United States Patent
US Patent 7154429: Device for protecting military vehicles from…
US 7154429 · granted 2006-12-26
Abstract
A heat seeking missile decoy device mounted on a military vehicle to change the infrared signature of the military vehicle. The device is at ambient temperature when stored on the military vehicle. When a heat seeking missile is fired at the military vehicle, the decoy device deploys and increases in temperature, changing the infrared signature of the vehicle and causing a hot spot away from vulnerable components of the vehicle. The hot spot radiates in the infrared in an area that is away from vulnerable parts of a military vehicle, drawing the heat seeking missile toward it. The termination trajectory of the heat seeking missile is at the end of the decoy device and not the vulnerable parts of the military vehicle. The energy required to heat the device is passive waste energy from the vehicle engine exhaust.
| Patent Number | 7154429 |
|---|---|
| Title | Device for protecting military vehicles from infrared guided munitions |
| Filed | 2004-12-06 |
| Granted | 2006-12-26 |
| Inventor(s) | Roberts, Jr.; Charles C. |
| CPC Classification | G01S 7/495, F42B 4/00, G01S 13/00, G01S 17/00 |
| Number of Claims | 8 |
Abstract
A heat seeking missile decoy device mounted on a military vehicle to change the infrared signature of the military vehicle. The device is at ambient temperature when stored on the military vehicle. When a heat seeking missile is fired at the military vehicle, the decoy device deploys and increases in temperature, changing the infrared signature of the vehicle and causing a hot spot away from vulnerable components of the vehicle. The hot spot radiates in the infrared in an area that is away from vulnerable parts of a military vehicle, drawing the heat seeking missile toward it. The termination trajectory of the heat seeking missile is at the end of the decoy device and not the vulnerable parts of the military vehicle. The energy required to heat the device is passive waste energy from the vehicle engine exhaust.
Claim 1
A device for defeating infrared (IR) guided missile attacks on a military vehicle with an exhaust pipe that expels high temperature engine exhaust gases comprising: adecoy having a long slender reflux heat pipe of arbitrary dimensional thickness, a heat input section which absorbs heat from hot gases expelled from the military vehicle engine exhaust, containing a liquid that vaporizes, an adiabatic section withthermal insulation to prevent emission of infrared radiation and act as a conduit for liquid and vapor, a heat rejection section which emits infrared radiation so as to attract heat seeking missiles fired at the military vehicle a deploying means whichmoves the device from a standby mode, where no heat is being transferred through the device, to an active mode where the military vehicle exhaust gases impinge on the heat input section, causing infrared heat rejection at the upper end of the device.
Claims
8 totalA device for defeating infrared (IR) guided missile attacks on a military vehicle with an exhaust pipe that expels high temperature engine exhaust gases comprising: adecoy having a long slender reflux heat pipe of arbitrary dimensional thickness, a heat input section which absorbs heat from hot gases expelled from the military vehicle engine exhaust, containing a liquid that vaporizes, an adiabatic section withthermal insulation to prevent emission of infrared radiation and act as a conduit for liquid and vapor, a heat rejection section which emits infrared radiation so as to attract heat seeking missiles fired at the military vehicle a deploying means whichmoves the device from a standby mode, where no heat is being transferred through the device, to an active mode where the military vehicle exhaust gases impinge on the heat input section, causing infrared heat rejection at the upper end of the device.