Hook and Loop Fastener Doffing System

Abstract

A quick-release garment has portions connected about a wearer and held in place by hook and loop fasteners. Quick-release tabs are connected to a rear portion of a hook and loop fastener element so as to extend along it and to project along an opposite end in a position making a loop piece accessible by the wearer. By pulling on the loop piece, the wearer causes the connected fastener to fold on to itself, thereby peeling apart the hook and loop fastener assembly. Such an arrangement is provided in a plate-carrying vest garment at a shoulder and at a cummerbund to allow convenient and rapid doffing of the garment, while being simply reassembled after such removal.

Description

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]Not applicable.STATEMENT AS TO RIGHTS TO INVENTIONS MADE UNDER FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT[0002]Not applicable.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]The present invention relates to garments with provision for rapid removal.[0004]Persons exposed to projectile threats, such as police officers and soldiers, may seek a certain level of protection by wearing armored clothing. Low velocity projectiles such as handgun rounds, fragmentation rounds from a grenade or mortar, and miscellaneous shrapnel may be countered by so-called “soft armor.” Soft armor is worn in the form of jackets, vests, etc. which are composed of assemblies of ballistic fabric such as those formed from DuPont Kevlar® fibers or of Spectra® ultra high molecular weight polyethylene fibers from Honeywell. The soft armor is often fabricated as flexible panels which are received within pockets or pouches formed in fabric vests or jackets. In more serious threat situa...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0007]The quick-release garment of this invention makes use of hook and loop fasteners, such as those sold by Velcro Industries B.V. LLC, the Netherlands, under the trademark VELCRO®, to releasably connect portions of a garment. The hook and loop fastener has one fastener element with projecting hooks, and another mating fastener element with projecting loops. These two elements when engaged face to face provide a secure attachment. This attachment generally resists separation by forces applied along the plane of the connection, while being readily separated by peeling the two elements apart. The garment has quick-release tabs which are connected to a rear portion of a hook and loop fastener element so as to extend along it and to project along an opposite end in a position making a loop piece accessible by the wearer. By pulling on the loop piece, the wearer causes the connected fastener to fold on to itself, thereby peeling apart the hook and loop fastener assembly. This arrangement is readily employed where a garment has hook and loop fastener engagement between parts, and can be economically fabricated using conventional sewing techniques.

Problems solved by technology

By pulling on the loop piece, the wearer causes the connected fastener to fold on to itself, thereby peeling apart the hook and loop fastener assembly.

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