Vehicle Disabling Device

Abstract

A portable device for slowing and disabling moving vehicles, which consists of a plurality of individual blocks carried on a portable mat. The blocks are coated with an adhesive that affixes the blocks to the tire treads of a vehicle rolling over the device. The weight of the blocks unbalances the vehicle tires and creates a severe vibration, which retards the vehicle speed without severely destabilizing the driver's control of the vehicle.

Description

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/832,861 filed Apr. 11, 2019, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

This invention relates to devices for disabling moving vehicles used by police and military personnel.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A variety of devices for stopping moving vehicles have been developed for police and military use. Typically such devices take the form of spiked chains that are placed in the roadway that puncture the tires of the passing vehicle. Puncturing the tires of a speeding vehicle can result in drivers' loss of control of the vehicle and may lead to serious accidents. In addition, such devices can cause injury to a user if not handled properly and require special carrying or storage containers.

The present invention provides a safer and more readily deployable device for slowing and disabling moving vehicles. The device consists of a plurality of individual blocks carried on a portable mat. The blocks are coated with an adhesive that affixes the blocks to the tire treads of a vehicle rolling over the device. The weight of the blocks unbalances the vehicle tires and creates a severe vibration, which retards the vehicle speed without severely destabilizing the driver's control of the vehicle.

The above described features and advantages, as well as others, will become more readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by reference to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention may take form in various system and method components and arrangement of system and method components. The drawings are only for purposes of illustrating exemplary embodiments and are not to be construed as limiting the invention. The drawings illustrate the present invention, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the vehicle disabling device of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the device of FIG. 1 shown rolled up;

FIG. 3 is a close-up partial cross sectional view of the device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of the device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the device of FIG. 1 being deployed;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are side views of a vehicle rolling over the device of FIG. 1; and

FIGS. 8-13 are simplified side views of the blocks used in the device of FIG. 1 attaching to the tires of a vehicle.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific preferred embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that logical, structural, mechanical, electrical, and chemical changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. To avoid detail not necessary to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, the description may omit certain information known to those skilled in the art. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims.

Referring now to the drawings, FIGS. 1-13 illustrate an exemplary embodiment of the vehicle enabling device of this invention, which is designated generally as reference numeral 100. Device 100 consists of a plurality of tire blocks 110 detachably carried on a flat portable mat 120. Blocks 110 are lightly held to mat 120 by a light-duty adhesive. The top surface of blocks 110 are coated with an industrial strength adhesive 121, which is selected to adhere to the tire tread of any vehicle that rolls over the blocks. A removable non-stick cover film 130 overlies the array of blocks 110 to prevent dust and debris from collecting on the blocks or the blocks inadvertently attaching to other objects or structures while being deployed or stored. Cover film 130 has an end pull tab 132 to assist in peeling the film from blocks 110.

Mat 120 is a flat elongated substrate, which can be rolled or folded for compact storage, but easily unrolled or unfolded for deployment. Blocks 110 are arranged in a single layer atop mat 120 in a tight brick-like array and secured to the mat by a light-duty adhesive. The arrangement and alignment of blocks 100 atop mat 120 is selected to provide the maximum exposure of the blocks to the tire tread rolling over device 100. Mat 120 is dimensioned with a desired length to extend across a width of a conventional roadway. The ends of mat 120 may have handles, which allows device 100 to be easily positioned across a roadway.

Tire blocks 110 are composed of a hard rubber or similar material. Blocks 110 are molded or formed into flat geometric shapes, which can be arranged to cover the top surface of mat 120. Typically, blocks 120 are configured into rectangular bricks with a trapezoidal cross section, although other shapes may be employed in alternative embodiments. Each block 110 has a substantially flat top surface and bottom surface. The area of the bottom surface is less than the area of the top surface of each block 100. The smaller surface area of the bottom of blocks 110 assists in allowing the blocks to release from mat 120 while adhering to the tire tread as the vehicle rolls over device 100. Blocks 110 are dimensioned and weighted to disrupt and unbalance the rotations of the tires, to which the blocks are adhered. Blocks 100 are generally dimensioned in width and length to provide maximum coverage the width and length of a tire tread, when the tires roll over device 100. Blocks 100 also have a thickness between 0.5-2.5″ inches. Ideally, each block 110 may also include an internal weight, generally a lead core (not shown), molded into the block.

The flat top surface of each block 110 is coated with adhesive 121, which is selected to bond instantly to the tread of a vehicle tire rolling over the top of device 100. The rounded bottom surface of each block 110 is coated with a lighter strength adhesive 123, which holds the blocks to the top surface of mat 120. Adhesive 123 is selected to lightly hold blocks 110 to mat 120, but allow the blocks to release from the mat and adhere to the tire tread as the vehicle rolls over device 100. A variety of adhesive may be suitable for use in the present invention and are generally well known in the industry.

In use, the device 100 is deployed in the same manners as traditional road spikes. Device 100 is laid in the road way ahead of the target vehicle. Once positioned in the roadway, cover film 130 is removed exposing the adhesive coated top surface of blocks 110. When the target vehicle rolls over device 100, blocks 110 adhere to the tire tread. The adhesive covering 121 affixes blocks 110 only to a portion of the tire tread. The weight of blocks 110 unbalances the vehicle tires and creates a severe vibration in the vehicle. The vibration retards the vehicle speed without severely destabilizing the driver's control of the vehicle. Unlike conventional spike chains, device 100 is effective against “run flat” tires and eliminates “running on the rim” scenarios.

It should be apparent from the foregoing that an invention having significant advantages has been provided. While the invention is shown in only a few of its forms, it is not just limited but is susceptible to various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof. The embodiment of the present invention herein described and illustrated is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. It is presented to explain the invention so that others skilled in the art might utilize its teachings. The embodiment of the present invention may be modified within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A device for slowing and disabling a vehicle comprising:

a portable mat adapted to be deployed in a roadway; and

a plurality of individual blocks carried atop the mat, each block having a top surface coated with an adhesive, which adheres to the tire tread of the vehicle when the vehicle rolls over the device.

2. The device of claim 2 wherein the mat is a flat elongated substrate.

3. The device of claim 3 wherein the mat is adapted to be manually contorted between a compact stowed orientation and extended deployed orientation.

4. The device of claim 1 and a film overlying mat and covering the plurality of individual blocks carried thereon.

5. The device of claim 1 wherein each of the plurality of individual blocks has a top surface and a bottom surface, the area of the top surface is greater than the are of the bottom surface.