Description of My Patent (KyleR)

My patent is for Active Armor (patent no. 4,545,286). It describes a type of armor to protect military vehicles such as tanks. The armor plates are designed to protect personnel against the three most common types of anti-tank rounds: sabot, shaped charge, and HESH charge rounds. Previous types of armor may have been able to withstand one or two of these types of rounds, but not all three. The rectangular plates that are here given patent protection are composed of three layers: a front layer of malleable material such as copper, a back layer of a thermally dissipating material such as ceramic, and an intermediate layer of dense material such as steel. Each plate is connected to the surface of the vehicle with a single bolt that runs through the center of the plate. There is also a spacer along the bolt that maintains the back layer of each plate at a certain distance from the surface of the vehicle.

The armor’s new combination of materials, combined with its method of mounting, enables it to protect against the three types of rounds:

• A sabot round will strike and embed in the malleable front layer before striking the dense intermediate layer. Since the plate is mounted by one bolt in its center, the impact of the round will cause the plate to rotate and break at the bolt. This deflects the path of the round so that it does not penetrate the vehicle.

• A shaped charge will strike and detonate at the front layer, burn through the intermediate layer, and then be dissipated across the back layer. This, combined with the distance maintained between the plate and the vehicle surface, prevents any heat energy from reaching the vehicle.

• A HESH charge, which does its damage by spreading a plastic explosive over an area and creating a shock wave inside the vehicle, will instead explode on the surface of the armor plates. The plates will then take the brunt of the damage and the space between the plates and the vehicle surface will prevent any shock waves from damaging the inside of the vehicle.

Back to Homework 1/28 (KyleR)