Abstract:
A rapid deployment ammunition carrier has a shoulder mounted ammunition belt having a plurality of ammunition pouches and a plurality of body mounting straps. An ammunition belt carrying case is shaped to hold the ammunition belt therein with the body mounting straps positioned for rapid deployment from the carrying case. The carrying case is mounted to a vehicle seat for rapid deployment of the ammunition belt by an occupant of the vehicle.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a rapid deployment ammunition carrier apparatus and method and especially to an ammunition belt held in an ammunition belt carrying case strapped to a vehicle seat and positioned for rapid deployment of the ammunition belt from the carrying case by an occupant of the vehicle. 
     In the past, it has been common to provide an ammunition carriers for use by military and police personnel. These carriers are usually belts or vests which attach to a person, such as a policeman. Ammunition vests and belts typically have ammunition pouches for holding the ammunition and are time consuming to attach to a person especially when responding to emergency situations. 
     Typical prior art ammunition carrying belts or vests may be seen in the Burwell U.S. Pat. No. 5,617,582 for a load bearing vest employed for military and police usage. This vest attaches over the shoulders and around the waist and is attached by pulling the vest from overhead with the user&#39;s arms extending upward to pass through the shoulder straps. The vest includes a plurality of pouches for holding ammunition. The Belson U.S. Pat. No. 4,106,121 is a tactical load bearing vest having a plurality of pouches for carrying ammunition as well as rations, weapons and ancillary supplies on the body of a soldier. The Parsons U.S. Pat. No. 7,152,247 is for a tactical jacket for a police officer and allows a police officer to carry equipment including a gun, radio, handcuffs, a flashlight, as well as extra ammunition. Other ammunition carrier vests and belts may be seen in the Falk et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,829,060 for a vest including a retractor pocket and retractor therein and the method of manufacturing the vest and in the H. A. North U.S. Pat. No. 1,520,962 for a protective garment and in the Benjamin U.S. Pat. No. 6,119,907 for a shoulder arm gun case convertible to a belt pack. The Sidebottom U.S. Pat. No. 6,185,738 shows a tactical load bearing protective vest. 
     It has also been known in the past to attach various types of holding assemblies to a vehicle seat. The Hussaini et al. U.S. Pat. No. 7,207,469 is a mounting system for audio visual equipment which mounts to the back of a vehicle seat and includes a strap that fits around the headrest of the vehicle seat. The C. A. Calvin U.S. Pat. No. 3,167,182 is a gun rack for a vehicle in which the gun rack is mounted to the back of a vehicle seat. The H. Schwartz U.S. Pat. No. 2,853,219 shows an umbrella container for automobiles which mounts to the back of a vehicle seat while the Maliniak U.S. Pat. No. 6,968,960 shows a digital video disc holding assembly which mounts to the back of a vehicle seat. 
     In contrast to the prior body supported ammunition carrier cases, the present invention provides for a rapid deployment ammunition carrier which attaches to the front of the vehicle seat and allows the occupant to open the carrying case with one hand while sliding an arm through an ammunition vest or belt shoulder straps while pulling one shoulder strap over the head to rapidly attach the ammunition carrier to a person&#39;s body for rapid deployment by police personnel. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A rapid deployment ammunition carrier has a shoulder mounted ammunition belt or vest having a plurality of ammunition pouches and a plurality of body mounting straps. The ammunition belt carrying case is shaped to hold the ammunition belt therein with the body mounting straps positioned for rapid deployment from the carrying case. The carrying case has a rapid opening front panel. The carrying case holding the ammunition belt is attached to a vehicle seat for rapid deployment by the vehicle occupant. The rapid deployment ammunition carrier is mounted to a vehicle seat and allows a vehicle occupant to open the front panel thereof and slide the ammunition belt therefrom onto the vehicle occupant. A rapid opening panel has a pair of zippers parallel to each other with the zipper tabs being connected by a strap for simultaneously opening both zippers by pulling on the strap to expose the ammunition belt. The ammunition belt has a plurality of body mounting straps including a pair of shoulder straps positioned in the carrying case for a vehicle occupant to slide one arm through while pulling one of the straps over his head, thereby pulling the ammunition belt from the carrying case. A plurality of body mounting straps also includes a chest strap for attaching around the chest of the user with ammunition. The belt carrying case has a strap attached thereto and sized to fit around a vehicle seat to hold the carrier case to the seat and also has a headrest strap attached thereto for extending around the vehicle head rest. The carrying case is made of a flexible fabric while the ammunition belt has a plurality of connections for adjustably mounting the shoulder straps to the ammunition pouches. 
     The process of attaching the rapid deployment ammunition carrier to a vehicle occupant includes the steps of selecting a shoulder mounted ammunition belt and carrying case in accordance with the present invention and strapping the carrying case and ammunition belt to a vehicle seat and then opening the rapid opening front panel of the carrying case. One arm of a vehicle occupant is slid through a pair of body shoulder mounting straps while pulling one of the straps over the occupant&#39;s head and onto the shoulders of the occupant while pulling the ammunition belt from the carrying case and onto the occupant. The process also includes the step of attaching one of the plurality of straps around the chest of the occupant. The step of opening the carrying case includes pulling on a strap connecting a pair of parallel zippers to open the front panel with one hand in one motion. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the written description and the drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a rapid deployment ammunition carrier in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the ammunition carrier of  FIG. 1  mounted to a vehicle seat having the opening strap grasped by an occupant of the vehicle; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view, as shown in  FIG. 2 , having the carrying case zipped open; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the carrying case opened and the vehicle occupant sliding an arm through the shoulder straps of an ammunition carrier; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the ammunition carrier of  FIGS. 1 through 4  having the occupant grasping one of the shoulder straps of the ammunition belt and pulling one shoulder strap over his head; 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the ammunition belt removed from the carrying case and mounted over the shoulder&#39;s of the occupant who is attaching the chest strap; 
         FIG. 7  is a front elevation of the ammunition belt fully deployed for use by the occupant; 
         FIG. 8  is a rear elevation of the occupant having the ammunition belt attached; and 
         FIG. 9  is a partial perspective of the ammunition belt carrying case showing the inside hanger for the ammunition belt. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to the drawings and especially to  FIG. 1 , a rapid deployment ammunition carrier  10  is illustrated having an ammunition belt carrying case  11 , which case can be made of a flexible fabric, such as nylon or the like and has a front panel  12  for opening the carrying case. The carrying case has a pair of parallel zippers  13  and  14  for closing the carrying case front panel. Each zipper has an opening slide  15  having a zipper tab  16  attached thereto. An opening strap  17  is attached to each of the zipper tabs  16  to allow both zippers to be opened simultaneously by pulling on the strap  17  to thereby open the front panel  12  in a rapid manner using only one hand. The carrying case  11  is a seat strap  18  for attaching the carrying case  11  to a vehicle seat, as more clearly shown in  FIGS. 2 ,  3 ,  4  and  5 . The carrying case  11  also has a headrest strap  20  held to the case with a pair of clip fasteners  21 . The seat strap  18  is also held to the carrying case  11  with a pair of snap clips  22 . A seat strap  23  is attached to the bottom of the carrying case  11  with a pair of snap clips  24 . The carrying case  11  can be easily attached to a vehicle seat  25 , as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , with the strap  18  attached around the seat and the headrest strap  20  attached around the headrest  26  with the seat straps  23  attached under the seat. 
       FIGS. 2 through 7  illustrate a process of attaching a rapid deployment ammunition carrier  28  to a vehicle occupant  30 . In  FIG. 2 , the occupant  30  is grasping the opening strap  17  to open the carrying case  11 . The carrying case  11  has been opened, as shown in  FIG. 3 , showing the shoulder mounted ammunition belt stowed in the case  11  and hanging from a belt hanger  31  which belt hanger can be more clearly seen in  FIG. 9 . It should be noted that the reference to a belt also includes a vest. The occupant  30  is thrusting his arm through the shoulder straps  32  and  33  of the ammunition belt  28  in  FIG. 4 . The ammunition belt  28  has a plurality of ammo carrying pouches  34  supported by the shoulder straps  32  and  33 . 
     In  FIG. 5 , the vehicle occupant  30  has his right arm  35  through the shoulder straps  32  and  33  and is grasping the shoulder strap  32  with his hand  36  while pulling the strap over his head  37 . This motion pulls the ammunition pouches  34  onto the person  30  with one strap  32  on one side of the person&#39;s head resting on the shoulder and strap  33  resting on the shoulder on the other side of the head  37 , as seen in  FIG. 6 . In  FIG. 6 , the occupant is also using his hands  36  to attach the chest strap or belt  40  with a snap clip  41 . This leaves the ammunition belt  28  attached to the user, as shown in  FIG. 7 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the ammunition belt  28  has a plurality of coupling rings  42 , such as D-rings, for attaching other equipment, such as weapon slings, flashlights, knives, hydration systems of drinking tubes and the like. Strap portions  43  may be cinch type straps which can be adjusted by pulling on the end thereof or lengthened by lifting the bight. The straps  43  attach to the buckles  39 . 
     The rapid deployment ammunition carrier  10  allows for the rapid deployment of the ammunition belt in a smooth continuous motion, as illustrated in  FIGS. 2 through 7 . The ammunition belt, as shown in  FIG. 8 , has the back strap  40  extending around the back and also has an additional strap  44  having a snap clip  45  attaching it to the shoulder straps and support  46  which has the straps  32  and  33  connected thereto. The ammunition belt  28  is then placed into the ammunition belt carrying case  11  by folding and placing it in the case  11  with the straps  32  and  33  supported on hanger  31 . Hanger  31  is mounted in the upper part of the case  11 . The shoulder strap portions  32  and  33  are hung over the strap hanger  47  which has an open end  48  so that the shoulder straps can be instantly deployed, as shown in  FIGS. 3 ,  4  and  5 . 
     It should be clear at this point that a rapid deployment ammunition carrier has been provided which allows a policemen or other occupant of a vehicle to rapidly deploy the ammunition carrier for a quick response as the vehicle occupant is exiting the vehicle. However, the present invention should not be construed as limited to the forms shown which are to be considered illustrative rather than restrictive.