The present invention relates to protective garments for protecting various parts of a body, including, but not limited to garments for protecting the upper part of a body from explosive blasts.
Military personnel are often equipped with ballistic resistant vests to protect the torso region from bullets and shrapnel. These vests, of which the “Interceptor Vest” is one example, typically have front and back ballistic resistant plates formed of a ceramic material to break up and absorb the impact from ballistic projectiles and to prevent them from penetrating the thoracic cavity and damaging vital organs. The vests are sleeveless and may be worn under a standard military jacket.
When operating in a war zone or other hazardous situation, military personnel can be exposed to a variety of different threats. Roadside bombs constitute a particularly insidious and hazardous threat in modern day warfare. The bombs are often well concealed and may be triggered automatically by the target vehicle as it draws up alongside the bomb. The bomb blast, including the overpressure wave and blast fragments are therefore directed towards the side of the vehicle. Some military vehicles have a cupola which provides a raised observation and machine gun platform in the roof of the vehicle so that a soldiers head and torso is typically positioned above roof level. Typically, no additional protection is provided on the vehicle so that the soldier's upper body is completely exposed and the soldier has to rely upon what he is wearing for protection. Unfortunately, the interceptor vest or any other known military equipment does not provide adequate protection against blasts directed to the side of military personnel, for example, from roadside bombs.
Embodiments of the present invention provide a system for protecting military personnel from explosive blasts from the side and also from other directions.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a protective garment comprising a torso portion and a protective collar upstanding from the torso portion, in which at least part of the protective collar comprises one or more layers of ballistic resistant material.
In one embodiment, the protective collar extends to a sufficient height to screen the neck of a wearer from an explosive blast to at least one of the side, front and back. Preferably, the protective collar completely surrounds the neck to provide protection from all directions.
In some embodiments, the collar may include a releasable fastener for releasably connecting a portion of the collar to another part of the protective garment (e.g. another collar portion) to maintain said collar in an upstanding position, and to allow said collar to be lowered when said fastener is released. For example, the collar may be attached or attachable to the front (and/or rear) of the garment, and include at least one or opposed right and left side portion(s) that can be released to allow the collar to fold down towards the front (and/or rear) of the garment.
In one embodiment, the protective collar provides a sufficiently large opening to accommodate a helmet. For example, the circumference of the collar may be sufficiently large to accommodate at least a lower part of a helmet. The helmet may comprise a lower rear portion and have an open face or closed face, and the helmet may or may not have a visor. Embodiments of the collar may be capable of providing a sufficiently large inner circumference to accommodate one or more of the helmet types just described.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a protective garment comprising a torso portion having front, rear and side portions, and in which one or both side portion(s) includes a protective plate positioned to protect a side portion of a torso.
In one embodiment, the protective plate may comprise one or more layers of ballistic resistant material, and may comprise a resin based composite comprising a plurality of layers of ballistic resistant material.
Advantageously, this arrangement protects the side of the torso from explosive fragments.
In some embodiments, the protection garment includes mounting means for releasably mounting the protect plate(s) to a respective side portion.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a protective garment comprising a torso portion and at least one sleeve, in which the sleeve comprises one or more layers of ballistic resistant material. Advantageously, the ballistic resistant material provides protection from explosive fragments directed to the side of an operative.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a protective jacket comprising a torso portion and a collar, the collar having a front portion and a rear portion, and fastening means for releasably attaching the front portion to the rear portion at a side of said collar.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a protective garment comprising a torso portion having front, back and side portions, and a blast plate holder separate from the torso portion and fastening means for releasably attaching the holder to the front of said torso portion.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a protective garment comprising a torso portion and at least one sleeve, in which the sleeve comprises a first part which is connected to the torso portion and a second part which is slideably connected to said first part.
In this arrangement, the slideable connection allows the sleeve to be extended and retracted to vary the length of the sleeve, for example to fit an individual wearer or to increase/decrease arm coverage.
Some embodiments include one or more guides for guiding the sliding movement between the parts.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a protective garment comprising a torso portion and at least one sleeve, wherein said sleeve is openable along a portion which extends from below the elbow to at least a position within an upper arm portion of said sleeve.
In some embodiment, the sleeve is continuously openable along said portion. Some embodiments include fastening means for selectively closing and opening said portion.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a groin protector having a front portion, a rear portion, and first and second leg openings and fastening means on at least one side of the protector for releasably fastening a waist region of the front portion to a waist region of the rear portion, and a pull member attached to the front portion for manually releasing the front portion from the rear portion.
Advantageously, the pull member allows the groin protector to be quickly unfastened and removed.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a protective skirt for a helmet, the skirt having a rear portion for protecting the neck of a wearer and opposed side portions for protecting the sides of the head of a wearer.
In some embodiments, a helmet is selected for use with the skirt, and the skirt extends, beyond at least a portion of a peripheral edge of the helmet to protect a wearer in a region over which the helmet does not extend.
In one embodiment, the protective skirt further comprises at least one front portion extending from a side portion for protecting a side of the face of a wearer in some embodiments, the skirt includes fastening means for releasably fastening the skirt to a helmet.
In some embodiments, the protective skirt comprises one or more layers of ballistic resistant or high tensile strength fabric.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a protective garment comprising a torso portion and a protective collar for extending upwardly from the torso portion and fastening means for releasably connecting the collar to said torso portion.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a protective garment comprising any one or more of the features disclosed herein or their equivalent.
In one embodiment, the protective garment comprises a jacket which serves as a shell or support to accommodate and retain one or more various body protective elements. The jacket may include retaining means for removeably retaining one or more protective elements thereon. For example, the jacket may include a detachable protective collar for protecting the neck of a wearer from explosive fragments or from other threats or impacts. Each sleeve of the jacket may be adapted to hold one or more protective element(s) for protecting the arms of a wearer. An example of a protective element for the arm comprises one or more layers of ballistic resistant fabric which may be mounted to the sleeve. For example, the ballistic resistant material can be formed as an insert for inserting into a pocket in the sleeve, either from the outside or from the inside thereof. Another arm protective element may comprise a protective plate for protecting the arm against high velocity fragments (and/or blunt impacts). The protective plate may comprise a plurality of layers of ballistic resistant material, and in one embodiment, comprises a resin based composite comprising a plurality of layers of ballistic resistant material (e.g. fabric). The plates may be removably mounted on the arm and in one embodiment are mounted within a pocket within the arm. Protective plates may be provided for the upper arm and/or lower arm. In other embodiments, one or more protective arm elements may be worn/mounted externally of the sleeve.
In one advantageous embodiment, the sleeves have a retractable sleeve extension so that the sleeve may be extended to provide protection to a portion of the lower arm, for example the cuff and wrist regions. In one embodiment, the sleeve extension may be slidably mounted to the main sleeve.
Another protective element that may be provided for the jacket comprises a front blast protector which includes one or more overpressure plates and a holder therefor which can be detachably mounted to the front of the jacket. The holder and jacket may comprise fastening means which allows the holder to be secured to the jacket at various different vertical positions relative to the jacket.
Another protective component that may be provided for use with the jacket is a rear overpressure plate which may be detachably mountable to the rear of the jacket, for example held within a pocket provided on the rear of the jacket, or releasably mounted by one or more fasteners.
The various protective components may be added or removed, as necessary depending on the prevailing threat and level of protection required which significantly improves the versatility of the protective equipment.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a protective collar comprising a front portion and left and right portions for extending around at least part of a wearer's neck, each side portion having a free end, retaining means for retaining the ends of the collar such that the collar can remain in place about a wearer's neck when in use, and attachment means for attaching the front of the collar to a means for supporting the collar on the wearer when the free ends are released from the retaining means.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a protective system for protecting a wearer comprising left and right shoulder protector plates for placing on a wearer's shoulders, a front torso plate, means for releasably coupling the front torso plate to at least one of said shoulder plates, a rear torso plate and means for releasably coupling the rear torso plate to at least one of (1) the front torso plate and (2) one or both of said shoulder plate(s).
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a protective system for protecting a wearer comprising a garment for at least partially covering an upper body portion of a wearer, left and right shoulder plates for placing on a wearer's shoulders, a front torso plate, means for releasably coupling the front torso plate to at least one of the garment and at least one shoulder plate, a rear torso plate and means for releasably coupling the rear torso plate to at least one of (a) the garment, (b) at least one shoulder plate and (c) the front plate.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a protective system for protecting a wearer comprising left and right shoulder plates for placing on a wearer's shoulders, a front torso plate and means for releasably coupling the front torso plate to one or both shoulder plate(s).
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a protective system for protecting a wearer comprising left and right shoulder plates for placing on a wearer's shoulders, a rear torso plate and means for releasably coupling the rear torso plate to one or both of the left and right shoulder plates.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a protective system for protecting a wearer comprising a front torso plate and a rear torso plate and means for releasably coupling the front torso plate to the rear torso plate.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided protective pants having right and left leggings and at least one strap means connecting said left and right leggings in a groin region of said pants.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided protective pants comprising first and second leggings and wherein at least one legging can be opened along at least a major portion of its length, for example at the front, side or rear thereof.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided protective pants having first and second leggings and at least one of a thigh protector plate and a hip protector plate, optionally releasably connected thereto, by means of a pocket in said pants for receiving a plate.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a garment comprising a fastening system for fastening an object thereto, the fastening system comprising a web/strap attached to said garment and having a free portion including a free end, fastening means for releasably fastening the free portion to the garment, the object having an aperture for receiving said free end such that said web/strap can pass through the aperture and be fastened to the garment by said fastening means, and securing means for securing another portion of said object against said garment such that said fastening means is substantially covered by said object.
Examples of embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings, in which:
Referring to
The jacket further comprises a front blast protector 11 comprising a blast plate holder 13 for holding one or more blast (or over pressure) plates therein (not shown). In this embodiment, the blast plate holder has a length which is sufficient to extend from a neck portion to the groin portion of a wearer such that one or more blast plates mounted therein can provide continuous over blast protection between these regions. The blast plate holder is attached to the front of the jacket by right and left fasteners 17, 19 on either side thereof. In this embodiment, the left hand fastener 19 hingedly couples the blast plate holder to the jacket and allows the blast plate holder to swing open when the right hand fastener 17 is released, as shown in
The left hand fastener 19 may be arranged to allow the blast plate holder to be completely removed from the front of the jacket so that the jacket can be worn without the blast plate when it is not required. In this example, the left hand fastener 19 comprises a flap 27 disposed along the left hand side of the blast plate holder 11 and which has a hook and loop fastener (e.g. Velcro) on the inside thereof (not shown). A complementary hook and loop (e.g. Velcro) fastener (not shown) is secured to the left hand portion of the jacket to enable the left hand fastener of the blast plate holder to be removably secured thereto.
Advantageously, the left and right blast plate fasteners may be arranged to permit the blast plate holder to be secured to the front of the jacket in a variety of different raised and lowered positions, as indicated by the arrows A and B. Hook and loop type (e.g. Velcro) fasteners are particularly suitable for this purpose, although other fasteners may be used such as buttons and eyes or snap connectors, such as popperstuds, for example. The fastenings on either side of the blast protector may also allow the blast protector to be opened from either the left side or the right side. In other embodiments, the fastening system described above may be reversed so that the right hand side elements are transposed to the left and vice versa, to allow the jacket normally to be opened from the left hand side.
One or more holders 90 for holding munitions such as bullets or other object(s) may be provided on the jacket, and in one embodiment may be formed by strips of material stitched at spaced intervals to the jacket to form holders between adjacent stitches.
Referring to
In this arrangement, the jacket may be opened in a two step procedure, with the wearer's left hand opening the over-blast protector and the wearer's right hand opening the right side 4 of the jacket.
In other embodiments, the over-blast protector may be opened from the left side and the left side of the jacket may be arranged to overlap the right hand side, when fastened together, so that the two step procedure is performed by opening the over-blast protector with the right hand and the left side of the jacket with the left hand.
Referring to
In this embodiment, the front portion of the collar can be released from the rear portion thereof by pulling the front portion towards the front of the jacket and in one embodiment, the front portion may be secured to the rear portion by a releasable fastener, for example by a hook and loop type fastener such as Velcro. To facilitate its release from the rear portion, one or both ends 39, 41 of the front portion may overlap corresponding end portions 43, 45 of the rear collar portion.
To facilitate opening the jacket, a pull member 29 such as a toggle (or other pull handle) may be provided at one (or both) side(s) of the over blast protector 11 which can be readily grasped by one hand (in this case the left hand) and pulled by the (left) arm. In this embodiment, the pull handle is positioned at an upper portion of the over blast protector so that the natural and convenient motion of pulling the arm downwards and away from the jacket readily releases the over blast protector from the front of the jacket.
Advantageously, a pull member 47, for example a strap, is secured to an end 39 of the front portion of the collar to facilitate its release from the rear portion thereof. In one embodiment, the pull member (e.g. strap) is couplable to the pull member 29 of the over blast protector 11, so that on pulling the latter pull member, both the front portion of the collar and over blast protector are released at the same time. In the present embodiment, the strap attached to the front portion of the collar has a loop 49 at its free end 51, which conveniently loops over the pull handle 29 of the over blast protector 11.
The torso plate may comprise any suitable material or combination of materials, and in one embodiment comprises an outer layer of polycarbonate (e.g. Macrolon) and an inner layer of foam. The plate may be enclosed within an external protective cover 89 which may comprise any suitable material such as nylon or other material, and may be water resistant or waterproof.
Referring to
Returning to
Referring to
As described above, the protective collar may comprise separate front and rear portions and an example of the protective collar is shown in more detail in
In this embodiment, the rear collar portion 33 is detachable from the jacket and has a releasable fastener 121 positioned at its lower edge 111 which allows the rear collar portion to be detachably fastened to the jacket. In this example, the detachable fastener 121 comprises a strip which includes Velcro on at least one side thereof for attaching to complementary Velcro at the rear of the jacket. Other embodiments may have a different type of fastener for fastening the rear collar portion to a jacket.
The front collar portion also includes a pull strap 471, an eye or loop 53 and pull loop 49 at the other end thereof, as described above in connection with
In this embodiment, the inner face 131, 133 of each side 35, 37 of the front collar portion is provided with a complementary fastener 60, 62 (
One or more handles 211, 213 is provided on the rear of the jacket to allow the jacket to be grasped by a third party so that the wearer can be pulled from a hazard to an area of safety, if the need arises.
In this embodiment, the lower middle portion or panel 270 of the back of the jacket is detachably secured to the lower left and right side portions 272, 274 to provide adjustment. The left and right side portions 272, 274 may include a flap 276, 278 which carries a fastener for adjustably securing to a complementary fastener 280, 282 on the rear middle jacket panel 270. Conveniently the flaps may include a pull member e.g. 70, 72, to facilitate unfastening the flap from the back portion for adjustment.
Referring to
Referring to
In this embodiment, the main sleeve can be opened longitudinally along at least a portion of its length and a fastener 12 such as a zipper (or other fastener) is provided for this purpose. Enabling the sleeve to be opened in this manner allows the sleeve to be modified to enhance its protective capabilities by, for example, allowing one or more blast protective plates to be inserted into the sleeve, as described below.
An embodiment of the sleeve extension is shown in more detail in
Referring to
A locking means 26, 28 may also be provided to lock the sleeve extension in at least one position relative to the main sleeve 8. In the present embodiment, the locking means comprises a surface based fastening system such as Velcro, in which a first Velcro strip or pad 26 is provided on the sleeve extension and a complementary Velcro strip or pad 28 is provided on the main sleeve. In other embodiments, any other suitable locking means may be provided.
As shown in
The sleeve extension may comprise at least one visual indicator 34 to indicate the position of the sleeve extension relative to the main sleeve. % n this embodiment, the indicator comprises a line which extends transversely of the sleeve extension and may be provided by any suitable means, for example stitching or marking. In this embodiment, a plurality of visual indicators 34 are provided at spaced intervals along the length of the sleeve extension, and in one embodiment, the distance between adjacent markings may be substantially the same and/or may correspond to a convenient measurement such as one centimetre or one inch, or an arbitrary spacing. Advantageously, the visual indicator(s) assists a user in always extending the sleeve extension to the same position.
Advantageously, the sleeve extension is mounted within the main sleeve to reduce its bulk and increase comfort. To move the sleeve extension from a retracted position to an extended position, the sleeve extension is simply unlocked from the main sleeve by releasing the locking means, is then pulled to the desired extended position and re-locked in place.
As mentioned above, the sleeves of the jacket can be opened to allow the sleeve to be modified by adding or removing inserts to change the level of protection.
As an additional level of protection, one or more protective plates may be mounted to the protective insert 54, and in the present embodiment, the protective insert allows both an upper arm and lower arm plate 68, 70 to be mounted thereto. In this embodiment, upper and lower pockets 72, 74 are provided for receiving and retaining the protective plates. Each pocket has an opening 76, 78 to allow the plates to be inserted, removed or replaced Any other fastener may be provided to hold the protective plate(s) in place. The protective insert may include a cover, for example a cover of waterproof or water-resistant material such as nylon. One or more fasteners 80 may be provided on the insert for holding the insert in place within the sleeve to prevent relative movement thereof. The fasteners may comprise any suitable fastening means and in one embodiment comprise a surface based fastener such as Velcro. The protective liner may be inserted into the jacket sleeve to provide additional protection, with or without one or more additional protection plates.
The arm plates may be designed to protect the arm against high velocity fragments, and in one embodiment comprise a resin based composite of multiple layers of ballistic resistant material e.g. an aramid, such as Kevlar, Twaron or Dyneema, or other ballistic resistant fabric. The fabric may be pre-treated with resin and molded to the required shape in a press under high pressure. The layers may also be heated in the press.
In other embodiments, the arm plates may be formed of any other suitable material, depending on the level of protection required, and may comprise polycarbonate or similar material, and may additionally include a foam layer on the inside thereof. The plates may be formed in any desired shape and may be generally curved to conform to the general curvature of a person's arm.
Referring to
One or more complementary fasteners may be provided on the inside of the jacket, for example around the waist region to secure the groin protector thereto.
Referring to
The leg protector may be conveniently provided with one or more fasteners for fastening to a groin protector placed thereover and in this embodiment, the fastener comprises a contact fastener 291, for example a hook and/or loop fastener such as Velcro, which engages a similar fastener on the inside of the groin protector, as shown in
In this embodiment, shoulder braces or suspenders are provided to allow the leggings to be supported and suspended from the shoulders of a wearer, again to facilitate donning and doffing (for example to support the leggings while fastening or unfastening the front and rear portions thereof) and to more securely attach the leggings to a wearer.
The leggings may include one or more layers of protective material such as ballistic resistant material, for example an aramid such as Kevlar, Dyneema, Twaron or any other high strength fabric or material.
The leggings may include one or more optionally detachable protective plates, to provide additional protection to various parts of a wearer's legs, including any one or more of the knee, thigh and shin. The plates may be mounted in pockets provided on the leggings.
Another embodiment of a protective jacket is shown in
Referring to
Left and/or right shoulder protectors 317, 319 which may comprise rigid or semi-rigid plates or other material, are releasably securable to the jacket and may be secured either to the outside of the jacket as shown in
The shoulder plates can be detachably secured to the jacket by any suitable means, an example of which is shown in
Advantageously, in this arrangement, the fastening means is positioned below the shoulder plate and is covered and protected by the plate. Therefore, the fasteners are generally inaccessible or very difficult to access when the jacket is worn, making the shoulder plates extremely difficult if not impossible to remove by pulling thereon. Furthermore, although a hook and loop fastening system can be released by pulling one surface away from the other, the engaged surfaces are very resistant to shear forces. In the arrangement shown in
In another embodiment, two slits may be formed in the shoulder protector for each fastener so that the fastener passes through one slit from the jacket and back through the second slit to fasten to the jacket. The provision of a second slit removes the need for a fastener to pass around the end of the shoulder protector.
A protective front plate 361 may be provided to protect the front torso portion of a wearer and may comprise any rigid or semi-rigid material to protect against blunt impacts, for example, and/or may comprise a ballistic resistant material to protect against sharp impacts from bullets, other high velocity projectiles, blast fragments and/or other sharp objects.
The protective front plate 361 may be detachably fastened to the front of the jacket by any suitable means and may be fastened to the jacket directly or indirectly. In this particular embodiment, the front plate 361 includes fasteners 36B, 365 which couple to complementary fasteners 366, 368 on the shoulder plates 317, 319. These front plate fasteners are positioned on the left and right sides and advantageously allow the front plate to be opened either from the left or right-hand side and swung away from the jacket to allow the jacket to be opened. Lower left and right side fasteners 367, 369 are also provided to secure the front plate 361 against the jacket and these fasteners may secure the lower portion of the front plate either directly to the jacket or indirectly thereto, and an example of this latter implementation is described below. The upper front plate fasteners 363, 365 are adjustable to allow the position of the front plate to be raised and lowered as indicated by arrow C, as required, for example to suit the size of the wearer, his or her comfort and/or the particular application. Adjustability of the fasteners may be provided by mounting the fasteners on straps or webs 371, 373 whose length can be varied.
A protective front collar 320 has the form of a Y, and comprises a lower portion 322 and left and right bifurcated portions 324, 326, as best shown in
Advantageously, the upper portions of the protective collar can be readily detached from the jacket and folded away from the wearer when the collar is not required and for increased-ventilation and comfort. Since, in this embodiment, the protective collar is attached to the front plate, removal of the front plate will also remove the protective collar thereby reducing the number of steps for both donning and doffing the collar. The protective collar may comprise any suitable material, including one or more layers of relatively soft flexible material such as foam. The material and construction of the protective collar may be selected for the desired level of threat. In some embodiments, the collar may comprise one or more layers of ballistic resistant or high tensile strength material, such as an aramid or other material. When the front plate is used without the protective collar, the fastening flap 328 may be simply fastened against the front plate by any suitable fastening means such as hook and loop fasteners.
A protective back plate may be detachably secured to the jacket for protecting parts of the back of a wearer such as the spine and kidneys. An example of an embodiment of the detachable back plate is shown in
In this embodiment, additional (or alternative) left and right upper fasteners 356, 358 are provided to secure the back plate to the shoulder plates 317, 319. The fasteners may comprise snap fasteners and may be adjustable to allow the back plate to be raised and lowered as required. Lateral fasteners 370, 372 may be provided on the lateral lobes 342, 344 of the back plate to secure the back plate to the jacket. In this embodiment, the lateral fasteners each comprise a hook and loop type fastener with one of the fastening components placed on each lateral portion and a complementary fastener provided on a lateral flap 374, 376 attached to the jacket. When the back plate is removed, the flaps may be secured directly to the jacket using similar fasteners or any other fastener. In other embodiments, the lateral fastener may comprise any other suitable fasteners.
A lower fastener 378 is also provided to secure the lower portion of the back plate either directly or indirectly to the jacket. In the present embodiment, the fastener 378 comprises left and right lateral webs 380, 382 which are fastened to a lower portion of the back plate and extend laterally therefrom around each side of the jacket to the front. The webs or straps are provided with fasteners which fasten to a front plate, for example front plate 361 shown in
One or more protective plates may be detachably mounted to the arm for additional protection. In one embodiment, a protective upper arm plate 390, 392 is provided for each arm and may be inserted into a pocket formed in the upper arm of the jacket or secured in place by any other suitable mechanism. The pocket may have an opening which is accessible either from the inside or from the outside of the jacket or both. The protective upper arm plate may comprise any suitable material, including rigid or semi-rigid materials, e.g. plastics or foam, one or more layers of ballistic resistant material and/or any other suitable material.
All of the protective components described above can be removed from the jacket to allow the jacket to be washed, dry-cleaned or laundered. Each component may be used with the jacket either alone or in combination with any one or more other components and the interconnection, between components facilitates donning and doffing and reduces the number of steps required to do so. The various interconnections also ensure that each component is securely fastened to the jacket and cannot easily be detached by pulling. This assists in increasing the confidence of personnel wearing the protective garment, particularly in crowd management applications.
The jacket may be part of a protective ensemble which includes protective pants. In one embodiment, each leg of protective pants can be opened at the back by means of a releasable fastener such as a zipper or other fastener to facilitate donning and doffing the pants and so that the pants can be donned and doffed without removing a wearer's footwear such as boors. The protective pants may also include one or more protective plates which may be removable therefrom, such as one or more hip plates and one or more thigh plates. The protective plates may comprise any suitable material such as semi-rigid or rigid materials, e.g. plastics or foam or other material. The protective plates may be inserted into pockets provided in the pants and the pockets may be opened from the inside and/or outside of the pants. The protective ensemble may further include one or more additional limb guard(s) such as an elbow and/or lower arm guard and/or a knee and/or shin guard. The limb guards may be worn either inside or outside the protective garment.
It is to be noted that the protective garments described herein may be used in combination with other protection such as ballistic resistant vests and/or other known protective garments.
An example of a protective ensemble is shown in
In embodiment of the protective ensemble, any one or more of the limb or other protective plates may be mounted in surface pocket(s) or hidden interior pocket(s). This greatly reduces the time required for donning and doffing. Any one or more of the protection plates may comprise a plastic and/or foam material. The modularity of the ensemble increases its versatility for different applications, and provides improved comfort and ease of movement.
The helmet skirt may be releasably attached to any helmet and is particularly suitable for use with a standard military helmet to enhance the level of protection. In the present embodiment, the helmet is provided with a visor which is carried on a rotatable bracket 521 to allow the visor to be raised and lowered. The bracket 521 is mounted on mounting plates 523 either side of the helmet and which are held in place by a strap or band 525 which surrounds and is tightened against the helmet shell. In one embodiment, the skirt is attached to the helmet by means of a plurality of fastening straps 527, 529 which extend upwards from the skirt, pass around the visor band 525 and are attached to the skirt by a suitable fastener 531, 533, such as hook and loop (e.g. Velcro) or any other suitable fastener.
The visor of the helmet may include a chin extension 539 and/or may also include one or more additional layers of transparent material 541 particularly in the eye region of the visor to provide additional protection.
In other embodiments, the helmet skirt may be mounted to a helmet using any other suitable attachment mechanism or system. The helmet may be used with any one or more other protective component described herein, for example a protective jacket. The collar of the jacket shown in
Other embodiments and aspects of the present invention may comprise any feature disclosed herein in combination with any one or more other feature(s) disclosed herein, and may be claimed separately or in combination.
In any of the embodiments disclosed herein which include ballistic resistant material, the ballistic resistant material may comprise one or more layers of a high tensile strength fabric, such as an aramid material, or other fabric such as nylon or other polymeric material.
In any of the embodiments disclosed herein, which include a jacket, the jacket may comprise a flexible material or fabric, formed of any suitable material or cloth (woven or unwoven) and may comprise one or more layers of flexible material.
Modifications and changes to the embodiments described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/CA06/00015 | 1/9/2006 | WO | 00 | 11/13/2007 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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60641728 | Jan 2005 | US |