Abstract:
A ballistic vest having a ballistic panel including a plurality of layers of ballistic material, wherein a portion of the layers of ballistic material include a series of folded pleats arranged at selected angles and intervals along the layer and sewn along their length.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    This invention relates to protective vests, and more particularly to a ballistic performance and trauma reduction system for soft body armor, which incorporates a ballistic package having pleats stitched in one or more layers of ballistic fabric sheet. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Ballistic vests have saved the lives of many law enforcement officers in recent years. As a result, law enforcement agencies have made it mandatory for their officers to wear ballistic vests while on duty. 
         [0003]    Ballistic vests are available as a protective panel having overlying layers of a fabric made from woven or non-woven high tensile strength fibers. Woven fabrics from an aramid fiber known as Kevlar, for example, have been used successfully in ballistic vests because of the high energy absorption properties of the fabric material. Comfort of the ballistic vest is extremely important, especially to law enforcement officers, because of the heat build up that occurs from wearing a heavy and inflexible vest for long hours while on duty. Resistance to projectile penetration is a principle factor in designing a ballistic vest; and added protective layers can offer greater protection against projectiles having the higher threat levels, but added protective layers also add undesirable weight and inflexibility of the vests. 
         [0004]    In addition to woven Kevlar fabric layers, ballistic vests have been made from other high strength fibers and non-woven composites to reduce weight and improve flexibility of the vests. However, ballistic vests using the lighter, more flexible materials must offer the required minimum levels of protection against penetration by different types of projectiles. The more flexible the ballistic fabrics are, the more bunching and backface deformation occurs upon impact from a projectile. A vest must not be too flexible where it cannot protect the wearer. 
         [0005]    Ballistic vests are regularly certified by subjecting them to ballistics testing to measure their ability to protect against different projectiles fired from different types of weapons at various angles. One ballistic test commonly used in the industry is the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Standard 0101.03 Threat Level IIIA. Which, in general terms, is a high performance standard requiring that the ballistic vests prevent penetration of specified 0.44 Magnum and 9 mm rounds fired at a velocity of at least 1,400 feet per second. In addition to prevent such projectile penetration, “backface deformation” is also a required test factor in the certification test. Backface deformation measures the trauma level experienced by a projectile that does not penetrate the tests panel. 
         [0006]    There is a need to provide a ballistic vest that is reasonably light in weight, is thin and is comfortable, and is also capable of meeting the high performance projectile specifications of certification testing. Providing such a vest at a reasonably low cost for the comparable high performance level also is a desirable objective. Consequently, a need exists for an improved soft body armor design, namely, to improve ballistic performance and comfort and to reduce weight while simultaneously reducing blunt trauma. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    The present invention provides a ballistic vest of the soft body armor type comprising for example, a plurality of over-laying first flexible layers arranged in a stack on a strike side of the vest, and a plurality of overlying second flexible layers arranged in a stack on a body side of the vest. Each first flexible layer may comprise a thin, flexible, woven fabric layer made of high tensile strength polymeric fibers. The individual woven fabric layers form a soft, flexible woven fabric first panel for the vest. Each second flexible layer may comprise a thin, flexible imperforate fiber-reinforced sheet comprising an array of fibers embedded in a thermoplastic resin matrix that forms each laminate film sheet. Although this is one example of a ballistics package, any type and number of ballistics packages which meet any threat level are contemplated for use in the present invention. The vests of the present invention preferably is designed to be concealable, however it is to be understood that the inventive concepts are equally applicable to ballistic vests which are worn on the outside of the wearers&#39; clothing or uniforms. The ballistics package of the present invention is equally applicable to other types of protective garments other than vests. 
         [0008]    The ballistic vest of the present invention incorporates nylon hook fasteners to fasten the front panel to the back panel, and are attached to strapping or conventional elastic. Vests, or other garments of the present invention can also use buckles, zippers and other fastening systems. 
         [0009]    More particularly, the ballistic vest of the present invention incorporates within the ballistics package a series of folded pleats at selected angles and intervals that are stitched in one or more individual layers of the woven or non-woven ballistic fabric contained within the package. Energy is transmitted through the ballistic layers to the pleats thereby improving ballistic performance and reducing trauma to the wearer&#39;s body, resulting in safer and lighter soft body armor. The pleats absorb energy and shock from the projectile by adding crumple resistance to help dissipate ballistic energy and by expanding. During this expansion energy is consumed by breakage of sewing thread running the length of the pleat. 
         [0010]    The use of a series of folded pleats at selected angles and intervals on individual plies of the present invention permits the production of lower costs and lighter weight ballistic vests. The pleats reduce the amount of depression or backface trauma caused by stopping a projectile. Consequently, injury caused by blunt force trauma is reduced, thereby improving safety of the vests. Because the pleats reduce the amount of material travel, the amount of ballistic materials can be reduced, thereby providing an effective ballistic system that is lighter in weight which improves wear comfort and reduces the overall costs for manufacturing the vests. 
         [0011]    Preferably the pleats are sewn in one or more sheets within the multiple plies of ballistic fabric contained within the ballistic package. The pleats are sewn with one or more lines of stitching and can be vertical, horizontal or at any angle. The ballistic fabric containing the pleats can consist of woven or non-woven Kevlar, Spectra Nylon or Zylon fibers or other known ballistic material. 
         [0012]    In a ballistic event, the projectile strikes the ballistics material and energy is transferred to the pleats via the fibers in the ballistic fabrics. When the bullet contacts the surface, it expands, twists and becomes entangled in the fibers and tension is put on the pleats. The pleats reduce the amount of depression of backface trauma caused by the slowing projectile. Energy used to crumple or expand and break stitching is absorbed as opposed to breaking through the ballistic fabric, thereby increasing the bullet resistance of the armor. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0013]    These and/or other features and advantages of the present invention will be more fully understood by reference to the drawings and following detailed description wherein: 
           [0014]      FIG. 1  is a front view of a ballistic vest of the present invention; 
           [0015]      FIG. 2  is a back view of the ballistic vest of FIG.  1 .; 
           [0016]      FIG. 3  is a partial cross-sectional view of the front panel of the ballistic vest of the present invention; 
           [0017]      FIG. 4  is a detail of  FIG. 1  illustrating access to the ballistics panel or package; and 
           [0018]      FIG. 5  is a partial perspective detail view of individual sheets of pleated ballistic material contained within the ballistic package of the vest of  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0019]    A ballistic vest  10  of the present invention is shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . The ballistic vest  10  is a concealable vest of the soft body armor type commonly worn by law enforcement officers. The ballistic vest includes a front panel  12  and a rear panel  14 . The front panel  12  protects the chest and stomach of the wearer while the rear panel  14  protects the back of the wearer. 
         [0020]    The front panel  12  may include a center panel  16  and hook compatible fabric located on the top 18 and sides  20  of the front panel  12 . Top  18  and sides  20  provide a large area for hook fasteners  22  to secure the front panel and rear panel together around the wearer. Top  18  and sides  20  allow for placement of fasteners  22  at any location to provide an optimal fit for the particular wearer. Straps  24  located at the top and sides of the ballistic vest are attached to the fasteners  22  to secure the front and rear panels together. As seen best in  FIG. 2 , straps  24  for connecting the top of the front and rear panels can be typically sewn to the rear panel, or as with straps  24  located at the sides of the ballistic vests, can be inserted into a pocket  26  which includes a section of hook fasteners  28 , sewn within the pocket, for connection of the straps  24 . The pocket arrangement for the straps can be located at the top, sides or both locations of the vest. As indicated by the direction arrows  30 , the straps  24  provide for multi-directional adjustment. 
         [0021]    As shown as in  FIG. 3 , the front panel, as well as the rear panel, includes a lining material  40  which is adjacent the body  42  of the wearer and extends around the edge of the panel to the outside of the ballistic vest. The material can be perforated or of solid construction and is a moisture absorbing material which wicks moisture away from the body and around to the outside of the vest for evaporation. Contained within the lining material  40  is the ballistic panel or package  42  which comprises the individual layers of ballistic material  44  located within a covering layer  46 . Layer  46  comprises a top layer  48  and a bottom layer  50  stitched together at internal seam  52 . Gaps are shown between lining material  40  and top and bottom layers  48  and  50 , and between layers  48  and  50  and ballistic material  44  only so that these components can be easily illustrated. It is to be understood that in the actual vest no gaps are present so that ballistic protection extends virtually from edge to edge in the front and rear panels. As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the lining material  40  extends around the outside surface of the vest and is sewn to the outside surface of the front and rear panels  18  and  20  to form a seam  54  which allows the ballistics package to extend all the way to the edge of the front and rear panels. 
         [0022]    As shown in  FIG. 4 , the front panel  12  includes an opening  56  for access to the ballistics panel  58 . The opening is positioned on the outside of the front panel to produce a smooth surface against the body. A zipper  60  or other suitable closing mechanism extends across the width of the opening. The zipper permits easy access to remove the ballistics panel or package. 
         [0023]    As seen in  FIG. 2 , the ballistic vest includes visual inspection ports  62  positioned on the exterior of the garment. As shown in  FIG. 1 , retention tails  64  and  66  are sewn to the lower edge  38  of the front and rear panels respectively. Preferably the tails are constructed of stretchable fabrics or meshes which are tucked into a wearer&#39;s trousers to hold the vest down during movement. 
         [0024]    As shown in  FIG. 5 , the ballistic vest of the present invention includes a series of Z-shaped folded pleats  70  in one or more layers of ballistic material  44   a  and  44   b  the pleats on ballistic layer  44   a  are vertically oriented and pleats  70  on ballistic layer  44   b  are horizontally oriented. In addition, the pleats  70  can be positioned along angles from horizontal or vertical. The pleats can be spaced uniformly and in series or non-uniformly and in intervals. The number of pleats, their orientation and spacing can be varied to accommodate different threat levels. In addition, the number of layers of ballistic material having pleats can vary and can have non-pleated layers of ballistic material positioned in between layers having pleats. For example, a particular ballistic package can employ a series of vertically oriented pleated ballistic sheets on every other ply and horizontally oriented pleats on the plies in between. Depending upon the particular application, the pleated or non-pleated ballistic material layers can be woven or non-woven fabric depending upon the particular application. 
         [0025]    The pleats are formed by folding the individual layer of ballistic material and sewing the pleat with a line of stitching  72 . The pleats absorb shock of the ballistic projectile by adding crumple resistance to the dissipate ballistic energy. The pleats can expand upon impact by the projectile which consumes ballistic energy by breakage of the sewing thread running the length of the pleat. Preferably, the stitching for a plastic sheet ballistic layer is Kevlar stitching and for a woven ballistic sheet the stitching can be nylon as well as Kevlar. During a ballistic event, energy is transmitted though the pleats on the individual ballistic sheets, improving ballistic performance and reducing trauma to the wearers body, resulting in safer and lighter soft body armor. 
         [0026]    Although the present invention has been shown and illustrated with respect to an embodiment thereof, the invention is not to be so limited since changes and modifications can be made therein which are within the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed. For example, the pleats are Z-shaped pleats which include two folds, however the pleats could be more accordion shape having four or more folds.