Ballistic Vest With Articulating Panels for User Mobility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Many ballistic vests are inflexible and uncomfortable due to their inability to accommodate the user's movement, leading to discomfort and reduced mobility.
Innovation Solution
A ballistic vest design featuring a flexible carrier with integrated ballistic panels that allow for articulation and load distribution, utilizing stretchable and elastic fabric layers to accommodate user movement and reduce weight-bearing pressure on the shoulders.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If ballistic vests are constructed with rigid ballistic panels and carrier structure, then protection strength is improved, but flexibility and comfort deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The vest is divided into separate ballistic panels (front, back, sides) that can move independently within the carrier, allowing each panel to articulate with the user's body movements rather than requiring the entire vest to be rigid
Solution Approach 2:
The carrier is designed with elastic fabric layers that can dynamically adjust and stretch with user movement, allowing the ballistic panels to move relative to the torso while maintaining protection
2Reliability
If ballistic panels are fixed rigidly in the carrier, then protection reliability is improved, but adaptability to user movement deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The ballistic panels are nested within the carrier but allowed to move freely inside, with the carrier acting as a containing structure that provides protection while permitting internal movement and articulation
Solution Approach 2:
The carrier uses elastic fabric materials that change their physical parameters (stretching, contracting) in response to user movement, allowing the system to adapt to different body positions and movements while maintaining panel security
3Strength
If the carrier structure is made rigid to support ballistic panels, then structural strength is improved, but weight distribution and comfort deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The carrier is constructed from elastic fabric layers that provide structural support through flexibility rather than rigidity, allowing the fabric to conform to the user's body and distribute weight across the core rather than concentrating it on the shoulders
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The vest provides enhanced comfort and mobility by allowing ballistic panels to move relative to the user's torso, distributing weight across the core, and maintaining protection without causing fatigue.
Implementation Method 1
utilizing stretchable and elastic fabric layers to accommodate user movement
Data Source
AI summary
A ballistic vest includes ballistic panels supported in a carrier, including a front panel and a back panel. The carrier includes an outer layer and an inner layer joined to each other at the top and bottom of the vest and open at the sides. The carrier layers define between them a panel space having an upper part located above the bottom of vest armholes and a lower part located below the bottom of vest armholes. A front panel upper section is secured in the upper part of the panel space. A front panel lower section is free to move laterally in the lower part of the panel space. A back panel upper section is secured in the upper part of the panel space. A back panel lower section is substantially free to move laterally in the lower panel space.