Female armor system

Abstract

A ballistic vest having a front ballistic panel and a rear ballistic panel conformed to the body of a wearer by a stretchable outer garment located over the ballistic panels. The back ballistic panel includes an elongated side portion configured to provide ballistic protection for the side of a female wearer's breast. The ballistic vest further includes a three-dimensional chest trauma plate.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)[0001]This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60 / 854,318 filed Oct. 24, 2006.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]This invention relates to protective garments, and more particularly to concealable body armor commonly know as a ballistic vest having improved fit and comfort for women.[0003]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 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 know 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...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009]The ballistic vest of the present invention incorporates a new and improved carrier which is a stretch garment that is worn over the soft body armor ballistic packages. The garment holds and contours the front and back soft armor panels to the body of the wearer. The garment is attached to the soft armor components. The modular outer garment is designed to pull and shape the soft armor ballistic panels to the body. Better fit improves comfort. Stretchability of the outer garment holds the ballistic panels to the body. A commercially available material known as BreathOPrene can be used for the stretchable outer garment and is moldable and provides the characteristics of wicking, breathability and antimicrobial properties for the ballistic vest. The stretchable outer garment is fastened to the panels by elastic straps having hook and loop fasteners to engage a front and rear portion of the supportive outer garment itself or directly to the ballistic panels. Another commerically available material for the outer garment is a nylon lycra mesh commerically available under the trade name PowerMesh™.

[0010]The ballistic vest of the present invention also incorporates an improved shape of the ballistic panels and the carrier for the panels wherein the back ballistic package extends around the sides of the wearer as well as including a side bust portion to protect the side of a woman's bust. A smaller front panel is incorporated to protect the chest, top and front bust and abdomen of the wearer. The shapes of the ballistic panels uses a unique draping angel for the ballistic shapes that avoid forcing the panel into impossible compound curvatures. Using a composite draping angle allows the ballistic panels to conform to the contours of the wearer in a non-static configuration. This design utilizes protection for the side of the bust as a component of the back ballistic panel versus conventional designs which incorporated side protection of the bust with the front ballistic panel. The ballistic vest of the present invention also incorporates a chest trauma plate made of pressed polyethylene, steel or metal alloy that has three-dimensional compound curves designed to fit over female bust shapes.

Problems solved by technology

Problems associated with currently available concealable soft body armor ballistic vests that attempt to meet these objectives include the vest not being designed to accommodate different body styles.

Consequently, standard design of previously available vests either inadvertently exposed areas of the body or provided an uncomfortable fit for the wearer.

Another drawback from currently available ballistic vest designs is the inability to comfortably fit a female wearer.

Added seams detract from comfort and fit.

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