US20090114084A1 - Lightweight armor - Google Patents
Lightweight armor Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20090114084A1 US20090114084A1 US11/768,168 US76816807A US2009114084A1 US 20090114084 A1 US20090114084 A1 US 20090114084A1 US 76816807 A US76816807 A US 76816807A US 2009114084 A1 US2009114084 A1 US 2009114084A1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- armor
- pods
- lightweight
- deployable
- sensor
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
- 230000035939 shock Effects 0.000 claims abstract description 16
- 239000004744 fabric Substances 0.000 claims description 11
- 229920006231 aramid fiber Polymers 0.000 claims description 10
- 239000002360 explosive Substances 0.000 abstract description 6
- 230000004888 barrier function Effects 0.000 abstract description 4
- 239000003999 initiator Substances 0.000 abstract description 3
- 238000004880 explosion Methods 0.000 abstract description 2
- 230000004913 activation Effects 0.000 description 8
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 3
- 229920000271 Kevlar® Polymers 0.000 description 2
- 239000004760 aramid Substances 0.000 description 2
- 230000008901 benefit Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 2
- 239000004761 kevlar Substances 0.000 description 2
- 239000004677 Nylon Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000006378 damage Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000006260 foam Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000011521 glass Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000003450 growing effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 1
- 229920001778 nylon Polymers 0.000 description 1
- 238000012856 packing Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000000725 suspension Substances 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F41—WEAPONS
- F41H—ARMOUR; ARMOURED TURRETS; ARMOURED OR ARMED VEHICLES; MEANS OF ATTACK OR DEFENCE, e.g. CAMOUFLAGE, IN GENERAL
- F41H5/00—Armour; Armour plates
- F41H5/007—Reactive armour; Dynamic armour
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F41—WEAPONS
- F41H—ARMOUR; ARMOURED TURRETS; ARMOURED OR ARMED VEHICLES; MEANS OF ATTACK OR DEFENCE, e.g. CAMOUFLAGE, IN GENERAL
- F41H5/00—Armour; Armour plates
- F41H5/013—Mounting or securing armour plates
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Air Bags (AREA)
Abstract
A lightweight armor system senses a shock wave from an explosive and deploys an inflatable barrier before the arrival of shrapnel from the explosion. The sensor is tuned to frequencies associated with shock waves generated by known Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). The shock waves travel at between 25,000 and 30,000 feet per second and arrives at a vehicle before the shrapnel generated by the IED. The sensor generates a signal which is amplified and provided to a plurality of initiators in a plurality of nested pods. The nested pods inflate rapidly and form a barrier over areas requiring protection from the shrapnel.
Description
- The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/816,652 filed Jun. 26, 2006, which application is incorporated in it's entirely herein by reference.
- The present invention relates to vehicle armor and in particular to lightweight inflatable armor.
- Growing activities by terrorist groups have often included attacks against light vehicles using Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). Such IEDs have inflicted severe casualties and generated a need to increase the armor on vehicles such as the Hummvee widely in use by the military. Unfortunately, the additional armor has added significantly more weight than vehicle suspension was designed for resulting in accidents causing further injuries.
- The present invention addresses the above and other needs by providing a lightweight armor system which senses a shock wave from an explosive and deploys an inflatable barrier before the arrival of shrapnel from the explosion. The sensor is tuned to frequencies associated with shock waves generated by known Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). The shock waves travel at between 25,000 and 30,000 feet per second and arrives at a vehicle before the shrapnel generated by the IED. The sensor generates a signal which is amplified and provided to a plurality of initiators in a plurality of nested pods. The nested pods deploy rapidly and form a barrier over areas requiring protection from the shrapnel.
- In accordance with one aspect of the invention, there is provided lightweight armor including a base, inflatable armor pod segments, an inflator circuit, and gas sources. The inflatable armor pod segments reside in the base before inflation. The inflator circuit includes a shock wave sensor and a power amplifier electrically connected to the sensor for amplifying a signal from the sensor. The gas source is electrically connected to the power amplifier and inflates the armor when a shock wave is sensed.
- In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided lightweight armor including a base for mounting the armor, a plurality of nested pods, and a deployment circuit. The plurality of nested pods resides in the base before deployment and expands vertically when deployed. A aramid fiber armor surrounds each pod and aramid fiber cloth connects and covers consecutive pods limiting the vertical travel of the pods to provide an overlap of consecutive pods. The deployment circuit includes a shock wave sensor and a power amplifier electrically connected to the sensor for amplifying a signal from the sensor. A gas source is electrically connected to the power amplifier and provides gas for each pod for inflating the inflatable armor.
- The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following more particular description thereof, presented in conjunction with the following drawings wherein:
-
FIG. 1A is a side view of a lightweight vehicle with inflatable armor units according to the present invention residing on the vehicle body. -
FIG. 1B is a front view of the lightweight vehicle with the inflatable armor units residing on the vehicle body. -
FIG. 1C is a top view of the lightweight vehicle with the inflatable armor units residing on the vehicle body. -
FIG. 2A is a side view of the lightweight vehicle with the inflatable armor units according to the present invention residing on the vehicle body, with two of the inflatable armor units on the right side of the vehicle deployed. -
FIG. 2B is a front view of the lightweight vehicle with the inflatable armor units residing on the vehicle body, with two of the inflatable armor units on the right side of the vehicle deployed. -
FIG. 2C is a top view of the lightweight vehicle with the inflatable armor units residing on the vehicle body, with two of the inflatable armor units on the right side of the vehicle deployed. -
FIG. 3A is a detailed side view of the deployed inflatable armor unit. -
FIG. 3B is a detailed front view of the deployed inflatable armor unit. -
FIG. 3C is a detailed top view of the deployed inflatable armor unit. -
FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view of the deployed inflatable armor unit, taken alongline 4A-4A ofFIG. 3B . -
FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view of the deployed inflatable armor unit, taken alongline 4B-4B ofFIG. 3C . -
FIG. 5 is a detailed cross-sectional view of the deployed inflatable armor unit taken alongline 4A-4A ofFIG. 3B showing an inflator circuit and inflators. -
FIG. 6 is a diagram of the inflator circuit. -
FIG. 7A is a partial cross-sectional view a the pod assembly before activation. -
FIG. 7B is a partial cross-sectional view of the pod assembly after activation. -
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the bottom two layers before activation. -
FIG. 9 is a pivoting mount for mounting the inflatable armor unit. -
FIG. 10 is an end view of the inflatable armor unit. -
FIG. 10A is a cross-sectional view of the inflatable armor unit taken along line 10A-10A ofFIG. 10 . -
FIG. 11 is a time-line for deploying the inflatable armor unit. - Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding components throughout the several views of the drawings.
- The following description is of the best mode presently contemplated for carrying out the invention. This description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of describing one or more preferred embodiments of the invention. The scope of the invention should be determined with reference to the claims.
- A side view of a
lightweight vehicle 10 withinflatable armor units 12, according to the present invention, residing on the right side of the vehicle body is shown inFIG. 1A , a front view of alightweight vehicle 10 with theinflatable armor units 12 residing on the vehicle body is shown inFIG. 1B , and a top view of alightweight vehicle 10 with theinflatable armor units 12 residing on the vehicle body is shown inFIG. 1C . Theinflatable armor units 12 may be positioned underwindows 14 to protect the windows from shrapnel generated by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). Theinflatable armor units 12 may also be positioned at other locations, for example, below or above the front grill to protect the radiator, above wheel wells to protect tires, and next to any location requiring protection from shrapnel, for example, to protect otherwise exposed military or civilian personnel. - A side view of a
lightweight vehicle 10 with theinflatable armor units 12 residing on thevehicle 10 body, and theinflatable armor units 12 residing on the right side of thevehicle 10 deployed, is shown inFIG. 2A , a front view of thelightweight vehicle 10 with theinflatable armor units 12 deployed is shown inFIG. 2B , and a top view of alightweight vehicle 10 with theinflatable armor units 12 deployed is shown inFIG. 2C . Theinflatable armor units 12 comprise abase unit 13 anddeployable pod segments 16. Thepod segments 16 are shown deployed and covering windows 14 (seeFIG. 1A ) to protect vehicle occupants. - A detailed side view of the deployable
inflatable armor unit 12 comprisingpod segments 16 andbase 13 are shown inFIG. 3A , a detailed front view of thedeployable pod segments 16 and the base 13 are shown inFIG. 3B , and a detailed top view of thedeployable pod segments 16 and the base 13 are shown inFIG. 3C . - A cross-sectional view of the
deployable pod segments 16 and the base 13 taken alongline 4A-4A ofFIG. 3B is shown inFIG. 4A , and a cross-sectional view of thedeployable pod segments 16 and the base 13 taken alongline 4B-4B ofFIG. 3C is shown inFIG. 4B . Thepod segments 16 comprise a plurality of nestedinflatable pods pod 16 a-16 e has it's own gas source (comprising an initiator and an inflator) 18 a, 18 b, 18 c, 18 d, and 18 e respectively. Each gas source 18 a-18 e translates away from the base 13 when theinflatable armor unit 12 is deployed, thereby reducing the deployment time. Theinflatable armor unit 12 preferably inflates to a height H of approximately three feet. Theinflatable armor unit 12 preferably comprises between five pod segments and ten pod segments, and the number of pod segments may be adapted to the present use. The number of pod segments required is based on achieving a minimum inflation time and advanced inflators may also serve to reduce the number of pod segments required. The minimum inflation time is determined based on the shock wave speed, sensor speed, and shrapnel speed. - A detailed cross-sectional view of the deployed
inflatable armor unit 12 taken alongline 4A-4A ofFIG. 3B showing aninflator circuit 30 and the inflators, is shown inFIG. 5 , and a diagram of the inflator circuit is shown inFIG. 6 . Theinflator circuit 30 comprises asensor 20, abattery 22, a switch M, and apower transistor 24. Thesensor 20 is connected to thetransistor 24 bysensor wires 21. Thebattery 22 is connected to thetransistor 24 bybattery wires 23, with the switch M serially connected between thebattery 22 and thetransistor 24 in one of thebattery wires 23.Inflator wires 25 connect thetransistor 24 to the gas sources 18 a-18 e. - A partial cross-sectional view of the pod assembly before activation is shown in
FIG. 7A and a partial cross-sectional view of the pod assembly after activation is shown inFIG. 7B . Eachpod 16 a-16 e in thepod assembly 16 comprises an armor plates 52 a-52 e attached to pans 54 a-54 e respectively. The armor places 52 a-52 e are preferably made of aramid fibers and other ballistic materials. Aramid fibers or ballistic grade cloth strips 50 a-50 d connect consecutive and cover armor plates 52 a-52 e. Prior to activation, the cloth strips 50 a-50 d lay relaxed around the pod assembly exterior as seen inFIG. 7A , and after activation, the kevlar cloth strips are held in tension between the expanded pod layers. The aramid fiber cloth strips 50 a-50 d connecting and coveringconsecutive pods 16 a-16 e and limit the vertical travel of thepods 16 a-16 e to provide an overlap of consecutive pods 18 a-16 e. As seen inFIG. 7B , thepods 16 a-16 e deploy vertically and are vertically overlapped when deployed. - A cross-sectional view of the bottom two layers before activation is shown in
FIG. 8 .Gas generating materials 56 a and 56 b reside in thepans pod assembly 16. The pans 54 a-54 e preferably have channeled bottoms for added strength as needed. - A pivoting
mount 40 for mounting thebase 13 is shown inFIG. 9 . The pivotingmount 40 allows the base 13 to be adjusted to provide a maximum coverage for, for example, awindow 14. Thebase 13 is pivotally connected to the pivotingmount 40 at apivot 42 and indexed by index points 44. - An end view of the
inflatable armor unit 12 is shown inFIG. 10 and a cross-sectional view of theinflatable armor unit 12 taken along line 10A-10A ofFIG. 10 is shown inFIG. 1A . Theinflatable armor unit 12 includes anexterior skin 60 covering the top of thebase 12 and reaching down over the sides of thebase 13. Anylon scrim 62 resides under thecover skin 60 and extends down inside thebase 60. Aglass mat 64 resides under thescrim 62 and over thepod assembly 16. Theexterior skin 60 may be notched lengthwise to facilitate tearing when the pods are deployed. Foam filling 66 may be provided to fill in a gap between the pods and thebase 13. - The
bags 16 a-16 e are preferably made from an aramid fiber, a ballistic grade armor felt, or a ballistic grade fabric such as Kevlar fabric made by Dupont. An example of asuitable sensor 20 is a model 113A22 sensor made by PCB Piezotronics in Depew, N.Y. An example of a suitable inflator is a model DH-6 Infator made by ARC Automotive, Inc. In Knoxville, Tenn. - A time-line for deploying the
inflatable armor 16 is described inFIG. 11 . The IED is detonated at time 0.0. A shock wave travels away from the IED at between 25,000 and 30,000 feet per second. The shock wave reaches thevehicle 10, approximately 10 feet from the IED, in approximately 0.4 ms. Thesensor 20 senses the shock wave in approximately 0.1 ms after the shock wave has reached the vehicle 10 (total time 0.5 ms). The gas sources 18 a-18 e fire in 0.6 ms after receiving the sensor signal (total time 1.1 ms). Thepod segments 16 a-16 e inflate in approximately 1.3 ms (total time 2.4 ms). The shrapnel travels at approximately 1000 feet per second and thus reaches thevehicle 10 in approximately 10 ms in this example. - While the present invention is herein described using deployable pods, an alternative embodiment may replace the pods with air bags.
- While the invention herein disclosed has been described by means of specific embodiments and applications thereof, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention set forth in the claims.
Claims (8)
1. Lightweight armor comprising:
a base for mounting the armor;
deployable armor residing in the base before deployment and expanding vertically when deployed;
a deployment circuit comprising:
a shock wave sensor; and
a power amplifier electrically connected to the sensor for amplifying a signal from the sensor; and
a motive source for the deployable armor electrically connected to the power amplifier and providing.
2. The lightweight armor of claim 1 , wherein the deployable armor comprises a plurality of vertically overlapping deployable pods.
3. The lightweight armor of claim 2 , wherein the deployable armor comprises a plurality of nested pods prior to deployment.
4. The lightweight armor of claim 3 , wherein the deployable armor comprises a plurality of nested pods and the motive source comprises individual independent gas sources.
5. The lightweight armor of claim 3 , wherein the deployable armor comprises a plurality of nested pods comprising a pan with a base and sides and armor plates around the sides.
6. The lightweight armor of claim 5 , wherein the nested pods are connected by ballistic grade cloth strips.
7. The lightweight armor of claim 6 , wherein the armor plate are aramid fiber plates and the cloth strips are aramid fiber cloth strips.
8. Lightweight armor comprising:
a base for mounting the armor;
a plurality of nested pods residing in the base before deployment and expanding vertically when deployed;
aramid fiber armor surrounding each pod aramid fiber cloth connecting and covering consecutive pods and limiting the vertical travel of the pods to provide an overlap of consecutive pods.
a deployment circuit comprising:
a shock wave sensor; and
a power amplifier electrically connected to the sensor for amplifying a signal from the sensor; and
a gas source for each pod for inflating the inflatable armor, the gas source electrically connected to the power amplifier.
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US11/768,168 US20090114084A1 (en) | 2006-06-26 | 2007-06-25 | Lightweight armor |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US81665206P | 2006-06-26 | 2006-06-26 | |
US11/768,168 US20090114084A1 (en) | 2006-06-26 | 2007-06-25 | Lightweight armor |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20090114084A1 true US20090114084A1 (en) | 2009-05-07 |
Family
ID=40586819
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US11/768,168 Abandoned US20090114084A1 (en) | 2006-06-26 | 2007-06-25 | Lightweight armor |
Country Status (1)
Country | Link |
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US (1) | US20090114084A1 (en) |
Cited By (8)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
WO2011148165A1 (en) * | 2010-05-25 | 2011-12-01 | Mmic Eod Limited | Device for mitigating the effects of explosive events |
US8109557B1 (en) * | 2007-06-08 | 2012-02-07 | Salinas Gino J C | Vehicle armor mat |
US8677881B2 (en) | 2012-04-10 | 2014-03-25 | The Boeing Company | Method and system for attenuating shock waves via an inflatable enclosure |
US8740071B1 (en) | 2011-11-22 | 2014-06-03 | The Boeing Company | Method and apparatus for shockwave attenuation via cavitation |
US8806945B2 (en) | 2011-11-22 | 2014-08-19 | The Boeing Company | Method and apparatus for shockwave attenuation |
US8981261B1 (en) | 2012-05-30 | 2015-03-17 | The Boeing Company | Method and system for shockwave attenuation via electromagnetic arc |
US20160023543A1 (en) * | 2012-02-23 | 2016-01-28 | Mark A. Rutland | Inflatable door system, kit for inflatable door system |
US10739113B1 (en) * | 2018-08-14 | 2020-08-11 | Armorworks Holdings, Inc. | Rapid deployment anti-ballistic shelter |
Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US6029558A (en) * | 1997-05-12 | 2000-02-29 | Southwest Research Institute | Reactive personnel protection system |
US6279449B1 (en) * | 1999-11-08 | 2001-08-28 | Southwest Research Institute | Rapid deployment countermeasure system and method |
US20070000377A1 (en) * | 2004-11-01 | 2007-01-04 | Mjd Innovations, L.L.C. | Flexible collapsible armor structure |
-
2007
- 2007-06-25 US US11/768,168 patent/US20090114084A1/en not_active Abandoned
Patent Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US6029558A (en) * | 1997-05-12 | 2000-02-29 | Southwest Research Institute | Reactive personnel protection system |
US6279449B1 (en) * | 1999-11-08 | 2001-08-28 | Southwest Research Institute | Rapid deployment countermeasure system and method |
US20070000377A1 (en) * | 2004-11-01 | 2007-01-04 | Mjd Innovations, L.L.C. | Flexible collapsible armor structure |
Cited By (10)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US8109557B1 (en) * | 2007-06-08 | 2012-02-07 | Salinas Gino J C | Vehicle armor mat |
WO2011148165A1 (en) * | 2010-05-25 | 2011-12-01 | Mmic Eod Limited | Device for mitigating the effects of explosive events |
GB2493123A (en) * | 2010-05-25 | 2013-01-23 | Mmic Eod Ltd | Device for mitigating the effects of explosive events |
GB2493123B (en) * | 2010-05-25 | 2015-03-25 | Mmic Eod Ltd | Device for mitigating the effects of explosive events |
US8740071B1 (en) | 2011-11-22 | 2014-06-03 | The Boeing Company | Method and apparatus for shockwave attenuation via cavitation |
US8806945B2 (en) | 2011-11-22 | 2014-08-19 | The Boeing Company | Method and apparatus for shockwave attenuation |
US20160023543A1 (en) * | 2012-02-23 | 2016-01-28 | Mark A. Rutland | Inflatable door system, kit for inflatable door system |
US8677881B2 (en) | 2012-04-10 | 2014-03-25 | The Boeing Company | Method and system for attenuating shock waves via an inflatable enclosure |
US8981261B1 (en) | 2012-05-30 | 2015-03-17 | The Boeing Company | Method and system for shockwave attenuation via electromagnetic arc |
US10739113B1 (en) * | 2018-08-14 | 2020-08-11 | Armorworks Holdings, Inc. | Rapid deployment anti-ballistic shelter |
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Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
STCB | Information on status: application discontinuation |
Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION |