The subject matter relates generally to a retrieval envelope for carrying grenades and rapidly deploying the grenades.
Grenades are explosive devices used by various personnel, such as law enforcement personnel or military officers, as a projectile to attack a target at a distance from a thrower. There are various types of grenades available, such as a fragment grenade, stun grenade, smoke grenade, incendiary grenade, etc. When used, grenades create an explosion which is intended to injure, emit a blaring noise, create smoke, and the like. Grenades may be thrown through a window or door of a crime location, such as a room in a house, and the like, to temporarily distract the occupants for a time sufficient to enable the law enforcement personnel to safely enter the location and neutralize any potential threats.
The grenade is held in a throwing hand with the thumb placed over a grenade lever while a safety pin is pulled out of a safety pin hole. When the grenade is thrown, the grenade lever is released, a spring throws off the grenade lever and rotates the striker into the primer. The primer contains material similar to the head of a match. When struck, it ignites and sets fire to the fuse. The fuse burns at a controlled rate, providing a time delay, for example about four to five seconds. When the flame of the fuse reaches a detonator the grenade explodes.
In order to separate the safety pin from the grenade, the user that throws the grenade is required to hold the grenade in one hand then pull the safety pin in the other hand, thus requiring the use of both hands in the handling of the grenade. A user that operates the grenade in both hands cannot operate the single weapon at the same time. During operation, removal of the grenade from a pouch and separating the safety pin from the grenade may be inconvenient, time consuming and intricate, factors which are critical to the success of situations requiring the use of grenades.
It is an object of the subject matter to discloses an apparatus, comprising an envelope for holding a grenade, said grenade comprises a grenade lever and a grenade safety pin; an attaching utensil for attaching said envelope to a garment of a person; a safety lever container connected to the envelope, said safety lever container is configured to secure the grenade lever, such that the grenade is oriented in a predetermined direction; a ring holder connected to the envelope, said ring holder is configured to hold the safety pin, such that the safety pin is detached from the grenade responsive to removal of the grenade from the envelope.
In some cases, the apparatus further comprises a top cover for covering the upper portion of the grenade, said top cover is connected to a wall of the envelope; and springs to release the top cover from the top of the grenade.
In some cases, the top cover is inserted into a slit of the wall. In some cases, the apparatus further comprises two buttons to engage the springs to release the cover from the top of the grenade.
In some cases, the bottom of the envelope comprises one or more teeth to maintain the grenade orientation. In some cases, the one or more teeth are flexible to enable removal of the grenade from the apparatus. In some cases, the ring holder is a karabiner.
In some cases, the wall of the envelope comprises a ledge to maintain the orientation of the grenade. In some cases, the ring holder is connected to the envelope by a cord, such that the safety pin is detached from the grenade responsive to moving the grenade from the envelope at a distance longer than the cord's length.
In some cases, the envelope enables human access to the grenade while the grenade is secured by the safety lever container. In some cases, the top cover is detached from the grenade.
Exemplary non-limited embodiments of the disclosed subject matter will be described, with reference to the following description of the embodiments, in conjunction with the figures. The figures are generally not shown to scale and any sizes are only meant to be exemplary and not necessarily limiting. Corresponding or like elements are optionally designated by the same numerals or letters.
The present subject matter discloses a retrieval envelope for holding a grenade and a method of using the same, according to exemplary embodiments. A person, such as a law enforcement or military officer, inserts the grenade into the retrieval envelope, which partially envelopes the grenade while enabling rapid retrieval of the grenade. The grenade is secured in the retrieval envelope by a top cover, which is pushed down and locked into place over the top of the grenade. When the person wishes to use the grenade, he raises the top cover to enable removing the grenade. The top cover may be detached from the apparatus of the subject matter. Raising the top cover may be performed by activating a trigger, which releases a spring, which may also be a rubber band or a latch, which raises the top cover. In some cases, the trigger comprises pressing at least two triggers simultaneously to prevent unwanted release of the top cover. The grenade may further be secured by one or more teeth or flaps which hold the grenade in the retrieval envelope, but are flexible enough to enable rapid and easy removal of the grenade from the retrieval envelope. The retrieval envelope enables the person to rapidly retrieve the grenade from the retrieval envelope and throw it rapidly and accurately at a desired target. The retrieval of the grenade may be done with a single hand and may be done by a person's weak hand, while a strong hand carries a primary weapon, such as an automatic rifle.
The retrieval envelope comprises of a safety lever container for containing the grenade lever and for maintaining the orientation of the grenade in the retrieval envelope. The retrieval envelope comprises a ring holder attached to a safety pin of the grenade. The ring holder enables the person to release and use the grenade rapidly with a single hand. The ring holder holds onto the safety pin as the person moves the grenade away from the retrieval envelope, which releases the safety pin and permits throwing the grenade at a desired target. The retrieval envelope is attached to a garment, which may be a vest, a belt or any other apparel used by the person. The retrieval envelope may be attached to the garment by use of an attachment utensil, such as screws, sewing, buttons, or the like.
The retrieval envelope 120 is designed to hold the grenade 100 so the shape of the retrieval envelope 120 is configured for quick access and use. In some exemplary embodiments, the retrieval envelope 120 may comprise flaps 125, which secure the grenade 100 in the retrieval envelope 120. The retrieval envelope 120 may comprise a safety lever container 130, which holds the grenade lever 105. Holding the grenade lever 105 at the safety lever container 130 prevents the grenade 100 from disorienting when placed in the retrieval envelope 120. In some cases, the safety lever container 130 may prevent the grenade lever 105 from releasing in situations where the safety pin 110 is prematurely removed or slips out of the safety pin hole 112.
The retrieval envelope 120 may also comprise a hook 150 to attach the retrieval envelope 120 to a garment such as a vest or a belt. The hook 150 allows convenient transportation of one or multiple retrieval envelopes 120 to and from the garment.
The retrieval envelope 120 comprises a cord 135, such as a rope or wire, which is connected to a ring holder 140. The ring holder may be a karabiner comprising a mobile limb 142. The ring holder 140 is attached to a safety pin ring 115. Once the ring holder 140 is inserted into the safety pin ring 115, the safety pin ring 115 may be removed once the person using the retrieval envelope 120 pulls the grenade 100 out and away from the retrieval envelope 120, so the safety pin 110 is released from the safety pin hole 112 by the ring holder 140.
In some exemplary embodiments of the subject matter, a rubber band 145 may be used to secure the grenade 100 in the retrieval envelope 120. The rubber band 145 is placed around the grenade 100 and the retrieval envelope 120 so the grenade 100 may be easily removed from the retrieval envelope 120 using a single hand. In some embodiments, the rubber band 145 may be attached to the retrieval envelope 120 so the rubber band 145 does not fall to the ground and get lost when the grenade 100 is removed from the retrieval envelope 120. The rubber band 145 is detached from the grenade 100 when deploying the grenade 100.
Once the ring holder 230 is inserted into the safety pin ring 210, the moveable limb 235 is placed so the ring holder 230 cannot be removed from the safety pin ring 210 without opening the moveable limb 235. In some cases the ring holder 230 may have a locking bolt (not shown), such as a locking karabiner, which has the locking bolt to enable locking the moveable limb 235 into place to prevent the moveable limb 235 from opening and releasing the safety pin 205, for example, while the grenade 201 is being removed from the retrieval envelope 120 of
To activate the grenade 310, the person carrying the retrieval envelope 340 that holds the grenade 310, grabs the grenade 310 with the person's hand 300. The person places one of his/her fingers around the grenade lever 315 to ensure that the grenade 310 does not detonate in the person's hand 300. After removing the grenade 310 from the retrieval envelope 340, the person moves the grenade 310 away from the retrieval envelope 340, for example moving the grenade 310 in a right direction 360 or moving the retrieval envelope 340 in a left direction 370. The retrieval envelope 340 enables the person to use only a single hand to remove the grenade 310 from the retrieval envelope 340 and still have a second hand free for other requirements, such as carrying an automatic rifle. The retrieval envelope 340 enables the person to rapidly remove the grenade 310 from the retrieval envelope 340 and throw it rapidly with either a person's strong or weak hand.
As the grenade 310 is moved further from the retrieval envelope 340, the cord 335 becomes tense and the ring holder 330 at the end of the cord 335 pulls the safety pin 325 out of the safety pin hole 327. The retrieval envelope 340, which sits on an garment of the person, such as a person's vest, creates tension in the cord 335, which enables the ring holder 330 to remove the safety pin 325 from the safety pin hole 327 as the grenade 310 is distanced from the retrieval envelope 340. The distance between the grenade 310 and the retrieval envelope 340 may be longer than the length of the cord 335 in order to release the safety pin 325. Once the safety pin 325 is removed from the safety pin hole 327, the grenade lever 315 is secured by the person's hand 300, for example the thumb 305. To activate the grenade 310, the person releases the grenade 310 enabling the grenade lever 315 to be released by a spring (not shown). Once the grenade lever 315 releases the fuse inside the grenade 310 ignites the primer, which detonates the grenade 310.
After the grenade 500 is placed in the retrieval envelope 510 the top cover 530 is pressed down onto the top of the grenade 500 to hold the grenade 500 in place. As the top cover 530 is brought down the extended limb 535 is locked into place inside of the retrieval envelope 510, for example, being caught on a ledge (not shown). To remove the grenade 500 from the retrieval envelope 510, a trigger of some sort, for example pressing two buttons simultaneously, is used to release the extended limb 535 and the spring 540 pushes the top cover 530 up, which enables removing the grenade 500 from the retrieval envelope 510. In some exemplary embodiments of the subject matter, the top cover 530 moves backwards in a swinging motion from the top of the grenade 500. The grenade lever 505 is removed from the safety lever container 550 and the grenade 500 is pulled out of the retrieval envelope 510 while bending the one or more teeth 515.
While the disclosure has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the subject matter, in addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the disclosed subject matter not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this subject matter, but only by the claims that follow.
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