US4665794A — Armor and a method of manufacturing it

Claim 1

Independent Claim 79 words

Armor for protection against hollow-charge projectiles, comprising: a member with a cavity having a volume V H ; a plurality of nonmetallic, hollow, spherical filler elements densely packed within said cavity, said elements having an individual volume V F and a total pure solid material volume V FT , the ratio of V H /V FT being greater than 2; and a two-component polyurethane foam plastic which at least partially fills space in said cavity unoccupied by said elements.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 79 words

Armor for protection against hollow-charge projectiles, comprising: a member with a cavity having a volume V H ; a plurality of nonmetallic, hollow, spherical filler elements densely packed within said cavity, said elements having an individual volume V F and a total pure solid material volume V FT , the ratio of V H /V FT being greater than 2; and a two-component polyurethane foam plastic which at least partially fills space in said cavity unoccupied by said elements.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 21 words

The armor of claim 1, wherein said filler elements comprise a material selected from the group consisting of glass and ceramic.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 10 words

The armor of claim 2, wherein said material is ceramic.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 10 words

The armor of claim 3, wherein said ceramic is corundum.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 11 words

The armor of claim 1, wherein said member is armor plate.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 13 words

The armor of claim 1, wherein said member is an armor plate element.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 18 words

The armor of claim 1, wherein said plastic tightly binds said filler elements to form a self-contained block.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 21 words

The armor of claim 1, wherein said hollow, spherical filler elements have an outside diameter between 3 mm and 15 mm.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 28 words

The armor of claim 1, wherein said elements are arranged within said cavity with centers thereof in adjacent layers being laterally offset to achieve the greatest possible density.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 17 words

The armor of claim 1, wherein the ratio of V H /V F is greater than 100.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 17 words

The armor of claim 1, wherein the ratio of V H /V F is greater than 250.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 15 words

The armor of claim 1, wherein the ratio of V H /V FT is 2.5.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 13 words

The armor of claim 1 wherein sheathing is coupled to said filler elements.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 20 words

The armor of claim 13, wherein said sheathing is selected from the group consisting of wire mesh and expanded metal.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 14 words

The armor of claim 13, wherein said sheathing is embedded between said filler elements.

Claim 17

Dependent Claim 31 words

The armor of claim 1 wherein at least one layer of nonmetallic members is adjacent to said filler elements, said nonmetallic member being of a different size than said filler elements.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 11 words

The armor of claim 16, wherein said nonmetallic member is plate-shaped.

Claim 19

Dependent Claim 21 words

The armor of claim 17, wherein said nonmetallic member comprises a material selected from the group consisting of glass and ceramic.

Claim 20

Dependent Claim 11 words

The armor of claim 18, wherein said nonmetallic member is sheathed.

Claim 21

Dependent Claim 20 words

The armor of claim 19, wherein said sheath comprises a material selected from the group consisting of plastic and elastomer.

Claim 22

Dependent Claim 48 words

The armor of claim 17, wherein said at least one layer is positioned on the side of the cavity opposite the side of said armor facing main exposure to said hollow-change projectiles, and said at least one layer comprises about 33% of the total thickness of said armor.

Claim 23

Dependent Claim 14 words

The armor of claim 1 wherein spherical explosive-filled elements are housed in said cavity.

Claim 24

Dependent Claim 26 words

The armor of claim 22, wherein said explosive-filled elements comprise between 0% and 30% of the combined total of said hollow elements and said explosive-filled elements.

Claim 25

Dependent Claim 18 words

The armor of claim 23, wherein said explosive-filled elements comprise between 0% and 1% of said combined total.

Claim 26

Dependent Claim 24 words

The armor of claim 23, wherein said explosive-filled elements are located on the side of the cavity facing main exposure to the hollow-charge projectiles.

Claim 27

Dependent Claim 24 words

The armor of claim 1, further comprising an explosive sheet located on the side of the cavity facing main exposure to the hollow-charge projectiles.

Claim 28

Independent Claim 118 words

An apparatus for protection against both hollow-charge projectiles and non-hollow-charge projectiles, comprising: a first armor for protection against hollow-charge projectiles, said first armor including: a member with a cavity having a volume V H , a plurality of nonmetallic, hollow, spherical filler elements densely packed within said cavity, said elements having an individual volume V T and a total pure solid material volume V FT , the ratio of V H /V FT being greater than 2, and a two-component polyurethane foam plastic, which at least partially fills space in said cavity unoccupied by said elements; and a second armor coupled to said first armor, said second armor having a means for providing protective effect against non-hollow-charge projectiles.

Claim 29

Independent Claim 118 words

An apparatus for protection against both hollow-charge projectiles and non-hollow-charge projectiles, comprising: a first armor for protection against hollow-charge projectiles, said first armor including: a member with a cavity having a volume V H , a plurality of nonmetallic, hollow, spherical filler elements densely packed within said cavity, said elements having an individual volume V T and a total pure solid material volume V FT , the ratio of V H /V FT being greater than 2, and a two-component polyurethane foam plastic, which at least partially fills space in said cavity unoccupied by said elements; and a second armor coupled to said first armor, said second armor having a means for providing protective effect against non-hollow-charge projectiles.

Claim 30

Dependent Claim 61 words

Armor for protection against hollow-charge projectiles comprising: a member with a cavity having a volume V H ; and a plurality of nonmetallic, hollow, spherical filler elements densely packed within said cavity, said elements having an individual volume V F and a total solid pure material volume V FT , the ratio of V H /V FT being greater than 2.

Claim 31

Dependent Claim 61 words

Armor for protection against hollow-charge projectiles comprising: a member with a cavity having a volume V H ; and a plurality of nonmetallic, hollow, spherical filler elements densely packed within said cavity, said elements having an individual volume V F and a total solid pure material volume V FT , the ratio of V H /V FT being greater than 2.

Claim 32

Dependent Claim 20 words

The armor of claim 28 wherein a binder, at least partially fills space in said cavity unoccupied by said elements.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1990-05-18	1990-11-17	1991-05-19	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1994-05-18	1994-11-17	1995-05-19	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	1998-05-18	1998-11-17	1999-05-19	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Armor and a method of manufacturing it

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