SHELTER

Abstract

A panel element (2) for use in constructing a shelter is disclosed. The panel element comprises a body portion (4), first locking means (8) mounted to the body portion, and second locking means (6) mounted to the body portion. The first locking means comprises an elongate member (10) having a plurality of apertures (8) therein, and the second locking means comprises a plurality of locking elements (6) moveable relative to the body portion between a storage position and a deployed position. In the deployed position, the locking elements engage respective apertures of a first locking means of a further panel element to urge the further panel element towards the first panel element.

Description

The present invention relates to shelters, and relates particularly, but not exclusively, to shelters for use in hostile environments such as during military or disaster relief operations.

One known shelter for use in protecting occupants during military operations uses wire mesh material to form hollow chambers which then accommodate infill materials such as rocks to form the protective walls of a shelter. However, this arrangement suffers from the drawback that it is large and expensive to deploy, cannot easily be dismantled and redeployed, and is open to the atmosphere in use, and is therefore unsuitable for medical use. Furthermore, the shelter requires large amounts of time, manpower and infill material to construct.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention seek to overcome one or more of the above disadvantages of the prior art.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a panel element for use in constructing a shelter, the panel element comprising a body portion, first locking means mounted to the body portion, and second locking means mounted to the body portion, wherein said first locking means comprises an elongate member having a plurality of apertures therein, and said second locking means comprises a plurality of locking elements moveable relative to the body portion between a storage position and a deployed position, in which a plurality of said locking elements in the deployed position engage respective apertures of a first locking means of a further said panel element to urge said further panel element towards said panel element.

By providing said second locking means comprising a plurality of locking elements moveable relative to the body portion between a storage position and a deployed position, in which a plurality of said locking elements in the deployed position engage respective apertures of a first locking means of a further said panel element to urge said further panel element towards said panel element, this provides the advantage of enabling secure joints between adjacent panel elements to be made, while distributing the engaging forces along the length of the elongate member of the first locking means, thereby reducing the likelihood of failure of the joint.

At least one said locking element may be a cam lock having a cam portion rotatably mounted to the body.

This provides the advantage of enabling the locking element to be pivoted between the storage and deployed positions thereof by means of a single tool, thereby making a shelter comprising the panel element easier and less time consuming to construct.

The panel element may comprise an inner sheet, an outer sheet and thermal insulation material located between said inner and outer sheets.

The panel element may further comprise a sheet of ballistic material mounted to the inner and/or outer sheets.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a foldable support for use in a blast resistant barrier for protection of a shelter, the support comprising a body including first and second sheets interconnected by a plurality of flexible tensile members to define a plurality of chambers for receiving filler material.

By providing first and second sheets interconnected by a plurality of flexible tensile members to define a plurality of chambers for receiving filler material, this provides the advantage of enabling the support to be folded, or packed substantially flat for storage and transport, while enabling a robust blast resistant structure to be formed when filled with filler material such as sand or soil.

Said first and second sheets may be flexible.

This provides the advantage of enabling further compact storage of the support.

The first and second sheets may be interconnected by a base member for forming a widened base of the support in use.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a shelter comprising an inner compartment formed from a plurality of panel elements as defined above, and at least one barrier member formed from a foldable support as defined above and spaced from the inner compartment in use.

This provides the advantage of causing an explosive device projected towards the shelter to detonate in the space between the inner compartment and the barrier member, thereby minimising risk of injury to the occupants of the inner compartment.

The shelter may comprise at least one cover member adapted to cover at least part of an upper surface of the inner compartment.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, and not in any limitative sense, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1a is a side view of a panel element for use in constructing a shelter, the panel element shown being a first configuration of a wall panel element;

FIG. 1b is a side view of a second configuration of a wall panel element;

FIG. 1c is a side view of a third configuration of a wall panel element;

FIG. 1d is a side view of a fourth configuration of a wall panel element;

FIG. 2a is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 1a;

FIG. 2b is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B of FIG. 1b;

FIG. 2c is a cross-sectional view taken along line C-C of FIG. 1c;

FIG. 2d is a cross-sectional view taken along line D-D of FIG. 1d;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line E-E of FIG. 1b;

FIG. 4 is a close-up detail view of detail A and detail B of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5a is a side view of a panel element for use in constructing a shelter, the panel element being a first configuration of a roof panel element;

FIG. 5b is a side view of a second configuration of a roof panel element;

FIG. 5c is a side view of a third configuration of a roof panel element;

FIG. 6a is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 5a;

FIG. 6b is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B of FIG. 5b;

FIG. 6c is a cross-sectional view taken along line C-C of FIG. 5c;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line D-D of FIG. 5a;

FIG. 8 is a close up of details A and B of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing the interconnection between a wall panel element and roof panel element;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a cam lock;

FIG. 11 is a schematic view showing an operator using a key to operate a cam lock of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a wall panel element;

FIG. 13 is a partially exploded schematic view showing a shelter partially constructed from a plurality of wall and roof elements;

FIG. 14 is a cut-away perspective view of the internal configuration of a panel element;

FIG. 15a is a front perspective view of a foldable support according to the present invention shown in the expanded condition;

FIG. 15b is a front perspective view of the foldable support showing webbing used for interconnection;

FIG. 15c is a rear perspective view of the foldable support showing webbing used for interconnection;

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the foldable support of FIG. 15 in the folded condition;

FIG. 17 is a side view of the foldable support of FIGS. 15 and 16;

FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing a shelter constructed from a plurality of panel elements partially surrounded by a foldable support;

FIG. 19 is a partially cut-away perspective view of the shelter of FIG. 18 surrounded by a trigger sheet roof; and

FIG. 20 is a partially cut-away perspective view of the shelter of FIG. 18 surrounded by a trigger sheet roof.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 12, a panel element 2 for use in constructing a shelter comprises a body portion 4, first locking means 8 mounted to the body portion and second locking means 6 mounted to the body portion, wherein the first locking means 8 comprises an elongate member 10 having a plurality of apertures 8 therein and said second locking means comprises a plurality of locking elements 6 movable relative to the body portion between a storage position and a deployed position.

The locking elements 6 in the deployed position are adapted to engage respective apertures 8 of the first locking means of a further panel element 2. This urges the further panel elements 2 towards each other. In this way, a shelter can be rapidly constructed by interconnection of a plurality of floor, wall and roof panels.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show wall panel elements suitable for constructing the walls of a shelter. Locking element 6 may be a cam lock as shown in FIG. 10. The locking element 6 is a cam portion mounted to a rotatable barrel (not shown) that can be rotated by means of a key 12 (FIG. 11). Key 12 can be used to rotate a plurality of locking elements 6 by means of a suitable mechanical interconnection between the respective barrels. As can seen from FIGS. 2a to 2d, by having different arrangements of cam locking portions 6 rotatable by means of a key 12 and different configurations of apertures 8 disposed in elongate members 10, the panel members can be used to form either straight wall portions or the corners of a shelter.

FIGS. 5 to 8 show different configurations of panel elements that form roof panels. The roof panels operate in the same way, by using cam locking elements 6 rotatable by means of a key 12 and apertures 8 disposed in elongate members 10.

Referring to FIG. 14, panel element 2, which may either be a wall panel as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a roof panel as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 or another type of panel such as a floor panel or internal divider, is formed in a laminated structure comprising an inner sheet 20 and outer sheet 22 enclosing a thermal insulation material 24. Inner and outer sheets 20 and 22 may be formed oriented strand board. Thermal insulation material 24 comprises a foam material. A ballistic sheet 26 and 28 may be applied to the outsides of the inner and outer panels to increase the resistance of the panel to attack from ballistic projectiles such as bullets and rocket propelled grenades.

In order to increase the strength of the panels 2, elongate member 10 may be formed from a sheet of metal and comprise a plurality of apertures 8. This means that the cam locks 6 engage sheet 10 rather than the foam core to interlock adjacent panels. Consequently, in order to construct a shelter 30 as shown in FIG. 13, a plurality of panels 2 are interconnected by lining up respective apertures with cam locks 6. Key 12 is then used to rotate the cam locks 6 and interconnect with the panels.

Referring to FIGS. 15a to 17, a foldable support shown generally by 100 for use in a blast resistant barrier for protection of a shelter comprises a body including first 102 and second 104 sheets interconnected by a plurality of flexible tensile members 106 to define a plurality of chambers 108 for receiving filler material. First and second sheets 102 and 104 are formed from a strong material such as vinyl or Kevlar. In the expanded condition as shown in FIG. 15, chambers 108 can be filled with sand, soli or other readily available material to form a barrier that can be rapidly assembled and is resistant to blasts from ballistic projectiles. The first 102 and second 104 sheets are interconnected by a base member 110 for forming a widened base of the support. FIGS. 15b and 15c show lengths of webbing 114 and eyelets 116 that are used to interconnect the foldable supports 100. A metal frame (not shown) can also be used to provide support to the edges of support 100.

Referring to FIGS. 18 to 20, a shelter comprises a inner compartment 30 formed from a plurality of panel elements 2 and at least one barrier member formed from a foldable support 100. A space 32 is provided between the shelter 30 and foldable support 100. Consequently, if a ballistic projectile, such as a rocket propelled grenade is fired at the shelter, the filled foldable support 100 is be impacted by the rocket propelled grenade. This will trigger the fuse of the rocket propelled grenade such that the blast will propagate in gap 32 and be directed around inner compartment 30. Consequently, this will reduce potential damage to inner compartment 30 and reduce potential risk to personnel inside inner compartment 30.

To further increase resistance to attack, referring to FIGS. 19 and 20, a trigger sheet 120 can be mounted around the shelter to provide a trigger for projective weapons.

Trigger sheet 120 is supported by a frame assembly 122. Consequently, the shelter and foldable barrier member described provides a modular, flat pack and rapidly deployable and redeployable shelter for use in defensive, peacekeeping and disaster relief situations. This apparatus is designed to provide occupant protection from the dynamic effects of a blast following detonation of an improvised explosive device, thermobaric and fragmenting mortar bombs and devices such as 120 mm mortar and rocket propelled grenades. This shelter system also protects occupants from attack by ballistic devices such as armour piercing high velocity bullets up to 58 calibre.

The following advantages are also provided by this system:

Assembled with a single tool

Modular

Flat packed

Each panel can be man-handled

No requirement for mechanical handling equipment

Very high thermal insulation properties

Deployable in less than 1 hour

Re-deployable within 2 hours

Blast protection from IED, mortar and RPG

Ballistic protection up to 58 calibre

Lightweight

Scalable upwards from circa 6 square metres in a variety of configurations (long & thin, square, ‘L’ shaped, ‘H’ shaped, citadel shaped′

Deployable via road, helicopter, air-drop pallet from cargo aircraft

Sandwich plate construction of anti-ballistic material and structural components

Provide with or without ballistic protection

5 basic components to build a shelter (roof, floor, door and 2× types of wall panel)

Symmetrical pallet loading enables users to select any 2 pallets to construct single shelter

Withstand environmental extremes (A2 climate)

Withstand helicopter downwash

Weather shield also acts as pre-detonation ‘trigger’ screen for devices with SQ fuses (contact fuses).

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the above embodiments have been described by way of example only and not in any limitative sense, and that the various alterations and modifications are possible without departure from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A panel element for use in constructing a shelter, the panel element comprising a body portion, at least one first locking device mounted to the body portion, and at least one second locking device mounted to the body portion, wherein at least one said first locking device comprises respective elongate member having a respective plurality of apertures therein, and at least one said second locking device comprises a respective plurality of locking elements moveable relative to the body portion between a storage position and a deployed position, in which a plurality of said locking elements in the deployed position engage respective apertures of at least one first locking device of a further said panel element to urge said further panel element towards said panel element.

2. A panel element according to claim 1, wherein at least one said locking element is a cam lock having a cam portion rotatably mounted to the body.

3. A panel element according to claim 1, wherein the panel element comprises an inner sheet, an outer sheet and thermal insulation material located between said inner and outer sheets.

4. A panel element according to claim 3, further comprising a sheet of ballistic material mounted to the inner and/or outer sheets.

5. A foldable support for use in a blast resistant barrier for protection of a shelter, the support comprising a body including first and second sheets interconnected by a plurality of flexible tensile members to define a plurality of chambers for receiving filler material.

6. A support according to claim 5, wherein said first and second sheets are flexible.

7. A support according to claim 5, wherein the first and second sheets are interconnected by a base member for forming a widened base of the support in use.

8. A shelter comprising an inner compartment formed from a plurality of panel elements according to claim 1, and at least one barrier member formed from a foldable support according to claim 5 and spaced from the inner compartment in use.

9. A shelter according to claim 8, wherein the shelter comprises at least one cover member adapted to cover at least part of an upper surface of the inner compartment.