Abstract:
A vehicle window escape device having a cylindrical body portion with a handle at one end and a projecting pointed member at the other end for imparting a smashing blow to a vehicle window to cause the window to shatter. The body portion is hollow and contains a spring force exerting system for providing a blow to the projecting pointed member when the end of the projecting pointed member is pressed against the vehicle window through the use of the handle by an occupant of the vehicle.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     In many instances it is important for the occupant of a vehicle to rapidly escape from the vehicle. This is true for instance when the vehicle has been involved in an accident and is on fire. In such a situation it may be difficult or impossible to leave the vehicle through the normal exit doors or the like since they may be jammed due to the accident or the doors could be blocked by some object. In the case of a vehicle that ends up in a body of water such as canal the water pressure may prevent opening of the door. In many such instances unless there is someone outside the vehicle who can gain access to the interior of the vehicle, the occupant or occupants may perish. 
     Most, if not all, vehicles have windows or openings covered by tempered glass but these may not readily open and generally an occupant would have trouble breaking them since they are very strong and are designed to withstand pressure and impact. However, all vehicle side and back windows are tempered glass so that they shatter upon impact by a sharp object so that they do not leave large pieces of glass that can cause injury. As a result, it is easy to exit a vehicle through such a glass covered opening after the glass has been shattered by such a blow. Normally, a vehicle occupant does not have an object within the vehicle to provide the sharp blow that will shatter the glass. 
     As a consequence, there is a definite need for a device that can be conveniently located in a vehicle that can be readily used by the occupant of the vehicle to escape through a glass covered opening in the vehicle should the need arise. This vehicle window escape device invention satisfies this need. The vehicle window escape device is light weight, compact and is readily used by most occupants of a vehicle. In order to use the vehicle window escape device it is merely grasped by one hand of the occupant and its pointed end is pressed against the glass. This pushes a pointed plunger inward and results in a spring exerting a sharp blow against the plunger that shatters the glass and allows the occupant to escape from the vehicle. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to vehicle escape apparatus and more particularly to vehicle escape apparatus for escaping through the side or back window of a vehicle. 
     Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a vehicle window escape device for readily smashing a vehicle window. 
     It is an object of the invention to provide a vehicle window escape device which is easy to use. 
     It is an object of the invention to provide a vehicle window escape device which can be readily used by most persons. 
     It is an object of the invention to provide a vehicle window escape device which can be used with no training. 
     It is an object of the invention to provide a vehicle window escape device which works by merely pushing against glass. 
     It is an object of the invention to provide a vehicle window escape device which is convenient to keep in a vehicle. 
     It is an object of the invention to provide a vehicle window escape device which is compact. 
     It is an object of the invention to provide a vehicle window escape device which is easy to store. 
     It is an object of the invention to provide a vehicle window escape device which is light weight. 
     It is an object of the invention to provide a vehicle window escape device for which no maintenance is required. 
     It is an object of the invention to provide a vehicle window escape device which has a long life. 
     It is an object of the invention to provide a vehicle window escape device which has few parts. 
     It is an object of the invention to provide a vehicle window escape which is simple in its operation. 
     It is an object of the invention to provide a vehicle window escape device which is easy to manufacture. 
     It is an object of the invention to provide a vehicle window escape device which requires very little machining. 
     It is an object of the invention to provide a vehicle window escape device which is made using readily available tools. 
     It is an object of the invention to provide a vehicle window escape device which is made using readily available materials. 
     It is an object of the invention to provide a vehicle window escape device which is easy to assemble. 
     These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the vehicle window escape device that includes an elongated body portion with two ends, a handle portion located at one end of the elongated body portion and a slender sharp pointed glass impact member projecting from the other end of the elongated body member. Force exerting means, including at least one spring, are located within the body portion for providing a force to the sharp pointed member to cause it to move outward rapidly from the end of the body member. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention will be hereinafter more fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the vehicle window escape device invention; 
     FIG. 2 is an end elevational view of the vehicle window escape device invention; and 
     FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the vehicle window escape device taken on the line  3 — 3  FIG.  2 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the vehicle window escape device that is designated generally by the number  10  has a circular cross section shape elongated cylinder body portion  12  with a slender shape pointed rod  14  extending from the outer end portion  16  of the body portion  12 . The inner end  18  or the end opposite the end  16  is attached to an elongated circular cross section handle portion  20  whose long axis A is substantially perpendicular to the long axis B of the cylindrical body portion  12 . 
     The cylindrical handle portion  20  has two outer end portions  22  and  24 . The outer end portion  22  is flattened and has a triangular pointed shape that can be used to hack away or clear automobile glass and the like after it has been shattered. The other outer end portion  24  is blunt shaped and is shaped to be used as a hammer head surface for striking and breaking glass and the like that may have resisted shattering in a manner that will hereinafter be described in detail. The flattened outer end portion  22  has a round hole  23  extending through it that is sized to accept a hook  24  or the like for storing the vehicle window escape device  10  with the hole  23  on the hook  24  within a vehicle so that it is readily available should the need for the use of the vehicle window escape device  10  arise in an emergency. 
     As illustrated in FIG. 3, a portion of the interior of body portion  12  is hollow. Specifically, the body portion  12  has two elongated cylindrical shaped chambers  26  and  28  that are interconnected by an circular cross section aperture  30  that has a smaller diameter D 2  than the diameter D 1  of the forward and rearward cylindrical chambers  26  and  28 . The forward cylindrical chamber  26  has an aperture  32  in its forward wall  34  that is sized and shaped to slideably receive the pointed rod  14  that is part of a movable impact member  36  that has a cylindrical rear portion  36   a  with an outward extending circular stop  37 . 
     Two compression springs  38  and  40  are located in the respective forward and rearward chambers  26  and  28 . A striker member  42  is located immediately rearward of the impact member  36  in the forward chamber  26  in position to be biased in a forward direction by the compression spring  38 . The striker member  42  has a short enlarged cylindrical portion  43  with a smaller diameter cylindrical portion  44  extending from its rearward surface  43   a  and a thin round projecting pin  46  extending rearward from the cylindrical portion  44 . This projecting pin  46  is sized and located to reciprocate within the aperture  30  that interconnects the chambers  26  and  28 . 
     A hammer member  48  is located in the rearward chamber  28  and has a forward tapered surface  50  and a centrally located hole  52  that is sized and located to receive the projecting pin  46  when the projecting pin  46  is aligned with the hole  52 . The partition portion  54  that separates the hollow chambers  26  and  28  that has the interconnecting aperture  30  has a tapered surface  56  that is located and adapted to come into contact with the tapered conical surface  58  that exists between the projecting pin  46  and the adjacent cylindrical portion  44 . The second compression spring  40  that is located in the rearward chamber  28  is located to exert a forward biasing force on the hammer member  48 . 
     The parts inside the chamber  26  in the body portion  12  are secured in place by a plug  60  in the outer end portion  16  that also forms the wall  34  and also has the aperture  32  for the pointed rod  14 . The other end portion  18  of the body portion  12  is secured to the center portion  64  of the cylindrical handle portion  20  and the parts in the chamber  28  are secured in place by a plug  80  that fits into the outer end portion  82  of the chamber  28  and passes through and seals a circular hole  84  in the outer wall of the handle portion  20 . In the preferred embodiment, the handle portion  20  has a flotation chamber  66  that is formed by the hole  68  in the handle portion  20  and the associated plug  70  that is located in and seals the outer end portion of the hole  68 . This flotation chamber  66  reduces the weight of the vehicle window escape device  10  to permit the vehicle window escape device  10  to float in water and hence be available for use in a vehicle that is filling with water. 
     The vehicle window escape device  10  is made in the following manner. Both the body portion  12  and the handle portion  20  are molded as one piece from a suitable plastic known in the art using conventional plastic molding equipment. If a suitable density polypropylene plastic is used the vehicle window escape device  10  will float in water without the need for any flotation chamber  66  in the handle portion  20 . In molding the body portion  12  and the handle portion  20 , the various cavities such as the chambers  26  and  28  and the hole  23  and the hole  62  in the handle portion  20  can be formed in a mold to their final shape to eliminate machining. In the preferred embodiment, plastic containing a photo luminescent material is used in molding the body portion  12  and the handle portion  20  to cause the body portion  12  and the handle portion  20  to glow in the dark so that the vehicle window escape device  10  can be readily located when it is dark and might not be readily visible otherwise. The plug  60  can also be molded with its aperture  32  in a similar manner with or without the photo luminescent material in the plastic that is used to mold the plug  60  and the same is also true for the plugs  70  and  80 . 
     The impact member  36 , the striker member  42  and the hammer member  48  can be machined using conventional equipment and techniques known in the art from a suitable grade of steel. Stainless steel is preferred to prevent possible rust or as an alternative these parts can be suitably plated to resist rust. The springs  38  and  40  are conventional compression springs that are readily available but the spring  40  should be stronger than the spring  38 . However, the spring  38  has a smaller diameter portion  72  that fits snugly around the cylindrical portion  44  of the striker member  42  close to the enlarged portion  43 . This spring portion  72  has an axis that makes an angle with the long axis of the remainder of the spring  38 . Since the smaller diameter portion  72  contacts the portion  43  at the surface  43   a  at an angle, this causes the striker member  42  to tilt as illustrated in FIG.  3 . 
     In order to use the vehicle window escape device  10  it is stored in a vehicle at a suitable location where it can be readily seen by the occupants and where they could readily grasp it in order to use it. In this connection, the vehicle window escape device  10  can be stored by hanging it from the hook  24  through the use of the hole  23  in the end portion  22  of the handle portion  20 . When an emergency occurs that makes it necessary or desirable to break the vehicle&#39;s window glass, an occupant of the vehicle would locate the vehicle window escape device  10 . The fact that the the vehicle window escape device  10 , in the preferred embodiment, is in part made from a photo luminescent material will assist in locating the vehicle window escape device  10  when it is dark or there is a lack of adequate light. When the vehicle window escape device  10  is located, the occupant grasps the handle portion  20  and presses the tip of the slender shaped pointed rod  14  against the vehicle window glass that is to be broken. 
     The occupant then pushes hard on the handle portion  20  towards the window and this results in the slender shape pointed rod  14  being pushed into the body portion  12  and the springs  38  and  40  being compressed. In this connection, inward pressure on the slender shape pointed rod  14  causes the entire impact member  36  to be pushed inward and this in turn causes the striker member  42  to compress the adjacent spring  38  and since the projection  46  on the striker member  42  is off center the projection  46  pushes against the hammer member  48  that in turn compresses the spring  40 . Further pressure on the handle portion  20  causes the striker member  42  to move inward or to the right as viewed in FIG.  3  and the tapering surface  58  adjacent the portion  44  will move into contact with the tapering or conical surface  56  of the partition portion  54  in the body portion  12 . This causes the striker member  42  and its projecting pin portion  46  to move from its off center position to a central position within the body portion  12 . This will result in the projecting pin  46  being aligned with the hole  52  in the hammer member  48  and when this occurs the hammer member  48  moves rapidly to the left as viewed in FIG. 3 under the force exerted by the spring  40 . 
     When the bottom of the hole  52  in the the hammer member  48  strikes the projecting pin  46  the hammer member  48  imparts a sharp blow to the striker member  42  that is in turn imparted to the impact member  36  that causes the pointed rod portion  14  of the impact member  36  to give a sharp blow to the glass and break the window. After this is done, the end portions  22  and  24  of the handle portion  20  can be used to clear away any remaining glass and provide an exit for the occupants of the vehicle through the broken window. 
     Although the invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to a certain preferred embodiment, it will be understood that variations or modifications may be made within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.