Carrier and Method for Providing Deployable Protection

Abstract

A carrier provides deployable protection for protecting a user. The carrier includes a shell with an internal compartment and an external pair of shoulder straps. An armored panel has a pair of tethers each with an anchored end secured inside the internal compartment of the shell. A flexible pair of extractors can lie in front of the shell and each has a proximal end attached to the armored panel. Using separate hands the user can grasp the pair of extractors at a position in front of the user, and use the extractors to manually extract the armored panel up out of the internal compartment. The pair of tethers can then be draped over the shoulders of the user while positioning the armored panel over the chest of the user.

1 . A carrier with deployable protection for protecting a user, comprising:
 a shell with an internal compartment and an external pair of shoulder straps;   an armored panel having a pair of tethers each with an anchored end secured inside the internal compartment; and   a flexible pair of extractors adapted to lie in front of the shell and each having a proximal end attached to the armored panel.   
     
     
         2 . A carrier according to  claim 1  wherein the pair of extractors are positionable to extend away from the internal compartment to a spaced pair of prominent positions in front of the shell, the pair of extractors being manually movable away from the pair of prominent positions. 
     
     
         3 . A carrier according to  claim 1  wherein the pair of extractors are positionable to extend away from the internal compartment to a spaced pair of prominent positions along the pair of shoulder straps. 
     
     
         4 . A carrier according to  claim 3  wherein the pair of extractors are releasably attached to the pair of shoulder straps. 
     
     
         5 . A carrier according to  claim 4  wherein each of the pair of extractors terminates in a distal loop. 
     
     
         6 . A carrier according to  claim 1  wherein the pair of tethers are sized to allow the armored panel to move from a position entirely inside the internal compartment to a position entirely outside the internal compartment. 
     
     
         7 . A carrier according to  claim 6  wherein the pair of tethers are deployable to drape over both shoulders of the user and suspend the armored panel anteriorly and thoracically. 
     
     
         8 . A carrier according to  claim 1  wherein the internal compartment has an upper mouth. 
     
     
         9 . A carrier according to  claim 8  wherein the internal compartment has a plurality of releasable closure devices distributed about the upper mouth. 
     
     
         10 . A carrier according to  claim 8  wherein the internal compartment has a plurality of openings distributed about the upper mouth. 
     
     
         11 . A carrier according to  claim 10  comprising lacing adapted to be laced through the plurality of openings at the upper mouth of the internal compartment in order to releasably close the upper mouth. 
     
     
         12 . A carrier according to  claim 11  wherein the lacing comprises a pair of laces each having a proximal end separately connected to a respective one of the pair of extractors. 
     
     
         13 . A carrier according to  claim 9  wherein the plurality of releasable closure devices comprise a plurality of magnetic elements for releasably closing the upper mouth. 
     
     
         14 . A carrier according to  claim 8  comprising an opposing pair of hook and loop fasteners at the upper mouth for releasably closing the upper mouth. 
     
     
         15 . A carrier according to  claim 9  wherein the plurality of releasable closure devices comprise a plurality of pairs of male and female connectors. 
     
     
         16 . A carrier according to  claim 1  wherein the internal compartment has a floor, each of the anchored ends of the pair of tethers being attached to the floor of the internal compartment. 
     
     
         17 . A carrier according to  claim 1  wherein the armored panel has an opposite pair of distally located flaps arranged to embrace the user laterally. 
     
     
         18 . A carrier according to  claim 1  wherein the armored panel has a pocket containing a ballistic plate 
     
     
         19 . A carrier according to  claim 18  wherein the armored panel comprises:
 a plurality of molle holders; and 
 a fastening device for releasably holding a placard. 
 
     
     
         20 . A carrier according to  claim 1  wherein the shell has alongside the internal compartment an enclosure for holding a ballistic plate. 
     
     
         21 . A method for deploying an armored panel that is connected by a pair of tethers to the inside of an internal compartment of a carrier, the method employing a flexible pair of extractors each having a proximal end attached to the armored panel, the method comprising the steps, performed by a user, of:
 using separate hands to grasp the pair of extractors at a position in front of the user;   manually extracting the armored panel up out of the internal compartment using the pair of extractors; and   draping the pair of tethers over the shoulders of the user while positioning the armored panel over the chest of the user.   
     
     
         22 . A method according to  claim 21  wherein the carrier has a pair of shoulder straps, the method comprising the steps of:
 initially securing the pair of extractors to different respective ones of the shoulder straps; and 
 lifting the extractors from the shoulder straps before the step of manually extracting the armored panel. 
 
     
     
         23 . A method according to  claim 21  wherein the internal compartment has an upper mouth that is initially closed by lacing, wherein the step of manually extracting the armored panel is performed while contemporaneously withdrawing the lacing from the upper mouth of the internal compartment. 
     
     
         24 . A method according to  claim 21  wherein the internal compartment has an upper mouth that is initially closed by magnetic elements, wherein the step of manually extracting the armored panel is performed while contemporaneously releasing the magnetic elements in order to open the upper mouth of the internal compartment. 
     
     
         25 . A method according to  claim 21  wherein the internal compartment has an upper mouth that is initially closed by a plurality of interconnected pairs of male and female connectors, wherein the step of manually extracting the armored panel is performed while contemporaneously disconnecting each of the pairs of male and female connectors in order to open the upper mouth of the internal compartment. 
     
     
         26 . A method according to  claim 21  comprising the step of:
 inserting a ballistic plate inside the armored panel.