Camouflage Material

This invention relates to camouflage material and, more particularly, to an improved incising arrangement for the material to produce an improved three-dimensional effect.

Camouflage screens are used in civilian and military applications to conceal personnel and equipment from people or animals having geometric and/or color perception. The screen assists in blending objects into the surroundings by providing colors which complement the surroundings and preferably a random profile. The most well known camouflage screens or nets simply consist of a flat multi-colored sheet. However, such camouflage is easily recognized due to its flat two-dimensional surface. Cord netting or fish nets garnished with colored strips, etc. have been used to conceal the flat two-dimensional surface. However, such netting is expensive to manufacture and difficult to maintain.

Camouflage material for civilian and military use has generally been found to be effective where the material has openings and will assume a posture with respect to the equipment or persons being disguised that best simulates the surrounding grass, leaves, other foliage, or the like. According to certain known camouflage methods many slits are cut into a sheet with the slits being disposed alternating in parallel rows. Pulling or stretching the sheet in a direction transverse to the rows of slits produces a mesh-like arrangement of the material with the material surrounded by the slits extending out of the plane of the sheet to produce a somewhat three-dimensional effect. Examples of such camouflage material are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,069,796 to R. G. Ruter, and in U.S. application Ser. No. 113,468 to C. R. Rush filed in Jan. 21, 1980 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,323,605, dated Apr. 6, 1982 and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. Both Ruter and Rush show incising methods wherein the slits or cuts are arranged in rows whereby pulling or stretching the sheet generally perpendicularly to the rows effects projection of the slits out of the plane of the sheet. However, with the slits arranged in defined rows, pulling or stretching the sheet generally parallel to the rows barely results in the three-dimensional effect. Ruter shows an alternate method wherein the slits are of different sizes and randomly displaced across the sheet, but this alternate method still does not permit extenuation of the sheet out of the plane thereof in a uniform manner or equal in all directions. There is a need to solve this problem by providing a camouflage sheet of material which is incised in such a manner as to effect three-dimensional extenuation of the sheet equally in all directions regardless of the direction of pulling or stretching on the sheet.

Another problem with prior incising methods results from the shape of the slits or cuts themselves. In Ruter, the cuts are generally U-shaped and the extenuated U-shaped material portions tend to roll as the material is stretched. The Rush incising method is a considerable improvement over Ruter in that the slits are generally V-shaped. The result of forming V-shaped incising is that a dihedral is formed which causes the incised material to extend away from the plane of the camouflage sheet and become relatively stiff when the sheet is stretched. However, the V-shaped incising method reduces the amount of extenuating material versus the U-shaped incising method. It would be desirable that the individual cuts or slits be of sufficient size to effect substantial extenuation of the sheet but which also does not roll when the sheet is stretched.

The present invention is directed to solving the aforesaid problems of the prior art by providing a new and improved sheet of camouflage material which provides for generally uniform and equal extenuation of the sheet when stretched regardless of the direction of pulling or stretching the sheet, as well as a new and improved incising configuration which provides substantial extenuation without rolling of the material.

This invention relates to camouflage material and, more particularly, to an improved incising method for the material to produce an improved three-dimensional effect.

In the exemplary embodiment of the invention, camouflage material is provided and comprises a sheet of material having two dimensions, such as length and width. In general, the sheet of material has an incising pattern of interlocked, criss-crossed rows of cuts formed over the length and width of the sheet. The cuts are shaped and arranged in relation to the rows thereof whereby stretching the material in either a length-wise or width-wise direction effects extenuation of the cuts out of the plane of the sheet across substantially the entire sheet containing the cuts.

In particular, the criss-crossed rows of cuts are spaced apart generally equidistant and generally parallel to each other in both directions of the sheet. Each cut has at least one leg portion and an inverted base portion with the leg portion extending at an angle to the direction of the respective row of which the cut is a part. In the preferred embodiment, the cuts in each row comprise interlocked and alternately inverted generally W-shaped cuts with two leg portions or truncated generally W-shaped cuts with one leg portion. Each row of cuts in each direction is completely interrupted at spaced intervals by the cuts of the rows in the opposite direction to provide the interlock of rows. In this manner, the uniform pattern of interlocked, criss-crossed rows of cuts effect uniform extenuation of the material out of the plane of the sheet regardless of the direction which the sheet is pulled or stretched.

The W-shaped or truncated W-shaped cuts effect substantial areas of extenuation, yet the pointed base portions of the cuts prevent the extenuated material from rolling.

An object, therefore, of the present invention is to provided a new and improved incised camouflange material of the character described.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

The features of this invention which are believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention, together with its objects and the advantages thereof, may be best understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals identify like elements in the figures and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the improved camouflage material of the present invention employed in a natural environment;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a portion of a sheet of camouflage material having the improved incising pattern of the present invention cut therein;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a portion of the sheet of material of FIG. 2 with the incised portions of the sheet extenuated in response to stretching of the sheet; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken generally along line 4--4 of FIG. 3.

Referring to the drawings in greater detail and first to FIG. 1, a low structure 10 is illustrated in a natural herbivorous setting with vegetation, such as grass 12, bushes, or other foliage (not shown) most likely bearing leaves. Structure 10 is covered with a stretched sheet 20 of camouflage material having incising cuts 22, 24 formed therein. It is to be understood that structure 10 could be a recreational structure, such as a duck blind, or a military structure or could contain equipment or personnel. The purpose of the camouflage is to not only prevent detection from the air, but also to prevent detection from the ground. The camouflage provides a screen system used to conceal the personnel and/or equipment from people or animals having geometric and/or color perception. To that end, the sheet normally would be multi-colored prior to incising in accordance with the present invention. A plain flat, two-dimensional sheet is easily recognized because of the defined lines normally created by draping the sheet over a form or the like. Incising the sheet causes three-dimensional extenuation thereof in response to stretching the sheet in a pre-determined direction. The incised camouflage sheet of the present invention is omni-directional.

More particularly, FIG. 2 illustrates camouflage sheet 20 having an incising pattern cut therein in accordance with the present invention. The pattern comprises a plurality of spaced apart rows, generally designated 26 and 28, of cuts 22, 24 extending across the sheet in the direction of both dimensions thereof, such as the length and width of the sheet. For clarity purposes herein, rows 26 will be referred to as "vertical" rows and rows 28 will be referred to as "horizontal" rows in relation to that arrangement shown in FIG. 2.

For reasons described in greater detail hereinafter, cuts 22 are generally W-shaped and cuts 24 are generally truncated W-shaped. Each cut has an inverted, pointed base portion 22a and 24a, respectively. Both cuts have leg portions, two leg portions 22b for the generally W-shaped cuts 22 and one leg portion 24b for truncated W-shaped cut 24.

In general, the rows 26, 28 of cuts are arranged in an incising pattern of interlocked, criss-crossed rows of cuts formed over the length and width of the sheet. Such an interlocked, criss-crossed pattern results in uniform extenuation of portions of the sheet out of the plane of the sheet across substantially the entire sheet containing the cuts, regardless of the direction of pulling or stretching the sheet.

In particular, the rows 26 of cuts are spaced apart generally equidistant and generally parallel to each other vertically of the sheet. Rows 28 of cuts are spaced apart generally equidistant and generally parallel to each other horizontally of the sheet. The rows are interlocked by portions of the cuts in each row intersecting or completely interrupting the cuts of the rows in the opposite direction. In addition, the W-shaped cuts or truncated W-shaped cuts in each row are alternately inverted such that the legs of the cuts protrude into the adjacent cuts alongside the legs of the adjacent cuts.

The interlocking of the rows of cuts can best be understood by viewing the area "X" in FIG. 2. It can be seen that horizontal row 28 of cuts 22, 24 in the area X has been completely interrupted by the vertical row 26 of cuts 22, 24 in that area. Furthermore, pointed base portions 24a of cuts 24 in row 28 protrude or extend between the legs of adjacent cuts in vertical row 26. Consequently, not only is there a complete interruption of horizontal row 28 by vertical row 26, but the cuts of horizontal row 28 extend into a projection of the vertical row, namely between the legs of the cuts in the vertical row. This single area X is repeated throughout the incising pattern of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 2. Each horizontal row is interrupted and interlocked with each vertical row at spaced intervals thereof, and each vertical row is interrupted and interlocked with each horizontal row at spaced intervals thereof. It is readily apparent that with the uniform incising pattern of interlocked, criss-crossed rows of cuts described above is effective to cause extenuation of the sheet 20 of camouflage material out of the plane of the sheet regardless of the direction which the sheet is pulled or stretched. This is a vast improvement over the prior art wherein distinct rows of cuts in only one direction are provided, or wherein randomly oriented and different sizes of cuts are provided.

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate the three-dimensional extenuation of camouflage sheet 20 in response to stretching thereof. It should be pointed out that stretching is shown in both directions to further facilitate the illustration. These figures also illustrate the important feature of the invention of forming the cuts in a generally W-shaped or truncated W-shaped configuration. It can be seen that such a W-shaped configuration provides for a substantial area, with each cut, to be extended beyond the plane of the camouflage sheet. Yet, the pointed inverted base portions 22a, 22b of the cuts prevent the extenuated material from rolling. This is true because the pointed shapes form a dihedral which causes the incised material to become relatively stiff when the material is stretched and, thus, avoiding rolling of the incised material.

It will be understood that the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or central characteristics thereof. The present examples and embodiments, therefor, are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and the invention is not to be limited to the details given herein.