Patent Application
20100314891
The present invention relates to a grill and ram attachable to a vehicle and specially configured to break through doors, including locked, chained, and barred doors, such as those in public, private, and commercial buildings in such a way that the door is deflected upward.
Police tactical units have needed to breach doors and other entrances for some time. Recently, however, the need has become more acute as hostage situations and criminal acts referred to as “active shooter” scenarios in which a gunmen is actively shooting victims requires a quick response by the police in order to save as many hostages and/or victims as possible rather than using negotiations as a tactic as in more typical hostage situations.
Compounding the difficulty of responding to an active shooter or a hostage situation in an unknown environment, recent events have involved gunmen that lock or barricade one or more doors to the building in which they have taken hostages and/or are shooting victims. Such situations occurred in the school shootings that occurred in Breslan, Russia and at Virginia Tech University. For example, the shooter at Virginia Tech chained and pad-locked the double doors to the school building, delaying the tactical units responding to the situation.
Faced with chained and barricade doors, police tactical units have the time consuming and dangerous task of breaching the door in such a manner that they can quickly evacuate a large number of hostages, potentially wounded victims, and others safely from the premise. A large opening or breach needs to be made to enable a quick evacuation of large numbers of people safely. However, it typically takes a longer period of time to create a large breach or opening, delaying the time before police units can reach the victims and/or the shooter. In addition, the longer the police units are exposed at a doorway, particularly a clear, glass doorway that is typically used in public and commercial buildings increases the time the police are potentially exposed to hostile fire and other reactions from any shooter. In addition, the longer it takes to create a breach the more likely a shooter will discover the response of law enforcement, creating a window for the shooter to take active counter measures, including firing at the police, as mentioned, shooting hostages and/or other bystanders, igniting explosives, incendiary devices, and/or other similar devices. In the event, the tactical responders and the hostages and/or bystanders are put at increased risk of harm.
While hand-held door rams have been used in the past to breach a door, these are effective primarily for the doors used in apartments and family residences. In addition, the use of such rams does not create a large breach and may be ineffective in the event the door is chained or otherwise barricaded, as was the case at Virginia Tech. Further, the use of hand-held rams exposes the responding tactical units to counter-fire and other risks, especially when the doors are glass or otherwise clear, a factor compounded by the fact that the use of such rams can be time-consuming. Other drawbacks are that the door often remains on the hinges where it is capable of potentially closing and, in the worse case, locking or blocking the doorway behind the entering tactical units, creating a trap for the tactical units and barring yet again the escape route for any hostages and/or victims. Even if the door remains clear, debris from the door (if damaged), the frame, and elsewhere might create obstructions for the responding tactical units entering the doorway and the hostages and/or victims attempting to escape.
Because active shooters intent on killing and harming as many people as possible, particularly at schools, is a relatively new phenomenon, and because of recent shifts in law enforcement strategies that call for a rapid response in the situation of an active shooter, the delay in quickly creating a large breach has recently developed as a significant problem, one that the Applicant believes has not been recognized before. Further, these particular circumstances call for equipment that overcomes the significant shortfalls in the previous equipment and methods described above.
Thus, there exists a need for equipment that will quickly create large breach through doors, whether private, public, or commercial. The equipment should breach a door in such a way that any debris, particularly the door, should deflect clear of the breached doorway lest the debris and/or the door itself become a further barrier to police tactical units entering the building and hostages and/or victims escaping from the building.
It is to be understood that the present invention includes a variety of different versions or embodiments, and this Summary is not meant to be limiting or all-inclusive. This Summary provides some general descriptions of some of the embodiments, but may also include some more specific descriptions of other embodiments.
Embodiments of the one or more present inventions include an assault grill for attachment to a vehicle, typically, although not necessarily, an armored assault vehicle, such as an armored van equipped to carry members of a tactical unit. The assault grill includes a support member, such as a bumper, typically made of steel plate with mounting members for attaching the support member to a frame of the vehicle. One or more longitudinal support members, typically vertical supports, have a first end and a second end spaced apart from the first end, with one of the ends affixed to the support member. Embodiments of the invention include two or more lateral members affixed thereto. The first lateral member is affixed in a first position on the longitudinal support member between the first end and the second end. The second lateral member is affixed to the longitudinal support member between the first lateral member and either the first end or the second end.
In one embodiment, the first lateral member is affixed a first perpendicular distance away from the longitudinal support member while the second lateral member is affixed a second perpendicular distance away from the longitudinal support member.
In another embodiment, the first lateral member and the second lateral member are affixed to the longitudinal support member such that a first line extending through a center of the first lateral member and a center of the second lateral member forms an angle with a parallel line extending from the longitudinal support member.
Another embodiment of the assault grill includes a grill attached to a vehicle having a frame and at least two wheels.
Also described herein are methods of making an assault grill of the type disclosed.
As used herein, “at least one,” “one or more,” and “and/or” are open-ended expressions that are both conjunctive and disjunctive in operation. For example, each of the expressions “at least one of A, B and C,” “at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” “one or more of A, B, or C” and “A, B, and/or C” means A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, or A, B and C together.
Various embodiments of the present inventions are set forth in the attached figures and in the Detailed Description as provided herein and as embodied by the claims. It should be understood, however, that this Summary does not contain all of the aspects and embodiments of the one or more present inventions, is not meant to be limiting or restrictive in any manner, and that the invention(s) as disclosed herein is/are and will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to encompass obvious improvements and modifications thereto.
Additional advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following discussion, particularly when taken together with the accompanying drawings.
To further clarify the above and other advantages and features of the one or more present inventions, reference to specific embodiments thereof are illustrated in the appended drawings. The drawings depict only typical embodiments and are therefore not to be considered limiting. One or more embodiments will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:
The drawings are not necessarily to scale.
At least one embodiment of the one or more present inventions is illustrated in
The support member 10 can be joined directly to a vehicle as will be described below, such as by welding, but more typically the support member 10 includes one or more mounting members 55 configured to attach the support member 10 to a frame of the vehicle, typically through the use of mounting bolts 60, although other mechanisms of attaching the mounting member 55 to the frame of the vehicle, including pins and other types of mounting mechanisms known in the art. In this embodiment, the mounting member 55 is a steel beam, such as an I-beam, and can be formed as a single piece, such as by molding, stamping, hydroforming, and other methods known in the art. Alternatively, the mounting member 55 can be formed from one or more pieces of steel or other material welded, bolted, or otherwise joined together as known in the art. The mounting member 55 can of course be manufactured from other metals and materials, including composites.
The support member 10 optionally includes locations configured to receive a winch at the winch location 45. In addition, when the support member 10 is configured to receive a winch it optionally includes a winch cable opening 50 in the support member 10 configured to allow a winch cable to be paid out and reeled in.
The assault grill 5 includes one or more longitudinal members 15, the longitudinal members 15 having a first end 16 and a second end 17 best illustrated in
The assault grill 5 includes two or more lateral members. In the embodiment illustrated, these include a first lateral member 20, a second lateral member 25, and, optionally, a third lateral member 30. The configuration of the lateral members 20, 25, and 30 is selected to deflect a door upward as will be described in further detail below. In this embodiment, the lateral members 20, 25, and 30 are a steel rods, pipes, or bar stock, and can be formed as a single piece, such as by molding, stamping, hydroforming, extruded, rolled, and other methods known in the art. Alternatively, the lateral members 20, 25, 30 can be formed from one or more pieces of steel or other material welded, bolted, or otherwise joined together as known in the art. The lateral members 20, 25, 30 can of course be manufactured from other metals and materials, including composites. The lateral members 20, 25, 30 are typically welded to the one or more longitudinal members 15, but they can be affixed to the longitudinal members 15 in other ways known in the art, included being formed of a single piece, bolted, pinned and other known methods.
The lateral members 20, 25, 30 as illustrated are substantially parallel to the long axis of the support member 10 and perpendicular to the longitudinal members 15, but other embodiments of the lateral members 20, 25, 30 includes ones that are at one or more (if the lateral members are formed from multiple pieces) angles relative to the longitudinal members 15, slanted either upwards or downwards, or otherwise oriented as one having skill in the art would understand.
Typically, the height of the first lateral member 20 above the ground when mounted to a vehicle is selected to be proximate a standard height of a door handle, push bar, or knob. This height typically falls within a range of 32 inches to 44 inches and, more typically, a range of between 36 inches and 40 inches. The second lateral member 25 is typically spaced 10 to 25 inches apart from the first lateral member 20 in a vertical direction (i.e., in a direction perpendicular to the ground). The third lateral member 30, if included, is spaced 10 to 25 inches apart from the second lateral member 25 in a vertical direction (i.e., in a direction perpendicular to the ground). The uppermost lateral member (the third lateral member 30 in this instance) is high enough to ensure that a door that is impacted by the assault grill 5 (discussed in greater detail below viz-a-viz
Best illustrated in
In the embodiment illustrated in
In another embodiment, each of lateral members 20, 25, and 30 include a first center 22, a second center 27, and a third center 32, respectively. A line 24 passing through each of the first, second, and third centers 22, 27, and 32 intersects with a parallel line 18 that is parallel with the longitudinal support member 15 to form an angle 23 of a selected range θ. In various embodiments, the selected angle is between the range θ of 0 to 45° and, more preferentially, 0 to 30°, and, even more preferentially, 0 to 15°. Other embodiments include those in which a first angle formed by a line through the first center 22 and the second center 27 and the parallel line 18 varies from a second angle formed by a line through the second center 27 and the third center 32 and the parallel line 18. The first angle can be substantially the same, greater than, or less than the second angle, as one having skill in the art would understand.
A purpose for selecting and positioning the lateral members 20, 25, and 30 in such a way is for use in impacting a door or doors of a building and quickly creating a large breach through which both police units and first responders/emergency personnel can enter and through which hostages and/or victims can escape. It is believed that a need for this ability was not previously recognized, in part because the likelihood and deadliness of an active shooter, particularly one who has barricaded, chained, or otherwise blocked the door, was not previously appreciated and/or expected. Such events required a shift in the paradigmatic response from police units, thus creating a previously unrecognized need.
Turning to
While the embodiments of the invention are configured to work well with doors of the type described above, they work equally well with doors of other types, including steel industrial doors that only pivot along the hinges rather than upward, and other doors. As the hinges of any door are often the weakest point in the door, a vehicle configured with an embodiment of the assault grill disclosed that has sufficient velocity and momentum would typically cause even doors of other types to be raised upward and clear of the vehicle and the breach.
Turning back to
Illustrated in
The assault grill 105 includes one or more longitudinal members 115, the longitudinal member 115 having a first end 116 and a second end 117 best illustrated in
The assault grill 105 includes two or more lateral members. In the embodiment illustrated, these include a first lateral member 120, a second lateral member 125, and, optionally, a third lateral member 130. The configuration of the lateral members 120, 125, and 130 is selected to deflect a door upward as will be described in further detail below. In this embodiment, the lateral members 120, 125, and 130 are a steel rods, pipes, or bar stock, and can be formed as a single piece, such as by molding, stamping, hydroforming, extruded, rolled, and other methods known in the art. Alternatively, the lateral members 120, 125, and 130 can be formed from one or more pieces of steel or other material welded, bolted, or otherwise joined together as known in the art. The lateral members 120, 125, and 130 can of course be manufactured from other metals and materials, including composites. The lateral members 120, 125, and 130 are typically welded to the one or more longitudinal member 115, but they can be affixed to the longitudinal member 115 in other ways known in the art, included being formed of a single piece, bolted, pinned and other known methods.
The lateral members 120, 125, and 130 as illustrated are substantially parallel to the long axis of the support member 110 and perpendicular to the longitudinal member 115, but other embodiments of the lateral members 120, 125, and 130 includes ones that are at one or more (if the lateral members are formed from multiple pieces) angles relative to the longitudinal member 115, slanted either upwards or downwards, or otherwise oriented as one having skill in the art would understand.
Typically, the height of the first lateral member 120 above the ground when mounted to a vehicle is selected to be proximate a standard height of a door handle, push bar, or knob. This height typically falls within a range of 32 inches to 44 inches and, more typically, a range of between 36 inches and 40 inches. The second lateral member 125 is typically spaced 10 to 25 inches apart from the first lateral member 120 in a vertical direction (i.e., in a direction perpendicular to the ground). The third lateral member 130, if included, is spaced 10 to 25 inches apart from the second lateral member 125 in a vertical direction (i.e., in a direction perpendicular to the ground). The uppermost lateral member (the third lateral member 130 in this instance) is high enough to ensure that a door that is impacted by the assault grill 105 (discussed in greater detail above viz-a-viz
As described above, a line passing through each of the first, second, and third centers of the lateral members 120, 125, and 130 intersects with a parallel line that is parallel with the longitudinal support member 115 to form an angle of a selected range θ. (This is best illustrated and discussed above viz-a-viz
The assault grill 105 optionally includes one or more secondary support members 135, as well as one or more lateral support members 140. These support members provide additional structural support to the longitudinal support member 115 and the lateral members 120, 125, and 130 that bear a large portion of any impact forces generated when the assault grill 105 impacts a door, wall or other fixed barricade. In addition, the secondary support members 135 and lateral support members 140 provide additional protection to the vehicle to which it is attached, particularly the front, the lights, and the quarter panels of the vehicle when the assault grill 105 is used to impact doors.
Optionally, the assault grill 105 includes a ram 170 with a ram plate 175 attached via ram mounting bracket 180, best illustrated in
The ram 170 and ram plate 175 is configured to impact doors, typically soft- or hard-wood doors used in private or residential construction, usually a single door. (Double doors typically would not be impacted with the ram 170, but rather the assault grill 5 and/or 105 itself as described above.)
Methods of making an assault grill of the type disclosed herein also fall within the scope of the invention and is best illustrated with reference to
The one or more present inventions, in various embodiments, includes components, methods, processes, systems and/or apparatus substantially as depicted and described herein, including various embodiments, subcombinations, and subsets thereof. Those of skill in the art will understand how to make and use the present invention after understanding the present disclosure.
The present invention, in various embodiments, includes providing devices and processes in the absence of items not depicted and/or described herein or in various embodiments hereof, including in the absence of such items as may have been used in previous devices or processes, e.g., for improving performance, achieving ease and/or reducing cost of implementation.
The foregoing discussion of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. The foregoing is not intended to limit the invention to the form or forms disclosed herein. In the foregoing Detailed Description for example, various features of the invention are grouped together in one or more embodiments for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed invention requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into this Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate preferred embodiment of the invention.
Moreover, though the description of the invention has included description of one or more embodiments and certain variations and modifications, other variations and modifications are within the scope of the invention, e.g., as may be within the skill and knowledge of those in the art, after understanding the present disclosure. It is intended to obtain rights which include alternative embodiments to the extent permitted, including alternate, interchangeable and/or equivalent structures, functions, ranges or steps to those claimed, whether or not such alternate, interchangeable and/or equivalent structures, functions, ranges or steps are disclosed herein, and without intending to publicly dedicate any patentable subject matter.
