Cross Reference to Related Application This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Application No. 12/186,508, filed August 5, 2008, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/954,017, filed August 5, 2007, both of which are incorporated herein in their entirety.

Background and Summary

Protective armor systems typically incorporate multiple armor tiles, commonly ceramic tiles. In the case of body armor garments for personal use, armor tiles typically are supported within a fabric structure such as a vest as shown in U.S. Patent No. 5,996,115 to Mazelsky.

In some instances an armor tile may be a large ceramic piece. In the case of a personal body armor garment, such a piece may be shaped to cover a critical body area for protection. The large ceramic tile has a deficiency in that when hit in one area, cracks are likely to propagate to beyond the initial impact area, perhaps crack the entire tile. When damaged the entire tile must be replaced which is costly and not practical in field situations.

In other instances, the tiles are relatively small and are in shapes such as squares, rectangles, triangles, rounds and other polygon shapes. Tiles of smaller polygon shapes can be secured together side-by-side by various methods and/or laminated in fabrics. But in many cases leave gaps straight through the garment between tiles or have other deficiencies. Various tile designs and methods of sealing gaps have been described in the past, but none that provides an optimal construction. Other systems have employed numerous small tiles that overlap one another as opposed to being arranged in a common plane. But overlapping the full thickness of tiles adds a significant amount of weight. Further, because there are no edge restraints either vertically or horizontally on such overlapping arrangements, the tiles can be pushed off the horizontal plane perhaps as much as 90 degree when hit with a projectile, or from normal movement if not restrained, thereby creating an open space vulnerable to a second hit.

The present disclosure concerns tiles that easily can be constructed and that can be assembled edge-to-edge into armor structures that do not suffer from the problems of prior armor systems and armor tiles. Arrays formed from tiles described herein can be held in place by attachment to a substrate by adhesives. Or tiles can be contained in fabric wraps to hold arrays in place.

The surfaces of tiles described herein may be textured to provide a decorative effect. Or the major and/or minor surfaces can have a curved or angled texture to turn impinging projectiles to reduce or eliminate the effect of 90° projectile impacts, which have the greatest potential for penetration or cracking destruction of an armor tile. The tiles most efficiently are of a unitary construction where the entire tile is a formed as a single piece having a uniform composition throughout. However, any of the tiles described herein can be made in more than one part.

The tiles described herein are configured to allow construction from very hard materials such as the various ceramics currently used in the manufacture of armor tiles. In particular, ceramic tiles used for ballistic armor will have a hardness of at least 1000 Vickers.

Brief Description of the Drawings

In the drawings:

FIGS, la-lm are views of a first tile system. FIGS. 2a- 2o are views of a second tile system.

FIGS. 3a-3p are views of a third tile system.

FIGS. 4a-4j are views of a fourth tile system.

FIGS. 5a-51 are views of a fifth tile system.

FIGS. 5-1-5-11 are views of a sixth tile system.

FIGS. 6a-6m are views of a seventh tile system.

FIGS. 7a-7o are views of an eighth tile system.

FIGS. 8a-8i are views of a ninth tile system.

FIGS. 9a-9m are views of a tenth tile system.

FIGS. lOa-lOf are views of an eleventh tile system.

FIG. 11 is a view of a tile system made of two separate tiles

FIG. 12 is a view of a tile system with textured surfaces.

Detailed Description

Described herein are tiles having edge designs that allow overlapping of the edges of the tiles only, thereby eliminating disadvantages of certain prior tile systems wherein the full thickness of tiles overlap.

The tile edges are configured such that an expanse of tiles, aligned edge-to-edge, can be formed. Openings straight through the expanse are avoided, some flexibility between adjacent tiles is possible, and the tiles can have some curvature. The amount of flexibility and curvature will depend on the angles and radii used in the joint design and the size of the gap between tiles that would be acceptable for any given application.

Multi-hit capacity is increased because the plurality of relatively small tiles are not directly connected to one another, thereby reducing crack propagation. Using such tiles it is possible to cut out and replace a small area in the field rather than having to replace a larger tile. And with tile systems described herein, there is a reduced potential for a tile to be pushed aside, off the horizontal plane, when hit. An overlapping joint system for ballistics armor tile allows for increased flexibility, increased multi hit capability, increased protection at seams and reduced weight by eliminating the need to overlap the full thickness of tiles.

Such tiles best are configured to allow construction from very hard materials such as the various ceramics tiles now in use. The edge joint best will be pressed into the tile by conventional pressing methods in the green state prior to firing or sintering with that configuration retained in the final part reducing or eliminating the need for final machining. In some instances the hard materials used for ballistics applications are so hard and tough that machining is not practical or cost effective. Edge shape properties

Each tile has an edge shape that allows adjacent tiles to fit together so as to form an armor structure that has close fitting seams between tiles, without cracks or gaps that extend straight through the armor structure at about 90° to a face of the structure, or in the case of curved structure, not at about 90° to a tangent where it touches a face of the curved structure. The edge shape also allows adjacent tiles to interengage in such a manner that adjacent tiles can tilt to some extent relative to each other. The armor structure thus can have some flexibility.

The mating edges can be of one of two types - "symmetric" and "asymmetric." Symmetric edge designs allow a single tile to be "turned over" and fit to adjacent tiles. Asymmetric edge tiles do not conveniently invert and require at least two types of tiles used in pairs to fit together to form a plane of tiles.

Advantageously, in symmetric edge tiles, the edge profiles are uniform over half the material thickness. This means that in order to be able to "flip the tile over" and have the flat faces of abutting tiles in alignment, the edge profile must be mirror symmetric about a plane passing horizontally through the mating edge of the tile.

Symmetric tiles are shown in FIGS. 4, 5a-51, 7, 8, and 10. Asymmetric tiles are shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 5-1-5-11, 6, and 9. Curvature

Edges may be either curved or straight, as viewed looking toward a face surface of a tile. FIGS. 6a-6m and 9a-9m show round tile shapes with curved interface edges. Figures 1, 2, 4, 5, 7 and 8 show tiles having straight edges.

Figure 3 is a unique combination of a radius formed edge lying along a straight path and is a hybrid of curved and straight design. Corner interference

Straight edged tiles exhibit experience corner interference. Corner interference prevents the tiles from fitting closely together with tight seams. As shown in FIGS. 3d, 3e, 4d, 5d, 7b, and others, the corners of such tiles can be truncated to avoid interference. Each tile shape has one or more unique corner interference conditions which dictate the extent of truncation required.

Overlap

Overlap is the property of an edge of one tile overlaying an edge of another tile when viewed facing a flat face of an armor structure.

Overlap may affect the shock absorbing properties of the assembly of tiles. All the shapes shown may be produced with varying amounts of overlap.

Interface

The edges of the illustrated tiles have one of three basic shape types - flat, radius or angled.

Angled shapes may have a plurality of angles that vary from design to design. For example, the tiles of FIGS. 7a- 7k, of FIGS. 71-7o, and of FIGS. 8 are the same basic design, but the angles between adjacent edge surfaces are different.

The edge design may be applied without regard to the size, large or small, with the limitation being dependant on the capacity of the equipment used to make or form the tile. Configuration

The illustrated tiles can be generally described as having the shape of a frustum of a pyramid. Referring for example to FIGS. 5a-51, each tile is a body having a base surface or "major face surface" 510 and an apex surface or "minor face surface" 512. One or more lateral faces or "edge surfaces" 520 flare progressively, either continuously or in steps, from the minor face surface 512 to the major face 510 surface without any undercut portion. (The numbering of similar elements in various sets of drawings are the same, but are incremented by 100 from drawing set to drawing set for various illustrated configurations.)

In the illustrated tiles the major and minor face surfaces generally are everywhere equidistant. Although the major and minor face surfaces best are substantially continuous, one or both of the face surfaces may define a cavity for the purpose of weight reduction or may have a surface texture shaped to deflect an incident projectile. The major and minor face surfaces also may be somewhat curved, as shown in

FIGS. 5-1-5-11, for better fit in applications such as vests. The minor face surface 512 has a smaller area than the major face surface 510 and is positioned such that the perimeter 530 of the minor face surface does not extend outwardly of the perimeter 532 of the major face surface when the body is viewed facing the minor face surface as in FIG. 5a. The edge surface or surfaces are sloped, as for example shown in FIGS. 4a-4j, and/or stair stepped, as for example shown in FIGS. 5a-51, between the major and minor face surfaces due to the differences in areas and perimeters of the face surfaces.

In all of the illustrated the tiles, except the tile shown in FIGS. 4a-4j, the shape of the tile is specifically that of a "step pyramid." In a step pyramid shape, the entirety of an edge surface does not lie in a single plane. Although possibly advantageous, no portion of any edge surface of a pyramidal tile need be planar or extend absolutely perpendicularly or in parallel to the to the major and minor face surfaces. The edge surface or surfaces may have two or more different portions or bands, shown at 522, 524 in FIGS. 5a-51, that are of generally uniform width around the entire perimeter of the tile. Advantageously at least two of such portions or bands have different profiles as shown in FIGS. 3a-3p and/or extend at an angle relative to each other as shown in FIGS la-lm. With these arrangements, adjacent tiles are less prone to slip relative to each other, as compared to systems where the edge surfaces are completely planer, when the armor system is impacted or when the wearer of a personal armor garment moves about.

The edge surface or surfaces are in the nature of steps comprised of major and minor corner bands 522, 524 extending from the perimeters of the major and minor face surfaces 510, 512 respectively. Each corner band 522, 524 extends at an angle from its corresponding face surface 510, 512 such that the corner band and the face surface meet at a corner 526, 528. In the advantageous system of FIGS. 5a-51, both the corner bands 522, 524 extend generally perpendicularly to the face surfaces 510, 512. Corner bands are sometimes referred to herein as first and second surface portions.

Advantageously the edge surface or surfaces may also comprise one or more bridging bands, show at 531 in FIGS. 5a-51, that extend between the first and second corner bands 522, 524. A bridging band is sometimes referred to herein as a third surface portion. In some of the illustrated tile systems, as shown for example in FIGS. 5a-51, a single bridging band extends substantially parallel to the face surfaces between the first and second corner bands. In other of the illustrated tile systems, as shown for example in FIGS. 7a-7o, a single bridging band extends at an angle other than about 90° to the face surfaces between the first and second corner bands. A band may be generally planar, as shown in FIGS. 5a-51, or may have a curved profile, as shown at 324 in FIGS. 3a-3p.

Advantageously both the major and minor face surfaces are generally rectangular, as shown in FIGS, la-lm, FIGS. 2a-2o, FIGS. 3a-3p, FIGS. 4a-4j, FIGS. 5a-51, FIGS. 5-1-5-11, FIGS. 7a-7o, FIGS. 8a-8i, and FIGS. lOa-lOf, with the ratio of the length of the sides of the rectangle being the same for both the major and minor face surfaces. Most advantageously both the major and minor face surfaces are generally square as illustrated.

Advantageously such generally square tiles are generally bilaterally symmetrical about three mirror lines 540, 542, 544. Each of two such mirror lines 540, 542 extends generally in parallel to and midway between each pair 550, 560 of facing perimeter edges of the major and minor face surfaces. And one such mirror line 544 extends generally perpendicular to the major and minor face surfaces at their centers.

Advantageously, both the major and minor face surfaces are centered relative to each other such that the perimeter 530 of the minor face surface is generally everywhere equidistant from the perimeter 532 of the major face surface when the body is viewed facing the minor face surface, as in FIG. 5a.

Best results are achieved with edge surfaces 520 that are not grooved or greatly undercut.

Particularly advantageous are the symmetric edge tiles, such as those of FIGS. 5a-51, that have an edge surface is profiled such that the edge surfaces of two adjacent tiles conform to one another when two identical tiles are positioned edge-to-edge with the face surfaces of the two tiles facing in opposite directions, such that the major face surface of one tile faces in the same direction as the minor face surface of the adjacent tile as illustrated in FIG. 5e. To provide for armor flexibility adjacent tiles have mating edge surfaces 520, but do not have interlocking edge surfaces in the sense that adjacent tiles can be tilted to some degree relative to one another in the manner of a hinge, as shown in FIG. 5k. Advantageously, the tiles are of unitary construction, which is to say not constructed of plural laminated parts.

Manufacture The tiles best are formed using standard power metallurgy techniques, particularly powder pressing processes using mechanical or hydraulic presses and using dies with outer configurations and/or top and or bottom punches and/or cavities that will produce a green body for an entire tile of a desired shape. Frusto-pyramidal tiles, as described herein, are particularly well suited for efficient, high rate production by such standard powder pressing processes because there are no undercut portions in the edge surfaces. Such tiles can very conveniently be of unitary construction, which is to say not constructed from plural laminated parts. However, any of the tiles described herein can be made in more than one part. For example, FIG. 11 shows a tile of the shape shown in FIGS. 7a- 7p. Only the tile of FIG. 11 differs in that it is a sandwich arrangement where parallelepiped portion defined by the minor surface face and the minor corner band surface is formed separately from the remainder of the tile. The tile portions can be bonded together by any of several conventional methods including but not limited to adhesives, brazing, tape, welding, and glue with or without heat. Separate tile portions also may be held in place without bonding by wrapping with fabric or the like.

Any of the tiles described herein may have a textured surface faces. For example, the tile shown in FIG. 12 has both the minor and major surface faces textured.

The major and/or minor surfaces of tiles described herein may be textured to provide a decorative effect. Or in the case of armor tile systems, the major and/or minor surfaces can have a curved or angled texture to turn impinging projectiles to reduce or eliminate the effect of 90° projectile impacts, which have the greatest potential for penetration or cracking destruction of an armor tile. The textured surface can have ridges and/or peaks formed by the appropriate placement of triangles (pyramids), squares (cubes), rectangles, and/or curved radii ridges (waves) where the depth of any depression is not more than 60% of the distance between peaks or ridges. In view of the many possible embodiments to which the principles of the disclosed invention may be applied, it should be recognized that the illustrated embodiments are only preferred examples of the invention and should not be taken as limiting the scope of the invention. Rather, the scope of the invention is defined by the following claims.