Barbed Tape and Apparatus for Deploying a Barbed Tape

Abstract

In some embodiments, a barbed tape can be formed from a planar strip of flexible material and include a plurality of barbs disposed therealong, the barbs being sufficiently resilient so as to impede, by entanglement with or otherwise, the passage of an object therepast. Apparatus for deployment of barbed tape is also described.

Description

The present invention relates to a barbed tape and apparatus for deploying a barbed tape.

There are many situations in which there is a need to deny and/or secure access to a region of a building, an aircraft, a train, a town, a field, etc. This may be, for example, to temporarily secure a ‘cleared’ area in a combat zone, or to control the movements of individuals or crowds, for example during a riot. It may also be desirable to suppress and curtail fleeing combatants in a non-lethal manner. To this end, it is known to use barbed wire in order to form a perimeter fence around an area or to form a barrier at a point of entry to a building, etc.

However, conventional barbed wire is slow and difficult to deploy and can be logistically difficult to carry by dismounted troops or other users. Furthermore, it can be too aggressive for a given situation and can cause significant injury. This may be highly undesirable, for example, when the barbed wire may be encountered by a civilian population.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a barbed tape and apparatus for deploying the same which substantially overcomes or mitigates at least some of the above-mentioned problems.

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a micro barbed tape.

The term ‘micro barbed tape’ is used herein to refer to barbs which are smaller, and therefore less injurious, that current barbed wires or tapes.

In particular, a micro barbed tape according to the invention may be produced from a stock tape of around 5-20 mm in width. Further, micro barbed tape according to the invention is preferably relatively thin, for example between 100-1000 microns, and more preferably 100-600 microns. The length of each barb is preferably between 2 mm to 30 mm

In one embodiment, the tape is formed from a planar strip of thin flexible material and comprising a plurality of barbs disposed therealong, said barbs being sufficiently resilient so as to impede, by entanglement with or otherwise, the passage of an object therepast.

Thus, the invention provides a low-risk and novel approach to the concept of barbed wire, which in this invention is scaled and packaged to form a non-lethal counter personnel capability for entry point control.

Related ideas are set out in our co-pending applications, which bear reference numbers P7878, P7879 and P7880. These applications are incorporated herein by reference to the fullest extent allowable.

Barbed tape according to the first aspect of the invention may be designed to be non-lethal and inflict only light injuries but presents an entanglement feature that inhibits free passage of a person through a doorway or along a passage.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for deploying a barbed tape comprising;

• • a coil of barbed tape, which is preferably barbed tape according to the first aspect of the invention;
  • first and second members, each of said members being attached to respective ends of the coil of barbed tape; and
  • an enclosure member,
    wherein the apparatus is adapted to be configurable in a stowed state in which the coil of barbed tape is enclosed by the enclosure member, the first member and the second member and relative movement between the first and second members is prevented, and a deployed state in which relative movement between the first and second members is permitted.

Thus, the barbed tape is easy to deploy without the need for it to be handled directly by a person deploying the tape.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for deploying a barbed tape comprising;

• • a container enclosing a reel of barbed tape, the container having an opening through which an end of the reel extends; and
  • first attachment means disposed at said end of the reel, external to the container, and adapted to secure the end of the reel to a surface.

Thus, the barbed tape is easy to deploy without the need for it to be handled directly by a person deploying the tape. Preferably the reel of barbed tape is barbed tape according to the first aspect of the invention. Accordingly, the reel is lightweight and compact, making the container easy to stow and carry.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention there is provided an apparatus for dispensing barbed tape, which may be barbed tape according to the first aspect of the invention; the apparatus comprising;

• • punching means for punching out the profile of the barbed tape from a strip of un-profiled tape;
  • feeding means for feeding the un-profiled tape past the punching means.

Advantageously, the apparatus according to the fourth aspect for dispensing the barbed tape according to the first aspect can be lightweight, compact and readily transportable. Because the tape may be relatively thin and flexible, the power required to feed and punch the tape is relatively low. Accordingly, there is preferably provided a handheld device comprising the tape dispensing apparatus of the fourth aspect; the device further comprising control means and trigger means wherein the control means is operable to control the tape dispensing apparatus to dispense barbed tape in response to a user activating the trigger means.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention an apparatus for deploying barbed tape comprising;

• • a container enclosing one or more coils of barbed tape, the container comprising a top, a base and a wall portion engaged by the top and the base when the apparatus is in an un-deployed state, the wall portion surrounding the coil of barbed tape so as to prevent deployment thereof when engaged by the top and the base;
  • biasing means for biasing the top and the base out of engagement with the wall portion;
  • restraining means adapted to couple the top to the base and prevent relative movement therebetween when the apparatus is in the un-deployed state; and
  • release means for decoupling the restraining means from at least one of the top and the base so as to enable deployment of the coil(s) of barbed tape.

Thus, the fifth aspect of the present invention advantageously provides a barbed tape ‘grenade’.

Preferred and/or optional features of the first to fifth aspects of the present invention are recited in the claims appended hereto.

Embodiments of the invention may be employed to provide micro barbed tape across points of access to snag the clothing of anyone (or the coats of animals) passing it. Deployment methods (which could be used with other tape, including un-barbed tape or traditional barbed tape) are also described.

Containers for the barbed tapes described herein are preferably arranged to safely contain the tape until the point of deployment. The container(s) shall preferably be easily transported and can be safely carried by tactical dismounted troops (pocket sized up to back pack size), disposable and readily deployable.

Apparatus described herein is preferably as light and as small as practical and the container profiled such that it can be easily carried by a combat soldier without affecting the soldier's mobility.

Apparatus described herein is preferably arranged such that it does not adversely react too, or interact with, the kit currently being carried or used by a soldier.

Apparatus described herein is preferably designed and manufactured from materials to have a long shelf life and not require servicing. Preferably, production systems should be sealed to prevent ingress of moisture or dirt.

In some embodiments, the apparatus shall preferably not contain any ordnance, pyrotechnics, chemical propellants or batteries. However, in other embodiments, powered deployment may be desirable.

In apparatus which include automatic or powered deployment, the system will preferably have safety features such that no un-commanded deployment of the barbed tape occurs.

Preferably, in keeping with standard military protocols the user must undertake two different actions before the system activates, e.g. remove cap, pull cord; remove pin, lift trigger etc. In some examples, there is preferably a short delay from triggering the device to it opening, this would allow the user to throw the device such that it deploys at a short remote distance from him or her.

It may be desirable for apparatus to be quiet or near silent in operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which;

FIGS. 1A and 1B are top plan views of a strip of barbed tape according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a section of the barbed tape shown in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3A-3C show respective methods and apparatus for restricting access to a point of entry using the barbed tape shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIGS. 4A and 4B show views of barbed tape according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 5A and 5B show views of barbed tape according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of an apparatus for deploying the barbed tape;

FIG. 7A, B and C show views of a deployment apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 shows a schematic view of a third embodiment of an apparatus for deploying the barbed tape;

FIG. 9 shows an alternative component of the apparatus shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of another embodiment of an apparatus for deploying a barbed tape;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged perspective view showing a trigger mechanism of the apparatus shown in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is an enlarged perspective view of an upper end of the apparatus of FIG. 10 with part of the casing removed;

FIG. 13 is an enlarged perspective view of a lower end of the apparatus of FIG. 10 with part of the casing removed; and

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a coil of barbed tape for use in the apparatus shown in FIGS. 10 to 13, when in a deployed state.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a barbed tape 1 is formed from a substantially planar strip of flexible material. In the presently described embodiment, the barbed tape 1 is punched from a strip of stainless steel having a nominal width of 10 mm and a nominal thickness of 500 microns. In alternative embodiments of the present invention, the barbed tape 1 may be formed from, for example, mild steel or other metals including non-ferrous metals, polymers or plastics materials, and/or may have a nominal thickness of 250 mm.

The strip of barbed tape 1 is formed with a continuous central portion 2, which has first and second parallel edges 3, 4. A plurality of barbs 5 are disposed at regularly spaced locations along each of the first and second edges 3, 4. Each of the barbs 5 is formed as a ‘double barb’ having a T-shape and comprising a connecting portion 6 which projects laterally from the respective edge 3, 4 of the central portion 2 of the strip. A pair of arms 7, 8 are disposed at the distal end of the connecting portion 6, furthest from the central portion 2 of the strip. The arms 7, 8 extend in respective opposite directions from the distal end of the connecting portion 6 parallel to the lengthwise direction of the adjacent central portion 2 of the strip. The arms 7, 8 terminate with a respective pair of spikes 9, 10. Each of the spikes 9, 10 is substantially triangular in shape having a pointed tip which is defined by an acute angle between the two major sides thereof. The connecting portion 6 of each barb 5 acts to space the pairs of spikes 9, 10 from the central portion 2 of the strip. Furthermore, each spike 9, 10 is shaped such that it tapers away from the central portion 2 of the strip.

Exemplary dimensions of the above-described features of the barbed tape 1 are shown in millimetres in FIG. 1B.

The use of a relatively thin material is advantageous as it means that the resulting barbed tape 1 is lightweight and can be easily stowed. Furthermore, the flexibility of the barbed tape 1 ensures that it can deform around an object which it comes into contact with so as to ensnare the object. The barbed tape 1 is also conveniently designed (such as shown in FIG. 2) so as to limit the injurious effects of the tape as the spikes 9, 10 are too short to penetrate deeply into skin. Preferably, the barbed tape 1 is no more injurious than natural brambles.

Trials conducted by the Applicant have found that barbed tape 1 according to the presently described embodiment, which has a thickness of, say 250 or 500 microns, has a tensile strength and profile which means that it cannot readily be pulled apart by hand. The distribution of the barbs 5 along each edge 3, 4 of the barbed tape 1 is such that they are closer together than the span of a typical human hand. Accordingly, a person cannot hold onto the tape at any point in an attempt to tear it apart without being impinged on at least one set of spikes 9, 10.

The ‘double barbed’ design of the presently described embodiment, while not essential, advantageously ensures that that clothing, etc. caught thereon is thoroughly ensnared. The location and spacing of the barbs 5 is set so as to take advantage of the reaction of a body to being impinged by a spike 9, 10 (either directly or through clothing), which is to withdraw from the point of pain. The rapid withdraw reaction has the effect of impaling the offending part of the body onto the adjacent spike. Thus, the “pull away” response from the first contact with the barbed tape 1 is likely to cause greater contact with an adjacent spike 9, 10. The only way to stop this sequence is to halt all violent action and remain still. Once stopped one can then slowly withdraw each spike 9, 10, and it is this action that creates the hindrance to free movement.

As mentioned above, the barbed tape 1 may conveniently be formed by being punched out of a strip of material, such as stainless steel. The Applicant has discovered that an advantageous consequence of the punching process is that the tips of the spikes 9, 10 are sharpened as the material bends, whereas the rest of the barb 5, i.e. the arms 7, 8 and connecting portion 6 has a substantially square cut profile and is not therefore sharp. This is useful because it means that, whilst the barbs 5 remain effective at, for example, snagging clothing, they do not have sharpened, bladed edges (as is the case with conventional ‘razor wire’) and so the chance of causing severe injury to a person encountering the barbed tape 1 is reduced. Furthermore, with a barbed tape 1 of the above described configuration it is possible to adjust the severity of the effect provided by the tape (in accordance with the intended use) by selecting the appropriate geometry and scale of the barbs 5 when the tape is formed. For example, the more acute the angle at the tip of each spike 9, 10, the greater the ability of the spike to penetrate the clothing of a person coming into contact with the tape.

The barbs 5 of a plurality of strips of the above-described barbed tape 1 may ‘tessellate’ to save on material. The profile of the barbed tape 1 has been designed for mass production such that, while it is possible to punch out a single strip, it is also possible to punch out numerous strips side by side on a single pass through a punch machine. This is achieved by setting the gap between opposed spikes 9, 10 of adjacent barbs 5 on each edge 3, 4 of a strip to be as long or longer than the length of the barb assembly 5 itself (measured between the tips of each spike 9, 10 of the barb assembly 5). This allows the barb 5 of one strip of tape to be punched into the space between barbs 5 on an adjacent strip of tape thus saving material and speeding production with minimal waste product.

When the barbed tape 1 is made of natural stainless steel it has a high reflection index. Accordingly, the barbed tape 1 may be treated such that it exhibits a lower reflectivity, making it harder to see. For example, the barbed tape may be painted matte black. Moreover, the barbed tape 1 may optionally contain markers which can readily be picked up by friendly forces. For example, the barbed tape 1 may be treated with infra-red (IR) and/or ultra violet (UV) reactive paints which are visible to troops using night vision goggles or special eyewear or using dedicated (IR/UV) illumination torches. In one example, the tape may incorporate Black Heat (Oxidizing) IR elements into the tape pack that activate on tape deployment to provide a ‘warm’ tape that can be easily distinguished using specialised cameras. The tape may also be brightly coloured so as to provide a clear visual deterrent.

Referring to FIG. 3A, one or more strips 11 of the barbed tape 1 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 may be used to secure or hinder the passage of a person through a point of entry, such as a doorway 12. Strips 11 of the barbed tape 1 may be affixed to opposite sides and/or other points of the doorway 12 using any suitable means, e.g. adhesive, hooks, pins, nails, etc so as to form a barrier to entry. In particular, a strip of barbed tape 1 may be used to form a trip wire by fixing across the doorway 12 at a low level above the floor.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a pocket sized container is made in two or more parts, at least one of which is to be secured to door hard points/surrounds by spikes, hooks, adhesive pads etc. Other parts of the container may be attached to the other side of a door, or may be allowed to fall to the floor, or the like. In such an embodiment, shown in FIG. 3B, the container 300 comprises a first cylindrical member 302 and a second cylindrical member 304. Each member 302, 304 carries an adhesive pad 306, initially covered with a removable release layer 308. A length of tape 50 is coiled into the first cylindrical member 302, and the second cylindrical member 304 fits over the outside of the first cylindrical member 302 as lid with a tight fit to initially prevent relative movement therebetween. One end of the tape 50 (in this example, the middle of the coil) is attached to the first member 302 and the other is attached to the second member 304 by a tab 310. The first member 302 part of the container 300 may be attached (for example to a door frame as shown in FIG. 3C) and then manually separated from the other member to reveal the barbed tape 50. In this example, although not essential, container 300 also encloses a supporting wire 312 which can extend across a doorway.

Referring also to FIG. 3C, the container 300 may be used to create a spiral of barbed tape 50. The supporting wire 312 attached at either end to one of the respective attachment parts (i.e. the two members 306) is stretched across the doorway 12 (preferably, the user uncovers the adhesive pad 306 on the first member 302 secures the first member to one side of the door, then pulls off the lid formed by the second member 304, allowing relative movement between the first and second member 302, 304, then stretching the supporting wire 312 across the doorway 12 and pulling out coils of tape 50). The arrangement is such that a length of barbed tape 50 is wrapped around the supporting wire 312 along its length such that, when deployed, a spiral of barbed tape 50 hangs from the wire. In this way, a barrier to a point on entry, such as a doorway, may be created.

Such a container could also include guard tapes and/or self-guarding tape designs, which are discussed in greater detail below. Of course, the coil of tape 50 need not be circular: it could be square, ovoid or any other shape.

A single strand of barbed tape across a doorway could serve as a trip wire (which may delay an intruder due to entanglement). Multiple strands (such as are shown in FIG. 3C) could serve to provide further delay or deterrent.

The above-described deployment systems could be used in conjunction with a non-barbed net to form a temporary door block.

An alternative tape design is shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B. This tape 401 is barbed along one side only, with barbs 405 similar to those described in relation to FIGS. 1 and 2 above. Further, in this embodiment, the tape comprises ‘sprocket holes” 410, i.e. slots of removed material intended to receive a pin or peg (of which, for clarity, only an exemplary few are labelled). This allows the tape 401 to be driven, in a manner of cine film through a projector (as will be familiar to the skilled person, in such a device, a wheel with spaced projections is rotated such that the projections engage with and drive the film, or in this example, tape 801). This could also provide an indication of the amount of tape left within the deployment device or the amount already discharged by counting sprocket holes 410.

In this embodiment, the arrangement is such that the sprocket holes 410 do not lie in line with the base of a barb assembly to avoid producing a weakness in the tape 401.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the slots are towards at one side of the central portion and the barbed projections are arranged towards a second side.

As shown in particular in FIG. 4B, tape can be laid down in a two layer structure in which the layers are relatively rotated along the longitudinal axis of the tape 401. As will be apparent, this allows the unbarbed edge of a length of tape 401 in a first orientation to act as a barrier between layers of tape 401 in the second orientation. The arrangement is such that barbs on one layer do not overlie barbs on adjacent layers, and thus layers of tape 401 built up using alternate orientations will not entangle prior to deployment.

Further, the arrangement is such that that, when the barbs 405 are arranged to lie along the edge of an adjacent layer, the sprocket holes 410 are exposed on both layers.

The sprocket holes 410 can thus also serve to ensure that that the lay between the two tapes is maintained. This can be used to form a coil of the tape 401, for example wound about a spiked central drum or capstan, in which the spikes securing the first few layers of tape 401 in both orientations through the sprocket holes 410 to allow easy coiling without slipping.

As will be immediately appreciated by the skilled person, as layers are built up, the sprocket holes 410 will become misaligned. However, if the material is thin (e.g. 250 microns), as described above, the effect of such misalignment is not great, and the holes 410 will still overlaps for at least the initial few coils, which is enough to allow the rest of the tape 401 to be loaded on to a reel without slipping. The length of the sprocket holes 410 could be increased if it was desired to directly secure more layers of tape 401. Indeed the sprocket holes 410 could be useful in other tape designs, including those shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Of course, this tape 401 could also be made without the sprocket holes 410, and would still have the advantages associated with alternating layers described above. In such examples, it may be desirable to secure the tape 401 to a drum or the like with adhesive, or other fixings, to prevent slipping.

A further alternative tape design is shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B. This tape 501 is barbed along both sides, with barbs similar to those described in relation to FIG. 1 above. Once again, the tape 501 comprises sprocket holes 510.

In this embodiment, the substantially parallel side edges 503, 504 of a central portion 502 follow an undulating path, the central portion 502 being of substantially constant width (i.e. with the tape 501 laid flat, the undulations are in the plane of the tape 501). Moreover, the barbs 505 are arranged in the ‘dips’, i.e. along portions of the side edges 503, 504 which lie close to a central axis 512 of the tape 501, rather than those portions which lie further away from the central axis 512. The undulations are such the maximum distance from the longitudinal central axis 512 to the outer edge of the barbs 505 is approximately the same as the maximum distance of a side edge 503, 504, i.e. the barbs 505 are arranged in the ‘troughs’ of the waves of the undulating profile, and are substantially contained between the ‘crests’ of the waves.

Expressed another way, a length of the tape 505 would be fully enclosed by a rectangle, where a side portion 503, 504 extends approximately to the edge of the rectangle at the same point along its length as a barb 505 extends approximately to the opposite edge of the rectangle. This means that, by aligning layers of the tape 180° ‘out of phase’ (i.e. aligning a peak of one undulation with a barb arranged in the trough of another undulation), the tape 501 can itself again provide a barrier between barbs on alternate layers. The arrangement is such that that barbs on one layer do not overlie barbs on adjacent layers, and thus layers built up using offset undulations will not entangle prior to deployment. This is shown in FIG. 5B

As with the tape described in relation to FIG. 4, the sprocket holes 510 are preferably exposed on both layers of tape 501 and could be used to help locate the tape 501, for example on a spiked drum or capstan.

Of course, this tape 501 could also be made without the sprocket holes 510, and would still have the advantages associated with alternating layers described above (although the alignment may be harder to maintain).

Further, the undulations may vary in shape from those shown and may be more angular, or smoother than those illustrated while still achieving the same effect.

A “tape measure dispenser” type embodiment of the present invention will now be described.

Referring to FIG. 6, a second embodiment of an apparatus for deploying the barbed tape described above is similar to a container for a retractable tape measure. The apparatus comprises a casing 600 which holds a reel of barbed tape 602. The casing 600 includes an opening 605 in a side wall thereof through which one end 603 of the reel of barbed tape 602 extends. An attachment part 608 is disposed on the end of the barbed tape 63 which protrudes from the opening 605. The attachment part 608 is sized such that it cannot pass through the opening 605, thus preventing the end of the barbed tape 603 from falling back inside the casing 600.

The attachment part 608 may be provided with an adhesive pad 609 having a removable release tab 610 so as to enable the attachment part 608 to be affixed to a surface such as a doorway surround. Furthermore, the attachment part 608 may be releasably mounted on the casing (for example, by a low-tack adhesive layer provided on the surface of the casing 600 adjacent to the opening 605 to which the attachment part 608 adheres, and/or other selectively releasable attachments) such that, in a stowed state, the attachment part 608 is coupled to the casing 600 in order to prevent the barbed tape 602 from being deployed.

In order to deploy the barbed tape 602, the attachment part 608 is decoupled from the casing 600 and the release tab 610 is removed so as to expose the adhesive pad 609. The attachment part 608 is then fixed to a desired surface by means of the adhesive pad 609 and a user then moves the casing 600 away from the attachment part 608 causing the reel 603 to unwind and the barbed tape to be deployed. In the case that a user wishes to deploy the tape vertically, such that it is suspended from the top of a doorway, they may simply drop the casing 600 once the attachment part 608 has been secured to the doorway and the reel 602 will unwind under the force of gravity as the casing 600 falls to the ground.

In one embodiment, the reel of barbed tape 602 may be mounted on a spool 612 within the casing, the spool 612 being rotatably mounted within the casing 600, on an axle or otherwise, so as to facilitate the deployment of the barbed tape from the casing 600. The body of the casing 600 could itself be provided with attachment means for attaching the casing 600 to, for example, the other side of a door way. A guard, for example a paper or plastic guard strip, may be wound into the reel to separate layers of tape and prevent their mutual entanglement. Alternatively, a double ribbon of ‘self-guarding’ tape, such as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 could be used.

A further embodiment which functions in a similar manner to the device shown in FIG. 6 (or indeed any other deployment method described herein) could induce an electric shock in a person who encounter the tape, in a similar manner to an electric fence or a ‘Taser’ style stun gun. A similar circuit to that used in a Taser, which produces a stunning electrical shock, could be incorporated into a container, and, in a preferred example, triggered by the combatant pulling on or interacting with the deployed tape. In such an example, the tape assumes a “ready” state, once it has been released from the container, but is not energised and would hang to present a possible ensnaring trap. However once a person or animal has been ensnared and make positive active action to free themselves by pulling on the tape. The action of pulling may activate the circuit further enticing the combatant to remain passive and still.

A further embodiment of a barbed tape dispensing apparatus 700 is shown in FIGS. 7A-C. In this embodiment, tape 701 is housed coiled on a reel in a container/enclosure member comprising a stowage cassette housing 702 (shown separately in cross section in FIG. 7C), and the cassette housing 702 is attached to a ‘staple gun’ or upholstery style stapler 704. Tape 701 is fed from the cassette housing 702 past a slide plate 706 such that it exits the slide plate 706 at the front of the stapler 704. As it passes beyond the end of the slide plate, it passes under a cavity that houses the stapler action. As in a convention stapler (and therefore not described in detail herein), a staple is propelled under the action of a sprung hammer on activation of a handle 708.

In use, the stapler 704 is held against a substrate (which may, in practical examples, be a door frame or the like) and the handle 708 is activated. This propels the staple into the substrate, trapping the tape 701 in the process. Inside the cassette housing 702, a spool 709 is mounted such that it can turn about a mounting axle 710. In this example, there is an interference fit between the spool 709 and the mounting axle 710 such that it turns only when a reasonable amount of pressure is applied to the tape 701, to prevent accidental deployment of any tape 701. However, in other examples this need not be the case, or else there may be an additional or alternative means of preventing accidently deployment, such as a locking device which is activated by a user when deployment is required.

In this example, the spool 709 bears a number of protrusions 712 (and therefore acts as a sprocket), which engage the first few coils of tape 701 through sprocket holes formed therein. However, this need not be the case in all embodiments.

Drawing the apparatus 700 away from the substrate discharges a length of tape 701 from the front of the apparatus 700. At any suitable point the operative can retrigger another staple to secure the tape 701 in place. In this example, as the tape comes to an end it is without barbs, which allows the user to see that the tape 701 is due to run out, allowing the user to staple the tail of the tape 701 before it expires completely. Therefore, the tape 701 is drawn away from the first member, provided by the spool 709, once a portion thereof is stapled. The staple therefore acts as a second member of a deployment device, or else as a first attachment means which is adapted to secure the end of a reel to a surface.

In this embodiment, the cassette housing 702 may be replaced, such that a user can load the cassette housing 702 onto the stapler 704 and deploy the first section of tape 701 from the cassette housing 702. Further, in this example, this leading section is without barbs and can be handled.

Further, in this embodiment, the cassette holds a ‘double ribbon’ of material, one of which is barbed, and the other of which is a barrier layer, made in this example of paper. However, in other embodiments, alternative designs could be used, for example, those illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5.

Alternatives and enhancements will occur to the skilled person. For example, alternative embodiments of the apparatus 700 may incorporate a tape cropper/cutter facility to allow the user to determine the length of tape 701 being used. In use of such an apparatus, a user may dispense tape 701 and fix this to a substrate until the desired length of tape 701 has been dispensed. The staple gun could be replaced with similar known apparatus, such as a nail gun or the like.

An alternative cassette housing 802 is shown in FIG. 8A (in which a cassette 804 is loaded into the housing 802, shown with a side removed) and 8B (which shows the cassette 804 with its cover removed and without tape.) In this example, a free spool 806 which holds the tape rotates around a central core 808. Further, the cassette housing 802 includes a guide roller 810 situated near the exit of the housing 802, which ensures that there is no change of the tape angle relative to the exit due to a reduced radius in the core as the bulk of the tape is extracted. The roller 810 also flattens any protruding barb prior to it exiting the cassette housing 804. This may result in smoother running of the tape. It will also be noted that, in place of the protrusions 712, the spool 804 incorporates an angled notch 812. The arrangement is such that tape is fed into the notch 812 and is held securely by layer(s) of tape wound onto the spool 804

Of course, any of the cassette housings 600, 702, 802 described in relation to FIG. 6, FIG. 7C and FIG. 8A and B may alternatively or additionally have any of the features described in relation to any other cassette housing/reel container.

In addition, more than one coil of tape could be included in a cassette housing/reel container, and in such examples, each coil/reel may have a separate or shared associated attachment means. One or more parts of a cassette housing/reel container may act as a weight to assist in deploying the tape. A cassette housing/reel container, or elements thereof, may be incorporated into other structures or fittings, which could be arranged in a possible deployment location for a long period of time, perhaps permanently. Although various means of releasing the tape have been disclosed herein, in other examples, deployment could be provided by a hinged lid or cover, which may be manually or automatically opened.

As mentioned previously, conventional barbed wire has been used to control the movement of animals and humans for over a hundred years. However, to date the barbed wire has always been fabricated elsewhere and transported as a spiky load prior to deployment. This means that coils of barbed wire are preformed in stock lengths and rapid deployment (often during high stress situations) is difficult.

In view of the above, a further embodiment of the present invention comprises a “barbed tape gun” for dispensing barbed tape, which may be micro barbed tape of the kind described above with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, 4 and 5.

The barbed tape gun may comprise a hard enclosed backpack to be worn by a user on a person's back like a rucksack for storing a supply of tape to be dispensed or a larger vehicle mounted unit. As described in more detail later, the tape may be stock tape, i.e. raw, unpunched tape, pre-profiled tape (i.e. formed with barbs) or frangible tape.

The gun may comprise a body having a handle projecting therefrom to be grasped by a user with a trigger disposed adjacent to the handle for activating the gun and causing barbed tape to be dispensed.

In one example, tape from the backpack is fed to the gun and dispensed therefrom when the trigger is actuated via, e.g. a flexible umbilical attaches the backpack to the “Barrier gun” lance.

The gun may be provided with a power source, which may conveniently be housed in the backpack, such as a battery pack, and drive means, such as an electric motor, which is operable to drive a tape dispensing arrangement housed in the body of the gun. Alternatively, the barbed tape gun may be mains powered, or even hand powered. In the case that the gun is powered by hand, the handle and trigger may be formed such that pressure exerted by a user's hand, e.g. a squeezing action, causes relative movement between the handle and trigger which is transmitted to the tape dispensing arrangement so as to dispense the barbed tape. In a further example, it may be possible to attach an end of the tape to a fixed object or structure, and the act of pulling away from that point draws tape into though the mechanism.

In one example, the tape dispensing mechanism comprises one or more pair(s) of counter rotating rollers or drums between which the tape to be dispensed is fed. Such rollers or drums may comprise cutting drums, twisting means and/or may be arranged to draw the tape therebetween, driving it through the mechanism. Alternatively or additionally, as explained in more detail below, a punch and anvil arrangement may be provided. In further examples, also described below, the tape is pre profiled so need not be punched to form barbs.

The gun will typically be provided with control circuitry for controlling operation of the tape dispensing mechanism in response to a user pulling the trigger. The gun may have a safety cut off to prevent accidental operation and, in use, the gun will discharge tape at a speed relative to the pulled position of the trigger. Whenever the trigger is released the tape will be cropped off and discharged from the gun. Display means may be provided to show the available tape remaining in the container and/or the state of the battery pack and/or power system.

FIG. 11 shows an embodiment in which the tape fed to the gun is a stock (i.e. un-profiled) tape, the tape dispensing arrangement 200 comprises a first pair of tape drive rollers 202 disposed upstream, in a tape feed direction, from a pair of pre-profiling rollers 204, which flatten the tape. Downstream from the pre-profiling roller 204 is disposed, respectively; a profile punch 205 and an anvil 206, and pairs of tape drawing drive rollers 208, 210. The punch 205 and the anvil 206 are disposed on opposite sides of a tape feed path. A cam 212 is arranged adjacent to the profile punch 205, such that rotation of the cam 212 when driven by a motor (not shown) causes reciprocating movement of the profile punch 205 toward and away from the anvil 206.

Downstream from the rollers 208, 210, there is disposed a tape cutting mechanism 214 and tape twisting means 215. The tape cutting mechanism 214 comprises an anvil block 216, a blade 217, a cutter drive motor 218, a gear box 219, a cam 220 and a slide anvil 221. The anvil block 216 and the blade 217 are disposed on opposite sides of the tape feed path. The cutter drive motor 218 drives rotation of the cam 220 via the gearbox 219. In turn, the cam 220 causes reciprocating movement of the slide anvil 221 forcing the blade 217 against the anvil block 216 to cut the tape.

Operation of the tape dispensing mechanism will now be described in more detail, in an embodiment arranged to produce a tape as shown in FIG. 1. Raw, un-profiled tape 230 is drawn from the backpack through the umbilical and into the tape dispensing mechanism by the tape drive rollers 202 and the tape drawing drive rollers 208, 210. In this example, the speed of the tape drive rollers 202 is regulated and different to the following tape drawing drive rollers 208, 210. Although this is not essential, the differential speed has the effect of straightening the coiled tape and ensures that tape ready for the punch process. As the tape passes between the profile punch 205 and the anvil 206, the barbs 5 are formed into the tape 230 and the residue is discarded as short swarf or a long string. The tape is discharged through the cutter mechanism 214 which chops off the tape whenever the gun's trigger is released. Before finally leaving the gun, the tape passes through the (optional) tape twisting means 215 which forms the dispensed tape into a spiral body ensuring that it does not just lay flat on the floor.

In one variation of the above-described embodiment, the supply of tape which is fed to the gun may be pre-profiled with the barbs, i.e. as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 4 and 5. As mentioned above, when pre-profiled tape is wound into a reel for storage in a container, such as a backpack, there may be a risk that the barbs of overlying sections of the reel of tape will become entangled with one another, thereby inhibiting or preventing the reel from being unwound and dispensed by the gun. In this case, the barbed tape may be provided with a guard tape in order to facilitate dispensing tape, or double ribbons of ‘self-guarding’ tape embodiments, such as those shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, may be used.

The guard tape may be in the form of a U-shaped channel in which the barbed tape rests. Alternatively, the guard tape may comprise a planar backing tape with an adhesive coated on one surface thereof, such that the barbed tape is adhered to the surface of the guard tape prior to being dispensed. In this case, the tape dispensing mechanism may comprise means for separating the adhesive guard tape from the barbed tape at a location upstream of the drive rollers, such that the guard tape is stripped away from the barbed tape prior to the barbed tape being dispensed. However, such adhesive is not essential and the guard tape could be loosely wound into the coil of barbed tape.

When the tape is pre-profiled with the barbs, the gun does not need to incorporate the separate punch 205 and anvil 206, which reduces cost and simplifies construction of the gun. The gun may still include the tape twisting means 215, as the pre-profiled barbed tape stored in the container preferably has a flat planar cross-section to make it easier to wind/unwind.

In a further variation of the above-described embodiment, the reel of tape may comprise a frangible tape formed with interior barbs and smooth outer edges. For example, the frangible tape is similar to the pre-profiled tape described above, except that the residue of the profiling/punching process is not removed prior to the tape being stored in the container for use with the gun. Rather, the outline of the barbed tape profile is stamped/punched in a plain tape with smooth outer edges, which is then wound into a reel for storage in the backpack container. This is advantageous because the barbs 5 are not exposed, so there is no need for a guard tape (or else the use of double ribbon of ‘self-guarding’ tape) to prevent entanglement of the barbed tape on the reel. Furthermore, the punch 205 and anvil 206 may be omitted from the gun. Instead, the gun is provided with means for stripping away the residue/swarf from the outer edges of the tape so as to reveal the barbed profile prior to the tape being dispensed from the gun. To this end, the gun may include means for flexing the tape so that the residual portions become separated from the barbed tape. This may be creating one or more meanders in the tape feed path between the tape drive rollers 202 and the cutting mechanism 214, for example, by offsetting one or more of the intermediate sets of rollers 204, 208, 210 so that the tape is made to flex/bend as it travels through the gun. Alternatively, or in addition, the tape feed path may include a resilient member in the tape feed path which forms a lip around which the tape is fed, such that the residual outer portions of the frangible tape are caused to break away as they traverse the lip.

In an alternative embodiment, one length of un-barbed tape may be dispensed as two lengths of barbed tape by providing a frangible portion in the centre thereof. The tape would therefore be broken in two to reveal a barbed side (the external edge remaining barb-free).

The bobbins of ribbon strip which are currently available provide over 250 m of banding within a relatively small volume, and can easily be carried, for example in a rucksack. This would make carriage and transport easy. This means that a single person can carry and deploy a significant amount of barbed barrier tape yet be agile enough to react to crowd conditions. Having the capability to immediately deploy a barbed barrier also allows the security forces to block off roads, passageways and street thus allowing them to route or guide crowds or combatants. Thus, with the barbed tape gun described above, it is possible in situations such as crowd and riot control to lay down a fence of barrier wire where and when required.

It may also be desirable to fill an area with a ‘bush’ of barbed tape. These could be used to temporarily inhabit access to or through a doorway or the like. The bush of tape may, in one embodiment, when deployed, form a bush approximately a metre high, and one to two metres in diameter. The tape may form into a plurality of tangled pyramidal type structures in its unfolded state that is difficult to walk through without it becoming entangled about the person. When wanting to cover larger areas, such as a wide corridor or doorway then more than one such bushes may be deployed, as required. Such embodiments may be deployed from a tube, a hand thrown ‘grenade’ or other type of launcher. In some examples, such launchers may be arranged such that the operative opens the container and throws it into the e.g. doorway where it self deploys. Other examples may be jack-in-the-box′ style launchers, for example with pop-tops or ring pulls, which contain a mechanical or chemical propellant and are simply aimed towards the desired location before being released. Such launchers could be used in conjunction with a non-barbed net to form a temporary door block.

Referring to FIGS. 10 to 14, a ‘grenade’ type embodiment of the present invention will now be described.

As shown in FIG. 10 a barbed tape grenade 100 generally comprises a container having a top and a bottom end cap 101, 102. Each end cap 101, 102 is formed as a disk 103 with an annular wall 104 extending perpendicularly from the outer circumference of the disk. A cylindrical wall extends between the top and bottom end caps 101, 102 and is formed from a plurality of “petals” 106 that forms a casing which fragments when the grenade 100 is deployed. The fragmenting container is designed to safely constrain coiled spring barbed tapes as will be described in more detail below.

As shown in FIG. 11, the top end cap 101 is used to mount a trigger mechanism 110 which comprises a release lever 112 which is pivotable about a fulcrum 113. The release lever 112 is generally L-shaped and comprises a first portion 112a which extends parallel to the cylindrical wall of the container when the grenade 100 is in an un-deployed state, and a second portion 112b which is coupled to the upper surface of the top end cap 101 at the fulcrum 113.

A pair of parallel flanges 114 are provided on the upper surface of the top end cap 101, the flanges 114 being disposed on opposite side of the second portion 112b of the release lever 112 and oriented parallel thereto. The fulcrum 113 is formed by a spindle which passes through respective holes formed in each of the flanges 114 and the second portion 112b of the release lever 112. In the un-deployed state, the lever 112 is held in place and prevented from tilting about the fulcrum 113 by a ring pull and locking pin 115, which passes through both the flanges 114 and the second portion 112b of the release lever 112 at a position spaced from the fulcrum.

The end of the second portion of the release lever 112 is provided with a U-shaped recess 117. In the un-deployed state, the arms of the U-shaped recess 117 supports a head portion 122 disposed at the upper end 120 of a restraining rod 118.

As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the restraining rod 118 extends between the top and bottom end caps 101, 102 and is co-axial with the disk portions 103 thereof. The restraining rod 118 is fixed to the bottom end cap 102. A compression spring (not shown) is disposed around the restraining rod 118 along its length. In the un-deployed state, the spring is compressed such that it exerts a biasing force which acts to push the top and bottom end caps 101, 102 away from each other. The engagement of the second portion 112b of the release lever 112 with the head portion 122 of the restraining rod 118 prevents relative movement between the end caps 101, 102. A pair of hollow tube members 125, 126 surround the spring and retaining rod. One end of the first tube member 125 is coupled to the top end cap 101. Similarly, one end of the second tube member 126 is coupled to the bottom end cap 102. The diameter of the first tube member 125 is slightly larger than that of the second tube member 126 such that the end of the second tube member 126 opposite to the bottom end cap 102 can be received within the first tube member 125 when the grenade is in the un-deployed state. Each of the petals 106 which for the container wall comprise a tab 128 at each end which overlaps with the respective annular walls 104 of the top and bottom end caps 101, 102.

When the grenade 100 is in the un-deployed state, a plurality of coils of barbed tape 130 are wound around the first and second tube members 125, 126 in a stacked arrangement, as shown in FIG. 14. To deploy the grenade 100, a user pulls the ring pull to remove the locking pin 115 while holding the first portion 112a of the release lever 112. On being thrown by the user, the release lever 112 tilts which moves the arms of the U-shaped recess 117 at the end of the second portion 112b of the release lever 112 out of engagement with the head portion 122 of the restraining rod 116.

Release of the restraining rod 116 allows the end caps 101, 102 to expand apart under the influence of the internal spring as it expands. Once the end caps 101, 102 have moved such that the annular wall 104 of each has move past the respective tabs 128 at the ends of each petal 106, there is no more constraint on the petals 106 and they fall away releasing the contents of the grenade in a 360 degree arc, as the coils of barbed tape unwind themselves. The construction can be such that the tapes (and its supporting frame where provided, see below) are not deployed instantly and there is delay while the end caps travel which allows the operator to distance him or herself from the device.

While a single grenade 100 may secure a doorway, larger areas can be secured by the use of multiple units.

As described previously, the barbed tape 1 is made from a relatively thin, flexible material and, as such, will not generally be self supporting. Accordingly, the barbed tape grenade 100 may incorporate an expanding skeleton structure in order to support the barbed tape so as to form a ‘bush’ of barbed tape when the grenade 100 is deployed. There are a number of possible solutions including, but not exclusively, having a frame like the rods of a folding umbrella, providing the wire with a super expanding ball (e.g. as available as toys), scissor and Easy tong-type fold away concertina frame (Easy tongs are a series of crossed links that expand as they open out allowing extended lift of light items, often used by elderly persons to pick things up from the floor). In some embodiments, these may be made of light weight T or U channel shaped material which guards the barbed tape in its stowed position.

A further option for the supporting structure is a tri-way folding spring that opens out in three directions to give a triangular base. By providing two such springs, one at either end of a length of barbed tape and displaced relative to each other by an angle of 60 degrees, a spiral of barbed tape will be formed when the grenade is deployed and the springs expand, twisting the length of barbed tape between them.

It is expected that, while combatants will not be completely stopped by this ‘bramble bush’, it will inhibit and delay their escape long enough for them detected and subsequently confined by other methods.

The deployed tape could be arranged to alert people to its presence, for example including an audible alarm, or a more covert device such as a micro radio transmitter, which could server to alert friendly forces by causing a tone to appear in their tactical headsets if they get close to the deployed tape.

Claims

1. A barbed tape formed from a planar strip of flexible material and comprising a plurality of barbs disposed therealong, said barbs being sufficiently resilient so as to impede, by entanglement with or otherwise, the passage of an object therepast, wherein said barbs are sized so as to entangle a person coming into contact therewith without causing serious injury to said person.

2. A barbed tape according to claim 1, the tape comprising;

a central portion having first and second parallel side edges;

a plurality of barbs disposed at spaced locations along at least one of said side edges, each of said barbs comprising at least one spike which projects in a direction substantially parallel to the lengthwise direction of the tape.

3-6. (canceled)

7. A barbed tape according to claim 1, wherein the material is a metal or a plastics material.

8. A barbed tape according to claim 7, wherein the material is stainless steel having a thickness of approximately 250-500 microns.

9. A barbed tape according to claim 1, wherein the tape comprises a coating which includes at least one of ultra-violet reflective matter and infra-red reflective matter.

10. (canceled)

11. A barbed tape according to claim 2, wherein the central portion with substantially parallel side edges has an undulating profile, the central portion being of substantially constant width, and the profile being such that barbs are arranged in the dips of the undulation such that they do not protrude beyond the adjacent peaks of the undulations.

12. An apparatus for deploying a barbed tape comprising;

a coil of barbed tape;

first and second members, each of said members being attached to respective ends of the coil of barbed tape; and

an enclosure member,

wherein the apparatus is adapted to be configurable in a stowed state in which the coil of barbed tape is enclosed by the enclosure member, the first member and the second member and relative movement between the first and second members is prevented, and a deployed state in which relative movement between the first and second members is permitted.

13. An apparatus according to claim 12, wherein one of said first and said second members is formed integrally with said enclosure member.

14. An apparatus according to claim 12, wherein one or both of said first and second members comprises attachment means for securing said member or said members to a surface.

15-23. (canceled)

24. An apparatus for deploying a barbed tape comprising;

a container enclosing a reel of barbed tape, the container having an opening through which an end of the reel extends; and

first attachment means disposed at said end of the reel, external to the container, and adapted to secure the end of the reel to a surface.

25-28. (canceled)

29. An apparatus according to claim 24, wherein the reel of barbed tape is disposed on a spool, which is rotatably mounted within the container.

30. An apparatus according to claim 29 in which the reel of barbed tape contains multiple layers of material.

31. An apparatus according to claim 30 in which the multiple layers of material comprise layers of barbed tape interspersed with layers of unbarbed material.

32. An apparatus according to claim 30 in which the multiple layers of material comprise layers of barbed tape which are arranged such that barbs on a first layer do not overlie barbs on adjacent layers.

33. (canceled)

34. An apparatus for dispensing barbed tape according to claim 1; the apparatus comprising;

punching means for punching out the profile of the barbed tape from a strip of un-profiled tape;

feeding means for feeding the un-profiled tape past the punching means.

35. (canceled)

36. A handheld device comprising the tape dispensing apparatus of claim 34, the device further comprising control means and trigger means wherein the control means is operable to control the tape dispensing apparatus to dispense barbed tape in response to a user activating the trigger means.

37. A device according to claim 36, wherein the tape dispensing apparatus comprises cutting means for cutting off a length of dispensed tape.

38-41. (canceled)

42. Apparatus according to claim 40 wherein the container carries a power supply for powering operation of the handheld device.

43. An apparatus for deploying barbed tape comprising;

a container enclosing one or more coils of barbed tape, the container comprising a top, a base and a wall portion engaged by the top and the base when the apparatus is in an un-deployed state, the wall portion surrounding the barbed tape so as to prevent deployment thereof when engaged by the top and the base;

biasing means for biasing the top and the base out of engagement with the wall portion;

restraining means adapted to coupled the top to the base and prevent relative movement therebetween when the apparatus is in the un-deployed state; and

release means for decoupling the restraining means from at least one of the top and the base so as to enable deployment of the barbed tape.

44-46. (canceled)

47. An apparatus according to claim 43, wherein the top and the base are circular and each comprises an annular wall for engaging with respective opposite ends of the wall portion

48-49. (canceled)