Land vehicles: wheels and axles – Wheel – With wheel cover
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-02
2001-07-03
Morano, S. Joseph (Department: 3617)
Land vehicles: wheels and axles
Wheel
With wheel cover
C301S037220, C301S037109, C301S037373
Reexamination Certificate
active
06254194
ABSTRACT:
GOVERNMENT USE
The invention described here may be made, used and licensed by the or for the U.S. Government for governmental purposes without paying us any royalty.
BACKGROUND
A significant characteristic of modern military vehicles is their appearance when viewed through an infrared optical instrument. This appearance is characteristic for a given vehicle type and is commonly referred to as the vehicle's infrared or thermal signature. The infrared signature is a tactical disadvantage in combat and accordingly one desires to reduce this signature. Of the various features that affect a vehicle's infrared signature, the hubs and wheels are among the most important. The hubs, wheels, and to a lesser extent, the tires tend to get hotter than the surrounding vehicle structure as the vehicle travels. The hubs wheels and tires thus provide a relatively easy means for detecting the vehicle by infrared instruments and even for identifying the vehicle as to type.
SUMMARY
To address the foregoing concerns, we have invented a cover that obscures the thermal signature of the hub, wheel and tire. The cover is of simple construction and is easily installed on existing vehicles, so that the cover can be made and installed by US Army maintenance units around the world, thereby minimizing the logistic cost and effort of retrofitting the cover onto elements of the Army vehicle fleet. The cover is spaced outboard from the wheel and tire by at least half an inch, so as to have an insulating body of air separating the cover from the wheel and tire. In the preferred embodiment, the cover is a planar sheet metal element having variously shaped lobes asymmetrically disposed relative to the cover's center of gravity. The cover completely masks or eclipses the wheel from a point of view outboard of the vehicle and partly eclipses the tire so as to obscure or disguise the tire's visual and thermal images. In another embodiment, the cover has a flat round inner unit comprised of metal plates and an insulating disk between them. The inner unit thermally masks the wheel and a flange girding the inner unit thermally likewise masks the tire.
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Capouellez James A.
Korpi John G.
Bellinger Jason R.
Kuhn David L.
Morano S. Joseph
Soderling Gail S.
The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of
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