Soft Armor Panel Edge Reinforcement via Layer Folding
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing soft armor panels often provide reduced protection near their edges, as projectiles can ricochet and cause harm due to inadequate reinforcement, making wearers vulnerable to severe injuries.
Innovation Solution
A soft armor panel design featuring a three-layer construction with a folded portion around the edges, where the first and third layers are stitched together through the second layer, creating a reinforced edge that increases thickness and stopping power without adding an extra layer, using ballistic resilient materials and stitching patterns for enhanced security.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If existing soft armor panels use standard edge construction, then manufacturing is simple, but protection against projectile ricochets is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The armor panel is divided into multiple layers (first layer, second layer, third layer) with the third layer folded back to create distinct functional zones. This segmentation allows the edge portion to be structurally differentiated from the center, providing enhanced ricochet protection through layered construction while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through systematic assembly steps
Solution Approach 2:
The third layer is folded back and nested between the first and second layers at the edge portion, creating a nested multi-layer structure. This nesting approach increases the effective thickness and protection at critical edge areas without significantly increasing the overall panel volume or complexity of the manufacturing process
2Strength
If armor material is added to enhance edge protection, then stopping power increases, but weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The enhanced protection structure is applied locally only to the edge portion of the panel where ricochet threats are most likely to occur, rather than uniformly across the entire panel. The third layer is folded back specifically at the edges, providing localized strength enhancement without adding unnecessary weight to the center areas where full protection is not required
Solution Approach 2:
The panel uses a composite layered structure combining multiple layers of ballistic resilient material with different orientations and properties. The first, second, and third layers work together as a composite system, where the folded third layer creates a composite edge structure that provides enhanced stopping power through the synergistic effect of multiple material layers rather than simply adding more material
Data Source
AI summary
A soft armor panel includes a first layer having a first outward facing surface and an opposite first inward facing surface. The soft armor panel also includes a second layer disposed adjacent to the first inward facing surface of the first layer, the second layer having a proximate end and a distal end. The soft armor panel further includes a third layer disposed adjacent to the second layer opposite the first layer. The third layer has a second outward facing surface and an opposite second inward facing surface, the second inward facing surface facing the second layer. The third layer includes a folded portion extending around at least one of the proximate end or the distal end of the second layer and tucking in between the first layer and the second layer.