Patent Application
20120085135
Handcuffs have been used in one form or another for centuries. However, early handcuffs were a “one size fits all” device that often allowed a person with a smaller body type an easy escape. For example, a hand could slip out of the locked bracelet or cuff. Additionally, for persons with larger body types, handcuffs often inflicted great pain or damage to the body because the restraints were too tight when secured to the larger person.
Handcuff designs progressed to include an adjustable ratchet wrist restraint. The adjustable ratchet wrist restrain allowed any single handcuff to fit almost any sized wrist, thus preventing both escape and injury. Over the years incremental improvements were made to the designs, locks, and shape of the wrist bracelet as well as to the manufacturing processes used and the raw materials employed in making handcuffs. Today there are many manufacturers making similar handcuffs.
There are three distinct types of metal handcuffs in use in the world of law enforcement and that are approved for use in the United States by the National Institute of Justice. The most common type includes two adjustable metal cuffs that are held together by a short, flexible, three link chain (typically about 2 inches (5 cm) in length). This type of handcuff is depicted in
Handcuffs are generally used to restrain an individual when the open bracelet of one handcuff is placed around the wrist of the individual and locked in place. Then the restraint is completed by bringing the second wrist within the opening of the other handcuff and similarly locking it in place. The handcuff lock for each wrist bracelet is engaged when a swivel ratchet is pushed into the body of the handcuff and the teeth of the swivel ratchet engage a spring-loaded pawl located inside the locking mechanism.
In addition to these types of traditional handcuffs, flexible or plastic restraints, also known as “wrist ties,” “riot cuffs,” “zipcuffs” and other designations, often include flexible bands of plastic that can be tightened around a person's wrists and secured either in front or behind the person. Such plastic restraints are lightweight, disposable and inexpensive. They are therefore well-suited to occasions when a large number of people must be detained, such as during a riot or large-scale demonstration.
However, plastic restraints have a number of limitations. For example, restraints can generally only be used one time, cannot be adjusted once set in place and normally must be cut off the person's wrists to free the individual. Some versions provide a locking mechanism that can be used more than once, but are still limited to only a few uses before the plastic restraints become ineffective. Moreover, while potentially introducing some flexibility from standard metal handcuffs, in that plastic restraints might accommodate a person with larger wrists, plastic restraints still need to unite both hands at the middle of the detainee's back, and thus may be difficult to use on large individuals. Further, because plastic restraints typically cannot be released once they are put in place, they may need to be cut off the detainee when it is necessary to remove the restraints from a detainee (e.g., to be fingerprinted, to attend to personal bodily functions, etc.). Additionally, it may prove harder to apprehend an individual with flexible restraints, as it may be difficult to get an individual to willingly put their hands through the large loops so the plastic restraints can be tightened. Flexible restraints also are not as strong as metal handcuffs, and because plastic restraints typically cannot be loosened, there is a risk of nerve or soft-tissue damage to the wearer.
Law enforcement officers come into contact with a diverse group of people on a daily basis. Officers can be liable for civil or criminal charges for the improper use of handcuffs, especially when injury results. Behind-the-back handcuffing became standard in law enforcement during the 1960s, and it is considered to be the most secure approach by the majority of the police academies in the United States. It ensures that the detainee's hands are secured facing outward so the individual cannot reach across to the other hand or in any way work both hands together to effect an escape. Additionally, when a detainee is handcuffed behind their back the keyholes on each cuff are facing up and away from the detainee's hands, thus minimizing attempts to pick the lock or grasp an object that could be used as a weapon with one or both of the hands.
In this regard, when the individual to be detained is overweight, obese, or has a large girth, it can be difficult or impossible to bring the individual's wrists close enough together behind their back to be cuffed. Obesity is an ever growing problem that affects people around the world. Individuals with a large girth, upon being detained often cannot place their hands behind their backs comfortably. The need to detain such individuals has forced law enforcement to make often expensive and impractical changes to their traditional modes of operation, arrest, and detention.
For example, arresting officers are often forced to hook two sets of standard handcuffs together (often referred to as “daisy-chaining”) to detain such individuals. While the use of two sets of handcuffs may allow the person to be detained, it may also create an opportunity for escape if there is a great degree of slack between the two wrists. Such slack may be introduced by locking two standard handcuffs together in a daisy-chain configuration because such a configuration does not allow for adjustment of the amount of slack that results once the cuffs have been secured to the detainee. In such instances, if the individual is left unsupervised, even momentarily, he or she may be able to lower their hands to their feet, and step over the slack handcuff daisy-chain so that their wrists are now in front of the body. Then, given the opportunity, the detainee could use the chain of handcuffs to attack an officer from behind possibly harming or strangling the officer and allowing an escape and further crime to occur.
Additionally, even when an individual is physically capable of placing his or her hands behind their back to be handcuffed, if an individual is too dangerous, the officer may be forced to put the offender's arms behind them in a way that could injure the person. Any officer forced to do this may find themselves the subject of an internal affairs investigation and possibly a lawsuit. Such violent resistance to being arrested is an act that occurs often. The goal of any officer is to get the person under control as quickly as possible. Getting handcuffs on these offenders takes away most of the offender's ability to fight and to resist apprehension. A person, even if they are face down, can wildly swing their arms and grab or attack an officer. If one cuff is applied, the individual will often try and prevent the officer from grabbing the individual's free wrist. If the officer has to straddle the person in order to get the free arm closer, the officer is in a vulnerable position. This may be the case even for individuals who are not overweight or obese. For larger girthed individuals, the problems of resisting apprehension may be compounded as it may be even harder for an officer to engage the second cuff to a free hand of a detainee.
The use of multiple pairs of handcuffs to detain large individuals also introduces potential compromises for an officer and an increase in cost. Items on the duty belt of an officer are geared towards protection and restraint. There are a number of less-than-lethal devices officers have at their disposal such as pepper spray, tasers, batons, and as a lethal resort, a duty weapon. The need for carrying additional sets of handcuffs requires a double cuff case, which often forces officers to remove one or more of their weapons to accommodate the bulky case. Accordingly, the officer is left with fewer means of defense or restraint. There is also the issue of bulk and weight on the officer associated with carrying additional sets of handcuffs to be able to daisy-chain handcuffs together to accommodate larger individuals. One solution to these issues, in many precincts, has been to be team officers in sets of two in order to perform duties that would normally have been performed by a single officer. Needless to say this greatly increases the cost of law enforcement and provides less patrol coverage in small departments. Additionally, many officers are required to purchase their own handcuffs, thus subjecting the officers to the expense of a double purchase of handcuffs. Furthermore, prisons and agencies dealing with numerous offenders often purchase restraints in bulk. Therefore, purchasing extra handcuffs to accommodate special needs inmates may create a great financial burden to such organizations.
Law enforcement is an umbrella term that covers many areas. For example, in the United States, there are city police, county sheriffs, correction officers, federal officers, private investigators, and private security agents. Handcuffs may also be used by other private parties such as airline personnel or even medical personnel who may need to restrain an irrational human being. These organizations have one thing in common in that they all use handcuffs in the performance of their duties. Accordingly, the problems identified with traditional handcuffs discussed above may also be present in these contexts, particularly when securing an overweight or obese individual.
The trend toward being overweight or obese that is so evident in our society often puts an arresting officer in a difficult position and can mitigate against good law enforcement practices. Furthermore, tradition handcuffs are susceptible to the problems identified above in relation to the fixed, relatively short spread between the cuffs of the handcuffs.
As evident from the foregoing, the advances made in handcuff technology, such as flexible restraints and large-wrist metal cuffs, fail to fully address the problem of large waisted prisoners and how they may be safely and effective apprehended and restrained, preferably with their hands behind their backs. Consequently, attempts to provide for such individuals of large girth have been made that may significantly reduce the effectiveness of the handcuffs.
However, the present invention reduces the problems identified above by allowing the expansion of the cuffs of a handcuff between a retracted configuration and an expanded configuration. Accordingly, handcuffs according to the present invention help accommodate individuals of large girth while maintaining the efficacy of the cuffs. Furthermore, the cuffs of the present invention help in the apprehension of individuals who resist detention by allowing an officer a larger distance between the cuffs that can be reduced once the cuffs have been secured to the individual.
In this regard, a first aspect of the present invention includes a handcuff device having a first cuff for securably engaging a first wrist area of a subject to be restrained and a second cuff for securably engaging a second wrist area of the subject to be restrained. The handcuff device also includes an expandable connecting assembly connecting the first and second cuffs. The expandable connecting assembly has at least a retracted configuration where the first and second cuffs are separated by a first distance when fully separated under tension and a expanded configuration where the first and second cuffs are separated by a second distance greater than the first distance when fully separated under tension.
In one embodiment, the expanding connecting assembly is bi-directionally operable to permit expansion of the first cuff and second cuff from the retracted configuration to the expanded configuration and retraction of the first cuff and second cuff from the expanded configuration to the retracted configuration. The expandable connecting assembly is preferably biased to the retracted configuration. The expandable connecting assembly preferably also includes a release, where actuation of the release permits expansion of the connecting assembly. The connecting assembly may be retractable to the retracted configuration independent from the actuation of the release. In this regard, even when the release is not actuated, the expandable connecting assembly may permit the retraction of the cuffs to the retracted configuration. The connecting assembly preferably also includes a lock that is operable to secure the expandable connecting assembly to prevent expansion and retraction thereof.
In one embodiment, the connecting assembly comprises a cable connecting the first cuff and the second cuff. The connecting assembly is preferably adapted to withstand at least a 495 pound force static tensile load for at least 30 seconds. Additionally, the connecting assembly is preferably adapted to withstand at least a 300 pound force dynamic load.
In one embodiment, a first end of the cable is securely attached to the first cuff and a second end of the cable is operatively attached to a spool at the second cuff. The cable is wound about the spool when the spool rotates in a first direction corresponding to retraction of the first cuff and second cuff. Furthermore, the cable is unwound from the spool when the spool rotates in a second direction corresponding to expansion of the first cuff and second cuff. In this embodiment, the spool comprises a plurality of ratchet teeth adapted for interface with a pawl. The pawl is biased to mating engagement with the ratchet teeth to prevent rotation of the spool in the second direction. However, the pawl allows for rotation of the spool in the first direction. The handcuffs include a release that is operative to disengage the pawl from the ratchet teeth to allow for rotation of the spool in the second direction. The pawl is lockable with respect to the ratchet teeth to prevent rotation of the spool in the first and second direction. That is, the pawl may be locked such that the handcuffs cannot expand or retract and the spread of the cuffs is fixed. Preferably, the first distance is less than 3 inches (7.6 cm) and the second distance may be greater than 3 inches (7.6 cm). The first distance may be no more than about 2 inches (5 cm) and the second distance may be at least about 4 inches (10 cm).
A second aspect includes a method for use in handcuffing a subject. The method includes securing a first cuff to the subject, expanding a connecting assembly connecting the first cuff assembly to a second cuff assembly, and securing the second cuff to the subject. The connecting assembly can be expanded from a retracted configuration to an expanded configuration. The retracted configuration and expanded configuration may be similar to those described above with respect to the first aspect. The method may include retracting the connecting assembly after the first securing and second securing. In this regard, the connecting assembly can be moved to a partially retracted configuration between the expanded configuration and the retracted configuration.
In one implementation, the method includes actuating a release to allow for expansion of the connecting assembly. The method can further include locking the connecting assembly to prevent retraction and expansion thereof. The handcuffs can be expanded before they are secured to the subject or after one of the cuffs have been secured.
In conventional handcuffs, the cuff assemblies are generally interconnected by chain links such as those shown in
In contrast, an embodiment of a set of expandable handcuffs 100 is shown in
The manner in which the cuffs 102 and 104 secure the wrists of an individual may be generally the same as conventional handcuffs. In the illustrated embodiment, the cuffs 102 and 104 are ratchet type handcuffs with a ratchet member 124 that is pivotal about a swivel 126. This allows the ratchet member 124 to pivot with respect to a body 130 of the cuff 102, 104 to allow for the individual's wrist to be positioned adjacent to an arcuate projection 128 extending from the cuff body 130. This allows the handcuffs 100 to be fitted to the subject's wrist. That is, each of the cuffs 102 and 104 is formed in two arcuate halves (e.g., one arcuate half formed by the ratchet member 124 and the other by the arcuate projection 128 rigidly extending from the body 130 of the cuff) that are interconnected at the swivel 126. The ratchet member 124 may be pivoted into engagement with the body 130 and locked such that the wrist of a subject may be securely disposed in an interior space 132 defined by the arcuate projection 128 and the ratchet member 124. In the closed position, the cuffs 102 and 104 cannot be opened without a key as will be described in greater detail below. In this regard, the ratchet member 124 of each cuff 102, 104 is toothed such that it can be advanced with respect to the body 130 but cannot be retracted therefrom without using the key inserted into a key hole 134 to release the ratchet member 124 as will be discussed in further detail below.
With additional reference to
The expansion mechanism 112 may include a spool 120 and a release 122. As shown, the spool 120 may include ratchet teeth 140 disposed about the circumference of the spool 120. In this regard, a toothed biasing spool 142 may be in meshed engagement with the ratchet teeth 140. The toothed biasing spool 142 may be biased by a spring 144. Accordingly, the spring 144 and the toothed biasing spool 142 may interface with the spool 120 to urge the spool in a first direction (counter clockwise as shown in
With further reference to
Additionally, the spool 120 may be freed to rotate in a second direction (e.g., clockwise as shown in
Additionally, as shown in
In one embodiment, a screw lock 150 may be used to fix the spread of the first and second cuffs 102 and 104 (i.e., to prevent retraction and expansion of the cuffs 102, 104). The screw lock 150 may include a screw 152 threadably engaged with a body 130 of the cuff. The screw 152 may be threadably advanceable and retractable with respect to the pawl 146. In this regard, the pawl 146 may include a recess 154. The recess 154 may be positioned and shaped such that when the pawl 146 is in mating engagement with the ratchet teeth 140 of the spool 120, the screw 152 may be advanced into the recess 154 as shown in
In one embodiment, the expandable connecting assembly 106, including the cable 108, may be capable of withstanding a 495 pound force static tensile load applied thereto for 30 seconds. Furthermore, the expandable connecting assembly, including the cable 108, may be capable of withstanding at least a 300 pound force dynamic load. Additionally, the cable 108 may be coated (e.g., with a rubberized material, a polymer, etc.). The coating on the cable 108 may help discourage individuals attempting to break the cable by abrading it with another material or using the cable 108 as a weapon or the like (e.g., using the cable 108 as a saw blade).
With continued reference to
Upon insertion of a key into the key hole 134 and rotation in a counterclockwise direction as shown in
The cuff locking mechanism 138 may also include a secondary lock that when engaged prevents movement of the ratchet member 124 in either an opening or a closing direction. In this regard, the ratchet member 124 may be immobilized once fitted to a suspect such that the ratchet member 124 is not further advanced so as to help reduce the likelihood of pinching or otherwise further closing upon the suspect's wrist to cause damage thereto. The secondary lock may include a plug 168 disposed in a bore 170 extending through the body 130 of the cuff 102. The plug 168 may be depressed into the bore 170 such that the plug 168 may contact and may displace a slide 172. The slide 172 may have steps 174 shaped therein which when advanced by the plug 168 create an interference preventing the locking arm 158 from pivoting about the pivot 160. The interference created between the steps 174 of the slide 172 and the locking arm 158 may prevent substantially all deflection of the locking arm 158. In this regard, the toothed portion 162 of the locking arm 158 may be rigidly meshed with the ratchet teeth 156 of the ratchet member 124 to prevent any relative movement. This not only prevents the ratchet member 124 from being moved to an open position but also restricts the ratchet member 124 from further closing as the locking arm 158 cannot be deflected to allow for relative movement of the ratchet teeth 156 and toothed portion 162 normally facilitated by the resilient member 164. The slide 172 may also include a notch 176 that is engaged by a key upon clockwise rotation thereof to disengage the steps 174 of the slide 172 from the locking arm 158 such that the locking arm 158 may be deflected about the pivot 160. As depicted, the slide 172 includes indentations in which the resilient member 164 may reside. The movement of the resilient member 164 to a respective one of the indentations 178 may help prevent movement of the slide 172. The engagement of an indentation 178 and resilient member 164 may also provide tactile feedback regarding movement of the slide 172 into the locked and unlocked position.
With additional reference to
Additionally, a method 200 for use in handcuffing a subject may also be provided as depicted in the flow chart of
The method 200 further includes retracting 240 the expandable connecting assembly. The retracting 240 may include retracting the expandable connecting assembly to a retracted configuration. In this regard, the expandable cuffs may be used on an individual accommodated by traditional cuffs. However, the expanding 220 may provide an officer securing the subject additional spread between the cuffs to assist in securing 230 the second cuff to the suspect.
Alternatively, the retracting 240 may include retracting the expandable connecting assembly to a partially retracted configuration between the expanded configuration and the retracted configuration. In this regard, when securing an individual of large girth with the cuffs, the cuffs may be retracted 240 relative to the expanded configuration, yet still be expanded from the retracted configuration. In fact, any degree of retraction may be provided to accommodate individuals of different sizes.
In any regard, the method 200 may also include securing 250 the expandable connecting assembly to prevent retraction and expansion thereof. As such, when positioned between the expanded and retracted configurations, the expanding connecting assembly may be locked to prevent expansion of the cuffs. This may ensure that a suspect cannot further expand the cuffs. This may also ensure that the cuffs are not further retracted so as to reduce the likelihood that the cuffs cause harm to a suspect.
The foregoing description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. Furthermore, the description is not intended to limit the invention to the form disclosed herein. Consequently, variations and modifications commensurate with the above teachings, and skill and knowledge of the relevant art, are within the scope of the present invention. The embodiments described hereinabove are further intended to explain best modes known of practicing the invention and to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the invention in such, or other embodiments and with various modifications required by the particular application(s) or use(s) of the present invention. It is intended that the appended claims be construed to include alternative embodiments to the extent permitted by the prior art.
This application claims priority and the benefit of the filing date under 35 U.S.C. 119 to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/390,683, entitled, “EXPANDABLE HANDCUFFS,” filed on Oct. 7, 2010, the contents of which are incorporated herein as if set forth in full.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61390683 | Oct 2010 | US |
