Patent Publication Number: US-8109557-B1

Title: Vehicle armor mat

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     1. Area of Application 
     The present disclosure relates to motor vehicle protection means, and more specifically, to a floor mat that can be also used as a ballistic shield device. 
     2. State of the Art 
     An armoring assembly known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,533,781 issued on 9 Jul. 1996 to Charles A. Williams, features fibrous material, which is bonded to the upper surface of the floor, and a ballistic panel/blast shield disposed below the floor and spaced from the lower surface of the floor to create an air gap between the panel and floor. Mechanical fasteners secure the panel to the vehicle. Resilient material is disposed between the vehicle and the panel at the fasteners. The panel, air gap, resilient material and flooring provide resistance to blast pressure. The flooring and fibrous material trap flying shrapnel fragments. 
     Disclosed in UK application 2347112A “Anti-ballistic panel” published on 30 Aug. 2000 and authored by Derrick George Painter is an anti-ballistic panel comprising a laminated structure with a core layer formed from a foamed plastics material, an anti-ballistic textile sheet intimately bonded in face to face contact with the outer strike face of the core layer, and a deformable shield layer intimately bonded in face to face contact with the inner face of the core layer, the shield layer being adapted to prevent a projectile passing therethrough by deforming/stretching to absorb the impact of the projectile. The textile sheet material may be formed from Kevlar fibers. The shield layer may be formed from aluminum alloy. The anti-ballistic panel may be used in the construction of vehicle bodies. 
     Known from the UK patent application 2364956A published on 13 Feb. 2002 (inventor David Adie) is a ballistic protection shield made up of a first-section ceramic material, which breaks up an oncoming projectile and a second-section polymer fiber material, which arrests fragments of the projectile and the ceramic produced on impact. The first section ceramic material has a surface coating of adhesive and a layer of a high performance polymer fiber, which has tough, elastic properties and which upon projectile impact prevents the ceramic from cracking extensively. The second section polymer fiber material comprises a compacted form of multiple sheet layers. Holes or cavities are introduced to the first section ceramic layer or sub-layers as required to allow an increase in the depth of ceramic material for performance purposes without significantly increasing the product weight. A thin intermediate layer of Kevlar stiffened by epoxy resin may be bonded between the first and second sections for higher levels of protection. Applications include vehicle bodywork and bulletproof vests. 
     Known from U.S. Pat. No. 7,040,938 issued on 9 May 2006 to Youn Sang Choi is an armored foldaway inflatable floating device (AFIFD) mounted on the front surface and both side surfaces of an amphibious vehicle to provide additional buoyancy. The AFIFD allows safe swimming of the amphibious vehicle, provides rapidity through automated folding and unfolding processes. The AFIFD has a membrane structure having a seal function and a plate structure having protection power, which are organically combined with each other, to provide both a seal function and protection power. The AFIFD is provided with air while being unfolded by the operation of driving means when the amphibious vehicle swims in water, so that the membrane structure and the plate structure are unfolded to form a completely sealed floating space. When the amphibious vehicle does not swim in water, the structures are folded and closed fixed to a vehicle body, so that the amphibious vehicle can run on ground without any difficulty. 
     A need exists for a simple-in-structure and easy in use and convenient vehicle protection means that can be used as an armor mat, as well as a ballistic shield. 
     SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     According to the disclosure, there is provided a foldable vehicle floor mat adapted to be removably attached to a vehicle door when unfolded, to thereby serve as a ballistic shield. When completely unfolded, the mat can cover the length and height of the vehicle door, for which it was designed. The mat comprises a weather protective layer and an impact-resistant layer. 
     The mat can also comprise hanging hooks attached to the side of the mat, which would be an upper side of the mat when it is unfolded, and a ballast weight attached to the side of the mat, which would be a bottom side of the mat in its unfolded position, and magnetic strips can be placed along the perimeter of the unfolded mat. Additionally, a hook and loop closure and handle can be respectively attached to a middle of the upper and bottom sides of the mat to hold the lower portion of the mat off the ground until fully deployed. 
     The above-identified features are believed to fulfill the need for a convenient, simple, and easy in use foldable vehicle floor armor mat. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
       Other objects, features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent to one skilled in the art by reading the following specification and subjoined claims and by referencing the following drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of an unfolded floor armor mat deployed onto a door of a vehicle; 
         FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view of the unfolded floor armor mat hanging on the door, as taken along line  2 - 2  of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a front view of the mat; and 
         FIG. 4  is a sketch of a vehicle with the mat folded and stored inside the vehicle. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Before beginning a detailed description of the disclosure, mention of the following is in order. When appropriate, like reference numerals and characters maybe used to designate identical, corresponding or similar components in differing figure drawings. Further, in the detailed description to follow, exemplary sizes/models/values/ranges may be given, although the present invention is not limited to the same. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 1-4 , a vehicle foldable armor mat  10  for the use with a vehicle  12  is intended to be hung onto a door  14  when unfolded to thereby function as a ballistic shield device for law enforcement, security, and military personnel. 
     The mat  10  has a folding main body  16  sized to fit the front and rear floor wells of full size vehicle (Crown Victoria, Hummer, etc.) commonly used in public safety or military applications. The mat can be folded along lines  18 ,  20 , etc. in two, three, or more sections, and when completely unfolded would cover the length and height of the vehicle door, for which it was designed. 
     The mat is provided with U-shape hanging hooks  22 . They can be made of metal or plastic and are attached to the mat in any conventional way, for example by rivets  24 . A strip  26  of ballast weight is arranged on the opposite side of the mat, which is its bottom side when the mat is unfolded. The presence of the ballast weight facilitates draping the mat across the outer door skin as the means of providing ballistic protection for the vehicle occupants. Magnetic strips  28  along the perimeter of the unfolded mat could be included to assist in retaining the position of this ballistic shield on a door panel. For even better protection, the overall length of the mat can be selected in such a way that it would have a portion  30  that would lie on the ground in a deployed position of the mat. 
     The mat  10  comprises at least one weather protective layer  32  and a layer  34  of an impact resistant material. Preferably, a second layer  36  of an inner weather protective material is also provided. For better understanding the effect of the mat, shown in the drawings are also a seat height line  42  and a ground level  44 . When installed for exterior ballistic protection on a vehicle door, the mat will offer protection whether the vehicle was moving (½ deployed) or stopped (fully deployed). The vehicle door can also be opened, and the vehicle occupant could crouch behind the door serving as a protective shield in a firefight situation. 
     In folding the mat  10  to make a floor mat  40  ( FIG. 4 ) out of it, a hook and loop strap  44  and a strap handle  46  can be used. When employed as a floor mat, the mat  10  would also retain its ballistic qualities and be even more effective in trapping shrapnel that may penetrate the vehicle undercarriage. Like other ballistic armor, the mat  10  may come in standard National Institute of Justice grade levels, and options for trauma plates of metal, ceramic, etc. (not shown) may also be contemplated. 
     It is believed that the armor mat according to the present disclosure would fulfill the need for a means for a useful ballistic shield for public safety or military applications. The appealing features of the mat would be its dual-purpose design as both a ballistic floor mat and ballistic door shield, which may be easily deployed when needed for additional personal protection in public safety or military use situation. 
     Those skilled in the art can now appreciate from the foregoing description that the broad teachings of the present disclosure can be implemented in a variety of forms. Therefore, while this arrangement has been described in connection with particular example thereof, the true scope of the disclosure should not be so limited since other modifications will become apparent to the skilled practitioner upon a study of the drawings, specification and claims that follow.