Ballistic breacher shield

Abstract

A ballistic breacher shield has a combined shield/battering ram functionality. The breacher shield's design permits an officer assigned to breach a barrier (such as a door) to have shield protection as he approaches the barrier, a battering ram to break open the barrier, and then the shield protection again once the barrier has been breached. The officer's follow-through for breaching a door positions the breacher shield to provide cover for the entire team lined up in a stack for entering the barricaded dwelling. The breacher shield has a flattened top to provide a greater area of impact for battering and a shape/size to act as a shield. The sizes of the shields may vary to accommodate individual preference and/or the size of operator. Shields are suitable for right-handed or left-handed operators, and may have an agency identifier and/or lights used for illumination or red and blue flashing lights for use as identifiers and attention attractors.

Claims

1. A ballistic breacher shield to be wielded by an operator, the breacher shield having an upright mode for providing shielding protection to the operator against projectiles and a lowered, battering mode for providing a swingable battering ram functionality, the breacher shield comprising: a shield body having a non-planar cross-section, a threat side, a non-threat side, a bottom edge, and a top edge, at least a portion of the shield body being made of a ballistic material, at least a portion of the top edge defining a span; a battering plate having a battering surface and a supported side, the supported side resting upon the top edge of the shield body and extending across the span; at least one handle connected to the non-threat side of the shield body and being disposed for the operator to grasp to wield the shield body interchangeably between the upright mode and the lowered, battering mode; a batten to cover the threat side of the seam of abutment and to provide ballistic shielding at the seam of abutment.

2. The breacher shield of claim 1 wherein the shield body further comprises a first body portion and a second body portion, the first body portion abutting against the second body portion to form the shield body having an obliquely angled threat side, an obtusely angled non-threat side, and a seam of abutment, the span extends across at least a portion of the obtusely angled non-threat side.

3. The breacher shield of claim 2 further comprising a splice plate disposed to cover the non-threat side of the seam of abutment and to provide ballistic shielding at the seam of abutment.

4. The breacher shield of claim 1 wherein the bottom edge comprises a thigh rest.

5. The breacher shield of claim 1 further comprising identifying indicia disposed on the threat side of the shield body, the identifying indicia comprising at least one of lettering and identifying flashing lights.

6. The breacher shield of claim 1 further comprising a pad connected to the non-threat side of the shield body and positioned to protect at least a portion of the operator from harmful contact with the non-threat side of the shield body during use of the breacher shield.

7. The breacher shield of claim 1 wherein at least one of the ballistic material and the battering plate is comprised of hardened steel.

8. The breacher shield of claim 1 wherein the threat side of the shield body has at least an N.I.J. Level III ballistic rating.

9. The breacher shield of claim 1 wherein the at least one handle comprises two handles spaced from each other for grasping by the operator's two hands.

10. A ballistic breacher shield to be wielded by an operator, the breacher shield having an upright mode for providing shielding protection to the operator against projectiles and a lowered, battering mode for providing a swingable battering ram functionality, the breacher shield comprising: a shield body having a non-planar cross-section, a threat side, a non-threat side, a bottom edge, and a top edge, at least a portion of the shield body being made of a ballistic material, at least a portion of the top edge defining a span, the shield body further comprising: a first body portion; and a second body portion, the first body portion abutting against the second body portion to form the shield body having an obliquely angled threat side, an obtusely angled non-threat side, and a seam of abutment; a battering plate having a battering surface and a supported side, the supported side resting upon and connected to the top edge of the shield body and extending across the span; at least two handles connected to the non-threat side of the shield body and being disposed for the operator to grasp to wield the shield body interchangeably between the upright mode and the lowered, battering mode; a splice plate disposed to cover the seam of abutment and to provide ballistic shielding at the seam of abutment.

11. The breacher shield of claim 10 further comprising a batten to cover the threat side of the seam of abutment and to provide ballistic shielding at the seam of abutment.

12. The breacher shield of claim 10 wherein the bottom edge comprises a thigh rest.

13. The breacher shield of claim 10 further comprising identifying indicia disposed on the threat side of the shield body, the identifying indicia comprising at least one of lettering and identifying flashing lights.

14. The breacher shield of claim 10 further comprising a pad connected to the non-threat side of the shield body and positioned to protect at least a portion of the operator from harmful contact with the non-threat side of the shield body during use of the breacher shield.

15. The breacher shield of claim 10 wherein at least one of the ballistic material and the battering plate is comprised of hardened steel.

16. The breacher shield of claim 10 wherein the threat side of the shield body has at least an N.I.J. Level III ballistic rating.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The present invention is described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which one or more exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown. Like numbers used herein refer to like elements throughout. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be operative, enabling, and complete. Accordingly, the particular arrangements disclosed are meant to be illustrative only and not limiting the scope of the invention, which is to be given the full breadth of the appended claims and any and all equivalents thereof. Moreover, many embodiments, such as adaptations, variations, modifications, and equivalent arrangements, will be implicitly disclosed by the embodiments described herein and fall within the scope of the present invention.

(2) Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. Unless otherwise expressly defined herein, such terms are intended to be given their broad ordinary and customary meaning not inconsistent with that applicable in the relevant industry and without restriction to any specific embodiment hereinafter described. As used herein, the article a is intended to include one or more items. Where only one item is intended, the term one, single, or similar language is used. When used herein to join a list of items, the term or denotes at least one of the items, but does not exclude a plurality of items of the list. Additionally, the terms operator, user, officer, soldier, and individual may be used interchangeably herein unless otherwise made clear from the context of the description.

(3) Understanding that these drawing(s) depict only typical exemplary embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:

(4) FIG. 1 is a frontal perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a breacher shield;

(5) FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the exemplary embodiment of the breacher shield of FIG. 1;

(6) FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the exemplary embodiment of the breacher shield of FIG. 1;

(7) FIG. 4 is a frontal view of the exemplary embodiment of the breacher shield of FIG. 1;

(8) FIG. 5 is a section view of the exemplary embodiment of the breacher shield along line A-A of FIG. 4, including an enlarged portion of the circled area;

(9) FIG. 6 is a rear perspective view of another exemplary embodiment of a breacher shield similar to that shown in FIG. 2, but with a tool attachment and tool;

(10) FIG. 7 is yet another exemplary embodiment of a breacher shield with a batten to cover the seam of abutment, the seam being shown in phantom lines;

(11) FIG. 8 is a frontal perspective view of an alternative exemplary embodiment of a breacher shield;

(12) FIG. 9 is a frontal view of the alternative exemplary embodiment of the breacher shield of FIG. 8;

(13) FIG. 10 is a section view of the alternative exemplary embodiment of the breacher shield along line B-B of FIG. 9; and

(14) FIG. 11 is a section view of the alternative exemplary embodiment of the breacher shield along line C-C of FIG. 9, and with the thigh rest removed so not to confuse or obscure the detail of a section just above the lower handle.

(15) TABLE-US-00001 REFERENCE NUMERALS breacher shield 10 threat side 12 non-threat side 14 shield body 16 battering plate 18 handle 20 first body portion 22 second body portion 24 bottom edge 26 top edge 28 seam 30 span 32 battering surface 34 gripping teeth 36 threat-side flange 38 non-threat side flange 40 supported side 42 pad 44 splice plate 46 bolt 48 thigh rest 50 curved plate 52 identifying indicia 54 lettering 56 tool attachment 58 tool 60 batten 62 third body portion 64

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(16) The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be best understood by reference to the drawings, wherein like parts are designated by like numerals throughout. It will be readily understood that the components of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, as generally described and illustrated in the figures herein, could be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations. Thus, the following more detailed description of the exemplary embodiments, as represented in the Figures, is not intended to limit the scope of the invention, as claimed, but is merely representative of exemplary embodiments of the disclosure.

(17) In this application, the phrases connected to, coupled to, and in communication with refer to any form of interaction between two or more entities, including mechanical, capillary, electrical, magnetic, electromagnetic, pneumatic, hydraulic, fluidic, and thermal interactions.

(18) The phrases attached to, secured to, and mounted to refer to a form of mechanical coupling that restricts relative translation or rotation between the attached, secured, or mounted objects, respectively. The phrase slidably attached to refer to a form of mechanical coupling that permits relative translation, respectively, while restricting other relative motions. The phrase attached directly to refers to a form of securement in which the secured items are in direct contact and retained in that state of securement.

(19) The term abut and its formatives including abutting refers to items that are in direct physical contact with each other, although the items may not be attached together. The term grip refers to items that are in direct physical contact with one of the items firmly holding the other. The term integrally formed refers to a body that is manufactured as a single piece, without requiring the assembly of constituent elements. Multiple elements may be integrally formed with each other, when attached directly to each other from a single work piece. Thus, elements that are coupled to each other may be formed together as a single piece.

(20) FIGS. 1-5 depict an exemplary embodiment of a breacher shield 10. The breacher shield 10 has a threat side 12 and a non-threat side 14 and comprises a shield body 16, a battering plate 18, and at least one handle 20. The shield body 16 has first body portion 22, a second body portion 24, a bottom edge 26, and a top edge 28. The first body portion 22 and the second body portion 24 are connected together such that the shield body 16 has a non-planar cross-section (see FIGS. 4 and 5). For example, in the exemplary embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-5, the first body portion 22 abuts against the second body portion 24 to form the shield body 16 to define an obliquely angled threat side 12 (see Arrow Y of FIG. 3), an obtusely angled non-threat side 14 (see Arrow Z of FIG. 5), and a seam 30 of abutment. At least a portion of the shield body 16 is made of a ballistic material, and at least a portion of the top edge 28 defines a span 32.

(21) The battering plate 18 extends across the span 32 and comprises a battering surface 34 having gripping teeth 36 (best seen in FIG. 3), a threat-side flange 38 (best seen in FIG. 1), non-threat side flange 40 (best seen in FIG. 2) and a supported side 42 (best seen in FIG. 2). The battering plate 18 may be made of hardened steel. The supported side 42 rests on and may be connected to the top edge 28 of the shield body 16. The span 32 extends across at least a portion of the obtusely angled non-threat side 14.

(22) During use, the exemplary ballistic breacher shield 10 may be positioned in an upright mode for providing shielding protection to an operator against projectiles and a battering mode for providing battering ram functionality. At least one handle 20 is connected to the non-threat side 14 of the shield body 16 and is disposed in a manner for an operator to grasp the handle 20 such that the shield body 16 may be held comfortably and firmly in either the upright mode or the battering mode.

(23) As shown in FIG. 2, a pair of spaced apart handles 20, a pad 44, and a splice plate 46 are connected to the non-threat side 14 of the shield body 16. With the spaced apart handles 20, the operator may grasp the upper of the two handles 20 and rest his/her forearm against the pad 44 to wield the breacher shield 10 in the upright mode. This leaves the other hand of the operator free or to grasp the lower of the two handles 20. By grasping the pair of handles 20, one in each hand, the operator may train the breacher shield 10 into the battering mode where it can be swung back and thrust forward to breach a door. That swinging motion naturally advances the breacher shield 10 into the upright mode after the door is breached to protect the operator from projectiles.

(24) As depicted in FIG. 2 and enlarged in FIG. 5, the handles 20 engage and hold the splice plate 46 over the seam 30 of abutment, to maintain the ballistic integrity of the breacher shield 10 in the event of a projectile striking directly on the seam 30. Hence, the bolts 48 that secure the splice plate 46 over the seam 30 may also secure the handles 20. Each of the bolts 48 depicted on FIG. 1 may have the bolt heads protruding from the threat side 12 with the bolt shaft directed toward the non-threat side 14 so that if a projectile strikes a bolt 48 directly or obliquely, the ballistic integrity of the breacher shield 10 is less likely to be compromised. Also, bolts 48 may extend through the threat-side flange 38 and the non-threat side flange 40 of the battering plate 18 to provide support for the supported side 42 of the battering plate 18 sufficient to withstand battering impact.

(25) An optional element for the breacher shield is a thigh rest 50 best shown in FIGS. 1-5. The thigh rest 50 enables a kneeling operator to comfortably rest the breacher shield 10 on the operator's thigh in an upright mode while waiting before breaching action is taken. The thigh rest 50 may have a curved plate 52 that follows a concave arc in the bottom edge 26 of the breacher shield 10 and is attached to the breacher shield 10 by bolts 48.

(26) In some exemplary embodiments, the breacher shield 10 may further comprise identifying indicia 54 disposed on the threat side 12 of the shield body 16, the identifying indicia 54 may be as simple as lettering 56, reflective lettering, illumination lights, or identifying flashing lights. Since the breacher shield 10 is designed for impact sufficient to breach a door, caution should be exercised when securing any lights so that the adherence will withstand such impact without dislodging the lights. Additionally, if lights are used, the battering plate may overhang the threat side 12 enough that if the breacher shield 10 punches through the door, the lights would not be scraped off from their adherence to the threat side 12.

(27) With each exemplary breacher shield 10, the threat side 12 of the shield body 16 should have at least an N.I.J. Level III ballistic rating. It should be understood that greater ballistic ratings may be achieved by utilizing ballistic materials other than hardened steel. However, cost and weight determinations may dictate which materials, now known or developed in the future, will be effective for a breacher shield 10, because it must withstand projectile strikes and provide battering capability without being too light or too heavy for an operator to maneuver.

(28) FIG. 6 is a rear perspective view of another exemplary embodiment of a breacher shield 10 with a tool attachment 58 for securing a tool 60 such as a pry bar, a flashlight, or some other tool that may be useful when breaching a door. As shown, the tool attachment 58 is secured to the non-threat side 14 of a breacher shield 10 similar to the shield shown in FIG. 1. Hence, a tool 60 may be removably secured to the non-threat side 14 of the breacher shield 10 for rapid access and storage after use.

(29) FIG. 7 depicts yet another exemplary embodiment of a ballistic breacher shield 10. With this embodiment, a batten 62 covers the threat side 12 of the seam 30 of abutment. The batten 62 may be secured using the same bolts 48 used to secure the splice plate 46 and handles 20.

(30) FIGS. 8-11 depict an alternative exemplary embodiment of the breacher shield 19. FIG. 8 is a frontal perspective view of the alternative breacher shield 10, and FIG. 9 is a frontal view of the same alternative breacher shield 10. FIGS. 10 and 11 are section views of the alternative breacher shield 10 along line B-B of FIG. 9 and along line C-C of FIG. 9, respectively. With this alternative embodiment, the breacher shield 10 has a threat side 12 and a non-threat side 14 and comprises a shield body 16, a battering plate 18, and at least one handle 20. The shield body 16 has a first body portion 22, a second body portion 24, a third body portion 64, a bottom edge 26, and a top edge 28. The first body portion 22, the second body portion 24, and the third body portion 64 are connected together such that the shield body 16 has a non-planar cross-section. For example, the first body portion 22 abuts against the second body portion 24 and the second body portion 24 also abuts against the third body portion 64 to form a non-planar shield body 16 with two oblique angles on the threat side 12 and two obtuse angles on the non-threat side 14, as well as two seams 30 of abutment. At least a portion of the shield body 16 is made of a ballistic material, and at least a portion of the top edge 28 defines a span 32.

(31) The battering plate 18 extends across the span 32 and also comprises a battering surface 34 having gripping teeth 36 (best seen in FIG. 8), a threat-side flange 38 and a supported side 42 (not shown). The battering plate 18 may be made of hardened steel. The supported side 42 rests on and may be connected to the top edge 28 of the shield body 16. The span 32 extends across at least a portion of the obtusely angled non-threat side 14.

(32) Similar to exemplary embodiments described above, the alternative exemplary ballistic breacher shield 10 may be positioned in an upright mode for providing shielding protection to an operator against projectiles and a battering mode for providing battering ram functionality. At least one handle 20 is connected to the non-threat side 14 of the shield body 16 and is disposed in a manner for an operator to grasp the handle 20 such that the shield body 16 may be held comfortably and firmly in either the upright mode or the battering mode.

(33) A pair of spaced apart handles 20, a pad 44, and a pair of splice plates 46 may be connected to the non-threat side 14 of the shield body 16 of the alternative embodiment. With the spaced apart handles 20, the operator may grasp the upper of the two handles 20 and rest his/her forearm against the pad 44 to wield the breacher shield 10 in the upright mode. This leaves the other hand of the operator free or to grasp the lower of the two handles 20. By grasping the pair of handles 20, one in each hand, the operator may train the breacher shield into the battering mode where it can be swung back and thrust forward to breach a door. That swinging motion naturally advances the breacher shield 10 into the upright mode after the door is breached to protect the operator from projectiles.

(34) To maintain the ballistic integrity of the alternative breacher shield 10 in the event of a projectile striking directly one of the seams 30, bolts 48 secure the splice plates 46 over the seams 30 may also secure the handles 20 as shown in FIG. 11. Though not shown, it should be understood that battens 62 may cover the seams 30 of abutment.

(35) Again, each of the bolts 48 depicted on FIGS. 8 and 9 may have the bolt heads protruding from the threat side 12 with the bolt shaft directed toward the non-threat side 14 so that if a projectile strikes a bolt 48 directly or obliquely, the ballistic integrity of the breacher shield 10 is less likely to be compromised. Also, bolts 48 may extend through the threat-side flange 38 and the non-threat side flange 40 to provide support to the supported side 42 sufficient to withstand battering impact.

(36) An optional element for this alternative breacher shield 10 is a thigh rest 50 best shown in FIGS. 8-10. The thigh rest 50 enables a kneeling operator to comfortably rest the breacher shield 10 on the operator's thigh in an upright mode while waiting before breaching action is taken. The thigh rest 50 may have a curved plate 52 that follows a concave arc in the bottom edge 26 of the breacher shield 10 and is attached to the breacher shield 10 by bolts 48.

(37) In some exemplary embodiments, the breacher shield 10 may further comprise identifying indicia 54 disposed on the threat side 12 of the shield body 16, the identifying indicia 54 may be as simple as lettering 56, reflective lettering, illumination lights, or identifying flashing lights. Since the breacher shield 10 is design for significant impact to breach a door, caution should be exercised when securing any lights so that the adherence will withstand such impact without dislodging the lights. Additionally, if lights are used, the battering plate may overhang the threat side 12 enough that if the breacher shield 10 punches through the door, the lights would not be scraped off from their adherence to the threat side 12.

(38) For exemplary methods or processes of the invention, the sequence and/or arrangement of steps described herein are illustrative and not restrictive. Accordingly, it should be understood that, although steps of various processes or methods may be shown and described as being in a sequence or temporal arrangement, the steps of any such processes or methods are not limited to being carried out in any particular sequence or arrangement, absent an indication otherwise. Indeed, the steps in such processes or methods generally may be carried out in various different sequences and arrangements while still falling within the scope of the present invention.

(39) Additionally, any references to advantages, benefits, unexpected results, or operability of the present invention are not intended as an affirmation that the invention has been previously reduced to practice or that any testing has been performed. Likewise, unless stated otherwise, use of verbs in the past tense (present perfect or preterit) is not intended to indicate or imply that the invention has been previously reduced to practice or that any testing has been performed.

(40) Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described above. No element, act, or instruction used in this description should be construed as important, necessary, critical, or essential to the invention unless explicitly described as such. Although only a few of the exemplary embodiments have been described in detail herein, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in these exemplary embodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of this invention. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this invention as defined in the appended claims.

(41) In the claims, any means-plus-function clauses are intended to cover the structures described herein as performing the recited function and not only structural equivalents, but also equivalent structures. Thus, although a nail and a screw may not be structural equivalents in that a nail employs a cylindrical surface to secure wooden parts together, whereas a screw employs a helical surface, in the environment of fastening wooden parts, a nail and a screw may be equivalent structures. Unless the exact language means for (performing a particular function or step) is recited in the claims, a construction under Section 112, 6th paragraph is not intended. Additionally, it is not intended that the scope of patent protection afforded the present invention be defined by reading into any claim a limitation found herein that does not explicitly appear in the claim itself.

(42) While specific embodiments and applications of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise configuration and components disclosed herein. Various modifications, changes, and variations which will be apparent to those skilled in the art may be made in the arrangement, operation, and details of the methods and systems of the present invention disclosed herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

(43) Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present embodiments may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its structures, methods, or other essential characteristics as broadly described herein and claimed hereinafter. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative, and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims, rather than by the foregoing description. All changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.