Convertible Ballistic Shield with Sliding Panel Interconnections
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional ballistic shields lack the ability to be easily adjusted in length and adapted for different user positions, providing inconsistent protection and mobility in military and law enforcement scenarios.
Innovation Solution
A convertible ballistic shield comprising multiple cooperating panels with sliding interconnections, allowing adjustable length between fully retracted and fully extended conditions, incorporating high-performance fibers and optional features like impact plates and sight windows, enabling flexible and adaptable protection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the ballistic shield is made with fixed length panels, then the structural simplicity is maintained, but the adaptability to different user positions and scenarios deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The ballistic shield is divided into multiple separate panels (first panel, second panel, third panel, fourth panel) that can be independently positioned and connected. This segmentation allows each panel to be adjusted to different positions along the sliding mechanism, enabling the shield to adapt to various user heights and protective requirements while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The shield incorporates sliding mechanisms with locking features that allow panels to be dynamically repositioned between fixed positions. The sliding panels can be adjusted along tracks or guides and locked at different positions, providing adaptability to different user positions and scenarios while maintaining structural integrity when locked.
2Reliability
If the ballistic shield uses a single fixed-length panel, then the manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but the ability to provide consistent protection across different scenarios deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The shield is constructed from multiple standardized panels that can be manufactured using the same processes and materials, ensuring consistent protective performance. Each panel can be independently manufactured to meet specific ballistic protection requirements, then assembled together with sliding connections to provide reliable protection across different scenarios.
Solution Approach 2:
The multiple panels are designed with universal sliding connections and standardized interfaces, allowing them to be assembled in different configurations for different protective needs. The same panel design and connection mechanisms serve multiple functions across various deployment scenarios, maintaining manufacturing simplicity while ensuring consistent protection quality.
3Ease of operation
If the ballistic shield panels are rigidly connected, then the structural stability is maintained, but the mobility and adjustability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The panels are connected through sliding mechanisms with locking features that provide dynamic connectivity. When locked, the connections maintain structural stability; when unlocked, they allow panels to slide for adjustment or collapse for compact storage. This dynamic connection system enables both mobility during adjustment and stability during deployment.
Solution Approach 2:
The shield panels can be collapsed into a compact nested configuration when not in use, with each panel fitting within or alongside the others. The sliding connections allow the panels to nest together efficiently, improving mobility and portability while maintaining structural integrity when deployed and locked in position.
4Reliability
If the ballistic shield is designed with extended length for maximum protection, then the protective coverage is improved, but the portability and storage efficiency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The shield employs sliding panels that can be extended to full length for maximum protective coverage when needed, then retracted to a compact size for portability and storage. The locking mechanism ensures that the extended configuration maintains structural stability and protective integrity, while the retracted configuration minimizes length for easy transport.
Solution Approach 2:
The shield is divided into multiple segments that can be independently positioned along the sliding mechanism. This segmentation allows the shield to be extended to full length for maximum protection by positioning all panels in the extended configuration, or collapsed to a compact size for portability by retracting the panels, thereby resolving the contradiction between protective coverage and portability.
Data Source
AI summary
A convertible ballistic shield includes a plurality of cooperating ballistic panels. Each ballistic panel has a threat-side surface and a protected-side surface, and opposing end edges. A first elongated panel strap is attached to the threat-side surface of one of the ballistic panels between its opposing end edges. A second elongated panel strap is attached to the protected-side surface of an adjacent one of the ballistic panels between its opposing end edges. A ring connector is slidably linked to both of the first and second panel straps. The ring connector is adapted for slidably interconnecting the adjacent panels together wherein the threat-side surface of one panel is adapted to overlie the protected-side surface of the adjacent panel, and the adjacent panels are slidably movable relative to one another such that an overall length of the ballistic shield is selectively adjustable between a fully retracted condition and a fully extended condition.