Shielding of automotive vehicles for the transport of passengers, goods or any others aimsat offering structural resistance against shots by fire weapons, so that a bullet reaching the external framework of such vehicle cannot penetrate it and reach its occupants. For that purpose, the metal plates of the car body and the window glasses are reinforced, by making use of materials that are more resistant and/or thicker than normal.

It is noteworthy that a point which has not filled the requirement of fully shielding the vehicle surface against shots is located between the ends of side glasses provided on the doors, when closed, and the shoulder the car body in which the doors are located. Although there is only a minimal probability that the course of a bullet leads to its penetration inside the vehicle through these non-protected regions, its consequences may be serious, such as extensive physical injury and death.

The prior art already includes a few proposed solutions for that problem.

Patent application PCT W09939152 by Sachsehring Entwicklungsgesellschaft mBH proposes a laminate made of bullet-proof material provided between a few layers of reinforced glass on the upper end of such material laminate. When the glass is closed, said resistant laminate overlays an internal shielded cover, so as to eliminate any region through which a bullet might penetrate. That solution, although efficient, is extremely sophisticated and requires specialized handling at the glass formation area.

The U. S. Patent US 5,508,228 by Daimler-Benz AG proposes an arrangement of resistant parts, so that a bullet reaching that region allegedly rebounds inside an enclosed place, reducing is impulse and keeping it from penetrating inside the vehicle. That solution increases the protection over the full lack of shielding on that region, but only attenuates the problem, since it allows the bullet to get close to less shielded parts of the vehicle, thus limiting the safety of vehicle occupants.

The invention aims at overcoming deficiencies of the solutions found in prior art in a simple, efficient and cheap way, by including a shielding element equipped with a profile of at least two extended arms within the door frame of a vehicle.

The invention therefore deals with shielding for a vehicle window, characterized by providing a shielding element with a profile comprising at least two radial arms, located along the higher frame of the vehicle door.

The shielding of the invention includes a shielding element, with any constituting material, as long as appropriate to the proposed feature, i. e. resisting to the impact of a bullet shot towards it by a fire weapon. Obviously, the more resistant the material, the biggest the impact against which it can be resisted. A person skilled in the art knows how to design said material. Stainless steel is appropriately used, e. g. about 3 mm to 8 mm thick. However, metal laminates or alloys with other materials or metals, or with structures providing them with appropriate resistance, are not excluded.

The shape of said shielding element is particularly a profile with two arms disposed radially from a central point, co-planar or forming an angle between them selves.

Preferably, said arms of the shielding element profile are co- planar, embodied as a strip of material whose surface is placed substantially parallel to the surfaces of the door itself (i. e. in a parallel or substantially

parallel position), as well as to the door window glass.

Particularly, a third arm is present on the shielding element profile, e. g. substantially orthogonal to the other two when these ones are co-planar, thus forming a T-shape, with equal or different T arms.

A four-arm configuration is also appropriate, e. g. as a cross in which the arms are opposed in groups of two, with like or different dimensions, with equal or different angles among them, etc.

Three and four-arm configurations of said shielding element profile allow higher stability of said shielding element within the door frame where it is located. As the shielding element advances within the door frame, one or more arms can have their length or width varied.

The shielding element is preferably integral and continuous, but can also be formed by distinct and consecutive segments, whose ends eventually overlay.

The shielding element is fixed to the door frame in any way which is appropriate to its purpose. Spot welding is appropriately provided between the element and the door frame, especially in case of lesser compatibility between the shielding element material (e. g. stainless steel) and the door frame material (e. g. aluminum). Simply fitting the shielding element into the door frame is also included in the scope of the invention, with no limitation to any other alternative, e. g. when the shielding element is surrounded by rubber and inserted by pressure in the door frame.

The shielding of the invention allows the external appearance of the vehicle to be kept unchanged, so that its presence cannot be detected.

The invention is particularly appropriate for use in Audi A3 vehicles.

The figures below show a preferential embodiment of the invention, not excluding any other, being well understood that the scope of the

invention is determined by the contents of the attached claims. Figures are purposively schematic, with measurements or scales not necessarily corresponding to reality, since their purpose is to present the various aspects of the invention in a clear way.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1-side view of the right side door of an AUDI A3 vehicle.

Fig. 2-view of a cutting line AA crossing the upper door frame, with no shielding, at the position indicated by Fig. 1.

Fig. 3-the same view of Fig. 2, including the shielding of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 shows a side view of the right door of an AUDI A3 vehicle, comprising a upper frame (10), starting at point (1), with a closed curve at the point (2) and extending up to point (3), and a base (40). A glass laminate (30) is present, able to slide upwards and downwards within the frame (10). Alongside line (25), the door side is located at the shoulder (20) of the body of the vehicle.

Fig. 2 shows a cross section along line AA, as shown in Fig. 1.

Arrow (X) shows the external part of the vehicle, while arrow (Y) shows the direction towards the interior of the vehicle. Stainless steel plates (21) and (22) make part of the traditional shielding of the body (20). The block (23), made of e. g. rubber or soft materials, serves to shield the glass laminate (30) of the window to the body (20) and follows the structure (11) of the upper frame (10) of the door along points (1), (2) and (3). The glass laminate (30) comprises various reinforcing blades (30').

Fig. 2 also shows paths (I), (II), (III) and (IV) as examples of possible courses for bullets shot against the vehicle which might penetrate it, as long as they are not impeded by the glass laminate (30) or by the traditional shielding plates (21) and (22).

Fig. 3 shows the presence of a shielding element (15) fixed to the structure (11) of the upper frame (10). The shielding element (15) is configured in this example as a cross profile (with upper arm (16), laterals arms (17) and (18) and lower arm (19) opposed to the arm (16) inserted in the structure (11) after removing part of its profile. Side arms (17) and (18) are substantially parallel to the walls of the vehicle door and to the glass laminate (30).

Stainless steel element (15) is fixed by means of spot welding to the surface of the structure (11), made of aluminum (not shown).

As can be seen on Fig. 3, paths (I), (II), (III) and (IV) are duly interrupted by the arms of the element (15), whose presence eliminates the possibility of bullet penetration inside the vehicle, whichever the shot angle might be.

It is also noteworthy that the upper (16) and lower (19) arms are not totally indispensable to form a barrier against shots, but provide stability to the element (15) as fixed to the structure (11).

Concerning the AUDI A3 vehicle, when the element (15) reaches the point (3) of the door frame, arm (17) becomes much wider, so to fill in the space previously occupied by a triangle-shaped finishing piece fixed to that point (3) between the frame (10) of the window and the base (40) of the door.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention, whole vehicles equipped with shielding for vehicle windows are also protected, as described above.

One of the advantages of the invention over the solutions found in prior art is the fact that the presence of a single element (in this case, element (15)) is enough to fully solve the shielding problem in that region of shielded vehicles.