Vehicle protection system

• US 20070180983A1
• Filed: 02/09/2006
• Published: 08/09/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 02/09/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation, Foster-Miller Incorporated (Thermo Fisher Scientific Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Foster-Miller Incorporated (Thermo Fisher Scientific Incorporated)
• Inventors: LaValley, Scott, Howard, Loren, Moeller, Christopher, Farinella, Michael, Hafer, Thomas
• Granted Patent: US 7,866,250 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 89/36.70
• CPC Class Codes: F41H 11/02 Anti-aircraft or anti-guided missile or anti-torpedo defence installations or systems cartridges or missiles for producing smoke or for dispensing radar chaff or infrared material F42B5/15, F42B12/48, F42B12/70; informative reference: details of radar or sonar systems G01S7/00; jamming or electronic countermeasures G01S7/38, G01S7/495, H04K3/00
• CPC Class Codes: F41H 5/026 Slat armour; Nets

Abstract

A protection system features a flexible packaged net with perimeter weighting housed in a deployment box releasably attached to a vehicle. One deployment subsystem includes an airbag packaged in the deployment box behind the net. A sensor subsystem detects an incoming threat and a fire control subsystem is responsive to the sensor subsystem and is configured to activate the deployment subsystem to inflate the airbag and deploy the net in the trajectory path of the incoming threat.

Claims

1. A protection system comprising:

a sensor subsystem for detecting an incoming threat;

a flexible packaged net with perimeter weighting housed in a deployment box;

a deployment subsystem including an airbag packaged in the deployment box behind the net; and

a fire control subsystem, responsive to the sensor subsystem, configured to activate the deployment subsystem to inflate the airbag and deploy the net in the trajectory path of the incoming threat.

2. The system of claim 1 in which the sensor subsystem includes a radar system.

3. The system of claim 1 in which the threat has a nose diameter less than its body diameter and the net has a mesh size between the nose diameter and the body diameter.

4. The system of claim 1 in which the net mesh size between 30-60 mm.

5. The system of claim 1 in which the net has a knotless “

ultracross”

weave.

6. The system of claim 1 in which the net is made of PBO material.

7. The system of claim 1 in which the net has a line diameter of 0.5-3 mm.

8. The system of claim 1 in which the airbag is mounted centrally in the box, the perimeter weighting is located over the airbag, and the remainder of the net is folded adjacent the sides of the airbag.

9. The system of claim 8 in which the deployment box defines a concave compartment for the remainder of the net around the airbag.

10. The system of claim 1 in which the net is attached to the deployment box.

11. The system of claim 1 in which the net is not attached to the deployment box.

12. The system of claim 1 in which there are two or more layers of net material packaged in the deployment box.

13. The system of claim 12 in which the layers do not have their mesh aligned.

14. The system of claim 1 in which the net includes at least a first layer of smaller diameter line material and a second layer of larger diameter line material.

15. The system of claim 14 in which there are between 2-4 layers of smaller diameter line material over a single layer of larger diameter line material.

16. A protection system comprising:

a sensor subsystem for detecting an incoming threat;

a flexible packaged net in a deployment box attached to a structure;

a deployment subsystem associated with the deployment box; and

a fire control subsystem, responsive to the sensor system, configured to activate the deployment system to deploy the net into the trajectory path of the incoming threat.

17. The system of claim 16 in which the deployment subsystem includes an airbag packaged in the deployment box behind the net, the fire control subsystem configured to activate the deployment subsystem to inflate the airbag and deploy the net.

18. The system of claim 17 in which the airbag is mounted centrally in the deployment box, the net perimeter is located over the airbag, and the remainder of the net is folded on the sides of the airbag.

19. The system of claim 18 in which the deployment box defines a concave compartment for the remainder of the net on the sides of the airbag.

20. The system of claim 16 in which the deployment subsystem includes rockets attached to the net, the fire control subsystem configured to fire the rockets to deploy the net.

21. The system of claim 16 in which the deployment subsystem includes actuators configured to deploy the net.

22. The system of claim 16 in which the net includes at least a first layer of smaller diameter line material and a layer of larger diameter line material.

23. The system of claim 22 in which there are between 2-4 layers of smaller diameter line material over a single layer of larger diameter line material.

27. The system of claim 19 in which the net is made of PBO material.

28. The system of claim 19 in which the net has a line diameter of 0.5-3 mm.

24. A structure protection system comprising:

a frame on the structure; and

a net on the frame spaced from the structure and having a mesh size designed to disarm an incoming threat.

25. The system of claim 24 in which the net mesh size between 30-60 mm.

26. The system of claim 24 in which the net has a knotless “

ultracross”

weave.

29. The system of claim 24 in which there are two or more nets on the frame.

30. The system of claim 29 in which the nets do not have their mesh aligned.

31. The system of claim 24 in which the net includes at least a first layer of smaller diameter line material and a layer of larger diameter line material.

32. The system of claim 31 in which there are between 2-4 layers of smaller diameter line material over a single layer of larger diameter line material.

33. A protection system comprising:

flexible means for disarming an incoming threat; and

means for deploying said flexible means into a spaced relationship with a structure.

34. The system of claim 33 in which the flexible means includes a net.

35. The system of claim 33 in which the means for deploying includes an airbag.

36. The system of claim 33 in which the means for deploying includes rockets.

37. The system of claim 33 in which the means for deploying is a static frame attached to the structure.

38. The system of claim 33 in which the means for deploying includes actuators configured to deploy the net.

39. The system of claim 33 in which the net includes at least a first layer of smaller diameter line material and a layer of larger diameter line material.

40. The system of claim 39 in which there are between 2-4 layers of smaller diameter line material over a single layer of larger diameter line material.

41. A protection system comprising:

a mobile vehicle including sensor subsystem for detecting an incoming threat;

a deployment box removably attached to the vehicle, the deployment box including therein;

a flexible packaged net with perimeter weighting, and

a deployment subsystem including an airbag packaged in the deployment box behind the net; and

a fire control subsystem, responsive to the sensor subsystem, configured to activate the deployment subsystem to inflate the airbag and deploy the net in the trajectory path of the incoming threat.

42. The system of claim 41 in which the net includes at least a first layer of smaller diameter line material and a layer of larger diameter line material.

43. The system of claim 42 in which there are between 2-4 layers of smaller diameter line material over a single layer of larger diameter line material.

44. A protection system for a threat having a nose diameter less than its body diameter, the system comprising:

a mobile vehicle;

a frame releasably attached to the vehicle; and

a net on the frame spaced from the vehicle and having a mesh size between the nose diameter and the body diameter of the threat to disarm the threat.

45. The system of claim 44 in which the net includes at least a first layer of smaller diameter line material and a layer of larger diameter line material.

46. The system of claim 45 in which there are between 2-4 layers of smaller diameter line material over a single layer of larger diameter line material.

47. A protection system comprising:

a flexible packaged net including at least two layers of a small line diameter net over at least one layer of a larger line diameter net; and

a deployment subsystem for deploying the net.

48. The system of claim 47 in which the deployment subsystem includes an airbag.

49. The system of claim 47 in which the deployment subsystem includes rockets.

50. The system of claim 47 in which the deployment subsystem includes a static frame for the net.

51. The system of claim 47 in which the deployment subsystem includes actuator members.