Flexible collapsible armor structure

Abstract

A gun turret armor shroud for the 360° shielding of a gunner atop a military vehicle having a top-mounted gun including a generally annular, fabric-based. flex-curtain structure, and associated with this flex-curtain structure at least one of (a) an internal support frame, and (b) an external support frame.

1 . A gun turret armor shroud for protecting a military vehicle-top gunner comprising 
 a flex-curtain, armor-material surround mountable on the top of a military vehicle, and shaped, when so mounted, to provide 360° lateral anti-projectile protection for a gunner positioned to operate a vehicle-top gun on the vehicle, said surround having a nominal design shape, and being returnably deformable from that shape to assume different other shapes, and    support structure operatively connected to said surround and adapted yieldably to support the surround in its said nominal design shape.    
   
   
       2 . The shroud of  claim 1 , wherein said support structure comprises a distribution of plural column elements.  
   
   
       3 . The shroud of  claim 2 , wherein said column elements each takes the form of an inflatable/deflatable component.  
   
   
       4 . The shroud of  claim 3 , wherein said support structure further comprises fluid conduit structure operatively connected to, and in fluid communication with, said inflatable/deflatable components.  
   
   
       5 . The shroud of  claim 1 , wherein said surround is formed of a flexible and collapsible armor fabric.  
   
   
       6 . The shroud of  claim 5 , wherein said fabric includes a fluid-impervious, inflatable/deflatable structure.  
   
   
       7 . The shroud of  claim 5 , wherein said fabric takes the form of a weave of elongate, aramid fibres.  
   
   
       8 . The shroud of  claim 5 , wherein said fabric takes the form of a weave of elongate, ceramic-surfaced strands.  
   
   
       9 . The shroud of  claim 5 , wherein said support structure comprises a distribution of plural column elements.  
   
   
       10 . The shroud of  claim 9 , wherein said surround takes the form of a structure with a pair of spaced walls, and said column elements are disposed within the space between said walls.  
   
   
       11 . The shroud of  claim 10 , wherein said column elements each takes the form of an inflatable/deflatable component.  
   
   
       12 . The shroud of  claim 10  which further includes, in the space between said walls, a fill of elongate, slender ceramic-surfaced shards.  
   
   
       13 . The shroud of  claim 12 , wherein aid shards are entrained in a flexible foam material.  
   
   
       14 . The shroud of  claim 10 , wherein said fabric takes the form of a weave of elongate, aramid fibres.  
   
   
       15 . The shroud of  claim 10 , wherein said fabric takes the form of a weave of elongate, ceramic-surfaced strands.  
   
   
       16 . A gun turret armor shroud for the 360° shielding of a gunner atop a military vehicle having a top-mounted gun comprising 
 a generally annular, fabric-based. flex-curtain structure, and    associated with said flex-curtain structure at least one of (a) an internal support frame, and (b) an external support frame.    
   
   
       17 . The shroud of  claim 16 , wherein said flex-curtain structure is compoundly curved.  
   
   
       18 . The shroud of  claim 16 , wherein said support frame is internal, and is selectively inflatable and deflatable to allow for selective raising and collapsing of said flex-curtain structure.  
   
   
       19 . The shroud of  claim 16 , wherein said support frame is external, and takes the form of an elastomer layer whose association with said flex-curtain structure takes the form of being a portion of that structure.  
   
   
       20 . The shroud of  claim 16 , wherein said flex-curtain structure includes at least one of (a) a layer including ceramic tiles, (a) a layer including elongate, woven aramid fibres, and (c) a layer including elongate, woven strands having ceramic outer surfaces.  
   
   
       21 . The shroud of  claim 16 , wherein said flex-curtain structure is double-walled.  
   
   
       22 . The shroud of  claim 21 , wherein said flex-curtain structure includes a reverse-bend region which bridges between the double walls in the structure.  
   
   
       23 . A vehicle-top gun turret armor shroud deployable adjacent and around a vehicle-top gun comprising 
 a nominally upright central axis, and    a flexible, impact yield-and-return, 360° armoring body circumsurrounding said axis.    
   
   
       24 . The shroud of  claim 23 , wherein said body is formed with compoundly curved layers of woven armoring fabric.  
   
   
       25 . The shroud of  claim 23  which is structured to accommodate selected collapsing and un-collapsing of said body generally along said central axis.  
   
   
       26 . The shroud of  claim 25 , wherein said armoring body, when collapsed, is configured with its walls in a serpentine-fold condition.