Antiballistic Garment

Abstract

An antiballistic garment for protecting a user's torso and shoulders comprises a front portion releasably coupled to a back portion, the front and back portion both include soft armor, the back portion includes shoulder and side panels which include soft armor, the front and back portion have provisions for hard armor plates. The antiballistic garment has a quick release mechanism adapted to rapidly separate the front portion from the back portion.

1 . An antiballistic garment comprising:
 a front portion comprising:
 a body-facing front lining attached to an outside-facing front cover, the front lining and front cover defining a front portion soft armor compartment having a closeable opening operable for insertion and removal of a soft armor insert into the front portion soft armor compartment, the soft armor insert being constructed from at least one layer of antiballistic fabric and being releasably affixed inside the front portion soft armor compartment by use of a fastening means;
 the front cover further comprising a front hard antiballistic plate pocket, the front hard antiballistic plate pocket having an opening in the front cover and having a pocket body, the front hard antiballistic plate pocket further having at least one vertical positioning strap to adjust the height of a front hard antiballistic plate inserted into the front hard antiballistic plate pocket; 
 the front cover further comprising a plurality of MOLLE webbing fixedly arranged in substantially horizontal rows; 
 the front lining comprising at least one groin armor accessory fastener and a plurality of vent holes operable to allow air and/or moisture to pass between the front lining and the front cover; 
 
   a back portion being releasably and adjustably coupled to the front portion, the back portion comprising:
 a body-facing back lining attached to an outside-facing back cover, the back lining and back cover defining a back portion soft armor compartment having a closeable opening operable for insertion and removal of a soft armor insert into the back portion soft armor compartment, the soft armor insert being constructed from at least one layer of antiballistic fabric and being releasably affixed inside the back portion soft armor compartment by use of a fastening means; 
 the back cover comprising a central portion and outwardly extending side and shoulder panels;
 the central portion comprising a back hard antiballistic plate pocket, the back hard antiballistic plate pocket having an opening in the back cover and having a pocket body, the pocket further having at least one vertical positioning strap to adjust the height of a back hard antiballistic plate inserted into the back hard antiballistic plate pocket; 
 the central portion further comprising a plurality of MOLLE webbing fixedly arranged in substantially horizontal rows, and at least one rescue-drag handle; 
 the shoulder panels comprising adjustable, releasable fastening means for attaching the shoulder panels to the front portion; 
 the shoulder panels further comprising epaulette straps and rifle bolsters, the rifle bolsters having a slip-resistant surface and a lipped edge; 
 the side panels comprising adjustable, releasable fastening means for attaching the side panels to the front portion, and side hard antiballistic plate pockets, each side hard antiballistic plate pocket further having at least one vertical positioning strap to adjust the height of a side hard antiballistic plate inserted into each side hard antiballistic plate pocket; 
 the side panels further comprising a plurality of MOLLE webbing fixedly arranged in substantially horizontal rows; 
 
 the back lining comprising a contoured back comfort pad which is removably coupled to the back lining of the back portion, the contoured back comfort pad being operable to provide cushioning and ventilation; 
 the back lining further comprising a plurality of vent holes operable to allow air and/or moisture to pass between the back lining and back cover; 
   a circumferential adjustment comprised of a plurality of fastening means being disposed between the front portion and the back portion to allow the antiballistic garment to be adjusted to fit users of different sizes;   a quick-release mechanism operable to rapidly decouple the back portion from the front portion, the quick-release mechanism comprising:
 a plurality of quick-release links attached to the front cover of the front portion; 
 a plurality of quick-release links attached to quick-release side interfaces, the plurality of side interface quick-release links being releasably intermeshed with the plurality of quick-release links on the front cover, the side interfaces further comprising side interface fastening means releasably attachable to the side panels of the back portion; 
 a plurality of quick-release links attached to quick-release shoulder interfaces, the plurality of shoulder interface quick-release links being releasably intermeshed with the plurality of quick-release links on the front cover, the shoulder interfaces further comprising shoulder interface fastening means releasably attachable to the shoulder panels of the back portion; 
   load transfer system adapted to transfer loading of the antiballistic garment from a user's shoulders to a user's waist, the load transfer system comprising:
 a load-bearing belt adapted to encircle a user's waist; 
 at least one load support sleeve fixedly attached to the central portion of the back cover and having a top opening for receiving a load support member and a bottom opening for passing a lower end of the load support member through the back cover to the load-bearing belt, the load support member being sufficiently rigid to transfer loading of the antiballistic garment from a user's shoulders to a user's waist, the load support sleeve comprising an adjustable load transfer strap attached to an upper portion of the load support sleeve and the shoulder panels; and 
 the load-bearing belt having a padded portion and a protection portion accommodated inside a belt cover, the load-bearing belt comprising an adjustable strap and buckle attached to the belt cover, the protection portion comprising a soft antiballistic armor insert and the padded portion comprising a semi-circular lumbar pad extending therefrom, the belt cover further comprising at least one load support interface to communicate with the lower end of the load support member. 
   
   
   
       2 . The antiballistic garment of  claim 1 , wherein the side panels and shoulder panels are separable from the back portion. 
   
   
       3 . An antiballistic garment comprising:
 a front portion comprising soft armor, the soft armor being constructed from multiple layers of antiballistic fabric;   a back portion being releasably and adjustably coupled to the front portion, the back portion comprising soft armor, the soft armor being constructed from multiple layers of antiballistic fabric, the back portion further comprising outwardly extending side and shoulder panels;
 the shoulder panels comprising adjustable, releasable fastening means for attaching the shoulder panel to the front portion; 
 the side panels comprising adjustable, releasable fastening means for attaching the side panels to the front portion; and 
   a quick-release mechanism having a plurality of quick-release links incorporated into the front portion and back portion, the quick-release mechanism adapted to rapidly separate the front portion from the back portion by removal of at least one quick-release cable.   
   
   
       4 . The antiballistic garment of  claim 3 , further comprising a plurality of quick-release links attached to a front cover of the front portion. 
   
   
       5 . The antiballistic garment of  claim 4 , further comprising quick-release side interfaces, the quick-release side interfaces comprising a plurality of quick-release links, the plurality of side interface quick-release links being releasably intermeshed with the plurality of quick-release links on the front cover, the side interfaces further comprising side interface fastening means releasably attachable to the side panels of the back portion. 
   
   
       6 . The antiballistic garment of  claim 4 , further comprising quick-release shoulder interfaces, the quick-release shoulder interfaces comprising a plurality of quick-release links being releasably intermeshed with the plurality of quick-release links on the front cover, the shoulder interfaces further comprising shoulder interface fastening means releasably attachable to the shoulder panels of the back portion. 
   
   
       7 . The antiballistic garment of  claim 3 , wherein the at least one quick-release cable is a braided wire cable with a handle at a first end for pulling the cable from the quick-release mechanism and a fused tip at a second end to prevent the cable from unraveling and to facilitate in threading the cable though a series of quick-release links. 
   
   
       8 . The antiballistic garment of  claim 3 , wherein the at least one quick-release cable has a handle located along an edge of the front cover and are covered by a protective flap which is attached to the front cover to protect the quick-release mechanism from accidental activation. 
   
   
       9 . The antiballistic garment of  claim 3 , wherein the quick-release link comprises a single hole for threading at least one quick-release cable. 
   
   
       10 . The antiballistic garment of  claim 3 , wherein the quick-release link comprises at least two holes for threading at least two quick-release cables. 
   
   
       11 . The antiballistic garment of  claim 3 , wherein the quick-release link comprises a transverse tab extending laterally from a body defining at least one opening, the transverse tab being attachable to fabric by stitching through the transverse tab. 
   
   
       12 . The antiballistic garment of  claim 3 , wherein the quick-release link is made from a material selected from the group consisting of plastic, rubber, metal, ceramic and graphite composite. 
   
   
       13 . The antiballistic garment of  claim 3 , the antiballistic garment further comprising at least one hard antiballistic plate pocket, the hard antiballistic plate pocket comprising a closeable opening and a pocket body, the hard antiballistic plate pocket further comprising at least one vertical positioning strap to adjust the height of the hard antiballistic plate inserted into the hard antiballistic plate pocket. 
   
   
       14 . The antiballistic garment of  claim 13 , wherein the pocket body includes a positioning strap attachment means, such that the positioning strap may be attached at various locations on the position strap attachment means. 
   
   
       15 . The antiballistic garment of  claim 14 , wherein the positioning strap attachment means is attached to the pocket body at an angle. 
   
   
       16 . The antiballistic garment of  claim 13 , wherein the hard antiballistic plate pocket comprises at least two positioning strap attachment means, such that the at least two positioning straps may be crossed in front of or behind the hard antiballistic plate to secure the hard antiballistic plate in the pocket body. 
   
   
       17 . The antiballistic garment of  claim 13 , wherein the front portion includes a front hard antiballistic plate pocket. 
   
   
       18 . The antiballistic garment of  claim 13 , wherein the back portion includes a back hard antiballistic plate pocket. 
   
   
       19 . The antiballistic garment of  claim 13 , wherein at least one side panel includes a side hard antiballistic plate pocket. 
   
   
       20 . An antiballistic garment comprising:
 a front portion comprising soft armor, the soft armor being constructed from multiple layers of fabric;   a back portion being releasably and adjustably coupled to the front portion, the back portion comprising soft armor, the soft armor being constructed from multiple layers of antiballistic fabric, the back portion further comprising outwardly extending side and shoulder panels;
 the shoulder panels comprising adjustable, releasable fastening means for attaching the shoulder panel to the front portion; 
 the side panels comprising adjustable, releasable fastening means for attaching the side panels to the front portion; and 
   a load transfer system integrated with the antiballistic garment and adapted to transfer loading of the antiballistic garment from a user's shoulders to a user's waist, the load transfer system comprising a load-bearing belt adapted to encircle the user's waist.   
   
   
       21 . The antiballistic garment of  claim 20 , the load transfer system further comprising at least one load support sleeve, wherein the at least one load support sleeve is fixedly attached to the back portion, the support sleeve having a top opening for receiving a load support member and a bottom opening for passing a lower end of the load support to the load-bearing belt. 
   
   
       22 . The antiballistic garment of  claim 21 , the load transfer system further comprising at least one load support member, wherein the at least one load support member is sufficiently rigid to transfer loading of the antiballistic garment from a user's shoulders to a user's waist, the load support member being a generally flat and narrow elongated member shaped to match the general profile of the user's back. 
   
   
       23 . The antiballistic garment of  claim 21 , wherein each of the at least one load support sleeves comprises an adjustable load transfer strap attached to the load support sleeve and the shoulder panel of the back portion. 
   
   
       24 . The antiballistic garment of  claim 22 , wherein the load-bearing belt further comprises at least one load support interface to communicate with the lower end of the load support member. 
   
   
       25 . The antiballistic garment of  claim 20 , wherein the back portion further comprises at least one rescue-drag handle, fixedly attached to an upper end of the back portion, to facilitate transport of an incapacitated user. 
   
   
       26 . The antiballistic garment of  claim 20 , wherein the shoulder panels further comprise epaulette straps which are each comprised of a main strap and a cross strap, the main strap operable to provide an attachment point for optional armored and non-armored accessories, and the cross strap operable to partially retain the main strap. 
   
   
       27 . The antiballistic garment of  claim 20 , wherein the shoulder panels further comprise rifle bolsters, the rifle bolsters having a slip-resistant surface. 
   
   
       28 . The antiballistic garment of  claim 27 , wherein the rifle bolsters further comprise a raised lip around the slip-resistant surface. 
   
   
       29 . The antiballistic garment of  claim 20 , wherein the load-bearing belt has a padded portion and a protection portion accommodated inside a belt cover, the load-bearing belt comprising an adjustable strap and buckle attached to the belt cover, the load-bearing belt being encased within the back portion. 
   
   
       30 . The antiballistic garment of  claim 29 , wherein the load-bearing belt is separable from the back portion. 
   
   
       31 . The antiballistic garment of  claim 29 , wherein the protection portion of the load-bearing belt includes a soft armor insert. 
   
   
       32 . The antiballistic garment of  claim 29 , wherein the padded portion of the load-bearing belt includes at least one layer of foam padding. 
   
   
       33 . The antiballistic garment of  claim 29 , wherein the padded portion of the load-bearing belt includes a semi-circular lumbar pad extending from a top edge of the load-bearing belt. 
   
   
       34 . The antiballistic garment of  claim 20 , wherein the back portion further comprises a contoured back comfort pad which is removably attached to a body-facing back lining of the back portion, the contoured back comfort pad being operable to provide cushioning and ventilation. 
   
   
       35 . The antiballistic garment of  claim 34 , wherein the contoured back comfort pad is comprised of a stretchable mesh cover with moisture-wicking and ventilation, and having at least one layer of foam padding. 
   
   
       36 . The antiballistic garment of  claim 34 , wherein the contoured back comfort pad includes a concave portion that is capable of interfacing with a semi-circular lumbar pad extending from a top edge of the load-bearing belt. 
   
   
       37 . The antiballistic garment of  claim 34 , wherein the contoured back comfort panel comprises at least one first foam layer that has a raised-profile surface to allow passage of air, and wherein the first foam layer raised-profile surface is oriented towards to the user's body. 
   
   
       38 . The antiballistic garment of  claim 37 , wherein the contoured back comfort panel comprises at least on second foam layer that is more rigid than the first foam layer, wherein the second foam layer is oriented away from the user's body. 
   
   
       39 . The antiballistic garment of  claim 20 , further comprising a circumferential adjustment comprised of a plurality of fastening means being disposed between the front portion and the back portion to allow the antiballistic garment to be adjusted to fit users of different sizes. 
   
   
       40 . The antiballistic garment of  claim 20 , the quick-release mechanism adapted to rapidly separate the front portion from the back portion. 
   
   
       41 . The antiballistic garment of  claim 22 , wherein the at least one load support member is removable.