Pleated ballistic package for soft body armor

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 w...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[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'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.

[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.

Problems solved by technology

A vest must not be too flexible where it cannot protect the wearer.

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