PACK WITH GARMENT-CONJOINING EXTENSION PACK

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The field of the invention generally relates to wearable vests, packs, backpacks, and carriers. More specifically, the field of the invention relates to vests, packs, backpacks, and carriers having dual-purpose features that offer accessibility to an included garment or other accessory for protection from the elements and/or for protection against projectiles.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Wearable vests, packs, backpacks, and carriers (referred to herein as “packs”) efficiently carry and protect a vast array of articles while providing the convenience of hands-free mobility to their wearer. However, increased mobility comes with the risk of exposure to inclement weather and, in certain circumstances, attack by armed assailant(s).

Mitigation of these threats often involve carrying protective articles within the confines of the pack in the form of umbrellas, rain ponchos/jackets, pack coverings, and/or ballistic plates/inserts/lining. However, deployment of these rapidly-needed articles are often delayed by the doffing of packs to open, locate, extract, and deploy protective weather gear, followed by pack re-donning (all while possibly getting drenched if caught unsheltered during the onset of inclement weather), or necessitating the removal and relocation of a ballistic pack to the wearer's front torso for protecting vital organs during a confrontation (considering only a single sagittal plane can be protected when worn either anteriorly or posteriorly). Unfortunately, many individuals may not carry/pack these protective articles before they are needed, and often these articles reduce the amount of limited storage within the confines of the pack.

Several approaches to improve upon these issues have been described by dual-purpose embodiments within the scope of so-called “transformative packs.” These approaches include:

U.S. Pat. No. 5,165,111, issued Nov. 24, 1992 to Lieberman, entitled “BACKPACK WITH INTEGRAL GARMENT,” describes a wearable backpack that when unzipped, contains an integrated rain jacket that may be pulled out and worn as a regular garment.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,751,806, issued Jun. 22, 2004 to Hinnant, entitled “BACKPACKING JACKET,” describes a backpack with a dedicated cavity to house a jacket and a tensioning panel allows access to the jacket.

U.S. Pat. No. 10,130,160, issued Nov. 20, 2018 to NcSTAR, Inc., entitled “BACKPACK WITH QUICK DEPLOYING BODY ARMOR,” describes a backpack with a flip-over-the-head protective ballistic insert that is housed within a compartment of the main pack, and a rear that provides its own protection without having to remove the backpack.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,419,132, issued Jul. 7, 2002 to Reed et al., entitled “BACKPACK WITH DEPLOYABLE ARMOR,” describes a body armor panel attached to the inner back-facing lining of the backpack that deploys over the wearer's head with a side ballistic blanket.

U.S. Pat. No. 9,820,558, issued Nov. 21, 2017 to Leatherback Gear, LLC, entitled “COMBINED CARRIERS AND PROTECTIVE VESTS,” describes a backpack that separates into front and back halves, requiring the wearer to remove the pack and slip between the two halves for employing ballistic protection enclosed within the backpack.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,934, issued Aug. 16, 1994 to Inventus, Inc., entitled “FLIPOVER CARRYING DEVICE,” describes a backpack that offers neither garment nor ballistic protection, but separates to provide quick access to smaller rear pouches by flipping over the wearer's head to locate a portion of storage to the front torso.

While these approaches individually make incremental improvements, they may have some of their own issues. Embodiments of the present invention seek to address these issues and the other issues described above for the purposes disclosed herein.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with embodiments of the invention, a wearable vest, pack, backpack, or carrier (referred to herein as “pack”) is disclosed herein. These packs may be configured as two separable pack portions, for example, a main load-bearing pack and an overlaying, thinner detachable distal extension pack, in which contacting perimeter mating surfaces of main and distal pack may conceal the integration of a compressed garment sandwiched between them. The garment serves, in part, to conjoin the main and distal of packs together physically, as described below. These embodiments allow the distal pack (or “distal motion pack,” “distal extension pack” or “distal pack”) to be separated along the contacting perimeter from the main pack, lifted by the wearer (or user/operator) upwards, catapulted and swung over their head to come to rest upon their front torso or chest, resulting in an unfolded garment rapidly presented or draped over their body and pack for protection. The once inner-concealed faces of both the distal and main packs then become outwardly facing from the wearer's front and back, respectively. The garment material may be integrated or attached to the distal and main packs and be extended by the wearer to provide the full functions and features of the garment's purpose. In certain embodiments, the garment may be separately detachable from the pack, for example, for cleaning. These embodiments advantageously bypass the need to enclose a separate unattached garment, such as a raincoat or poncho, placed within the confines of any single encompassing pack or compartment that may exhibit the disadvantages described above. Moreover, these embodiments, once the distal pack is deployed and secured to the front torso or chest, may provide easy accessibility underneath the protective garment, allowing the wearer to reach important contents, such as phones, badges, bus passes, maps, radios, keys, etc. within the distal pack or in its internal pockets.

In accordance with embodiments of the invention, before deployment over the wearer's head, the distal pack is located behind the main pack (i.e., the portion that touches the wearer's back). For these embodiments, a method for the wearer to deploy the distal pack from its initially rear position behind the main pack uses straps attached to the top of the distal pack. These deployment straps may terminate along the shoulder straps of the main pack, and provide gripping surfaces or ends for the wearer to pull to lift with their hands for deployment, as will be described below. The force to grasp the shoulder-lying deployment straps and to jerk, lift, or pull them upward and forward from the wearer's perspective causes their release from their adhesion points (described further below) on the top of the main pack to focus the force on the distal pack for initiating the separation of the distal pack from the main pack.

A typical human motion when it starts to rain often involves a shrugging of the shoulders while “turtling” their head downward, followed by a catapulting motion to don a jacket hood if attached to clothing, or covering their head with other articles on hand. Such natural movements may be used to detach and deploy the distal pack from the main pack and while also unfolding the garment enclosed between them to be worn, in accordance with embodiments of the invention. For example, the wearer may employ a quick two-handed gripping of straps, followed by lifting their arms, and then launching the distal pack overhead in some similarity to a soccer ball-type overhead throwing motion while simultaneously bowing their head forward. This motion results in the catapulting of the distal extension pack over the wearer's head, ending with the distal pack coming to rest on the wearer's front torso or chest, and leaving the main pack still on the wearer's back. The distal and main pack still remain tethered, for example, by shoulder straps, such as suspenders or the shoulder coverings of a larger garment. Such arching-type movements advantageously may allow greater clearance for the distal pack over the wearer's head so that the distal pack rotates substantially unimpeded over to the front of the wearer's body.

In accordance with embodiments of the invention, the pack may include a garment, for example, a rain poncho. The deployment of the distal pack (also referred to as “flip over pack” or distal motion pack) by the wearer over their head, shoulders, and upper arms to their front torso or chest, as described herein, allows the wearer to retain shielding or at least partial shielding of their back by the continued presence of the main pack on the wearer's back. Such deployment may be performed by the wearer within a few seconds or less. The garment may contain reinforcing material in the form of shoulder straps for providing additional load support and/or small weighted inserts, such as plastic or metal inserts, to assist with proper garment deployment motion, expansion, and proper draping for resting in a position across and over the wearer's body (and possibly their head and portions of the pack). Incorporation of reflective material and/or a brightly colored version of the garment may further add to safety and utility. The garment may be detachable in some embodiments, such as by releasing corresponding and complementary snap(s), hook and loop fasteners, or the like, as described below. The garment itself may contain excess material in the form of skirting, such as weighted skirting, that drops down past and over pack surfaces for augmented protection and coverage.

In accordance with other embodiments of the invention, a pack, may instead include a quickly-deployable ballistic or body armor garment, for example, an adjustable ride-height vest that provides protection against projectiles as specified in the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) or Underwriters Laboratories (UL) standards, and/or that offers a doubling of protected coverage for both the front and rear torso (or back) of the wearer. A quick-adjust cam buckle may be included on each shoulder strap to be used in a manner similar to the use of rifle slings for rapid adjustment of strap length, as would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Adjustment cords or other features of the shoulder straps may be included that have distinguishing colors and lengths to aid in drawing the wearer's visual attention for quick deployment. Readable messaging also may be included (e.g., printed) on the deployed outer surfaces of the garment to draw the attention of an observer of the wearer for the immediate need for an emergency response, such as “CALL 911” or other warning or informational message. Such messages may be constructed, for example, of readable reflective material, while the primary fabric of the garment and pack retains subdued colors to help reduce or eliminate visual detection by, or the visual acuity of, a person or criminal posing a threat to the wearer. Affixing side quick-release buckles around the wearer's torso on additional side straps of the distal and main packs may further secure the deployed distal (now front) pack to the main pack that remains on the wearer's back.

In accordance with other embodiments of the invention, packs, as described herein, advantageously may be employed by law enforcement, SWAT, homeland security (DHS), military operational, protection detail personnel, or the like where direct threat engagement may require ballistic protection against higher kinetic energy projectiles while also providing quick access to weapons that may be available to the wearer. These embodiments may be made as a tactical vest having an armor plate(s) or insert(s) placed or held within one or more compartments or pouches located in or on front and back main packs of the vest that forms the overall pack. The distal pack, in such embodiments, may optionally include a mountable weapon retention mechanism, having a small form factor, such that a short-barreled weapon system may be carried on the wearer's chest once the distal pack is deployed with a thumb actuated quick-release retaining mechanism for immediate access by the wearer to obtain a weapons grip with their hands. To allow the distal pack to quickly flip over and clear the wearer's head, the shoulder straps of the tactical vest advantageously may be long enough to accommodate proper clearance of any possible obstructions.

Generally, it is better in completing the deployment of the distal pack (and garment, if present) to the front torso that it not come to rest below a recommended or proper aortic placement for advantageous protection. Body armor preferably rides high upon the wearer's chest. Therefore, it is advantageous for the deployed shoulder straps that conjoin front and rear faces of the tactical vest or garment (or that conjoin the distal and main packs) also include a vertical length adjustment mechanism(s), as will be described below for. In accordance with certain embodiments of the invention, this adjustment mechanism(s) may be advantageously included using a quick-adjustment cam buckle on each shoulder strap as an option similar to the use of rifle slings for adjusting strap length for rifles, as would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Adjustment of this mechanism(s) also may be included as part of, or consolidated with, additional motions immediately needed to deploy or access weapons, as described herein. One example may employ the joining of two individual shoulder strap adjustments to form a single Y-shaped strap or Y-Strap, in which the consolidated single strap functions as a weapon's single-point sling, such that the act of extending the weapon out for sling slack allows the two connecting shoulder straps to be tightened. These solutions alone may less advantageously fully secure or prevent a fully deployed distal pack (or tactical vest or armor carrier) from extraneous movement while the wearer is maneuvering. Therefore, in accordance with certain embodiments of the invention, a cummerbund having two parts or sides may be included, as will be described below, that wraps around the sides of the wearer's torso to further advantageously connect and secure the main pack and distal pack (or tactical vest or armor carrier) together. The cummerbund parts or sides may be fastened to the main pack, as described below using hook and loop fasteners, repetitive-use dry adhesive materials, or the like.

The wearer, in the embodiments just described, would have to transition his or her motion during distal pack, garment, or tactical vest deployment from flipping the shouldered deployment straps overhead to grabbing the separate cummerbund straps for wrapping around their torso, thus requiring two separate hand gripping movements. One consolidated fluid motion, however, may be much faster and preferable for unmatched speed in hostile environments. Therefore, advantageously, it would be best for the wearer to use one generally fluid motion to rapidly deploy the tactical response distal pack, vest, or armor (or plate) carrier via the deployment straps, culminating in: (1) introducing ballistic protection onto the chest; (2) raising the front chest carrier height for proper aortic coverage; (3) deploying the two parts or sides of the cummerbund; and (4) connecting these two parts or sides laterally around the wearer to secure the now frontally deployed distal pack (or the now front portion of the tactical vest or armor carrier) and the rear main pack (or rear portion of the tactical vest or armor carrier) with minimal motion.

The wearer may initiate this motion by rapidly gripping and extending the deployment straps in a generally vertical-rising and forward-arcing movement of their arms to catapult the distal pack over their head from back-to-chest. Then the wearer would rapidly and fluidly transition deployment straps movement with their arms at generally mid-chest level or height radially- or circularly-rearward in a generally horizontal motion plane on opposite sides of the wearer. This movement provides the orientation-specific release of housing-retained stops that simultaneously or almost simultaneously initiates spring-assisted retractions of the shoulder-laying conjoining or pack bridging straps, raising the distal pack higher up the chest, and freeing extensions of the cummerbund that the deployment straps are attached to for securing generally around respective sides of the wearer's waist, as described below. The overall movement would then terminate when the two parts or sides of the cummerbund are connected to each other or to another rapid fastening mating surface, such as with hook and loop fasteners like Velcro®, repetitive-use dry adhesive materials like nanoGriptech's Setex, or the like, along the sides and/or behind the rear main pack, vest, or plate carrier.

In accordance with embodiments of the invention, the weight of the main back-facing portion of the pack, vest, or plate carrier may be supported by using a skeletonized frame or framework similar to those seen in mountaineering backpacks. The main pack and potentially the distal pack advantageously may contain, for example, a strong light-weight material, such as aluminum tubing, polymer, or a rigid composite, to create a chassis or chassis structure that maintains or supplements the load-bearing elements or structures of the main and distal portions' form. The outer connecting perimeter surfaces of the two conjoined distal and main pack may include weak magnets or other fastener types to create a cosmetically concealing seam or seams. In certain embodiments, advantageously foam padding may be included on the distal and/or main packs to minimize or help minimize the deployed mass of the distal pack impacting against the wearer's front torso or chest or the main pack impacting against the wearer's back.

Some of the embodiments described above may allow the wearer to go from being uncovered in inclement weather to being covered along with their pack. And some embodiments described above may allow the wearer to go from being undercover to a fully tactical, weapons-ready state within seconds without breaking stride. The inside-out, interior-to-exterior design of the distal and main packs of the overall pack in certain embodiments, when deployed, may include emblems, words, or patches that clearly identify the particular enforcement agency the wearer is with, such as POLICE, SWAT, ATF, DEA, FBI, etc.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a front, left, top perspective view of a pack as it might appear if worn by a wearer (not shown), the pack having a distal (or extension) pack (right side) and a main pack (left side) connected together with an enclosed garment or poncho connected therebetween (not shown), in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 2 shows the pack of FIG. 1 with the distal pack separated from the main pack to display the enclosed garment or poncho connected therebetween, in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 3 shows the pack of FIG. 1 with the distal pack while being deployed into a flipped upward, extended, and rotated orientation to display the garment or poncho expanded, in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 4 shows the pack of FIG. 1 after the distal pack is further deployed from the orientation shown in FIG. 3, with the distal pack in a final orientation and the garment or poncho concealing part of the distal pack and mostly concealing the main pack, and as if the garment or poncho were covering the head and shoulders of a wearer, in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

FIGS. 5A and 5B show a pack similar to FIG. 1 before deployment of a distal pack while still connected to a main pack (FIG. 5A) and upon an initial phase of being deployed with the distal pack separated from the main pack (FIG. 5B), to display a tactical response vest, pack, or armor plate carrier connected therebetween, in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 6 shows the pack of FIG. 5 with the distal pack (and attached cummerbund), the distal pack shown while being deployed into a flipped upward, extended, and rotated orientation to display tactical response vest, pack, or armor plate carrier expanded, in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 7 shows the pack of FIG. 5, demonstrating the need to be deployed upward to a sufficient height to clear a wearer's head (shown in dashed line), as schematically illustrated by the upward arrow, before the distal pack is deployed forward over their head to a final position on their front torso, in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 8 shows the pack of FIG. 5, with the distal pack (and the attached cummerbund parts or sides wrapped around), the distal pack shown (by the dashed lines) in a position as it might land on the front torso of a wearer (not shown) after clearing the wearer's head during deployment (FIG. 7), and where the arrow demonstrates then moving the distal pack (shown in solid lines) to the final upward position at the correct height on the front torso or chest of the wearer, in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 9 shows the pack of FIG. 5 as it would appear when worn by a wearer (not shown) in a fully deployed position, in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 10 shows a cross sectional view of a spring and spring housing mechanism for retracting straps of a pack, the spring shown in a relaxed state, in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 10A shows the spring and spring housing mechanism of FIG. 10 with the spring coiled to have spring tension, in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 11 shows a cross sectional view of a shoulder strap and strap housing of a pack, with the shoulder strap in a retracted state, in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 11A shows the shoulder strap and strap housing of FIG. 11 with the shoulder strap fully extended out, in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 12 shows a cutaway view of the spring, spring housing, the shoulder strap (showing part of the shoulder strap extending), and the strap housing of FIGS. 10, 10A, 11, and 11A, in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 13 shows a view of the shoulder strap (showing part of the shoulder strap extending), the strap housing of FIGS. 11, 11A, and 12, and a deployment strap connected to a dovetail stopper, the dovetail stopper also connected to the strap housing, in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 13A shows the dovetail stopper of FIG. 13 separated from the strap housing, in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 13B shows the deployment strap and the dovetail stopper of FIG. 13 when the deployment strap is pulled sideways to pull out the dovetail stoppers from the torqued strap retracting housing to allow the shoulder strap to rapidly rotate and retract inward to raise a rear plate carrier or distal pack, in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 14 shows a view of a partially deployed distal pack (main pack not shown) with two parts or sides of a cummerbund shown folded and attached to the distal pack, in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 14A shows the distal pack of FIG. 14 (the main pack not shown for illustrative purposes) with one cummerbund part or side partially deployed, in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 14B shows the distal of FIG. 14A with both parts or sides of the cummerbund partially deployed, in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

FIGS. 15 and 15A show a pack similar to the pack of FIG. 1 that includes the main pack, distal pack, and a shoulder strap system or apparatus (double Y-harness), which advantageously aids in the deployment of the distal pack and positioning of shoulder straps on a wearer, in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 16 shows a pack similar to the pack of FIG. 1 (the distal pack not shown for illustrative purposes) that includes the double Y-harness shown folded together as it may appear prior to deployment of the distal pack, in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 16A shows the pack of FIG. 16A, with the distal pack shown detached from the main pack, the main pack including pegs and the distal pack including hangers for hanging on the pegs for purposes of attaching the distal pack to the main pack, in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 17 shows a pack like the pack 100 in a deploying position to show how a garment may be attached, in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/870,728, filed Jul. 4, 2019, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

A rendition of a utility apparatus, vest, pack, backpack, or carrier 100 is visually depicted in FIG. 1, in accordance with embodiments of the invention. The apparatus, vest, pack, backpack, or carrier (referred to herein as “pack”) 100 includes a main load-bearing pack 101 connected to a separable distal or extension pack 102. The packs 101 and 102 may be connected, for example, by load-bearing fasteners, such as generally hooking members that rest upon opposing pegs, railing interfaces, or the like. They may alternatively (or also) be fastened along each other's contacting perimeter faces via an interfacing fastening medium (not shown) provided by, but not limited to, attracting magnets embedded within the fabric of each pack, strips of hook and loop fasteners, generically hook-shaped members that interface within slots on the opposing pack, or repetitive-use dry adhesive materials. For additional retention across any orientation, the load-bearing options may provide a user-releasable obstruction, such as crossbars/plungers, to impede their motion with or without the aid of spring resistance, described further below, or may include optional external side release buckle assemblies 103. The pack 100 may be worn by a wearer or operator using adjustable shoulder straps 104. Additional typical pack features may include a carrying handle 105, zipper 106, engaging zipper teeth 107, side pockets 108, and deployment straps 109.

For weather protection, the pack may include a garment or poncho advantageously constructed of a durable and potentially water-repellent fabric such as Nylon, Polypropylene, Polyester, or the like, which may or may not contain a Durable Water Repellent (DWR) coating, Polyurethane (PU) coating, Thermoplastic Polyurethane Film (TPU-film), Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) coating, or laminate, or the like to help with further water-proofing for rain or snow applications. Military specifications require adherence to a Military-Specification (Mil-spec) in which the use of, for example, Nylon, provides suitable abrasion resistance for armor plate carriers. A variety of additional materials may be incorporated into the packs 100, such as Aramid fiber, Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibers, suitable ballistic materials for protection against projectiles, foam, Shear Thickening Fluid filled inserts, other non-Newtonian and/or compressive materials for comfort and impact deformation, zippers to enclose compartments, or the like, whether spanning an entire pack 100 or only a portion or portions thereof. The pack 100 may also or instead include magnets, snap, hook and loop, rails, sewn thread, straps, buckles, grommets, laces or clasps, or the like, as examples of fasteners to adhere surfaces, metal, ceramic, plastic inserts, or the like used as weights to help strategically guide the deployment of unfolding a garment(s), such as a poncho. The pack 100 may further or instead include printed fabrics for decorative features, reflective tape, plastics, other fabrics, patches, or the like to aid in garment visibility, aluminum tubing, composites, such as carbon fiber, fiberglass, glass filed Nylon(s), or the like for skeletonized frames, and/or rigid internal plates/boards for mounting pack-joining fasteners that may be made from water resistant or waterproofed hardboard, HDF, composites, polymers, light-weight metals, and/or skeletonized steel, as described.

The construction of the pack 100 typically would include using pre-designed shaped swatches of material, cut by either a sharpened edge(s) or a laser for patterning, and then the materials sewn together by hand or machine to construct the pack 100 with attachment of fasteners. Frames included for the pack 100 may be constructed by welding, riveting, epoxy layering, or the like, or by other methods, as would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art.

FIG. 2 depicts the pack 100 as it is beginning a process of being deployed, as it is being worn by the wearer (not shown), in accordance with embodiments of the invention. In FIG. 2, deployment is initiated when the wearer reaches their hands towards their shoulders to grasp the ends of the deployment straps 109 (see FIG. 1) to pull on them to produce an upward jerking motion (not shown). With this short grasping and pulling motion, the wearer disengages securing surface fasteners 201 that may be included to normally retain a top laying forward position of the deployment straps 109 (see FIG. 1). Detaching the straps 109 (see FIG. 2) allows the separable distal extension pack 102 to disengage from the main load-bearing pack 101 by way of the fasteners (described above and below). The act of disengaging may display a concealed garment 202, such as a poncho, which is folded, compressed, and/or sandwiched between the contacting perimeters 206 of and between the two joining pack 100 opposed or inner faces of the distal extension pack 102 and the main load-bearing pack 101. To provide additional support to the garment, bridging shoulder straps 203 may be incorporated to support additional weight housed within the separable distal extension pack 102. The additional retention of a side release buckle assembly 103, if included, may be disengaged or released by squeezing, for example, tri-glide 204 protrusions or the like, extending from sides of a side release buckle 205, both of which form parts of the side release buckle assembly 103, to physically separate them from each other.

FIG. 3 shows the deployment continuing where the wearer (not shown) would be bowing forward with head tucked to assist in creating momentum and head clearance for a catapulting swing of the distal extension pack 102, which is achieved by the wearer using their hands and arms in a throwing-type motion over their head. FIG. 3 depicts a view of the garment, which, for example, may be a rain poncho, in mid-deployment before being draped over the wearer's head and shoulders. The rear-facing (i.e., towards the wearer's rear), previously concealed inner surface or face of the main load-bearing pack 101, would become covered and protected by the waterproof material of the rear garment face 302, the size and coverage of which may vary by design to accommodate some of, most of, or the entirety of the pack 100 and its lower extremities. The now-deployed separable extension pack 102 would have its previously inner concealed surface or face covered by the front garment face 301 as the extension pack 102 moves to the wearer's front. FIG. 3 shows for example, a garment comprising a poncho hood 303, if included, and shoulder coverings 304, both of which will move in their respective deployment positions in one back-to-front flipping-over motion, as described.

Completion of the motion of the separable extension pack 102 from the wearer's back (not shown), over their head, and onto their chest results in donning the protective garment as shown in FIG. 4. The fully deployed separable extension pack 102 is now lying on the wearer's front torso or chest, which is now exteriorly covered by the garment. The chest-resting face of the deployed separable extension pack 102 may provide under-garment hand-to-pocket access protection from rain or snow, with the pocket being a previously exterior facing pocket 401. This may, for example, be a zipping, snapping, closable, or the like, pocket, allowing the wearer to gain protected access to stored items, such as keys, phones, badges, maps, or the like quickly and easily while preventing the need to relocate the distal pack 102.

FIG. 5A shows an example of before-and-after (FIG. 5B) detachment or separation for an armor plate pack or carrier 500 similar to the pack 100, in accordance with embodiments of the invention. Additional features may be included in these or other embodiments, such as a cummerbund 501 that attaches around the wearer's waist for receiving a hook and loop fastener, clamp fastener, repetitive-use dry adhesive material fastener, or the like 502, an organization/departmental name(s) and/or identity emblem(s) and/or patch(es) 504, a deployment strap swivel 506 that helps prevent binding during use of a dovetail stopper 507, as described below, and loop strips 505 for attaching tactical or other gear.

FIG. 6 shows the armor plate carrier 500 in mid-deployment to illustrate the vicinity of the previously concealed front face of the garment, which instead shows the folded cummerbunds 501, in accordance with embodiments of the invention. Cylindrical automatic strap retractors 600 may also be included, as described in more detail below, which have a torque generating compartment or partition exterior spring housing 601 that spins a rod/arbor (not shown) passing through a partitioned strap-retracting housing 602.

FIG. 7 illustrates the need to ensure the wearer's head clearance by allowing for suitable strap length during deployment, in accordance with embodiments of the invention. FIG. 8 shows (in phantom) if the strap length allows for suitable (or too much) head clearance, the distal extension pack 102 may wind up resting low on the front torso. FIG. 8 also shows the resting position of the pack 102 in the proper position on the chest (solid lines) when the straps 203 are retracted by the automatic strap retractors 600 and the pack moves up (indicated by the arrow) from its prior position on the low front torso, in accordance with embodiments of the invention. FIG. 9 shows a fully deployed pack 102 with the cummerbunds 501 wrapped around the waist of the wearer (not shown) for securing additional garment (not shown) retention and to aid in securing the distal and main packs 101 and 102, in accordance with embodiments of the invention. Both the extension pack 102 and the main pack 101 may include interior pockets for armor plates to be inserted.

Referring to FIGS. 10 and 10A, the interior of one spring housing 601 is shown with an installed flat spiral power spring 1003 in the spring partition of the automatic strap retractor 600 for one of the straps 203 (see FIG. 12 for a perspective view). FIGS. 10 and 10A illustrate contrasting spring load states in cross-sectional views perpendicular to an axis of rotation of a rod/arbor 1002, in accordance with embodiments of the invention. The interior of the housing 601 includes the spring mechanism mentioned above. The spring housing 601 advantageously may be constructed of metal or other hardy material. The spring housing 601 contains the central arbor 1002 to which a power spring 1003 may couple or connect at one end within a spring inner retaining slot 1006 of the arbor 1002, and with another end of the spring 1003 coupled or connected to the spring housing 601's outer retaining slot 1005. A bridle 1004 may be included to apply tension towards the end of the spring coupled or connected to the outer retaining slot 1005 to prevent slippage of the spring 1003. FIG. 10 shows the power spring 1003 in a relaxed position, as the spring 1003 is coiled farther away from the arbor 1002 and closer to the outer portion of the interior of the spring housing 601. However, when the power spring 1003 is coiled around the arbor 1002, as shown in FIG. 10A, the spring 1003 is under full or higher tension and pre-loaded to react with torque, as will be described.

FIGS. 11 and 11A show similar cross-sectional views to those of FIGS. 10 and 10B, respectively, also perpendicular to the axis of arbor 1002 rotation, illustrating contrasting shoulder strap 203 spooling states within the interior strap housing 602 for the strap partition, in accordance with embodiments of the invention. The automatic strap retractor 600 perspective cutaway view in FIG. 12 shows the cylindrical spring housing 601 extending in a widthwise direction for the wearer's right strap 203 (i.e., in a side-to-side or right shoulder to left shoulder direction, as if wearing the pack 500) to join with the strap housing 602, which are separated by a partition 1201 wall, in accordance with embodiments of the invention. Spanning both housings 601 and 602 through the central axis of the container cylinder (i.e., of the automatic strap retractor 600) (see FIG. 12) is the single rigid rod arbor 1002 that shares any imparted rotational movement between both the spring 1003 and the strap 203, both attached to the arbor 1002. These connectively shared spring and strap states are illustrated by considering FIGS. 10 and 11, which show a relaxed spring 1003 (FIG. 10) neighboring a fully (or mostly) spooled strap 203 (FIG. 11) after deployment (“deployed state”), and FIGS. 10A and 11A, which show the opposing state that results in a torque-loaded power spring 1003 (FIG. 10A) neighboring a fully (or mostly fully) unspooled shoulder strap 203 (FIG. 11A) pre-deployment (“pre-deployed state”). It should be understood that, although not shown, there would be corresponding components and structures like those described in with respect to FIGS. 10, 10A, 11, 11A, and 12 for the wearer's left strap 203 looking like a mirror image of FIG. 12 along the cylinder axis described. Thus, for both of the states, the two springs 1003, each one located within a shared housing 601, may work with respective ones of the left-side and right-side straps 203, each strap 203 located within its respective strap housings 602 and separately attached to the arbor 1002. In other embodiments, instead of having two springs 1003, one spring similar to the springs 1003 may be located within the housing 601, which may be used with both of the straps 203 for both states

Body armor inserts and/or ammunition magazines may be located or placed in pouches, and also possibly a weapon may be included, the foregoing all being attached to the front worn distal pack of the pack 500 (see FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 6-9), or even attached to the distal pack 102 of FIG. 1. These items have weight associated with them. Therefore, the spring 1003 should be constructed to have sufficient strength to withstand the lifting and supporting of the full load or weight of the wearer's “kit” or distal pack to be deployed to the preferable or recommended height on the front torso or chest for aortic protection according to police, military, or other standards or practices. The deployment of the systems described herein thus may provide for such advantageous or proper protection (see FIGS. 6-9, 10, 10A, 11, 11A, and 12).

To mechanically achieve such advantages, further details are now disclosed. The outer coil of the power spring 1003 may be fastened to the inside diameter wall of the torque generating and partitioned compartment of the exterior spring housing 601 as a stationary anchor point. The inner coil of the spring 1003, however, may be attached to a portion of the arbor 1002 to allow rotation that results in the winding of the power spring's 1003 inner coils. This in turn allows the use of torque to return the arbor 1002 to its initial starting position when unimpeded as to impart motion on the neighboring strap 203 on the other side of a partition wall 1201 (FIG. 12). The addition of the bridle 1004, in the form of a segment of flat spring, may be configured to naturally press against the inside diameter wall of the torque generating housing 601 compartment, as shown in FIG. 10A. The length of the bridle 1004 along the inner circumference of the cylindrical housing 601 compartment may be made shorter than the compartment's full circumference and need only be long enough for covering the outer coil of the power spring 1003, coupling, connecting, or fastening to the retaining slot 1005, to prevent slippage from it.

Tying all of these components together in operation, when the power spring 1003 is at rest in its housing 601 compartment without load, the neighboring spooling strap housing 602 compartment would have a fully (or mostly) wound wrapping of the shoulder strap 203 material, as described, around its internally housed pass-through portion of the arbor 1002. Pulling on the shoulder strap 203 with force may allow the unspooling of the additional lengths of the strap 203 from the housing 602 compartment until it is fully (or mostly) extended. This rotational action transfers over to the connected spring 1003 of the neighboring torque generating housing 601 compartment to apply the winding storage of torque load. By adding the ability to arrest the motion of the arbor 1002 upon full storage of potential energy, the shoulder strap 203 may remain extended for completing the catapulting clearance over the wearer's head, until the need arises to rapidly retract it for proper positioning on the front torso or chest.

Referring again to FIG. 12, this may be achieved by expanding an end portion of the arbor 1002 to form a disc 1202 that reaches the inside diameter wall of the housing 602 compartment, in accordance with embodiments of the invention. Also, cutting a perimeter segment or section through the container housing 602 compartment and down into a portion of the outer rim of the disc 1202 to create a continuous dovetail cut 1203, as shown in FIG. 13A, allows a keyed dovetail-shaped stopper insert 507, as isolated in FIG. 13A, to slide into place for arresting rotational movement of the arbor 1002, thereby anchoring the plate carrier distal pack 102, as shown in FIG. 13.

Referring again to FIGS. 5B, 6, and 13, the deployment strap 109, which is attached to the cummerbund 501, functions, in part, to meet two separate objectives during deployment. The first objective, of deploying the distal pack 102 overhead, generally requires the connective ends of the deployment straps 109 be rigidly affixed to the upper region of the distal pack 102, allowing optimal stability and deployable strap length. The second objective is to release the folded and partitioned-off parts or sides of the cummerbund 501, previously isolated from force, so as to extend their lengths from their lower attachments to the distal pack 102 for proper use in deployment around the torso of the wearer.

The components and structures described above work with the cummerbund 501, which wraps around the wearer's torso, to provide a lower lateral connection between the front plate carrier (or the distal pack 102) and the rear plate carrier, (or the main pack 101), via hook and loop fasteners, repetitive-use dry adhesive material fasteners, or the like, upon contact with the adhesion surface 502 on the rear plate carrier, for minimizing movement of the garment (and/or the rear plated carrier) on the wearer. The dovetail stoppers 507 described above may be located at the base of the deployment straps 109 where they join to the cummerbund 501 through a strap swivel 506. Having the dovetail stoppers 507 inserted into the dovetail cuts 1203 of the automatic strap retractors' housings 602 and the discs 1202 allows for meeting the first objective described above. This dovetail connection can only be released by a lateral motion along the axis of the cylindrical automatic strap retractors 600 (see FIG. 13A), which is generally perpendicular to the centripetal force imparted by the catapulting motion of the rear plate carrier or distal extension pack 102 overhead. Swiveling the deployment strap 109 down to horizontal and pulling the stoppers 507 out allow for the second objective to be met by providing for the deployment of the cummerbund 501, which is attached to the lower portion of the plate carrier or distal pack 102, so that the operator can wrap the cummerbund 501 around their torso, as described below.

The wearer, by pulling sideways on the straps 109, as generally shown in FIG. 13A, will pull out the dovetail stoppers 507 from the torqued strap retracting housings 602 and allow the shoulder straps 203 to rapidly rotate and retract inward (as indicated by the circular arrows in FIG. 13B) to raise the rear plate carrier or distal pack 102 (not shown). The pivoting or swiveling joints 506 (FIG. 5B) that attach the deployment straps 109 to the cummerbund 501 may prevent or reduce the likelihood of the dovetail stoppers 507 to bind in the retractable strap housings 602 and dovetail cuts 1203 of the discs 1202 during its extraction. This may allow the deployment straps 109, after their use in the deployment of the distal pack 102 with an overhead generally vertically-oriented rotational motion (similar to a jump rope's motion), to transition and become generally horizontally aligned for their next motion with the horizontally extractable dovetail stoppers 507 for smooth outward extraction. This contrasts with the potential for binding from pulling horizontally on the vertically-oriented deployment straps 109, which may induce twisting on the straps 109 and rocking the horizontally-oriented attached stoppers 506 within the dovetail cuts 1203, creating unnecessary friction by applying a leveraging force between otherwise sliding surfaces.

The speed of the retraction of the shoulder straps 203 may be adjustable by the amount of friction or resistance introduced into the automatic strap retractor 600 by impeding the rotation of the arbor 1002 using external surface pressure that may be provided with additional components, such as components that impart magnetic braking or the like, as would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art.

By including the retractable strap housings 602 on the distal extension pack 102, wearers may reset the whole system described herein by unstrapping the cummerbund 501, pushing down on the plate carrier or distal pack 102 resting on the wearer's front torso, and inserting the dovetail stops 507 back into their slots 1203. The entire plate carrier or pack 102 may then be lifted off the wearer's body to fold the cummerbund 501 so that the plate carrier or distal pack 102 again conceals it when finishing reattaching the packs 101 and 102. The releasable buckles or fasteners 103 described above or other fasteners on the deployable shoulder straps 203 may be used to separate the distal pack 102 from the main pack 101 while still wearing the main pack 101. The main pack 101 itself may also use detachable fasteners on the shoulder straps 104. The side fasteners 103 that lock the distal pack 102 to the main pack 101 provide optional retention, which is recommended to be removed if there is any anticipation of the wearer being sent on an operation.

A similar deployment motion for the spring-loaded retractable strap housing 600 described above may instead be used, but with the spring-loaded retractable strap housing assembly 600 being replaced by an encased pulley system (not shown) that allows for a mechanical advantage for raising the chest carrier or distal pack 102, in accordance with embodiments of the invention. The pulley system would preferably use a strong protectively sheathed cables, such as a wound or braided steel or aluminum strand(s) with a polymer coating encasing it. The cables may connect to the end of the deployed shoulder strap 203, wind through the housed pulley system, and come out to attach through each of the two parts or sides of the cummerbund. 501. To provide the mechanical advantage, one or more pulleys may orient or align its cable routing vertically, which may increase mechanical advantage, perhaps approaching and reaching, for example, doubling it, with each pulley added, thereby reducing the weight resistance of the plate carrier or distal pack lifted by the wearer during use.

The load or weight of the tactical plate carrier or distal pack 102 may be supported by using a skeletonized frame or framework, as described above, similar to those seen in mountaineering backpacks, in accordance with embodiments of the invention. The main pack 101 and potentially the plate carrier or distal pack 102 may advantageously include a strong light-weight material, such as aluminum tubing or a rigid composite, plastic, or polymer material, to provide a chassis that supports load-bearing. Connected to both of these frames, in transition onto the connecting main and distal packs' exterior mating surfaces, may be segments of T-track and rail, cupped ledges, or other structures for cradling protrusions, in accordance with embodiments of the invention. The remaining perimeter surfaces 206 may use weak magnets or other fastener types to create a cosmetically concealing seam, as described above. The distal extension pack 102 and the main pack 101 advantageously also may include foam padding to minimize the deployed mass impacting the wearer's torso and back, in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

The embodiments described above may allow the wearer to go from an undercover to a fully tactical, weapons-ready state within seconds without breaking stride. The inside-out, interior-to-exterior nature of the pack allows the vest, carrier, or distal pack to clearly indicate or identify the agency they are with, such as POLICE, SWAT, ATF, DEA, FBI, STATE POLICE, or the like.

Referring to FIG. 14, shown are the front plate carrier or distal pack 102 with the cummerbund 501 folded and the dovetail stoppers 507 inserted in the dovetail cuts 1203 in the strap housings 602 located between the distal pack 102 and the automatic strap retractors 600, as to show another example embodiment of the automatic strap retractors 600. This embodiment may be achieved by using a centrally located spring housing (or housings) 601 protruding from the distal pack 102. From this protrusion, the automatic strap retractor housings 602 would extend from both cylindrical ends of the automatic strap retractor like the automatic strap retractor 600 to make a T-shaped assembly, containing two of the strap housings 602 joined to the central single spring housing 601. This configuration may allow the deployment straps 109 to not interfere during deployment with the shoulder straps 203 while completely concealing the shoulder straps 203. FIG. 14A shows one cummerbund 501 part or side being released, exposing the departmental name patch 504, and FIG. 14B shows the front of the chest carrier or distal pack.

Embodiments of the invention have been described in a manner to help illustrate and convey the intention of the technology claimed and in no way limit potential variations that may achieve the same or equivalent protections under the claims, figures, or descriptions herein. It shall be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced in a manner or manners other than those specifically described in embodiments herein. Any example references to fasteners discussed herein interchangeably refer to any or all established, similar, or equivalent fastener technologies, as would be understood by those of skill in the art. Any illustrations or descriptions of zippers or zipper teeth may include lengths for dedicated side access all the way through traditional full top access, as the particular design or embodiment may require.

PACK WITH GARMENT-CONJOINING EXTENSION PACK

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CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Provisional Applications (1)