1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved ballistic paneling for use in bullet traps, to bullet traps using such ballistic paneling and to methods of making the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to destructible paneling which is coated with a resilient member (commonly referred to as self-healing or semi self-healing rubber) to prolong the life of the destructible medium, and to bullet traps using such destructive paneling and methods of making the same.
2. Background
There are a variety of reasons for which individuals engage in shooting. Many individuals will shoot to improve their proficiency in hunting. Law enforcement officials, however, must shoot on a regular basis to maintain their proficiency in the use of firearms so as to ensure their skills and promote safety. A police officer who regularly engages in target practice, particularly in lifelike scenarios, is more likely to make proper decisions when faced with the risk of harm, such as an individual holding an item which may or may not be a weapon, and to shoot accurately under high stress conditions. Additionally, thorough training of law enforcement personnel and military helps to teach them methods for properly clearing structures in environments which pose a risk. The training helps the officers/military personnel to maintain a safer environment by ensuring proper technique and minimizing the risk that an officer/military member will make an inaccurate assessment of a threat situation and accidentally injure or kill himself or a third party.
One method for training law enforcement officers and military is the use of what is commonly called a shoot house. A shoot house typically allows 360 degree live fire so that the officer, soldier, etc. may be placed in a realistic environment and presented with various threats that are similar to those which would be faced in the field. These could involve, for example, a domestic violence situation in which a target representing a suspect has a gun, or a hostile fire situation for military personnel where several targets representing terrorists are disposed within the shoot house so that the military personnel can train on how to safely clear the house with minimal threat to themselves and their colleagues.
Shoot houses have been formed in a plurality of ways. Early shoot houses were formed out of stacked tires or boxes of ballistic decelerating material such as sand. While tires and sand are good at decelerating bullets, they do not provide a lifelike scenario. Significant improvements were made in realistic looking shoot houses with the invention disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,822,936.
While shoot houses with such a construction have been highly popular, one aspect of maintenance is replacing the facing material 24 as it is destroyed due to thousands of shots being fired. As plywood or similar facing materials are shot repeatedly, small holes are made. Over time, concentrated shooting can leave large holes and the facing material must be changed to prevent ricochets escaping out these holes and possibly injuring the shooters or others nearby.
Another embodiment of a ballistic wall used in shoot houses and other environments includes steel walls 40 to which are attached rubber-like blocks or sheets 42 as shown in
One embodiment of a ballistic wall used in shoot houses and otherwise as a backstop for target practice is a built similar to the configuration shown in
Gravel is a preferred material for use as the deceleration medium 50 because it is inexpensive, easy to obtain, and decelerates the bullet significantly in a very short distance. One maintenance concern with gravel, however, is that as it vibrates it tends to abrade the wood and necessitates replacement of the wood more frequently than would be desired. Additionally, if shooting is concentrated in one area, small pieces of gravel can begin to fall out through the holes.
One improvement to such a wall was achieved by Action Target Inc. of Provo, Utah as shown in
Similarly,
While each of these embodiments has their respective advantages and disadvantages, there is a desire for a relatively inexpensive ballistic paneling and ballistic wall which has greater durability. While all of these embodiments of shoot houses have improved the ability to train law enforcement and military personnel, most suffer the problem that the wood panels must be replaced frequently under heavy use conditions. This requires additional money as well as time spent replacing the panel and refilling the wall with gravel, etc. Likewise, rubber blocks and sheets of rubber-like material are expensive and time consuming to replace. Thus, there is a need for a ballistic wall which will better survive high volume shooting so as to minimize maintenance, and preferably, to reduce cost.
It has been found in accordance with the principles of the present invention that one or more layers of a resilient material may be bonded or otherwise affixed to the facing material, such as plywood. This may be done with an adhesive material, such as liquid nails, or other bonding procedures. The sheets of resilient material close holes formed by the bullets to thereby hold any gravel or other deceleration material in place. Additionally, it has been found that having the resilient material bonded to the facing material helps to reduce the amount of wood which is destroyed as a bullet passes through and keeps pieces of wood attached longer as they are provided secondary means of support.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, resilient sheets are bonded to the facing material on both sides. Thus, the wood is essentially sandwiched between the resilient material. As bullets are fired through the material coated facing material made of wood, it has been found that much less wood is lost as most broken pieces of wood remain bound or held between the resilient sheets. Thus, when multiple rounds are fired in a small area, a hole does not develop in the wood as is common with the prior art. Rather, a soft spot will develop between the sheets of resilient material, but small wood fragments remains trapped by the two pieces of resilient material. Thus, not only does the remaining wood help, to some extent, to decelerate the bullet as it passes through the facing material, it also significantly reduces the chance of any back splatter or ricochet coming back toward the shooter because any bullet fragments must pass back through the inner sheet of resilient material, the wood pieces and the outer sheet of resilient material before it could reach a shooter or other person nearby.
Based on preliminary tests, it is believed that a facing sheet constructed in accordance with the present invention will survive at least 10 times the number of rounds as a conventional piece of plywood prior to needing to be replaced. Even when a relatively firm piece of material that is still resilient as to closing any holes formed by the bullet is used, the panel will apparently withstand up to as many as 100 times the number of rounds before the plywood or other facing material must be replaced. Thus, even though the facing material is more expensive than a traditional sheet of plywood, the overall cost of operating the range is reduced as the facing sheets may need to be replaced much less often. Additionally, there is a substantial savings in labor as the panels do not need to be pulled off, any gravel or other deceleration medium cleaned out, the panel replaced, and refilled with deceleration medium as is common with many traps. Thus, the present invention provides a ballistic wall which is believed to be safer and has lower long term operating costs than many currently available ballistic walls.
Various embodiments of the present invention are shown and described in reference to the numbered drawings wherein:
It will be appreciated that the drawings are illustrative and not limiting of the scope of the invention which is defined by the appended claims. The various elements of the invention accomplish various aspects and objects of the invention. It is appreciated that not every element of the invention can be clearly displayed in a single drawing, and as such not every drawing shows each element of the invention.
The drawings will now be discussed in reference to the numerals provided therein so as to enable one skilled in the art to practice the present invention. The drawings and descriptions are exemplary of various aspects of the invention and are not intended to narrow the scope of the appended claims.
Turning now to
The resilient material may be selected from a wide variety of materials. Two materials which have been found to be particularly useful are EPDM, a material commonly used in roofing, and rubber, such as natural or virgin rubbers, or similar material such as LINATEX, which are used as “self-healing rubbers” in ballistic applications. EPDM sheets 2 mm in thickness were bonded to pieces of plywood using contact cement and heat activated adhesive. In each case the ballistic panel formed by the plywood and EPDM had a much greater life than a plywood panel alone. This was particularly true where the EPDM was attached on both sides of the plywood.
Likewise, ballistic panels were made using plywood and sheets of rubber in 2 mm, 4 mm and 6 mm thicknesses. (Other thickness, such as 8 mm could also be used) The sheets were bonded using contact cement and heat activated adhesives. While the 6 mm rubber provided the best wear resistance, each sample showed a marked improvement above plain plywood. Where the plywood was sandwiched between the resilient material, the ballistic panels showed a remarkable improvement in wear resistance.
By having the resilient material 128 bonded to the destructible material 126, the resilient material helps to minimize destruction of the destructible material caused by the bullet passing therethrough. For example, repeated shots at a piece of plywood will cause pieces of the plywood to brake off even if that piece is not directly impacted by the round. By having the plywood bonded to the resilient material or sandwiched between pieces of resilient material, the piece of plywood may stay in place even if it actually breaks off of the larger piece of plywood. The piece can then be impacted by subsequent bullets and provide a deceleration for further rounds.
In a presently preferred embodiment, both sides of the destructible material 126 are bonded or otherwise secured to sheets of resilient material 128. While the projectile will carry some of the wood, etc., through the resilient material, pieces of the destructible material which are broken off but not carried by the bullet remain between the sheets of resilient material. This provides a facing material which still helps to reduce the risk of ricochets or back splatter injuring anyone as compared to a hole in a piece of wood. In tests, an area of wood sandwiched by resilient material was shot at 100 times. In normal shoot house panels, a large hole would have been left, necessitating replacement of the panel. However, while the wood was pulverized, it was maintained between the sheets of resilient material, obviating the need to replace the panel.
In a presently preferred embodiment, the destructible material 126 is plywood between ½ and ¾ inches thick, although other thicknesses may be used. Bonded or otherwise attached to each side of the plywood are sheets of resilient material, such as EPDM or rubber between 1/16th and ¼th inch thick (i.e. about 2 mm to 6 mm). It will be appreciated that by “resilient” it is meant that the material will tend to at least partially close a hole formed by a projectile passing through. Preferably, the resiliency will close the hole by at least 50 percent, more preferably by 75 percent and most preferably by at least 90 percent. Thus, the resilient material at least partially closes up the holes caused by the projectiles. This keeps the gravel 50 or other deceleration medium in place if gravel or other deceleration medium is used (as shown in the left half of
Turning to
Turning now to
There is thus disclosed an improved ballistic panel for use on shoot houses and other bullet containment systems. It will be appreciated that numerous changes may be made to the present invention without departing from the scope of the claims. The appended claims are intended to cover such modifications.
The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/317, 567, filed Mar. 25, 2010, which is expressly incorporated herein.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61317567 | Mar 2010 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 13053028 | Mar 2011 | US |
Child | 14024377 | US |