Patent Application
20100313327
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a cut away vest that can be quickly and easily removed by the wearer. In particular, the invention relates to a cut away vest that can be easily re-assembled after it is removed by the wearer.
2. The Prior Art
Cut away vests are often worn by members of the military and law enforcement agencies to aid the wearer in carrying gear, as well as to protect against bullets and other impacts. These vests, especially when loaded with armor plating, can be very heavy and cumbersome to wear. Therefore it is a requirement that the vests be easily removable by the wearer, in case the wearer must be mobile in an emergency, and especially in case of submersion in water.
In the past, these vests have been constructed of several separate pieces that are held together by a cable system. An example of this system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 7,243,376 to Johnson. A strap is threaded through each piece, with a hole in each strap. The holes are then lined up, and a cable is threaded through each hole. A loop on one of the pieces is threaded through the overlapping holes, and a cable is then fed through the loop, keeping all of the pieces joined together. In an emergency, the cable is pulled out, thus releasing all of the pieces simultaneously. This system works well to free the wearer from the vest, but it is extremely difficult to re-assemble the vest after use, so the vests are generally discarded after a single use.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a cut away vest that can be easily re-assembled after the release system is activated, so that the vest can be re-used for further operations.
This and other objects are achieved by a cut away vest, comprising a front vest piece having two shoulder sections and two waist sections, and a rear vest piece having two shoulder sections and two waist sections. The front piece is connected to the rear piece by four buckle assemblies. Each buckle assembly has a male portion and a female portion, with the male portions being attached to the shoulder and waist sections of the front vest piece, and the female portions being attached to the shoulder and waist sections of the rear vest piece, so that the front vest piece is connected to the rear vest piece by inserting each of the male portions into a corresponding female portion. Each male buckle portion is connected to a cable. The other end of each cable is connected to a single handle on the front vest piece. Pulling the handle causes the male portions to release from the female portions and the front vest section to separate from the rear vest section.
In one embodiment, each of the cables is slidably disposed in a cable sleeve that is connected to the front vest section. This way, the cables can move easily without becoming entangled with the user, as the cable sleeves are firmly secured to the vest. The sleeve is fixed on one end to the male buckle and on the other end to a plate that guides the wires to the handle. Each wire end is fixed to the leg structure of the male buckle and to the handle. When the handle is pulled, the legs are pulled inwards to disengage the male from the female, and when the handle is released, the legs move back to their original state. Because the sleeve is fixed from end to end, and the wire slides from end to end, a “spring” effect is causing the wire to shift back in to the leg locking position after release of the handle.
Alternatively, the cables could be run through an interior of the vest, either within a cable sleeve or by themselves.
In order to make the vest more secure and easy to assemble, the waist sections of the front vest piece overlap the waist sections of the rear vest piece when the male portions are connected to the female portions. In a preferred embodiment, the waist sections of the rear vest piece are configured to be stiff and curved, so that they fit around the wearer's waist, even before the buckles are secured. This makes the vest easier to assemble while wearing, as the rear vest piece stays in place while the front vest piece is being attached.
To increase adjustability of the vest, the female portions of the buckles can be connected to the shoulder sections and waist sections of the rear vest piece via adjustable straps on the rear vest piece. The female buckle can be equipped with strap securing bars that allow the straps to be tightened or loosened, depending on the needs of the wearer. Or, straps with integrated hook and loop closures can be fed through a single bar on the female to create adjustability.
In one embodiment of the buckle, each female portion comprises a hollow body with a front wall, a back wall, an open top, a cavity between the top and bottom walls and at least one locking slot extending through the hollow body and communicating with the cavity. Each male portion comprises a base with at least one locking leg and a central leg, such that inserting the male part into the open top of the female part causes the locking leg to engage the locking slot to lock the male portion to the female portion, as is the case with traditional side-release buckles. In a preferred embodiment, each male portion has two locking arms and each female portion has two locking slots. The male portion also-can be released in the traditional manner: by pinching the locking legs together until they clear the locking slots in the female portion. However, the buckle used in the present invention has an additional feature. In this buckle, there are means for moving the locking leg toward the central leg to release the male portion from the female portion when the handle is pulled.
The means for moving the locking leg toward the central leg can comprise a pulling mechanism slidably mounted within the central leg and connected to the cable in the male portion, and arms or a strap connected one to each of the locking legs and to the pulling mechanism, such that pulling on the cable causes the pulling mechanism to slide away from ends of the locking legs and central leg and pull the locking legs toward the central leg. When the locking legs are pulled toward the central leg, they exit the locking slots of the female buckle portion, and the male and female portions are thus released from each other.
In one embodiment, the two locking legs can be connected by an integrally molded strap. The cable mechanism can be guided through the center leg channel and connected towards the middle of the strap. When the cable is pulled, the strap pulls down and swings the legs inwards. The strap may have different interface configurations to attach to the cable.
In another embodiment, there is a molded hollow receptacle in the middle of the strap, whereby an end piece of the cable will interface. In yet another embodiment, the cable mechanism can guide up through the center leg and split to two separate cables, each one directly connected to each leg. In all cases, the four cables from the male buckles eventually connect to a single handle.
Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed as an illustration only and not as a definition of the limits of the invention.
In the drawings, wherein similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views:
Referring now in detail to the drawings,
Because vest pieces 11, 21 must be connected while vest 10 is being worn, it is ideal if rear waist sections 24, 25 are reinforced with a stiff, curved material, so that rear vest piece 21 will stay in place prior to attachment of front sections 14, 15 of front vest piece 11. Preferably, waist sections 25, 24, extend around toward the front of the user, so that there is a significant overlap between waist sections 15, 14 and 25, 24. To put on the vest, the shoulder sections of front vest piece 11 are connected to the shoulder sections of rear vest piece 21 and the vest 10 is placed over the wearer's head. The waist sections 15, 14, are then connected to waist sections 25, 24, respectively, to secure vest 10 to the wearer. The vest can be adjusted by adjusting straps 50 which are connected to female buckle portions 40, to increase the comfort and safety of the wearer. Or, the rear vest piece 21 can be placed on the wearer's body, and the front vest piece 11 can be connected to it while on the wearer, with the buckles being connected in any order.
So that vest 10 can be easily removed in an emergency, front vest piece 11 is constructed so that male buckle portions 30 can be released from female buckle portions 40 with one movement. In this embodiment, each male buckle portion 30 is connected to a cable 31, which is attached to a handle 17 on front vest piece 11. Cable 31 is fed through a cable sleeve 32, which is secured to front vest piece 11, and through which cable can easily slide. In the embodiment of
Male buckle portions 30 are configured so that a hard pull on handle 17 causes all four buckle portions 30 to simultaneously disengage from the corresponding female portions 40, thus separating front vest piece 11 from rear vest piece 21 with a single motion. Because there are only two pieces to vest 10, and only four buckles, re-assembling vest 10 is simple and quick. All that is required is to insert male buckle portions 30 back into female buckle portions 40, and the vest is completely assembled, ready for another use.
The cables 31 that are connected to the male buckle portions 30 on front sections 12, 13 and 14, 15 are. interconnected to handle 17. This is to allow a downward pull on handle 17 to move the cable sufficiently to disengage male buckle portions 30 on the waist sections.
Other buckle assemblies could also be envisioned. All that is required is that the male portions be releasable from the female portions by pulling on the handle or cable.
Accordingly, while only a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it is obvious that many changes and modifications may be made thereunto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
