Patent Application
20210080229
The present invention generally relates to a ballistic panel system and more particularly still, this invention relates to a ballistic panel system that can be stored in an unobtrusive manner and quickly deployed when needed to provide shelter for persons when an active shooter is present.
The United States has the most school shootings in the world, where a school shooting is defined as an attack at an educational institution, such as a primary school, a secondary school, or a university. A partial listing of school shootings from 2019 in the United States includes Savannah, Ga. (1 shot), Highlands Ranch, Colo. (1 dead, 8 shot), Charlotte, N.C. (2 dead, 4 shot), Texas City, Tex. (3 shot), DeKalb County, Ga. (10 shot), and Columbus, Miss. (1 shot). School shootings are not a new issue in the United States, with records going back all the way to 1840. In addition, school shootings are not unique to the United States; numerous countries, including countries with complete gun bans, have experienced school shootings.
At least within the United States, political concerns make the likelihood of comprehensive gun reform unlikely. However, a number of solutions have been attempted to protect children and teachers at schools.
First, many schools now implement active shooter drills and train students and staff on what to do during such events. In particular, it is common to instruct the teacher to lock the classroom door, turn out the lights, and gather the students into an area of the classroom that cannot be seen from outside of the classroom with the door locked while keeping the students low and quiet.
In addition, certain schools now use ballistic blankets, such as those made by Armor Express. For example, Armor Express makes blankets that can be purchased with dimensions of 4′×8′, and which are constructed of Aramid fiber, which is generally considered equivalent to NIJ Level IIIA body armor; i.e., capable of stopping most 0.357 0.44 Magnum rounds. However, ballistic blankets are not capable of stopping rounds fired from common assault rifles, such as an AR-15 or AK 47, and unfortunately, assault rifles are now commonly used in school shootings. In use the ballistic blankets are draped over windows, door frames, and potentially, students and teachers, with the hopes of shielding persons from harm.
In addition, certain parents have purchased ballistic backpacks or ballistic backpack inserts for their children. Such a device provides a small surface that a child can use to shield themselves from harm. However, ballistic backpacks are generally significantly heavier than other backpacks, and also cannot typically stop a round fired from an assault rifle. Similarly, ballistic backpack inserts typically also cannot stop a round fired from an assault rifle. In addition, a ballistic backpack provides a limited amount of cover; when worn normally, the backpack will not shield the wearer's head, front, or legs.
Accordingly, a need exists for shelter that can be deployed quickly while providing protection from rounds that are fired from an assault rifle.
Accordingly, it is an object of this disclosure to provide a ballistic panel system for providing shelter.
Another object of this disclosure is to provide a ballistic panel system that can be installed unobtrusively at a site.
Another object of this disclosure is to provide a ballistic panel system that can be rapidly deployed once installed.
Another object of this disclosure is to provide a ballistic panel system capable of stopping a round fired from an assault rifle.
Another object of this disclosure is to provide a ballistic panel system capable of providing protection comparable to Level IV body armor.
Other advantages of this disclosure will be clear to a person of ordinary skill in the art. It should be understood, however, that a system, an apparatus or a method could practice the disclosure while not achieving all of the enumerated advantages, and that the protected disclosure is defined by the claims.
Pursuant to the various embodiments, the present disclosure comprises a ballistic panel system. In particular, the ballistic panel system comprises a plurality of panels, wherein each of the panels includes a frame. The frame includes first and second vertical exterior beams. Each of the vertical exterior beams includes a plurality of hinges that are adapted to couple with the hinges of vertical exterior beams from other panels. The frame also includes upper and lower horizontal beams that are coupled to the vertical exterior beams. In addition, an armor layer is draped over at least one side of the frame. The armor layer can comprise, for example, ceramic armor plates, graphene, Kevlar, Aramid fiber, or other ballistic materials.
In an additional embodiment of the disclosure, the frame of the ballistic panel further comprises at least one interior vertical beam disposed between the first exterior vertical beam and the second exterior vertical beam. The at least one interior vertical beam is coupled to the upper and lower horizontal beams.
In another embodiment of the disclosure, the ballistic panel further comprises a plurality of castors coupled to the bottom of the lower horizontal beam. The castors can be coupled to the frame in a number of ways; for example, they can be disposed in a single row and coupled to the lower horizontal beam by a stem with a screw pattern. Alternatively, the castors can comprise castor assemblies, with each assembly including a lateral beam, a pair of castors, and an attachment pin.
Although the characteristic features of this disclosure will be particularly pointed out in the claims, the disclosure itself, and the manner in which it may be made and used, may be better understood by referring to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views and in which:
A person of ordinary skills in the art will appreciate that elements of the figures above are illustrated for simplicity and clarity, and are not necessarily drawn to scale. The dimensions of some elements in the figures may have been exaggerated relative to other elements to help understanding of the present teachings. Furthermore, a particular order in which certain elements, parts, components, modules, steps, actions, events and/or processes are described or illustrated may not be actually required. A person of ordinary skills in the art will appreciate that, for the purpose of simplicity and clarity of illustration, some commonly known and well-understood elements that are useful and/or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment may not be depicted in order to provide a clear view of various embodiments in accordance with the present teachings.
Turning to the Figures and to
The frame and its constituent beams can be constructed of a variety of metals, including, for example, aluminum, steel, titanium, or a variety of alloys. In addition, other materials could be used; for example, graphene could be used to construct an extremely durable and lightweight frame.
Each of the exterior vertical beams 12a and 12b include one or more hinges 20. Each of the hinges can be a fairly simple butt hinge, or a single large piano hinge could be used.
In addition, a number of casters 24 are mounted to a lower surface of the second horizontal beam 14b. Generally, the casters 24 will be swivel casters; i.e., castors that can rotate in all directions, which will aid the panels to swivel into deployment as explained below. The casters can be mounted to the lower surface of the second horizontal beam 14b using a caster stem that can snap into place in an aperture 29 formed in the lower surface of the second horizontal beam 14b. In particular, the apertures 29 are clearly depicted in
A vertical interior beam 16 is depicted in
Turning to
Turning to
Turning to
In addition, a pair of caster assemblies 262 are affixed to the bottom of the second horizontal beam 214b. The caster assembly 262 is best depicted in
Obviously, many additional modifications and variations of the present disclosure are possible in light of the above teachings. Thus, it is to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the disclosure may be practiced otherwise than is specifically described above
The foregoing description of the disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise form disclosed. The description was selected to best explain the principles of the present teachings and practical application of these principles to enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the disclosure in various embodiments and various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It should be recognized that the words “a” or “an” are intended to include both the singular and the plural. Conversely, any reference to plural elements shall, where appropriate, include the singular.
It is intended that the scope of the disclosure not be limited by the specification, but be defined by the claims set forth below. In addition, although narrow claims may be presented below, it should be recognized that the scope of this invention is much broader than presented by the claim(s). It is intended that broader claims will be submitted in one or more applications that claim the benefit of priority from this application. Insofar as the description above and the accompanying drawings disclose additional subject matter that is not within the scope of the claim or claims below, the additional inventions are not dedicated to the public and the right to file one or more applications to claim such additional inventions is reserved.
The present disclosure claims priority to U.S. Provisional Pat. App. No. 62/901,419, filed on Sep. 17, 2019, which is hereby incorporated by reference in the entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62901419 | Sep 2019 | US |
