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Patent Number: |
7445299 |
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Case ID: |
0 |
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Patent Title:
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Mine resistant band track
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Status: |
ACTIVE |
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Status Date: |
1/14/2009 1:35:54 PM |
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Issue Date:
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11/4/2008 |
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Filed Date:
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7/6/2006 |
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Serial #:
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1/482,304 |
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Assignee Name:
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The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army
(Washington,
DC)
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Inventor(s):
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Gonzalez, Rene G. |
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Lab Name: |
311th Human Systems Wing Brooks City-Base |
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Location: |
2510 Kennedy Circle, Suite 116
Brooks City-Base, TX 78235-5115 |
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Contact: |
Contact Lab About This Patent |
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BACKGROUND OF
THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The instant invention relates to band tracks for tracked vehicles, and more particularly, the instant invention relates to a mine resistant band track for tracked military vehicles, such as tanks, armored personnel carriers and the like.
2. Technical Considerations and Prior Art
Historically, warfare scenarios and deployment techniques have limited the use of land mines to certain well defined situations to impede or channel opposing forces. Advance knowledge of mine field locations could permit effective
countermeasures using mine-clearing equipment, such as mine-clearing rollers mounted on lead vehicles, projected explosive line charges or, depending on the tactical situation, sacrificing vehicles and uniformed personnel by simply charging over the mine
field.
Introduction of mechanically emplaced and air-delivered mines on the modern battlefield has compounded the problem of maintaining . . . . More |
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A band track for a tracked vehicle having enhanced resistance to mines
includes a plurality of track pad units disposed on the bearing surface
of the track band. The track pad units have extended end walls of
sufficient height to distance the vulnerable portion of the band track
from the shearing force of an exploding mine. These end walls are
sufficiently strong to support the vehicle as it traverses terrain, but
are configured to collapse in controlled manner under the force of an
exploding mine. Such explosion forces a specifically configured front end
wall of a trailing track pad to engage the matingly configured end wall
of the leading track pad. The resulting mating juxtaposition of the
adjacent end walls forms a relatively continuous physical barrier
protecting the vulnerable section of the band track from shrapnel and
other entrained ejecta of the explosion.
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What is claimed is:
1. In a band track for a tracked vehicle, the improvement comprising a track pad disposed on an outer surface of a band body of the band track, the track pad comprising: a
plurality of track pad units, each unit having a bearing surface, a front end wall contiguous between the outer surface of the band track and a front edge of the bearing surface, and a rear end wall disposed opposite the front end wall contiguous between
the outer surface of the track body and a back edge of the bearing surface, the front and rear end walls being of only such width sufficient to support the vehicle as it traverses terrain but sufficiently narrow to collapse under the force of an
exploding mine, wherein the front end wall curves in an are which is convex relative to the forward direction of movement of the track and the rear end wall curves in an arc which is concave relative to the forward direction of movement of the track, the
arcs of the front and rear end walls config . . . . More |
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