The present invention relates generally to mounting accessories, and more particularly, to a mounting accessory that projects from an inside or anterior torso facing portion of an armor carrier.
An armor carrier is a tactical vest containing or carrying ballistic material, designed to protect the wearer's body from projectiles. Some armor carriers are configured to carry ballistic plate, or often referred to in the alternative as an armor plate, are made out of hard, mostly impenetrable materials that provide varying levels of protection depending on its material makeup. Ballistic plates are also provided in various types of plate cuts, which can affect the plate's weight, protection level, and the coverage it gives to the wearer. For instance, a ballistic plate can be either square or rectangular, include a small curvature or be flat; or a ballistic plate can be mostly rectangular shaped but include distinct cut-off corners at its upper ends.
Regardless of the type of cut, the ballistic plate is generally designed to rest within a designated compartment space of the armor carrier and rest substantially flush to the wearer's body. Put differently, a ballistic plate is most comfortably worn when the ballistic plate is extending parallel and resting flush to the anterior torso of the wearer. Although this type of set up is ideal, achieving it can be somewhat difficult due to the wearer's physical geometry.
For instance, a woman with a pronounced bust or a man with a large chest each have pectoral muscle and fat that extend beyond their abdomen. Thus, a person with a prominent chest region creates an uneven surface for the armor carrier to press against. Likewise, wearers with a small pectoral profile but large abdominal profile provide an uneven surface for the armor carrier to press against. As a result, when the ballistic plate is pressed against the anterior torso of the wearer, the plate's desired or aligned orientation (i.e., parallel to the wearer's torso) is biased or inclined in an unfavorable, uncomfortable orientation. Either the upper portion of the ballistic plate is pointing away from wearer-meaning the lower portion is pointing toward the wearer's abdomen—or the upper portion of the plate is pointing toward the wearer, digging into the region of the wearer's clavicle. Either unfavorable disposition makes it incredibly uncomfortable for the wearer to don the ballistic plate with the armor carrier for long periods of time.
Accordingly, there is an established need for that as of yet has not been met for a mounting accessory that projects from a surface of the armor carrier and solves one or more of the foregoing problems.
The present invention is directed to a mounting accessory projecting from an inside aspect of an armor carrier. In some embodiments, the present invention consists of a mounting accessory projecting from an armor carrier carrying a ballistic plate donned by a wearer, comprising one or more pectoral members projecting from an inside upper surface of the armor carrier, where the one or more pectoral members include a first contoured surface substantially matching the profile of the wearer's pectoral mass and is configured to conform to the wearer's pectoral region when making contact under the weight of the armor carrier. The mounting accessory further comprises one or more abdominal members projecting from an inside lower surface of the armor carrier. The abdominal members include a first contoured surface that in some instances substantially matches the profile of the wearer's abdominal region and is configured to conform to the wearer's abdominal region when making contact under the weight of the armor carrier. In one exemplary embodiment, the pectoral members and the abdominal members are configured to position the ballistic plate substantially parallel to the wearer's torso.
In some embodiments, the mount accessory 100 is integral with the inside surface of the armor carrier. In some embodiments, the pectoral and abdominal members may be coupled together with one or more straps extending between the members, and with the straps including straps having fasteners that engage with portions of the armor carrier to removably attach the mounting accessory to the armor carrier. The pectoral and abdominal members, in some embodiments, may be individual members that include an attachment device for attaching the member to the interior side of the armor carrier. For instance, an attachment device may comprise but is not limited to a hook and loop fastener, zip fastener, magnetic coupler, a buckle, or a snap fastener.
These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the attached drawings and the detailed description of the preferred embodiments, which follow.
The preferred embodiments of the invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings provided to illustrate and not to limit the invention, where like designations denote like elements, and in which:
Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the described embodiments or the application and uses of the described embodiments. As used herein, the word “exemplary” or “illustrative” means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any implementation described herein as “exemplary” or “illustrative” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations. All of the implementations described below are exemplary implementations provided to enable persons skilled in the art to make or use the embodiments of the disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure, which is defined by the claims. For purposes of description herein, the terms “upper”, “lower”, “left”, “rear”, “right”, “front”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, and derivatives thereof shall relate to the invention as oriented in
Referring initially to
With reference to
In an alternative embodiment, as shown in
With reference now to
In an alternative method of attachment, the mounting accessory 100 is attachable to the inside surface 202 of the armor carrier 200 through an attachment device, as illustrated in now
Unlike other armor carriers and accessories that do not account for the wearer's physical geometry, the instant mounting accessory 100 is designed and configured to position the ballistic plate 210 in an aligned or desired disposition with respect to the wearer's torso 220. In some embodiments, the desired disposition of the ballistic plate 210 central axis AP is to be adjacent or parallel to the central axis AT of the wearer's torso. In some embodiments, the mounting accessory 100 projects from the interior surface 202 of the armor carrier 200. In some embodiments, the mounting accessory 100 is integral with the interior surface 202 of the armor carrier 200 and, in some embodiments, the mounting accessory is removably attached to the interior surface 202 of the armor carrier 200. One or more mounting accessories 100 may be integrally and/or removably provided in various combinations. When donning the armor carrier 200, the upper pectoral member 102 makes contact with the upper region 224 of the pectoral mass or bust 222 of the wearer 220. As the weight force of the armor carrier 200 and ballistic plate 210 are felt on the pectoral member 102, the pectoral member 102 begins to slightly deform from its original shape and conform to the wearer's pectoral contours. Once deformation ends, the pectoral member 102 provides a stable platform upon which the top portion of the ballistic plate 210 is pressing against. On the lower end, the abdominal member 140 makes contact with the lower region 226 of the wearer 220. As the weight force of the armor carrier 200 and ballistic plate 210 are felt on the abdominal member 140, the abdominal member 140 also begins to slightly deform from its original shape and conform to the wearer's abdominal contours. Once deformation ends, the abdominal member 140 provides a stable platform upon which the bottom portion of the ballistic plate 210 is pressing against. Both the upper and lower members of the mounting accessory work in tandem to maintain the position of the ballistic plate 210 parallel to the wearer's torso.
Of course, in the instance where the wearer's geometry varies from the above example, to achieve the desired result of positioning the ballistic plate 210 substantially parallel to the wearer's torso, the wearer may employ the use of one or more upper or lower members. For example, if the wearer has a small bust and a large abdominal area, the wearer may only use the upper members of the mounting accessory 100 to position the ballistic plate in a desirable position. Similarly, if the wearer has a large bust and does not wish to add more spacing in the bust area, the wearer may only use the lower members of the mounting accessory 100 to position the ballistic plate in the desired position.
It is appreciated and understand that the mount accessory can be constructed to be permanent and/or integral with the interior surface or removable therefrom. In some embodiments, the mounting accessory members can be permanently affixed to the interior surface through stitching, any form of adhesives, and through mechanical, thermal, or chemical bonding.
Since many modifications, variations, and changes in detail can be made to the described preferred embodiments of the invention, it is intended that all matters in the foregoing description and shown in the accompanying drawings be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. Furthermore, it is understood that any of the features presented in the embodiments may be integrated into any of the other embodiments unless explicitly stated otherwise. The scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.
Number | Date | Country | |
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63590646 | Oct 2023 | US |