GB2455119A - Camouflage with photographic image tile array - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides an article bearing a camouflage pattern comprising a repeating tiled array of one or more images of part of all of or a region of a straw bale, crop field or stubble field. The invention also provides a method of making a camouflaged pattern all of or a region of a straw bale, crop field or stubble field, the method comprising selecting all of or a region of a straw bale, crop field or stubble field, capturing a digital image of all of or a region of a straw bale, crop field or stubble field, manipulating the digital image to form a tiled pattern comprising repeats of the image, and printing the tiled pattern onto a substrate.

Description

A CAMOUFLAGED ARTICLE

This invention relates to camouflaged articles and a method of forming a camouflaged article.

Background of the Invention

It has been known for many years to provide articles such as articles of clothing and vehicles, particularly military vehicles and clothing, with camouflage in order to reduce their visibility to an onlooker. Traditional methods of disruptive camouflage have typically involved the application of an abstract pattern of colour, typically shades of green and brown for land-based articles, in order to break up the outline of the article so that it blends into the background.

Once largely confined to military use, camouflaged articles, and in particular clothing bearing a camouflage print, have become increasingly popular in other areas of activity, for example in field sports and hunting where the camouflage is intended to render the hunter less visible to the quarry. Camouflage is also a useful too] to use when bird watching or making observations of other wildlife. It has long been recognised that different camouflage patterns are necessary for different types of terrain. For example, in a military cntext, the camouflage colours and patterns used in a desert terrain are typically different from those used in more verdant areas. Recently, manufacturers of camouflage clothing for non-military use, e.g. for use in hunting, have produced camouflage patterns based on woodland motifs.

Such patterns can be based on a repeat pattern of branches leaves and twigs derived from a photograph of trees found in the terrain for which the camouflage is intended to be used.

Whereas existing types of camouflage can be highly effective, there are many situations where a camouflaged article will stand out from the background even in areas of terrain for which it is designed.

To protect crops and during field sports typically pigeon shooting, there is a method of concealing the shooter by which straw bales are arranged in a farmed field typically forming four sides and is known as a bale hide. The hide is typically but not limited to being three bales high on each side and two bales long on each side.

There is normally a small gap left on one side so that the shooter can enter and exit the hide when required. There will also be either plastic bird decoys or dead birds of the type of quarry that the shooter is hunting typically wood pigeons arranged around the hide in a pattern which decoys the pigeons onto the field within range to be shot. The shooter will be in the middle of the bale hide and they shoot the pigeons from that point. It is well known that pigeons and other birds take no notice of the bale hide as straw bales are a natural feature of the farmland habitat.

They have no fear of the structure and as such will fly straight into land around the bale hide and even perch on the hide therefore being in range to be shot.

This method of shooting pigeons is not restricted to straw stubble fields but can also be used on green fields, pea fields, grassland, oil seed rape, corn fields, wheat fields, barley fields and freshly planted bare earth fields i.e. basically any land where birds or wildlife see straw bales as a natural feature of their habitat. The birds and other wildlife are used to seeing the straw bales left in the fields by the farmer and therefore they hold no fear for them. This is an extremely effective method of camouflage for the hunter. It is also effective when used with hay/wheat/barley bales or similar. This method of concealment is also used and works well for shooting Corvids, Wildfowl and other bird species on the pest list i.e. Doves, Feral Pigeons, Canada Geese etc. Other forms of hides need to be constructed against another structure for example a hedgerow, a tree or electricity pylon to be accepted by the pigeons, typically leaving the shooter frustrated and inflexible because he cannot get close enough to his quarry and thus the crops are unprotected and are open to being eaten. A bale hide on the other hand, can be placed anywhere for example on its own in the middle of the field, placing the shooter in a location he would not normally be able to shoot from, with the quarry being in perfect acceptance of the hide as a natural feature and therefore enabling the shooter to protect the crops effectively.

There are three main problems with this method of creating a hide from straw bales.

The first one is that straw bales are not always readily available and there is a very short window when the crops are cut in which they are actually out on the field.

Secondly even if the farmer has got bales in his barn he is often reluctant to allow the hunter to drive over the crop with the bales due to causing damage to the crop.

Thirdly transporting straw bales by hand to an appropriate spot on the field by the shooter to be arranged into a hide is not practical due to the shear size and weight of the bales. The desired spot is typically hundreds of metres away and sometimes a kilometre or more away from the nearest access point. When pigeon shooting the shooter may also need to move several times during a day to gain better access to the pigeons, so again it is completely impractical to repeatedly carry by hand between 12 and 20 bales to another spot. Up until this point due to the nature of shooting on the foreshore and marshland it has been basically impossible to benefit from a bale hide.

Thus there remains a need for a lightweight, portable, quick and easy to construct, all year round method of creating a bale hide.

Summary of the Invention

The present invention is based upon the recognition that bale hides provide highly effective camouflage to a shooter during pigeon shooting. Such bale hides hold no fear for pigeons, other birds or wildlife in their natural habitat and are optimally made to camouflage the shooter with the unique advantage that bale hides work anywhere i.e. in the middle of the field and do not require any other physical structures. It is envisaged therefore that using an image taken from a straw bale, stubble field, hay bale, wheat bale or similar crop as the basis for a camouflage pattern it will provide a camouflage effect when applied to material and constructed as a hide, applied to clothing or used in any other way to camouflage the person or their effects i.e. vehicles, seats, bags, rucksacks, guns, boots, hats, gloves, glasses etc. It is envisaged that using material printed with the straw camouflage pattern a hide can be constructed using either poles or similar framework or by draping the material over you, therefore giving the illusion of a bale hide but without the physical limitations. It will then be possible to use this highly effective form of camouflage in many shooting situation i.e. on the marshes and foreshore as well as agricultural land.

Accordingly, in one embodiment, the present invention provides an article bearing a camouflage pattern comprising a repeating tiled array of one or more images of part of a straw bale, stubble field, hay bale, wheat bale, or similar crop.

The camouflage pattern of the invention comprises a repeating tiled array of an image of a straw bale, stubble field, hay bale, wheat bale, or similar crop. The images are tiled, i.e. each image is joined to its neighbouring images, preferably so that the boundaries regions of adjacent images are merged so that no join is apparent. Each image, other than images at the edge of the pattern, will be joined to other images around its entire periphery.

A pattern may comprise repeats of a single image or more than one image, for example 2, 3 or 4 images. Preferably, however, the pattern will consist of repeats of a single image.

The pattern is applied to an article by means of a colouring process such as printing (e.g. bubble jet or ink jet digital printing, screen-printing, offset printing or dye-sublimation printing) or dyeing.

Each camouflage pattern of the invention is typically intended for use in any type of agricultural terrain, although not limited to this and makes use of images taken from a straw bale, stubble or crop field, hay bale, wheat bale, or similar crop that are found in that type of terrain.

The types of crop from which images can be taken can vary widely but typically is taken from a straw bale, stubble field, hay bale, wheat bale, or similar crop which forms a natural camouflage pattern.

The term straw bale as used herein covers all forms of crop bales and the term stubble fields as used herein covers all forms of stubble fields including pea, rape seed, wheat, barley and grass. The term crop fields as used herein covers all forms of mature or partially grown crop fields including pea, rape seed, wheat, barley and grass The image used in the camouflage pattern is an image of part of or the entire straw

bale, crop field or stubble field.

The image can be an image taken from a picture (e.g. a photograph, painting or other form of picture) of a straw bale, crop field or stubble field and is usually created in digital form or converted into digital form (e.g. by scanning) and then manipulated using computer software to create a tiled pattern. The tiled pattern can then be printed on to a suitable substrate.

The substrate can be, for example a flexible substrate such as cloth (e.g. canvas, cotton, wool, silk, man-made textiles and linen) or other textiles, sheet plastics or plastics film, thin metal sheet or any other suitable substrates. The flexible substrates can be in the form of rolls or sheets or, in some cases, can be printed onto formed articles.

The tiled pattern may also be printed onto a plastics, card or paper sheet substrate which may then be incorporated into a moulded product by the well known "in- mould labelling" process to give rise to a range of solid articles. By means of in-mould labelling, the camouflage patterns of the invention can be applied to a wide range of different articles such as buckets, cases, guns, equipment containers and wall and roof panels to name but a few.

The articles to which the camouflage patterns of the invention can be applied, either directly or by means of a method such as in-mould labelling, include clothing such as trousers, jackets, coats, hats, gloves, shirts, t-shirts, vests, gaiters, socks and capes, as well as fabrics for making up into bags and containers such as holdalls and rucksacks, umbrellas, tents, hides or hide material and other shelters or tarpaulins and other covers, headgear, footwear, solid containers such as cases, boxes or buckets, guns, covers and shelters such as tents, marquees and tarpaulins, umbrellas, screens, sleeping bags, blankets, boots, wall and roof panels, and vehicles.

Detailed Description of the Invention

The invention will now be illustrated in greater detail by reference to the specific embodiments described in the following non-limiting examples.

EXAMPLE I

Preiaration of Printing Plate Containing Camouflage Pattern The following sequences of steps can be used to prepare a camouflage design suitable for use in a printing process using a printing plate.

Firstly, a digital photograph is taken of all of or a region of a straw bale, crop field or stubble field. If the image is being produced in spot colours, the image is then redrawn in Adobe� Illustrator and placed into Adobe� Photoshop where the image is split onto layers pertaining to the correct spot colour. If the image is being produced in a standard four colour (i.e. Cyan-Magenta-Yellow-Black (CMYK)) process, then the image's levels and sharpness are adjusted in Adobe Photoshop and any dust or scratches removed. The image is then manipulated in Photoshop to create an image that will tile correctly when placed next to itself on whatever medium is required. The digitised finished artwork is then supplied on CD to a plate-maker for the preparation of printing plates in standard fashion.

EXAMPLE 2

Digital Printing of Camouflage Pattern As with Example 1, the first step in the process involves capturing a digital image of all of or a region of a straw bale, crop field or stubble field. The digital image may initially be captured and recorded by a digital camera, either as a TIFF file or in a format that can subsequently be converted into a TIFF file using known and widely available software. The digital image, or a selected part of the digital image, is then "tiled" using software such as Adobe Photoshop� to give a mosaic or tiled image comprising an array of repeats of the image. In the array, each image merges into the neighbouring image so that no join is apparent or is only apparent on very close inspection.

The tiled digital image can then be printed directly onto a fabric or item of clothing or other substrate using a digital printer. Examples of such printers are the Mimaki TX-3, Mimaki TX-2 and Mimaki TX-1600 digital textile printing machines, or similar machines, available from Mimaki Engineering Company of Nagano, Japan or Mimaki Europe B.V. of Amsterdam, Netherlands or their local distributors.

The camouflage pattern can be printed onto a wide range of different types of fabric and different types of articles. Examples of substrates include metal, wood, tiles, glass and curtains. For example, it can be printed onto natural or synthetic fabrics such as polyester, cotton, canvas, and elasticated fabrics such as lycra�. The articles to which the camouflage pattern can be applied include articles of clothing such as trousers, jackets, coats, hats, gloves, shirts, t-shirts, vests, gaiters, socks and capes, as well as fabrics for making up into bags and containers such as holdalls and rucksacks, or umbrellas, tents, hides or hide material and other shelters or tarpaulins and other covers.

As discussed above, the patterns can be printed onto a sheet material such as plastics, card or paper and the resulting printed sheet used in an In-Mould Labelling process to prepare various solid articles.

Equivalents It will readily be apparent that numerous modifications and alterations may be made to the specific embodiments of the invention described above without departing from the principles underlying the invention. All such modifications and alterations are intended to be embraced by this application.

Claims (11)

1. An article bearing a camouflage pattern comprising a repeating tiled array of one or more images of all of or a region of a straw bale, crop field or stubble

field.

2. An article according to claim I wherein the pattern consists of repeats of a single image.

3. An article according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the pattern has been applied to the article by printing, e.g. digital printing, or dye sublimation.

4. An article according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the item from which the image is taken is a straw bale, crop field or stubble field i.e. straw, hay, wheat etc.

5. An article according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the image is one in which features of shape of any part of bale or field may or may not be visible.

6. An article according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the image has been captured in a digital format, e.g. by means of digital photography or by scanning a picture.

7. An article according to any one of the preceding claims which is an article of clothing such as trousers, jackets, coats, hats, gloves, shirts, t-shirts, vests, gaiters, socks and capes, or a fabric for making up into bags and containers such as holdalls and rucksacks, or an umbrellas, tent, hide material or a constructed hide or other shelter, or a tarpaulins or other cover.

8. A method of making an article as defined in any one of the preceding claims, which method comprises capturing a digital image of all of or a region of a straw bale, crop field or stubble field, manipulating the digital image to form a camouflage pattern comprising tiled repeats of the image, and printing the camouflage pattern onto a substrate to form the article and optionally thereafter forming one article (such as a length of fabric) bearing the camouflage pattern into another article (such as an article of clothing).

9. A method of making a camouflaged pattern intended for use in replacement of a straw bale hide, the method comprising selecting all of or a region of a straw bale, crop field or stubble field, capturing a digital image of all of or a region of a straw bale, crop field or stubble field, manipulating the digital image to form a tiled pattern comprising repeats of the image, and reproducing (e.g. by printing) the tile pattern on a substrate.

10. A method making a camouflaged pattern substantially as described herein.

11. An article bearing a camouflage pattern substantially as described herein.