Ballistic baffle having energy dissipating backing

Abstract

A ballistic baffle includes an abrasion and impact layer for deflecting bullets and one or more layers of energy dissipating material. The abrasion and impact layer takes the impact of a projectile while the energy dissipation material disperses the energy thereof to reduce or eliminate the risk of the bullet penetrating the abrasion and impact material. The composite baffle enables the use of baffles that are lighter weight, less expensive and/or have improved performance characteristics over conventional single layer baffles.

1 . A baffle system for deflecting bullets, the baffle system comprising:
 a support member for holding at least one baffle in an elevated position;   a suspension member for connecting at least one baffle to the support member so as to hold the baffle at angle between horizontal and vertical; and   at least one baffle having an impact layer and an energy dissipating layer attached to the impact layer to absorb energy from the impact layer.   
     
     
         2 . The baffle system for deflecting bullets of  claim 1 , wherein the impact layer comprises steel plate which is less than about ⅜ th  inch thick. 
     
     
         3 . The baffle system for deflecting bullets of  claim 1 , wherein the impact layer comprises hardened steel which is less than about ¼ th  inch thick. 
     
     
         4 . The baffle system for deflecting bullets of  claim 1 , wherein the impact layer comprises at least one of the group consisting of hardened steel, soft steel, aramid fiber and ceramic. 
     
     
         5 . The baffle system for deflecting bullets of  claim 1 , wherein the energy dissipation layer is a compressive resistant layer having at least one of the group consisting of concrete, concrete board, steel, rubber, fiber glass, wood, carbon fiber, aramid fiber and ceramics. 
     
     
         6 . The baffle system for deflecting bullets of  claim 5 , further comprising a damping layer disposed between the impact layer and the compressive resistant layer. 
     
     
         7 . The baffle system for deflecting bullets of  claim 1 , further comprising a fragment containment layer. 
     
     
         8 . A ballistic baffle, the ballistic baffle comprising:
 an impact layer; and   a compressive resistant layer attached to the impact layer.   
     
     
         9 . The ballistic baffle of  claim 8 , wherein the impact layer comprises a hardened steel panel less than about ⅜th of an inch thick. 
     
     
         10 . The ballistic baffle of  claim 8 , wherein the impact layer is formed by plate steel less than about ¼ th  inch thick. 
     
     
         11 . The ballistic baffle of  claim 8 , wherein the impact layer is steel plate between about 1/16 th  and ⅛ th  of an inch thick. 
     
     
         12 . The ballistic baffle of  claim 8 , wherein the impact layer comprises at least one of the group consisting of hardened steel, soft steel, aramid fiber and ceramic. 
     
     
         13 . The ballistic baffle of  claim 12 , wherein the compressive resistant layer comprises at least one of the group consisting of concrete, concrete board, steel, rubber, fiber glass, wood, carbon fiber, aramid fiber, and ceramics. 
     
     
         14 . The ballistic baffle of  claim 8 , wherein the compressive resistant layer includes concrete. 
     
     
         15 . The ballistic baffle of  claim 8 , further comprising a damping layer having at least one of the group consisting of vulcanized rubber, chopped rubber, pure rubber, self-healing rubber, self-sealing rubber, EPDM rubber, and wood products. 
     
     
         16 . The ballistic baffle of  claim 8 , further comprising a fragment containment layer having at least one of the group consisting of steel, rubber, wood, structural fibers, Kevlar and fiberglass. 
     
     
         17 . The ballistic baffle of  claim 16 , wherein the baffle comprises an energy dissipation layer disposed between the compressive resistant layer and the impact layer and wherein the fragment containment layer is disposed as a side of the compressive resistant layer opposite the energy dissipation layer. 
     
     
         18 . A ballistic baffle, the ballistic baffle comprising:
 a steel panel for deflecting projectiles, the steel panel being between about ⅛ th  and ¼ th  inch thick; and   a plurality of layers of energy dissipating material attached to one side of the steel panel, the plurality of layers of energy dissipating material being formed from the same material.   
     
     
         19 . The ballistic baffle of  claim 18 , wherein the steel panel is about ⅛ th  inch in thickness and wherein the energy dissipating material comprises concrete. 
     
     
         20 . The ballistic baffle of  claim 18 , wherein the energy dissipating material is aramid fiber. 
     
     
         21 . The ballistic baffle of  claim 18 , wherein the energy dissipating material includes concrete. 
     
     
         22 . The ballistic baffle of  claim 18 , wherein the energy dissipating material is composite fiber. 
     
     
         23 . The ballistic baffle of  claim 18 , wherein the plurality of layers of energy dissipating material include two layers of compressive resistant material. 
     
     
         24 . A ballistic baffle, the ballistic baffle comprising:
 a steel panel for deflecting projectiles; and   a plurality of layers of energy dissipating material adhered to the side of the steel panel, wherein at least two of the layers of energy dissipating material are made of different energy dissipating materials.   
     
     
         25 . The ballistic baffle of  claim 24 , wherein the steel panel is about 1/8 inch in thickness. 
     
     
         26 . The ballistic baffle of  claim 24 , wherein the at least two different energy dissipating materials are aramid fiber and concrete. 
     
     
         27 . The ballistic baffle of  claim 24 , wherein the at least two different energy dissipating materials are aramid fiber and composite fiber. 
     
     
         28 . The ballistic baffle of  claim 24 , wherein the at least two different energy dissipating materials are concrete and composite fiber. 
     
     
         29 . The ballistic baffle of  claim 24 , wherein the number of the plurality of layers of the at least two different energy dissipating materials is two. 
     
     
         30 . A method for forming a baffle, the method comprising:
 selecting a plate of hardened steel which is between about 1/16 th  and ¼ th  inch thick; and   attaching at least one layer of an energy dissipating material to one side of the plate.   
     
     
         31 . The method according to  claim 30 , wherein the method includes adhesively attaching the energy dissipating material to the plate of hardened steel. 
     
     
         32 . The method according to  claim 30 , wherein the method includes selecting concrete board and attaching the concrete board to the hardened steel plate. 
     
     
         33 . The method according to  claim 30 , wherein the energy dissipating material is a compressive resistant material having at least one of the group consisting of concrete, concrete board, rubber, fiber glass, wood, carbon fiber, aramid fiber, and ceramics. 
     
     
         34 . The method according to  claim 30 , wherein the energy dissipating material is a damping material having at least one of the group consisting of vulcanized rubber, chopped rubber, pure rubber, self-healing rubber, self-sealing rubber, EPDM rubber, and wood products. 
     
     
         35 . The method according to  claim 30 , wherein attaching at least one layer of an energy dissipating material to one side of the plate includes attaching at least one layer of a non-metallic energy dissipating material to one side of the plate. 
     
     
         36 . The method according to  claim 30 , wherein the method comprises attaching a damping layer to the plate and attaching a compressive resistant layer to the damping layer. 
     
     
         37 . The method according to  claim 36  further comprising attaching a fragment containment layer to the compressive resistant layer.