Vehicle and structure shield with a cable frame

• US 8,468,927 B2
• Filed: 09/22/2011
• Issued: 06/25/2013
• 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: Malone, Joseph Vincent, Baird, Nicole Jean, Albin, Scott Robert, Holmes, Robert G. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hayes, Bret
• Assistant Examiner(s): FREEMAN, JOSHUA E
• Application Number:
  US13/200,296
• Publication Number:
  US 20120011993A1
• Time in Patent Office: 642 Days
• Field of Search: 89 3601- 3617
• 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 5/24 for stationary use, e.g. fortifications ; Shelters; Guard Booths air-raid shelters E04H9/04
• CPC Class Codes: F41H 7/02 Land vehicles with enclosing armour, e.g. tanks endless-track vehicles, steering thereof B62D ; vehicles for placing portable or sectional bridges E01D15/127; vehicles carrying floating bridges E01D15/22
• CPC Class Codes: F41H 7/04 Armour construction in general F41H5/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49826 Assembling or joining

Abstract

An ordinance, such as a rocket propelled grenade, shield includes a net with hard points at select nodes of the net and cable guides on the side of the net. Cables under tension extend through the cable guides supporting the net typically in conjunction with a top cross bar, spaced top struts, and spaced bottom struts. This framis design facilitates entering and exiting the vehicle or structure.

Claims

1. A shield comprising:

a net including hard points at select nodes of the net, said hard points including a body portion with a cavity and a plug received in the cavity;

one or more sides of the net including a plurality of cable guides which include eyelets, said eyelets including a peripheral groove for receiving net material therein, said net material extending between the plug and the body portion, around the eyelet groove, and back between the plug and the body portion; and

at least one cable under tension through the cable guides supporting the net.

2. The shield of claim 1 in which said hard points include slots in the body portion for the net material.

3. The shield of claim 1 further including a top cross bar for supporting the net.

4. The shield of claim 3 further including spaced top struts interconnecting the top cross bar with a vehicle or structure.

5. The shield of claim 4 in which said spaced top struts are foldable with respect to the vehicle or structure.

6. The shield of claim 4 in which the vehicle or structure includes a door and both top struts are connected to the door.

7. The shield of claim 4 in which the vehicle or structure includes a door and one top strut is connected to the door and one top strut is connected to the vehicle or structure.

8. The shield of claim 7 in which the top struts are pivotable with respect to the top cross bar and with respect to the door or vehicle structure.

9. The shield of claim 3 in which the top cross bar includes a tensioning mechanism for the cable.

10. The shield of claim 1 further including spaced bottom struts for opposing sides of the net.

11. The shield of claim 10 in which the bottom struts are foldable with respect to a vehicle or structure.

12. The shield of claim 10 in which each bottom strut includes a shock absorbing device.

13. The shield of claim 10 in which each bottom strut is connected to a net cable.

14. The shield of claim 13 in which the net cable is removable from its bottom strut.

15. The shield of claim 14 further including a pin removably received in a bottom strut and connected to the net.

16. The shield of claim 15 in which the net includes a bottom fabric portion.

17. The shield of claim 1 in which a cable extends through cable guides of a top and bottom on a first side of the net, over to a second side of the net and through cable guides of a bottom and top on said second side, to the top of the net, then through cable guides of a middle on said second side, then to the bottom of the net, over to the first side of the net, through cable guides of a middle of the first side of the net, and then to the top of the net.

18. The shield of claim 1 further including a member for tensioning sides of the net.

19. The shield of claim 18 in which the member is disposed between the net and a vehicle or structure.

20. The shield of claim 1 further including a tray on a vehicle or structure for storing the net.

21. The shield of claim 1 in which there are cable guides on opposing sides of the net and spaced cables, one on each side of the net.

22. The shield of claim 21 further including an adjacent net with cable guides and a cable extends through the cable guides of both nets.

23. A shield comprising:

a net including hard points at select nodes of the net, said hard points including a body portion with a cavity and a plug received in the cavity; and

opposing sides of the net including a plurality of cable guides which include eyelets, said eyelets including a peripheral groove for receiving net material therein, said net material extending between the plug and the body portion, around the eyelet groove, and back between the plug and the body portion for supporting the net when a cable is provided under tension through the cable guides on each side of the net.

24. The shield of claim 23 in which said hard points include slots in the body portion for the net material.

25. The shield of claim 23 further including a top cross bar for supporting the net.

26. The shield of claim 25 further including spaced top struts interconnecting the top cross bar with a vehicle or structure.

27. The shield of claim 26 in which said spaced top struts are foldable with respect to the vehicle or structure.

28. The shield of claim 26 in which the vehicle or structure includes a door and both top struts are connected to the door.

29. The shield of claim 26 in which the vehicle or structure includes a door and one top strut is connected to the door and one top strut is connected to the vehicle or structure.

30. The shield of claim 29 in which the top struts are pivotable with respect to the top cross bar and with respect to the door or vehicle structure.

31. The shield of claim 25 in which the top cross bar includes a tensioning mechanism for the cable.

32. The shield of claim 23 further including spaced bottom struts for opposing sides of the net.

33. The shield of claim 32 in which the spaced bottom struts are foldable with respect to a vehicle or structure.

34. The shield of claim 32 in which each spaced bottom strut includes a shock absorbing device.

35. The shield of claim 23 in which the net includes a bottom fabric portion.

36. The shield of claim 23 further including a member for tensioning sides of the net.

37. The shield of claim 36 in which the member is between the net and a vehicle or structure.

38. The shield of claim 23 further including a tray on a vehicle or structure for storing the net.

47. The method of claim 33 further including tensioning at least one cable.

39. A method of manufacturing a shield, the method comprising:

running net material through a body portion of a hard point;

directing the net material to a cable guide;

redirecting the net material back between through the body portion of the hard point; and

forcing a plug into the body portion of the hard point locking the net material therein.

40. The method of claim 39 in which the net material is directed about the cable guide.

41. A method of manufacturing a shield, the method comprising:

securing hard points at select nodes of a net;

adding cable guides which include eyelets, said eyelets including a peripheral groove for receiving net material therein, to one or more sides of the net; and

providing at least one cable under tension through the cable guides to support the net in a spaced relation with respect to a vehicle or structure; and

extending net material between the plug and the body portion, around the eyelet groove, and back between the plug and the body portion.

42. The method of claim 41 in which securing said hard points includes placing a net node in a hard point a body portion cavity and driving a plug into the cavity.

43. The method of claim 41 in which said hard points include slots in the body portion for the net material.

44. The method of claim 41 further including supporting the net by a top cross bar.

45. The method of claim 44 further including interconnecting the top cross bar with a vehicle or structure using spaced top struts.

46. The method of claim 45 further comprising making the top struts foldable with respect to the vehicle or structure.

48. The method of claim 41 further including supporting the net via spaced bottom struts.

49. The method of claim 48 further including making the bottom struts foldable with respect to a vehicle or structure.

50. The method of claim 48 further including equipping each bottom strut with a shock absorbing device.

51. The method of claim 48 further including providing a bottom fabric portion for the net.

52. The method of claim 48 further including providing a member for tensioning sides of the net.

53. The method of claim 52 including placing the member between the net and a vehicle or structure.

54. The method of claim 48 further including providing a tray on a vehicle or structure for storing the net.

55. The method of claim 41 in which there are cable guides on opposing sides of the net and spaced cables, one on each side of the net.

56. The method of claim 55 further including an adjacent net with cable guides and said cable extends through the cable guides of both nets.