Ballistic protective clothing

Abstract

Ballistic protective clothing can include elastically resilient material. Ballistic pads can be coupled with the material such that the pads are movable relative to each other. The pads can remain in an overlapping arrangement over large ranges of motion.

1 . A ballistic protective garment comprising:
 an elastically resilient material;   a first pocket coupled with the elastically resilient material;   a second pocket coupled with the elastically resilient material;   a first ballistic-resistant pad retained in the first pocket, wherein the first ballistic-resistant pad defines a first edge; and   a second ballistic-resistant pad retained in the second pocket, wherein the second ballistic-resistant pad defines a second edge,   wherein the elastically resilient material is configured to be moved by a stretching force from a first orientation to a second orientation to move the first and second pockets relative to each other, wherein a minimum distance between the first and second edges of the first and second ballistic-resistant pads is achieved when the elastically resilient material is in the second orientation, and wherein the elastically resilient material is configured to automatically return from the second orientation to the first orientation when the stretching force is no longer present,   wherein portions of the first and second ballistic-resistant pads overlap each other when the elastically resilient material is in the first orientation, and   wherein different portions of the first and second ballistic-resistant pads overlap each other when the elastically resilient material is in the second orientation.   
     
     
         2 . The ballistic protective garment of  claim 1 , wherein the elastically resilient material defines at least a portion of each of the first and second pockets. 
     
     
         3 . The ballistic protective garment of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second pockets are at the same side of the elastically resilient material. 
     
     
         4 . The ballistic protective garment of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second pockets are at opposite sides of the elastically resilient material. 
     
     
         5 . The ballistic protective garment of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first and second ballistic-resistant pads comprises a plurality of layers of ballistic-resistant material attached together into one or more composite materials. 
     
     
         6 . The ballistic protective garment of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first and second ballistic-resistant pads comprises a laminate of a plurality of synthetic material fiber layers. 
     
     
         7 . The ballistic protective garment of  claim 1 , wherein the elastically resilient material is configured to elastically stretch in at least one direction by at least 5 percent relative to a relaxed state of the elastically resilient material. 
     
     
         8 . The ballistic protective garment of  claim 1 , wherein one or more of the first and second ballistic-resistant pads at least partially protrudes from the respective first and second pockets. 
     
     
         9 . The ballistic protective garment of  claim 1 , wherein one or more of the first and second ballistic-resistant pads is selectively retained within the respective first or second pocket via tension provided at least in part by the elastically resilient material so as to be selectively removable from the respective first or second pocket. 
     
     
         10 . The ballistic protective garment of  claim 1 , further comprising one or more attachment features in one or more of the first and second pockets that attach one or more of the first and second ballistic-resistant pads to the elastically resilient material. 
     
     
         11 . The ballistic protective garment of  claim 10 , wherein the one or more attachment features are selectively attachable and releasable to permit selective removal of one or more of the first and second ballistic-resistant pads from one or more of the first and second pockets. 
     
     
         12 . The ballistic protective garment of  claim 10 , wherein the one or more attachment features permanently attach one or more of the first and second ballistic-resistant pads to the elastically resilient material. 
     
     
         13 . The ballistic protective garment of  claim 1 , wherein one or more of the first ballistic-resistant pad is fully enclosed within the first pocket and the second ballistic-resistant pad is fully enclosed within the second pocket. 
     
     
         14 . The ballistic protective garment of  claim 1 , wherein the elastically resilient material is sized to snugly fit a wearer of the ballistic protective garment such that the stretching force that moves the elastically resilient from the first orientation to the second orientation is provided by the flexing of a muscle that is at an interior of the ballistic protective garment. 
     
     
         15 . The ballistic protective garment of  claim 1 , wherein the elastically resilient material is sized to snugly fit a wearer of the ballistic protective garment such that independent of a flexed or a non-flexed state of a muscle that is at an interior of the ballistic protective garment, at least a portion of each of the first and second ballistic-resistant pads are maintained at a distance from skin of the wearer that is at an interior of the ballistic protective garment by no more than about one half inch. 
     
     
         16 . The ballistic protective garment of  claim 1 , further comprising a third ballistic-resistant pad that provides a different level of protection from ballistic projectiles than does the first ballistic-resistant pad, wherein the first ballistic-resistant pad is selectively retained in the first pocket, and wherein the third ballistic-resistant pad is configured to be selectively retained in the first pocket as a replacement for the first ballistic-resistant pad. 
     
     
         17 . The ballistic protective garment of  claim 1 , wherein one or more of the first and second ballistic-resistant pads comprises woven aramid fiber. 
     
     
         18 . The ballistic protective garment of  claim 1 , wherein one or more of the first and second ballistic-resistant pads comprises at least four layers of woven aramid fiber. 
     
     
         19 . The ballistic protective garment of  claim 1 , wherein each of the first and second ballistic-resistant pads is sufficiently ballistic resistant to provide ballistic protection of at least level IIA, as classified by the National Institute of Justice Standard 0101.06 of July 2008, such that the pad can protect a femoral artery of a wearer of the pants from 9 millimeter Full Metal Jacketed Round Nose bullets weighing 8.0 grams and moving at 373 meters per second, plus or minus 9.1 meters per second. 
     
     
         20 . Ballistic protective shorts comprising:
 an elastically resilient material forming a leg of the shorts;   a first pocket coupled with the elastically resilient material;   a second pocket coupled with the elastically resilient material at a position that is radially offset relative to the first pocket, wherein portions of the first and second pockets overlap;   a first ballistic-resistant pad retained in the first pocket, wherein the first ballistic-resistant pad defines a first lateral edge elongated in a longitudinal direction; and   a second ballistic-resistant pad retained in the second pocket, wherein the second ballistic-resistant pad defines a second lateral edge elongated in a longitudinal direction,   wherein the elastically resilient material is configured to be moved by a stretching force from a first orientation to a second orientation to move the first and second pockets relative to each other, wherein a minimum distance between the first and second lateral edges of the first and second ballistic-resistant pads is achieved when the elastically resilient material is in the second orientation, and wherein the elastically resilient material is configured to automatically return from the second orientation to the first orientation when the stretching force is no longer present,   wherein portions of the first and second ballistic-resistant pads overlap each other when the elastically resilient material is in the first orientation, and   wherein different portions of the first and second ballistic-resistant pads overlap each other when the elastically resilient material is in the second orientation.   
     
     
         21 - 38 . (canceled) 
     
     
         39 . A ballistic protective garment comprising:
 a trunk section that comprises a flexible material;   a limb section that comprises a flexible material and extends away from the trunk section, wherein the limb section meets the trunk section at a joint region;   a first ballistic-resistant pad coupled to the flexible material of the trunk section, the first ballistic-resistant pad defining a first edge; and   a second ballistic-resistant pad coupled to the flexible material of the limb section, the second ballistic-resistant pad defining a second edge,   wherein the first and second ballistic-resistant pads overlap one another at the joint region and are movable relative to one another such that a distance between the first and second edges of the first and second ballistic-resistant pads changes as the limb section is moved relative to the trunk section.   
     
     
         40 - 56 . (canceled)