Ballistic armor

Abstract

According to various embodiments of this disclosure, an armor system includes a front wall and a back wall spaced apart from one another. The armor system also includes a first plurality of internal walls spaced apart from one another and fixed on one end of each internal wall to the front wall and on the other end of each internal wall to the back wall. The internal walls are slanted (i.e., fixed at angles other than ninety degrees) with respect to the front wall and the back wall. In this manner, a projectile passing directly through the front wall will strike at least one of the slanted internal walls before striking the back wall. Thus, the armor system prevents penetration of an underlying structure (e.g., armored vehicle, housing structure, or other enclosure) that is protected by the armor system.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A ballistic armor, comprising:
 a front wall;   a back wall spaced apart from the front wall; and   a first plurality of internal walls spaced apart from one another and fixed on one end of each wall of the first plurality of internal walls to the front wall and on the other end of each wall of the first plurality of internal walls to the back wall at angles other than ninety degrees with respect to the front wall and the back wall so that a projectile passing through the front wall will strike at least one of the first plurality of internal walls before being able to reach the back wall.   
     
     
         2 . The ballistic armor as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the first plurality of internal walls are formed from at least one of: an alloy, a composite material, or a ballistic material. 
     
     
         3 . The ballistic armor as recited in  claim 2 , wherein the first plurality of internal walls are formed from at least one of: steel or hardened steel. 
     
     
         4 . The ballistic armor as recited in  claim 2 , wherein the first plurality of internal walls are formed from at least one of: a reinforced plastic, a ceramic composition, DYNEEMA, or KEVLAR. 
     
     
         5 . The ballistic armor as recited in  claim 1 , wherein spaces between adjacent walls of the first plurality of internal walls are empty. 
     
     
         6 . The ballistic armor as recited in  claim 1 , wherein spaces between adjacent walls of the first plurality of internal walls comprise a core material. 
     
     
         7 . The ballistic armor as recited in  claim 6 , wherein the core material has at least one ballistic property configured to absorb or deflect projectile energy. 
     
     
         8 . The ballistic armor as recited in  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the front wall, the back wall, or the first plurality of internal walls is surfaced with a hardened strike face. 
     
     
         9 . A ballistic armor, comprising:
 a front wall;   a back wall spaced apart from the front wall;   a first plurality of internal walls spaced apart from one another and fixed on one end of each wall of the first plurality of internal walls to the front wall and on the other end of each wall of the first plurality of internal walls to the back wall at angles other than ninety degrees with respect to the front wall and the back wall; and   a second plurality of internal walls spaced apart from one another and angled with respect to the first plurality of internal walls, wherein each wall of the second plurality of internal walls is fixed on one end to a first slanted wall of the first plurality of internal walls and on the other end to a second slanted wall of the first plurality of internal walls so that a projectile passing through the front wall will strike at least one internal wall of the first plurality of internal walls or at least one internal wall of the second plurality of internal walls before being able to reach the back wall.   
     
     
         10 . The ballistic armor as recited in  claim 9 , wherein each wall of the second plurality of internal walls is angled with respect to an adjacent wall of the first plurality of internal walls at an angle of approximately ninety degrees. 
     
     
         11 . The ballistic armor as recited in  claim 9 , wherein the first plurality of internal walls and the second plurality of internal walls are formed from at least one of: an alloy, a composite material, or a ballistic material. 
     
     
         12 . The ballistic armor as recited in  claim 11 , wherein the first plurality of internal walls and the second plurality of internal walls are formed from at least one of: steel, hardened steel, a reinforced plastic, a ceramic composition, DYNEEMA, or KEVLAR. 
     
     
         13 . The ballistic armor as recited in  claim 9 , wherein spaces between adjacent walls of the first plurality of internal walls and the second plurality of internal walls are empty. 
     
     
         14 . The ballistic armor as recited in  claim 9 , wherein spaces between adjacent walls of the first plurality of internal walls and the second plurality of internal walls comprise a core material. 
     
     
         15 . The ballistic armor as recited in  claim 14 , wherein the core material has at least one ballistic property configured to absorb or deflect projectile energy. 
     
     
         16 . The ballistic armor as recited in  claim 9 , wherein at least one of the front wall, the back wall, the first plurality of internal walls, or the second plurality of internal walls is surfaced with a hardened strike face. 
     
     
         17 . A modular ballistic armor, comprising:
 a front wall;   a back wall spaced apart from the front wall;   a first plurality of internal walls spaced apart from one another and fixed on one end of each wall of the first plurality of internal walls to the front wall and on the other end of each wall of the first plurality of internal walls to the back wall at angles other than ninety degrees with respect to the front wall and the back wall; and   a second plurality of internal walls spaced apart from one another and angled with respect to the first plurality of internal wall,   wherein a portion of the front wall, a portion of the back wall, at least one first slanted wall of the first plurality of internal walls, and at least one second slanted wall of the second plurality of internal walls form a first modular armor unit, wherein an upper edge of at least a second modular armor unit is mateable with a lower edge of the first modular armor unit such that multiple modular armor units are configured to be mated together to form a ballistic wall of a selected length and height.   
     
     
         18 . The modular ballistic armor as recited in  claim 17 , wherein the first modular armor unit is formed by extruding or pultruding a base material to create a parallelogram section of extended length with one or more internal walls, wherein the front and back walls of the parallelogram section are extended on the upper edge a distance beyond an intersection of the uppermost internal wall with the front and back walls, and wherein a lower edge of the first modular armor unit are indented inward a distance approximately equal to a wall thickness of the front and back walls and for a distance up from an intersection of the lowermost internal wall with the front and back walls, such that the extension of the upper edge is approximately equal to the indentation of the lower edge. 
     
     
         19 . The modular ballistic armor as recited in  claim 17 , wherein the modular armor units are glued or welded together. 
     
     
         20 . The modular ballistic armor as recited in  claim 17 , wherein at least one of the modular armor units includes a portion of the front wall and a portion of the back wall that are curved or angled, such that when assembled with other modular armor units that are not curved or angled, corners and offsets or segmented round ballistic walls are created.