Fabric (woven – knitted – or nonwoven textile or cloth – etc.) – Woven fabric – Woven fabric with a preformed polymeric film or sheet
Patent
1996-05-02
1998-08-25
Pezzuto, Helen L.
Fabric (woven, knitted, or nonwoven textile or cloth, etc.)
Woven fabric
Woven fabric with a preformed polymeric film or sheet
428913, 428919, F41H 300
Patent
active
057983046
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a camouflage fabric wherein the camouflage pattern is visible only under infra-red light. The camouflage pattern is not visible under visible light (i.e.light in the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum).
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Camouflage uniforms have for many years been provided to the armed services, to enable soldiers to blend into their surroundings and so minimise their risk of being seen by an enemy. Traditional camouflage patterns aim to visually disrupt the shape of the body, so that the body outline is less easily recognised, and also to provide colours or areas of light and dark which approximate their surroundings. Traditionally, such camouflage has been aimed at being effective in the visible region of the spectrum.
However, in recent years nightsights have become available which are responsive to infra-red light. Thus, a sniper in possession of an image intensifier nightsight is able to pick out a target at night, owing to its illumination by ambient infra-red radiation. The fabrics normally employed for military or police uniforms tend to have a higher infra-red reflectance that normal surroundings (for example temperate foliage) so that such persons present readily locatable targets at night. Fabrics are available which have camouflage patterns both in the visible and infra-red regions of the spectrum. However, such materials are not necessarily suitable for all types of security personnel. For example, visibly camouflaged uniforms are generally regarded as unsuitable for general use by police forces, whose normal uniform is generally a visually solid colour, such as green, brown, blue or black.
GB-1 605 261-A (Secretary of State for Defense) discloses a combined infra-red and visible light camouflage system in which the infra-red camouflage does not detract from the visible light camouflage. Further, the infra-red camouflage is selected to provide low emissivity and high reflectivity such that the object to be camouflaged will not be a strong emitter of radiation. The camouflage system may be provided by painting a visible light transparent binder carrying infra-red reflector material onto an object which has already been painted with conventional visible pigments.
GB-2 001 417-A (Continental Gummiwerke Aktiengesellschaft) discloses a tarpaulin in which the outer layer has regions of varying infra-red reflectivity to provide an infra-red visible camouflage pattern.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a fabric wherein the camouflage pattern is only discernable under infra-red radiation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Thus, the present invention provides a fabric which comprises a camouflage pattern, the pattern being invisible under visible light but visible under infra-red light.
Generally, the fabric appears under visible light to have a continuous solid colour. This is usually a dark colour, but could be a light colour, provided that any of the infra-red camouflage which is apparent is filled in with a compensatory visible but infra-red invisible pattern. However, the fabric may be printed with a non-camouflage pattern visible in the visible region of the spectrum.
According to the present invention a fabric can be printed with a camouflage pattern which is visible only in the infra-red region but is invisible in the visible region. Generally, the fabric is printed with an infra-red absorbing material, such as carbon black, a chitin resin or other known infra-red absorbing pigment. Generally, the infra-red region of interest lies in the range 1000 to 1200 nm.
The overall infra-red reflectivity of the fabric will be arranged to match that of the surroundings in which it is to be used. For example, for use in temperate foliage (i.e. countryside and woodland in one of the temperate regions of the world) the overall infra-red reflectivity required is typically 35%. This figure may rise to 70% in desert conditions. Other values may be chosen for snow or urban conditions.
In order to achieve the chosen overal
REFERENCES:
patent: 3700397 (1972-10-01), Ramsley et al.
patent: 4095940 (1978-06-01), Weingarten
Pezzuto Helen L.
Samuels Gary A.
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