Patent Application
20120213963
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The present application was not subject to federal research and/or development funding.
Generally, the present invention relates to a camouflage device that may be easily and quickly deployed for hiding an individual, automobile or other machinery, and a hunting position. More specifically, the invention is a camouflage material that is manufactured by providing a first bolt of lace material having a particular color and/or hole pattern formed in the material and being die cut to create a further series of undulated openings formed in columns and running lengthwise with the first bolt of material. Strips of material connect the undulated openings and are provided between the individual undulated openings at opposite ends and sides thereof. The first bolt of lace material is thereafter pleated and fastened onto a second bolt of material via a stitching or adhesive material at various points crosswise or between the sides of the camouflage device. Channels are formed along opposite sides of the pleats and running parallel thereto. Such channels and pleats add depth to the camouflage device to create a layered effect and a novel type of three-dimensional camouflage. The second bolt of material may include a particular color or hole pattern in the lace material that is the same as the first bolt of lace material or otherwise having a different color or hole pattern than the first to complement it and create a three-dimensional camouflage device that disguises the object or person on which it is deployed. Both bolts of lace may be treated with fire retardants, anti-microbial, anti-UV treatments, or other such treatments which are beneficial for protecting the camouflage when deployed. The camouflage lace may be applicable to helmet covers, face masks, hunting cloths, tents and blinds, as well as larger sized objects such as vehicles, and observation posts.
Current camouflage is constructed using three to four inch square synthetic net as a substrate. Synthetic woven textile, non-synthetic woven textile, or flexible colored plastic sheet is die-cut and then attached to the net by use of a garnishment such as plastic or metal wire hooks. See e.g. Morton, U.S. Pat. Ser. No. 4,243,709, which is incorporated by reference herein and
For purposes of this disclosure, the term “lace” is defined as an openwork fabric patterned with open holes in the work, made by machine or by hand. The lace may include asymmetrical or symmetrical openings. The term “camouflage” is defined as disguising or obscuring the appearance of objects from a distance such that an observer cannot readily recognize or discern the shape of the object. The term “net” is defined as created with open fabrics by the crossing of cords, threads, yarns, or ropes so that their intersections are knotted or looped, forming a geometrically shaped mesh, or open space of between two to four inches (2″-4″).
The camouflage of the invention is formed entirely from a lace pattern formation fabric. That is, the camouflage comprises lace material and consists of from one to three layers. In the preferred embodiment, a first layer of fabric is substantially sixty-two inches in width and may be of any desired length. It being understood that camouflage having longer lengths may be used to disguise larger objects or to cut smaller items such as helmet coverings or articles of clothing there from. The first layer of fabric comprises a particular pattern of holes and displays a particular paint scheme
A second layer of lace material is manufactured or die cut into narrow pattern strips that are created to any desired manufacturing specifications. That is, the narrow pattern strips may be longer, shorter, wider, or narrower, as desired. The narrow pattern strips are connected together via surrounding lace material. The width of the second layer may be substantially sixty-two inches (62″), but may be wider or shorter, as desired. The die cut slits in the second layer are bridged together by strips of material substantially between two and twelve inches (2″-12″) to create a plurality of columns of die cut slits that run lengthwise in the second bolt of lace. Pleats are created in the second layer during the manufacturing process by overlapping regions of the second layer of material and stitching or adhering the overlapping regions. The second layer may then be stitched widthwise to the first layer or secured with adhesive.
A third layer optional layer having individual pattern strips may be placed atop the second layer and then sewn together on a pleating machine with a ten percent to fifty percent (10%-50%) shrinkage ratio from starting material size to the finished material size. The second layer may also be have a similar shrinkage rations if the third layer is not provided. The second and third layers are then placed atop the first layer and sewn across in a widthwise direction.
After the two or three layers of the lace material are fixed together, the edge of the fabric is trimmed. A two inch (2″) piece of webbing fabric is sewn onto the edge of the lace by first folding it in half lengthwise and then placing it so that one inch (1″) is on opposite faces of the assembled fabric and then sewn in place to create strength.
The camouflage is treated with a multipurpose coating. Soft poly-acrylic resin latex, soft polyurethane resin latex, rubber latex, fire retardant agent, UV resistant agent and pigment color are mixed together in a paint grinding machine using silicon carbide balls to create dispersion. The coating is then applied to the lace material by first dipping the fabric into the coating and drying. An airless spray printing device is used to create and design the various paint patterns on the lace. The coating is then preferably heat treated. The coating color NIR reflective percent and fire retardant percentages are created according to user specifications.
The present invention is a lace camouflage which has a greater percent of coverage as compared to the current square net method which typically has openings that are several inches in size. Further, the instant invention has a greater degree of transparency for the user when looking from within a position covered by the instant invention. The lace camouflage has up to eighty to ninety percent (80%-90%) more coverage than the current camouflage netting which obscures a covered object more complete and tricks an observer's view from a closer distance. The presently discloses lace camouflage also has less air resistance than current camouflage netting which has about forty to sixty percent (40%-60%) more solid coverage than the instant invention, resulting in a higher degree of air movement resistance or sail characteristics experienced in the prior art net style camouflage.
It is an object of the invention to teach an improved camouflage device that is easily deployed and is formed from light weight lace material which has less wind resistance when deployed than current camouflage netting.
It is an object of the invention to teach an improved camouflage device that creates a three-dimensional system that may be utilized to hide a variety of objects including automobiles, an individual, or a fixed position.
It is an object of the invention to provide a lace camouflage that has up to eighty to ninety percent (80%-90%) more coverage than the current camouflage netting and also has less air resistance than current camouflage netting.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned from practicing the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention will be obtained by means of instrumentalities in combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
The embodiments of the invention and the various features and advantageous details thereof are more fully explained with reference to the non-limiting embodiments and examples that are described and/or illustrated in the accompanying drawings and set forth in the following description. It should be noted that the features illustrated in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, and the features of one embodiment may be employed with the other embodiments as the skilled artisan recognizes, even if not explicitly stated herein. Descriptions of well-known components and techniques may be omitted to avoid obscuring the invention. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the invention may be practiced and to further enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. Accordingly, the examples and embodiments set forth herein should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention, which is defined by the appended claims. Moreover, it is noted that like reference numerals represent similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
A first plurality of openings 6 is provided in the lace 5 to form a desired pattern. The pattern may be random or uniform depending on the application. A second plurality of die-cut openings is formed using a die 75, shown in
The first bolt of lace 5 is folded onto itself to create pleats 30 which are formed and stitched along the length of the lace 5. As can be seen in
It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact construction illustrated and described above, but that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims. While the invention has been described with respect to preferred embodiments, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in limiting sense. From the above disclosure of the general principles of the present invention and the preceding detailed description, those skilled in the art will readily comprehend the various modifications to which the present invention is susceptible. Therefore, the scope of the invention should be limited only by the following claims and equivalents thereof.
