Armored split hatch

Abstract

A split hatch with armored hatch leaves that are positioned to shield occupants standings in the hatch opening when the hatch is opened. The hatch leaves can be fixed at different angles to provide improve protection from different threats. The armored hatch leafs are oversized to engage the hatch opening in an overlapping configuration to prevent passage of nuclear, biological or chemical contaminants from entering the vehicle between the leaves and the edge of the hatch opening. A seal assembly overlaps the edges of the leaves to prevent contaminants from entering the vehicle between the leaves themselves.

1 . An armored split hatch for selectively sealing a hatch opening of a vehicle, comprising:
 a plurality of armored hatch leaves, each hatch leaf further comprising a hinge and a hook element having a primary hook portion and a secondary hook portion, wherein each hatch leaf is rotatable around the corresponding hinge between a generally horizontal closed position and a generally upright open position; and   a plurality of open/close assemblies positioned proximate the hatch opening, each open/close assembly further comprising a fixed latch pin and a pivot portion for rotatably receiving the hinge of the corresponding armored hatch leaf;   wherein each hook element is positioned on the corresponding hatch leaf to releasably engage the latch pin with the primary hook portion when the hatch leaf is rotated into the open position to prevent rotation of the hatch leaf into the closed position.   
     
     
         2 . The armored split hatch of  claim 1 , wherein the hook element is rotatable between an engaging position in which the hook element is engagable to the latch pin and a disengaged position in which the hook element is rotated out of alignment with the hook element. 
     
     
         3 . The armored split hatch of  claim 2 , wherein the hook element further comprises a handle for manually rotating the hook element 
     
     
         4 . The armored split hatch of  claim 1 , wherein the secondary hook portion is engagable to the latch pin to retain the hatch leaf at an intermediate position between the open position and the closed position. 
     
     
         5 . The armored split hatch of  claim 1 , wherein each open/close assembly comprises a spring biasing the hatch leaf to the open position assisting the rotation of the hatch leaf from the closed position to the open position. 
     
     
         6 . The armored split hatch of  claim 1 , wherein each hatch leaf comprises at least one armored panel. 
     
     
         7 . The armored split hatch of  claim 1 , wherein each hatch leaf comprises a semicircle shape comprising a circular edge and a flat edge, wherein the flat edge of the hatch leaf engages the flat edge of an opposing hatch leaf when the hatch leaves are rotated into the closed position. 
     
     
         8 . The armored split hatch of  claim 1 , wherein each hatch leaf comprises a contoured edge and at least two flat edges, wherein one of the flat edges of the hatch leaf engages one of the flat edges of an opposing hatch leaf when the hatch leaves are rotated into the closed position. 
     
     
         9 . The armored split hatch of  claim 1 , wherein each hatch leaf engages adjacent hatch leaves to define a continuous surface having a surface area greater than the area of the hatch opening. 
     
     
         10 . The armored split hatch of  claim 1 , wherein at least one hatch leaf comprises a sealing portion positioned to overlap with an adjacent hatch leaf when the hatch leaves are rotated into the closed position. 
     
     
         11 . An armored split hatch for selectively sealing a hatch opening of a vehicle, comprising:
 a first hatch leaf and a second hatch leaf, each hatch leaf further comprising a hinge and a hook element having a primary hook portion and a secondary hook portion, wherein each hatch leaf is rotatable around the corresponding hinge between a generally horizontal closed position and a generally upright open position; and   a first open/close assembly corresponding to the first hatch leaf and a first open/close assembly corresponding to the second hatch leaf, wherein the first and second open/close assemblies are positioned on opposite sides of the hatch opening such that the first hatch leaf and second hatch leaf are generally parallel when rotated into the open position, each open/close assembly further comprising a fixed latch pin and a pivot portion for rotatably receiving the hinge of the corresponding armored hatch leaf;   wherein each hook element is positioned on the corresponding hatch leaf to releasably engage the latch pin with the primary hook portion when the hatch leaf is rotated into the open position to prevent rotation of the hatch leaf into the closed position.   
     
     
         12 . The armored split hatch of  claim 11 , wherein each hook element is rotatable between an engaging position in which the hook element is engagable to the corresponding latch pin and a disengaged position in which the hook element is rotated out of alignment with the hook element. 
     
     
         13 . The armored split hatch of  claim 12 , wherein each hook element further comprises a handle for manually rotating the hook element 
     
     
         14 . The armored split hatch of  claim 11 , wherein the secondary hook portion is engagable to the latch pin to retain the hatch leaf at an intermediate position between the open position and the closed position. 
     
     
         15 . The armored split hatch of  claim 11 , wherein each open/close assembly comprises a spring biasing the hatch leaf to the open position assisting the rotation of the hatch leaf from the closed position to the open position. 
     
     
         16 . The armored split hatch of  claim 11 , wherein each hatch leaf comprises at least one armored panel. 
     
     
         17 . The armored split hatch of  claim 11 , wherein each hatch leaf comprises a semicircle shape comprising a circular edge and a flat edge, wherein the flat edge of the hatch leaf engages the flat edge of an opposing hatch leaf when the hatch leaves are rotated into the closed position. 
     
     
         18 . The armored split hatch of  claim 11 , wherein each hatch leaf comprises a contoured edge and at least two flat edges, wherein one of the flat edges of the hatch leaf engages one of the flat edges of an opposing hatch leaf when the hatch leaves are rotated into the closed position. 
     
     
         19 . The armored split hatch of  claim 11 , wherein the first hatch leaf engages the second hatch leaf to define a continuous surface having a surface area greater than the area of the hatch opening. 
     
     
         20 . The armored split hatch of  claim 11 , wherein the first hatch leaf comprises a sealing portion positioned to overlap with the second hatch leaf when the hatch leaves are rotated into the closed position.