Enhanced side closure body armor systems

Abstract

A bullet-resistant vest has a vest-front and a vest-back with side panels able to join and fasten about the sides of a torso of the user. The side panels have a thickness of about half of that of the vest-front and vest-back. When the side panels are overlapped and fastened at the sides, the total thickness of the conjoined side panels equal that of the vest-front or vest back. In this way, the fastening system advantageously provides a wearable vest which has a consistent thickness all about the torso of the user which does not unnecessarily bulge at the sides or create an impediment to movement of the user.

What is claimed is new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims: 
     
         1 . A bullet-resistant vest for a torso of a user, the bullet-resistant vest ( 100 ) comprising:
 a vest-front, the vest-front made of a bullet-resistant material, and configured to be worn by the user, the vest-front including
 a chest-panel configured to protect a front area of the torso of the user, the chest-panel having a full panel thickness, 
 a forward-left panel extending from a left side of the chest-panel, and configured to protect a left side area of the torso of the user, the forward-left panel having a partial panel thickness, the partial panel thickness being between forty-five and fifty-five percent of the full panel thickness, and 
 a forward-right panel extending from a right side of the chest-panel, and configured to protect a right side area of the torso of the user, the forward-right panel having the partial panel thickness; and 
   a vest-back coupled to the vest-front, the vest-back made of the bullet-resistant material, and configured to be worn by the user, the vest-back including
 a back-panel configured to protect a back area of the torso of the user, the back-panel having the full panel thickness, 
 a back-left panel extending from a left side of the back-panel, and configured to protect the left side area of the torso of the user, the back-left panel having the partial panel thickness, and 
 a back-right panel extending from a right side of the back-panel, and configured to protect the right side area of the torso of the user, the back-right panel having the partial panel thickness. 
   
     
     
         2 . The bullet-resistant vest of  claim 1 , wherein the forward-left panel and the forward-right panel are constructed integrally to the chest-panel. 
     
     
         3 . The bullet-resistant vest of  claim 1 , wherein the back-left panel and the back-right panel are constructed integrally to the back-panel. 
     
     
         4 . The bullet-resistant vest of  claim 1 , wherein the bullet-resistant material comprises Kevlar fiber. 
     
     
         5 . The bullet-resistant vest of  claim 1 , wherein the full panel thickness measures within five percent of one-half of an inch. 
     
     
         6 . The bullet-resistant vest of  claim 1 , wherein the partial panel thickness measures within five percent of one-quarter of an inch. 
     
     
         7 . The bullet-resistant vest of  claim 1 , further comprising a left-shoulder strap and a right-shoulder strap each coupling the vest-front to the vest-back. 
     
     
         8 . The bullet-resistant vest of  claim 7 , wherein each of the left-shoulder strap and the right-shoulder strap includes a fastening element enabling the vest-front to be removably coupled to the vest-back. 
     
     
         9 . The bullet-resistant vest of  claim 1 , wherein the forward-left panel and the back-left panel each comprise corresponding left-side-fasteners enabling the forward-left panel and the back-left panel to be removably coupled to each other. 
     
     
         10 . The bullet-resistant vest of  claim 9 , wherein the left-side-fasteners comprise hook-and-loop fasteners. 
     
     
         11 . The bullet-resistant vest of  claim 9 , further comprising a flexible left-side-hook-fastener-extension affixed to the front-left panel and a left-side-loop-fastener panel affixed to the back-left panel, such that the flexible left-side-hook-fastener-extension may be releasably coupled to the back-left panel via the left-side-loop-fastener panel. 
     
     
         12 . The bullet-resistant vest of  claim 1 , wherein the forward-right panel and the back-right panel each comprise corresponding right-side-fasteners enabling the forward-right panel and the back-right panel to be removably coupled to each other. 
     
     
         13 . The bullet-resistant vest of  claim 11 , wherein the right-side-fasteners comprise hook-and-loop fasteners. 
     
     
         14 . The bullet-resistant vest of  claim 9 , further comprising a flexible right-side-hook-fastener-extension affixed to the front-right panel and a right-side-loop-fastener panel affixed to the back-right panel, such that the flexible right-side hook-fastener-extension may be releasably coupled to the back-right panel via the right-side-loop-fastener panel. 
     
     
         15 . The bullet-resistant vest of  claim 1 , wherein the vest-front is symmetrical, such that the chest-panel is bounded laterally by the forward-left panel and the forward-right panel, and the forward-left panel and the forward-right panel mirror each other, with the forward-left panel and the forward-right panel each being substantially coplanar with the chest-panel when the vest-front is laid flat. 
     
     
         16 . The bullet-resistant vest of  claim 1 , wherein the vest-back is symmetrical, such that the back-panel is bounded laterally by the back-left panel and the back-right panel, and the back-left panel and the back-right panel mirror each other, with the back-left panel and the back-right panel each being substantially coplanar with the back-panel when the vest-back is laid flat. 
     
     
         17 . An anti-bulge bullet-resistant vest for a torso of a user, the anti-bulge bullet-resistant vest comprising:
 a vest-front, the vest-front made of a bullet-resistant material, and configured to be worn by the user, the vest-front including
 a chest-panel configured to protect a front area of the torso of the user, the chest-panel having a full panel thickness, 
 a forward-left panel extending from a left side of the chest-panel, and configured to protect a left side area of the torso of the user, the forward-left panel having a partial panel thickness, the partial panel thickness being between forty-five and fifty-five percent of the full panel thickness, and 
 a forward-right panel extending from a right side of the chest-panel, and configured to protect a right side area of the torso of the user, the forward-right panel having the partial panel thickness; and 
   a vest-back coupled to the vest-front, the vest-back made of the bullet-resistant material, and configured to be worn by the user, the vest-back including
 a back-panel configured to protect a back area of the torso of the user, the back-panel having the full panel thickness, 
 a back-left panel extending from a left side of the back-panel, and configured to protect the left side area of the torso of the user, the back-left panel having the partial panel thickness, and 
 a back-right panel extending from a right side of the back-panel, and configured to protect the right side area of the torso of the user, the back-right panel having the partial panel thickness; 
   wherein the forward-left panel and the forward-right panel are constructed integrally to the chest-panel;   wherein the back-left panel and the back-right panel are constructed integrally to the back-panel;   wherein the bullet-resistant material comprises Kevlar fiber;   wherein the full panel thickness measures within five percent of one-half of an inch;   wherein the partial panel thickness measures within five percent of one-quarter of an inch;   further comprising a left-shoulder strap and a right-shoulder strap each coupling the vest-front to the vest-back;   wherein each of the left-shoulder strap and the right-shoulder strap includes a fastening element enabling the vest-front to be removably coupled to the vest-back;   wherein the forward-left panel and the back-left panel each comprise corresponding left-side-fasteners enabling the forward-left panel and the back-left panel to be removably coupled to each other;   wherein the left-side-fasteners comprise hook-and-loop fasteners;   wherein the forward-right panel and the back-right panel each comprise corresponding right-side-fasteners enabling the forward-right panel and the back-right panel to be removably coupled to each other;   wherein the right-side-fasteners comprise hook-and-loop fasteners;   wherein the vest-front is symmetrical, such that the chest-panel is bounded laterally by the forward-left panel and the forward-right panel, and the forward-left panel and the forward-right panel mirror each other, with the forward-left panel and the forward-right panel each being substantially coplanar with the chest-panel when the vest-front is laid flat; and   wherein the vest-back is symmetrical, such that the back-panel is bounded laterally by the back-left panel and the back-right panel, and the back-left panel and the back-right panel mirror each other, with the back-left panel and the back-right panel each being substantially coplanar with the back-panel when the vest-back is laid flat.   
     
     
         18 . A method of wearing a bullet-resistant vest without inducing bulging at the sides of the vest, the method comprising the steps of:
 providing a bullet-resistant vest for a torso of a user, the bullet-resistant vest comprising a vest-front, the vest-front made of a bullet-resistant material, and configured to be worn by the user, the vest-front including a chest-panel configured to protect a front area of the torso of the user, the chest-panel having a full panel thickness, a forward-left panel extending from a left side of the chest-panel, and configured to protect a left side area of the torso of the user, the forward-left panel having a partial panel thickness, the partial panel thickness being between forty-five and fifty-five percent of the full panel thickness, and a forward-right panel extending from a right side of the chest-panel, and configured to protect a right side area of the torso of the user, the forward-right panel having the partial panel thickness; and a vest-back coupled to the vest-front, the vest-back made of the bullet-resistant material, and configured to be worn by the user, the vest-back including a back-panel configured to protect a back area of the torso of the user, the back-panel having the full panel thickness, a back-left panel extending from a left side of the back-panel, and configured to protect the left side area of the torso of the user, the back-left panel having the partial panel thickness, and a back-right panel extending from a right side of the back-panel, and configured to protect the right side area of the torso of the user, the back-right panel having the partial panel thickness;   overlapping the forward-left panel with the back-left panel, such that when the forward-left panel is overlapped with the back-left panel, their combined thickness is substantially equivalent to the thickness of the chest-panel;   fastening the forward-left panel to the back-left panel;   overlapping the forward-right panel with the back-right panel, such that when the forward-right panel is overlapped with the back-right panel, their combined thickness is substantially equivalent to the thickness of the back-panel; and   fastening the forward-right panel to the back-right panel.