FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a gas dispenser. In particular, the invention relates to a gas dispenser and a non-lethal grenade that can temporarily incapacitate offenders.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Non-lethal weapons have long been used by police forces as a method of riot control and by civilians as a means of self-defence. The introduction of non-lethal chemical agents such as tear gas and offensive odour canisters were especially effective in subduing a rioting crowd without the use of violence.

From the 1980s, non-lethal personal side arms, such as pepper spray, were developed for non-lethal resolution of one-on-one conflicts. These weapons were readily adopted for use in self-defence by the public, as the inflammatory effect was effective in providing a user an opportunity to escape while the offender was temporarily incapacitated.

The use of non-lethal chemical agents was extended to non-lethal hand grenades which released a gas instead of exploding. A tear gas grenade for example, contains a mixture of 2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile (CS) gas and a pyrotechnic composition for generating smoke that causes extreme irritation to the eyes and, if inhaled, to the nose and throat. In addition to CS gas, other gases and chemical agents were developed for use in tear gas grenades.

Another variety of non-lethal grenades is the stun grenade, which produces a blinding flash of light and a loud noise which serves to temporarily disorientate an offender. However, no components of the presently available tear gas grenades and stun grenades are reusable, which results in high cost of use. It is an object of the invention to reduce the cost of using tear gas grenades and stun grenades.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a gas dispenser, the gas dispenser including

an attachment formation for attaching to a replaceable outer casing;

an elongate chamber shaped and dimensioned to receive a pressurised gas canister between two opposed ends; and

a manual dispensing mechanism longitudinally displaceable within the elongate chamber to drive a piercing element into a head of the pressurised gas canister such that a pressurised gas is released into the outer casing, the piercing element disposed at one of the opposed ends.

The manual dispensing mechanism may extend partially into the elongate chamber at one of the opposed ends, such that an inner portion extends into the elongate chamber and an outer portion protrudes from the elongate chamber.

The manual dispensing mechanism may include a guide which guides it into the elongate chamber, the manual dispensing mechanism being longitudinally movable within the guide.

The gas dispenser may include bias means arranged to bias the manual dispensing mechanism towards a non-piercing position, such that the head of the canister is urged away from the piercing element when the dispensing mechanism is not displaced.

The elongate chamber may include a removable cap at one of the ends of the elongate chamber.

The cap may be positioned opposite the manual dispensing mechanism. The cap may have an attachment formation which is complementary to an attachment formation on the elongate chamber for attaching the cap to the elongate chamber.

In one embodiment the piercing element may be disposed on an inside of the cap, such that the manual dispensing mechanism drives a canister, being retained in use in the elongate chamber, towards the piercing element so that the head of the canister is driven onto the piercing element, when the manual dispensing mechanism is displaced longitudinally into the elongate chamber.

The cap may include a compression spring arranged around the piercing element to receive a neck of the canister, the spring acting between the inside of the cap and the neck of the canister to urge the piercing element away from the head of the canister.

In another embodiment the piercing element may be disposed at an inner end of the manual dispensing mechanism, such that the piercing element is driven into the head of a canister, in use being retained in the elongate chamber, when the manual dispensing mechanism is longitudinally displaced.

The manual dispensing mechanism may include a compression spring arranged around the piercing element to receive a neck of the canister, the spring acting between the manual dispensing mechanism and the neck of the canister to urge the piercing element away from the head of the canister.

The piercing element may be in the form of any one of a sharp tip, a bolt, a spike, a barb, or the like. The outer portion of the manual dispensing mechanism may include a transverse pin hole for receiving a removable pin, the pin, when inserted into the pinhole, inhibiting the manual dispensing mechanism from being depressed longitudinally into the elongate chamber. In use, the pin may be removed from the pin hole to enable the user to depress the manual dispensing mechanism, thereby driving the piercing element into the head of the gas canister. The attachment formation may be in the form of a fastening ring for fastening the manual dispensing mechanism to the outer casing.

The fastening ring may include a first fastening formation which is complementary to a fastening formation on the guide for securing the ring to the guide.

The fastening ring may include a second fastening formation which is complementary to a fastening formation on the outer casing for securing the ring to the outer casing. The gas dispenser may include a gas control mechanism for controlling the rate of release of gas from the canister into the replaceable outer casing, the pressure of the released gas causing the outer casing to rupture, in use.

The gas control mechanism may control the rate at which gas escapes from the chamber into the outer casing thereby to cause a predetermined delay from the time the gas is released in the chamber to the rupture of the outer casing due to excessive pressure in the outer casing.

In another embodiment, the manual dispensing mechanism may include sealing means on an outer circumference thereof to engage an inside of a cup discharger into which the gas dispense is mountable.

The sealing means may be in the form of at least one O-ring, fitted into an outer circumference of the manual dispensing mechanism.

The manual dispensing mechanism may be in the form of an inverted cup shaped with at least one O-ring fitted on an outer circumference of the manual dispensing mechanism. According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a non-lethal grenade, which includes:

a gas dispenser as described above; and

a replaceable outer casing which is attachable to the gas dispenser.

The outer casing may contain a distracting substance for distracting an offender upon dispersion, the distracting substance being in the form of a non-lethal chemical agent, coloured powder, or the like. The distracting substance may be pepper powder.

In use, upon the outer casing being raptured, the substance within the outer casing is discharged in an explosive manner. After use, the raptured outer casing may be replaced by a replacement outer casing, and the spent gas canister may be replaced with a new gas canister.

The invention is now described, by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawings:

FIGURE(S)

In the figure(s):

Figure 1 shows a sectional view of a gas dispenser according to one aspect of the invention;

Figure 2 shows a sectional view of a non-lethal grenade according to a second aspect of the invention, containing the gas dispenser of Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 shows a side view of the non-lethal grenade of Figure 2 having a pin inserted in a pin hole;

Figure 4 shows a side view of the non-lethal grenade of Figure 2, the pin being removed from the pin hole;

Figure 5 shows a three-dimensional view of the non-lethal grenade according to a second aspect of the invention; and Figure 6 shows a sectional view of a cup discharger mounted on a rifle barrel with the non-lethal grenade of Figure 2 installed in the cup discharger.

In the drawings, like reference numerals denote like parts of the invention unless otherwise indicated.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

In Figure 1 reference numeral (10) refers to a gas dispenser having an elongate chamber (12) that is shaped and dimensioned to receive a gas canister (14) between two opposed ends (12a, 12b). The gas dispenser (10) includes a manual dispensing mechanism (16) which is arranged to drive a piercing element (18) into a head (14a) of the canister (14).

As shown in Figures 2 to 5, reference numeral (100) refers to a non-lethal grenade wherein the gas dispenser (10) is attached to a replaceable outer casing (102).

The manual dispensing mechanism (16) extends partially into the elongate chamber (12) at one of the opposed ends (12a), such that an inner portion (16a) extends into the elongated chamber (12) and an outer portion (16b) protrudes from the elongated chamber (12). The manual dispensing mechanism (16) includes a guide (20) which secures it to the elongate chamber (12) after the canister (14) is inserted. The manual dispensing mechanism (16) is longitudinally displaceable within the guide (20) and is co- axially displaced within the elongate chamber (12) when it is depressed by a user.

The manual dispensing mechanism (16) is biased towards a non-piercing position by means of a compression spring (24), such that the head (14a) of the canister (14) is urged away from the piercing element (18).

The elongate chamber (12) includes a cap (22) at one of the opposed ends (12b) of the elongate chamber (12). The cap (22) is located opposite the manual dispensing mechanism (16). The cap (22) has an attachment formation in the form of a screw thread (22a) which is complementary to an attachment formation in the form of a threaded socket on the elongate chamber (12) for removably attaching the cap (22) to the elongate chamber (12).

In one embodiment (shown in Figure 2), the piercing element (18) is affixed to the cap (22), such that the manual dispensing mechanism (16), when depressed to overcome the bias of the compression spring (24), drives the head (14a) of the canister (14) onto the piercing element (18). The cap (22) holds the spring (24) around the piercing element (18) to receive a neck (14b) of the canister (14). The spring (24) inhibits the head (14a) of the canister (14) from being pierced by the piercing element (18) until the manual dispensing mechanism (16) has been depressed against the bias of the compression spring (24).

In this example, the piercing element (18) is a separate component insertable into the cap (22).

As shown in Figure 4, the outer portion (16b) of the manual dispensing mechanism (16) includes a transverse pin hole (26) for receiving a removable pin (28). As seen in Figures 2 and 3, the pin (28) is inserted into the pin hole (26) to inhibit the manual dispensing mechanism (16) from being unintentionally depressed by the user. The pin (28) is capable of being reinserted into the pin hole (26) after removal, if the manual dispensing mechanism (16) has not been depressed.

The gas dispenser (10) further includes a threaded fastening ring (30) with a fastening formation (30b) in the form of a threaded socket for attaching the gas dispenser (10) to the outer casing (102). The fastening ring (30) has a fastening formation in the form of a threaded aperture (30a) which is complementary to a fastening formation in the form of a threaded neck on the guide (20) to secure the ring (30) to the guide (20).

The outer casing (102) has a cavity (104) which can be filled with a distracting substance for distracting an offender upon dispersion, the substance being in the form of a non-lethal chemical agent, coloured powder, or the like (not shown). In a preferred embodiment the substance is pepper powder. The elongate chamber (12) includes a gas control mechanism for controlling the release of gas from the canister (14) into the replaceable outer casing (102), the pressure of the released gas causing the outer casing (102) to rupture. The gas control mechanism controls the rate at which gas escapes from the chamber (12) into the outer casing (102) thereby to cause a predetermined delay from the time the gas is released in the chamber (12) to the rupture of the outer casing (102) due to excessive pressure in the outer casing. In this embodiment, the gas control mechanism is in the form of the threaded sockets on the opposed ends of the chamber (12) that are not hermetically sealed and which permits gas to escape at a predetermined rate through the threaded sockets.

In use, the pin (28) is removed from the pin hole (26) of the non-lethal grenade (100) to enable the user to depress the manual dispensing mechanism (16), thereby driving the piercing element (18) into the head (14a) of the gas canister (14). The pierced canister (14) releases the pressurised gas into the outer casing (102) to create a pressure build up, thereby causing the outer casing (102) to rupture in an explosive manner and disperse the substance within.

After use, the gas dispenser (10) can be recharged by replacing the gas canister (14) through removal and replacement of the cap (22) and by replacing the ruptured outer casing (102) with a replacement outer casing (102).

In Figure 6 another embodiment of a non-lethal grenade (200), in which a dispensing mechanism (216) is shaped as an inverted cup with two longitudinally spaced O-rings (202, 204) mounted into two laterally spaced circumferential slots (206, 208).

As can be seen in Figure 6, the non-lethal grenade (200) is mounted into a cup discharger (250), where the inverted cup dispensing mechanism (216) forms a seal with the cylindrical inside surface of the cup discharger body (252).

The cup discharger (250) is shown mounted on a barrel (300) of a shotgun (not shown) by means of self locking clamps (280, 282) mounted over finger like protrusions (284) extending over an end of the barrel (300). The cup discharger (250) further includes an expansion chamber (254) between the end of the barrel (300) and the dispensing mechanism (216).

As can be seen in Figure 6, the inside surface of the cup discharge body (252) is matched to the outer diameter of the dispensing mechanism (216) and the outer casing (102) so as to utilise expanding gas after a discharge from the gun to drive the grenade (200) from the cup discharger (250).

In use, the cup discharger (250) is typically mounted onto a shotgun barrel (300). The shotgun is loaded with a rubber bullet and upon firing the shotgun, the rubber bullet (not shown) activates the dispensing mechanism (216) by driving the canister (14) into the piercing element (18). The expanding gas from the barrel (300) drives the grenade (200) from the cup discharger (250) to launch it towards a deployment area. Advantageously the gas dispenser can be reused, by reloading it with a new outer casing (102) to provide a reworked non-lethal grenade.

The inventor believes that the invention provides a new gas dispenser and a non-lethal grenade that can temporarily incapacitate offenders.