Hybrid armor assembly

Abstract

An armor assembly has a metal strike face with a front and a back. A textile is coupled to the front of the metal strike face, and a backer is coupled to the back of the metal strike face. A front cover is coupled to the textile, and a back cover is coupled to the backer. In addition, the metal strike face can allow a Level III or a Level IV projectile to penetrate the metal strike face and be stopped by the backer.

We claim: 
     
         1 . An armor assembly, comprising:
 a metal strike face comprising a front and a back;   a textile coupled to the front of the metal strike face;   a backer coupled to the back of the metal strike face;   a front cover coupled to the textile;   a back cover coupled to the backer; and   the metal strike face is configured to allow a Level III or a Level IV projectile to penetrate the metal strike face and be stopped by the backer.   
     
     
         2 . The armor assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the metal strike face comprises at least one of heat-treated alloy, titanium, stainless steel, abrasion resistant steel, ballistic metal or ballistic alloy. 
     
     
         3 . The armor assembly of  claim 1  wherein, in a direction normal to the metal strike face, the metal strike face comprises a thickness in a range of about 0.089 inches to about 0.5 inches. 
     
     
         4 . The armor assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the metal strike face comprises an abrasion metal resistance in a range of about 500 to about 1000 Vickers. 
     
     
         5 . The armor assembly of  claim 1 , further comprising a structural adhesive to bond at least one of metal strike face, textile, backer, front cover and back cover. 
     
     
         6 . The armor assembly of  claim 5 , wherein the structural adhesive comprises structural epoxy having a thickness in a range of about 0.010 inches+/−0.01 inches. 
     
     
         7 . The armor assembly of  claim 5 , wherein the structural adhesive comprises more than one type of adhesive, and one of the adhesives comprises a low energy bond, hi-strength acrylic adhesive. 
     
     
         8 . The armor assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the armor assembly is integrally pressed and the backer of the integrally pressed armor assembly also extends to the front of the metal strike face. 
     
     
         9 . The armor assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the armor assembly comprises an areal density in a range of about 3.2 psf to about 10.2 psf 
     
     
         10 . The armor assembly of  claim 1 , further comprising a second strike face spaced apart from and coupled to the metal strike face. 
     
     
         11 . The armor assembly of  claim 10 , wherein the second strike face comprises at least one of a metal, an alloy or a ceramic. 
     
     
         12 . The armor assembly of  claim 10 , wherein the backer is located between the metal strike face and the second strike face. 
     
     
         13 . The armor assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the metal strike face is configured to stop penetration of a Level I or Level II projectile through the metal strike face. 
     
     
         14 . The armor assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the textile comprises at least one of woven aramid or polyethylene. 
     
     
         15 . The armor assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the backer comprises at least one of a textile, E-glass, R-glass, S-glass, polyethylene, polypropylene, polymer resin or aramid. 
     
     
         16 . The armor assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the backer comprises an ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE). 
     
     
         17 . The armor assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the backer comprises an areal density in a range of about 1.0 psf to about 3.0 psf. 
     
     
         18 . The armor assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the front and back covers comprise at least one of polyurea, nylon or TPU. 
     
     
         19 . The armor assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the front and back covers comprise polyurea spray elastomer having a thickness of about 0.02 inches to about 0.25 inches. 
     
     
         20 . The armor assembly of  claim 1  wherein, in a direction normal to an outer surface of the armor assembly, the armor assembly has a total thickness of about 0.35 inches to about 1.2 inches. 
     
     
         21 . The armor assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the armor assembly has a total weight of not greater than about 8.0 pounds for Level III threats and 10.2 pounds for level IV threats. 
     
     
         22 . The armor assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the armor assembly consists of only one of each of the following: textile, metal strike face, front cover, back cover and backer. 
     
     
         23 . The armor assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the armor assembly is configured to be:
 worn on a torso or body part of a user;   a helmet for the user;   attached to a vehicle, vessel or aircraft; or   installed in a building construction.   
     
     
         24 . The armor assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the textile and the backer are directly coupled to each other and extend around a perimeter of the metal strike face. 
     
     
         25 . The armor assembly of  claim 1 , further comprising a tensional wrap coupled to both the textile and the backer to mitigate backface deformation of the metal strike plate and edge shot capability of the armor assembly. 
     
     
         26 . The armor assembly of  claim 25 , wherein portions of the tensional wrap overlap each other on the back of the metal strike plate. 
     
     
         27 . The armor assembly of  claim 25 , wherein no portions of the tensional wrap overlap each other on the back of the metal strike plate, and the armor assembly comprises multiple curves. 
     
     
         28 . The armor assembly of  claim 25 , wherein the tensional wrap comprises elongated portions that are rectangular in shape and extend over the top and under the bottom of the armor assembly to wrap around a rear of the armor assembly, and the armor assembly comprises a single curve. 
     
     
         29 . The armor assembly of  claim 28 , wherein the elongated portions cover only a main body of a backside without covering side portions of the backside. 
     
     
         30 . The armor assembly of  claim 1 , further comprising perforations in the strike face or other layers that are configured to cause a projectile to tumble. 
     
     
         31 . The armor assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the backer comprises a textile having a thickness in a range of about 0.20 inches to about 0.60 inches. 
     
     
         32 . The armor assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the metal strike face is configured to augment a Level III or IV projectile and the backer stops the Level III and or level IV projectile. 
     
     
         33 . The armor assembly of  claim 1 , further comprising a backface reduction material coupled to the back of the metal strike face.