS. 1 and 2 comprises a relatively narrow, circularly cylindrical solid 
body portion 70 substantially identical in circumference to the end wall 
66. The body portion 70 of the safety cap 68 is provided on one lateral 
surface 72 with a pair of perpendicularly projecting, diametrically 
opposed, arcuate rims 74, FIG. 2, each of the rims 74 being disposed 
concentric and in close proximity to a tubular portion 76 protruding at 
right angles from the center of the lateral surface 72. The exterior 
circumference of the tubular portion 76 is close in size to the interior 
circumference of the first enlarged diameter portion 28 of the housing 12. 
When the safety cap 68 is inserted into the housing 12 through the opening 
65, each arcuate rim 74 engages a portion of the end wall 66 and the 
tubular portion 76 extends through the second enlarged diameter portion 30 
into the first enlarged diameter portion 28 where it is frictionally held 
by a tight fit. A slot 78 is provided proximate the top of the end wall 66 
to permit introduction of the top rim 74 of the safety cap 68. An upwardly 
protruding lip 80 is provided at the top of the exterior of the safety cap 
68 for pulling the end cap 68 from the housing 12. 
As an additional feature of the invention, the hook member 16 is preferably 
attached to the forwardly projecting end 18 of the rod 14 in a 
"break-away" fashion thereby allowing a user of the device 10 to implant 
the hook member 16 into an assailant and separate the hook member 16 from 
the rod 14 upon a predetermined amount of slight pull, between 
approximately 5 and 10 lbs., being applied to the rod 14. This feature 
avoids the undesirable situation where a potential victim having the 
carrying strap 50 around the wrist impales his or her attacker with the 
hook member 16 only to become attached to the attacker through the device 
10. 
One type of break-away arrangement for attaching a hook member 16 to the 
forwardly projecting end 18 of the rod 14 is best shown at FIG. 4. A 
transverse longitudinal slot 82 is provided along the forwardly projecting 
end 18 of the rod 14. The transverse longitudinal slot 82 forms an opening 
84 at the end 18 of the rod 14 for inserting a casing or sheath 86 
therein. The sheath 86, being made of plastic or elastomeric material, for 
example, has flexible, deformable sidewalls 88, is substantially eliptical 
at the one end 90, and is provided at the other end with a tubular opening 
92 so that an eye portion 94 of the hook member 16 can be inserted into 
the sheath 86. The eliptical end 90 of the sheath 86 snuggly retains the 
eye portion 94 of the hook member 16 until a predetermined amount of pull 
is applied to the hook member 16 through the rod 14. Upon such pull the 
sidewalls 88 of the sheath 86 deform so as to release the eye portion 94 
of the hook member 16 through the tubular opening 92 of the sheath 86. The 
sheath 86 itself is retained in the transverse longitudinal slot 82 of the 
rod 14 by a pin member 96 passed through a transverse bore 98 in the 
eliptical end 90 of the sheath 86 and through aligned transverse bores 
100, 102 in the forwardly projecting end 18 of the rod 14, which aligned 
transverse bores 100, 102 in the forwardly projecting end 18 of the rod 14 
communicate with the transverse longitudinal slot 82 in which the sheath 
86 is inserted. The pin 96 serves the additional function of limiting the 
retraction of the rod 14 by the biasing means 38 by preventing the 
forwardly projecting end 18 of the rod 18 from entering the axial 
longitudinal bore 62 of the collar 64. 
In contrast to the embodiment of the invention illustrated at FIGS. 1-3 
wherein the displacing means 20 operate against compression biasing means 
38, which biasing means 38 acts to urge the rod 14 to an inoperative 
position, the embodiment of the invention shown at FIGS. 5-9 is an example 
of structure wherein the displacing means operate to release tension 
biasing means, which tension biasing means acts to urge the rod to an 
operative position. For the purpose of illustration the device 10 of FIGS. 
1-3, incorporating the compression bias, is generally "gun" configured and 
the device 10' of FIGS. 5-9, incorporating a tension bias, is generally 
"cane" configured. It will be appreciated, however, that any number of 
housing shapes could be suitable to incorporate the invention with tension 
or compression biasing means. 
The personal protection device 10' shown at FIGS. 5-9 comprises an 
elongated, circularly cylindrical housing 12' and a spherical handle 
member 104 affixed across a portion of its periphery to an arcuate end 106 
of the housing 12' by any suitable means, such as threaded engagement, not 
shown. Biasing means, consisting of a compression coil spring 108, are 
disposed in a radial bore of the handle member 104 as more fully described 
hereafter. 
The biasing means act to urge a reciprocable rod 14' slidably disposed in 
an axial longitudinal bore 110 of the housing 12' from an inoperative 
position, shown at FIG. 5, to an operative position, as shown at FIG. 6. 
Holding means 112, designed to act in a "trigger" fashion, are 
transversely mounted in the housing 12' proximate the arcuate end 106 of 
the housing 12'. The holding means 112, as also more fully explained 
hereafter, are manually displaceable from a first position wherein the rod 
14' is prevented from being urged to an operative position by the 
compression spring 108 mounted in the handle member 104, FIGS. 5 and 7, to 
a second position wherein the rod 14' is free to be urged to the operative 
position by the compression spring 108, FIGS. 6 and 8. 
The compression spring 108 is disposed within a radial bore 114 formed in 
the handle member 104. The radial bore 114 extends through the exterior 
surface 116 of the handle member 104 such as to form an opening, not seen, 
and the radial bore 114 of the handle member 104 is in coaxial alignxent 
with the axial longitudinal bore 110 of the housing 12'. It will be 
appreciated, however, that the axial longitudinal bore 110 of the housing 
12' is of a relatively smaller circumference than the radial bore 114 of 
the handle member 104. The reciprocable rod 14' slidably disposed in the 
axial longitudinal bore 110 of the housing 12' extends into the radial 
bore 114 of the handle member 104 through the opening. More particularly, 
the spring 108 is disposed such that one end 120 abuts the closed end of 
the radial bore 114 in the handle member 104 and the other end 122 of the 
spring 108 abuts an end cap 124 affixed to the end portion of the rod 14'. 
The end cap 124 is circularly cylindrical, for example, and has an 
exterior circumference which is close in size to the interior 
circumference of the radial bore 114 of the handle member 104 such as to 
be slidably engaged therein. The rod 14' is affixed to the slidable end 
cap 124 by being inserted in a longitudinal bore 126 formed through one 
surface of the end cap 124. The rod 14' is thereafter secured in a 
longitudinal bore 126 of the end cap 124 by any suitable means, such as a 
pin, for example, not shown. Upon release of the holding means 112, FIG. 
6, the end cap 124 is slidably displaced in the radial bore 114 by the 
compression spring 108 until it comes into abutment with the arcuate end 
106 of the housing 12'. The end cap 124 may not continue into the axial 
longitudinal bore 110 of the housing 12', however, due to the relatively 
smaller size of the housing bore 110 and therefore the end of the rod 14' 
to which the end cap 124 is attached is also prevented from escaping the 
radial bore 114 of the handle member 104. 
At FIGS. 5-8 an example of holding means 112 is illustrated comprising a 
transverse bore 128 in the housing 12' having relatively small and 
relatively large diameter portions 130, 132, an elongated release member 
134 slidably disposed in the relatively small diameter portion 130 of the 
transverse bore 128, an engagement member 136 protruding at right angle 
from an exterior surface of the release member 134 and a spring-loaded 
plunger 138 disposed in the relatively large diameter portion 132 of the 
transverse bore 128 such that the plunger 138 engages one end 140 of the 
release member 134. The other end 142 of the release member 134 protrudes 
through an opening 144 in the housing 12 formed by the transverse bore 
128. The spring-loaded plunger 138 urges the engagement member 136 
protruding from the release member 134 into engagement with a notch 146 in 
the rod 14' when the holding means 112 is in a first position, FIGS. 5 and 
7, thereby preventing the rod 14' from being urged to its operative 
position by the compression spring biasing means 38. When it is desired to 
have the rod 14' displaced to an operative position by the biasing means 
38 the holding means 112 is displaced to a second position by pressing the 
end 142 of the release member 134 protruding through the opening 144 
toward the housing 12' of the device 10' thereby urging the end 140 of the 
release member 134 against the spring loaded plunger 138 and disengaging 
the engagement member 136 from the notch 146 in the rod 14', FIGS. 6 and 
8. 
As illustrated at FIGS. 6 and 9, any device according to the invention may 
also be provided with means preventing rotation 148 of the rod 14' in the 
housing 12' when the rod 14' is displaced to an operative position by the 
displacing means. The means for preventing rotation 148 of the rod 14' may 
consist, for example, of an integral lip 150 protruding at substantially 
right angle from the exterior surface of a portion of the rod 14', which 
integral lip 150 is slidably disposed in a longitudinal groove 152 in the 
housing 12' . More particularly, the groove 152, as shown is in 
communication with and extends along a portion of the longitudinal, axial 
bore 110 of the housing 12' in which the rod 14' is slidably disposed. 
When the device is in an inoperative position, FIG. 5, the lip 150 is 
disposed proximate the rearward end of the groove 152. Upon actuation of 
the displacing means the lip 150 slides forward in the groove 2 as the rod 
14' is displaced to an operative position with the lip 150 holding the rod 
14' against rotation. It is apparent that the groove 152, therefore, must 
be at least equal in length to the distance it is desired to displace the 
rod 14'. 
The various elements of the personal protection devices described herein 
can be manufactured of any suitable material, such as plastic, metal or 
wood. The illustrated housings may be integrally molded of one piece, if 
desired, except where the above-described means for preventing rotation of 
the rod are employed, wherein it is necessary to form the housing of at 
least two sections as the lip 150 will prevent the rod 14' from being 
inserted into the longitudinal axial bore 110 of a onepiece housing 12'. 
At least the housing of the device of the invention is preferably coated 
with a high visibility, preferably light reflective paint, such as orange 
light reflective paint. Although the hook member 16 is preferably a 
fishing hook any other type of barbed hook may be used. Also it is 
contemplated that the hook member may bear some identification, indicating 
its origin, or be coated with a poorly adhering trace material remaining 
attached to an assailant's skin even though he may be able to remove the 
hook without medical intervention. 
The device of the invention may also be used as a fishing implement by 
providing permanent attachment of the hook member 16 to the end of the rod 
14 or 14' by the pin 96 passed through the hook member eye 94. Such a 
fishing implement is particularly attractive to snorkelers or scuba divers 
who are thus enabled to catch a fish by directly hooking the fish at any 
portion of its body.