Abstract:
An emergency roof detachment device for a vehicle providing a detachable roof portion that is coupled to a fixed top portion of a vehicle and has a handle capable of allowing the occupants of the vehicle to detach the detachable roof portion of a vehicle in order to facilitate an escape from the vehicle in an emergency situation.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    This invention relates generally to safety devices for vehicles and, more specifically, to an emergency roof detachment device for a vehicle dimensioned to allow a driver or another person to detach substantially the entire roof portion of the vehicle from the body of the vehicle in the event that the vehicle&#39;s occupants are trapped and unable to use other means, such as the vehicle&#39;s doors, to escape a disabled vehicle.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Over 40,000 people die every year in road accidents in the United States. Many victims of car crashes are not killed instantly but rather succumb to their wounds at a later time. Often, the delay in receiving life-saving medical care is a contributing cause to the death. Occasionally, medical personnel arrive on the scene to treat the victims of car accidents, but are unable to reach the victims because they are trapped in a badly damaged vehicle. In side-impact collisions especially, the side doors of a vehicle are often crushed, rendering them unusable.  
           [0003]    It is often the case that in order to dispense life-saving medical treatment, the occupants of a vehicle must first be extricated from the damaged vehicle. In the event that the doors of the vehicle have been disabled, or the vehicle is on its side, blocking the doors closest to the vehicle&#39;s occupants, another way must be found to remove the victims of a car crash.  
           [0004]    Currently, emergency medical personnel must wait precious amounts of time for fire department or other rescue services to arrive with hydraulic tools, such as cutters, spreaders, rams, “Jaws of Life” and the like, in order to cut the vehicle open. These piston-rod hydraulic tools as well as other tools often require electricity, are heavy, and very expensive. The result is that it is time-consuming and often impossible to employ such devices, and the result is that lives are lost.  
           [0005]    Much of the time, cutting tools are used to cut open the roof of a vehicle, since this is often the largest and easiest area of a vehicle to get to. The roof of a vehicle, when removed, also provides the easiest access to the vehicle&#39;s occupants.  
           [0006]    Occasionally, after an accident, a person is not badly injured, but is nevertheless unable to extricate himself or herself through the damaged doors of a vehicle. This predicament often results in death when the car catches on fire, and the trapped occupant either suffocates or is burned to death.  
           [0007]    Several attempts have been made to solve this problem with various kinds of vehicle hatches. All such inventions provide relatively small hatches, however, allowing only room enough for a single person to exit the vehicle at any one time. Additionally, depending on the type of accident, the placement of the relatively small escape hatch may prevent passengers trapped in the backseat or the vehicle from utilizing the hatch in order to exit the vehicle.  
           [0008]    For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,495,731 issued to Sears shows an outwardly opening hatch that is hinged to the roof of a vehicle. This design poses several problems. Due to the relatively small size of the hatch, in the event that more than one person is in the vehicle, the delay caused by waiting for others to exit the hatch may result in death or serious injury, especially in the event that the vehicle catches on fire. Additionally, the hinges prevent detachment of the hatch, leaving the hatch in the area of the roof, which can often be an obstacle to removing a person from a vehicle. European Patent Application 89201170.1 also shows a relatively small, hinged escape hatch for a vehicle. Japanese Patent 4-212626 shows an escape hatch that is not hinged, but suffers from the same size limitations of the other prior art. In all of the prior art references, if the relatively small hatch area of the roof is damaged, which can occur in a rollover accident, it is possible that the hatch may be unusable.  
           [0009]    A need therefore existed for an emergency roof detachment device for a vehicle having a detachable roof portion that comprises substantially the entire roof of a vehicle and is therefore capable of providing all of the occupants of a vehicle with the ability to easily escape from a disabled vehicle by initiating detachment of the detachable roof portion of a vehicle.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0010]    An object of the present invention is to provide an emergency roof detachment device for a vehicle capable of detaching a detachable roof portion of a vehicle in order to facilitate the exit of one or more occupants from the vehicle.  
           [0011]    It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method for exiting a vehicle capable of allowing one or more persons the ability to detach a detachable roof portion of a vehicle in order to exit the vehicle.  
         BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
         [0012]    In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, an emergency roof detachment device for a vehicle is disclosed, comprising, in combination, a detachable roof portion dimensioned to be detachably coupled to a fixed top portion of a vehicle, the front end of the detachable roof portion being detachably coupled to the fixed top portion of the vehicle proximate a top portion of a front windshield and the back end of the detachable roof portion being detachably coupled to the fixed top portion of the vehicle proximate a top portion of a rear windshield, and a handle coupled to an interior portion of the vehicle and dimensioned to initiate detachment of the detachable roof portion from the fixed top portion of the vehicle.  
           [0013]    In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a method for exiting a vehicle is disclosed comprising, in combination, the steps of providing a detachable roof portion dimensioned to be detachably coupled to a fixed top portion of a vehicle, the front end of the detachable roof portion being detachably coupled to the fixed top portion of the vehicle proximate a top portion of a front windshield and the back end of the detachable root portion being detachably coupled to the fixed top portion of the vehicle proximate a top portion of a rear windshield, providing a handle coupled to an interior portion of the vehicle and dimensioned to initiate detachment of the detachable roof portion from the fixed top portion of the vehicle, and initiating detachment of the detachable roof portion from the fixed top portion, and a person exiting the vehicle.  
           [0014]    The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following, more particular description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0015]    [0015]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the emergency roof detachment device for a vehicle of the present invention.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 2 is a side view of the detachable roof portion of the emergency roof detachment device of FIG. 1.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 3 is a side, cross-sectional view of the handle of FIG. 1 used to initiate detachment of the detachable roof portion from the fixed top portion of the vehicle.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0018]    Referring to FIG. 1, reference number  10  refers generally to the preferred embodiment of the emergency roof detachment device for a vehicle of the present invention. The emergency roof detachment device  10  comprises a detachable roof portion  12  having a front end  13  and a back end  15  and is dimensioned to be detachably coupled to a fixed top portion  14  of a vehicle  16 . The front end  13  of the detachable roof portion  12  is detachably coupled to the fixed top portion  14  of the vehicle  16  proximate a top portion of a front windshield  24  (shown in FIG. 2). The back end  15  of the detachable roof portion  12  is detachably coupled to the fixed top portion  14  of the vehicle  16  proximate a top portion of a rear windshield  28 .  
         [0019]    In the preferred embodiment, the detachable roof portion  12  comprises substantially the entire roof of a vehicle  16 , however, it should be clearly understood that substantial benefit could be derived from an alternative embodiment of the emergency roof detachment device  10  in which the detachable roof portion  12  does not comprise substantially the entire roof of a vehicle  16 , such as in a long, strip-like configuration, so long as at least a portion of the front end  13  of the detachable roof portion  12  is coupled to the fixed top portion  14  of the vehicle  16  proximate a top portion of the front windshield  24  and at least a portion of the back end  15  of the detachable roof portion  12  is coupled to the fixed top portion  14  proximate a top portion of the rear windshield  28 .  
         [0020]    In the preferred embodiment, the detachable roof portion  12  is rectangular-shaped, although it should be clearly understood that substantial benefit could be derived from an alternative configuration of the emergency roof detachment device  10  in which the detachable roof portion  12  had a different shape, so long as at least a portion of the front end  13  of the detachable roof portion  12  is coupled to the fixed top portion  14  of the vehicle  16  proximate a top portion of the front windshield  24  and at least a portion of the back end  15  of the detachable roof portion  12  is coupled to the fixed top portion  14  proximate a top portion of the rear windshield  28 .  
         [0021]    Preferably, the detachable roof portion  12  comprises a plurality of prong members  30 , preferably protruding out of the back end  15  of the detachable roof portion  12 , dimensioned to engage corresponding recessed portions  32  (shown in FIG. 2) in the fixed top portion  14 , preferably proximate the rear windshield  28 , of the vehicle  16 . While, in the preferred embodiment, a plurality of prongs  30  and corresponding recessed portions  28  are used to couple the detachable roof portion  12  to the fixed top portion  14 , it should be clearly understood that substantial benefit could be derived from an alternative embodiment of the emergency roof detachment device  10  in which the detachable roof portion  12  is coupled to the fixed top portion  14  in a different way, so long as the detachable roof portion  12  can be easily detached from the fixed top portion  14  by a person.  
         [0022]    Referring now to FIGS.  2 - 3 , the emergency roof detachment device  10  further comprises a handle  18 . The handle  18  is coupled to an interior portion  20  (shown in FIG. 1) of the vehicle  16  and dimensioned to initiate detachment of the detachable roof portion  12  from the fixed top portion  14  of the vehicle  16 .  
         [0023]    In the preferred embodiment, the handle  18  comprises a quick-release mechanism  19 . The quick-release mechanism  19  allows the handle  18  to easily, and quickly initiate detachment of the detachable roof portion  12  from the fixed top portion  14 . While, in the preferred embodiment, the handle  18  comprises a quick-release mechanism  19 , it should be clearly understood that substantial benefit could be derived from an alternative embodiment of the emergency roof detachment device  10  which lacks a quick-release mechanism  19 , so long as the handle  18  can be used to initiate detachment of the detachable roof portion  12  from the fixed top portion  14 .  
         [0024]    Still referring to FIGS.  2 - 3 , the handle  18  preferably comprises a gripping portion  27  dimensioned to be gripped by a person (not shown) and a coupling member  29  dimensioned to couple the detachable roof portion  12  to the fixed top portion  14  of the vehicle  16 . In the preferred embodiment, the coupling member  29  comprises a jaw-type member  31  dimensioned to engage a corresponding indentation  34  (shown in FIG. 3) in the fixed top portion  14  of the vehicle  16 . While, in the preferred embodiment, the handle  18  comprises a gripping portion  27  and a coupling member  29  having a jaw-type member  31  dimensioned to engage a corresponding indentation  34  in the fixed top portion  14  of the vehicle  16 , it should be clearly understood that substantial benefit could be derived from an alternative embodiment of the handle  18  that lacks some or all of these features, so long as the handle  18  is capable of initiating detachment of the detachable roof portion  12  from the fixed top portion  14  of the vehicle  16 .  
       Statement of Operation  
       [0025]    In order to operate the emergency roof detachment device  10 , a vehicle  16  must be fitted with a detachable roof portion  12  that can be detachably coupled to a fixed top portion  14  of a vehicle  16 . The front end  13  of the detachable roof portion  12  is detachably coupled to the fixed top portion  14  of the vehicle proximate a top portion of the front windshield  24  and the back end  15  of the detachable roof portion  12  is detachably coupled to the fixed top portion  14  of the vehicle proximate a top portion of the rear windshield  28 . This step may be done at a manufacturing stage. Once the detachable roof portion  12  is installed and the handle  18  is coupled to an interior portion of the vehicle  16 , then one must simply use the handle, preferably by pulling, to initiate detachment of the detachable roof portion  12  from the fixed top portion  14  of the vehicle  16 . The person using the handle  18  to initiate detachment of the detachable roof portion  12  of the emergency roof detachment device  10  may be either one of the occupants of the vehicle  16  or some other person reaching into the vehicle  16  in order to facilitate the exit of the occupant from the vehicle  16 .  
         [0026]    While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and other changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.