ARMOUR The present invention relates to armour and more particularly but not exclusively to armour for use as body armour comprising a part able to be specially shaped to fit over a curved area of the body, or other armour formed to provide armour for a vehicle or building. Armour has been used in a wide variety of situations for protection including by military personnel, police and security guards as well as where there are hazards from knives in abattoirs and debris in quarries. Ideally, the armour should be matched to expected threats which may be low velocity/energy knife or spike/sharp pointed thrusts and/or high velocity ballistic projectiles and shrapnel. Furthermore, weight, durability to sustained threats and usage, restriction of movement as well as costs are all important facts.

There is a desire and need for more versatile armour useful in multiple different roles, for example to provide protection for occupants of a vehicle and for providing ballistic shields for field positions. Such a 'multi-role' armour system can be used and re-used wherever personnel require ballistic and/or splinter protection.

It is known to provide multi-layer body armour specially shaped to protect shaped areas of an individual's body or of a vehicle. However, adoption of shaped multi-layer armour is hindered since although the penetration resistant material layers may be flexible themselves they remain relatively inelastic in combination in the shaped armour. GB 2231481 proposed a vest whose inner part has a foamed plastic material shaped to fit the breast. A shaped stiff or semi-stiff shock-absorbent sheet is added to the plastic layers and finally a multi-layer ballistic pack is inserted, the entire arrangement being enclosed in a bag to provide a ballistic pack foldable to a desired shape, such as that of an individual's chest but leaving large openings at the left and right sides of the chest unprotected.

The problem is that hard and stiff ceramic and other materials as armour are good with respect to protection particularly with respect to high velocity projectiles but they are heavy, cumbersome and protect only what they cover so gaps and openings are common and a problem. Thus, low velocity knife stabbings and shrapnel can be a problem so typically 'soft' armour in multiple layers is added or, where stabbing is the main threat, solely used but when this soft armour is anchored to stiff rigid armour there is again the possibly of reduced effectiveness.

In accordance with aspects of the present invention there is provided armour comprising an outer section and an inner section and juxtaposed portions of the outer section and the inner section configured for at least a plurality of layers through the armour.

The plurality of layers may be associated to allow at least surface to surface movement between some side-by-side layers. The movement may be resisted by surface friction between contacting surfaces.

Possibly, the outer section is relatively hard compared to at least parts of the inner section. Possibly, the inner section is relatively soft compared to parts of the outer section. Each of the outer section and the inner section may be provided by a respective plurality of layers.

The plurality of layers may be associated by dispersed fastenings. The dispersed fastenings may be stitching or adhesive spots or tacks or darts or pins or spot fusion or needled fibre entanglement or Velcro type associations. The dispersed fastenings may be frangible.

Possibly, an armour plate is provided between the outer section and inner section of the armour.

Possibly, at least one laminate or laminate surface is provided in or upon the armour. The laminate may be associated with the outer section and/or the inner section. A laminate may be provided upon at least one intermediate layer of the plurality of layers. The laminate may be associated with the armour plate. The laminate may be an aramid. The laminate may include resin. The laminate may be applied in patches in lateral sections of the armour. The plurality of layers may comprise at least seventeen layers. Possibly, the plurality of layers will comprise twenty to fifty layers and may be twenty-five to thirty layers.

The outer section and/or inner section may be formed by poly-aramid fibres. The poly aramid fibres may be impregnated with resin.

The plurality of layers may have layers of different thicknesses, at least on association. The different thicknesses may be in different portions of the armour. The armour may be moulded to a desired shape by outer section and/or inner section resilience and/or shape memory.

The outer section may have a fire retardant surface. The outer section may have a non-reflective surface. The outer section may provide a functional cover for the armour. The functional cover may be a ballistic outer cover.

The inner section may include a semi-rigid layer. The semi-rigid layer may be ply board. The inner section may include a foam layer. The foam layer may be between the inner section and the outer section. The foam layer may be adjacent an inner most exposed surface of the inner section. The foam layer may be formed from shape memory foam. The armour may be used as personal body armour and/or vehicle armour and/or building armour and/or seat armour. The armour may include pockets to receive further armour sections. Embodiments of aspects of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 illustrates a cross section of a multiple layer armour structure according to a first embodiment of the invention for use in body armour or an armour system;

Figure 2 illustrates a cross section of a multiple layer armour structure according to a second embodiment of the invention for use in body armour or an armour system;

Figure 3 illustrates a cross section of a multiple layer armour structure according to a third embodiment of the invention for use in body armour or an armour system;

Figure 4 illustrates a cross section of a multiple layer armour structure according to a fourth embodiment of the invention for use in body armour or an armour system; Figure 5 illustrates a cross section of a multiple layer armour structure according to a fifth embodiment of the invention for use in body armour or an armour system;

Figure 6 illustrates one practical application of body armour according to the various embodiments deployed within a body belt to be worn by a user;

Figure 7 is a more detailed view in close up of part of the Figure 6 application;

Figure 8 illustrates a cross section of a multiple layer armour structure according to a sixth embodiment of the invention for use in body armour or an armour system; Figure 9 illustrates a cross section of a multiple layer armour structure according to a seventh embodiment of the invention for use in body armour or an armour system; Figure 10 illustrates a cross section of a multiple layer armour structure according to an eighth embodiment of the invention for use in body armour or an armour system; and,

Figure 1 1 is a schematic illustration of a vest utilised in accordance with aspects of the present invention.

It is also known to use high tenacity fibres such as poly-aramid fibres in multilayer structures to provide ballistic protection in body armour. Bullet resistant vests of multilayer structure have proven very satisfactory as body armour for men and women, providing armour meeting the requisite protection, whilst being conformable to different shapes.

Wearer comfort and effectiveness of armour to prevent injury are closely related. Known armour is generally somewhat stiff and does not readily adapt or conform to curved shapes. If the armour does not lie in snug contact with the wearer's body, shock transmission becomes uneven and the body armour does not perform as it should. The body armour's shaped areas are particularly liable to damage by shots at a glancing angle of incidence. It will be understood that injury will occur when a projectile (bullet round) or sharp knife penetrates but also trauma which itself may cause severe injury can occur by the non-penetrative shock impact on parts of an individual's body. Thus, specifications for armour may define acceptable levels of 'back face', that is to say on the opposite side to impact, deflection which is less than a certain level such as 44mm to limit the effects of such trauma.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 1 , there is shown a cross-section through a portion 10 of a multiple layer armour arrangement which includes an outer layer 12, a hard armour part 14, 16 and a soft armour section 18. The outer layer 12 may be environmental protection such as water-proofing or abrasion resistance but also may itself provide so-called soft armour protection.

The hard armour part 14, 16 includes suitable fibres of a resin impregnated poly aramid such as KEVLAR (Registered Trade Mark of DuPont Inc.) in this embodiment.

The thickness of the or each layer 14, 16 can be varied to increase or decrease their flexibility, depending upon the required use, to adopt or be shaped to different levels and the extent of curvature about an individual or vehicle or other body to be protected. Tests have shown that an arrangement including the portion 10 induces a twisting motion to a ballistic projectile when presented to the portion 10 which penetrates the hard armour. This twisting motion causes the projectile to become entangled in the soft armour, thus improving the armour's ability to arrest the projectile. The arrangement has been found to be surprisingly effective at arresting and dissipating the momentum of the projectile travelling at expected or typical velocities. Whilst not wishing to be bound by any theory, it is believed that the effectiveness of present arrangements in accordance with aspects of the present invention is as a result of an apparently synergistic combination of a hard armour plate which shatters the projectile into more manageable and containable/arrestable fragments, thus dividing the kinetic energy of the projectile amongst the fragments, which fragments are then individually arrested by the soft armour.

The presence of the outer and inner layers of armour may prevent an armour plate combined with those layers from splintering when a ballistic projectile impacts the structure, thereby allowing the whole armour to be re-used several times.

The soft armour section 18 includes multiple layers of soft armour material which, in this embodiment, include single or multiple layers of fabrics made from woven filaments of poly aramid fibres fabricated or constructed to contribute towards arresting or deflecting projectiles impacting on, or passing through, the hard armour part 14, 16 in one embodiment but, as will be described below it is flexibility between layers whether they be hard on soft or soft on soft in a multiple layer structure or arrangement which provides some advantages. The layers within a designated space have as near complete flexibility for side-by-side slip to help arrest projectiles or fragments of projectiles but more importantly to more closely mirror protected body curvature. The designated space may be between more stable and fixed seams or 'framing' for the flexibility in the designated space.

The layers of soft armour material in the soft armour segment 18 may be stitched or, advantageously, the layers are preferably free to move relative to one another. Alternatively, layers may be loosely associated with flexibility by frangible stitching or simply pinned together or pegged side-by-side by darts or possibly adhesive or hook/fleece (VELCRO®) patches although the costs of such associations between the layers may be prohibitive. The purpose of the associations between the layers is to allow relative movement of the multiple layers relative to each other for shaping and flexibility in use. The number of soft armour layers is dependent upon requirements such as threat level and type of threat along with necessary flexibility and costs but will generally be greater than twenty layers and more preferably between twenty and fifty layers. The cover material 12 is preferably fire retardant, and may be provided with a non-reflective coating or layer.

Some embodiments also include a foam layer 20 to improve the shaping characteristics of the structure. The foam layer 20 is preferably constructed from high density foam or other similar material so that, once deformed, it maintains the desired shape. The structure may also include an inner layer 22 which, in this embodiment, is a thin ply board or other similar semi-rigid material. The use of the layer 22 is to spread the impact force from a bullet or other ballistic item that impacts the armour.

It has been found that providing a soft armour section with many layers free to move relative to one another not only allows for improved material flexibility but also improves the armour's ability to arrest projectiles impacting on, or passing through, an hard armour part when preferably present. The layers slip past each other with possibly surface to surface friction at each layer upon layer interaction arresting projectiles and spike penetration in due course. As used herein, the term "soft armour" is taken to refer to one or more soft armour layers made of anti-ballistic, or bullet proof or stable resistant materials such as, for example, single or multiple layers of fabrics made from woven filaments, such as poly aramid fibres, polyester fibres, or Nylon filaments (Registered Trade Mark of DuPont Inc) or a mixture of these fibres fabricated or constructed to contribute toward arresting or deflecting projectiles.

The presence of laminate layers on the armour plate formed by the hard layers 14, 16 will aid stopping ballistic projectile impacts through the plate or allow them to be stopped within the inner section of soft armour, providing improved ballistic performance in lighter weight armour. A laminate layer or layers will slip with friction or resistance against or between the hard layers 14, 16 as well as soft armour layers. The presence of the laminate layers on the hard armour provided by layers

14,16 will either stop ballistic projectile impacts themselves within the plate or allow them to be stopped within the soft armour provide by multiple layers as described above, providing improved ballistic performance in lighter weight armour. The presence of the laminate layers on the soft armour will further improve the ballistic performance of the armour by reducing trauma caused by fragments penetrating the soft armour but also shortening the 'back face' deflection and distortion distance. The side-by-side slip of layer upon layer will have resistance and friction dissipating impact energy in a shorter distance of deflection rather than bulging or ballooning a single thicker layer or reduced number of thicker layers where energy absorption is more basely dependent upon the material elasticity to arrest the projectile hopefully before rupture of all layers.

In some embodiments, the plurality of soft armour layers comprises at least seventeen layers of soft armour material and optionally, the plurality of soft armour layers comprises between twenty and fifty layers, for example between twenty-five and thirty layers, of soft armour material. The layers need not be all of the same thickness and effectively loose patches of reduced presented surface area may be 'held' loosely flat side-by-side in a sandwich between and with other layers.

The hard armour section preferably comprises one or more layers of suitable fibres of poly aramid such as KEVLAR (Registered Trade Mark of DuPont Inc.) or the like. The fibres are resin impregnated and are formed into one or more layers. The thickness of the or each layer can be varied to increase or decrease the flexibility, depending upon the required use. The hard armour section may comprise a plurality of layers, for example twenty- five to thirty layers, which may be bonded or stitched together.

In some embodiments the hard armour, soft armour or armour plate may comprise a laminate layer.

The armour plate is typically formed from a ceramic such as Boron Carbide or Silicon Carbide. The armour plate may be associated in dedicated pockets formed in the hard armour section. Thus, the plates are freely held in the pockets but restrained with regard to position. Furthermore, as described above a laminate can be applied to the surfaces of the armour or hard armour section for further fragment and projectile restraint. In such circumstances, the soft armour or hard armour sections can be formed from layers of laminates. The laminate layers will act to reduce impact deformation and so trauma injuries. The laminates will also improve anti-spike or sharp point performance by arresting the spike or point by enveloping and higher velocity ballistic projectile restraint.

The laminate is preferably an aramid polymer layer. Typically, each laminate will have a thickness of 0.05 to 0.1 mm but it will be understood particularly when applied to soft armour layers of a more reinforced fibre or textile nature the actual thickness will depend upon impregnation rather than a consistent coating or coatings. Furthermore, resins may be added to the laminate to improve flexibility and so reduce trauma and stop projectile penetration itself or in conjunction with other layers. However, such poly aramid and resin combinations may be limited to patches where required as such ploy aramid and resin compositions are appreciably more expensive than pure poly aramid laminates.

By having an outer section towards a potential approaching projectile direction and an inner section towards a user or vehicle or building with a free movement interface in between the sections or plurality of layers of material formed by the outer section and the inner section improved armour performance is achieved. The sections or layers are substantially free in desired sections so firstly the armour is more readily and closely adapt to desired shapes by side-by-side slip past each other of the layers so curves are more readily achievable with closer mirroring of the armour to the body shape so the armour can lie next to the body rather than offset between touching parts and secondly under impact it will be appreciated that the layers, and sections, can slide past each other as the stack is distorted by the impact, each slip past will have a surface to surface friction interaction so absorbing and dissipating impact energy with less distortion than a mono or lowered numbered plurality of layers in assembly. The number and thicknesses of the layers will dependent upon potential threats and other operational requirements of a user.

The side by side interaction between the layers as indicated allows flexibility as well as adaptation of the projectile restraint performance. The interaction can be 'tuned' in terms of friction and other response through coatings, the denier of the fibres used, the type of weave if used and other factors to a desired response in use. Furthermore, as indicated above laminates can be applied to provide either greater or less friction at the interface. It will be understood that each layer has its inherent material properties dependent upon thickness and other factors. With a mono layer the deformation response is mainly due to the material properties but with a plurality of layers the surface to surface side by side interactions between the layers will also effect deformation response of the plurality of layers. A plurality of layers allows design choice to more closely match threat with armour performance in terms of resistance to penetration and limit to trauma deformation along with weight and convenience of use. Referring now to Figure 2, there is shown a second embodiment of aspects of the present invention similar to the first embodiment, wherein like features are depicted by like reference numerals and hence will not be described. In one class of embodiments, an armour system is provided incorporating the multi-layer structure defined above, wherein the multi-layer structure may be used as personal body armour, armour for a vehicle, armour for a part of a building such as a building where personnel rest or operate, field protection, sleeping space protection, a portable shield or a carrying device. Optionally, the armour system comprises components which can be engaged with a seat to provide protection for the occupant of the seat.

Figure 2 shows a portion 100 of multiple layer armour having hard armour plate 1 14 in place of the hard armour part 14, 16 and the soft armour section 118 includes between 25 and 30, preferably 28, layers which are free to move (i.e. not stitched or otherwise bonded to one another) in desired portions. The hard armour plate 114 in this embodiment is formed of a ceramic based material and is designed to shatter a projectile, for example a bullet, into fragments. The free movement as described previously allows flexibility to conform to shape and impact response. Clearly, the layers need to be held in some way in position this can be through peripheral seams or pins or adhesive spots or fibre entanglements or Velcro or a tacky smear, partially or fully settable in terms of strength of bond to retain shaping, or combinations of these fastening methods. Referring now to Figure 3, there is shown a third embodiment of aspects of the present invention similar to the first and second embodiments described above, wherein like features are depicted by like reference numerals and hence will not be described. Figure 3 shows a portion 200 of multiple layer armour including a hard armour plate 214 with a thin layer of armour 214a, 214b secured to either side thereof and is covered or wrapped in a ballistic nylon outer cover 212. The hard armour plate 214 in this embodiment is formed from silicon carbide or boron carbide and the thin layers 214a, 214b are made of resin impregnated fibres of poly-aramid as described above.

The arrangement illustrated in figure 3 is particularly suited to help prevent splinters and has been found to remain effective even after being subjected to multiple hits.

Referring now to Figure 4, there is shown a fourth embodiment of aspects of the present invention similar to the aforementioned embodiments, wherein like features are depicted by like reference numerals and hence will not be described.

Figure 4 shows a portion 300 of multiple layer armour including a hard armour part 314 with a thick laminated outer section 318a of soft armour and a single inner layer 318b of soft armour. The hard armour part 314 is made of twenty layers of resin impregnated fibres of poly-aramid as described above and the outer section 318a of soft armour includes seventeen layers of soft armour as described above.

The arrangement illustrated in figure 4 has been found to be particularly suited to lower calibre close range ballistics, for example for use by police forces.

Referring now to Figure 5, there is shown a fifth embodiment of aspects of the present invention particularly suited to higher calibre ballistics. This embodiment is similar to the aforementioned embodiments, wherein like features are depicted by like reference numerals and hence will not be described.

Figure 5 shows a portion 400 of multiple layer armour including a soft armour section 418 with a thick laminated outer section 414a of hard armour and a thin inner section 414b of hard armour. The soft armour section 418 is made of twenty-five to thirty layers of soft armour as described above. The outer section 414a is made of twenty-five to thirty layers of resin impregnated fibres of poly-aramid as described above and the inner section 414b is made of three layers thereof. Tests have revealed that multiple layer armour, in particular which includes one of the structures described above, is effective at stopping bullets from a high calibre rifle and other fragmentation that would otherwise require traditional hard armour alternatives, for example ceramic plates such as silicon nitride, carbon fibre or synthetic fibre reinforced composite plastics materials and glass fibre reinforced materials.

One advantage of the armour as hereinbefore described is that it is lighter and more flexible than equivalent armour currently available.

Furthermore, it is intended to use this armour in a wide number of applications such as personal body armour, armour for a vehicle, armour for part of a building, field protection, sleeping space protection, a portable shield or a carrying device. The manufacture of the aforementioned products utilizes known moulding technologies to construct pre-formed shapes incorporating the armour which can then be incorporated into new products or fitted to existing items, for example aircraft seats on a retrofit basis. Referring next to Figure 6, there is shown one practical application of the armour material namely a body belt 500 to be worn by a user (not shown) around the waist and back areas. The body armour material 501 is contained within a tough fabric belt 502, and at least part of its outermost surface is exposed and visible. The backing 503 of the body belt is designed for a snug fit around the back and waist of a user (not shown) and has associated fastening straps 504 for connection to other items or components not concerned with the invention.

A belt 505 passes under the body armour material 501 , partly held in place by straps 506 affixed to the backing of the belt.

Figure 7 is a close up of part of the Figure 6 body armour belt application. In this view, the body armour material section 501 is more clearly apparent and shown stitched into the fabric of the backing of the belt by stitching 507. The portion illustrated is part of the central region of the protective body armour belt that would typically be in use applied to the centre back area of the intended user.

Figure 8 provides a schematic cross-sectional illustration of a sixth embodiment of aspects of the present invention. A body armour section 800 is provided comprising a ceramic armour plate 801 sandwiched between back soft armour layers 802 and laminates 803 and having a cover 804 at a front part. The cover 804 may be waterproof and itself provide some soft armour protection. In the sixth embodiment shown the number of laminate layers 803 as well as their thickness can be adjusted dependent upon threat and other requirements. Furthermore, expensive laminates can be applied only in specific areas of the section 800.

Figure 9 provides a schematic cross-sectional illustration of a seventh embodiment of aspects of the present invention. A plurality of layers 901 of Kevlar or similar material is sandwiched between laminates 902, 903 in an armour section 900. Thus, the laminates 902, 903 and layers 901 act in concert to provide armour protection with the laminates acting as hard armour in a shell and the layers of Kevlar free to flex for shaping and projectile arrest. Clearly, certain parts of a body may be more sensitive than others so require better or greater protection. As illustrated in figure 10 showing in cross-section an eighth embodiment of aspects of the present invention an armour section 1000 is provided. As previously, a plurality of layers 1001 of material such as Kevlar or a ceramic are associated to provide armour. However, in a pocket 1002 and so with free movement a further local armour plate 1002a or otherwise is provided for localised enhancement of performance.

Figure 1 1 shows a schematic illustration of a vest 1100 substantially formed from armour in accordance with aspects of the present invention. Thus, the vest 1100 can be shaped for close proximity to a user's shape due to the flexibility and free movement of the layers as described above. Furthermore, pockets 1101 which may be closed or openable are arranged to receive additional armour typically in the form of heavier ceramic plates when required. The vest 1100 can be used without the additional armour in the pockets when the threat is low or with plates when the threat is higher when the extra weight and reduced personal flexibility is more acceptable. A set of different additional armour inserts or plates for the pockets can be provided for different threat levels.

The present invention has been described above purely by way of example and several variations are envisaged without departing from the scope of the invention, which extends to equivalents of the features described. For example, the hard plate 114 may comprise two or more hard plates 114 either bonded together or free to move. The hard plate 114 may be formed of boron carbide, silicon carbide, steel or any other suitable material or arrangement which achieves the requisite function.

The invention also consists in any individual features described or implicit herein or shown or implicit in the drawings or any combination of any such features or any generalisation of such features or combination. For example, any of the above arrangements may include a further layer or series of layers of one of the other materials mentioned. For example, any of the third to fifth embodiments may include the outer fire retardant layer 12 and/or the foam layer 20 and/or the inner layer 22.