Road structure – process – or apparatus – Traffic steering device or barrier
Reexamination Certificate
1999-04-13
2001-11-06
Will, Thomas B. (Department: 3673)
Road structure, process, or apparatus
Traffic steering device or barrier
C049S133000, C049S034000, C049S009000, C256S001000, C256S013100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06312188
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a device for impeding the motion of a land vehicle.
(2) Description of the Related Art
The military and police officials are at times required to stop a moving land vehicle. For example, the military may be called on to stop a truck laden with explosives. The police may be called on to stop a speeding car containing suspected criminals. It is desirable that the occupants of these vehicles, that may include hostages, not be injured by immobilization of the vehicle. Therefore, immobilization by conventional methods such as road blocks using other vehicles and tire puncturing is not acceptable.
Devices to stop a moving land vehicle without injury to the occupants are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,576,507 to Terio et al. and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,824,282 to Waldecker. The Terio et al. patent discloses a pair of I-beams disposed on opposing sides of a roadway supported in an underground enclosure. Cables supported by shock absorbers extend between the I-beams. When the barrier is actuated, the I-beams rise from the underground enclosure, extending the cables across the roadway. The Waldecker patent discloses a plurality of fabric cylinders disposed in a trench extending across a roadway. A net is supported on one side of these cylinders. When actuated, gas generators fill the cylinders causing them to rise and form a barrier across the roadway. Impact with the gas-filled cylinders serves as a primary braking means to impede the land vehicle. The net forms a secondary braking means.
While the above vehicle immobilization systems are useful, they have the disadvantage of being complex, heavy and immobile. They are useful for protection of a fixed target, but are less useful for protecting temporary targets, such as an arena being visited by a head of state. They are also not useful for rapid deployment in a remote site, such as encountered by police seeking to stop the escape of criminals.
There exists, therefore, a need for a transportable, rapidly deployed, vehicle immobilization system that does not suffer from the disadvantages of the prior art.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a vehicle immobilization system that is both transportable and rapidly deployed. It is a feature of this vehicle immobilization system that telescoping supports are rapidly extended by a propulsion unit. The telescoping supports may be either embedded in the ground or anchored above ground. A barrier extending between the telescoping supports permits free travel of land vehicles when the telescoping supports are compressed, but stops moving vehicles with a deceleration force of less than 2 g (i.e., twice the force or acceleration due to gravity at sea level on the earth; 1 g 9.8 m/s/s) when the telescoping supports are extended.
Among the advantages of the vehicle immobilization system of the invention are that the system is both lightweight and transportable. The system is readily deployed as and where needed. A further advantage is that a moving land vehicle is not destructively immobilized facilitating the safe removal of the occupants.
In accordance with the invention, there is provided a transportable device for impeding the motion of a land vehicle that is travelling along a pathway. This device has first and second supports positioned at first and second sides of the pathway, respectively, each capable of being actuated from a compressed condition to an extended condition. A propulsion system is effective to actuate the supports. A barrier extends between the supports at a mean first height that is effective to permit passage of vehicles when the supports are compressed and held by each support at a mean second height effective to impede passage of a vehicle when the supports are extended. When the supports are compressed, vehicles pass over the barrier unimpeded. When the supports are extended, the barrier impedes the motion of a vehicle traveling along the pathway. At least one deceleration cable mechanically couples the barrier to a brake system.
In specific implementations of the invention, each support may have a housing, a first telescoping element, and a second telescoping element. The first telescoping element is moveable upward relative to the housing upon actuation of the associated support. The second element is concentric with the first element and moveable upward relative to the first element to reach an extended height upon actuation of the associated support. The barrier is supported by the second element of each support. The propulsion system may comprise a rapidly combusting chemical mix. The supports may be positioned so that their respective housings are atop and not substantially sunk into the ambient terrain so that majorities of the first and second telescoping elements are positioned above the terrain when the supports are in the compressed condition. The supports may each have a plurality of anchors effective to anchor the supports against force transmitted from the impact of the vehicle with the barrier. The anchors may be at least partially embedded in the terrain. The telescoping elements may be inner and outer intermeshed cylinders.
Prior to deployment, the barrier may be housed in a barrier enclosure. The barrier enclosure may have a top including first and second hinged cover elements. The cover elements may be moveable from a closed condition for storing the barrier beneath the top and protecting the barrier from vehicles passing over the enclosure to an open condition in which the barrier may be deployed upward through a gap between the cover elements.
In the closed condition, the cover elements may be separated by a convoluted separation line defining intermeshing inboard edges of the first and second cover elements. Such edges may be directed generally upward in the open condition and effective to puncture the tires of a vehicle passing over the enclosure. The enclosure may have a generally trapezoidal cross-section.
The deceleration cables may be configured to cross behind a vehicle which has collided with the barrier so as to extend along first and second sides of such vehicle and impede opening of the doors of such vehicle sufficiently to impede escape of occupants of the vehicle.
The above stated objects, features and advantages will become more apparent from the specification and drawings that follow.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1929859 (1933-10-01), Strauss
patent: 2237106 (1941-04-01), Minert
patent: 2440574 (1948-04-01), Cotton
patent: 2450328 (1948-09-01), Cotton
patent: 2465936 (1949-03-01), Schultz
patent: 4715742 (1987-12-01), Dickinson
patent: 4893119 (1990-01-01), Nasatka
patent: 4922655 (1990-05-01), Seal
patent: 5054237 (1991-10-01), Kapala et al.
patent: 5310277 (1994-05-01), Uotila
patent: 5624203 (1997-04-01), Jackson et al.
patent: 5762443 (1998-06-01), Gelfand et al.
Edmonds David A.
Hoskins Randel L.
Marcotullio John P.
Ousterhout John N.
General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, Inc.
Hartmann Gary S.
Wiggin & Dana
Will Thomas B.
LandOfFree
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