Multi-component protective garment with composite strike face and woven base

A ballistic resistant protective garment of multi-component construction for covering and protecting vital portions of the body of the wearer. The garment having layers of composite body armor material which are positioned generally at the strike face portion of the garment. Each layer of the composite body armor material is formed of resin plies having high tensile strength fibers disposed therein. The high tensile strength fibers of one ply are placed in a transverse direction to the high tensile strength fibers of an adjacent ply and a laminate film covers the sub-layer plies enclosing them and sandwiching them together to form a single layer of the composite material. The combined multicomponent construction of the overlying layers formed of laminated plies of aramid and resin with the woven flexible panels of high tensile strength fiber sheets together create a multi-component thin and lightweight ballistic resistant body armor pad. The pad is of such thin and lightweight properties that it meets NIJ Standard 0101.03 standard specifications for Threat Level IIA with an areal density of 0.69 lbs./ft.sup.2 with a thinness of 0.17 inches; for Threat Level II, an areal density of 0.84 lbs./ft.sup.2 with a thinness of 0.20 inches; and for Threat Level IIIA, an areal density of 0.99lbs./ft.sup.2 with a thinness of 0.23 inches.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to protective garments for resisting 
ballistic forces and more particularly to protective ballistic body armor 
garments having multi-components. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
In the evolution of protective garments, there has been an ever pressing 
desire to develop stronger, lighter, thinner, more breathable and thereby 
more wearable garments. Such garments are intended to resist certain 
potentially lethal forces such as those from gun shots. Typically, these 
garments are designed to protect the wearer from ballistic forces by 
preventing penetration through the garment from a projectile bullet. 
Attempts at developing thinner, lighter, flexible and more breathable 
protective body armor have been made in order to create garments that are 
more wearable to the user. The more light and thin the protective 
ballistic resistant garment is, the more likely the user (such as a law 
enforcement officer) will actually wear the garment, especially during the 
long hours of a working shift. 
It is also desirable to have the protective body armor garment cover as 
much of the wearer's torso as possible while also maintaining wearability. 
The thinner and lighter the protective article, the more coverage can be 
offered. Concealability of the anti-ballistic body armor may also be 
improved if it is constructed to be thin and non-bulky. These attempts at 
developing thin and lightweight ballistic resistant body armor articles 
have also been made to try to allow increased freedom of movement and 
mobility so that the law enforcement officer wearing the article is not 
hampered from doing his or her job. 
These attempts at reducing weight while improving the thinness of the 
article have previously been made by the utilization of multiple layers of 
woven sheets of ballistic resistant material. High tensile strength aramid 
fibers such as Kevlar.RTM. produced by E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Company of 
Wilmington, Del., have often been employed in forming the woven ballistic 
resistant fabric. However, to increase the level of protection against 
higher caliber pistols and firearms more layers of ballistic resistant 
fabric are unfortunately required thereby increasing the overall weight 
and thickness of the garment while reducing its flexibility. 
Various voluntary governmental ballistic standards have been established to 
certify certain ballistic resistant garments. The tests determine the 
ability of the garment to resist penetration from various ballistic rounds 
shot from various types of weapons. In particular, the National Institute 
of Justice (NIJ) Standard 0101.03 certification tests is a frequently used 
ballistics test for certifying certain body armor products. The NIJ 
Standard 0101.03 certification tests are grouped into different threat 
levels, with each threat level corresponding to ballistic projectile 
penetration stopping capabilities of various ballistic rounds fired from 
designated weapons. For generally concealable type ballistic resistant 
body armor NIJ Standard certification tests are often performed for NIJ 
threat levels IIA, II and IIIA. NIJ threat level IIIA is a higher standard 
level than NIJ threat level II and which in turn is a higher standard 
level than NIJ threat level IIA. There is therefore a need to provide the 
thinnest and most lightweight protective body armor garments as possible 
to increase their wearability, while also meeting test specifications of 
NIJ Standard 0101.03 Threat Level IIA, II and IIIA certification tests. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The foregoing needs noted above are met in accordance with the present 
invention by a protective garment of multi-component construction having a 
plurality of layers of composite body armor material of resin and fibers 
arranged in overlying plies positioned at the strike face region of the 
garment and a plurality of flexible woven sheets constructed of high 
tensile strength fibers positioned in underlying relationship to the 
composite body armor layers. 
Another object of this invention is provide a ballistic resistant 
protective garment having thin and lightweight properties that meets NIJ 
Certification of NIJ Standard 0101.03 standard specifications for Threat 
Level IIA with an areal density of 0.69 lbs./ft.sup.2 with a thickness no 
greater than 0.17 inches; for Threat Level II, with an areal density of 
0.84 lbs./ft.sup.2 with a thickness no greater than 0.20 inches; and for 
Threat Level IIIA, an areal density of 0.99 lbs./ft.sup.2 with a thickness 
no greater than 0.23 inches.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
Referring now to FIG. 1, ballistic resistant protective garment 10 for 
covering vital portions proximate to a torso region of a body is shown. 
The garment has a front strike face portion 11 for positioning away from 
the body of the wearer which initially receives the impact of a ballistic 
projectile and an opposing inner backing portion to be positioned adjacent 
the body of the wearer. The protective body armor garment 10 has a front 
garment section 12 for generally overlying the front region of the wearer 
and back garment section 14 for generally positioning proximate a back 
region of the wearer. The front section 12 and back section 14 are 
adjustably connected by shoulder straps 16. The ends 18 of shoulder straps 
16 are preferably secured (by stitching or other suitable means) to an 
outer cloth carrier sleeve 20 of the back section 14 of the garment. The 
carrier sleeve 20 is preferably constructed of a woven cloth fabric 
material such as Nylon, Polyester, woven or rip stop taffetta, mesh net, 
tricot net or any other suitable cloth material. The carrier sleeve 20 
encases body armor pads in both the front section 12 and back section 14. 
As will be discussed in greater detail with reference to FIGS. 2-5C, the 
body armor pad 30 encased by the outer carrier sleeve 20 has a plurality 
of layers of composite body armor material 55 and a plurality of flexible 
woven sheets 58, 60 of high tensile strength fiber. 
As seen in FIG. 1, the opposing ends 22 of shoulder straps 16 have 
releasable hook and loop fasteners or Velcro.RTM. which engage 
corresponding mating fastener members 24 placed at a shoulder region of 
the outer cover 20 of front garment section 12. The shoulder straps 16 are 
adjustable to move the front 12 and back 14 sections to a desired position 
over the torso region of the body of the wearer. 
In use, the front garment section 12 and back garment section 14 may also 
be suitably secured at their side regions by side straps 26. The side 
straps 26 are secured at one end 28 by stitching or other satiable means 
to the outer carrier 20 of back section 14. The opposing ends 27 of side 
straps 26 preferably have Velcro.RTM. type hook and loop fasteners which 
are releasably securable to mating engagement member 29 engaging the outer 
cloth carrier at the front section 12 of the garment. The side straps 26 
are pulled firmly about the torso of the wearer and the free ends 27 are 
overlaid and engage mating hook and loop fastener member 29 to snugly fit 
the garment about the body of the wearer. 
Referring now to FIG. 2, a multi-component body armor pad 30 of the front 
garment section is seen having a multi-component construction. Composite 
panel 32 formed of a plurality of layers 55, FIGS. 5A-5C, of composite 
body armor material, which will be discussed in more detail below, 
overlies a soft body armor panel 34, FIG. 3, preferably comprising a first 
sub-panel 36 and a second sub-panel 38 each having a plurality of soft 
flexible woven sheets 58, 60, FIGS. 5A-5C, constructed of high tensile 
strength fiber. The multi-component body armor pad 30, FIG. 2, is formed 
of the composite panel 32 positioned at a strike face 11 portion of the 
garment and of the underlying woven body armor panel 34 positioned 
generally at a base portion of the garment proximate the body side which 
comprises a multiplicity of layered woven sheets of aramid fiber. As seen 
in FIG. 2, a number of bar tacs 40-45 are engaged entirely through both 
the composite panel 32 and the woven body armor panel 34 in order to 
secure all the layers 55, FIGS. 5A-5C, of the composite body armor 
material of the composite panel 32 to the woven sheets 58, 60 of high 
tensile strength material of the woven body armor panel thereby holding 
all of them together. 
It may be desirable to selectively employ a pad cover (not shown) for 
snugly enclosing and encasing the multi-component body armor pad 30 formed 
of composite panel 32 and woven soft body armor panel 34. Preferably, a 
pad cover selectively employed will have the approximate shape of the 
multi-component pad to provide a close fit with the pad. A pad cover is a 
flexible sleeve preferably constructed of vapor permeable and water proof 
material such as Gore-Text.RTM., or Windstopper.RTM. of W. L. Gore 
Associates of Newark, Del. 
As discussed in greater detail in FIG. 4, the composite panel 32 positioned 
at the outer front or strike face region 11 of the multi-component pad 30 
is formed of a multiplicity of individual layers of composite body armor 
material which overlie one another to form the composite panel. Each 
individual layer 55, FIG. 4, is formed of a number of sub-layer resin 
plies, 56A-56D, in which each ply has a unidirectional high tensile 
strength aramid fiber impregnated with a resin matrix. The aramid fibers 
57A-57D extending and disposed within the sub-layer resin plies 56A-56D 
are preferably positioned in a transverse relationship to the adjacent 
sub-layer plies in a single layer 55 of the composite body armor material. 
A laminate covering 94, 96 encloses and sandwiches together the sub-layer 
resin plies 56A-56D to form a single layer 55 of composite body armor 
material. 
As discussed in greater with reference to FIG. 3, the woven body armor 
panel 34 is formed of a pair of sub panels 36, 38, with each sub-panel 
having preferably six layered sheets 58, 60, FIGS. 5A-5C, of woven high 
tensile strength aramid fibers positioned to overlie one another. 
Preferably the layered sheets 58, 60 in panels 36, 38 are constructed of 
Twaron.RTM. T-2000 microfilament fibers sold by AKZO NOBEL, Inc. and are 
woven into the sheets having an imbalanced 24.times.22 weave. The first 
and second woven soft body armor sub-panels 36, 38 of the present 
invention preferably employ Araflex.RTM. IV and Araflex.RTM. V protective 
body armor fabric, the fourth and fifth generation of ballistic resistant 
material of Second Chance Body Armor, Inc. of Central Lake, Mich. 
Referring again to FIG. 2, the plurality of bar tac securement members 
40-45 penetrate through each of the layers 55, FIGS. 5A-5C, of composite 
body armor material and each of the underlying woven sheets 58, 60 to 
secure the composite panel 32 and soft body armor panel 34 together 
forming the multi-component pad 30. The bar tacs 40-45 are each 
approximately one inch long and are positioned proximate to the edge 46 of 
the layers of composite body armor material and the flexible woven sheets. 
As seen in FIG. 2, bar tac 43 is placed in the upper right corner 48, bar 
tac 40 is placed in the lower right corner 50, bar tac 42 is placed in the 
upper left corner 54 and bar tac 40 is placed in the lower left corner 52 
of the layers 55 of composite panel 30. Bar tacs 41 and 44 are placed at 
each outboard corner of the pad 30. Preferably, bar tacs 40-45 are each 
placed approximately one inch from the edge 46 of the multi-component pad 
30. As seen in FIG. 2, bar tac 44 is positioned between bar tac 43 at the 
upper right corner 48 and bar tac 45 at the lower right corner 50 of the 
layers of composite body armor material of the composite panel 32. Bar tac 
41 is similarly positioned between bar tac 42 at the upper left corner 54 
and bar tac 40 at the lower left corner 52 of the layered composite 
material in composite panel 32. 
In accordance with the present invention, the multi-component construction 
of the body armor pad 30 provides for the thinnest and most light weight 
known soft body armor to meet National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Standard 
0101.03 certification tests for Threat Levels IIA, II and IIIA. As will be 
discussed in greater detail with reference to FIGS. 5A-5C the protective 
garment of the present invention has an embodiment of a combined nonwoven 
composite and woven sheet body armor construction for each of Threat Level 
IIA, II and IIIA of NIJ Standard 0101.03 certification tests. The 
embodiment of FIG. 5A illustrates a multi-component body armor pad 30A 
which has a ballistic resistance that prevents projectile penetration 
according to NIJ Standard 0101.03 for Threat Level IIA. The body armor pad 
30A of this embodiment is of extreme light weight and thinness in that it 
preferably employs only six layers of the composite body armor material as 
the strike side and only twelve of the underlying woven sheets of aramid 
fiber (six sheets in sub-panel 36 and six sheets in sub-panel 38) at the 
base of the garment for a combined total areal weight of only 0.69 pounds 
per square foot (lbs./ft.sup.2) with a total thinness of 0.17 inches. 
The thin and lightweight body armor pad 30B, FIG. 5B, meeting the ballistic 
specification requirements under NIJ Standard 0101.03 for Threat Level II 
employs only nine layers of the overlying composite body armor material 55 
and only twelve flexible woven sheets 58, 60 of aramid fabric. The 
combined areal density weight for the body armor pad 30B meeting Threat 
Level II requirements is only 0.84 lbs/ft.sup.2 with a total thinness of 
only 0.20 inches. 
The multicomponent body armor panel 30C, FIG. 5C, preferably employs twelve 
layers of composite body armor material 55 and twelve underlying flexible 
woven sheets 58, 60 of aramid fabric to form pad 30C having a ballistic 
resistance that prevents projectile penetration according to NIJ Standard 
0101.03 for Threat Level III. The areal density for the pad 30C, FIG. 5C, 
is 0.99 lbs/ft.sup.2 with a total thinness of only 0.23 inches. The 
present invention provides extremely low weight, thin and flexible body 
armor for wearability and concealability while still preventing ballistic 
penetration. 
Referring now to FIG. 3, front garment section 12 is shown without an outer 
carrier and with the composite panel of layered body armor material 
removed to illustrate the woven body armor panel 34 formed of distinct 
sub-panels 36, 38. Woven body armor panel 34 has at least two panels 36, 
38 which are adjacent and overlie one another. Each of panels 36, 38 is 
composed of a plurality of woven ballistic resistant material 58, 60, 
FIGS. 5A-5C. As seen in FIGS. 5A-5C, the underlying protective panel 38 is 
formed of plurality of flexible woven sheets 58 each constructed of high 
tensile strength ballistic resistant material. The embodiments in FIGS. 
5A-5C show first sub-panel 36, having six woven sheets 60 of ballistic 
resistant material overlying one another. Likewise, the overlying second 
sub-panel 38 also preferably has six layered sheets 58 of ballistic 
resistant material. Each panel 36, 38 preferably has the same number of 
layers 58, 60 of ballistic resistant material with each sub-panel having 
substantially the same thickness. In accordance with the present 
invention, panel 36 is formed of at least two layered sheets of woven 
ballistic resistant material 60 and panel 38 is formed of at least two 
layered sheets of woven ballistic resistant material 58. Each of the 
sheets 58, 60 of woven high tensile strength fiber are co-extensive to one 
another each having substantially the same shape. 
The high tensile strength material preferably employed in the woven sheets 
58, 60 FIGS. 5A-5C, of panels 36, 38, FIG. 3 is Twaron.RTM. T-2000 
microfilament having a denier of 860 produced by AKZO Nobel, Inc. The 
plurality of flexible woven sheets 58, 60 of the present invention 
preferably have an imbalanced weave of 24 by 22 warp to fill ratio with 
the Twaron.RTM. T-2000 fiber having filament crossovers of approximately 
528,000,000 per square inch and having a weight of approximately 4.9 
ounces per square yard. Alternative aramid fiber such as Kevlar.RTM. 129 
produced by DuPont Company of Wilmington, Del. may be suitably employed. 
The Kevlar.RTM. 129 aramid fiber has a denier of 840 and filament 
cross-overs of approximately 166,000,000 per square inch. Likewise, the 
ballistic resistant sheets 58, 60 of woven fabric of Kevlar.RTM. 129 
preferably utilize an imbalance weave of 24 by 22 warp to fill ratio and 
has an areal weight of approximately 4.9 ounces per square yard. 
The woven material employed in sheets 58, 60 is particularly effective and 
efficient is resisting ballistic penetration while still maintaining 
optimum wearability characteristics. Thus, the present invention achieves 
efficient penetration resistance with less weight and bulk of ballistic 
resistant material. Araflex.RTM. IV and Araflex V protective body armor 
fabric, the fourth and fifth generations of ballistic resistant material 
of Second Chance Body Armor, Inc. is preferably employed in the soft body 
armor layers of the present invention. For further details on the 
characteristics of woven layers of ballistic resistant materials which may 
be suitably employed, reference may be made to U.S. Pat. No. 5,479,659 
entitled "Lightweight Ballistic Resistant Garments And Method To Produce 
Same" issued Jan. 2, 1996, to Bachner, Jr. which is incorporated herein by 
reference. 
As seen in FIG. 3, a plurality of woven sheet securement stitches 62 are 
disposed into first panel 36 which only connect the ballistic layers 60, 
FIG. 5A-5C, of the first panel 36. For purposes of the present 
description, of this feature, the structural description will equally 
apply to the panels of front garment section 12 as well as to the back 
garment section 14, FIG. 1. The plurality of stitches 62 across top 
sub-panel 36 are positioned in a row in a first direction. Another 
plurality of stitches 64, 66 which are disposed into the second underlying 
panel 38 only connecting, likewise, just the ballistic resistant layers 
58, FIGS. 5A-5C, within second panel 38. These plurality of woven sheet 
securement stitches are positioned in at least two rows 64, 66, in which 
the plurality of stitching rows 64, 66 are in second (generally vertical) 
and third (generally horizontal) directions respectively, as seen in FIG. 
3. Second and third directions of stitching 64 and 66 are transverse to 
one another and in addition, row 62 of stitching having first direction 
across first panel 36 is transverse to the two rows 64, 66 positioned in 
the aforementioned second and third directions across the second or 
underlying sub-panel 38, as also seen in FIG. 3. 
The stitches disposed in first sub-panel 36 have, as seen in FIG. 3, 
plurality of stitching rows 62 which are spaced apart and are 
substantially parallel to one another in a first direction. The top 
sub-panel 36 also includes a plurality of other crossing rows of woven 
sheet securement stitches 68 spaced apart from one another which are 
substantially parallel to one another whereby the rows 62 of stitches in 
the first direction and the plurality of other rows 68 securing the sheets 
60 of ballistic resistant material are transverse to one another and in 
this embodiment substantially perpendicular to one another. Moreover, the 
plurality of rows of stitches 62, 68 of first sub-panel 36 each extend 
substantially across first panel 36, as seen in FIG. 3. The rows of woven 
sheet securement stitches 62, 68 of first overlying panel 36 form a 
pattern of quilt stitches in the first panel 36. 
The second underlying panel 38, as seen in FIGS. 3, has the plurality of 
rows of sheet securement stitches 64 being spaced apart from one another, 
the stitches 64 are substantially parallel to one another and are 
positioned in a second generally vertical direction. The underlying second 
panel 38 further has another plurality of rows of layer securement 
stitches 66 spaced apart from one another which are substantially parallel 
to one another and are positioned in a third generally horizontal 
direction. The rows of stitches 64 and the rows of stitches 66 are 
preferably positioned substantially perpendicular to one another, as seen 
in FIGS. 3. Rows of stitches 64, 66 of second panel 38 each extend 
substantially across second panel 38. As a result, in this embodiment the 
plurality of the rows of stitches 64, 66 of second panel 38 form a pattern 
of box stitches. 
These plurality of rows of woven sheet securement stitches 62, 68 and 64, 
66 are all composed of a high tensile strength fiber such as an aramid or 
such other suitable material. Preferably, Twaron.RTM. or Kevlar.RTM. are 
selectively employed as the stitching material to hold together ballistic 
resistant sheets 58, 60, FIG. 5A-5C. The plurality of rows of sheet 
securement stitches extend entirely through each of the woven sheets of 
ballistic resistant material which results in the forming of the 
individual sub-panels. The woven sheet securement stitches 62 and 68 are 
completely disposed through each of the ballistic resistant sheets of 
fabric 60, FIGS. 5A-5C, to form and establish top sub-panel 36. In similar 
fashion, the underlying sub-panel 38 is formed by the box stitching 
pattern of sheet securement stitches 64 and 66 which only connect the 
ballistic resistant fabric sheets 58, FIG. 5A-5C, together. The woven 
sheet securement stitches 62, 68 for panel 36 and the woven sheet 
securement stitches 64, 66 for panel 38 preferably only connect the 
layered sheets of a woven ballistic resistant material for their 
respective panels in order to define the distinct sub-panels 36, 38. 
Individual sub-panels may alternatively be formed by other suitable 
securement approaches such as stitching about the periphery of ballistic 
resistant layers, bar tacs, non-invasive securement of the layers and the 
like. 
As a result, first panel 36 preferably contains a pattern of quilt stitches 
62, 68 positioned substantially across panel 36 and second panel 38 
contains a pattern of box stitches 64, 66 positioned substantially across 
panel 38. As discussed in more detail in U.S. Pat. No. 5,479,659 and 
incorporated herein, this embodiment of stitching patterns in the 
different panels 36, 38 that are adjacent and overlie one another provide 
transference of energy at time of impact by a bullet. As a result, the 
depth of penetration of the bullet is reduced and a reduction of bunching 
of garment 10 after an impact from the bullet is experienced. 
Advantageously, this helps to alleviate a second bullet which strikes 
garment 10, in proximity to the first bullet strike, from penetrating 
garment and striking the wearer's body. 
To reduce potential binding of the layered sheets of panels 36, 38 upon 
receipt of ballistic impact, additional stitching extending entirely 
through and securing both of the sub-panels 36, 38 in the soft body armor 
panel 34 together has been added and forms part of the present invention. 
This improvement provides the wearer further assurance of performance of 
garment 10 upon multiple ballistic impact forces striking regions of the 
garments by preventing bunching, balling and shifting of the flexible 
sheets. 
As seen in FIG. 3, the ballistic resistant garment 10 of the present 
invention includes a plurality of radial multi-panel securement stitches 
70, 72, 74 which extend entirely through the ballistic resistant panels 
36, 38 securing them together and providing the resistance to bunching, 
balling and shifting upon impact by a ballistic force and particularly 
maintaining the ballistic resistant panels 36, 38 in position to receive a 
second or multiple shot event. 
Additionally, as also seen in FIG. 3, a plurality of vertical rows of 
stitches 76 are also disposed and secured entirely through the ballistic 
resistant panels 36, 38. The stitching rows 76 extend in a substantially 
vertical direction between a top edge 78 and bottom edge 80 of the 
ballistic resistant panels 36, 38. 
The four vertical rows of stitches 76 are positioned in the central part of 
the overlying co-extensive ballistic resistant panels 36, 38 between the 
right edge and the left edge of the panels. 
As seen in FIG. 3, a plurality of groups of radial stitching rows are shown 
with the rows of stitches being aligned in parallel. The woven body armor 
panel 34 includes overlying sub-panel 36 having an arrangement of quilt 
stitching and the underlying sub-panel 38 having box stitching. Stitches 
64 run in generally a vertical direction with the rows of stitches 64 
preferably spaced approximately 11/4 inches apart. Similarly, stitches 66 
which run in generally a horizontal direction with rows of stitches 66 
spaced approximately 11/4 inches apart. Rows of stitches 62 are preferably 
spaced approximately 11/4 inches apart and similarly, stitches 68 are 
preferably spaced approximately 11/4 inches apart forming the quilt 
pattern. 
As seen in FIG. 3, soft body armor panel 34 has a multiplicity of stitches 
disposed in rows 70, 72, 74 through the sub-panels 36, 38 connecting the 
two sub-panels together. The rows 70, 72, 74 of radial stitches are 
positioned in a direction angularly displaced from the vertical direction 
of stitches 76 in which the vertical direction is determined generally 
between top 78 and bottom ends 80 of the soft body armor panel of the 
garment. More particularly, as seen in FIG. 3, a group formed of two rows 
of adjacently aligned parallel stitches 70 extends from an edge at the 
lower left portion 82 of panels 36, 38 to an opposing edge at the upper 
right portion 84 of the panels. The group 70 of rows of parallel stitches 
extend diagonally across the central region of panels 36, 38 over a 
sternum area of the wearer with the panels being positioned over the front 
of the torso. A second group of rows of parallel stitches 72, FIG. 3, 
extend from an edge of a lower right portion 86 of the ballistic resistant 
panels 36, 38 diagonally over the central region of the panels, and across 
the opposing edge of the upper left 88 portion of the panels. 
The embodiment of FIG. 3 also illustrates a third group of rows of parallel 
stitches 74 which extend horizontally from the left edge 90 to the right 
edge 92 across the panels 36, 38 over the sternum area of the wearer upon 
the garment being worn over the front torso of the user. The groups of 
rows of horizontally spaced stitches 70, 72, 74 of FIG. 3, each extend 
entirely though all the layers of ballistic resistant material for each 
overlying panel 36, 38 in the garment. Preferably, each group has at least 
two rows of parallel stitches extending across the panels. As seen in FIG. 
3, each group 70, 72, 74 shown has a pair of parallel spaced rows of 
stitches, however more than two rows for each group may suitably be 
employed. The rows of stitches 70, 72, 74 described herein are preferably 
constructed of high tensile strength aramid fibers such as Twaron.RTM. or 
Kevlar.RTM.. 
Referring now to FIG. 4, an illustration of an exploded view of a single 
layer of composite body armor material 55 of the present invention is 
shown. The material is constructed with preferably four sub-layer resin 
plies 56A, 56B, 56C and 56D which includes a matrix of aqueous 
thermoplastic and has high tensile strength fibers disposed into each of 
the plies that extend in the directions illustrated by the lines 57A, 57B, 
57C and 57D of each respective ply. As can be seen, each successive ply 
has its high tensile strength fibers extending in a transverse direction 
to one another. In fact, the high tensile strength fibers disposed within 
a first sub-layer ply of resin 56A, for example, is positioned in a first 
direction as illustrated by line 57A while the high tensile strength 
fibers disposed in a second sub-layer ply of resin 56B adjacent the first 
sub-layer ply are positioned in a direction illustrated by line 57B 
substantially normal to the fibers in the first sub-layer ply 56A. The 
preferred construction has four sub-layer plies 56A, 56B, 56C and 56D in 
which the high tensile strength fibers are disposed into each of the 
sub-layer plies 56A, 56B, 56C, and 56D. The fibers are positioned, as 
illustrated by lines 57A, 57B, 57C and 57D in a relative orientation of 0, 
90, 0, 90 degrees in each successive sub-layer ply. Layers of 
GoldFlex.RTM. material sold by Allied Signal, Inc. of Petersburg, Va. may 
be suitably employed as a composite body armor material to form the 
composite panel. 
The high tensile strength fibers utilized in sub-layer plies 56A, 56B, 56C 
and 56D are preferably aramid. Twaron.TM. T-2000 generally being 1500 
denier, 1.5 dpf, manufactured by AKZO NOBEL, Inc. is preferably employed 
as a fiber impregnated in the resin matrix of the sub-layers of composite 
material. Alternatively, Kevlar.RTM. 129 of 1500 denier manufactured by E. 
I. Du Pont de Nemours & Co., of Wilmington, Del. may be suitably employed 
as well as other such fibers with comparable high tensile strength. 
With sub-layer resin plies 56A, 56B, 56C and 56D positioned to overlie one 
another, and with each ply having the high tensile strength fibers 
oriented in the respective directions 57A, 57B, 57C and 57D, they are 
cross plied in a 0, 90, 0 and 90 degrees orientation relative to one 
another. The successive sub-layer plies 56A, 56B, 56C and 56D, are readily 
fused together through lamination and form a composite body armor layer 
55. Sub-layer resin plies 56A, 56B, 56C, and 56D are secured together by a 
laminate covering which is constructed of two sheets 94, 96 of 
thermoplastic polyethylene film. Sheets 94, 96 enclose and sandwich 
together sub-layer plies 56A, 56B, 56C and 56D forming a single layer 55 
of composite body armor material. 
Now referring to FIGS. 5A-C, these views are enlarged illustrative 
depictions of an end view along line 5--5 in FIG. 2, of three embodiments 
of multi-component body armor panels 30A, 30B and 30C without stitches 
being shown. Each of these three versions of multi-component panels 30A, 
30B and 30C represent three different threat levels of preventing 
projectile penetration under NIJ Standard 0101.03. Multi-component body 
armor panel 30A prevents a projectile penetration at Threat Level IIA; 
multi-component body armor panel 30B prevents a projectile penetration at 
Threat Level II and multi-component body armor panel 30C prevents 
projectile penetration at Threat Level IIIA. 
As to multi-component body armor pad 30A, FIG. 5A, underlying woven body 
armor panel 34 is constructed of a first woven sub-panel 36 and second 
woven sub-panel 38. As discussed earlier first sub-panel 36 contains six 
sheets 60 of woven flexible aramid preferably utilizing 860 denier 
Twaron.TM. T-2000 or other suitable high tensile strength fibers such as 
840 denier Kevlar.RTM. 129 , a product of E. I. Du Pont de Nemours and 
Company, of Wilmington, Del. Likewise, second sub-panel 38 contains six 
sheets 58 of woven flexible aramid fibers. Sheets 60, 58 as discussed 
earlier are maintained in separate sub-panels 36 and 38, respectively by 
employment of the sheet securement cross stitching 62, 64, 66, 68. The 
thinness of each sheet 60 and 58 is 0.0090 inches which when multiplied by 
twelve sheets comes to 0.1080 inches. The composite panel 32A, preferably 
has six layers in which each layer has a thinness of approximately 0.010 
inches thereby making the total thinness of composite panel 32A 
approximately 0.060 inches. As a result, the overall thinness of 
multi-component body armor pad 30A is no greater than about 0.17 inches. 
At the same time, the areal weight of multi-component body armor pad 30A 
is no greater than and only about 0.69 lbs/ft.sup.2. Regardless, of the 
thin and lightweight properties, the multi-component body armor pad 30A 
provides NIJ Certified ballistic resistance protection in preventing 
projectile penetration meeting NIJ Standard 0101.03 for Threat Level IIA 
certification tests. 
As to multi-component body armor pad 30B, FIG. 5B, underlying woven body 
armor panel 34 is constructed of a first woven sub-panel 36 and second 
woven sub-panel 38. As discussed earlier first sub-panel 36 contains six 
overlying sheets 60 of woven flexible aramid preferably utilizing 860 
denier Twaron.TM. T-2000 or other suitable high tensile strength fibers 
such as 840 denier Kevlar.RTM. 129, a product of E. I. Du Pont de Nemours 
and Company, of Wilmington, Del. As was discussed for multi-component body 
armor pad 30A, likewise, second sub-panel 38 contains six sheets 58 of 
woven flexible aramid fibers. Sheets 60, 58 as discussed earlier are 
maintained in separate sub-panels 36 and 38, respectively by employment of 
the stitching 62, 64, 66, 68 securing the woven sheets into the distinct 
sub-panels. The thinness of each sheet 60 and 58 is approximately 0.0090 
inches which when multiplied by twelve sheets, as set forth above, comes 
to 0.108 inches. The composite panel 32B, has nine layers GoldFlex.RTM. 
type of composite ballistic resistant material with each composite layer 
having a thinness of 0.010 inches thereby establishing total thinness of 
composite panel 32B being approximately 0.090 inches. As a result, the 
overall thinness of multi-component body armor pad 30B is no greater than 
about 0.20 inches. The areal weight of multi-component body armor pad 30B 
is no greater than about 0.84 lbs/ft.sup.2. Even with the advantages of 
these thin and lightweight properties, this multi-component body armor pad 
30B still provides NIJ Certified ballistic resistance protection in 
preventing projectile penetration of the multi-component body armor pad 
30B in accordance with NIJ Standard 0101.03 for Threat Level II. 
Similarly, with regard to multi-component body armor pad 30C, FIG. 5C, 
underlying woven body armor panel 34 is constructed of a first woven 
sub-panel 36 and second woven sub-panel 38. As discussed earlier first 
sub-panel 36 preferably contains six overlying sheets 60 of woven flexible 
aramid preferably utilizing 860 denier Twaron.TM. T-2000 or other suitable 
high tensile strength fibers such as 840 denier Kevlar.RTM. 129 , a 
product of E. I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company, of Wilmington, Del. As 
was discussed for multi-component body armor pads 30A and 30B, second 
sub-panel 38 preferably contains six sheets 58 of woven flexible aramid 
Twaron.RTM. T-2000 fibers. Sheets 60, 58 as discussed earlier are 
maintained in separate sub-panels 36 and 38, respectively by employment of 
the sheet securement stitching 62, 64, 66, 68, FIG. 3. The thinness of 
each sheet 60 and 58, FIG. 5C, is approximately 0.0090 inches which when 
multiplied by twelve sheets, as set forth above, comes to 0.108 inches. 
The composite panel 32C, has twelve layers of the aramid and resin 
composite material with each layer 55 having a thinness of 0.010 inches 
resulting in the total thinness of composite panel 32B being approximately 
0.12 inches. As a result, the overall thinness of multi-component body 
armor pad 30C is no greater than about 0.23 inches. The areal weight of 
multi-component body armor pad 30C for Threat Level IIIA is shown to be no 
greater than about 0.99 lbs/ft.sup.2. The thin and lightweight properties 
of this multi-component body armor pad 30C of FIG. 5C provides NIJ 
Certified ballistic resistance protection in preventing projectile 
penetration of the multi-component body armor pad 30C in accordance with 
NIJ Standard 0101.03 for Threat Level IIIA certification tests. 
While a detailed description of the preferred embodiments of invention has 
been given, it should be appreciated that many variations can be made 
thereto without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in 
the appended claims.