Shark deterrent gun

Abstract

A tube is constructed of a heavy duty flexible or rigid plastic or metal and designed for the sealed storage and on demand release of a liquid or dry fish, animal or reptile repellent. Said tube may be a specially fabricated device or a standard fire extinguisher or other common liquid, gas or particle dispenser which can be incorporated into a lifesaving device such as a life guard rescue flotation buoy. The tube's predator specific repellent, for example sodium lauryl sulfate which is a known shark repellent, may be discharged by the user in the event of an attack by the predator. The purpose is to expose the predator to an immediate high concentration of the appropriate repellent thereby diverting the predator from it's attack.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention pertains to chemically protecting against sharks or other dangerous sea creatures or land animals and reptiles that are sensitive to different classes of chemical deterrents.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] To date, my patented means of deterring shark attack for example is to utilize the arts taught in my existing patents. These patents are U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,602,384 and 4,917,280 and 4,933,187. They describe my coated chemical pellets and the various protective coatings utilized to prolong or prevent the melting of those chemical pellets. However, at times it is needful to have an immediate and voluminous blast of chemical to deter or interrupt shark or other predator attacks. This patent describes such mechanisms. At present, for example, when life guards attempt the rescue of a shark attack victim they usually have nothing but a float device with which to defend themselves should the shark try to bite them while they are trying to rescue the shark's victim. With this invented chemical dispensing device housed for example within their flotation device they could blast a cloud of chemical repellent at the shark on arriving in the victim's vicinity to immediately repel the shark from further attacks.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0003] It is an object of the present invention to provide, on demand, a blast of fish, reptile, or animal repellent chemical emanating from a chemical containment vessel powered by an eruption of propellant that effects the exit of such chemical from that chemical containment vessel. The repellent, for example sodium lauryl sulfate which is a shark repellent, may be housed inside such a container in a liquid, gel, gas, powder or other dry or liquid form. When aimed at an attacking creature the device will shower that creature with repellent chemical to deter its continued attack.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0004] FIG. 1 is a side view of the repellent system device shown as constructed inside the confines of a swimming flotation device.

[0005] FIG. 2 is a top view of the repellent system device shown with a pistol grip attached.

[0006] FIG. 3 is a side view of the flotation device showing a fire extinguisher installed and functionally replacing the repellent system device as described in FIGS. 1 and 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0007] Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters indicate like parts in the several views, there is shown in FIG. 1 a side view of the repellent system which shows the chemical dispensing system installed inside a swimming flotation device 22 such as those utilized by life guard and coast guard personnel. This flotation device could be made of foam, cork, wood or plastic etc. and can have openings formed in its sides to allow for hand grips 23. This flotation buoy 22 could be of rigid construction or could be, for example, made of a rubber filled fabric so it could be of an inflatable design. The repellent system's tube 12 is internally incorporated into the flotation buoy. The repellent system tube 12 houses the predator specific repellent 11, the propulsion mechanism 15, the plastic wadding sphere 14 and the rope triggering mechanism 16 and 17. Said tube 12 may be manufactured of a heavy duty plastic, either flexible or rigid, and can be sealed from the outside environment by a blow away plastic seal 25. This seal is designed to blow away from the top of the repellent tube by the force of the repellent and wadding sphere 14 that is being propelled by the propulsion mechanism 15 triggered on demand by triggering mechanism 16 and 17. Other blow away seals 21 may be utilized internally to form chambers within the repellent tube 12 which before discharge separates two or more liquid, gel or dry chemicals. The wadding 14, which is spherical in shape may be made from a rigid plastic and before the discharge of the propulsion mechanism 15 it can act as a water tight seal between said propulsion mechanism 15 and the chemical chamber or chambers in tube 12. Upon the triggering of the propulsion mechanism 15 by the activating of the triggering mechanism 16 and 17 the wadding sphere 14 is forcefully propelled through the tube's chamber or chambers 12 forcing the chemicals housed in the chamber or chambers through any and all blow away seals 21 and 25 and into the area in front of the repellent tube. The triggering mechanism 16, a reinforced string, is internally incorporated into the propulsion mechanism. Said string 16 feeds back through the end cap of the tube 24 and ends externally into a plastic pull ball 17. To activate the propulsion mechanism 15 the user grasps the pull ball 17 and applies backward force on the string 16 and thereby activates the internal propulsion mechanism 15.

[0008] FIG. 2 is a top view of the repellent system device. The repellent system tube 12 houses the predator specific repellent 11, the propulsion mechanism 15 the plastic wadding sphere 14 and the rope triggering mechanism 16 and 17. Said tube 12 may be manufactured of a heavy duty flexible or rigid plastic or some metal such as aluminum and can be sealed from the outside environment by a blow away plastic seal 25. This seal is designed to blow away from the top of the repellent tube by the force of the repellent and wadding sphere 14 that is being propelled by the propulsion mechanism 15 triggered on demand by triggering mechanism 16 and 17. Other blow away seals 21 may be utilized internally to form chambers within the repellent tube 12 which before discharge separate two or more liquid, gel or dry chemicals. The wadding 14 which may be spherical in shape may be constructed of a rigid plastic or other suitable material common to the construction of such seals and before the discharge of the propulsion mechanism 15, can act as a water tight seal between said propulsion mechanism 15 and the chemical chamber or chambers in tube 12. Upon the triggering of propulsion mechanism 15 by the activation of triggering mechanism 16 and 17, the wadding sphere 14 is forcefully propelled through tube 12's chamber or chambers forcing chemicals housed in said chambers through any and all blow away seals 21 and 25 and into the area in front of the repellent tube. The triggering mechanism 16, a reinforced string, is internally incorporated into the propulsion mechanism. Said string 16 feeds back through the end cap of the tube 24 and ends externally into a plastic pull ball 19. To activate the propulsion mechanism 15 the user grasps the pull ball 19 and applies backward force on the string 16, thereby releasing the internal triggering mechanism 17. An extension tube 26 may be fitted to the back end cap 24 of tube 12 to allow for the installation of a pistol grip 10. This will allow for the user to maintain better accuracy and control of the repellent tube. A triggering mechanism 18 and 20 functions as an extension to the triggering mechanism 16 and 17 with the user grabbing the pull ball 20 and applying backward force to the triggering string 18 thereby releasing the internal propulsion mechanism 15. String 18 has a threaded end cap 27 which screws into pull ball 19 to complete the attachment of the pistol grip.

[0009] FIG. 3 is the same as FIG. 1 but shows a standard fire extinguisher 30 taking the place functionally of the chemical dispensing systems described in FIGS. 1 and 2. Such an extinguisher is an off the shelf item. Quick release 31 allows the extinguisher to be removed from its mounting on the flotation device 22 so it can be refilled as necessary. Hand hold openings 23 in flotation device 22 are the same as in FIG. 1. The nozzle 32 is supplied repellent by the manual opening of the exit valve using exit valve handle 33. The repellent charge thus released is directed in the direction of the shark or other predator. Such fire extinguishers can expel not only liquid contents but are commonly known to be capable of expelling dry, granular chemicals or even in some cases a chemical gel.

[0010] It is obvious that the powered chemical ejection system described above is only one method of squirting this repellent out of its container. Another, more simple method would be to make the container a soft and flexible plastic or other material that could simply be manually squeezed by hand or by the force of the action of the waves, etc. to accomplish the ejection of the repellent contained therein. Such a flexible container could also be mounted into a life guard's float or into a surf board, etc. and rely on the user or the waves squeezing out the repellent contents manually on demand or in a continuous fashion caused by pressure against such a container's sides caused by the action of the waves for example.

[0011] It is obvious that the embodiments of this invention could be successfully effected using many different types of materials other than those described in this patent. For example, metal may be substituted for any and all of the plastic materials described in the patent. Also, the repellent chemical could be in the form of powders or liquids or a gel. Such a gel for instance could be made by removing through evaporation much of the liquid water contents from a liquid such as sodium lauryl sulfate or some other shark or wild animal repellent liquid as described in this patent and my other previous patents.

[0012] It is obvious that pressurized air, CO2 or other gas or even a liquid could be utilized for the necessary propulsion.

[0013] It is also obvious that the repellent used in this repellent system would be specific to the predator that the system was intended to be used to repel. For example, sodium lauryl sulfate for protection against sharks, or cyanne pepper to protect against bears and other predators such as alligators or crocodiles which could also be repelled by a mild acid solution that could also be used.

[0014] It is also obvious that the triggering mechanism and pistol grip, etc. could be designed differently or in a different shape than shown and still not depart from the teaching of this patent.

[0015] It is also obvious that when housed inside a flotation device said mechanism could be made to be removable from such flotation device for recharging with more chemical and propellant after it had been used to discharge its previous load of such repellent chemicals.

[0016] It is also obvious that this whole system could be built into other devices other than a life guard's float. Surf boards and boats or even vehicles, etc. for example, could be designed with such a repellent dispenser installed.

[0017] It is also obvious that such floats or surf boards, etc. could also have knives or chemical light emitting containers etc. installed or otherwise included in their structure for the emergency use of the victim. Such devices could also be designed into the repellent dispenser itself for the sake of convenience.

[0018] It is also obvious that existing mechanisms such as fire extinguishers could be enlisted to substitute for the repellent propulsion mechanisms described in FIGS. 1 and 2 above without voiding or circumventing the intent of the patent. Such fire extinguishers could be made from plastic or aluminum or other non corrosive parts if intended for use in sea water.

[0019] It is also obvious that my previously patented chemical cubes or chemical filled cylinders could also be incorporated into these designs as adjunct repellent chemical sources.

[0020] It is also obvious that the propulsive force that ejects the repellent chemicals could be generated in many different ways. Some of the possibilities are a pressure chamber holding compressed gas or liquids which when this pressure was released could force the repellent chemicals out the front of the mechanism. A simple hand pump is another possible means for ejecting the repellent. Manually squeezing a soft plastic container until the repellent was ejected would also be another means of delivering the repellent to the predator's vicinity. A mixture of chemicals that cause the generation of a propulsive force of gas etc. when mixed together could be useful in ejecting the repellent chemicals. Innocent chemicals like sodium could be stored in separate containers until used when they would be mixed with water to generate a propulsive gas for instance.

[0021] It is also obvious that the repellent chemicals might have greater repellent action if mixed only at the immediate time when they are being released. More caustic or acid repellent effects could be available by mixing the necessary ingredients as they were being ejected.

Claims

1. A fish, reptile, or animal repellent system comprising:

a) a hollow tube having a proximal and a distal end;

b) sealing means disposed at said distal end for containing repellant material;

c) a species specific repellant disposed in said hollow tube; and

d) actuation means disposed at said proximal end of said hollow tube for initiating ejection of said repellant.

2. The repellant system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said sealing means comprises two outer boundaries, said boundaries comprising blow away material.

3. The repellant system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said actuator means comprises a canister of pressurized gas.

4. The repellant system as set forth in claim 3, further comprising a separator wad interposed between said repellant material and said actuator means.

5. The repellant system as set forth in claim 4, wherein said actuation means further comprises means for initiating operation thereof.

6. The repellant system as set forth in claim 5, wherein said initiation means comprises a trigger.

7. The repellant system as set forth in claim 4, said separator wad comprising a spherical plug.

8. The repellant system as set forth in claim 4, said separator wad comprising a cylindrical plug.

9. The repellant system as set forth in claim 5, wherein said actuation means comprises an internal propulsion system comprising carbon dioxide cylinders.

10. The repellant system of claim 9, wherein said internal propulsion system further comprises triggering means operatively connected to said carbon dioxide cylinders.

11. The repellant system of claim 10 wherein said triggering means further comprises a rope that leads from said carbon dioxide propulsion system through the proximal end of said hollow tube.

12. The repellant system of claim 10 wherein said triggering means further comprises a pull rod that leads from said carbon dioxide propulsion system through the proximal end of said hollow tube.

13. The repellant system of claim 10 wherein said internal propulsion system further comprises a handle secured to said hollow tube.

14. A device for buoying a swimmer and repelling sharks, comprising:

a) flotation buoy;

b) a hollow tube having a proximal and a distal end;

c) sealing means disposed at said distal end for containing repellant material;

d) a species specific repellant disposed in said hollow tube; and

e) actuation means operatively connected to said hollow tube for initiating ejection of said repellant.

15. The repellant system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said hollow tube comprises plastic material.

16. The repellant system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said repellant comprises sodium lauryl sulfate.

17. The repellant system as set forth in claim 4, said separator wad comprising a plug comprising fibrous material.

18. The repellant system as set forth in claim 4, said separator wad comprising a plug comprising plastic material.

19. The repellant system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said hollow tube comprises a standard fire extinguisher.

20. A device for buoying a swimmer and repelling sharks, comprising:

a) flotation buoy; and

b) a standard fire extinguisher detachably connected to said flotation buoy and being filled with a predator specific repellent and propulsion gasses.