CA2059534A1

CA2059534A1 - Assault deterrent

Info

Publication number: CA2059534A1
Application number: CA002059534A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Colin P. G. Jarvis; John Richards
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1989-08-07
Filing date: 1990-08-06
Publication date: 1991-02-08
Also published as: EP0486599A1; GB8918013D0; WO1991002338A1; AU6277290A

Abstract

2059534 9102338 PCTABScor01 A device to deter a potential assailant consists of an item to be worn or held, such as a glove or a wrist-band or a "knuckle-duster" on which is mounted one or more containers which contain a dye, which may be in the form of a paste, the container being adapted to break when being brought into contact with an assailant.
The assailant will thus be visibly marked. If the device is brightly coloured or otherwise recognisable a potential assailant will be deterred from making an attack.

Description

-- PCTJ~ 90iO122 :`
3 ~ ~7 9~
20c39~3~ 31 JUly 1~91 '7An assault deterrent". :
.";
THE PRESENT INVENTION relates to an assault deterrent.
;~, At the present time there are a significant nu~ber o~ physicaI assaults, muggings and rapes which occur almost daily.

The present invention seeks to provide a device ; which may de~er~a potential assailant.

: : According to this invention there is pro~ided an ~: assault derren~, said assault ~deterrent comprising ~:
: means adapted to e~gage a hand or arm or other part of .:
:the body and mean~s carried~thereby:presenti~ng at least one container:o~ dye, characterised in that :the con-tai~ner is in the~ orm of a bag comprisi:ng a thin plastic ~: ~ sheet which~ is~:a~;conkainer adapted t~o burst when sub-jected to a predetermined pressure.

ConvenientIy the container or containers are contained withln~a pad of por~us~material, and the or ",. ~

~.
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,, WO9i~02338 2 ~ ~ ~ 5~ 3 ~ PCT/~B90/012~

each container may be contained within a pocket formed ~thin 3aid pad o~ porous material, the pocket ~1aving an open end through which the container is inserted i~ the pocket.
' In one embodiment the means to engage the hand or arm comprise a glove, and ~aid breakable container or containers may be provided on the palm of the glove, and/or on khe back of the glo~re in the regi on to cover the baok of the hand or the knuckles.

Alternati vely the means to engage the hand or arm comprise a band adapted to be wrapped around the wrist ;i,~
or other part of the body, and the band may be adapted to be fastened to ~he wrist by means of cooperating elements of hook-and-loop material.

In a further embodiment the means for engaging a ~~;
hand eomprise a handle~. Thus the deterrent may be in a ~form~resembline that of a knuckle duster.

Preferably the deterrent is~ror~ed o~ a readily ~defDrmable plastics matorial.

Conveniently the deterrent is~ formed of an ~ex~panded or for~ed plastics~material.

The dye may be~a visible dye,~or;may~be an ordin ~-arily invisible dye which ;5 rendered visible by being ~ ;
exposedi to ligh~ of a~predetermined nature~ Such a dye~
may be rendered visible by being exposed to ultra-violet ; light.

" Pre~erably, the dye is resistant to washing~and dry cleaning techniques.
~ ~.
~ Advan~ageously the dye is in the form of a paste.~ `

. ~, ' 9 ~ l O 1 2~ 3~ 3 1 ~Y ~991 _3_ Conveniently the dye includes an additive that can be analysed by a microscopic or other analytical technique.
' :
In order thak the invention may be more readily understood~ and so that further feat~res thereof may be appreciated, the invention will now be de~cribed, by way of example, with reference to the accompanging drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic view of one embodiment of the invention, partly exploded;

FI~uRE 2 is a diagrammatic view of another embod-iment of the in~en:tion partly exploded;

FIGURE 3 is~ a~diagrammatic view of a further embodiment of the~invention; and FIGURE 4 i:s a diagrammatic Y i ew of another embodiment of~the;invention.

` Referrlng lnitially to Flgure 1 Q~ the drawings one embodiment of the invention~comprises a glove or mitten which may be formed of any appropriate material.
In the illustrated embodiment the glove is provided with cut-away fingers 2, and a cut-away thumb 3.1 Bonded or otherwise secured to the palm 4 of the:glove is a pad 5 of some porous material such as gauze. However, any approp~riate porou:s ma~er1al may be p~rovided, for example fleece, felt, woven or unwoven fabric or the like. The porous:pad 5 defines therein a pocket 6 which is open at one side 7. Slidably received within the pocket is a bag 8 which contains an appropriate dye. The bag may be made of a plastics material such that the bag will burst wh~n su~jected to pressure. Thus the bag may bemade of .
_____, ~ , , ", f . , I . ~ ,~ ~

P~TJ~ 9 0 1 Q 1 2 2 f - 2 ~ ~ ~J ~ 3 ~ y0 7 ~ 9 - 4 ::
:, a plastic sheetJ such as a sheet of polyethylene.

The dye contained within the bag 8 may be a vi~
ible dye adapted to stain clothing or human skin.
Ideally the dye should be resistant to washing and dry-cleaning techniques. The dye may have a bright colour such as orange, red or yellow. The dye should prefer-ably be a non-toxic dye, which is not at all harmful when applied to the human skin. The dye should thus preferably be anallergic~ Typical dyes, having the des-ired proper~ies, are gentian violet, methylene blue, rhodamine B and erythrosine. Such dyes may re~sist wash-i .....
ing off for a period of several days.
" i.
: While the dy~e contained:within the bag may be in .~:
; :a l~iquid~form, it is preferred that the dye is:provided ;
:in the~form of~a~paste.; Thus the dye stuff itse'f may be mlxed~with any appropriate material to pro~ide a paste~
lik:e~consistency. ~Any typical starch paste may be used, or "dextr~ine" may ~b;e used to~provide~a paste having~the : .~.
appropriate consis;tencY.

"
The dye preferably has~mix~ed~with~it an addi~tivewhich ~:is capable~ of~:subsequent~ analys~is,~ either by microscopic analys~is, ~or by any other analysis terh~
~nique. ~ The purpos~e~of the ad~ditlve is ~to identify:~the particular dye utilized, for a purpose:that will become - ~:
: ~ :clear hereinafter:.
, ~ . .. ..
In:an alternative~embodimant~ of the~:in~entlon the `.
i dye~oontained within the bag 8 may~be inYisible under ordinary light, but is visible under ultra-violet light 7 ,` '' r ~om~ other light having a speciflc wavelength, suc:h ..,~, a infra-red light. hgain the dye should be such that : ; it will mark clothing and human skin and be resistant to ~ washing and dry-cleaning techniques. .
, , , ~ . ~ , - - PCTlG~ 9 0 / 0 1 2 2 4 09 ~ugusl 199 _ ~5~ 2~9~3~1 ~9 08 It is envisaged that the embodiment of the inven-tion described with reference to Figure 1 will be util-ised in the following way. A person who is concerned that he or she may be at~acked will wear the ~love with the bag 8 positioned within the pocket 7. If subjected to an attack the person wea~ring the gloves will be able to bring the palm ~ of the gloYe firmly into contact with part of the assailant~ using a smacking action.
The bag 8 will then burst and the dye contained within the bag will pass to the part of the assailant engaged by the palm 4 of the glove.~ Thus part of the clothing or skin of the assailant will be impre~nated with the dye from the bag 8. Subsequently of course, the assailant can readily be identified.

Should a person covered with the dye seek to disguish that fact by covering themselves furthe~ with ~more dye, in the hope ~that the original dye can be ~explained away, if the area impregnated with the dye is subjected to appropria~te ana~ysis, for example by means ~of microscopic techniques, the additive included in the dye would be detected~, thus providing positive proof that the person having a dye stain was impregnate~ with dye from a particular assault deterrent. ~ ~
~:
Different batches of paste ~for use in assault deterrents of the~ invention may ha;ve different additives, or addit~ives of d~flerent stren~th or of a diflerent natur`e.
, ~
~ Since the assailant can see that the pe~son is wearing the glo~e, it is env1sagcd that the assailant ~^ili b~ deterred or discouraged from attacking the person wearing tbe glove.

Preferably thP glove is ~ormed so as to be high'y ~isible 7 and i~ may thus be made of a lu~inous or lumin-e~cent materî2', or may have patches of luminous or lum-t .~
~ Unl~ d Kin~dam pa~Bnt Office ~ JR:;TlTlJTE~ S~F ~ T

- P~T/G~ ~ O I O ~ 2 2 ' . ~-6 2~9.~ 3 1 ~uly 19 , inescent material. The object is that any person ob~
serving a person wearing the glove wlll realise that a d~terrent glove is being worn, and thus the glove will provide a positive deterrent effect, It is to be appreciated that many modifications may be e~fected to the embodiment illustrated în Figure 1. For example, the glo~e may ha~e further pads of por-ous material mounted on the area of the glove which covers the back of the hand or the knuckle~. Such further pads of porous material will be associated with further bags of dye.

The ~love is really only provided to maintain the porous pad and the bag on the hand. The illustrated glove is a ~fingerless~ glove, but:the glove could be a conventional glove and may indeed be a "fashion" glove ~or a glove specifically adapted :to prov~ide warm:th in winter.

~Re~erring now to Figure 2 an alternative embod~
: iment of the inventioh~may :be proYided for domestic use, i;n a form resembling:that of a;'iknuckle duster" 9. The - .
~knuckle duster 9 pre~sents a handle portlon 10:adapted to be grasped: by the ~hand, whi~ch ca~rrle~s~:a porous pad 11 which deflne 3 separate~pockets 12 èa~ch open at one ~end 13 and each dimensioned to receive~a bag 14 containing an appropriate dye. : Again the bag formed of thin ~plasti~ sheet ~soi~hat `it breaks: when subJeeted toi :
pressure.
,:, It is envisaged that in utilising this embodiment ::
the invention the knuckle duster 9 will be left at a c:onvenient position within the home. Should a person be ~ :
attacked within the home the person merely need~ to pick up the knuckle duster 9 by means of the handle 10 and ' .

9 ~ 1 U ~ 2 ~

C ~ -7- 2 ~ ~ 9 3~ 3 l July l~91 then pressed the porous pad 11 against part Or their assailant~

The bag may be retained in an alternative embodi-ment of the invention using a simple strap which may extend around the palm o~ the hand and across the back o~ the hand, or which may extend around the wrist. Such a s~rap is illustrated in Figure. 3. In Figure 3 a band 15 corresponding to a so-called "~weat band" may be provided adapted to be wrapped round the wrist and secured in position by c;ooperating pads 15,17 of hook~
end-~OOp material (~uch as that sold under the Reg-istered Trade Mark "VELCR0"). The ouker part o~ the band 15 is provided;with a pocket 17 wh~ich receives the : bag 18 of dye~

Figure $ illustrates an embodiment of the in vention which mechaniaal1y resembles that of Figure:2.
The embodiment of :Figure~5 consists of a ha~d held de;ter:r~ent compri:sing an~ integrally ~or~med ele~ent 19 f;ormed of a relatively ~soft7 yieldable plastics mat~
erial;,~ such as ex~pan~ded polystyrene foam. The ele~
me:nt 19 presents :a handle por:tion 20 ~adap:ted to be~
gra~sped manually~ which is~conne~cted to~a~ further~:por-~ -t.i~on~2~1 ex~ending:~between the~ opposed ends of;the~handle and carrying,:o~ o~uter faces the:reof7~pockets~:22 :which retain bag~ of dye~ or the like as in th:e preYious'y d:es~
cribed embodiments:. It is envisaged tha:t a person may pick.up thë/ldete!rr~nt .of Figure 1~9 by~ graspi~g~ t~P
handle, ~nd may br:ing:one of: the ~pockets into contact ~: : ;with an assaiIant, without any risk ~of injuring the . .
assailant, since the structure of the deterren~ 1g is :
made of a yieldable material. :Thus, although :the assault deterrent 19 may be damaged beyond repair, : nevertheless the assailant will not actually be iniured, :~
but will be impregnated with dye.

:' '~
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P ~ D ~ (1 J O ~
~ 20~)3~J~4 3 1 JUIy 1991 Many embodiments may be designed that are equiv-alent to the embodiment of Figures 2 and 4, each comprising a handle to be grasped by a hand, and a part carrying the porous pad. These embodimen~s may thus resemble, for example, a truncheon, or a desk blotter. :
. . .
While certain embodiments of tha in~ention have been described above as being bands adapted to be mounted on the wrist or hand, other bands may be provided adapted to be worn, for example1 about the ;;
head. Such bands need not necessarily be bands which ;
have ends inter-connected, for example, by the hook-and~
loop material, but instead may comprise endless bands of ;~
a "stretchy" material which can readily be slipped into place. As with the embodiments in the ~or~ of a glove, it is prererred that~the bands~are readiIy recognisable as an assault deterrent, and thus the bands, as des- ~;
cribed, may be made of luminous or luminescent ma~erial.
It is to be appreciate~d that~the hook-and- oop material is only one example of a way in~which the ends of a band can be connected together.
; ' ,;' Whilst the invention has been ~described above - with reference to embodiments in which a porous pad is `
provided it is to be appreciated that in further modi-fied embodiments o:~ the invention the porous pad may be omitted, so that dye ~rol~ the bag 8 passes directly to the assailant. ;

' ~ ' ~, " ~i r~ r -~ ? -- ~

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. An assault deterrent, said assault deterrent comprising means adapted to engage a hand or arm or other part of the body and means carried thereby presenting at least one container of dye, characterised in that the container is in the form of a bag comprising a thin plastic sheet which is a container adapted to burst when subjected to a predetermined pressure.

2. An assault deterrent according to Claim 1, wherein the container or containers are contained within a pad or porous material.

3. An assault deterrent Claim 2, wherein the or each container is contained within a pocket formed within said pad or porous material, the pocket having an open end through which the container is inserted in the pocket.

4. An assault deterrent according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein the means to engage the hand or arm comprise a glove.

5. An assault deterrent according to Claim 4, wherein said container or containers are provided on the palm of the glove.

6. An assault deterrent according to Claim 4 or 5, wherein said container or containers are provided on the back of the glove in the region to cover the back of the hand or the knuckles.

7. An assault deterrent according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, wherein the means to engage the hand or arm comprise a band adapted to be wrapped around the wrist, or other part of the body.

8. An assault deterrent according to Claim 7, wherein the band is adapted to be fastened to the wrist by means of co-operating elements of hook-and-loop mat-erial.

9. An assault deterrent according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, wherein the means for engaging a hand comprise a handle.

10. An assault deterrent according to Claim 9, wherein the deterrent is in a form resembling that of a knuckle duster.

11. An assault deterrent according to Claim 9 or 10, wherein the deterrent is formed of a readily deform-able plastics material.

12. An assault deterrent according to Claim 11, wherein the deterrent is formed of an expanded or formed plastics material.

13. An assault deterrent according to any one of the preceding Claims, wherein the dye is a visible dye.

14. An assault deterrent according o any one of Claims 1 to 13 wherein the dye is an ordinarily invis-ible dye which is rendered visible by being exposed to light of a predetermined nature.

15, An assault deterrent according to Claim 14, wherein the dye is rendered visible by being exposed to PCT/GB90/0122?

ultra-violet light.

16. An assault deterrent according to any one of the preceding Claims, wherein the dye is resistant to washing and dry cleaning techniques.

17. An assault deterrent according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein the dye is in the form of a paste.

18. An assault deterrent according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein the dye includes an additive that can be analysed by a microscopic or other analytical technique.