Articulating Ballistic Vest Panels for Mobility and Protection
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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 elastic fabric layers and strategically positioned ballistic panels that allow for articulation and load distribution, ensuring comfort and protection by allowing panels to move relative to the user's torso.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If ballistic vests are constructed with rigid ballistic panels supported in a carrier, then protection is provided, but flexibility and comfort deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The vest is divided into separate ballistic panels (front, back, sides) that can independently articulate and move relative to the carrier and each other, allowing each panel to flex and adapt to body movements while maintaining protection
Solution Approach 2:
The ballistic panels are designed to be movable and articulating rather than fixed, allowing them to dynamically adjust their position and orientation relative to the user's torso during movement, thereby providing both protection and flexibility
2Reliability
If ballistic panels are fixed in position, then protection is maintained, but adaptability to user movement deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The panels are designed with freedom of movement within the carrier, allowing them to dynamically adjust their position and orientation relative to the user's torso during movement, thereby providing both protection and adaptability
Solution Approach 2:
The relative position and orientation parameters of the ballistic panels can change during use as the user moves, allowing the panels to adapt to different body positions and movements while maintaining protective function
3Reliability
If the carrier is made inflexible to maintain structure, then protection is ensured, but comfort and mobility deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The carrier is segmented into multiple panels that can move independently, allowing the structure to maintain its protective form when needed while permitting flexibility and comfort during normal movement through the articulation of individual panels
Solution Approach 2:
The carrier structure is designed to be dynamic rather than rigid, allowing the panels to move and articulate relative to each other and the user's body, thereby providing both structural integrity for protection and flexibility for comfort
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 self-center and articulate, reducing load on the shoulders and distributing weight across the core, thus maintaining protection and comfort during extended wear.
Implementation Method 1
a flexible carrier with elastic fabric layers
Data Source
AI summary
A ballistic vest includes a carrier and at least two ballistic panels supported in the carrier, including a front ballistic panel and a back ballistic panel. The carrier is made from at least two layers of material including an outer layer and an inner layer that are joined to each other at the top and bottom of the vest and that are substantially open at the sides. The carrier has portions defining a left armhole and a right armhole. The two carrier layers define between them a panel space in the carrier. An upper part of the panel space is located above the bottom of the left and right armholes and a lower part of the panel space is located below the bottom of the left and right armholes. The front panel has an upper section that is positioned in the upper part of the panel space, the carrier substantially constraining lateral movement of the front panel upper section within the panel space. The front panel has a lower section that is positioned in the lower part of the panel space, the front panel lower section being substantially free to move laterally in the panel space. The back panel has an upper section that is positioned in the upper part of the panel space, the carrier substantially constraining lateral movement of the back panel upper section within the panel space. The back panel has a lower section that is positioned in the lower part of the panel space, the back panel lower section being substantially free to move laterally in the panel space.