Body Armor

Abstract

Wearable body armor with anterior and posterior panels of soft body armor and anterior and posterior hard armor arrays symmetrically secured to the panels. The hard armor arrays are disposed with plural substantially rigid arched armor segments, each having an arched shell portion between first and second ends. The arched armor segments are fixed in series and in immediate juxtaposition centered along longitudinal centerlines of the panels. Upper and lower terminal armor segments of the posterior hard armor array have quarter-spherical body portions open to adjacent arched armor segments. Upper rigid armor segments of the anterior and posterior arrays have left and right wing portions extending diagonally toward shoulder armor segments that overlie the left and right shoulder sections. Sharp-catching channels are disposed in the shoulder armor segments. Oblong protuberances are disposed on some arched shell portions while upper rigid armor segments have arched shell portions with indentations.

I claim as deserving the protection of Letters Patent: 
     
         1 . Wearable body armor for protecting a person from attack, the body armor comprising:
 an anterior panel of soft body armor comprising one or more layers of attack resistant material;   a posterior panel of soft body armor comprising one or more layers of attack resistant material;   left and right shoulder sections, each of the left and right shoulder sections with an anterior portion coupled to the anterior panel and a posterior portion coupled to the posterior panel;   a neck opening bounded anteriorly and posteriorly by upper edges of the anterior and posterior panels and laterally by inner edges of the shoulder sections;   left and right arm openings bounded by lateral edges of the anterior and posterior panels and outer edges of the shoulder sections;   a substantially symmetrically disposed anterior hard armor array secured exteriorly to the anterior panel wherein the anterior hard armor array comprises a plurality of substantially rigid arched armor segments, each arched armor segment with first and second ends secured to the anterior panel and an arched shell portion between the first and second ends spaced from the anterior panel; and   a substantially symmetrically disposed posterior hard armor array secured exteriorly to the posterior panel wherein the anterior hard armor array comprises a plurality of substantially rigid arched armor segments, each arched armor segment with first and second ends secured to the anterior panel and an arched shell portion between the first and second ends spaced from the anterior panel.   
     
     
         2 . The wearable body armor of  claim 1  wherein each of the arched armor segments of the anterior hard armor array is secured to the anterior panel by mechanical fasteners that pass through the first and second ends of the arched armor segment and into the anterior panel and wherein each of the arched armor segments of the posterior hard armor array is secured to the posterior panel by mechanical fasteners that pass through the first and second ends of the arched armor segment and into the posterior panel. 
     
     
         3 . The wearable body armor of  claim 2  wherein the anterior panel is formed with an encapsulation layer, a shell layer, and an anterior panel of attack resistant material interposed between the encapsulation layer and the shell layer. 
     
     
         4 . The wearable body armor of  claim 3  wherein the armed armor segments of the anterior hard armor array are secured to the encapsulation layer of the anterior panel by the mechanical fasteners. 
     
     
         5 . The wearable body armor of  claim 1  wherein the arched armor segments of the anterior hard armor array are fixed in series and in immediate juxtaposition substantially centered along a longitudinal centerline of the anterior panel. 
     
     
         6 . The wearable body armor of  claim 5  wherein the arched armor segments of the posterior hard armor array are fixed in series and in immediate juxtaposition substantially centered along a longitudinal centerline of the anterior panel. 
     
     
         7 . The wearable body armor of  claim 5  wherein the posterior hard armor array further comprises a substantially rigid lower terminal armor segment secured to the posterior panel in immediate juxtaposition to an adjacent lower arched armor segment of the plurality of arched armor segments wherein the lower terminal armor segment has a quarter-spherical body portion that is open to the arched shell portion of the adjacent arched armor segment. 
     
     
         8 . The wearable body armor of  claim 7  wherein the posterior hard armor array further comprises a substantially rigid upper terminal armor segment secured to the posterior panel in immediate juxtaposition to an adjacent upper arched armor segment of the plurality of arched armor segments wherein the upper terminal armor segment has a quarter-spherical body portion that is open to the arched shell portion of the adjacent upper arched armor segment. 
     
     
         9 . The wearable body armor of  claim 5  wherein the posterior hard armor array further comprises a substantially rigid upper terminal armor segment secured to the posterior panel in immediate juxtaposition to an adjacent upper arched armor segment of the plurality of arched armor segments wherein the upper terminal armor segment has a quarter-spherical body portion that is open to the arched shell portion of the adjacent upper arched armor segment. 
     
     
         10 . The wearable body armor of  claim 1  wherein the plurality of arched armor segments of the anterior hard armor array includes an upper rigid armor segment that further comprises substantially rigid left and right wing portions that extend from the arched shell portion of the upper rigid armor segment of the anterior hard armor array toward the left and right shoulder sections respectively. 
     
     
         11 . The wearable body armor of  claim 10  wherein the left and right wing portions of the upper rigid armor segment of the anterior hard armor array extend diagonally from the arched shell portion of the upper rigid armor segment of the anterior hard armor array toward the left and right shoulder sections. 
     
     
         12 . The wearable body armor of  claim 11  further comprising substantially rigid left and right shoulder armor segments secured to overlie the left and right shoulder sections respectively and wherein the left and right wing portions of the upper rigid armor segment of the anterior hard armor array are secured to the left and right shoulder armor segments respectively. 
     
     
         13 . The wearable body armor of  claim 12  further comprising plural channels disposed in each of the left and right shoulder armor segments. 
     
     
         14 . The wearable body armor of  claim 13  wherein at least some of the plural channels have longitudinal orientations along lines emanating from the neck opening. 
     
     
         15 . The wearable body armor of  claim 1  wherein the anterior hard armor array further comprises left and right substantially rigid oblique armor segments secured to outer portions of the anterior panel wherein the oblique armor segments are disposed generally diagonally across the anterior panel in relation to a longitudinal of the panel. 
     
     
         16 . The wearable body armor of  claim 1  wherein the plurality of arched armor segments of the posterior hard armor array includes an upper rigid armor segment that further comprises substantially rigid left and right wing portions that extend from the arched shell portion of the upper rigid armor segment of the posterior hard armor array toward the left and right shoulder sections respectively. 
     
     
         17 . The wearable body armor of  claim 16  wherein the left and right wing portions of the upper rigid armor segment of the posterior hard armor array extend diagonally from the arched shell portion of the upper rigid armor segment of the posterior hard armor array toward the left and right shoulder sections. 
     
     
         18 . The wearable body armor of  claim 17  further comprising substantially rigid left and right shoulder armor segments secured to overlie the left and right shoulder sections respectively and wherein the left and right wing portions of the upper rigid armor segment of the posterior hard armor array are secured to the left and right shoulder armor segments respectively. 
     
     
         19 . The wearable body armor of  claim 1  wherein the posterior hard armor array further comprises left and right substantially rigid kidney armor segments secured to outer portions of the posterior panel wherein the kidney armor segments are disposed generally diagonally across the posterior panel in relation to a longitudinal of the panel. 
     
     
         20 . The wearable body armor of  claim 1  wherein the arched shell portions of at least some of the arched armor segments of the anterior hard armor array have a protuberance that communicates longitudinally along the arched shell portion. 
     
     
         21 . The wearable body armor of  claim 18  wherein the plurality of arched armor segments of the anterior hard armor array includes an upper rigid armor segment wherein the upper rigid armor segment has an indentation that communicates longitudinally along the arched shell portion. 
     
     
         22 . The wearable body armor of  claim 1  wherein the arched armor segments of the posterior hard armor array are fixed in series and in immediate juxtaposition substantially centered along a longitudinal centerline of the posterior panel and wherein the posterior hard armor array further comprises a substantially rigid lower terminal armor segment secured to the posterior panel in immediate juxtaposition to an adjacent lower arched armor segment of the plurality of arched armor segments wherein the lower terminal armor segment has a quarter-spherical body portion that is open to the arched shell portion of the adjacent arched armor segment and further comprising a quarter-hemispherical protuberance on the quarter-spherical body portion of the lower terminal armor segment. 
     
     
         23 . The wearable body armor of  claim 1  wherein the arched armor segments of the posterior hard armor array are fixed in series and in immediate juxtaposition substantially centered along a longitudinal centerline of the posterior panel and wherein the posterior hard armor array further comprises a substantially rigid upper terminal armor segment secured to the posterior panel in immediate juxtaposition to an adjacent upper arched armor segment of the plurality of arched armor segments wherein the upper terminal armor segment has a quarter-spherical body portion that is open to the arched shell portion of the adjacent arched armor segment and further comprising a quarter-hemispherical protuberance on the quarter-spherical body portion of the upper terminal armor segment. 
     
     
         24 . The wearable body armor of  claim 1  wherein the anterior panel and the posterior panel have lateral sides and further comprising lateral coupling mechanisms operative to selectively couple the lateral sides of the anterior panel and the posterior panel. 
     
     
         25 . The wearable body armor of  claim 1  wherein the one or more layers of attack resistant material of the anterior panel and the posterior panel comprise plural layers of carbon fiber fabric.