Ordnance – Shields – Shape or composition
Reexamination Certificate
1998-08-06
2002-03-19
Johnson, Stephen M. (Department: 3641)
Ordnance
Shields
Shape or composition
C428S911000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06357332
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally concerns (i) processes for making composite laminate materials from multiple sheets of thin metals; (ii) laminate composite materials so made; and (iii) uses of the laminate composite materials so made, particularly in lightweight armor.
The present invention particularly concerns (i) processes for making in air in a heated load press composite laminate materials at large size and low cost, including in contoured form; (ii) composite laminate materials having large numbers of (a) tough metal layers interleaved with (b) hard intermetallic regions; and (iii) the tailoring of hard composite laminate materials for use, among other applications, as lightweight vehicular and body hard armor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
2.1 Armor
The following discussion, and facts, are presently, circa 1998, available at many sites on the Internet. The following materials of this section 2.1 are in particular derived from information available, circa 1998, at the web site of Armor Technology Corporation, www.armortechnology.com.
2.1.1 Armor
Armor is a protective ‘skin’, or plating for protection of an underlying structure. There are basically three types of armor. Homogenous armor has the same hardness throughout. Face-hardened armor has an extremely hard outer layer while the rest is hard, but less brittle. Laminated armor is made up of several hard layers of material, such as steel, titanium, ceramics, etc.
Tanks and other military vehicles use abundant armor. Armor is also used in armored land combat vehicles, structural shields, load bearing security walls, armored cars and other commercial vehicles, high speed trains, cash carrying vehicles (especially as all-around protection); private cars (most usually in door and floor panels); financial institutions particularly in security doors, partitions and briefcases; private homes particularly in front doors, walls and partitions; helicopters and light aircraft particularly in seats, doors, panels, channels; and boats and small ships particularly in superstructures, cabins and control rooms.
Composite armors are efficient structural materials that also provide outstanding protection against ballistic projectiles. They were originally developed for military armored vehicles to eliminate the need for parasitic armor.
2.1.1 Background of Body Armor
The rationale for body armor is well established. As well as its obvious application in warfare, every year about 60 sworn police officers are shot to death in the United States in the line of duty. At the same time, about 20 are saved by wearing armor. Had all the officers shot in recent years been wearing armor when shot, another 15 per year would likely have been saved from fatal gunshot wounds, roughly doubling the present number saved, and more than 15 others would likely have been saved from death by other causes.
Most police officers serving large jurisdictions report they have armor and wear it at all times when on duty and clearly identifiable as police officers. The kind of armor usually worn is soft armor, which is designed to be concealable—most styles are undergarments—and comfortable enough to be worn routinely. Such armor is designed for protection from handgun bullets but not from rifle bullets or edged or pointed weapons such as knives or icepicks. The distinctive, nonconcealable “tactical” armor worn by police SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) teams for protection from rifle bullets as well as pistol bullets is more familiar to many laymen. This latter type of “hard” personal armor is the type of armor supported by the advanced materials of the present invention, which are very lightweight but rigid.
Lightweight, composite, body armor preferably protects effectively against not only most known small-arms, as at present, but also against high velocity ballistic threats. Optional plate inserts presently provide some extra level of protection against rifle bullets, but are not presently of practical size and weight for extended wear.
A comfortable, ergonomic, body armor product would preferably accord the wearer maximum comfort even during prolonged periods of wear. At least front and back protection should be provided. The armor garment would desirably not contribute to heat stress of the wearer, but would readily accommodate physical effort by the wearer.
2.1.2 Summary of NIJ Standard 0101.03
The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) standard 0101.03 is of relevance to the present invention because, as will be explained, the materials of the invention are readily used in construction of, among diverse other forms of armor, “hard” body armor. The body armor so constructed, although lightweight at about 3.0 to 4.5 grams per cubic centimeter, is potentially capable of meeting NIJ standard 0101.03 type IV, as explained below. It is the first practical body armor of both such (i) thinness and (ii) light weight known to the inventors to potentially so meet this standard. For example, it will be found in this specification disclosure that the 0.2 inch thickness of the new material has reliably stopped high-power penetrating rounds (of the types explained below) that will penetrate ¾″ of hard steel armor, which steel armor is, of course, also much more dense.
The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) standard 0101.03 is a performance standard, not a construction standard. It does not specify the area of coverage, nor does it specify any material to be used in the armor. The standard is thus directed to permitting and encouraging technical innovation, including the development of materials and designs providing better ballistic resistance, greater comfort, or lower cost. However, some aspects of the standard were introduced specifically to provide stringent tests of likely weak points of Kevlar fabric armor, which at the time was almost the only type of concealable body armor marketed in the United States.
NIJ notes that “For the purposes of the . . . body armor certification procedures, the following definitions have been adopted:
A body armor MODEL is a manufacturer designation that identifies a unique ballistic panel construction; i.e., a specific number of layers of one or more types of ballistic fabric and or ballistic-resistant material assembled in a specific manner.
A body armor STYLE is a manufacturer designation (number, name, or other descriptive caption) used to distinguish between different configurations of a body armor product line each of which includes the same model of ballistic panel.
The 0.03 standard defines six standard types of ballistic resistance for which armor may be tested and provides for custom testing for “special type” ballistic resistance. Each type is defined in terms of the type or types of bullets fired at panels of the armor to test its ballistic resistance (see table 1, following). Two types of handgun bullets are fired to test for Type I, II-A, II, or III-A ballistic resistance, which soft armor can provide. One type of rifle bullet is fired to test for Type III or IV ballistic resistance, which hard armor can provide.
Each standard type of armor is expected to offer protection against the threat associated with it as well as against the threats associated with all other standard types of armor appearing above it in table 1. For this reason, the types of armor defined by NIJ Std.-0101.03 are often referred to as “levels,” level II-A being presumably superior to level I, for example. However, a certification test for type II-A ballistic resistance would not actually test resistance to type I threats. In addition, an NIJ guide specifies other threats against which it expects armor of each standard ballistic-resistance level to provide protection (see table 2), even though the 0.03 test does not actually test resistance to such threats.
TABLE 1
Types of Ballistic Resistance Defined by NIJ Standard
0101.03 in Terms of Bullets and Velocities Specified for Testing
Bullet
Impact
mass
velocity
1
Type
Bullet caliber and type
(grains)
(ft/s)
I
.22 long rifle high-velocity
Fuess & Davidenas
Johnson Stephen M.
Thew Regents of the University of California
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