Abstract:
A window cover for a military vehicle which includes armored plates angled away from an underlying vehicle window with reflectors, one of the reflectors being pivotable. The window cover allows an occupant of the vehicle to view outside the vehicle window as light is reflected off a viewing reflector to a stationary reflector and toward an occupant of the vehicle. A filter is placed between the viewing and stationary reflectors to filter out a portion of light reflected. The filter may also provide a collimation function.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 11/757,863, filed Jun. 4, 2007 now U.S. Pat. No. 8,056,463, which is a continuation-in-part of Utility patent application Ser. No. 11/333,783, filed Jan. 17, 2006, issued Jun. 5, 2007 as U.S. Pat. No. 7,225,718, which claims priority and benefit of Provisional Application No. 60/644,116, filed Jan. 14, 2005, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     U.S. Pat. No. 7,225,718 discloses a device for using reflectors to see out of a military vehicle window. The device uses an upper armored plate with reflective covering disposed on its underside. A lower reflector is placed below the upper plate and ahead of a lower armored plate. This configuration enables an occupant of the vehicle to see out windows of a military vehicle and remain protected from projectiles fired at the vehicle. While successful, the field of view as seen by the occupant of a vehicle is not adjustable because the reflectors are fixed in place. Also, light striking the lower reflector is redirected toward a vehicle occupant&#39;s eyes without being filtered. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is an improvement for a window cover used for viewing out of a window. The window cover has a first armored plate and a viewing reflector in front of the first armored plate. The viewing reflector is angled away from the window and reflects light directed toward the window. The viewing reflector is penetrable by a projectile fired at the vehicle toward the window. A second armored plate is in front of the window. The second armored plate has an inner surface and an outer surface. The inner surface faces the window at an angle relative to the window. A stationary reflector is secured to the inner surface of the second armored plate. The stationary reflector is opposite the viewing reflector so that at least a portion of the light striking the viewing reflector and reflected from it may be reflected off the stationary reflector through the window. 
     A filter for light is placed between the viewing and stationary reflectors. The filter filters out portions of light passing through it and may also include a collimator. 
     An object of the invention is to provide a window cover that has an adjustable field of view. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide a field of view similar to that of a traditional window. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide a filter for light that passes through a window cover for a vehicle. 
     Still other objects of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following description. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the window cover of this invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of another embodiment the window cover of this invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a sectional view of the embodiment of the window cover shown in  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a sectional view of the embodiment of the window cover shown in  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the collimator. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION 
     A window cover  10  shown in  FIG. 2  is attached to a military vehicle  12 . The window cover  10  is used over a window  14 , as shown in  FIG. 2  of vehicle  12 . The window cover  10  is removably mounted in place on the vehicle by suitable fasteners. As seen in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , an occupant  18  of the military vehicle  12  is able to utilize the window cover  10  to have an unobstructed view through the vehicle window  14  with protection from bullets  15  or similar projectiles fired at the window and the vehicle occupant.  FIG. 3  shows one embodiment of the window cover of this invention and  FIG. 4  shows another embodiment. 
       FIGS. 3 and 4  show the window cover  10  including a viewing window  20  that is mounted to a box  22 . Window  20  is preferably of a plastic construction. An O-ring seal  23  is used around the perimeter of the viewing window  20  to prevent entry of water or sand into the box  22 . Behind the viewing window  20  is a viewing reflector  24 . The viewing reflector  24  is movable as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . The viewing reflector  24  is opposite a stationary reflector  26  which does not move and has a mirrored reflective surface. In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 3 , the viewing reflector  24  is above the stationary reflector  26 . In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 4 , the stationary reflector  26  is above the viewing reflector  24 . The viewing reflector  24  in both embodiments is in front of a first armored plate  27 , and the stationary reflector  26  is behind second armored plate  16 . The viewing reflector  24  has reflective layer  28  which is preferably a polymer mirror or a polished metal mirror surface that is attached to a substrate  30 . The substrate  30  is preferably made of aluminum honeycomb, lightweight foam, or plastic material that adds structural integrity to the reflective layer  28  of the viewing reflector  24 . A light filter  31  is placed between the viewing and stationary reflectors  24 ,  26 . 
     An occupant  18  of the military vehicle  12  can change his field of view by pivoting the viewing reflector  24 . This may be done with a crank  32  attached to a worm gear assembly  34  as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . Pivoting the viewing reflector  24  may also be accomplished by alternative means such as hydraulics, pneumatics, or cables. The light reflected from the viewing reflector  24  to the stationary reflector  26  passes through the filter  31 . The filter  31  is made of a light filtering material which filters out portions of the light that may be harmful to the eyes of an occupant  18  of the vehicle. Another function of the filter  31  is to collimate light reaching the lower reflector to prevent the occupant from seeing extraneous objects. Extraneous objects are things which the occupant  18  would see when looking into the window cover that are not outside the vehicle itself. Examples of extraneous objects are parts of the inside of the sealed box  22  or mounting hardware for the viewing reflector  24 . The collimating function of the filter  31  ensures that the light reaching the occupant&#39;s eyes is only that reflected from the viewing reflector  24  as opposed to light reflected from objects within the window cover  10 , which would be distracting to an occupant. This provides a field of view to the occupant that approximates what he would see if looking through a traditional window. The collimation function of the filter  31  is achieved by painting the perimeter of the filter  31  with an opaque color that blocks all light in the painted area  33 , which is shown in  FIG. 5 . Light may also be blocked by adding a layer of opaque material such as sheet metal over the filter to block light in what is shown as the painted area  33 . 
     In the configuration shown in  FIG. 2 , a third reflector  29  may be used to enhance an occupant&#39;s  18  view of the ground near a vehicle. The third reflector  29 , which is best seen in  FIG. 3 , is attached in front of the viewing reflector  24  and above the stationary reflector  26 . The third reflector  29  can allow the occupant  18  to see the ground at some distance from the vehicle. The third reflector  29  reflects light from the ground closer to the vehicle than would enter the viewing window  20  without the third reflector  29 . Light reflected from the ground near the vehicle  12  will be reflected to the stationary minor  26  and ultimately reach the occupant&#39;s  18  eyes. 
     During use, an occupant  18  looks through window  14  as would be done in the absence of the window cover  10  of this invention. Light that enters the viewing window  20  is reflected from the viewing reflector  24  to the stationary reflector  26  and then on to the occupant&#39;s  18  eyes. When the occupant  18  wishes to change the view he can see, he may change the position of the viewing reflector  24  by using the crank  32 . The third reflector  29 , placed above the viewing window  20  in the configuration shown in  FIG. 2 , will enhance the range of view available to the occupant  18  by allowing him to see objects close to the vehicle  12 . Window  14  is bulletproof glass. Projectiles  15  fired at the vehicle  12  can pierce the viewing window  20  and continue through the viewing reflector  24  as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . The projectiles  15  will then strike the first armored plate  27 . The projectiles will leave holes in the upper reflector  24  that are the size of the projectile  15 . This will allow a number of projectiles  15  to strike the viewing window  20  and the viewing reflector  24  without obstructing the occupant&#39;s  18  view. 
     The detailed description related herein is meant only to exemplify the preferred embodiment of the invention to enable those skilled in the art to make and use it. The subject invention is not limited to the details given, but may be modified within the scope of the following claims.