Camouflage Pattern Using Low Reflectance Dye for Infrared Separation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Camouflage patterns lose effectiveness at longer wavelengths of light, such as those detected by modern night vision goggles operating beyond 900 nm, as colors in these patterns reflect ambient light uniformly, making the wearer easily detectable.
Innovation Solution
A fabric with a camouflage pattern using a blend of vat dyes, including a low reflectance dye like CI vat black 19, which maintains color separation and different reflectance intensities at wavelengths greater than 900 nm, ensuring the pattern remains effective even when viewed through night vision goggles operating at longer wavelengths.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional camouflage patterns use conventional dyes, then they provide good visible light concealment, but they lose effectiveness at wavelengths greater than 900 nm because all colors reflect ambient light uniformly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the optical parameters of the dyes by selecting specific vat dyes with different reflectance characteristics at infrared wavelengths. Instead of using conventional dyes that reflect uniformly across all wavelengths, the invention uses a combination of vat dyes where at least one dye has lower reflectance at wavelengths greater than 900 nm, creating wavelength-dependent reflectance differences that maintain camouflage effectiveness in the infrared range.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite dye formulations by combining multiple vat dyes in specific ratios. The camouflage pattern uses a blend of at least two different vat dyes, where the combination creates distinct reflectance profiles across different wavelength ranges. This composite approach allows the pattern to maintain color separation and concealment properties across both visible and infrared wavelength ranges.
2Reliability
If the camouflage pattern uses multiple colors with different reflectance properties, then color separation is maintained at longer wavelengths, but the manufacturing complexity increases due to dye blending requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent specifies particular reflectance parameter ranges for the dye combination. At least one dye in the blend must have reflectance of less than about 70 percent at 1500 nm, while maintaining appropriate visible color characteristics. This parameter-based approach provides clear manufacturing guidelines for achieving the desired optical properties without excessive complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different dye compositions to different regions of the camouflage pattern. By varying the specific dye blend ratios in different color zones, the invention optimizes both visible concealment and infrared reflectance differences locally across the pattern, allowing each region to contribute appropriately to overall camouflage effectiveness.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The camouflage pattern maintains color separation and concealment properties at wavelengths greater than 900 nm, providing effective concealment even after multiple laundry cycles, meeting military specifications for durability and comfort.
Implementation Method 1
The colors are formulated using a dye that exhibits lower reflectance characteristics than the other dyes used in the pattern. The low reflectance dye is combined with other dyes to produce one or more of the colors in the pattern. The lower reflectance dye is incorporated into the colors so that the colors exhibit different reflectance intensities at relatively long wavelengths, such as at wavelengths greater than about 900 nm.
Implementation Method 2
The camouflage pattern, for instance, may include at least 4 colorings using dyes that in combination produce a range of reflectance values similar to that of the background environment that the individual person will be wearing the garment in. The colors contained in the pattern are formulated so that the colors have different light reflectance properties at relatively long wavelengths.
Data Source
AI summary
Fabrics containing camouflage patterns are produced from dyes wherein at least certain of the colors contained in the pattern contain a low reflectance dye. The low reflectance dye is added to one or more colors in the pattern in order to preserve the camouflage pattern when viewed through night vision goggles as relatively long wavelengths, such at wavelengths greater than 900 nm. In one embodiment, the low reflectance dye comprises a thiazine. The low reflectance dye is blended with other dyes to produce colors in the pattern. By altering the concentration of the low reflectance dye in each of the colors, the colors contained in the camouflage pattern remain separate and distinct even at relatively long wavelengths.