Abstract:
The present invention provides a tonfa baton with integrated spray repellent comprising a primary elongated member and a secondary elongated member, the secondary elongated member having a hollow member and terminates in a spray enclosure. A spray repellent device is housed within the secondary elongated member and further comprises a spray nozzle, a spray trigger, and a spray canister containing a repellent substance. The spray enclosure houses the spray nozzle and spray trigger and has two opposing openings: a spray trigger opening for accessing the spray trigger and a spray nozzle opening for expelling the spray repellent. The spray enclosure can be removed or repositioned to allow the spray repellent device to be replaced by actuating a release button that disengages the spray enclosure from the terminal end of the second elongated member. An alternate embodiment comprises a linear, telescopic baton with the spray device on a terminal end.

Description:
RELATED U.S. APPLICATION DATA 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to Provisional Application No. 61/873,363, filed Sep. 4, 2013. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to self-defense and combat devices. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    The unpredictable nature of tactical combat and self-defense calls attention to the need for weapons and devices which maximize user capabilities and provide versatile performance for a variety of adverse situations. Typically, users must carry a variety of devices and switch between them as needed, which exposes the user to risk of harm in time-critical scenarios. Any method of improving capability and reaction times or eliminating unnecessary actions or devices would improve safety and efficiency in self-defense or personnel containment situations. There is a need in the art for devices that serve a dual purpose and thus save space and time in the context of self-defense and combat situations. It would be particularly advantageous to add new capabilities to trusted weaponry and equipment. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    A baton with integrated spray repellant is provided to provide a dual-purpose device that offers enhanced performance and reduced risk in self-defense and combat situations. The present invention provides a tonfa baton with integrated spray repellent comprising a primary elongated member and a secondary elongated member, the secondary elongated member having a hollow member and terminates in a spray enclosure. A spray repellent device is housed within the secondary elongated member and further comprises a spray nozzle, a spray trigger, and a spray canister containing a repellent substance. The spray enclosure houses the spray nozzle and spray trigger and has two opposing openings: a spray trigger opening for accessing the spray trigger and a spray nozzle opening for expelling the spray repellent. The spray enclosure can be removed or repositioned to allow the spray repellent device to be replaced by actuating a release button that disengages the spray enclosure from the terminal end of the second elongated member. An alternate embodiment comprises a telescopic baton with the spray device on a terminal end. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0005]      FIG. 1  illustrates a perspective view of the tonfa baton with pepper spray nozzle facing the viewer. 
           [0006]      FIG. 2  illustrates a perspective view of the tonfa baton with pepper spray trigger facing the viewer. 
           [0007]      FIG. 3  illustrates a frontal view of the tonfa baton with pepper spray nozzle facing the viewer. 
           [0008]      FIG. 4  illustrates a perspective, upside-down view of the telescopic baton in fully extended position with pepper spray nozzle facing the viewer. 
           [0009]      FIG. 5  illustrates a perspective, right-side up view of the telescopic baton in fully extended position with pepper spray nozzle facing the viewer. 
           [0010]      FIG. 6  illustrates a perspective, right-side up view of the telescopic baton in fully collapsed position with pepper spray trigger facing the viewer. 
           [0011]      FIG. 7  illustrates a side view of the opening of the enclosure element and replacement of the spray repellent device within the short bar of the tonfa baton. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0012]      FIG. 1  illustrates a perspective view of an embodiment of the pepper spray-integrated self-defense system of the present invention. This primary embodiment of the system comprises a traditional tonfa baton  100  and a spray repellent device  150  (alternatively “spray device”). A conventional spray device comprises a spray trigger, a spray nozzle, and a spray canister that contains the pressurized chemical substance (i.e. repellent substance). The tonfa itself is physically defined by the perpendicular connection (i.e. right angle) of a short bar  130  and a long bar  110 . Although members  110  and  130  are shown and described as being cylindrical in cross-section, they may take on other cross-sectional shapes, such as rectangular, while keeping with the spirit of the invention. The short and long bars  110  and  130  both possess gripped handle portions—a short bar grip  125  and long bar grip  120  respectively. Both instances of the handle are similar in length, and are accented by grip feature (e.g. ribbed or contoured surface). This figure presents the tonfa with the long bar  130 &#39;s gripped handle on the end of the bar that is closer to the viewer. As well, the short bar  130  extends out perpendicularly and upward—its base near the very end of the long bar&#39;s grip portion (long bar grip  125 ). The short bar  130  is a hollow element that houses the spray/repellent device  150 , which can be pepper, mace or some other chemical substance as desired. For purposes of the description of the invention, pepper spray will be used as the exemplary repellent. 
         [0013]    The short bar  130  terminates with hollow enclosure element  140  (i.e. “spray enclosure”) that has two openings, spray nozzle opening  135  and trigger opening  236  (shown in  FIG. 2 ), which are positioned on opposing sides of the enclosure element  140  and oriented along the length of the long bar  130  (such that a line intersecting the centers of the openings runs perpendicular to the vertical axis of the short bar  130 ). Thus, the openings  135  and  236  allow for both the evacuation and triggering of the pepper spray device, respectively. The spray enclosure  140  acts to both protect, and allow access to, the upper portion of the spray device (i.e. the spray nozzle and the spray trigger) to prevent damage or accidental use of the spray device. The enclosure element  140  is hingedly attached to the short bar  130  via hinge  170 . Hinge  170  is on the front side of the enclosure element  140  (i.e. the side shown in  FIG. 1 ). On the opposing side of the enclosure element  140  is a latch that is released by a button (release button  275  in  FIG. 2 ).  FIG. 1  shows the spray nozzle opening  135  facing the viewer and serves as the opening for the pepper spray&#39;s nozzle  160  to expel/evacuate the pepper spray from the canister  155  that is housed within the hollow body of short bar  130 . 
         [0014]      FIG. 2  illustrates a perspective view of the pepper spray-integrated tonfa baton  200 , with the pepper spray trigger  261  of spray repellent unit  250  facing the viewer. Spray repellent device  250  further comprises spray canister  255 . The trigger is accessed via the trigger opening  236 , located on the opposite side of the aforementioned spray nozzle opening  135  of  FIG. 1 . This figure highlights the short bar  230 —a crucial point of tonfa rotation/handling in the context of user functionality. At any given time, with the aid of certain bodily motions, the user&#39;s palm, while making contact with the short bar grip  225 , may be facing the side of the pepper spray&#39;s trigger (i.e. “trigger side”), or the side of its evacuation point (i.e. “spray side). The former would be the necessary configuration for conventional use of the pepper spray. The user grips the handle  225  of short bar  230  in such a way that the user&#39;s thumb is positioned to access the trigger opening  236  of spray enclosure element  240 , thereby allowing the user to activate the trigger and expel the contents of the spray canister  255 . Enclosure element  240  includes a latch release button that unlocks the enclosure element  240  and allows it to rotate backward via hinge  170  ( FIG. 1 ) to expose the spray device  255  within the hollow opening within short bar  230 . The configuration of the spray trigger  261  and the spray enclosure  240  is optimized for ease of use such that the user can immediately use the spray element during use of the baton, with little or no re-adjustment of the baton in the user&#39;s hands. 
         [0015]    Conversely, when using conventional devices, the user of the baton would have to use one hand to hold the baton and another to reach for and manipulate a spray device, which may not be possible or practical in many situations. Alternatively, the user would have to holster the baton in order to use the spray device, which again, is undesirable. Both scenarios are clumsy and expose the user to harm in critical situations. The lost time and additional maneuvers demanded in conventional situations that require two separate devices can expose the user to great risk in critical situations. 
         [0016]      FIG. 3  illustrates a frontal view of the short bar  330  of tonfa  300 , illustrating the pepper spray nozzle  360  of spray repellent device  350  within the spray nozzle opening  335  of the enclosure element  340 . Also shown are the long bar  310 , long bar grip  320 , short bar  330 , and short bar grip  325 . If a user holds the tonfa in this orientation (i.e. spray nozzle facing the user), pepper spray deployment would generally not be desirable as it would target the user. However, such a usage may be advantageous in situations where the desired target is over the shoulder of the user, such as in a rear-attack situation where the user is being held from behind. The more common method of use would involve a two-handed grasp of the tonfa  300 , e.g. with the left hand grasping the long bar  310 , and the right hand grasping the short bar  330 . When rotated spray nozzle-outward (spray nozzle facing away from user), the device is positioned for conventional uses wherein the repellent is sprayed outward towards an opposing target. Other methods may involve nesting the long bar  310  of the tonfa between the right arm and body, with the right hand grasping the short bar grip  325  of the short bar  330 —as in the triggering technique mentioned in the previous figure&#39;s description. Thus, the tonfa can be used in the same manner as conventional tonfas, and the spray device is configured therein so as to provide optimal ease of use and not interfere with the use of the tonfa. 
         [0017]      FIGS. 4-6  depict an alternate embodiment of the pepper spray-integrated self-defense device. This embodiment utilizes a linear, telescopic baton (i.e. one with adjustable length) with an integrated spray device.  FIG. 4  illustrates a perspective view of the telescopic baton  401  in fully extended position. Telescopic baton  401  includes a plurality of concentric segments in the form of cylindrical tubes: primary segment  412 , secondary segment  413 , and tertiary segment  414 . Secondary segment  413  and tertiary segment  414  extend from (and are housed within) the interior of the primary segment  412 . The primary segment  412  is a fixed, hollow extension of the main body  411  which houses the spray device  450  (e.g. pepper spray device). In this figure, the baton is shown upside-down, highlighting the extension of the secondary and tertiary baton segments outside of the primary segment  412 . This extension is facilitated by a plurality of cylindrical rings, or stops, including a primary stop  415 , secondary stop  416 , and tertiary stop  417  (i.e. “stopping rings”). These stopping rings prevent the secondary segment  413  and tertiary segment  414  from collapsing too far into the primary segment  412 . For example, during collapsing of the segments, tertiary stop  417  will make contact with secondary stop  416  and prevent further movement of tertiary segment  414  into secondary segment  413 . Similarly, secondary stop  416  will make contact with primary stop  415  to prevent further movement of secondary segment  413  into primary segment  412 . The main body  411 , primary segment  412 , and secondary segment  413  are all hollow and concentric, since they must successively collapse into each other. While the tertiary segment  414  need not be hollow, it would preferably be hollow in order to be consistent with the other portions of the baton with respect to weight distribution and balancing. 
         [0018]    As in the previous embodiment of the baton, the main body has a ribbed grip portion  421 , which terminates with an enclosure element  440 . An advantage to this and the previous embodiment of the invention is the ability to utilize standard off-the-shelf pepper spray devices. Accordingly, the enclosure element  440  may serve as a point of disconnection (e.g. via screwing or snapping) from the main body  411 , so that a user may remove the enclosure element from the main body to access or replace the existing pepper spray device. Considering the vertical axis of the telescopic baton  401 , the top surface of the primary segment  412  (the surface nearer to the spray device  450 ) could provide support/stabilization and/or an upward force to the bottom surface of the pepper spray device while the enclosure element  440  is engaged with the main body  411 . With reference to the telescopic baton, the end of the baton  401  that terminates in the spray enclosure  440  can be referred to as the proximal end of the baton, whereas the end of the baton that terminates in the stopping ring  417  can be referred to as the distal end. 
         [0019]      FIG. 5  illustrates a right-side up, perspective view of the telescopic baton  501  in fully extended position with the pepper spray nozzle  560  facing the viewer. Telescopic baton  501  further comprises main body  511 , primary segment  512 , secondary segment  513 , and tertiary segment  513 . The ribbed grip portion  521  of the primary segment  511  indicates the area the user would grab the baton in order to operate the spray device  550 . From this position, a user should rotate the baton 180 degrees around its vertical axis, point at the intended target, and press down on the spray trigger (see spray trigger  661  of  FIG. 6 ) to expel the repellent substance via the spray nozzle  560 . 
         [0020]      FIG. 6  illustrates a perspective view of the telescopic baton  601  in fully collapsed position with pepper spray trigger  661  facing the viewer. The baton  601  is shown right-side up. In this configuration, the secondary and tertiary baton segments are now housed within the body of the primary segment  612 , with the tertiary stop  617  in contact with the primary stop  615 . Thus, the device becomes a more compact version of itself, thereby giving the user the option to utilize it as a short baton with the focus on the pepper spray defense aspect. As shown here, the baton  601  is in its ideal orientation for pepper spray triggering and evacuation. Replacement pepper spray devices would be loaded into the terminal portion of main body  611  by repositioning or removing the enclosure element  640 , for example, as shown in  FIG. 7  (depicting the enclosure element being repositioned via a hinge mechanism). The enclosure element can be removed/repositioned by pressing the release button  675 . Alternative means of repositioning of removing enclosure element can also be employed. For example, the enclosure element can be screwed on/off, or could snap on and off using mechanisms known in the art. 
         [0021]      FIG. 7  illustrates a side view of the opening of the enclosure element  740  and replacement of the spray repellent device  750  within the short bar  730  of the tonfa baton  700 . As discussed above, a variety of mechanisms can be used to reversibly close the enclosure element  740  about the terminal end of the short bar  730 . The mechanism shown in  FIG. 7  comprises a hinge and clasp. The spray repellent device  750  further comprises the spray nozzle  760 , spray trigger  761 , and spray canister  755 . The enclosure element  740  hinges about hinge  770  and locks upon closure. The lock is release upon pressing release button  775 . Arrow  705  indicates the removal and replacement of the spray repellent device  750  within the short bar  730 . As described, the present invention allows for the spray device to utilized without unnecessary readjustment of the user&#39;s hands on the baton. With the user&#39;s hand on the grip handle  621 , the user can readily press the spray trigger  661  to expel the spray, and press the release button  675  to replace the spray device  650 . 
         [0022]    While there have been described herein what are considered to be preferred and exemplary embodiments of the present invention, other modifications of the invention shall be apparent to those skilled in the art from the teachings herein. For example, the relative dimensions of the device may be altered while keeping within the spirit and teachings of the invention. It is therefore desired to be secured, in the appended claims all such modifications as fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.