GB2518669A

GB2518669A - Scalable torso armour carrier system (STACS)

Info

Publication number: GB2518669A
Application number: GB1317230.9A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Toby Evans
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2013-09-28
Filing date: 2013-09-28
Publication date: 2015-04-01
Also published as: GB201317230D0

Abstract

A body armour carrier vest for textile armour, 1, has pockets for armour plating 2, 3, 4 on the front rear and side surfaces of the vest 1. Further, removable pockets, 5, 7, 8 are also attachable to the vest 1.

Description

Scalable Torso Armour Carrier System (STACS)

Background

This invention relates to a body armour carrier system with user-configurable protection, coverage and load carriage levels. In common with many such systems, the system can be configured in advance of a particular mission to tailor it to that particular task or counter particular threats. This is referred to as "modularity", since additional or different modules may be added or removed in various combinations to meet an optimal balance of coverage, protection and burden. However, such changes usually require the system to be removed and substantially readjusted. This does not readily permit a user to dynamically scale their levels of protection, coverage or physical burden up or down during a mission if imperatives change.

Statement of Invention

To overcome this, the present invention proposes an armour carrier system with a conventional "soft" ballistic armour compartment, four small ballistic armour plate pockets and two removable large ballistic armour plate pockets. The arrangement of the four small ballistic plate pockets is one front (ventral) and one rear (dorsal) of the thorax and one each side (lateral) of the torso.

Combined with the removable large ballistic armour plate pockets which may be added front and rear of the thorax, this enables rapid adjustments to the scale of protection being worn, depending on which pockets are fitted, which are chosen to hold ballistic plates and whether in conjunction with the soft ballistic armour compartment or not. It will be possible for the wearer to make the majority of these adjustments without removing the armour system, particularly when assisted by one other person.

"Soft" armour in this instance refers to woven textile armour packs, composed of materials such as aramid or ultra high molecular weight polyethylene cloths, and "ballistic armour plate" refers to any rigid armour plate, typically capable of stopping higher-energy projectiles than soft armours, and made from any hard armour substance. "Large" and "small" refer to the area covered by the plates. An indicative "large" ballistic plate would be a US Small Arms Protective Insert (SAPI) front/back plate (some 280x360mm). An indicative "small" ballistic plate would be a SAPI torso side plate' (some l5Ox200mm). Ballistic plates may be of any geometry within these broad parameters, and may in practice exceed or be smaller than the indicative dimensions given.

The attachment means for the removable large ballistic armour plate pockets is preferably provided by zip fastenings, although attachment may be provided by other means, such as touch fastenings (Velcro'), buttons or clips. The plate pockets shall be readily affixed to or removed from the rest of the carrier system by the wearer or an assistant without additional tools. The small pockets may be permanently attached to the soft armour compartment by means of sewn seams or be removable, All ballistic plate pockets will have fastenings and/or flaps to secure their contents in place. These shall be easily opened and closed by the user without tools, so that plates may be readily swapped in and out of location and use. Swapping dorsal plates will require assistance from one other person if the armour system is to remain worn throughout.

When detached from the system the removable ballistic armour plate pockets may be used independently as hand-held shields, or linked together using straps to form a plate carrier' body armour system; that is to say: a body armour with no soft torso armour component. The soft ballistic armour carrier compartment may also be worn independently of all plates to provide protection from low-energy ballistic threats only.

The system will be provided with attachment points, such as industry standard pouch attachment ladder system (PALS'), to permit additional load carriage being added if required. The ballistic plate pockets may also be used to contain load carriage items, Advantages The principle advantage is that the user will be able to reconfigure the system while in use and during a mission with little or no assistance, minimising any periods they are exposed and enabling them to optimise burden and protection depending on changing or local imperatives. The user is thus able to scale their protection and burden levels up and down dynamically as the situation demands and without removing the system.

Another advantage is the ability to rapidly remove unaided the front large ballistic armour plate pocket, when fitted, and any load-carriage attached to it, in order to facilitate movement in confined spaces, for example emergency vehicle egress.

Description

The invention will now be described solely by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows the outline of the overall body armour carrier system with the removable large ventral and dorsal ballistic plate pockets detached; and one of the potentially detachable small lateral ballistic plate pockets demonstrated detached from the system.

Figure 2 shows the removable ventral and dorsal large ballistic armour plate pockets worn independently from the rest of the system as a plate carrier, connected by shoulder and lateral straps. One of the potentially detachable small lateral ballistic plate pockets is demonstrated attached to the system.

Figure 3 shows the body armour carrier system with one removable large ballistic plate pocket worn attached ventrally and the dorsal large ballistic plate pocket detached and carried as a shield.

In Figure 1 a conventional torso-covering soft ballistic armour vest compartment, 1, is shown. This may be tabard-style (two sections, ventral and dorsal, connecting and overlapping at the shoulders and sides) or front-opening (which may still include a ventral overlap to permit adjustment). The vest may be closed by a variety of fastening methods, including touch fastening (Velcro), zips, buttons or buckles.

A small ballistic plate pocket 2 is shown fitted to the ventral thoracic area and a dashed line indicates the approximate location of the small ballistic plate it contains. An equivalent plate pocket is located to the rear (dorsal aspect) of 1 but is not visible in the drawing. The dashed line 3 indicates the approximate location of the rear plate when fitted in this dorsal small ballistic plate pocket. Both pockets may either be fixed in place by sewn seams, or may be detachable, using zip fastenings, clips or pouch attachment ladder system (PALS). Both pockets will be furnished with fastenings to ensure that the plates they contain cannot be dislodged once in place, even during a ballistic event.

A further dashed line, 4, indicates the approximate location of the right side (right lateral) small ballistic plate. The pocket for this plate may be positioned within the lateral overlap of the torso covering soft ballistic armour vest (intermediate or deep) or be on the outer (superficial) surface of the overlap. As with the thoracic small ballistic plate pockets, this lateral pocket will be furnished with fastenings to ensure the plate cannot be dislodged once in place. The pocket may also be fixed in place by sewn seams or detachable, demonstrated by 5. The left lateral small ballistic plate pocket is not visible in Figure 1, but is a mirror of that shown at 4 and 5.

6 shows the approximate locations of the vertical front (ventral) zip fastenings for attaching the front detachable large ballistic plate pocket panel, 7, which is shown detached. The dashed line within the outline 017 indicates the approximate location of a large ballistic plate within the panel (which may be of any geometry, but is here demonstrated as broadly Small Arms Protective Insert (SAFI) shaped). Dotted lines running up the edges of 7 indicate the zip fastenings that will marry up with 6 when the panel is fitted to the vest. When the panel 7 is fitted to the vest, any small ballistic plate fitted in 2 may be removed or swapped to a lateral pocket if desired.

8 shows the rear large ballistic plate pocket panel that is the dorsal equivalent of 7 and which is fitted and detached in a similar manner to zips on the dorsal aspect of the vest which are not visible in the drawing. Again, the dashed line within the outline of 8 indicates the approximate location of the large ballistic plate within the panel, which, again, may be of any geometry. Also shown, 9, are vertical straps on the internal (deep) side of the panel which permit it to be carried as a shield when detached. Similar straps are also fitted to the front panel, 7, but are not visible in the drawing. As with the front panel, when 8 is filled to the vest, any small ballistic plate fitted in the rear small plate pocket may be removed or swapped to a lateral pocket if desired.

Figure 2 shows panels 7 and 8 from Figure 1 connected together by shoulder straps, 10, and lateral straps (only the right one visible, 11) to form a plate carrier system independent of the torso soft armour component. The detachable lateral plate pocket 5 is shown fitted to the right lateral strap 11 and a similar arrangement would pertain on the left lateral side. The shoulder and lateral straps may attach to the plate pockets using a variety of clips, buckles or fastenings. In place of the additional shoulder and lateral straps shown, panels 5, 7 and 8 may be affixed directly to other equipment straps the user is already wearing, such as military load bearing equipment straps, as well as or instead of using straps 10 and 11.

Figure 3 shows panel 7 from the previous Figures fitted ventrally to the torso-covering soft ballistic armour vest compartment and panel 8 detached and carried as a hand held shield.

Claims

Claims 1. A body armour carrier system comprising a torso-covering soft ballistic armour compartment furnished with pockets for small ballistic armour plates on the front (ventral), rear (dorsal) and both sides (lateral right and left) of the torso-thoracic area, and removable large ballistic armour plate pockets front (ventral) and rear (dorsal) of the thoracic area.
2. A body armour carrier system according to Claim 1 in which small plates may be swapped from one pocket to another and large plate pockets may be added or removed from the vest while the wearer is still wearing it, with the assistance of not more than one other person.
3. A body armour carrier system according to Claims 1 and 2 in which the removable large ballistic armour plate pockets may also be worn independently of the torso-covering soft ballistic armour compartment as a plate carrier' system by means of connecting them together using additional straps, when disconnected from the torso-covering soft ballistic armour compartment.
4. A body armour carrier system according to any of the preceding Claims in which the removable large ballistic armour plate pockets may also be worn independently of the torso-covering soft ballistic armour compartment as a plate carrier' system by means of connecting them directly to other equipment being worn by the user, such as load bearing equipment, a rucksack etc., when disconnected from the torso-covering soft ballistic armour compartment.
5. A body armour carrier system according to any of the preceding Claims in which the removable ballistic armour plate pockets may also be used as shields when containing ballistic armour plates and detached from the main system, and are furnished with handles/straps for this purpose.