U.S. patent application number 10/037232 was filed with the patent office on 2002-07-18 for device for camouflaging an object.
Invention is credited to Hexels, Gerd.
Application Number | 20020094736 10/037232 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 7951814 |
Filed Date | 2002-07-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020094736 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Hexels, Gerd |
July 18, 2002 |
Device for camouflaging an object
Abstract
A device can be used for camouflaging an object or person or the
like, comprising at least one net or at least one tarpaulin having
rectilinear side edges in each case, which has a camouflage pattern
which consists of a plurality of individual patches of different
colors. The side edges of a plurality of the patches are to a large
extent composed of at least approximately rectilinear sections. A
number of the rectilinear sections being aligned at least
approximately parallel to the side edges of the net or the
tarpaulin.
Inventors: |
Hexels, Gerd; (Nettetal,
DE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
DAVIS & BUJOLD, P.L.L.C.
500 NORTH COMMERCIAL STREET
FOURTH FLOOR
MANCHESTER
NH
03101
US
|
Family ID: |
7951814 |
Appl. No.: |
10/037232 |
Filed: |
December 20, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
442/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F41H 3/00 20130101; Y10T
442/10 20150401 |
Class at
Publication: |
442/1 |
International
Class: |
D04B 001/00; D04C
001/00; D04G 001/00; D03D 009/00; D03D 019/00; D04B 021/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jan 18, 2001 |
DE |
201 00 931.5 |
Claims
1. A device for camouflaging an object or person or the like,
comprising at least one net or at least one tarpaulin having
rectilinear side edges in each case, which has a camouflage pattern
which consists of a plurality of individual patches of different
colors, wherein the side edges of a plurality of the patches are to
a large extent composed of at least approximately rectilinear
sections, a number of the rectilinear sections being aligned at
least approximately parallel to the side edges of the net or the
tarpaulin.
2. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the individual patches
are designed very differently with regard to their two-dimensional
content.
3. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a plurality of the
nets or the tarpaulins are assembled to form a camouflage
cover.
4. The device as claimed in claim 3, wherein at least one of the
nets or the tarpaulins in the camouflage cover is rotated through
an angle with respect to the other nets or tarpaulins.
5. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the number of
rectilinear sections which are aligned at least approximately
parallel to the side edges of the net or the tarpaulin comprises
more than half the rectilinear sections that are present.
6. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the nets or tarpaulins
are of rectangular design and have a ratio between their side edges
of 1:3.
7. The device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the camouflage covers
are each of hexagonal design.
Description
[0001] The invention relates to a device for camouflaging an
object, a person or the like, in the manner defined in more detail
in the preamble of claim 1.
[0002] Camouflage tarpaulins and camouflage nets are generally
known from the area of military engineering. In addition to
three-dimensional camouflage nets, that is to say camouflage nets
which have appropriate elements projecting beyond the actual
surface of the net or the tarpaulin, camouflage nets are also known
which achieve their camouflaging effect merely by means of a
camouflage pattern printed on a flat surface.
[0003] In this case, the three-dimensional camouflage nets have
their advantages in the better camouflaging effect and in the very
good ability of individual nets to be attached to form a large
assembled net, since the projecting camouflage elements hide the
attachment seams or edges relatively well. However, the projecting
camouflage elements of the individual nets make the latter very
difficult to handle, since they firstly take up a great deal of
space, even when folded up, and since secondly the camouflage
elements can tear off very easily.
[0004] The camouflage which are only printed and are generally
referred to as two-dimensional provide considerable advantageous
here in terms of handling, since they avoid the disadvantages
mentioned above. However, the visual camouflaging effect
originating from them is not as good as in the case of the
three-dimensional camouflage nets.
[0005] These camouflage patterns are generally designed in such a
way that they make the contours of the object to be camouflaged by
the camouflage tarpaulin dissolve and merge into the surroundings.
For this purpose, these camouflage nets generally have patches of
various colors which, depending on the surroundings in which the
camouflage net or the camouflage tarpaulin is used, exhibit
different color configurations.
[0006] Here, these patches are of different size, depending on the
size of the net.
[0007] In the case of small nets for persons, cars, etc., small
patches dominate more and, at their edges, have shapes which are
generally round and adapted from nature, in order to appear as
little striking as possible as compared with nature. In addition,
nature itself uses such round, small-area camouflage elements in
the case of relatively small animals, as is known, for example,
from leopards, cheetahs or the like. On the other hand, the large
camouflage nets for trucks, tanks or the like exhibit the
corresponding pattern in enlarged form, in order to be able to
visually dissolve even the large contours. As an example from
nature, mention can be made here of the giraffe, whose patch
pattern is very large, in accordance with its body size.
[0008] However, devices of this type for camouflaging an object
have the disadvantage that the camouflage nets or camouflage
tarpaulins have to be produced and printed completely in the
desired size, since cut edges or seams, because they bound the
individual patches rectilinearly, would be extremely striking and
would critically reduce the camouflaging effect.
[0009] By means of appropriate shaping of the edge regions,
specially in such a way that these fit one another, this can
nevertheless be made possible to a limited extent, but it is only
possible for similarly printed, that is to say generally equally
sized, camouflage nets to be combined with one another at the side
edges provided for the purpose. This again leads to serious
disadvantages with regard to handling and expenditure on time when
constructing the camouflaging.
[0010] It is the object of the present invention to provide a
device for camouflaging an object, a person or the like which, with
the possibility of good handling, is able to develop an ideal
camouflaging effect and which, moreover, permits a plurality of
camouflage tarpaulins, if appropriate even different camouflage
tarpaulins, to be assembled in any desired way without difficulty
to form a large camouflage cover.
[0011] According to the invention, this object is achieved by the
features cited in the characterizing part of claim 1.
[0012] As a result of the boundaries, composed of rectilinear
sections, of a plurality of the individual patches and the
corresponding number of rectilinear sections, which run at least
approximately parallel to the side edges of the tarpaulins, a
combination of the tarpaulins or nets with one another becomes very
easily possible. This is because during assembly the rectilinear
side edges produced by the boundary of the tarpaulin or the net are
not revealed or only to a minimum extent, since the net
intrinsically has a comparatively large number of rectilinear side
edges in any case, of which in turn a relatively large proportion
run at least approximately parallel to the side edges of the net or
the tarpaulin.
[0013] A camouflage cover assembled from a plurality of these
individual webs, the repeats, as they are known, will therefore
achieve a comparable camouflaging effect to that of each of the
individual webs. It is therefore possible, by using a repeat which
is small, simple to produce and easy to print and which can also be
carried very easily in military vehicles or the like, to form a
large camouflage net or a large camouflage cover as required by
joining a plurality of these repeats, which can then even hide a
plurality of vehicles, objects, persons or the like under
itself.
[0014] In a particularly beneficial embodiment of the invention, a
plurality of the tarpaulins are assembled to form the camouflage
cover already mentioned, the tarpaulins or the nets to some extent
also being rotated through 180.degree. with respect to each other,
whilst maintaining their visible surface so that the corresponding
camouflage patterns do not repeat at very short intervals.
[0015] In a further very beneficial embodiment, the sizes of the
individual patches additionally vary very greatly among
themselves.
[0016] The camouflaging effect to be achieved is therefore
approximately optimized in an advantageous way, irrespective of the
size of the object or the like to be camouflaged. The different
sizes of the patches, that is to say their two-dimensional content,
vary very considerably in this case, so that it is entirely
possible for factors of the order of magnitude of 50-250 to exist
between the two-dimensional contents of the larger and the smaller
patches.
[0017] The device very advantageously permits the camouflaging
effect of a three-dimensional camouflage net to be achieved with a
two-dimensional camouflage tarpaulin in the configuration according
to the invention. The advantages with regard to the handling of the
two-dimensional tarpaulin nets are therefore achieved together with
the advantages with regard to the camouflage effect comparable with
that of the three-dimensional camouflage net.
[0018] The ability of the individual camouflage tarpaulins to be
assembled with any desired alignment and at any desired edges or
edge sections without difficulty in this case, apart from the
handling advantages, also makes advantages possible in production.
For example, it is sufficient to print a comparatively small
repeat, in particular in the configuration with patches which are
very different in terms of their size since this repeat can then be
sewed together without difficulty to form camouflage covers of any
desired size. The advantages which result from this with regard to
the required machines, logistics and the like are obvious.
[0019] In this case, the known and conventional color
configurations, for example for forest, desert and snow landscapes,
with regard to the colors and their two-dimensional proportions,
can be maintained; by contrast, only the configuration of the
individual patches and, if necessary, their size is varied in
accordance with the invention.
[0020] Further advantageous refinements of the invention emerge
from the further subclaims and the exemplary embodiments
illustrated below by using the drawings.
[0021] FIG. 1 shows an exemplary camouflage tarpaulin according to
the invention;
[0022] FIG. 2 shows the combination of two of the tarpaulins
according to FIG. 1 to form a camouflage cover;
[0023] FIG. 3 shows an exemplary camouflage tarpaulin according to
the invention in an alternative embodiment; and
[0024] FIG. 4 shows the combination of two of the tarpaulins
according to FIG. 3 to form a camouflage cover.
[0025] FIG. 1 shows a tarpaulin or a net, a repeat 1, as it is
known, with an appropriate camouflage design, which is designed for
example in the form of patches 2 printed onto the repeat 1. Here, a
plurality of the patches 2 has side edges 3 which, to a great
extent, are composed of at least approximately rectilinear
sections. A large number of rectilinear sections is formed at least
approximately parallel to the side edges 4, 5 of the repeat 1. In
order to obtain the most ideal camouflaging effect, this number
should if possible comprise more than half the rectilinear
sections.
[0026] FIG. 2 then shows how a plurality of the repeats 1, here two
of the repeats 1, are assembled to form a camouflage cover 6. In
this case, the two repeats 1 are connected to each other along
their one side edge 4, it being possible for this to be done
directly by sewing the repeats 1 together to form a camouflage
cover 6. As an alternative to this, however, it is also possible
for this joining of the individual repeats to form a larger
camouflage cover 6 to be carried out on site during the
construction of the camouflage. Because of the side edges 3 of
individual patches, which to a large extent run parallel to the
side edges 4, 5 of the repeats, a seam 7 between the individual
repeats 1 can then barely be detected.
[0027] In the illustration selected here in FIG. 2, the two repeats
1 have been placed identically beside each other and connected in
the area of the seam 7. This permits very quick and very simple
processing of the individual repeats 1 to form a large camouflage
cover 6. Of course, the construction of the camouflage cover 6 can
comprise a plurality of the individual repeats 1. Practical sizes
are, for example, between two and six to eight individual repeats 1
per camouflage cover 6.
[0028] FIG. 3 illustrates an alternative design variant which has a
somewhat more differentiated patch pattern but which meets the same
requirements with regard to its side edges 3 of the patches 2 as
discussed above. In this case, the repeat 1, just like the repeats
1 in the preceding figures, is designed with a side ratio of 1:3
and can be produced, for example, in a size of about 1.5
m.times.4.5 m. This size permits very beneficial processing on
conventional textile processing machines.
[0029] FIG. 4 then shows a combination of two repeats 1 according
to FIG. 3 to form a camouflage cover 6. In order to increase the
camouflage action still further and to hide the position of the
seam 7 still better, one of the repeats 1 has been rotated through
an angle, here through 180.degree. for example, with respect to the
other of the repeats 1, before the side edges 4 of the repeats 1
have been assembled in the area of the seam 7.
[0030] In this case, the pattern of the overall camouflage cover 6
becomes still more non-uniform as compared with the pattern
illustrated in FIG. 2, and the camouflage action is increased
further. In this case, it is of course also possible to rotate one
of the repeats 1 through 90.degree., for example, in order to
reinforce the effect further.
[0031] In principle, apart from the rectangular camouflage covers 6
illustrated here, other types of shapes of the camouflage covers 6
are also conceivable. Particularly highly suitable in this case is
a hexagonal blank for the camouflage cover 6 (not illustrated),
since hexagonal camouflage covers 6 of this type can be joined very
easily in the manner of honeycombs to form a continuous camouflage
means of approximately any desired size. In this case, of course,
the angles by which the individual camouflage covers 6 can be
rotated before being assembled naturally match one another.
[0032] In particular, it can then be expedient, during the
construction of a large camouflage cover 6 which, for example,
consists of six or eight repeats 1, or a large camouflage means
which consists of a plurality of the camouflage covers 6, to use a
combination of repeats 1 or camouflage covers 6 which are identical
and rotated before being joined, in order to achieve the most ideal
visual camouflaging effect. However, it is true of all the
camouflage covers 6 or camouflaging means that the position of the
seam 7 in or between the camouflage covers 6 virtually vanishes in
visual terms, so that, by using very simple means, in a quick and
cost-effective manner, a very large camouflage cover 6 or
camouflaging means can be produced from a large number of
individual identical repeats 1 or camouflage covers 6.
* * * * *