1. An anti-ballistic protective assembly, comprising:
a plurality of layers of anti-ballistic material comprising at least two anti-ballistic materials; and
an enclosure which is at least partially injection molded or vacuum formed over said plurality of layers of anti-ballistic material and retains said plurality of layers of anti-ballistic material in a mutually compressed operative orientation.
2. The anti-ballistic protective assembly according to claim 1, wherein said enclosure comprises a first enclosure element and a second enclosure element integrally molded with said first enclosure element or heat welded to said first enclosure element.
3-4. (canceled)
5. The anti-ballistic protective assembly according to claim 2, wherein said plurality of layers of anti-ballistic material is positioned within said first enclosure element.
6. The anti-ballistic protective assembly according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of layers of anti-ballistic material further comprises layers of unidirectional polyethylene.
7. The anti-ballistic protective assembly according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of layers of anti-ballistic material further comprises at least one plate made of ceramic or steel.
8. (canceled)
9. The anti-ballistic protective assembly according to claim 7, wherein at least one side of said at least one plate is coated with a layer of Kevlar\xae or fiberglass.
10. (canceled)
11. The anti-ballistic protective assembly according to claim 1, further comprising a protective vest having a pocket into which said enclosure is configured to be inserted.
12. The anti-ballistic protective assembly according to claim 1, wherein said enclosure is mounted in close proximity to an exterior of a motor vehicle or a stationary structure.
13. (canceled)
14. A method of manufacturing an anti-ballistic protective assembly, comprising:
providing a first enclosure element;
positioning layers of anti-ballistic protective materials in association with said first enclosure element into a cavity of a injection molding machine; and
operating said injection molding machine to injection mold a second enclosure element integrally with first enclosure element and to compress said various layers of anti-ballistic protective material and to define an enclosure thereof, which retains the layers of protective material in a compressed state in very tight mutual engagement.
15. The method of manufacturing an anti-ballistic protective assembly according to claim 14, further comprising mutually compressing said layers of anti-ballistic protective materials prior to said positioning layers of anti-ballistic protective materials in association with said first enclosure element.
16. A method of manufacturing an anti-ballistic protective assembly, comprising:
providing a first enclosure element;
positioning layers of anti-ballistic protective materials in association with said first enclosure element into a cavity of a vacuum forming molding machine;
positioning a layer of vacuum formable material over said layers of anti-ballistic protective materials in association with said first enclosure element in said cavity of a vacuum forming molding machine; and
operating said vacuum forming molding machine to vacuum form a second enclosure element integrally with first enclosure element and to compress said layers of anti-ballistic protective material and to define an enclosure thereof, which retains the layers of protective material in a compressed state in very tight mutual engagement.
17. The method of manufacturing an anti-ballistic protective assembly according to claim 16, further comprising preheating said first enclosure element prior to said positioning layers of anti-ballistic protective materials in association therewith.
18. The method of manufacturing an anti-ballistic protective assembly according to claim 16, further comprising mutually compressing said layers of anti-ballistic protective materials prior to said positioning layers of anti-ballistic protective materials in association with said first enclosure element into a cavity of a vacuum forming molding machine.
19-25. (canceled)
26. The method of manufacturing an anti-ballistic protective assembly according to claim 16, further comprising inserting said enclosure into a pocket of a protective vest.
27-28. (canceled)
29. The method of manufacturing an anti-ballistic protective assembly according to claim 16, wherein said operating said vacuum forming molding machine comprises tightly engaging said layer of vacuum formable material with a sealing ring formed on the periphery of said cavity.
30. The method of manufacturing an anti-ballistic protective assembly according to claim 29, wherein said tightly engaging said layer of vacuum formable material comprises lowering a peripheral cover element onto said layer of vacuum formable material over said sealing ring.
31. The method of manufacturing an anti-ballistic protective assembly according to claim 14, further comprising preheating said first enclosure element prior to said positioning layers of anti-ballistic protective materials in association therewith.
32. The method of manufacturing an anti-ballistic protective assembly according to claim 14, further comprising mutually compressing said layers of anti-ballistic protective materials prior to said positioning layers of anti-ballistic protective materials in association with said first enclosure element into a cavity of a vacuum forming molding machine.
33. The method of manufacturing an anti-ballistic protective assembly according to claim 14, further comprising inserting said enclosure into a pocket of a protective vest.
34. An anti-ballistic protective assembly according to claim 14, further comprising mounting said enclosure in close proximity to an exterior of a motor vehicle or of a stationary structure.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A method for scanning a surface (12) in a dynamic mode, wherein a cantilever (10) provided with a probe (18) is force-coupled to the surface and is made to oscillate in a resonant fashion using positive feedback, wherein the resonant oscillation contains at least one higher harmonic whose frequency represents an integer multiple of the basic resonance frequency of the cantilever which is force-coupled to the surface, characterized in that the amplitude or the phases of the at least one higher harmonic oscillation is determined as a control variable in order to regulate the distance between the probe (18) and the surface (14).
2. The method of claim 1, characterized in that the resonant oscillation contains several of the higher harmonic oscillations, wherein a combination of the amplitudes of all of these higher harmonic oscillations is used to determine the control variable for regulating the distance between the probe (18) and the surface (14).
3. The method of claim 2, characterized in that the square sum of the amplitudes of the higher harmonic oscillations or a quantity derived therefrom, in particular the root thereof, is determined and is used as the control variable for regulating the distance between the probe (18) and the surface (14).
4. The method of claim 2, characterized in that the amplitude of each of the higher harmonic oscillations is determined separately and a linear combination of the determined amplitudes is used as the control variable for regulating the distance between the probe (18) and the surface (14).
5. The method of claim 3, characterized in that the amplitude of the plurality of the higher harmonic oscillations is measured by means of a high-pass filter (34) whose lower cut-off frequency is above the frequency of the basic resonance oscillation of the cantilever (10) by at least its sensitivity.
6. The method of claim 1, characterized in that the probe (18) consists of a tip.
7. Method of claim 1, characterized in that the amplitude of the at least one higher harmonic oscillation is measured by means of a lock-in amplifier (38) which is set to the corresponding frequency.
8. The method of claim 7, if referring back to claim 1, characterized in that the frequency to which the lock-in amplifier (38) is set is determined in-situ from the continuously measured basic resonance frequency of the cantilever (10).
9. The method of claim 1, characterized in that the amplitude of the basic resonance oscillation of the cantilever (10) is kept below 10 nm.
10. The method of claim 1, characterized in that the Q-factor of the cantilever (10) is more than 300.
11. The method of claim 1, characterized in that the frequency of the basic resonance oscillation of the cantilever (10) is below 1 MHz.
12. The method of claim 1, characterized in that the spring constant of the cantilever (10) is more than 10 Nm.
13. A method for scanning a surface (14) in a dynamic mode, wherein a cantilever (10) provided with a probe (18) is force-coupled to the surface and is made to oscillate in a fashion that the oscillation contains at least one higher harmonic oscillation by excitation by means of an oscillation generator (16) exciting at a fixed frequency between the frequency of the basic resonance oscillation minus the frequency of the basic resonance oscillation divided by the Q-factor of the cantilever and the frequency of the basic resonance oscillation plus the frequency of the basic resonance oscillation of the free cantilever divided by the Q-factor of the cantilever, said at least one higher harmonic oscillation having a frequency which is an integer multiple of the excitation frequency of the oscillation generator, characterized in that the amplitude or the phase of the at least one higher harmonic oscillation is determined as a control variable in order to regulate the distance between the probe (18) and the surface (14).
14. The method of claim 13, characterized in that the oscillation contains a plurality of the higher harmonic oscillations, wherein a combination of the amplitudes of all of these higher harmonic oscillations is used in order to determine the control variable for regulating the distance between the probe (18) and the surface (14).
15. The method of claim 13, characterized in that the oscillation generator (16) is an electromechanical actuator.
16. The method of claim 13, characterized in that the amplitude of the oscillation of the cantilever (10) at the excitation frequency of the oscillation generator (16) is kept below 10 nm.
17. The method of claim 13, characterized in that the excitation frequency of the oscillation generator (16) is below 1 MHz.