Safe equipment protecting soldiers or people from bullets and shrapnel
A portable umbrella with a bulletproof canopy addresses the inadequacies of existing protective gear by using high-strength materials and reinforcement, providing effective protection and visibility against bullets and shrapnel, suitable for soldiers and civilians.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- US18/651664
- Authority / Receiving Office
- US · United States
- Patent Type
- Applications(United States)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2023-05-04
- Filing Date
- 2024-04-30
- Publication Date
- 2026-01-08
- Estimated Expiration
- Not applicable · inactive patent
AI Technical Summary
Existing protective equipment for soldiers and individuals against bullets and shrapnel, such as hats and clothes, are inadequate in providing comprehensive protection, especially against high-powered gunfire and aerial drone attacks, with limited effectiveness and mobility.
A portable umbrella with a canopy made of high-strength bulletproof materials like fabrics, carbon fiber, steel, glass, or ceramics, reinforced with perimeter tapes and optional internal plates, designed to absorb kinetic energy and provide observation slots or glass-covered openings, allowing for quick deployment and visibility.
The umbrella effectively protects against bullets and shrapnel from various directions, offering mobility and visibility, suitable for both soldiers in battlefields and civilians in gun violence scenarios, by utilizing high-strength materials to absorb and deflect projectiles.
Smart Images

Figure US20260009623A1-D00000_ABST
Abstract
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] I hereby claim benefits of U.S provisional patent application No. 63 / 464,029 filed on 4 May 2023 and 63 / 464,253 filed on 5 May 2023. These two applications are currently pending and hereby incorporated by reference into this application.TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present invention generally relates to an equipment that protects soldiers or people against bullets from guns and shrapnel from explosive exploding. There is great progress in developing powerful guns and explosive but very limited protecting equipment for soldiers except hats and clothes. In a war, many soldiers are injured or killed by bullets from guns and shrapnel from explosive exploding. In united states, many people were killed by gun shootings.
[0003] Bulletproof material with high stiffness and tensile strength has been developed with new technology such as high strength fabrics, carbon fiber, special steel, glasses, ceramics, or alloy. A thin layer of those new material is hard to be penetrated by a bullet or shrapnel. If an umbrella canopy is made of those material, it can be used as a carriable shelter for a soldier or person.
[0004] If the bulletproof material for the umbrella canopy is transparent glass, there is no problem for a soldier to view through the glasses. Otherwise, small holes or narrow slots, with the size less than the diameter of a bullet or shrapnel, can be made in the umbrella for observation. A soldier can view through those small holes and narrow slots. A big hole covered by bulletproof glass can be made in the umbrella for observation.BACKGROUND ART
[0005] When a soldier is in the battlefield, he is under the threat of bullets or shrapnel from different directions. In a war, many soldiers are injured or killed by bullets from guns or shrapnel from explosive exploding. Normally trenches or shelters are built to protect soldiers against bullets or shrapnel. There has been good progress in hats or clothes with bulletproof material that protects a soldier or person against bullets from guns or shrapnel from explosive exploding, but the protecting effects are still limited. Especially with the development of drones, more and more attacks are from the air with more accuracy and quick mobility. With this protective umbrella at hand, a soldier can quickly protect himself from the drone attacks, hiding himself under the umbrella canopy of bulletproof materials.
[0006] In United States, gun violence is a serious problem. Especially many people were killed or injured in mass shootings. This carriable umbrella can protect the people from gun shootings.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The object of the present invention is to utilize the high stiffness and tensile strength of bulletproof material including but not limited to high strength fabrics, carbon fiber, special steel, glasses, ceramics, or alloy to protect a soldier or person against bullets or shrapnel. The bulletproof material is used as the canopy of an umbrella that is easy to be carried by a soldier or person.
[0008] An umbrella can use high strength fabrics or carbon fabrics as the canopy and the architecture of the umbrella is same as a normal umbrella for rains has. The existing bulletproof high strength fabrics such as Kevlar or polyethylene fabrics are light and strong enough with multi-layers to stop a bullet from a gun with low firepower, e.g., a pistol.
[0009] One or multiple lines of perimeter tape is attached to the umbrella canopy to link all panels together. The perimeter tape is made of a rope of steel wire, high strength fiber or carbon fiber.
[0010] A mattress of stretchy material, e.g., sponge or rubber, can be added between two layers of the bulletproof fabrics or carbon fabrics to deplete the kinetic energy of a bullet or shrapnel.
[0011] To stop a bullet from a gun with high firepower, e.g., an AK-47 or a machine gun, plates of bulletproof material such as special steel, glasses, ceramics or alloy are added to the umbrella canopy. The plates of bulletproof material can be attached to top or bottom of the umbrella canopy. The plates are made of small pieces to be able to overlap with each other when the umbrella is closed. Tiny holes are made at sides or bottom of a plate. The plates are tied to each other and tied to the perimeter tape of the umbrella by a steel ring or a loose knot using steel wire, high strength fiber, carbon fiber through the tiny holes in the plates.
[0012] The plates of bulletproof material described in 0010 can be added between two layers of the bulletproof high strength fabrics or carbon fabrics of a canopy.
[0013] To provide comfortable space for a soldier or person, a manual umbrella can use a two-way slidable rod as a shaft, so the umbrella shaft can be slide back to a short rod after the umbrella is opened.
[0014] A zone with a few small holes or slots with size smaller than the diameter of a bullet is made in the umbrella canopy for a soldier or person viewing through if the canopy material is not transparent. If the size of a hole or slot is bigger than the diameter of a bullet or shrapnel, bulletproof glass is added to cover the hole or slot.
[0015] The umbrella canopy is made of many panel sections. When the umbrella is folded, each section of canopy is overlapping with others.
[0016] To make the umbrella easily carriable, an umbrella can be made of a folding umbrella with multiple sections. A perimeter tape made by a rope of steel wire, high strength fiber or carbon fiber is added between upper and lower sections of a panel. Two neighbor panel sections can be tied together by this perimeter tape with a steel ring or a loose knot by a wire of steel, high strength fiber or carbon fiber.
[0017] This protective umbrella uses the same architecture of a normal umbrella for rains. Each part of the umbrella such as rib tape, stretcher, shaft, stretcher, end tip, etc., needs to be strengthened with increased thickness and high strength material.
[0018] A rope with a nail or a screw can be added at each tip of the umbrella. The nail or screw can be used to fix the umbrella to the ground. A rod being attached to the handler of the umbrella can fix the umbrella to the ground. One way to make a rod attaching to the handler is a hole with thread at the bottom of the handler.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0019] FIG. 1 provides the primary horizontal view of an automatic umbrella when the umbrella is folded with the handle at bottom.
[0020] FIG. 2 provides the primary horizontal view of a manual umbrella when the umbrella is folded with the handle at bottom.
[0021] FIG. 3 provides the primary horizontal view of a manual umbrella when the umbrella is open with the handle at bottom.
[0022] FIG. 4 provides the vertical view of an umbrella panel that has four pieces of plates. Each plate is tied to another plate and to a perimeter tape with steel rings or loose knots by a wire of steel, high strength fiber or carbon fiber. When the umbrella is closed, those plates can overlap with each other.
[0023] FIG. 5 provides the cross-sectional view of a steel ring or a loose knot tying two pieces of plates together.
[0024] Following is the detailed information about the primary components of the device.
[0025] 1. An automatic umbrella. A person can open the automatic umbrella by pushing the open / close button. The canopy of the automatic umbrella is made of bulletproof material, including but not limited to bulletproof high strength fabrics, carbon fabrics, bulletproof steel, glasses, ceramics, or alloy.
[0026] 2. A runner of an umbrella.
[0027] 3. A stretcher of an umbrella.
[0028] 4. An umbrella canopy.
[0029] 5. A shaft of an umbrella.
[0030] 6. A handler of an umbrella.
[0031] 7. A top cap of an umbrella.
[0032] 8. A top notch of an umbrella.
[0033] 9. An open / close button of an umbrella.
[0034] 10. A tip of an umbrella.
[0035] 11. A perimeter tape that links all panel sections of canopy together. The perimeter tape can be made of a rope of steel wire, high strength fiber or carbon fiber.
[0036] 12. A tie wrap of an umbrella.
[0037] 13. A rope that is attached to the tip of an umbrella.
[0038] 14. A nail or screw that is attached to the umbrella tip by the rope mentioned in 13. The nail or screw is used to fix the umbrella to the ground.
[0039] 15. A rib tape of an umbrella.
[0040] 16. A piece of an umbrella panel.
[0041] 17. A big observation hole that is covered by a piece of bulletproof glass.
[0042] 18. An observation zone that has a few holes with size smaller than the diameter of a bullet.
[0043] 19. A small observation hole with size smaller than the diameter of a bullet.
[0044] 20. A rib of an umbrella.
[0045] 21. An umbrella outer canopy.
[0046] 22. An umbrella inner canopy.
[0047] 23. A manual umbrella. A person needs to push the runner (2) to open the manual umbrella. The canopy of the manual umbrella is made of bulletproof material, including but not limited to bulletproof high strength fabrics, carbon fabrics, bulletproof steel, glasses, ceramics, or alloy.
[0048] 24. A top spring.
[0049] 25. A bottom spring.
[0050] 26. A bullet flying toward the canopy of an umbrella.
[0051] 27. A piece of an explosion shrapnel flying toward the umbrella canopy.
[0052] 28. A steel ring or a loose knot that ties two pieces of plates together.
[0053] 29. A steel ring or a loose knot that ties a plate to a perimeter tape.
[0054] 30. A tiny hole at the side or bottom of a small plate. A steel ring or a wire of steel, high strength fiber or carbon fiber passes through the tiny hole to tie two plates or a plate to a perimeter tape.
[0055] 31. A plate of bulletproof steel, glasses, ceramics, or alloy. There are tiny holes at the sides or bottom of the plate. One plate is tied to another plate or a perimeter tape with a steel ring or a wire of steel, alloy or high strength fiber or carbon fiber. The plates can overlap with each other when the umbrella is closed.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0056] When a soldier or person opens an automatic umbrella (1), the soldier or person pushes the open / close button (9). The springs inside the shaft (5) will push or pull the runner (2) up and the umbrella (1) is fully open. To open a manual umbrella (23), a soldier or person needs to push the runner (2) up by a hand. Then the stretcher (3) will pull the umbrella canopy (4) up. The umbrella (23) is fully open after the runner (2) passes the top spring (24) at the shaft (5). The soldier or person can hold the handler (6) to move the umbrella (1) or (23) against the gun shooting direction. The umbrella canopy (4) can stop bullets (26) or explosion shrapnel (27) flying to the soldier or person.
[0057] A soldier or person can fix the umbrella (1) or (23) to the ground by the nails or screws (14) attached to the tip (10) of the umbrella (1) or (23). Then the soldier or person can hide under the inner canopy (22) of the umbrella (1) or (23). It would effectively protect the soldier or person from the bullets or explosive shrapnel flying from the air. It would be very effective in protecting a soldier or person from drone attack. For a manual umbrella (23), the shaft (5) can be made of two-way slidable rods so the shaft can be slide back to make more space for the soldier or person under the canopy (4).
[0058] When the umbrella (1) or (23) is open, the solider or person can watch through the observation hole (17) or zone (18) if the canopy is not transparent.
[0059] To close a manual umbrella (23), a soldier or person needs to manually pull the runner (2) down until passing the bottom spring (25). For some automatic umbrella (1), a soldier or a person only needs to push the open / close button (9) to close the umbrella (1). For some automatic umbrella (1), a soldier or person still needs to manually pull the runner (2) to close the umbrella (1).
[0060] When the umbrella (1) or (23) is closed, the umbrella (1) or (23) can be wrapped up by a tie wrap (12). A soldier or person can carry the umbrella (1) or (23) by hands.VARIATIONS OF THE INVENTION
[0061] There are many variations of the invention. Following are a few examples.
[0062] 1. An observation hole can be shape of a circle, a square, etc.
[0063] 2. For an umbrella with a canopy of multiple layers of bulletproof material, there are different ways to combine plates of different bulletproof material with bulletproof fabrics.
Examples
Embodiment Construction
[0056]When a soldier or person opens an automatic umbrella (1), the soldier or person pushes the open / close button (9). The springs inside the shaft (5) will push or pull the runner (2) up and the umbrella (1) is fully open. To open a manual umbrella (23), a soldier or person needs to push the runner (2) up by a hand. Then the stretcher (3) will pull the umbrella canopy (4) up. The umbrella (23) is fully open after the runner (2) passes the top spring (24) at the shaft (5). The soldier or person can hold the handler (6) to move the umbrella (1) or (23) against the gun shooting direction. The umbrella canopy (4) can stop bullets (26) or explosion shrapnel (27) flying to the soldier or person.
[0057]A soldier or person can fix the umbrella (1) or (23) to the ground by the nails or screws (14) attached to the tip (10) of the umbrella (1) or (23). Then the soldier or person can hide under the inner canopy (22) of the umbrella (1) or (23). It would effectively protect the soldier or perso...
Claims
1. An automatic umbrella (1) or manual umbrella (23) with a canopy (4) of multi-layers of bulletproof high strength fabrics or carbon fabrics, which cannot be penetrated by bullets (26) or explosion shrapnel (27), can protect soldiers or people behind or under the canopy (4) from gun shootings or explosive exploding.
2. One or multiple lines of perimeter tape (11) that is made of a rope of steel wire, high strength fiber or carbon fiber is attached to the rib (20) and links all umbrella panels (16).
3. A mattress of stretchy material, e.g., sponge or rubber, can be added between two layers of bulletproof fabrics or carbon fabrics in the canopy (4) to deplete the kinetic energy of a bullet (26) or shrapnel (27).
4. Plates (31) of bulletproof steel, ceramics, glasses or alloy being attached to the top or bottom of the canopy (4) or between two layers of bulletproof high strength fabrics or carbon fabrics of canopy (4) in the umbrella (1) or (23) in claim 1 can make the canopy (4) stronger to be penetrated against bullets (26) or explosion shrapnel (27) with high power.
5. The plates (31) in claim 4 are made as a few small pieces for each umbrella panel to be able to overlap with each other when the umbrella (1) or (23) is closed, wherein each piece of the plate (31) is tied to each other and tied to a perimeter tape (11) with a steel ring (28) or (29) or a loose knot (28) or (29) by a wire of steel or alloy or high strength fiber or carbon fiber through tiny holes (30) at sides or bottom of the plates (31).
6. The plates (31) in claim 4 can be added between two layers of bulletproof high strength fabrics or carbon fabrics of canopy (4).
7. One or multiple number of observation holes (17) covered by bulletproof glass or observation zones (18) with a few small holes (19) with size smaller than the diameter of a bullet (26) can be added to the canopy (4) of the umbrella (1) or (23) in claim 1.
8. The top cap, top notch, stretches, ribs, shaft of the umbrella (1) or (23) in claim 1 needs to be enhanced with proper thickness and material of high strength.
9. The umbrella (1) or (23) in claim 1 can be made as a folding umbrella for easy carrying.
10. The umbrella (1) or (23) in claim 1, wherein the outer canopy (21) is painted with a layer of water-resistant material, can be used as a normal umbrella against rains.