Flexible composite for protection against slashing, stabbing and firing weapons as well as shrapnel
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ballistic protection solutions, particularly against long guns, are rigid, heavy, inflexible, and noisy, with weak points between plates and limited breathability, and do not effectively protect against bladed weapons and fragments.
Innovation Solution
A flexible protective composite composed of a multi-layered textile sheet structure and a three-dimensional wire structure, where the wire structure is formed by intersecting spirals, is used to create a sandwich design that is lightweight, quiet, and customizable, with the layers bonded together for stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If rigid plate solutions (metal or ceramic) are used for protection against long guns, then ballistic protection is improved, but flexibility and mobility are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials by combining rigid ceramic plates with flexible textile carriers and bonding agents. The ceramic plates provide ballistic protection against long guns, while the textile carrier system ( consisting of multiple textile layers with bonding agents between them) provides flexibility and mobility. This composite structure resolves the contradiction by integrating both rigid and flexible components into a unified protective system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses flexible textile carriers and thin film bonding agents to create a protective system that conforms to body contours. The textile layers act as flexible shells that hold the rigid ceramic plates in place while allowing movement. This approach maintains ballistic protection while significantly improving flexibility compared to traditional rigid plate solutions.
2Ease of operation
If multiple rigid plates are combined for improved mobility, then flexibility is improved, but protection in spaces between plates is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple protective functions into a unified system where ceramic plates, textile carriers, and bonding agents work together. The textile layers are bonded between the ceramic plates, creating an integrated structure that eliminates gaps and weak points. This combining approach ensures continuous protection across the entire surface while maintaining the mobility benefits of multiple plate segments.
Solution Approach 2:
The bonding agents create composite joints between the ceramic plates and textile carriers, ensuring that the spaces between plates are effectively sealed and protected. This composite construction prevents projectiles from penetrating through gaps, thereby maintaining reliable protection coverage while allowing the modular plate structure to provide mobility.
3Reliability
If rigid plate solutions are used, then ballistic protection is improved, but breathability is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs flexible textile carriers as thin film structures that allow air circulation between the wearer's body and the rigid ceramic plates. These textile layers act as breathable interfaces that maintain ballistic protection while enabling thermal regulation and comfort. The textile material's porous structure allows breathability unlike solid rigid plates.
4Reliability
If rigid plate solutions are used, then ballistic protection is improved, but noise generation is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies cushioning principles by using flexible textile carriers and bonding agents that absorb and dampen impact sounds before they propagate. The textile layers act as acoustic buffers between the rigid ceramic plates and the external environment, reducing noise generation during movement or impact events while maintaining the ballistic protection function.
5Reliability
If rigid plates are used, then ballistic protection is improved, but shaping and customization are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible textile carriers can be easily shaped and customized to fit different body contours and application requirements. These textile layers serve as formable substrates that can be cut, sewn, and molded into various shapes while maintaining their function of holding ceramic plates. This flexibility in shaping is not possible with rigid plates alone.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a flexible nonwoven for providing protection from slashing, stabbing and firing weapons as well as shrapnel. The protective material provides improved ballistic protection, which is also effective in particular against long firearms. The invention is used for example in the areas of personal protection, protection from firearms, security vehicle technology, military technology, aeronautical and aerospace engineering. The object of the invention is to propose a flexible protective nonwoven, consisting of a nonwoven of soft-ballistic and hard-ballistic protective materials. It is intended to be lightweight, highly flexible and quiet and, by means of easily possible and universal shaping, be easily producible and effectively usable. The soft-ballistic protective material is a multi-ply fabric which consists of high-strength textile materials. The hard-ballistic protective material consists of a three-dimensional wire structure of a lightweight construction which consists of multiple criss-crossing and interconnected wires that form a multiplicity of cells in three-dimensional space. The three-dimensional wire structure (2) is formed by interlocking transverse spirals (3) and longitudinal spirals (4) in each plane. There are at least two planes, which are likewise connected to one another.