Patent Publication Number: US-7712148-B2

Title: Articulated body armor/duty gear support vest

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to protective vests, and more particularly, to articulated body armor commonly known as a ballistic vest, which incorporates a duty gear belt system attachable to the ballistic vest. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Ballistic vests have been in use for many years and have saved the lives of military personnel and law enforcement officers. As a result, the military and law enforcement agencies have made it mandatory for soldiers and officers to wear a ballistic vest while on duty. 
     Ballistic vests have been available in recent years as a protective panel having overlying layers of a fabric made from 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. The material is also reasonably light in weight and flexible, which provides improved comfort when compared with previous vests which were made of metal and were therefore heavier and more rigid. The comfort of a ballistic vest is extremely important, especially to soldiers and law enforcement officers, because of the heat build-up that occurs from wearing a heavy and inflexible vest for the long hours in use. 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 undesired weight and inflexibility of the vest. 
     In addition to woven Kevlar fabric layers, ballistic vests have been made from other high strength fibers and composites to reduce weight and improve flexibility of the vest. However, ballistic vests using the lighter, more flexible materials also 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. 
     Concealable ballistic vests are body armor worn by law enforcement personnel close to the body under the uniform. Concealable ballistic vests are worn continuously for the entire time the officer is on duty. These vests, for comfort reasons, are designed to be shorter in the front panel so that they do not bunch or bind when an officer is in a seated position. Consequently, this design exposes vital areas of the lower abdomen to ballistic threats when the officer is standing. Additionally, the front panel of the ballistic vest is designed shorter to not bind with a duty gear belt worn by the officer. Currently available vests provide no protection for the officer on the region of the body occupied by the duty gear belt. In addition, duty gear belts must carry an average of 8 to 10 and sometimes up to 15 pounds of equipment, ranging from flashlights, keys and handcuffs, OC spray, batons and duty weapons such as guns, holsters and ammunition. All of the weight from the duty gear in addition to the ballistic vest can become a health hazard for the officer in the form of fatigue, pinched nerves, sore muscles and bruises. 
     Consequently, a need exists for an improved vest design which addresses the drawbacks of previous vest designs, namely, to provide a combination body armor/duty gear support system which provides increased protection for the sides and lower abdomen of the wearer, reduces heat build-up, and distributes duty gear weight across the torso. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a combination articulated body armor and duty gear support ballistic vest. The ballistic vest preferably comprises a plurality of overlying 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. Preferably, each first flexible layer comprises 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. Preferably, each second flexible layer comprises a thin, flexible imperforate fiber-reinforced plastic sheet comprising an array of plastic fibers embedded in a thermoplastic resinous matrix that forms each film sheet. The second layers overlie each other and as a combination are referred to as a second panel of the vest. The first and second panels are both located in the front and rear of the vest and around the waist in the duty gear region of the vest. Although this is a preferred ballistics package, any type and number of ballistic packages which meet any threat level are contemplated for use in the present invention. The vest of the present invention preferably is worn on the outside of the wearers&#39; underclothing as a uniform and is commonly referred to as body armor. 
     The ballistic vest of the present invention incorporates two basic components which are the vest component and the duty gear component. The ballistic vest incorporates fasteners to fasten the vest and duty gear components together, such as hook and loop fasteners, buckles, zippers and other fastening systems. 
     The duty gear component provides ballistic protection to the sides and lower abdomen of the wearer and is positioned around the waist traditionally occupied by a duty gear belt. The duty gear component includes loops positioned on its outer surface through which the duty gear belt is inserted and attached to the duty gear component. Optionally, the duty gear component can integrate the duty gear belt onto its outer surface. The vest component of the ballistic vest provides protection for the front and back of the upper torso and is fastened to the duty gear portion along the lower edge of a back panel of the vest. A front panel of the vest component can be made longer to articulate over the duty gear component offering comfort when seated yet expands to cover the lower abdomen when the officer is standing. The front panel has buckles, or other fastening means along its lower surface for attaching to mating buckles on the duty gear portion. 
     The vest component includes an outer carrier which is constructed to look like a police uniform shirt to aid in public identification of the officers and eliminates the need for an additional uniform shirt which results in a cooler ballistics system permitting improved airflow about the body. The vest component has an opening between the front and back panels for placement of the vest over the wearer&#39;s head. 
     Consequently, the ballistic vest of the present invention provides the benefits of a combined articulated body armor and duty gear support vest which provides additional ballistics protection and a support system for an officer&#39;s duty gear. The vest can support the weight of the duty gear, instead of just by a traditional belt, which eliminates health problems. The ballistic vest, having an integrated duty gear component, covers a larger area of the wearer previously exposed while standing, and since the vest is articulated it retracts when seated because the duty gear component slides underneath the vest component. The front panel of the ballistic vest folds over the duty gear component in the seated position. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be more fully understood by reference to the drawings and following detailed description wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded flat view of a ballistic vest of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a front view of the ballistic vest of  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIG. 3  is a back view of the ballistic vest of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     A ballistic vest system  10  of the present invention is shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  3 . The ballistic vest system  10  is also known as body armor which is worn by military and law enforcement officers and includes a vest component  12  and a duty gear component  14 . The vest component  12  includes a front panel  16  and a rear panel  18 . The front panel  16  protects the chest and stomach of the wearer while the rear panel  18  protects the back of the wearer. Contained within the front and rear panels is a ballistic package which comprises individual layers of ballistic material located within a covering layer as commonly known. The duty gear component  14  includes raised side portions  20  and  22  which protects the sides of the wearer when positioned around the waist of the wearer. The duty gear component also contains a ballistics package similar to the vest component. 
     The vest component includes an opening  24  for placement over the head of the wearer when the vest is put on which, along with side edges  26  and  28 , define shoulder regions  30  of the vest component  12 . The vest component  12  is attached to the duty gear component  14  by a number of fasteners including a zipper  32  positioned along a bottom edge  34  of the rear panel  18  and edge  36  of the duty gear component. Hook  38  and loop  40  fasteners also assist in attaching the rear panel to the duty gear component. Hook fastener  38  is positioned along side edges  26  and  28  of rear panel  18  and loop fastener  40  is positioned along an outer surface of the raised side portion  20  adjacent zipper  32 . The front edge  42  of front panel  16  is attached to the duty gear component by buckles  44  positioned on either corner of front edge  42 . Buckles  44  connect to mating buckles  46  located on an outer front surface of the duty gear component by elastic straps  48 . 
     Duty gear component  14  has a series of belt loops  50  positioned along a lower portion of the duty gear component for receipt of a duty gear belt  52 . Duty gear belt  52  contains typical duty gear items such as OC spray container  54 , knife container  56 , handcuff case  58 , ammunition pouch  60  and holster  62  for revolver  64 . Other types of duty gear items can be positioned on the belt such as flashlights, keys, batons, stun guns or other duty weapons. The weight of the duty gear belt and duty gear items is supported by the entire ballistic vest considering the vest component and duty gear components are attached together. 
     Although it is shown that the duty gear belt is attached to the duty gear component by belt loops, it is to be understood that the duty gear belt can be integrally formed with the duty gear component. The duty gear component is fastened around the waist of the wearer by the belt buckle attached to the duty gear belt. 
     The length of the front panel  16  can be made longer than conventional concealable ballistic vests so that front edge  42  extends down and slightly overlaps upper surface  66  of the duty gear component. In this manner, there is no lower torso areas exposed in the standing position of the wearer. In addition, when a wearer is in the seated position, the front edge  42  articulates over and extends down to the bottom edge  68  of the duty gear component. 
     The vest component  12  has an outer carrier which is designed to mimic a police uniform shirt including pockets  70 , buttons  72 , tabs  74 , and the like, to aid in public identification of the officers with a more traditional uniform look. Similarly, the outer carrier of the vest of the present invention can be of a tactical variety which would contain loops and attachment mechanisms for additional tactical pouches and gear. Designing the vest to mimic a uniform provides for a cooler vest and more comfortable by eliminating additional uniform clothing. The unique ballistic vest of the present invention offers a system for support of heavy duty gear, increased ballistic protection, a cooler system permitting improved airflow about the body and easier donning and doffing of duty equipment. In addition, the vest and duty gear support combination is easy to put on and remove from the wearer&#39;s body. 
     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.