When you have an explosion, there are some problems for humans.

There is an explosion due to a projectile or bomb or something.

This explosion creates two things that are bad for humans: fragments and a shockwave.

We know how to stop fragments: armored doors and body armor.

Shockwaves can essentially go right through armor. These shockwaves can kill a human.

So the Boeing patent is an attempt to address the problem with the shockwaves. To protect a human from an incoming shockwave, you need to either redirect it or absorb it. Either way, there need to be "something" in between the human and the shockwave. One possible "thing" is air with different density, temperature or composition of the rest of the air. A difference in air can refract the shockwave and minimize the damage.