Vehicle and structure shield hard point

• US 8,443,709 B2
• Filed: 09/08/2010
• Issued: 05/21/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/16/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Foster-Miller Incorporated (Thermo Fisher Scientific Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: QinetiQ North America Incorporated (QinetiQ Group PLC)
• Inventors: Farinella, Michael D., Cardenas, Robert Lee, Lawson, William R., LaBrecque, Brendan, Rush, Frances, Hoadley, David, Wheaton, Michael, Anderson, Mike, Mann, Thomas, Kanaan, Abed, Callahan, Patrick
• Primary Examiner(s): Hayes, Bret
• Assistant Examiner(s): FREEMAN, JOSHUA E
• Application Number:
  US12/807,558
• Publication Number:
  US 20110203453A1
• Time in Patent Office: 986 Days
• Field of Search: 89 3601- 3617, 109/49.5, 114/241, 296/187.07, 256/1, 256/47, 256/54, 243/35, 243/26
• US Class Current: 89/36.08
• CPC Class Codes: F41H 5/013 Mounting or securing armour plates
• CPC Class Codes: F41H 5/023 Armour plate, or auxiliary armour plate mounted at a distance of the main armour plate, having cavities at its outer impact surface, or holes, for deflecting the projectile
• CPC Class Codes: F41H 5/026 Slat armour; Nets
• CPC Class Codes: F41H 5/0492 Layered armour containing hard elements, e.g. plates, spheres, rods, separated from each other, the elements being connected to a further flexible layer or being embedded in a plastics or an elastomer matrix
• CPC Class Codes: F41H 7/04 Armour construction in general F41H5/00

Abstract

A vehicle and structure shield hard point includes a forward facing base portion defined by a front face, sidewalls extending rearward from the front face including slots therethrough for the cords of a net, and a cavity surrounded by the sidewalls. A plug is sized to be frictionally received in the cavity of the forward facing base portion locking the cords of the net with respect to the forward facing base portion.

Claims

1. A hard point comprising:

a forward facing base portion including;

a front face,

sidewalls extending rearward from the front face including slots therethrough for the lines of a net, and

a cavity surrounded by the sidewalls; and

a plug sized to be frictionally received in the cavity of the forward facing base portion, an end of the plug abutting and locking a node of the net in the cavity and with respect to the forward facing base portion.

2. The hard point of claim 1 in which the plug includes an outer wall with a knurled surface.

3. The hard point of claim 1 in which the front face has six sides and there are six sidewalls.

4. The hard point of claim 3 in which two opposing sidewalls have slots therethrough in the middle of the opposing sidewalls.

5. The hard point of claim 4 in which there is a slot between adjacent sidewalls on each side of said two opposing sidewalls.

6. The hard point of claim 1 in which the forward facing base portion and the plug are both made of steel.

7. The hard point of claim 1 in which the forward facing base portion and the plug combined weigh between 10 and 80 grams.

8. The hard point of claim 1 in which the front face of the base portion has an area of between 0.1 and 0.8 in.².

9. The hard point of claim 1 in which the sidewalls each have an area of between 0.1 and 0.8 in.².

10. The hard point of claim 1 in which the cavity is round and the plug is cylindrical in shape.

11. The hard point of claim 1 in which the forward facing base portion and the plug combined weigh between 10 and 40 grams.

12. The hard point of claim 1 in which the slots each terminate in a rounded portion.

13. A vehicle and structure shield system comprising:

a net made of lines supported at a distance from a vehicle or structure to be protected; and

a plurality of hard points secured to the net, each hard point including;

a front face,

sidewalls extending rearward from the front face including slots therethrough for the lines of the net,

a cavity surrounded by the sidewalls, and

a plug sized to be frictionally received in the cavity substantially filling said cavity and locking a node of the net in the cavity.

14. The system of claim 13 in which the net lines define the nodes, each node with a horizontal line intersecting a vertical line, and there are four slots in the hard point, two said slots vertically aligned, two said slots horizontally aligned.

15. The system of claim 13 in which the plug includes an outer wall with a knurled surface.

16. The system of claim 13 in which the front face has six sides and there are six sidewalls.

17. The system of claim 16 in which two opposing sidewalls have slots therethrough in the middle of the opposing sidewalls.

18. The system of claim 17 in which there is a slot between adjacent sidewalls on each side of said two opposing sidewalls.

19. The system of claim 13 in which the hard point includes steel.

20. The system of claim 13 in which the hard points each weigh between 10 and 80 grams.

21. The system of claim 13 in which the front face has an area of between 0.1 and 0.8 in.².

22. The system of claim 13 in which the sidewalls each have an area of between 0.1 and 0.8 in.².

23. The system of claim 13 in which cavity is round and the plug is cylindrical in shape.

24. The system of claim 13 in which the hard points each weigh between 10 and 40 grams.

25. The system of claim 13 in which the slots each terminate in a rounded portion.

26. The system of claim 13 in which the net is spaced between 4 and 24 inches from the vehicle or structure.

27. The system of claim 13 further including a frame securable to a vehicle or structure for supporting the net in a spaced relationship with respect thereto.

28. A vehicle and structure shield system comprising:

a net made of lines supported at a distance from a vehicle or structure to be protected;

a plurality of hard points secured to the net, each hard point including;

a front face,

sidewalls extending rearward from the front face including slots therethrough for the lines of the net,

a cavity surrounded by the sidewalls, and

a plug sized to be frictionally received in the cavity locking a node of the net in the cavity and sized to be at least the depth of the cavity;

a fabric border on the net;

a first type of hook and loop fastener on the fabric border; and

a frame including the other of the hook and loop fastener thereon.