GB2315984A - Garment with covered article suspension. - Google Patents

Abstract

An upper body garment 70 worn from the shoulders includes suspension means 71 by which articles can be suspended directly from the garment without any carriers for such articles being exposed when not in use. One or more elongate suspension webs 71 extend from the body of the garment so as to transfer load to the wearer's shoulders and support position-adjustable carriers 74. An outer layer of the garment 75 has access slits 77, closable by zippers, overlying the suspension members except where a carrier extends to the exterior of the garment, thereby providing an otherwise clean outer surface that mitigates snagging. The garment may accommodate ballistic filler or hard armour plate.

Description

Garment with article suspension facility This invention relates to upper body garments such as jackets, vests and tabards which are worn around at least the upper torso such that the garment is suspended from the wearer's shoulders, and in particular relates to the provision of suspension means for articles to be used by the wearers of which ready access is required.

Such garments find utility, for example, with tradesmen for tools, with climbers or other sportsmen for specialised equipment, with soldiers for arms and with police and other peacekeeping personnel for articles of equipment for restraint and protection.

In the latter example, with which the present invention is particularly, but not exclusively concerned, the garment may have to fulfil a role as a protective garment against attack by one or more type of weapon and include so-called ballistic filler and/or hard armour to protect the chest and/or back of the wearer. Such a garment often takes the form of a vest comprising essentially front and rear panels draped from the shoulder and secured to each other by straps or the like under one or both of the wearer's arms to create encircle the torso. The garment may be fabricated with enclosed cavities to receive a bag of ballistic filler material, and possibly trauma pack, and with large pockets in the centre of such a panel to receive in each a removable plate of hard armour material.

Whereas such a vest may be worn by a police officer against an imperative, but relatively infrequent, need to stop penetration by a missile or weapon blade, it is required such officer carry frequently used, and readily accessible articles such as handcuffs, baton stick and possibly radio for the majority of times, and in dependence upon circumstances, more or less equipment may need to be carried and accessible at any one period. Traditionally, such articles of equipment have been carried in belts or specially designed harnesses worn over the normal garments, such belts or harnesses having a full array of carriers for special articles of equipment, left empty if such articles are not carried rather than being removed from the belt or harness.

Apart from any discomfort the presence of such belt or harness may cause, and resentment from the wearer when most of the equipment it is designed for is not being carried, there is the possibility of such a belt or harness, and any carriers thereon, may be grasped by an assailant and/or become caught against environmental obstacles to the detriment of the wearer. Clearly this disadvantage could be addressed by carrying equipment within pockets, but size and/or accessibility militates against this.

When articles of equipment are being carried this risk remains if the articles are external, but in general the presence and accessibility of such articles outwieghts such disadvantage, unlike when such articles are absent, and the means for carrying them may be a liability.

It is possible to secure at least some articles of equipment, or carriers therefor, directly to the outside of a garment so that wearing of a separate belt or harness is not necessary, but it is found in many instances to be unsatisfactory. It will be appreciated that if a garment has to provide a pocket for a hard armour plate in addition to ballistic filler that is large enough to cover vital areas of the torso, then there are a limited number of locations where such articles can be carried suspended directly from the garment. Furthermore, such garments tend to be supplied in only a few standard sizes, being adjustable in use by the wearer through shoulder and/or side straps, so that providing such garments with integral article carriers does not in general position them optimally for the individual wearer in respect of access. Additionally, the presence of such article carriers ready for use, even if not in use, continues, and possibly exacerbates, the problem of such carriers being accessible and vulnerable to assailant or obstacles.

It has been proposed to provide means for readily suspending articles from a garment and adjusting their positions for accessibility, by providing one or more racks secured to the outside of the garment and onto which racks article carriers and/or articles can be clipped. However, apart from the expense and manufacturing complexity involved in providing such racks and special article carriers for use therewith, the disadvantages associated with such external fitments remain.

Although the above has outlined a particular garment type and usage, it will be appreciated that avoiding the disadvantages associated with externally mounted article carriers, particularly if empty, and providing adjustability to suit the wearer are desirable aims for a number of conditions where an upper body garment is worn, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an upper body garment, worn suspended from the user's shoulders, which includes therein means for suspending externally disposed articles of equipment that is simple and mitigates at least some disadvantages of previous suspension means.

According to the present invention an upper body garment of the type worn suspended from the wearer's shoulders includes article suspension means, arranged to support an article suspended thereupon and transfer the weight of said article to the shoulder of the wearer, comprising at least one elongate suspension member anchored to the garment, attachment means adapted to effect attachment of a said article to the suspension member at a chosen position along its length, an outer layer of the garment, arranged to cover each suspension member, including associated with each suspension member an individual access slit through the layer overlying and aligned with the suspension member, and access slit closure means arranged to permit closure of said access slit other than where said attachment means and/or a said article attached thereby extends through the access slit.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of a garment in accordance with the present invention, taking the form of a vest having front-worn and rear-worn panels joined at shoulder regions and showing at the front-worn panel a carrier for an article to be suspended from the garment and surrounding said carrier.

Figure 2(a) and 2(b) are front elevation views of component parts of the front panel of the vest of Figure 1, Figure 2(a) showing the body of the panel with pocket for an armour plate and webs forming suspension members of suspension means, the webs being anchored at each end to the panel, and Figure 2(b) showing an outer layer of the garment panel prior to securing to the body of the panel by way of peripheral seaming, including closeable access slits aligned with the webs of the suspension means, Figure 3(a) is an enlarged view of a region of the garment panel of Figure 2(a) showing one of the suspension member webs, attachment means in the form of an article carrier located thereon and locking means for locking the carrier in position, Figure 3(b) is an enlarged view of a region of the front panel of Figure 1 that corresponds to the region of Figure 3(a) and shows the article carrier exposed by way of the outer layer through the access slit closed each side of the holder by zipper means, Figure 3(c) is a view similar to that of Figure 3(b) but illustrating, in the absence of an exposed article carrier, an uninterrupted surface of the garment, Figure 3(d) is a view similar to that of Figure 3(b) illustrating the carrying of an article wherein part of the article and carrier are enclosed by the outer layer of the garment, Figure 4(a) is an enlarged fragmentary view similar to that of Figure 3 (a) showing a second form of suspension means in the form of a plurality of suspension member webs, each anchored at its upper end only, and a different form of attachment means, Figure 4(b) is an enlarged fragmentary view similar to that of Figure 3(a) showing a third form of suspension member in the form of a rigid bar anchored at its ends, and an article carrier clamped thereto, and Figure 5 is a front view of a front-closing jacket in accordance with the invention showing in one half, in a partly cut-away portion, a suspension member in the form of webbing extending directly and substantially vertically from the shoulder of the garment, and in the other half the access slot zipper closed above and below an article carried affixed by carrier to the webbing behind the outer layer.

Referring to Figure 1, an protective vest 10 suitable for use in police duties is shown that is substantially conventional in terms of overall shape and dimensions, comprising a front panel 11, conveniently of superposed layers of woven textile fabric, for covering the chest of a wearer, a rear panel 12 for covering the back of the wearer and flexible joint strips 13, 13' which define shoulder regions 14 therebetween an aperture 15 for the wearer's head and, in use, rest on the wearer's shoulders so that the panels hang therefrom against the torso. One of the panels 11 has laterally extending lug regions 16 each carrying on the torso-forming surface a pad 16' of hook and pile material, such as Velcro (RTM) and the other panel carries at its lateral edge a complementary pad 17' whereby the front and rear panels can be secured in an adjustable and readily operated manner to encircle the torso below the wearer's arms and retain the panels relative to each other.

The joining straps 13 and 13' may be in similar manner adjustable for length to provide a comfortable fit on the wearer's shoulders.

The front and rear panels usually comprise a body panel formed by a number of layers or plies of material joined together by sewing about a peripheral seam 19. Within the body of the front panel 11, and rear panel 12, there is provided between layers an effective pocket for receiving a bag containing ballistic filler material. Although such material is received permanently in respect of garment wear, it is removable for cleaning purposes, usually by way of an opening (not shown) at the bottom of the panel, that may be closed in use by way of hook and pile material.

The front panel 11, and possibly rear panel 12, also has formed thereon a pocket defined by seam 19' that has an upper access opening 20 conveniently closable by a laterally extending zipper for receiving a hard armour plate worn on occasions to resist penetration by knives or like weapons and/or additional protection against high speed projectiles.

Referring also to Figures 2(a) and 2(b) the vest 10 differs from known vests by the provision of article suspension means indicated generally at 30, such means comprising, in overview, at least one suspension member 31 anchored to the garment and attachment means 32 adapted to effect attachment of an article at a chosen position along the length of the suspension member, (shown in Figure 2(a)), and an additional, outer layer 33 of the garment arranged to cover each suspension member (shown separately in Figure 2(b)), the layer having, associated with each suspension member, an individual access slot 34 through thelayer that permits an article of equipment to be carried affixed to the suspension member and worn carried outside of the layer and access slit closure means 35 that is arranged to permit closure of each said access slit other than where said attachment means and/or a said article attached thereby extends through the access slit.

Considering the suspension means in greater detail, and with reference also to Figure 3(a) which shows an enlarged view, the suspension member 31 comprises a flexible woven fibre web anchored at one end thereof 36 to the seam 19 of the panel at a region 37 displaced from the shoulder region 14 and below the arm opening of the garment. The web extends from its anchored end 36 in a downward direction having vertical and horizontal components, such that loading applied by the weight of a suspended article affixed thereto is transmitted along the web to the seam of the garment and then through the garment fabric to the shoulder region to be borne by the wearer.

The lower end region 38 is also anchored to the panel at 39, conveniently the peripheral seam.

Attachment means 32 conveniently comprises a suitably shaped and dimensioned carrier 40 for an article of utility, the holder 40 including a pair of slots 41, 42 through a face thereof to form an effective hoop for the passage therethrough of the web 31 (prior to both of its ends being anchored) such that the holder 40 can be displaced at will along the length of the web and positioned by the wearer as best suited to retrieval of an article therefrom. To maintain such holder position when in use and subjected to force acting along the length of the web, the attachment means also includes locking means 43 which is operable to lock the carrier in place with respect to the web. The locking means 43 comprises a parallel length of webbing material 44 that is secured at its ends to the seams of the panel such that is provides an underlying surface for the web 31. A plurality of releasable fasteners 451, 452 ..., such as press studs having one component part secured to the web 31 and a complementary component part secured to the underlying surface provided by webbing 44, are arrayed along the web 31 to define, when some or all of the fasteners are connected, isolated locations at which the carrier 40 can be positioned and prevented from subsequent displacement.

Referring also to Figure 3(b), the outer layer 33 of the panel is conveniently formed of the same material as the other layers and secured to the panel body as defined by said other layers preferably by sewing along the whole of the common peripheral seam 19, but at least in the vicinity of the region 37 when the upper end region of the web is anchored and the shoulder region 14. This additional, outer layer of the panel serves to increase the load transfer ability of the panel fabric between the end of the web and the shoulder region. The outer layer is attached only at said periphery and (if appropriate) any pocket access such as 20, creating a large enclosure space between the layer and the inner layers that from the body of the panel, which enclosure contains the suspension member web and at least part of the attachment means. As mentioned above, the outer panel 33 includes, associated with each suspension member web, an individual access slit 34 that in the finished garment (shown in Figure 1) overlies and is aligned with the suspension member web.

The affixed carrier is then able to extend through the slit to the front of the garment panel irrespective of its position along the web.

The access slit is closeable by closure means 35 in the form of a multiple slider zipper which permits the slit to be closed from each end thereof to opposite sides of the protruding carrier, as illustrated in Figure 3(b).

It will be seen that such an arrangement provides an elongate suspension member that permits attachment means for an article of equipment to be positioned with respect to the garment to suit the wearer whilst removing such member from the external surface of the garment and with it the danger of it becoming caught or snagged.

Notwithstanding that an article carried within the carrier 40 comprising attachment means is vulnerably outside of the garment, its accessibility overrides such disadvantage. It will be appreciated that when it is not required to carry a particular article for which such a carrier is designed, that carrier may be passed through the access slit and stored within the enclosure defined between the outer layer, whereupon the access slit may be zipped completely closed as illustrated in Figure 3(c). If appropriate, the carrier may be formed such that it can be flattened for storage in this way.

It will be appreciated that if any article to be carried is appropriately shaped and dimensioned, the carrier 40 and part of the article may be contained within enclosure by way of the access slit, as illustrated in Figure 3(d) wherein a set of handcuffs 46 are carried with part of the set and the carrier 40 contained within the enclosure defined by the outer layer 33. In an analogous manner which increases the utility of the garment, the outer layer may be separable from the body of the panel at the lower seam, indicated at 19'' whereby said enclosure defined by the layer is able to receive and store optional fittings for the garment, such as groin protection and webbing.

It will be appreciated that variations are possible to the structure as well as manner of usage. For example, the locking means 43 may be arranged such that the fastener parts carried by webbing 44 are secured also, or instead, to the fabric of the body of the panel, such arrangement serving to anchor the suspension member to the panel at a plurality of locations between its ends and possibly distribute the weight of load transmission into the fabric of the panel and/or increasing its load carrying ability.

It will be appreciated that the closure means 35 for the accessslit may take other than conventional zipper form; it may comprise a beaded joint pushed together by hand or complementary hook and pile edges that permit closure along all or part of the length at will.

It will also be appreciated that any such web suspension members may have more than one carrier affixed thereto, particularly where intended for articles of equipment unlikely to be carried at the same time.

The form of carrier and suspension member illustrated offers maximum security as the carrier cannot be removed other than by cutting the web and/or one of its anchorages. However, if desired the holder may be arranged to be clipped onto the web between its anchored ends. Alternatively, the surfaces of the web suspension member and the article carrier may be of hook and pile form so that the carrier may be placed at will; such arrangement does produce less resistance against the carrier being separated from the garment, but this may be appropriate as a safety feature in some circumstances. With such form of attachment means one component thereof may be permanently secured to the article so that the article itself or a part thereof extends through the access slit and is effectively directly attached to the suspension member rather than by way of a intermediate carrier.

It will also be appreciated that the vertical component of direction of extent of the suspension member may be greater or lesser than shown, possibly even horizontal. Such variation in orientation is of course possible because the suspension member is anchored at both ends and/or at multiple points between its ends. However, in a further variant, shown in the fragmentary view of Figure 4(a), the suspension member 51 is anchored at an upper end region 52 to the panel seam 19, but the lower end 53 is not anchored and able to assume a substantially vertical orientation under the weight of attachment means indicated generally at 54.

The attachment means hanging therefrom has a simple re-entrant serpentine buckle 55 formed by the carrier 54 which is adjustable in position along the web by the user but has inherent locking means whereby it is prevented by friction from slipping under the weight of a carried article.

The Figure 4(a) also shows that a plurality of such suspension member webs 51, 57 may be disposed adjacent each other, and possibly sharing the same anchorage. Such a suspension member web anchored at one end only could, of course, have the attachment means 40 and/or locking means 43 described above.

It will be appreciated that any suspension member may be other than a flexible web and Figure 4(b) illustrates the use of a rigid suspension member 61 anchored at its ends 62, 63 to the garment panel and supporting an article carrier 64 which includes locking means 65 to clamp it to the member at a chosen point.

In the embodiments shown in Figures 4(a) and 4(b) the outer cover of the garment panel, with its closable access slits is omitted.

It will also be appreciated that the suspension means may have suspension members symmetrically disposed (and at each side of a trauma pack pocket where appropriate) but may have one or more such members disposed according to choice. It will also be appreciated that such suspension means with elongate suspension members is not confined to a garment having a single front panel, but may be employed with any garment suspended from the wearer's shoulders, including a conventional front-opening jacket.

Likewise, and depending upon the form of each suspension member, it may be anchored other than in the under-arm region and/or the peripheral seam.

The garment may be one that does not include protection devices such as ballistic filler and/or hard armour, being a conventional item of clothing with which it is desired to carry articles suspended therefrom externally accessible.

Referring to Figure 5, this is a front view of a conventionally front-opening jacket 70 includes a pair of front panels comprising a plurality of layers of fabric. Below the outer layer of fabric a suspension member 71 comprises a flexible web extending substantially vertically from an end region 72 at which it is secured directly to the shoulder region 73 of the garment, conveniently a seam. Attachment means 74 is attached thereto for positioning by any of the methods described above and the outer layer of the garment 75 has an elongate access slit 76 (shown for the other side of the jacket) closed by zipper means 77 each side of the carrier 74 of an article, such as a baton 78 shown. Such a front opening jacket may include body protection material if appropriate.

Whereas all of the above embodiments and variants have been described with respect to a front panel or panels of a garment to which access would usually be required, the suspension means may be formed instead, or additionally, in a rear panel of a garment.

From the above it will be appreciated that there are numerous variations in constructions possible without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The principal objects of the invention may be achieved by a garment which essentially comprises only a pair of flexible webbing suspension members worn directly against the torso and over the shoulders and an outer layer of material secured to the webbing at least at the shoulders so as to cover the webbing and provide closeable access slits thereto through which attachment means can extend.

It will be appreciated that the outer layer of the garment may be chosen in dependence on the primary use to which the garment is to be put. For instance if the articles to be suspended therefrom are particularly heavy then the additional load transmitting properties of the outer layer may be of greatest concern, whereas if such articles are light and/or the other components of the panel body have sufficient strength and/or the suspension members are carried directly by the shoulder, the outer layer may assume a more cosmetic role and carry visual design features.

Whereas the panel body is usually, but not necessarily, of a fabric, the outer layer may be of a non fabric material offering appropriate properties for the garment in addition to those required by the suspension means of closable access slits and possibly supplementing load transmission to the shoulder areas.

Claims (14)

1. An upper body garment of the type worn suspended from the wearers shoulders including article suspension means, arranged to support an article suspended thereupon and transfer the weight of said article to the shoulder of the wearer, comprising at least one elongate suspension member anchored to the garment, attachment means adapted to effect attachment of a said article to the suspension member at a chosen position along its length, an outer layer of the garment, arranged to cover each suspension member, including associated with each suspension member an individual access slit through the layer overlying and aligned with the suspension member, and access slit closure means arranged to permit closure of said access slit other than where said attachment means and/or a said article attached thereby extends through the access slit.

2. An upper body garment as claimed in claim 1 in which the garment includes a panel comprising one or more layers of material extending from a shoulder region and at least one suspension member is anchored to the panel at at least one anchor point displaced from said shoulder region of the panel.

3. An upper body garment as claimed in claim 2 in which the outer layer is attached to said panel at the shoulder region and at least one said anchor point and is arranged to transmit loading on the suspension member to the shoulder region of the panel.

4. An upper body garment as claimed in claim 2 or claim 3 in which the suspension member is anchored to the panel at a region thereof below an arm opening.

5. An upper body garment as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the suspension member is anchored to the panel at at least one end of the suspension member.

6. An upper body garment as claimed in claim 5 in which at least one said anchored end of the suspension member is anchored at a seam of the panel.

7. An upper body garment as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which each suspension member comprises flexible web means.

8. An upper body garment as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the suspension member is anchored with respect to the panel such that it extends in a direction having a vertical component whereby weight transmitted by the attachment means is transmitted along the length to the member to an anchor point above it.

9. An upper body garment as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the attachment means comprises an article carrier, arranged to receive and hold an article, having a hoop or the like through which extends the suspension member, said carrier being displaceable thereby along the suspension member, and locking means operable to lock the carrier in place with respect to the suspension member.

10. An upper body garment as claimed in claim 9 in which the locking means comprises a plurality of releasable fasteners between the suspension member and an underlying surface, arrayed along the length of the suspension member and adapted to be released to permit displacement of the article carrier along the suspension member into a desired position and fastened to inhibit subsequent displacement of the carrier along the suspension member.

11. An upper body garment as claimed in claim 10 in which said underlying surface comprises the material of the panel and said fasteners comprise additional load transferring anchoring points between the suspension member and the panel.

12. An upper body garment as claimed in claim 10 or claim 11 when dependant upon claim 7 in which the locking means includes a parallel web secured at least one end thereof to the panel and providing said underlying surface.

13. An upper body garment as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the access slit closure means comprises a slider zipper means.

14. An upper body garment substantially as herein described with respect to Figures 1 to 3(d) or any one of Figure 4(a), Figure 4(b) or Figure 5 of the accompanying drawings.