Patent Publication Number: US-10306971-B2

Title: Convertible bullet-proof backpack

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to the fields of backpacks and bullet-proof vests. More particularly, the invention relates to a backpack that is convertible into a bullet-proof vest and vice versa. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     We often hear news of gun fire in schools, universities and other public places around the world. If a stranger enters a building/area with weapons, students and teachers alike must take measures to protect themselves immediately from dangerous situations such as an open-fire, active shooter situation. Even though a bullet-proof vest serves great protection, most people don&#39;t wear bullet-proof vests in public or in private places, let alone students in university and school. Most students carry their objects and belongings in a backpack to school. However, a backpack is not the most ideal option for protection against heavy forces. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This backpack is designed to bind both the backpack and bulletproof vest into one. Two bullet-proof fabric sheets are sewed inside the front and rear portion of the backpack. When in a risky situation, individuals can pull the zipper from the right to the left side, open the top zipper, then wear the backpack from head down to their waist, and fasten it. It only takes a very short time to convert the backpack into a bullet-proof vest. 
     This invention is designed to meet safety needs in schools, universities, offices, public areas, etc. The backpack comprises a front portion, rear portion and top portion connected by zippers. The bullet-proof fabrics are sewed inside the front portion and rear portion. The wearer can carry it as a daily use backpack. In emergency situations, the wearer can pull the zipper from the right to the left side, open the top zipper, then wear the backpack from head down to body, and fasten it. It takes a very short time to convert the backpack into a bullet-proof vest. 
     Bullet-proof fabrics are typically made of a woven fabric shell and have layers of anti-ballistic materials such as Kevlar® and Spectra®. Such bullet-proof fabrics are sewed inside the front portion and the rear portion of backpack body. The bullet-proof area covers the torso but does not cover the head, the arms, and the lower body. 
     The bullet-proof backpack weighs about 7-8 pounds before loading the wearer&#39;s belongings inside. 
     The wearer can load/unload items from the front side or the right side of the backpack. 
     A convertible bullet-proof backpack and vest disclosed herein includes a body section divided into a front portion, a middle portion, and back portion. The middle portion has a head slot opening, and the front and back portions have respective sections of bullet-proof fabric integrated therein. A zipper runs around an outer perimeter of the front and back portions. In a backpack configuration, the zipper secures the outer perimeters of the front portion and the back portion together thereby forming a hollow backpack interior between them. In a bullet-proof vest configuration, the zipper is unzipped thereby allowing a user to insert their head through the head slot opening such that the front portion hangs in front of a torso of the user and the back portion hangs behind the torso of the user. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention will be better understood in light of the following description of the backpack according to the invention, given only by way of example, with reference to the annexed drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a front view of the backpack according to the invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a rear view of the backpack; 
         FIG. 3  is a top view of the backpack; 
         FIG. 4  is a first side view of the backpack in the zipped configuration; 
         FIG. 5  is a second side view of the backpack in the unzipped configuration; 
         FIG. 6  is a inside view of the backpack; and 
         FIG. 7  is a front view demo of a user wearing the backpack. 
     
    
    
     REFERENCE NUMERALS 
     
       
         
           
               
               
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Numeral 
                 Element 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                 10 
                 convertible bullet-proof backpack/vest 
               
               
                 12 
                 body section 
               
               
                 14 
                 front portion 
               
               
                 16 
                 back portion 
               
               
                 18 
                 middle portion 
               
               
                 20 
                 first zipper 
               
               
                 20a 
                 first zipper chain (side of first zipper 20 on front portion 
               
               
                   
                 14) 
               
               
                 20b 
                 second zipper chain (side of first zipper 20 on back portion 
               
               
                   
                 16) 
               
               
                 22 
                 top portion 
               
               
                 23 
                 rectangular joining section 
               
               
                 24 
                 head-slot opening 
               
               
                 26 
                 top zipper 
               
               
                 28 
                 additional first compartment 
               
               
                 30 
                 additional second compartment 
               
               
                 32 
                 additional third compartment 
               
               
                 34 
                 additional first compartment zipper 
               
               
                 36 
                 additional second compartment zipper 
               
               
                 38 
                 additional third compartment zipper 
               
               
                 40 
                 bullet proof fabrics in front portion 
               
               
                 42 
                 bullet proof fabrics in back portion 
               
               
                 44 
                 shoulder straps 
               
               
                 46 
                 adjustment buckles 
               
               
                 48 
                 loop strap 
               
               
                 50 
                 zipper slider and pull tab on first zipper 
               
               
                 52 
                 waist straps 
               
               
                 54 
                 buckles on waist straps 
               
               
                 56 
                 interior-facing surfaces of front and back portions 
               
               
                 58 
                 cloth covers 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  is a front view of a convertible bullet-proof backpack  10  in a backpack configuration according to the invention. The convertible bullet-proof backpack  10  includes a backpack body section  12  which has a front portion  14  and a back portion  16  connected on either side of a middle portion  18 . The front portion  14  and the back portion  16  are attached to one another by a first zipper  20 . The middle portion  18  includes a detachable top portion  22  that can close a head-slot opening  24  in the middle portion, and the top portion  22  is connected to the perimeter of the head-slot opening  24  by a top zipper  26 . 
     When the first zipper  20  is closed as illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the front and back portions  14 ,  16  of the backpack body section  12  are joined together to form a backpack shape with an enclosed hollow interior that can be utilized for item storage just like a regular backpack. When the top zipper  26  is closed as illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the top portion  22  of the backpack  10  is also closed. Additional first, second, and third compartments  28 ,  30 ,  32  are provided on the outside of the front portion and can be accessed through additional zippers  34 ,  36 ,  38 . 
     The backpack front portion  14  and back portion  16  have bullet-proof fabrics  40 ,  42  sewed inside. (Also see  FIG. 6 .) The bullet-proof fabric sheets  40 ,  42  are sewed inside the backpack  10 , one on each of the front portion  14  and the back portion  16 . The particular fabric is not constrained to just one material; preferred materials are nylon and aramids such as Kevlar®, Spectra®, etc. 
       FIG. 2  is a rear view of the backpack  10  of  FIG. 1 . As illustrated, the back portion  16  of the backpack body section  12  includes shoulder straps  44  for the user to wear the backpack  10 . Adjustments buckles  46  are provided and allow size adjustments. A loop strap  48  is also provided to allow the backpack  10  to be hung on a hook for storage or to be carried by the user. The shoulder straps  46  and loop strap  48  are examples of carrying straps allowing the user to carry the backpack  10  when the backpack is in the backpack configuration. 
       FIG. 3  is a top view of the backpack  10  of  FIG. 1 . As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , when the top zipper  26  is opened (i.e., unzipped), the detachable top portion  22  can be separated from the backpack body middle portion  18  and provides a head slot opening  24 . In the backpack configuration, the head slot opening  24  can be utilized to access the hollow interior of the backpack  10 . The top zipper  26  includes first and second chains that respectively extend around only a first part of a perimeter of the head slot opening  24  and the top portion  22 . A second part of the perimeter of the head slot opening  24  and the top portion  22  are joined by a rectangular joining section  23 . 
       FIG. 4  is a first side view of the backpack  10  while the first zipper  20  is zipped closed in the backpack configuration. The detachable top portion  22  is separated, folded opened and resting against the back portion  16  of the backpack body  12 . A zipper slider  50  with pull tab is attached to the first zipper  20  and allows the user to join and unjoin the first zipper  20 . 
       FIG. 5  is a second side view of the backpack  10  with the first zipper  20  unzipped in the bullet-proof vest configuration. With the first zipper  20  unzipped, waist straps  52  provided on the right and left interior sides are now accessible to the user. The waist straps  52  include buckles  54  allowing the user to fasten the front and back portions  14 ,  16  to the user&#39;s torso. The waist straps can be fastened on right and left side when a person wears the backpack in the bullet-proof vest configuration. A first zipper chain  20   a  being a first side of the zipper  20  runs around the outer perimeter of the front portion  14  and a second zipper chain  20   b  being the second side of the zipper  20  runs around the outer perimeter of the back portion  16 . 
       FIG. 6  is an inside view of the backpack  10  when the first zipper  20  is completely unzipped and the backpack  10  is in the bullet-proof vest configuration. The backpack  10  is formed by an elongated body section  12  divided into the front portion  14  and the back portion  16  on opposite sides of a middle portion  18 . An oval shaped detachable top portion  22  in the middle portion  18  is detached in  FIG. 6  and its removal forms a head slot opening  24 . The front and back portions  14 ,  16  of the body section  12  meet the middle portion  18  on either side of the head slot opening  24  such that the backpack&#39;s interior-facing surfaces  56  of the front and back portions  14 ,  16  face one another. 
     As illustrated, the backpack interior-facing surfaces  54 , both on the front and back portions  14 ,  16 , include cloth covers  58  over bullet-proof fabrics sections  40 ,  42 . In particular, the front portion  14  has a first bullet-proof fabric section  40  sewn therein and the back portion  16  has a second bullet-proof fabric section  42  sewn therein. A first zipper chain  20   a  of the first zipper  20  runs around the three outer perimeter edges of the front portion  14  in a U-shape, and a second zipper chain  20   b  of the first zipper  20  runs around the three outside perimeter edges of the back portion  16  also in a U-shape. In other words, the first zipper chain  20   a  in the orientation shown in  FIG. 6  appears as an upside-down U-shape and the second zipper chain  20   b  in  FIG. 6  appears as a right-side-up U-shape. When the front and back portions  12 ,  14  are together in the backpack configuration, these U-shaped zipper chains  20   a ,  20   b  line up and form the first zipper  20  to be zipped and unzipped. 
     In the vest configuration as illustrated in  FIGS. 5-7 , the two zipper chains  20   a ,  20   b  of the first zipper  20  are detached (i.e., zipper  20  is unzipped) and therefore the front portion  14  and the back portion  16  are only connected to each other via the middle portion  18  and the waist straps  52 . The waist straps  52  are located about halfway down the backpack front backs portions  14 ,  16  on both the right and left sides, and include adjustment buckles  46 . The two zipper chains  20   a ,  20   b  of the first zipper  20  attach to one another when the first zipper  20  is zipped up thereby converting the bullet-proof vest to the backpack configuration as shown in  FIGS. 1-4 . 
       FIG. 7  is a front view demo of a user wearing the backpack  10  in the bullet-proof vest configuration as illustrated in  FIGS. 5-6 . As illustrated, with the first zipper  20  unzipped and the backpack  10  in the bullet-proof vest configuration, the user puts their head through the head-slot opening  24 . The body front portion  14  hangs down in front of the user&#39;s chest and the body back portion  16  hangs down behind the user&#39;s back. The middle portion  18  rests on the top of the user&#39;s shoulders. The user can utilize the waist straps  52  to tighten the front and back portions  14 ,  16  and hold them secure on either side of the user&#39;s body. The bullet-proof fabrics within the front and back portions  14 ,  16  provide protection for the user&#39;s torso both front and back. Any additional storage compartments  28  that are located on the outside of the front portion  14  of the backpack body  12  remain accessible to the user&#39;s hands when wearing the backpack  10  in the bullet-proof vest configuration. 
     When wearing the backpack  10  in the backpack configuration of  FIGS. 1-4 , the user can convert the backpack  10  to the bullet-proof vest configuration as follows. The user pulls the zipper slider  50  of the first zipper  20  to detach the front portion  14  from the back portion  16 . The user opens the top zipper  26  to open the head-slot opening  24 . The user wears the vest  10  by inserting their head through the head slot opening  24  such that the front portion  14  hangs in front of the torso of the user and the back portion  16  hangs behind the torso of the user. The user then tightens the adjustable waist straps  52 . 
     For simplicity or efficiency, the invention can be created in the absence of any additional element that is not specifically disclosed herein.