This disclosure relates to glass break devices and more specifically to a glass break apparatus that can be affixed to a light-emitting apparatus such as a flashlight or a tactical weapon light to thus eliminate the need for two separate devices.
Police officers or EMS first responders are often faced with the challenge of having to use carry multiple devices; for example, a glass break device, a weapon, and a flashlight. Switching between two or three of these devices is difficult when two may be needed simultaneously. For example, in the situation of a police officer attempting to remove a suspect from a car, the officer will need to first holster his or her weapon prior to attempting to break the window, thus compromising the safety of the officer. For an EMS first responder attempting to rescue an individual from a vehicle, home, or storefront with a plate-glass window when time is of the essence, the responder likewise cannot continue to use their flashlight while attempting at the same time to break the window with a separate device.
Thus, there is a clear need for a glass punch apparatus that can be secured to a light-emitting device such as a flashlight such that the both the flashlight and glass punch apparatus can be used simultaneously and with one hand, without the need for the user to switch back and forth between the two objects.
There is also a clear need for a glass punch apparatus that can be secured to a light-emitting device such as a tactical weapon light, such that the glass punch apparatus, the tactical weapon light, and, if needed, the tactical weapon, can all be used simultaneously without the need for the user to switch back and forth between objects.
The present disclosure addresses these needs.
The glass break apparatus of the present disclosure, as described herein, can be affixed to the exterior of a light-emitting device, such as, for example, a flashlight or a tactical weapon light fixture. This will advantageously allow a user, such as a police officer or EMS first responder to be able to shine light on an object behind a glass window, break the glass window, and if needed, deploy a tactical weapon, without the need to switch from one device to another.
With the glass break apparatus of the present disclosure mounted to a police officer's tactical weapons light or an EMS responder's flashlight, the need to carry separate tools for this process is eliminated. For the layperson, this device can likewise be used for self-protection within the home, for example in the event of a fire requiring the ability to exit through a window, in a vehicle that has become trapped in water, or for use on a personal weapon.
In one aspect of the present disclosure, a glass break apparatus is provided. The glass break apparatus includes an attachment mechanism comprising an attachment region configured to attach to an end of a light-emitting device, and a receptacle coupled to the attachment region. The glass break apparatus further comprises an elongated glass punch retained at least partially within the receptacle, the glass punch having a first end and a second end, the glass punch configured to move between a retracted position within the interior of the receptacle and an extended position due to impact with a surface of glass, the first end of the glass punch extending beyond a plane of the attachment region while in the extended position.
In another aspect of the present disclosure, a glass break apparatus is provided, the glass break apparatus including a receptacle incorporated into a bezel of a light-emitting device, the receptacle comprising an elongated glass punch retained at least partially within the receptacle, the glass punch having a first end and a second end, the glass punch configured to move between a retracted position within the interior of the receptacle and an extended position due to impact with a surface of glass, the first end of the glass punch extending beyond a plane of the bezel while in the extended position.
In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a glass break apparatus is provided, the glass break apparatus including a receptacle incorporated into a housing of a light-emitting device, the receptacle comprising an elongated glass punch retained at least partially within the receptacle, the glass punch having a first end and a second end, the glass punch configured to move between a retracted position within the interior of the receptacle and an extended position due to impact with a surface of glass, the first end of the glass punch extending beyond a plane of the housing while in the extended position.
In still another aspect of the present disclosure, a glass break apparatus is provided, where the glass break apparatus a tubular casing having an interior and an exterior, the casing having an open end, an elongated glass punch having a first end and a second end, the glass punch configured to move between a retracted position and an extended position within the interior of the casing, and while in the extended position the first end of the glass punch extends at least partially through the open end of the casing to strike a surface of glass, and an attachment ring having a first central aperture sized to receive a light-emitting device, the attachment ring further including a second aperture sized to receive the tubular casing housing the glass punch therein.
The present disclosure provides a novel glass break apparatus that can affix to a light-emitting device such as a light fixture attached to a firearm, or a flashlight, and allows a user to use the light-emitting device to illuminate an area and simultaneously use a glass punch portion of the glass break apparatus to break glass that is illuminated by the light-emitting device. In this fashion, the user does not need to first illuminate the area with one device, retrieve a separate glass punch device and then try and deploy the glass punch device while still trying to shine the light from the light-emitting device on the glass area.
It should be noted that although a majority of the figures show the glass break apparatus attached to a light-emitting device and the light-emitting device affixed to a firearm, the glass break apparatus of the present disclosure is not limited in any way to use with a firearm. As explained herein, the glass break apparatus is configured to be affixed, in a variety of different fashions, to a light-emitting device, or other type of apparatus. Attaching the light-emitting device to a firearm is just one non-limiting embodiment. The glass break apparatus can be affixed to various other types of light-emitting devices and not just the type that is affixed to a firearm.
Glass break apparatus 10 also includes a receptacle 18, which is coupled to attachment mechanism 16, as shown in
It should be noted that attachment mechanism 16 need to not be circular as shown in the figures. The shape and size of attachment mechanism 16 can vary in order to accommodate the shape and size of the light-emitting device 12 to which it is being attached. In various embodiments, the first end of glass punch 20 extends beyond the plane of any other hardware, e.g., attachment mechanism 16, light-emitting device 12, or firearm 14 (or any apparatus to which glass break apparatus 10 or light-emitting device 12 is attached). In this fashion, glass punch 20 can be used to strike and break a piece of glass when, upon impact, the first end of glass punch 20 moves to the extended position. This will be described in greater detail below.
Advantageously, the embodiment shown in
In
It should be noted that the mechanism depicted in
It should be noted that glass break apparatus 10 can be used with any light-emitting device, i.e., not just a flashlight. Further, the light-emitting device to which glass-break apparatus 10 is affixed to can, itself, be attached to other devices, such as a firearm or other weapon, an axe, or any other device that may be used by the police, fire department, or an ordinary citizen. This opens up a myriad of possibilities and scenarios for which glass break apparatus 10 may be used.
While the disclosure has been described in its preferred form or embodiment with some degree of particularity, it is understood that this description has been given only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction, fabrication, and use, including the combination and arrangement of parts, may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.
This application is a divisional of U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 16/436,386, titled Glass Break Apparatus, filed Jun. 10, 2019. The prior application is herewith incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
5628555 | Sharrah | May 1997 | A |
5657543 | Collins | Aug 1997 | A |
5791056 | Messina | Aug 1998 | A |
5860728 | Maglica | Jan 1999 | A |
5952916 | Yamabe | Sep 1999 | A |
6036332 | Antal | Mar 2000 | A |
6199997 | Outsen | Mar 2001 | B1 |
6418628 | Steingass | Jul 2002 | B1 |
6666566 | Uke | Dec 2003 | B1 |
7028874 | Lin | Apr 2006 | B2 |
7076908 | Kim | Jul 2006 | B2 |
7108390 | Lawless | Sep 2006 | B2 |
7194836 | Urban | Mar 2007 | B1 |
7334365 | Kim | Feb 2008 | B2 |
D585516 | Smith | Jan 2009 | S |
7557720 | Rubin et al. | Jul 2009 | B2 |
7578090 | Romaszka | Aug 2009 | B1 |
7731380 | Wu | Jun 2010 | B2 |
7854085 | Hodgkins | Dec 2010 | B1 |
8196328 | Simpkins | Jun 2012 | B2 |
8661723 | Emde et al. | Mar 2014 | B2 |
9157471 | Jungeberg | Oct 2015 | B2 |
9291418 | McNitt | Mar 2016 | B2 |
10365069 | Tayon | Jul 2019 | B1 |
20020006038 | Fladung | Jan 2002 | A1 |
20020100202 | Lin | Aug 2002 | A1 |
20020112599 | Sabates | Aug 2002 | A1 |
20030106919 | Chuang | Jun 2003 | A1 |
20050120563 | Lin | Jun 2005 | A1 |
20060156609 | Kim | Jul 2006 | A1 |
20100301088 | Purdy | Dec 2010 | A1 |
20130167601 | Colasse | Jul 2013 | A1 |
20150033477 | Rubin | Feb 2015 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
205059497 | Mar 2016 | CN |
2173237 | Mar 1985 | GB |
Entry |
---|
International Search Report dated Jul. 14, 2020, PCT Application No. PCT/US2020/031264, US Patent Office. |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | 16436386 | Jun 2019 | US |
Child | 16837355 | US |