DE29620380U1 - Device for moving a fetter network over a group of people to be determined at a distance - Google Patents

Description

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H.-Georg Bugiel, 53127 Bonn

Device for placing a restraining net over a group of people who are to be detained at a distance

The invention relates to a device according to the preamble of claim 1, as known from GB-A-2166225. In order to keep the risk of injury to the people to be restrained as low as possible, the spread-out restraint net is brought into the air space above the people, from where it is supposed to descend, still spread out, onto that group, despite the extremely asymmetrical load from the burned-out propellants. For the transport, the two front corners of an elongated rectangular net in the transport direction are attached to rocket propellants, which are fired from an elevated position (in particular from a vehicle roof) using two pipes parallel to each other and essentially horizontally, in order to first pull the net out of a storage space in one go and then drag it stretched out behind them over a distance of 25 to 30 meters. However, the high pulling speed endangers the net; and this also obviously requires a considerable amount of effort to move the person. Nevertheless, the essentially horizontal (rapidly stretched) flight path means that the people being held are still at great risk. The latter applies accordingly to the effector fired horizontally from a standing position in the direction just above the head of an individual being held, according to EP 0 710 813 Al, to move a net folded into it. The net is to be unfolded vertically shortly before reaching the person, in order to then wrap around the person transversely to this unfolding direction, namely from the front. But there is a risk that it will collapse beforehand as a result of contact with the ground and horizontal wind influences, as well as due to a lack of transverse acceleration, i.e. before it can actually immobilize the person by wrapping tightly around them and applying adhesive.

In recognition of these functional weaknesses and health risks, the present invention is based on the task of further developing a device of this type in such a way that

to ensure that it can be used reliably and safely, especially against crowds of people at different distances.

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This technical problem of safely netting a large crowd of people is essentially solved according to the invention by the device with the features of the main approach, according to which the effector with the folded net is fired from a steep-fire tube at a different elevation depending on the target distance in a more or less steep ballistic trajectory; along which the effector then, after a flight distance of typically 10 to 30 meters, swings over the target region and in particular high above the crowd of people from its previous ballistic trajectory downwards into an aerodynamically braked descent movement.

It is considered to be of independent inventive significance not to move the effector equipped according to the invention along a ballistic trajectory over the group of people to be netted, but to drop it from a helicopter, for example, directly over a group of violent criminals fleeing on the ground or at sea.

In the front area, the effector, which descends slowly in any case, is almost exclusively equipped with soft rubber components to avoid injuries, including its sling weights for stretching the net. But it does not actually descend to the people anyway. Because at a safe distance above the heads of the group of people, the effector is then blown open perpendicular to its descent and thus essentially horizontally, on the one hand to break it up into harmless parts and on the other hand to release the net so that it can be stretched out in a slightly funnel-shaped manner compared to the horizontal. The net therefore descends particularly quickly and in a dimensionally stable manner onto the group of people to be immobilized.

The solution according to the invention thus ensures a more reliable and targeted deployment of a particularly large net, compared to dragging the already unfolded net, and a more secure capture of a larger group of, for example, rioters, than a net unfolded vertically in front of a person.

With regard to further details and additional developments of the solution according to the invention, reference is made not only to the subclaims but also to the following description of the drawing and its summary at the end. The drawing shows, abstracted to the essentials and not entirely to scale,

Fig.l the use of the device according to the invention at different delivery ranges for its effector,

Fig. 2 the ready-to-use device with the effector held ready in the cladding tube,
Fig.3 the equipment of the effector,

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Fig.4 a longitudinal section through the front compartment in Fig.3 immediately after ignition of an acceleration detonator and

Fig.5 a cross-section through the front area in Fig.3 immediately before the lateral acceleration of the weights.

The security officer, who is to use it as a shooter in an emergency (Fig. 1), is equipped with this device 6 according to the invention in the form of a large-caliber casing tube 10 made of cardboard, for example, which essentially serves as both a protective and transport container. Because of the low weight of the device 6, he can hang it away on his belt or on his acrylic glass protective shield using a hook 7 until use. The device 6 is equipped at the rear with a shoulder pad 8 to dampen the recoil when firing a full-caliber effector 14, and at the front with a protective hood 9, which is pushed off axially when the effector 14 is launched. The casing tube 10 is equipped at its rear with an extension in the form of a pressure tube 11 of a slightly smaller diameter, closed at the back, for the effector 14. This is also made of lightweight construction, for example as a thin aluminum tube cartridge or as a cardboard tube with heat-resistant inner lining in the area of the effector rear. A rear closure 26 on the effector 14 is designed as a plastic sabot for the reaction gases of an electrically ignitable gas generator 21. These propel the effector 14 at a comparatively very low exit speed (compared to military steep-barrel weapons, here only typically at 20 meters per second) out of the tube 10/11 into an initially ballistic trajectory 15 in the direction of the group of people to be arrested.

Depending on the elevation 13 manually applied over the shoulder and by means of a handle 12, the effector 14 is launched into a more or less steep ballistic trajectory 15, the apogee 16 of which is at a correspondingly smaller or larger distance from the shooter. An elevation-controlled, e.g. acoustic or optical signal transmitter 17 on the device 10, preferably integrated into the handle 12, lets the shooter know at what effective distance he is currently positioning the casing tube 10, which is resting on his shoulder ready for firing. Conveniently, only a few standard distances are provided for use. According to Fig. 1, there are only two distances, namely in the order of 12 meters against breaking through barriers and 30 meters to ward off stone throwers from the middle of a * rioting crowd. For a given launch distance, the shooter only needs to raise the casing tube 10 relative to the horizontal until the elevation-controlled signal transmitter 17 indicates that the appropriate launch angle has been reached (typically 45°

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relative to the horizontal upwards for an effective distance of 30 meters, 75° for 12 meters).

Preferably, a combination of two light-emitting diodes 18 is provided for this signaling, both of which light up at the current elevation 13 for large effective distances and only one of them lights up straight and only at the elevation 13 for short effective distances. The signal transmitter 17 is controlled by an inclinometer 19 built into the handle 12, which can be implemented in a small, inexpensive and functionally reliable manner, for example in the function of a pendulum or mercury switch. The trigger 20 provided on the handle 12 for electrically initiating the ejection charge 21 (Fig. 2) behind the effector 14 on the closed rear of the pressure tube 11 opposite the muzzle can, in the interest of safety, be functionally locked with the inclinometer 19 by a series circuit in the sense that it can only be effective in one of the discretely predetermined elevations 13 in order to ensure in a simple manner an unmistakable selection between defined predetermined ranges.

Because the casing tube 10 together with the empty pressure tube 11 can be treated as a loss part, the handle 12 containing the electronics (except for the ignition circuit 33 in the effector 14) is detachably attached to it via a quick-release fastener (such as a dovetail or bayonet connection with ball contact sections 23) in order to be able to use the handle 12 again after use on another casing tube 10.

The handle 12 also houses an exchangeable or rechargeable electrical energy storage device 22. From this, the ejection charge 21 is electrically ignited via the trigger 20 and the contact paths 23 between the handle 12 and the pressure tube 11. The effector 14, which is thus brought into the ballistic trajectory 15, initially remains stationary (to the shooter or to the device 6) via a heat-resistant, stable ripcord 24 in the form of a thin wire. This cord 24 is preferably attached on the one hand to the rear closure 26 of the effector 14 and on the other hand to the pressure tube 11. In the latter case, it is wound onto a coil carrier 25, which (as can be seen from the drawing) can be the front end of the pressure tube 11 itself, which is radially spaced from the inner surface of the casing tube 10 and is located coaxially therein. If, at a flight speed that has meanwhile been halved to about 10 m/s, the unwinding process is stopped and the line 24 is thereby tightened, it tears open a braking medium storage space 27, for example by axially pulling off a closure 26 in the form of a pot-shaped hood from the rear of the effector 14. Because the currently remaining speed is thereby suddenly halved again, the effector 14 now falls from the ballistic trajectory 15. In addition, an aerodynamically effective, active (i.e. due to the low speed caused by e.g. spreading tension) brake fluid is released from the rear storage space 27 that has just been opened.

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the axial braking means 28*promoted by the riser,*for example*in the form of simple flutter bands or preferably as outlined a braking parachute. Their effect, and a center of gravity of the effector 14 that is located far forward due to the inclusion of weights 42, lead to a slow (set to only about 5 m/s by means of the braking means 28 to avoid injuries) but also spatially stable "dive" flight under crossflows along an essentially vertical descent path 29, namely to the descent of the effector 14 just approximately vertically above the desired effective distance to the group of people to be netted

When transporting not from the air but from the ground, the effective length of the line 24 determines the transport range along a ballistic departure trajectory 15. To shorten this transport trajectory 15 until it transitions into the descent trajectory 29, a rangefinder based on retro-reflective location (lidar or radar) can be provided, with a radio connection to the effector 14, in order to trigger the braking means 28 for the targeted descent at the desired distance above the target area. A much cheaper solution, however, is that a measuring device 31 is provided for the currently already drawn length of the line 24 to specify the defined shorter transport distance (whereby the difference between the length of the flight path 15 and its vertical projection into the plane, i.e. the effective distance, is taken into account). The measuring device 31 is preferably also housed in the handle 12, just radially outside the spool carrier 25 for the line 24. The simplest and most accurate way for the measuring device 31 to be designed is as a scanning electronic, mechanical or electromechanical counter for the sequence of line wraps that are axially unwound one after the other from the spool carrier 25, since the carrier circumference and thus the line length per turn is predetermined by the design. When the line's target length is reached, the measuring device 31 activates a locking mechanism 32 to prevent the line 24 from being unwound any further, so that the ripcord 24 is tensioned and, as just described, is released from the effector storage space 27 with the rear lock 26. A magnetically operated pivot lever or sliding pin can be provided as the locking mechanism 32. This is brought into effect radially (for example by an external system, or as in Fig. 2 by piercing the outer surface of the spool carrier 25 from the outside) and thereby prevents further axial pulling to unwind the line 24 from the cylindrical spool carrier 25. This targeted locking 32 is controlled by the measuring device 31 in accordance with the target distance, which results from the launch elevation 13 and is specified by the inclinometer 19 as the current target value to the measuring device 31 for the line length.

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By tearing off the rear closure element, a commercially available detonator can be initiated on board the effector 14, which starts a pyrotechnic delay charge. Or, as shown in the drawing, an electrical ignition circuit 33 is provided, which is kept ready for operation in the effector 14 by constantly recharging its energy storage device 34 (as a result of the handle 12 being attached to the tube 10/11 via one of its contact paths 23) from the energy storage device 22 in the handle 12. With the electrical activation of the ejection generator 21 behind the effector 14 (namely as described above via the trigger 20 from the energy storage device 22 in the handle 12) or with the opening of the effector rear via the pull cord 24, a pyrotechnic or electrical delay unit 35 is started. This in turn ignites according to the elevation-dependent, i.e. A small detonator 47 is released at the specified apogee 16 as soon as the effector 14 has sunk to a few meters (typically to 4 meters) above the ground. However, instead of specifying an elevation-dependent delay time, this can also be detected from on board the effector 14 using a forward-facing rangefinder - for example with the function of an ultra-acoustic travel timer.

However, the electrical initiation of the igniter 36 can only take place if two upstream safety criteria are met: the effector 14 must have left the tube 10/11, and the rear closure 26 must have been opened to release the braking means 28. Both can be easily determined by sensors 37, for example in the form of electromechanical microswitches, which want to reach through the rear or the hollow cylindrical wall 38 of the effector 14 with their switching levers, but are initially prevented from doing so by the cup-shaped rear closure 26 or the surrounding pressure tube 11.

In the hollow cylindrical effector 14, the load space 43 with the folded-in net 44 extends over the greater part of its length between the rear storage space 27 for the braking means 28 and a front receiving space 41 for tension weights 42. This is connected at a distance along its periphery 45 to soft weights 42, which in turn concentrically surround a cylindrical core 46 made of soft rubber in the form of a segmented, thick hollow cylinder. A detonator 47 is enclosed in its center. The initiation of the latter, for example from the ignition circuit 33 by discharging its storage device 34 after the distance-dependent delay time has elapsed, leads to a sudden radial expansion of the rubber core 46 to approximately five times its previous diameter due to the elastic dam and optimal use of the available gas work, without the immediate release of active reaction gases, i.e. without a bang that causes shock or pain. This radial shock stress results in the soft rubber surrounding the core 46

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mi-segments (42) are not initially flung away from each other by lifting off sideways; instead, they are initially compressed radially, which leads to a peripheral widening. As a result, the rubber sectors (42) initially form a shock-resistant support for the expanding core 46, which essentially expands peripherally and thus remains peripherally closed, so that the core does not tear open despite only a thin rubber shell, but rather allows the abundantly developing reaction gas to continue to act in a small space.

The radially expanding core 46 also displaces the tightly fitting weights 42 radially outwards. This also leads to the cardboard tube casing of the effector 14 breaking open radially (i.e. horizontally), further promoted by predetermined breaking points incorporated into the tube casing, such as axially parallel slots or the like. This allows the weights 42 to pull the net 44 out of the burst load space 43 particularly easily from the side (i.e. horizontally without any significant deflection requirements) and to spread it out horizontally over the heads of the people to be netted. The people are not in danger because the tube of the effector 14 is shredded into small radial (i.e. horizontal) pieces above their heads and because the sling weights 42 (as explained in more detail in my application "Net for a device for temporarily arresting an offender" dated November 2, 1996, to which reference is made here) are stored in thick rubber casings for unfolding the net 44 or, preferably, are made directly from particularly soft foam rubber.

The radial speed of the weights 42 and thus the kinematics of the tensioning of the net 44 can be specified within wide limits due to the gas volume that remains essentially enclosed. So that the high radial speed of the weights 42, which is desired for rapid tensioning of the net 44, does not lead to an elastic rebound effect for the weights 42 as a result of the then tensioned net 44 - with the result of a reduction in the effective area of the net 44 - the weights 42 are preferably connected in a flexible manner. This can be achieved, for example, via flexible connections in slots in the rubber weights 42 themselves or by tearing adhesive connections on meandering rope runs; or simply by connecting opposing weights 42 to the edge of the net 45 offset by meshes and thus performing damping deformation work on the meshes without affecting the overall geometry of the net 44.

The inclination of the weights to descend relative to the effector transverse plane can be influenced or specified within wide limits simply by the fact that the centers of gravity of the weights 42 are more or less axially offset relative to the center of the explosive device 47. By forcing the weights 42 to descend in a funnel-shaped manner in this way, a rapid descent to

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the people to be netted are required so that the structurally optimal specified net geometry can hardly be impaired by wind flows.

For example, by means of a further elevation-dependent time control within the ignition circuit 33, or by means of a distance measurement from the front of the descending effector 14, it can be ensured that the horizontal acceleration of the weights 42 always takes place above the heads of the group of people, at the latest when a residual height of approximately 3.5 m above ground is reached.

As a special safety criterion for the scenario after the effector 14 has been fired, there is a self-destruct device in the rubber core 46 near the detonator 47 in the form of an ignition cap 48 that is initiated at the same time, e.g. from the ignition circuit 33, in a glass capsule containing an acid to corrode the aluminum casing of the detonator 47. This is therefore normally destroyed by its ignition, but at the latest by the acid corroding after the glass capsule has been broken open, if the detonator 47 itself has not been ignited. This prevents a still functional detonator 47 from being removed later at the scene of the operation from the effector 14 that may have been recovered by an unauthorized person.

In Fig. 5 of the drawing, it is taken into account that the hollow soft core 46 can also be equipped with a dispenser 49 for an irritating fluid such as irritant gas. This is blown out by the reaction gas clouds of the ignited detonator 47 through a predetermined breaking point 50 downwards in the direction of descent, while the core 46 inflates, after a ballistic hood 51 made of soft rubber has been axially lifted off and thrown away by the fluid pressure.

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Claims (13)

Expectations 1. Device (9) for moving a horizontally extendable tether net (44) by means of of an effector (14) over a group of people to be detained at a distance, characterized in that - insofar as the effector (14) is not dropped directly from above onto the group - a pressure tube (11) is designed as a non-lethal high-angle weapon for ballistic delivery of the effector (14), which is equipped with a load space (43) for the folded-in net (44) and with braking means (28) for slow steep descent as well as with an explosive cap (47) for horizontally accelerating weights (42) for stretching the net (44). 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that, in the rear part of a Cladding tube (10) for receiving and guiding the output of the effector (14), the pressure tube (11) for receiving an ejection charge (21) is provided behind the rear of the effector (14) serving as a sabot. 3. Device according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that it is provided with a Inclinometer (19) for controlling a signal generator (17) at selected elevation values (13) for launching the effector (14) into a ballistic trajectory (15). 4. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a The ripcord (24) connected to the effector (14) and unwinding in a stationary manner releases the braking means (28) on the effector (14) after a predetermined path depending on the elevation. 5. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is provided with a measuring device (31) for the path travelled by the effector (14) along its ballistic trajectory (15). 6. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is provided with a counting device for the turns of a line (24) connected to the effector (14) drawn off from a spool carrier (25) in the sheath tube (10). 7. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is provided with a locking device (32) for windings of a line (24) detachably attached to the effector (14) that can be pulled off from a spool carrier (25) in the sheath tube (10). 9/11
#223 8. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is equipped with an exchangeable handle (12) which contains electrical contact paths (23), an energy storage device (22), a trigger (20), an inclinometer (19) with signal transmitter (17) and a measuring device (31) for the distance of the effector (14) along its path (15). 9. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is The bow of the effector (14) is equipped with a soft elastic encapsulated detonator (47) in the hollow cylindrical center of sectorial soft weights (42). 10. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that weights (42) flexibly connected to the net (44) are provided. 11. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is The bow of the effector (14) is equipped with a fluid dispenser (49) in the center of a rubber core (46) equipped with a detonator (47) behind a predetermined breaking point (50). 12. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that its Effector (14) in electrical series connection with an electrically ignitable explosive pellet (47) with sensors (37) for opening a braking fluid storage space (27) and for leaving the casing tube (10). 13. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is equipped with an ignition cap (48) that can be electrically initiated parallel to a detonator (47) for radial acceleration of tension weights (42) for delayed destruction of the detonator (47). 10/11 #223