Temporary neutralization projectile
The reduced-dimension projectile with deformable materials and energy-absorbing design addresses the issue of irreversible injuries and weapon bulkiness, enhancing safety and efficiency in riot control and self-defense.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- FR2023008049
- Authority / Receiving Office
- FR · FR
- Patent Type
- Utility models
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2023-07-26
- Publication Date
- 2025-01-31
- Estimated Expiration
- 2033-07-26
AI Technical Summary
Existing less-lethal projectiles used for riot control and self-defense are either ineffective in minimizing irreversible injuries or require large, cumbersome weapons due to their size and kinetic energy, posing risks of fatal accidents and unwanted damage.
A reduced-dimension projectile design with a deformable body and energy-absorbing material, featuring a half-spherical front end and a cylindrical rear part, optimized for impact absorption and deformation, housed in a launcher with a male-female assembly, using thermoplastic materials and alveolar structures for enhanced safety and compactness.
The new design minimizes irreversible injuries and reduces the size of the weapon required, allowing more projectiles per charge and safer use, while maintaining effective neutralization capabilities.
Smart Images
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Abstract
Description
Title of the invention: TEMPORARY NEUTRALIZATION PROJECTILE Technical field
[0001] The present invention relates to a temporary neutralization projectile, that is to say a projectile intended to put an adversary out of action without major risk of mortal injury.
[0002] This ammunition is sublethal or reduced lethality or incapacitating, that is to say that the target must not be killed or seriously injured.
[0003] This type of ammunition is primarily used for law enforcement, riot control, and self-defense. According to the official definition given by the United States Department of Defense, less-lethal weapons are weapon systems explicitly designed and primarily used to incapacitate people or equipment, while minimizing fatal or permanent injuries to those people and unwanted damage to their integrity and environment.
[0004] The present invention aims both to reduce the risks of irreversible injuries likely to be caused by a less-lethal projectile and to propose a less-lethal projectile which is of reduced dimensions compared to less-lethal projectiles according to the state of the art, in order to increase the number of less-lethal projectiles available in a launcher or weapon and in particular in a magazine. State of the art
[0005] Projectiles or munitions described as "less lethal" are used by law enforcement to put an end to disturbances on public roads, particularly during violent demonstrations or riots.
[0006] A first type of projectile is currently known in the state of the art: these projectiles, fired towards the crowd but towards the sky, release suffocating or irritating gases in order to cause the demonstrators to disperse.
[0007] This first type of projectile has the disadvantage of releasing its substance in a very wide space, due to the nature of the shot and therefore of inconveniencing a large number of people present at the scene, among whom sometimes are people not involved in the disturbances, or even the police when they take back possession of the ground previously occupied by the demonstrators at the time of the shot and where the air is largely laden with gas.
[0008] A second type of projectile is known, intended for law enforcement operations or for controlling individuals: these so-called neutralization projectiles can be of various shapes, such as spherical or stick-shaped, and are generally made of elastomer or equivalent materials. These projectiles are intended to be fired at protesters in a straight shot in order to neutralize them by the shock effect produced by the projectile due to the transformation of its kinetic energy upon contact with the target.
[0009] The propellant charge of a munition which initially incorporates such a projectile is theoretically adapted so that the impact of the projectile on the demonstrator only creates bruises without danger to the latter's life.
[0010] In fact, the lethality or disabling capacity of these supposedly less-lethal known munitions has unfortunately been demonstrated and has resulted in deaths or the loss of an eye of people or, to a lesser extent, significant after-effects.
[0011] In reality, if the kinetic energy of a projectile actually dissipated in a target during an impact is an indisputable parameter, the dimensions of the projectile are also an important parameter so that it cannot penetrate without irreversible damage a part of a human being, such as an eye.
[0012] This is why projectiles have already been proposed that are shaped and / or have high deformability and have a diameter on impact greater than that of an eyeball, i.e. typically greater than or equal to 40 mm. Typically, these projectiles are made by molding a thermoplastic foam and have an essentially cylindrical shape whose length is of the order of 50 to 70 mm and whose diameter is of the order of 40 mm, with a front end portion in the form of a hemispherical cap.
[0013] In other words, these projectiles have large initial dimensions, greater than the usual calibers of lethal weapons, which implies the production of a weapon or launcher also of large dimensions and which can fire only one or at best two projectiles before having to be reloaded. We can cite here the defense ball launcher with a diameter equal to 44 mm marketed under the name "Flash-bail".
[0014] Patent applications refer to tilting ammunition, we can cite patent applications: FR3008786 (Al).
[0015] There is therefore a need to improve less-lethal projectiles, in particular less-lethal ammunition, for defense launchers or 12-gauge or other shotguns, in particular with a view to increasing the impact zone and reducing the risks of irreversible injuries that they are likely to cause.
[0016] The general aim of the invention is to partially meet this need. Statement of the invention
[0017] To this end and with reference to these drawings, the invention relates to a projectile for smooth or rifled barrel weapons dedicated to temporary neutralization, in particular for defense bullet launchers or 12 gauge shotguns or others, comprising [Fig.la] [Fig. 1b] [Fig. le][Fig.2] a body of quasi-cylindrical general shape longitudinal along a central axis (X) which materializes the direction of the trajectory of the ammunition, the external surface of which is made of deformable material(s) suitable for absorbing the energy of an impact on a target, comprising a head centered on said axis (X), comprising a front end in the shape of a half-sphere, the outer edge of which with a thickness of approximately between 1 and 5 mm allows guidance in the barrel and hollowed out in its center in order to house a deformable or non-deformable ballast and a rear part in the shape of an arc of a circle or cylindrical with the same diameter (Z) as the front part of the tail,
[0018] In this configuration, a tail in the form of a truncated cone, the outer edge of which is located on half of the front part and has a thickness of approximately between 1 and 5 mm, allows guidance in the barrel and / or the rifling, a front part in the form of an arc of a circle, a cone located at the rear allowing the propulsion gases to be sealed by deformation of the material, assembled with the rear end of the head by male-female assembly, by gluing or overmolding. The front part in the form of an arc of a circle or cylindrical is of the same diameter as the rear part of the head.
[0019] In a preferred embodiment, a ballast or core which has a truncated cone shape centered on said axis (X), housed in the female part of the head comprising a front end in the shape of a half-sphere and a flat rear part, characterized in that the ballast is composed of granular material or made of alveolar structures.
[0020] In an optimal configuration, the diameter (Z) is substantially equal to the length (L1) of the head and substantially equal to the length (L2) of the tail, and the head and the tail are of substantially equivalent length, for optimal deformation during impact by crushing the arc of a circle, for example for a caliber of 44x83mm, with a length of less than 40mm.
[0021] To complete this assembly, the head and the tail have a collar on the tail and a cavity in the head to ensure a good chemical bond by gluing or overmolding.
[0022] In a preferred embodiment, the head and the tail are made of thermoplastic and / or plastic material and can be made of two different materials and the ballast in granular form or made of cellular structures is contained in the head by a plug glued or enclosed inside before gluing when the tail does not have a hole. The constituent elements of the projectile are housed inside a case, either in whole or in part.
Claims
Claims
1. Projectile, in particular ammunition, for smooth-bore or rifled weapons dedicated to temporary neutralization, comprising a body (10) of quasi-cylindrical general shape longitudinal along a central axis (X) which materializes the direction of the trajectory of the ammunition, the external surface of which is made of deformable material(s) suitable for absorbing the energy of an impact on a target, comprising: - a head (11) centered on said axis (X), comprising a front end in the shape of a half-sphere, the outer edge (16) of which, with a thickness of approximately between 1 and 5 mm, allows guidance in the barrel and is hollowed out in its center in order to house a deformable ballast (13) or not and a rear part in the shape of an arc of a circle (17) or cylindrical with the same diameter (Z) as the front part of the tail, - a tail (12) in the shape of a truncated cone,whose outer edge (15) located on half of the front part and with a thickness of approximately between 1 and 5 mm allows guidance in the barrel and / or the rifling, a front part in the shape of an arc of a circle (18), a cone (19) located at the rear allowing the sealing of the propulsion gases by deformation of the material, assembled with the rear end of the head by male-female assembly, by gluing or overmolding, and a front part in the shape of an arc of a circle (18) or cylindrical with the same diameter (Z) as the rear part of the head, - a ballast or core (13) which has a truncated cone shape centered on said axis (X), housed in the female part of the head (11) comprising a front end in the shape of a half-sphere and a flat rear part, characterized in that the ballast is composed of granular material or made of alveolar structures.
2. Projectile, in particular ammunition, for smooth-bore or rifled weapons dedicated to temporary neutralization, according to claim 1, characterized in that the diameter (Z) is substantially equal to the length (L1) of the head (11) and substantially equal to the length (L2) of the tail (12).
3. Projectile, in particular ammunition, for smooth-bore or rifled weapons dedicated to temporary neutralization, according to claim 1, characterized in that the head (11) and the tail (12) are of substantially equivalent length, for example for a caliber of 44x83mm, less than 40mm in length.
4. Projectile, in particular ammunition, for smooth-bore or rifled weapons dedicated to temporary neutralization, according to claim 1, characterized in that the head (11) and the tail (12) have a collar (20) on the tail and a cavity in the head (21) in order to ensure a good chemical bond by gluing or overmolding.
5. Projectile, in particular ammunition, for smooth-bore or rifled weapons dedicated to temporary neutralization, according to claim 1, characterized in that the head (11) and the tail are made of thermoplastic and / or plastic material (12) and can be made of two different materials.
6. Projectile, in particular ammunition, for smooth-bore or rifled weapons dedicated to temporary neutralization, according to claim 1, characterized in that the ballast (13) of granular form or made of alveolar structures is contained in the head by a plug (14) glued or enclosed inside before gluing when the tail does not have a hole.
7. Projectile, in particular ammunition, for smooth-bore or rifled weapons dedicated to temporary neutralization (10), according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by a case inside which the projectile is housed, either in whole or in part.