Stock material or miscellaneous articles – Pile or nap type surface or component – Particular backing structure or composition
Patent
1990-04-17
1992-10-06
Lesmes, George F.
Stock material or miscellaneous articles
Pile or nap type surface or component
Particular backing structure or composition
428 85, 428 91, 428300, 428919, B32B 3300, B32B 506, B32B 302, B32B 522
Patent
active
051530457
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The invention regards a camouflage covering which is intended for fixing on surfaces which are likely to be heated and therefore detectable by infrared reconnaissance. A particular use is for covering some or all surfaces of tanks.
It is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,659,602 to apply mats of carpet type for this purpose. According to WO87/03082, it is also known to include in such a mat some yarn strands or natural wool, which will take up rain water or other applied moisture, which with atmospheric evaporation will give a lowered temperature signature.
It is an object of the present invention to obtain a camouflage covering having a carpet structure, and including good camouflage properties in the visible, and against radar reconnaissance, which combines particularly good IR camouflage properties and a non-prohibitive price.
According to the invention, such a mat-like camouflage covering is obtained by means of a judicious choice of layers which are bound together by means of appropriate needling methods, which are known per se in the carpeting industry.
For the purpose of explaining this invention, it may therefore be sufficient to remind that ordinary needling is made by sticking through a web of collected fibers with sets of needles, which on the other side pass through holes in a counterplate. Dilo needling is made by letting the needles pass through the web and end up in a brush.
According to the invention, a mat-like structure having the desired properties is obtained by needling together several webs of different materials, one of which comprises a so-called super-absorbent material. There exist several such materials, some of which have a very poor structure when wet, e.g. metoxycellulose. It is therefore preferred to use some such material which has better structural properties when wet, e.g. an acrylic-based fiber-like Lanseal, mixed with some fibers which further improve the structure, like rayon and/or polypropene.
It is advantageous to include in the structure some fibers which are hydrophilic, as this will improve evaporation from the layer comprising super-absorbent material. It is also advantageous to comprise in all the webs, or at least some, electrically conducting fibers, as this will give a good radar absorption property. The fact that the radar absorbency is distributed in a three-dimensional structure improves substantially the radar camouflage effect.
For obtaining a good visual camouflage effect, it is a particularly advantageous feature that the outermost pile of the camouflage covering is a Dilo-made pile, which substantially diminishes light reflexion properties.
In order to obtain a long-term effect of a wetted camouflage, it is advantageous to include near the bottom a reflecting layer comprising an aluminum foil or an aluminized web of plastic material. This will also improve the radar camouflage properties. Another advantageous feature is to add a bottom layer comprising much air, such as a net or a canal structure, which will give thermal insulation and/or a possibility of heat transport by convection traverse to the covering when situated vertically or near vertical.
The camouflage covering having the form of a web with a certain stiffness will have to be tailored in order to mount it, e.g. by means of adhesive. In order to cover e.g. surfaces with a double curvature, it may be partially cut up checker-wise, admitting a substantial conforming. It may also be affixed to a waffled web on the backside, in order to obtain thermal insulation.
The invention will be further understood by reference to an exemplary embodiment, the manufacture of which is visualized schematically in the FIGURE.
The Figure shows the various steps of manufacture of a camouflage covering according to the invention, by combining webs, most of them made from fibers in non-woven state. The making of webs of simply laid out fiber layers has been symbolized by simple hoppers, as the man of the art familiar with the manufacture of needle-felt and related textile structures will know how to make such layers. Th
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Diab-Barracuda AB
Lesmes George F.
Morris Terrel
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