Patent Application
20170291749
See Application Data Sheet.
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The present invention relates to containers for transporting sensitive equipment and materials. In particular, the present invention relates to bullet-resistant transit cases for protection against high velocity projectiles and vibration and physical impact damage.
Transportation and storage cases for sensitive equipment or material are well known. Generally, such containers comprise a rigid casing and one or more lids. The casing and lid may be formed from metal, such as aluminum, or from plastic. Suitable padded inserts, straps or other components may be provided for supporting stored equipment within the volume of the case. In the case of a “rack” transit case, there is generally provided a chassis or rack frame within the casing. The sensitive equipment or materials are mounted on the rack frame. Anti-vibration mounts connect the rack frame to the casing so that the sensitive equipment and materials are protected against vibrational and impact damage.
Ballistic shields are also well known. U.S. Pat. No. 4,948,673, issued to Goery on Aug. 14, 1990, discloses a protective panel resistant to bullets. U.S. Pat. No. 6,161,738, issued to Norris on Dec. 19, 2000, describes a bag with a bullet-resistant panel to protect the contents of the bag. U.S. Pat. No. 9,044,074, issued to Almeida De Frietas on Jun. 2, 2015, shows a container system with ballistic panels in different parts of system.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a container system to protect sensitive equipment and materials.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a container system to protect against high velocity projectiles.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a container system to protect against vibration and impact damage.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a container system to protect sensitive equipment and materials.
These and other objectives and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the attached specifications and appended claims. cross-section.
Embodiments of the present invention include a container system, such as a transit case, with bullet-resistant properties. Sensitive equipment and materials can be protected from vibration and impact damage by the hard cases and stabilizing structures within a transit case. In the present invention, the protection is upgraded to include resistance to high velocity projectiles, such as bullets. The container system includes a casing, a rack frame suspended within the casing, a mounting means for suspending the rack frame in the casing, a plurality of ballistic panels attached to the casing, and a support means for holding the ballistic panels relative to the casing.
The casing has a plurality of inner sidewalls and corresponding outer sidewalls so as to form a end sidewall edge and an opposite end sidewall edge. The casing in this embodiment is open ended. Lids can be added at either end or both ends in other embodiments. Adjacent inner sidewalls form inner side edges. Each inner side edge has a flat portion between the end sidewall edge and the opposite end sidewall edge. The flat portion can form a mounting surface set at a 45 degree angle relative to adjacent inner sidewalls. The mounting means can engage the mounting surface of the flat portion of each inner side edge. Mounting means hold the rack frame suspended within the casing. The mounting means is an anti-vibration device to protect the contents stored on the rack frame from vibration and impact damage.
In some embodiments, the plurality of ballistic panels corresponds to the number of inner sidewalls. Each ballistic panel is substantially planar and adjacent to a respective inner side wall so that there is virtually no gap between the ballistic panel and the sidewall. These adjacent ballistic panels form an inner volume. The support means set the position of the ballistic panels relative to the casing and the rack frame. In some embodiments, the support means attaches ballistic panels to the rack frame, instead of the casing.
An embodiment of the support means includes a plurality of brackets. Each bracket has a base portion and a plurality of limbs on opposing sides of the base portion. The base portion is removably fixed in position relative to the casing, and the limbs attach to adjacent ballistic panels. The base portion can engage the mounting means or the flat portion of a respective inner side edge. A fixing means for each limb attaches to the support surface of the respective ballistic panel. The ballistic panels are friction fit around the mounting means and fixedly attached to respective brackets.
Further embodiments include a container system with an end lid, an opposite end lid or both. There can be a respective end ballistic panel and a respective opposite end ballistic panel for the corresponding lid. The ballistic panels in the lids can be aligned with the ballistic panels in the casing to seal the inner volume for full protection of the contents within the rack frame.
Referring to
The casing 3 is shown in
The mounting means 7 engage can engage the mounting surface 20 of the flat portion 18 of each inner side edge 11. Mounting means 7 hold the rack frame 5 suspended within the casing 3. The mounting means 7 is an anti-vibration device to protect the contents stored on the rack frame 5 from vibration and impact damage. The anti-vibration device is usually comprised of an elastomeric material. Mounting means 7 can be elastomeric bushings, wire rope mounts, adhesives, threaded members, bolts or other mechanical components.
The plurality of ballistic panels 15 corresponds to the inner sidewalls 10 in
In further embodiments, there can also be an end lid in removable sealing engagement to the end sidewall edge 14. Similar to the opposite end lid and opposite end ballistic panel, there can be an end ballistic panel attached to the end lid. An end of the inner volume is formed for a complete enclosure to protect contents from bullets in all directions. The same L-shaped bracket can connect the end ballistic panel to the end lid in sliding engagement and in alignment with the ballistic panels 15. The opposite end lid 2 and the end lid can be hinged to the casing 3.
Embodiments further include a fixing means for each limb 19 with a respective support surface 23 attached to the respective ballistic panel 15. Fixing means can include nails, screws, rivets, bolts, adhesive or other mechanical components to attach the limb 19 to the ballistic panel 15.
The ballistic panels 15 are friction fit around the mounting means 7 and fixedly attached to respective brackets of the support means 17.
The present invention provides a container system to protect sensitive equipment and materials against different threats. The transit cases of the invention are bullet-resistant to protect against high velocity projectiles, while maintaining a structure to support a rack frame and mounting means to protect against vibration and impact damage. The container system adds a level of protection beyond traditional transit cases without interfering with original functionality as a transit case. A container system can more fully protect sensitive equipment and materials within an inner volume formed by panels within a casing.
The foregoing disclosure and description of the invention is illustrative and explanatory thereof. Various changes in the details of the described method can be made without departing from the true spirit of the invention.
