Abstract:
A portable ballistic shield and mount combination includes a mounting plate for attachment to a vehicle door and a ballistic shield removably engaged with the mounting plate. The ballistic shield has a handle extending outwardly therefrom. When a user of the portable ballistic shield grasps the handle and applies force away from the mounting plate, the ballistic shield detaches from the mounting plate.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This Application claims priority of U.S. Patent Application No. 61/727,596, filed Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Easy Access Ballistic Shield with Vehicle Door Mount,” and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention generally relates to safety apparatus for law enforcement officers and more specifically relates to an easily accessible and portable shielding device and associated mount. 
     2. Background 
     The disclosed shield and mount provide immediate access to the shield to a law enforcement officer or other individual within a vehicle. 
     Law enforcement officers are particularly vulnerable to attack from small caliber arms or other projectile launching devices when the officers are seated within a vehicle. For example, it is known for assailants to fire weapons at law enforcement officers as the officer is writing a citation or preparing other paper work in the vehicle, or when the officer is merely parked alongside a roadway and observing traffic. While it is common for law enforcement officers to wear protective vests which protect their chest and abdomen, the officer&#39;s head, neck, shoulders, and upper arms are typically exposed. While the use of shield devices is known, typically when used with riot gear, the conventional shields are not readily available for use and easy access while the office is seated within the vehicle. 
     Conventional shields have the desirable feature of providing protection for a large portion of the officer&#39;s body, and are therefore sized accordingly. However, such shields are, by necessity, stored in the trunk or back seat of the vehicle and are therefore not readily accessed by an officer seated in the front seat of a vehicle. Unfortunately, there are no known ballistic shields which may be accessed immediately by an officer seated within his or her vehicle. Given the amount of time officers may spend seated within their vehicles, the officer may have significant exposure to being fired upon by hostile individuals. 
     Examples of patented shield devices include U.S. Pat. No. 4,412,495 to Sankar; U.S. Pat. No. 4,843,947 to Bauer et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,394 to Martino; U.S. Pat. No. 4,782,735 to Mui et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,850,052 to Gabriel; U.S. Pat. No. 5,392,686 to Sankar; U.S. Pat. No. 6,389,949 to Carreira; U.S. Pat. No. 7,124,675 to Sand; U.S. Pat. No. 7,594,515 to Prock; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,971,516 to Hogan, which are all illustrative of such prior art. While these devices may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they are not readily accessible to an officer seated within the front seat of a vehicle. None of the generally known devices is mountable to the inside panel of the vehicle door, thereby providing the officer easy access to a protective shield when a need arises unexpectedly. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Embodiments of the method and apparatus disclosed herein provide a solution to the problem described above. It is to be understood that while the present discussion identifies the user as a law enforcement officer, the present invention has utility to any individual wishing to reduce their exposure to small arms fire, which is defined to include handguns and rifles. Thus, the present invention has utility to not only law enforcement officers, but also to security and military personnel, as well as any other individuals concerned of the threat of small arms attack while seated in their vehicle. In addition, while the drawings herein show the present invention mounted on the driver&#39;s side front door, embodiments of the device may be utilized on other vehicle doors, including the passenger side front door, as well as the back doors of the vehicle. Moreover, the shield portion of the present invention may be utilized for protection outside of the vehicle. 
     An embodiment of the apparatus provides a portable ballistic shield and mount combination which comprises a mounting plate that may be manually attached and removed from an inside panel of a vehicle door. The mounting plate is preferably attached to the inside panel of a vehicle door to expedite and facilitate the ability of the user to quickly access and remove the ballistic shield from the mount. The preferred door panel for removable attachment of the mount is an inside panel having a top bounded by a window opening and a bottom bounded by an arm rest. The mounting plate has an inside surface and outside surface, such that when the mounting plate is manually attached to the inside panel, the inside surface abuts a portion of the inside panel. The mounting plate is bounded by an upper edge, a lower edge, a rear edge, and a forward edge. The upper edge comprises a hanger member which suspends the mounting plate from the top of the inside panel such that the lower edge may be above or in engaging contact with the arm rest of the vehicle door. The invention further comprises a ballistic shield which has a first surface and a second surface. The first surface comprises means for removably attaching the ballistic shield to the mounting plate. The ballistic shield further comprises a handle member which extends outwardly from the second surface. 
     Various mounting means may be utilized for temporarily securing the ballistic shield to the mount. It is to be appreciated that the mounting means should be of a type which secures the shield to the mount in a position readily accessible by the user. Hence, the mounting means should not allow the shield to shift or fall off during routine operation of the vehicle. Otherwise, the shield may not be available when needed in an emergency. However, the mounting means must also allow the user to immediately remove the shield from the mount with a practiced motion, such that the shield is quickly and reliably removed. The mounting means may comprise clips which may be lifted out of contoured-scalloped apertures in the mount. As an additional safety measure, the clips may be designed so as to break away upon a predetermined force applied by the user. Alternatively, the shield might attach to the mount with magnetic means, where one or both of the engaging surfaces of the mount and shield have magnets attached for attachment to corresponding magnets or metallic members in the opposing surface. 
     The portable ballistic shield may include a first portion having a hanger member for suspending the portable ballistic shield from the interior of a vehicle door, and a second portion including a ballistic shield and having a handle extending therefrom. 
     The first portion of the ballistic shield and the second portion of the ballistic shield may be releasably engaged with one another. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  shows an oblique view of an embodiment of the invention removably attached to the inside panel of a vehicle door. 
         FIG. 2  shows a front view of an embodiment of the invention removably attached on the inside panel of a vehicle door. 
         FIG. 3  shows a top view of embodiments of the mount and shield separated from one another. 
         FIG. 4  shows a front view of an embodiment of the mount portion of the invention removably attached on the inside panel of a vehicle door. 
         FIG. 5  shows a top view of an embodiment of the mount portion of the invention removably attached on the inside panel of a vehicle door. 
         FIG. 6  shows a view of the back of an embodiment of the shield-mount of the invention. 
         FIG. 7  shows a view of the front of an embodiment of the shield portion of the invention. 
         FIG. 8  shows a front view of an embodiment of the mount portion. 
         FIG. 9  shows a close-up view of one of the apertures which may be utilized in an embodiment of the mount portion of the invention. 
         FIG. 10  shows a second close-up view of one of the apertures which may be utilized in an embodiment of the mount portion of the invention. 
         FIG. 11  depicts a view of a law enforcement officer seated in a vehicle, showing the exposure of the officer to small arms fire from outside the vehicle. 
         FIG. 12  shows a view of a law enforcement officer of  FIG. 11 , raising the shield portion of the present invention as protection to small arms fire to the head, neck, and portions of the arm and shoulder. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring specifically to the figures,  FIG. 1  depicts an embodiment of the shield-mount combination  10  mounted onto a panel  100  of a vehicle door  102 . The panel  100  has a top  104  bounded by a window opening  106  and a bottom  108  bounded by an arm rest  110 . Also shown are ballistic shield  30  and handle  36  attached thereto, as well as second surface  34  of ballistic shield  30 . 
       FIG. 2  provides a front view of the embodiment of shield-mount combination  10  shown in  FIG. 1 . Second surface  34  of ballistic shield  30  is readily visible. 
       FIG. 3  depicts mounting plate  12  and ballistic shield  30  from the top, with the two components of shield-mount combination  10  separated from one another. The mounting plate  12  has an inside surface  14  and outside surface  16 , such that when the mounting plate  12  is manually attached to the inside panel  100 , the inside surface  14  abuts a portion of the inside panel as shown in the figures. The mounting plate  12  is bounded by an upper edge  18  and a lower edge  20 . The mounting plate also has a rear edge  22  and a forward edge  24 , which directions correspond to the rear and front of the vehicle 
     The upper edge  18  comprises a hanger member  26  which suspends the mounting plate  12  from the top  104  of the inside panel  100 . When so mounted, the lower edge  20  of the mounting plate  12  may be above or in engaging contact with the arm rest  110  of the vehicle door  102 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , for example, the hanger member  26  may comprise a portion of the mounting plate  12  which has been formed or molded to conform to the shape of the top  104  of the door panel. The hanger member  26  may also comprise a leading edge which slips inside the window opening, bounded by first side  106  and second side  112 , to securely attach the mounting plate  12  to the inside panel  100 . In this embodiment, the leading edge will rest against second side  112  of the window opening so as to not interfere with the opening and closing of the vehicle window, as best shown in  FIG. 5 . As shown in the figures, the mounting plate  12  may have cut-out portions which fit around or allow access to the various functional devices in the vehicle door  102 , such as the door lock apparatus, inside door handle  114 , and the like. 
       FIG. 4  shows a front view of mounting plate  12 , with mountain plate  12  attached to the inside panel of a vehicle door. As shown in  FIG. 4  and elsewhere, mounting plate  12  also comprises a portion of the means utilized for temporarily attaching the ballistic shield  30  to the mounting plate. For example, mounting plate  12  may comprise apertures  28  which are utilized in conjunction with structural members attached to the ballistic shield  30  for temporarily attaching the shield to the mounting plate. As show in greater detail in  FIGS. 9-10 , apertures  28  may comprise a scooped or scalloped edge  29  which facilitates the removal of the structural members of the ballistic shield. The inventor herein has determined that a scooped or scalloped edge  29  located at approximately the two o&#39;clock position of the aperture  28  (when looking towards outside surface  16 , as depicted in  FIG. 4 ) provides an acceptable contour for rapid withdrawal of the structural members. Any suitable positioning or contouring may be used. 
       FIG. 5  is a top view of one embodiment of a shield-mount combination  10 , showing mounting plate  12  and ballistic shield  30  separated. Hanger member  26  is shown inserted into the window opening of vehicle door  102 , the opening bounded by first side  106  and second side  112 . Apertures  28  of mounting plate  12  are shown, as is handle  36  attached to ballistic shield  30 . 
       FIG. 6  shows one embodiment of shield-mount  10 . Ballistic shield  30  is shown from the back, with second surface  34  visible as it would be to an occupant of a vehicle when shield-mount  10  is mounted on a vehicle door as described herein. Handle  36  is also shown. 
     Various mounting means may be utilized for temporarily securing the ballistic shield  30  to the mounting plate  12 . It is to be appreciated that the mounting means should be of a type which secures the shield  30  to the mounting plate  12  in a position readily accessible by the user, such as immediately adjacent to the driver&#39;s left arm as depicted in the Figures. Hence, the mounting means should not allow the shield  30  to shift or fall off of the mounting plate  12  during routine operation of the vehicle. Otherwise, the ballistic shield  30  may not be available when needed in an emergency. However, the mounting means must also allow the user to immediately remove the ballistic shield  30  from the mounting plate  12  with a practiced motion, such that the shield is quickly and reliably removed. 
       FIG. 7  depicts the front of one embodiment of ballistic shield  30 . First surface  32  thereof is visible. The mounting means shown in  FIG. 7  comprises clips  38 , which may be lifted out of contoured-scalloped apertures  28  in the mount. As an additional safety measure, the clips  38  may be designed so as to break away upon a predetermined force applied by the user. Alternatively, the ballistic shield  30  might attach to the mounting plate  12  with magnetic means, where one or both of the engaging surfaces of the mounting plate  12  and shield  30  have magnets attached for attachment to corresponding magnets or metallic members in the opposing surface. Looped fasteners, such as VELCRO might also be utilized for attaching the ballistic shield  30  to the mounting plate  12 . Any suitable fastening means may be utilized to attach ballistic shield  30  to mounting plate  12 .  FIGS. 8 through 10  show exemplary positioning of apertures  28  in mounting plate  12 , as well as the contoured or scalloped portions thereof. 
     Ballistic shield  30  may comprise a cutout portion  40 , such as shown in  FIG. 2 , to allow access to the door handle  114 . 
     The ballistic shield  30  may also comprise a flashlight attachment bracket (not shown) which allows the user to attach a flashlight to the handle  36  or other portion of the ballistic shield. Such attachment may provide utility to a law enforcement officer when leaving the vehicle while carrying the ballistic shield, in that the law enforcement officer is left with one free hand. Various brackets or other attachment structures for securing a flashlight to a structure are known in the art, and it is contemplated that any suitable such structure may be used. 
       FIGS. 11 and 12  depict a method of using the disclosed invention. In  FIG. 11 , and individual  200  is seated within a vehicle. Shield-mount combination  10  is mounted within the vehicle, though the present of shield-mount combination  10  is not necessarily visible to an onlooker. Upon necessity, an individual  200  seated within a vehicle may grab the ballistic shield  30  with the arm closest the door panel  100 , such as the left arm when the user is the driver, pull the ballistic shield  30  free of the mounting plate  12  and raise the shield  30  in front of the user&#39;s head, neck, and other portions of the upper torso.  FIG. 12  shows individual  200  with ballistic shield  30  raised to protect against attach. 
     Ballistic shield  30  is fabricated from materials known in the art for stopping small arms projectiles, such as bullet resistant fiberglass, which is a reinforced plastic material consisting of multiple layers of woven roving ballistic grade fiberglass cloth impregnated with a thermoset polyester resin and compressed into rigid flat sheets. Any suitable material may be used. 
     While the above is a description of various embodiments of the present invention, further modifications may be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, the size, shape, and/or material of the various components may be changed as desired. Thus the scope of the invention should not be limited by the specific structures disclosed. Instead the true scope of the invention should be determined by the forthcoming claims of the application for utility patent. 
     Having thus described the preferred embodiment of the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent includes the following: