Ordnance – Waging war
Reexamination Certificate
2000-12-28
2002-08-13
Carone, Michael J. (Department: 3641)
Ordnance
Waging war
C042S001080, C362S102000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06431044
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to non-lethal personal defense devices and, more particularly, to personal defense devices capable of delivering a precisely-controlled aerosol plume that is capable of effectively and rapidly incapacitating an attacker.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the array of defensive weaponry, there is no viable, safe defensive alternative to the firearm. While society is increasingly reluctant to combat violent behavior with violent countermeasures, this same society demands a greater level of protection against those individuals and groups who actively employ violent means.
The human hesitancy to dispatch a potentially lethal force is a significant cause of violent injury to police in the line of duty. A police officer may be left without an alternative to lethal force, especially when the attacker is closing at speeds sufficient to cover 15 feet in less than a second.
Handheld aerosol devices have been available for many years. However, at present there are no standards for handheld aerosol devices. This has left the commercial marketplace with substandard devices which are incapable of delivering accurate, respirable aerosol doses directly to the lungs or a metered topical spray to the face, skin, eyes, nasal cavity, mouth and throat. Uncertainty as to the effectiveness of these devices results in the tendency to overdose an attacker to insure absolute containment and control.
Prior art handheld aerosol devices typically utilize oleoresin capsicum (OC), commonly known as pepper spray, in an oil-based solution. Standard commercial atomizers do not effectively disperse such solutions into a reliable mist. As a result, most solutions contain about 5% active agent, whereas an optimized solution should be about three times as concentrated. Furthermore, most standard commercial atomizers create droplets that are much too large to be effectively taken deeply into the lung, even though these aerosol devices would have greater effect if targeted for the lungs. The effectiveness of aerosol spray devices is ultimately measured by the delivery of bioactive agents, such as OC aerosols, directly into the lungs at less than 10 micron particle size, which is necessary for inhalation efficacy. The inflammation of the oropharynx, bronchioles, alveolar ducts, and mucus membranes occurs on contact with typical bio-active chemical agents such as OC aerosol. The physiological impact due to lung and respiratory tract inflammation immediately pulls blood flow from the body's extremities at rates sufficient to incapacitate continued muscular exertion in most people.
Personal defense devices which utilize an aerosol spray are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,602,399 issued Aug. 31, 1971 to Litman et al; 4,624,389 issued Nov. 25, 1986 to Ang; 5,000,347 issued Mar. 19, 1991 to Tran; 5,397,029 issued Mar. 14, 1995 to West; 5,509,581 issued Apr. 23, 1996 to Parsons; and 5,570,817 issued Nov. 5, 1996 to Anderson et al.
Another type of non-lethal personal defense device involves the application of an electrical shock to the attacker. A device for projecting two continuous parallel streams of conductive fluid is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,971,292 issued Jul. 27, 1976 to Paniagua. The streams of fluid are held at different electric potentials so that when they impact a target, an electric circuit is completed, thereby causing a current to pass through the target.
All known prior art non-lethal defense devices have had one or more drawbacks, including but not limited to lack of effectiveness in incapacitating the attacker, difficulty in use under highly stressful conditions, risk of serious injury or death to the attacker and lack of reliability. Accordingly, there is a need for improved non-lethal personal defense devices.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to a first aspect of the invention, a personal defense device that may be carried by a user is provided. The device comprises a housing, a nozzle having a discharge orifice, a control valve coupled to the nozzle, a pressurized source containing a bio-active agent and coupled to the nozzle, a rangefinder for determining a range to a target, a trigger mechanism for activating firing of the device and a firing controller. The firing controller is responsive to activation of the trigger mechanism and to the range to the target determined by the rangefinder for operating the control valve to discharge an aerosol plume of the bio-active agent through the nozzle.
In one embodiment, the discharge orifice of the nozzle may comprise a mist orifice for discharging a pulsed mist aerosol plume and a spray orifice for discharging a pulsed spray aerosol plume. The pulsed mist aerosol plume may be utilized when the range to the target is relatively short, and the pulsed spray aerosol plume may be utilized when the range to the target is relatively long.
The control valve may be implemented as a rotary nozzle and a nozzle drive mechanism. The rotary nozzle is rotatable between a mist position wherein the mist orifice is connected to the source, a spray position wherein the spray orifice is connected to the active agent source, and an off position. The nozzle drive mechanism rotates the rotary nozzle to and between the mist position, the spray position and the off position in response to the firing controller. The firing controller may include means for automatically operating the control valve to switch between the mist orifice and the spray orifice in response to variation of the range to the target.
In another embodiment, the source comprises a first container with a bio-active agent and a propellant that are optimized for producing a spray aerosol plume and a second container with a bio-active agent and a propellant that are optimized for producing a mist aerosol plume. The firing controller comprises means for selectively operating the control valve to connect the first container to the spray orifice or to connect the second container to the mist orifice.
The firing controller may include means for automatically operating the control valve to switch between the mist orifice and the spray orifice in response to variation of the range to the target. The firing controller may also include means for varying a pulse width of the pulsed spray aerosol plume when the spray orifice is connected to the source and means for varying the pulse width of the pulsed mist aerosol plume when the mist orifice is connected to the source.
According to a feature of the invention, the device may include means for determining a velocity of the target from sensed range values, and the firing controller operates the control valve in response to the determined velocity. According to another feature of the invention, the device may include means for determining an acceleration of the target from sensed range values, and the firing controller operates the control valve in response to the determined acceleration. Thus, the firing controller may operate the control valve and thereby control the aerosol plume in response to sensed range, velocity, acceleration and/or any other parameter of interest.
In a further embodiment, the discharge orifice of the nozzle may comprise first and second spray orifices for discharging first and second spray aerosol plumes, respectively, that are capable of conducting an electrical current. The device may further comprise a high voltage generator coupled to the first and second spray orifices for applying a high voltage between the first and second spray aerosol plumes. When the device includes a high voltage generator, tactile electrodes may be provided on the device for applying a high voltage shock in the event of physical contact with an attacker.
The personal defense device may include a heater for heating the source. The device may further include a temperature sensor for sensing the temperature of the source and means for energizing the heater when the sensed temperature is less than a predetermined value. A pressure sensor may be utilized for sensing the pressure in the source. If the pressure is insuf
Carone Michael J.
Non-Lethal Defense, Inc.
Thomson M.
Wolf Greenfield & Sacks P.C.
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