Abstract:
A tactical vest particularly for police has a hidden pocket which extends between panels of fabric to the back of the vest and preferably completely around the vest to the opposite side. A large patch of material with loop fasteners, preferably nearly as tall as the pocket opening, is engagable against two strips of hook fasteners on the inner panel as a module. A gun holster with hook-type fasteners can be placed at any desired location on the module for convenient retrieval by the user. Similarly, the module itself can be located and oriented in any manner desired by the user. This versatility enables the officer to position his gun holster in a personally most convenient and most readily retrievable position.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention concerns garments, and in particular a tactical vest for police, for carrying a concealed weapon. 
     Vests have come in many different forms, including tactical vests for police. Hidden vest panels or pockets have been used for concealing a gun. See, for example, Bennett U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,237. 
     As shown in the above patent, pistol holsters using Velcro, for concealing in a vest, are known. However, prior tactical vests have not provided for convenience and ready retrieval of a gun or other weapon from a concealed area of the vest, nor have they provided for versatility in the placement of the holster and gun as in the present invention described below. 
     The following patents have some pertinence to this invention: U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,324,697, 5,894,976, 5,689,829, 4,998,654, 4,262,832, 4,106,121, 2,919,443, 2,476,665 and D414, 014. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with the present invention, a police tactical vest has a conveniently accessed hidden pocket, to the side of the central zipper line of separation of the vest. Such a pocket may be provided at both left and right. Inside this pocket is a hook and loop fastener arrangement that provides for placing of a holster and handgun in any desired orientation and position for the user, and Chat enables very quick retrieval of the gun from the hidden pocket. 
     The concealed pocket or pockets are not visible from the outside, being formed between layers of fabric and with a vertical slot opening adjacent to the zipper or other fasteners at the vertical line of vest closure. Within each concealed pocket in a preferred embodiment is a pair of patches of Velcro hook and loop fastener material, preferably tracks or strips of hook VELCRO material, spaced apart and preferably parallel. The tracks may be vertically oriented. These VELCRO hook tracks or strips are on the inner panel of the concealed pocket, i.e., the outside surface of the panel closest to the body. The pair of hook fastener tracks can support a large VELCRO material patch, preferably of double-sided loop material, in a position and orientation as desired by the wearer. Such a position is in accordance with the user&#39;s comfort and convenience in drawing a handgun. The large patch of double-sided loop material supports a nylon gun holster having hook VELCRO , or it can support other weapons or items: telescoping baton, mace, pepper spray, spare magazines, radio, cell phone, handcuffs, etc. The term hook/loop fastener material is intended to mean either hook material or loop material as used in the appended claims. 
     In a preferred embodiment or the vest of the invention, the described concealed pockets are located at both left and right, with vertical pocket entry just behind the zipper or other closure device. The front of the vest can be closed with a single snap if desired, even though a zipper is present, for quickly accessing the primary weapon, usually the handgun in the concealed pocket. The pocket itself may be closed with patches of Velcro along the edge of the opening slot. 
     The tactical vest of the invention has a number of other preferred features. One is the inclusion of two outer pockets on the user&#39;s right, which can receive, for example, a two-way radio and/or a rifle magazine. 
     A pocket with horizontal zipper on the user&#39;s left front can be used for sunglasses, bullets, etc. This is a deliberately shallow pocket for reaching such items conveniently. Below that pocket on the left side is a deeper, bellowed pocket with elastic loops inside. These can be for a spare pistol magazines, film and/or a flashlight. The three elastic loops are formed by a single strip of elastic positioned horizontally across the inside of the pocket. The back of the vest has cargo pockets which can hold extra gear, including a water bottle. 
     It is therefore among the objects of the invention to provide significant improvements in police tactical vests, providing a number of conveniences and a concealed pocket for quick retrieval of a concealed weapon, the weapon being arranged for maximum comfort and retrieval convenience of the particular user. These and other objects, advantages and features of the invention will be apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment, considered along with the drawings. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a front elevation view showing a vest of the invention, in a preferred embodiment. 
     FIG. 2 is a rear elevation view of the vest of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 is a front view similar to FIG. 1, but showing a hidden pocket in dashed lines and omitting, for clarity, exterior features of the vest shown in FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 4 is a cut-away elevation view of the vest, showing a handgun retention arrangement. 
     FIG. 5 shows a handgun holster of a type which may be used with the invention. 
     FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional elevation view of the vest, showing the hidden pocket. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIG. 1 shows a tactical vest  10  according to the invention. This frontal view of the vest reveals a number of pockets  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18 ,  20  and  22  at left and right of the front of the vest. A zipper  24  preferably is provided for closure of the vest along a vest opening/closure line  25 ; in addition, a snap closure tab  26  may be included, for closing the vest only at this location, without engaging the zipper  24 , when desired. 
     A preferred embodiment of the vest  10  includes a number of features visible in FIG.  1 . At the vest&#39;s front left side are a Velcro badge tab  28 ; a narrow separate pocket  30  divided off from the pocket  12 , for pens, a small flashlight, etc.; the pocket  14 , made shallow and preferably with a horizontal zipper  32 , for containing sunglasses, bullets, etc. for easy reach; the left side pocket  16  which is deeper and preferably bellowed, and with elastic loops inside to carry spare pistol magazines, film and/or a flashlight. The three elastic loops (not shown) in this pocket  16  may be formed by a single strip of elastic, positioned horizontally across the inside of the pocket, with stitching forming it into three separate loops. 
     On the wearer&#39;s right front are the pockets  18 , narrow, deep and bellowed to hold taller items such as ammunition magazines, etc., and an additional shallow pocket is shown at  20 . A brass key clip may be included at  34 . 
     The vest  10  basically comprises a vest shell  36  essentially defining the exterior surface of the vest front and back (not necessarily a single piece of fabric), and including sewn-on fabric pieces to form the pockets and other features just discussed. On the interior side of the vest shell are additional fabric panels, not visible in FIG. 1 but discussed below. 
     The back side of the vest  10  is shown in FIG. 2, including various additional features. A venting line may be provided at  38 . Adjustable snap tabs are shown at  40 , at left and right, for taking up some of the girth of the vest when needed. A cargo pocket is shown at  42 , and water bottle pockets are shown at  44  and  46 . An interior document pocket may be included, not visible in FIG.  2 . 
     FIGS. 3 and 4 show an important feature of the invention, a concealed weapon carry pocket with special modular features. FIG. 3 shows the front of the vest  10 , omitting exterior pockets and other features and showing the left and right front portions  50  and  52 . As shown in dashed lines, the left side  50  of the vest shell  36  has an interior panel  54  sewn onto the interior side of the vest shell. This is indicated by dashed lines  55  indicating edges of the interior panel  54  and essentially where the panel is stitched to the outer shell. On the outer surface of the inner panel  54  are preferably provided two parallel strips or tracks of VELCRO hook and loop fastener material  56  and  58 , shown in dashed lines, although this hook or loop fastener could take other configurations. These VELCRO material tracks or patch or patches provide a modular feature for carrying a handgun completely concealed but readily available. The strips  56 ,  58  may be hook fastener material, to be mated to loop type material. Along the parting line  25  of the vest, the inner panel  54  is not sewn together with the vest shell, but is left unstitched to form a vertically-oriented pocket opening, generally indicated in dashed lines at  60 , delineating the edge of the inner fabric panel. This pocket opening slit  60  may be about  12  inches in height (although this may vary), closable via mating short patches of VELCRO hook and loop fastener material, shown in dashed lines at  62 , preferably in two or three locations along the height of the pocket opening slit. This allows a hand to be quickly inserted into the concealed pocket to retrieve a handgun. 
     FIG. 4 shows the vest  10  with a portion cut away to reveal more details regarding the modular concealed weapon holding the arrangement. A large patch of VELCRO material  64 , which may of the loop type VELCRO material on both sides, is engaged against the two strips of VELCRO material  56  and  58 . The hooks and loops may be reversed if desired. As an be envisioned from FIG. 4, the large patch  64  of material, which may be roughly nine inches in height and about seven inches in width for a preferred embodiment, can be adjustably positioned on the fastener strips  56  and  58 , moved up or down, left or right and rotated to the position desired. With the hidden pocket opening  60  about  12  inches in height, this allows the user to reach in, pull the VELCRO material panel  64  loose and reposition it as needed. Also, it allows a user to place a gun or other weapon on the large modular patch  64  in a desired position with the patch  64  is out of the vest. Then, the patch and weapon (or holster) are placed in the pocket as desired. 
     FIG. 5 shows a typical gun holster  70  for retaining a concealed handgun, a nylon holster with VELCRO material, such as shown in Bennett U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,237 cited above. The holster receives a handgun at an opening  72 , and has a side  74  to which is secured a patch  76  of VELCRO material. This may be hook type VELCRO material on a concealed gun holster of this type. Prior nylon holsters have had VELCRO material patches but functioning only to hold the holster from moving around, not for supporting the holster as in this invention. FIG. 5 shows the inner side of the holster  70 , thus the VELCRO material retaining patch  76  will be turned around against the modular VELCRO material  64  shown in FIG. 4, with this modular panel  64  thus being loop type Velcro material, at least on the surface facing outwardly as shown in FIG.  4 . The user therefore has a large area provided by the VELCRO material panel  64  for arranging the handgun holster  70  in any desired position and orientation in accordance with the preferences of the user. The holster  70  will be positioned with its gun opening  72  facing toward the hidden pocket opening slit at  60 , thereby allowing the user conveniently to reach into the pocket slit and retrieve the handgun via its butt end. 
     FIG. 6 shows a portion of the vest as worn, in cross section, revealing the gun holster  70  secured to the VELCRO material panel  64  via the holster VELCRO material patch  76 , and the panel  64  being attached to the vertical strips  56 ,  58  (which could be horizontal or otherwise). 
     In a modified arrangement a large VELCRO loop patch, such as  64  but only one-sided, could be fixed directly to the inner panel  54  of the concealed pocket, and the handgun holster  70  could be adjustably positioned on the fixed patch. 
     In one preferred embodiment as explained above the tactical vest  10  of the invention has concealed carry pockets at both left and right, although only the left pocket is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The interior space defined by the interior fabric panel  54  in the vest shell may extend throughout most of the vest shell, and in one form of the invention, the left pocket shown in FIGS. 3-4 actually continues around through the back of the vest (at least along lower portions of the vest) and into the right side concealed carry pocket. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, this space also extends upwardly to the shoulder  80  and preferably over the shoulder somewhat. This internal space is not necessarily contiguous for reasons of use, but this is a convenient method of manufacture. 
     The above described preferred embodiments are intended to illustrate the principles of the invention, but not to limit its scope. Other embodiments and variations to this preferred embodiment will be apparent to those skilled in the art and may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.