Claims
- 1. A thermal and moisture control overvest for use with a soft body armor vest wherein said overvest is designed to encapsulate said soft body armor vest, said overvest comprising:a thermally conductive carrier layer that encapsulates said soft body armor vest; high thermal-conductivity fibers held in place within said thermally conductive carrier layer such that said high thermal-conductivity fibers traverse the surface of said soft body armor vest and transfer heat from the inner surface of said soft body armor vest to the outer surface of said soft body armor vest where said heat is dissipated into the environment; and a moisture wicking layer bonded to said thermally conductive carrier layer that draws moisture from the body and causes the moisture to spread to the outer surface of the soft body armor vest where the moisture evaporates.
- 2. The overvest of claim 1 wherein said high thermal-conductivity fibers are metallic.
- 3. The overvest of claim 1 wherein said high thermal-conductivity fibers are non-metallic.
- 4. The overvest of claim 1 wherein said high thermal-conductivity fibers are graphite.
- 5. The overvest of claim 1 wherein said moisture wicking layer is dual-faced also drawing moisture from the vest as well as the body and causing the moisture to spread to the outer surface of the soft body armor vest where the moisture evaporates.
- 6. The overvest of claim 1 further comprising means for moving air across the outside surface of the moisture wicking layer in to enhance the evaporative effect.
- 7. The overvest of claim 1, further comprising moisture wicking material coupled to the high thermal-conductivity fibers for enhancing heat extraction from the body.
- 8. A soft body armor vest having thermal and moisture control characteristics, comprising:a thermally conductive carrier layer; a ballistic layer; a moisture wicking layer bonded to said thermally conductive carrier layer, said moisture wicking layer drawing moisture from the body and causing the moisture to spread to the outer surface of the soft body armor vest where the moisture evaporates; and high thermal-conductivity fibers attached to said thermally conductive carrier layer, said high thermal-conductivity fibers transferring heat from the inner surface of said soft body armor vest through the moisture wicking layer and ballistic layer to the outer surface of said soft body armor vest where said heat is dissipated into the environment.
- 9. The soft body armor vest of claim 8 wherein said high thermal-conductivity fibers are metallic.
- 10. The soft body armor vest of claim 8 wherein said high thermal-conductivity fibers are non-metallic.
- 11. The soft body armor vest of claim 8 wherein said high thermal-conductivity fibers are graphite.
- 12. The soft body armor vest of claim 8 wherein said moisture wicking layer is dual-faced, drawing moisture from the vest as well as the body and causing the moisture to spread to the outer surface of the soft body armor vest where the moisture evaporates.
- 13. The soft body armor vest of claim 8 further comprising means for moving air across the outside surface of the moisture wicking layer in to enhance the evaporative effect.
- 14. The soft body armor vest of claim 8 wherein a moisture wicking material is coupled with said high thermal-conductivity fibers to enhance heat extraction from the body.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the benefit of prior filed co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/199,696, filed on Apr. 26, 2000.
US Referenced Citations (14)
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60/199696 |
Apr 2000 |
US |