"CLOTHING ENDOWED WITH BULLETPROOF AND
KNIFE-PROOF PROPERTIES".
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to clothing with bulletproof and
knife-proof properties.
BACKGROUND ART
For some time now various types of protection have been
designed and realized for the human body against the harmful
and above all lethal effects deriving from cutting and sharp
bodies in general.
When, in the present invention, the term 'protection' is used,
it refers to ballistic protection determined on the basis of tests
conducted taking into account the United States' NIJ
specifications (which take into consideration the definition of
the ammunition, weight of the bullet, the minimum speed
required to effect the test). On the basis of these
specifications, for example, protection class I is the lowest,
with the speed of the bullet as it leaves the weapon registering
259-320m/sec, class III envisages a bullet speed of 426m/sec,
up to class IV, in which the speed of the bullet is
approximately 870m/sec.
The currently known embodiments are all based on the general
concept of a garment wearable like a vest bearing, both at the
front and the rear, a plate realized generally with ceramic
material suitable to constitute the barrier element against the
penetration of bullets and blades.
The plates utilized until now have dimensions of
approximately 18 cm x 18 cm, and these measurements are
due, basically, to two reasons: first of all, it is necessary to
limit the weight of the vest and secondly, but not less
importantly, the need to not hinder the movements of the
person protected, particularly the movements for bending over
forwards and crouching down.
From this limited surface of the plates realized until now
there has arisen a first drawback, constituted of the
narrowness of the protected zone, both at the front and rear.
It should also be noted that the protection devices currently
realized, if divested of the plate, do not offer any type of
effective protection, performing, in the end, like normal items
of clothing, either because they aTe realized with fabrics
which, intrinsically, do not possess any protective power or
because, even if realized with Kevlar®, which has intrinsic
bulletproof properties, they leave vast areas of the body
uncovered, such as the lateral portions of the bust. This
constitutes a further drawback presented by the bulletproof
and knife-proof vests realized until now.
Said plates currently utilized are realized generally with
ceramic materials and this leads to the drawback of their
heavy weight and, also for this reason, as mentioned earlier,
they present rather limited dimensions.
A further drawback of the currently known embodiments of
bulletproof and knife-proof vests consists in the fact said vests
are realized making wide use of seams; since the seams pass
through the entire thickness of the vest following a single
plane essentially orthogonal to the external surface of said
vest, these present the drawback of constituting a penetration
way for bullets and knives. And the stitching system with
which the majority of known vests are realized, in order to
augment their rigidity, present the aforesaid drawback of the
presence of the seams, in fact it could rightfully be claimed
that the stitching, because of the high number of seams
necessary for its realization, amplifies considerably the risk of
penetration of the shots/stabs.
It should also be noted that the embodiments of personal
protection realized until now generally envisage vests only
and, the only additional protective elements envisaged are an
element for protecting the neck and the nape and pelvic
protection, square in form, which, in general, presents the
drawback that said protection limits the wearer's movements.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
The aim of the present invention is to produce clothing
complete with bulletproof and knife-proof properties capable
of overcoming all the drawbacks mentioned above and,
contemporaneously, capable of permitting extensive
modularity among the various protective components.
In particular, the clothing endowed with bulletproof and knife-
proof properties of the type realized by means of the
employment of Kevlar® synthetic fiber together with the armor
plates in question in the present invention, is characterized by
the fact that it is constituted of:
- a vest element fitted with two armor plates, one at the
front and one at the τeaτ5 and fitted with a lateral
extension of the vest which also continues in
correspondence with the lateral portions of the bust; said
element also being fitted with two protrusions, each one
positioned in correspondence with a shoulder, said vest
element having a single seam line;
- a pant element, said element being endowed with a single
seam for each leg;
- a protective element (4) composed of a front portion (4a)
to protect the ventral and genital zone and a rear portion
(4b) to protect the sacrum-lumbar zone;
- a neck/nape zone protective element that can be
constrained to a helmet;
- protective elements for the hand zone;
- protective elements for the foot zone fitted with armor
plates in at least one first sector which coves and wraps
the foot;
and the fact that the layer of Kevlar® fabric is subdivided into
several groups of pluralities of layers; said elements of
clothing constitute a modular clothing system as they can all
be used contemporaneously or only partially, depending on the
different operative requirements.
These and other characteristics will better emerge in the description that follows of a preferred embodiment shown, purely in the form of a non-limiting example, in the drawings enclosed, in which: - figure 1 shows a front view of the complete suit
composed of vest and pants and a pelvic protection plate;
- figure 2 shows the same items as the previous figure but
from a rear view;
- figures 3 and 4 show a protective element for the
neck/nape zone according to a known embodiment;
- figure 5 shows a protective element for neck/nape zone
according to the present invention;
- figure 5a shows the same items as the previous figure, all
together, with a helmet;
- figure 5b shows the same items as the previous figure
with the flexion possibility of the protected neck
highlighted;
- figure 5 c shows the same items as figure 5 a in a
construction variant;
- figure 6 shows a protective element for the hand zone
according to the present invention in a view from the
top;
- figure 7 shows the same items as the previous figure in a
view from the bottom;
- figure 8 shows a protective element for the foot zone
according to the invention;
- figure 9 shows the same items as the previous figure in
the bare legs version.
In figures 1 and 2, number 1 refers to the vest. Said vest
presents two upper protrusions (Ib) in correspondence, when
the vest is worn, with each of the deltoid muscles.
On the upper portion of only one of the two protrusions Ib
there is a seam 2 machined; said seam is constituted of a
plurality of seams, each one afferent to a group of pluralities
of layers of Kevlar® fabric and each one separate with respect
to the seams below afferent to the remaining groups of
pluralities of layers of the aforesaid synthetic fiber.
Number 9 refers, in figures 1 and 2, to two removable plates, a
frontal one in correspondence with the chest and a rear one in
correspondence with the back.
Still in figures 1 and 2, number 3 refers to a pair of pants
which present, for each leg, a first portion 3a made of Kevlar®
and therefore endowed with ballistic properties, and a second
portion 3b generally endowed solely with fireproof properties
and suitable to be tucked into boots 19 as shown in figure 8.
Each leg of the pant element 3 presents a single seam 20
positioned in correspondence with the internal thigh and
extending longitudinally along said pant element.
In figure 1 number 4 refers to a protective element 4
constituted of a front portion to pτotect the pelvic zone 4a and
a rear portion 4b highlighted in figure 2. From figures 1 and 2
it can be noted that the protective element 4 is applicable
above the pants 3.
In figures 3 and 4, number 5 refers to a protective element for
the neck/nape zone according to a known embodiment.
In figure 5, number 6 refers to a protective element for the
neck/nape zone according to the present invention. Inside each
wing of the element 6 and at the end of each of said wings
there is a flat joint element 7 which corresponds with a
relative seat in a helmet 8. One variant, shown in figure 5c,
presents a plurality of slits 6a in correspondence, at element 6
mounted on the helmet 8, with the ear zone.
With reference to figure 6, number 10 refers to the protective
element for the hand zone, shaped like a glove. The element
10 presents a first protective portion 11 positioned to protect
the index, middle, ring and little fingers, a second protective
portion 12 positioned to protect the thumb and third protective
portion 13 positioned to protect the wrist zone; the protective
portions 11, 12 and 13 are reciprocally connected by means of
a fabric portion 14.
The element 10 is fitted with a tiltable portion 15
corresponding to the index finger; said tiltable portion is a
fitted with tab 15a provided with a strip of Velcro 15b suitable
to adhere, at the tiltable portion 15 fitted on the relative index
finger, to a corresponding strip of l la, also made of Velcro,
applied to the lower portion of the element 11 in
correspondence with the index finger.
In figures 8 and 9, finally, number 16 refers to a protective
element for the foot zone, number 17 is a restraining element
to which the two elements 18 for fastening said element to a
boot or shoe 19 are integrally restrained. Element 16 presents
a first sector 16a made of Kevlar® fitted with a protective
plate and positioned in correspondence with the foot and a
second sector 16b generally divest of said protective plate.
Said first sector is endowed with antiballistic properties while
said second sector is generally only endowed with fireproof
properties.
Instead of the traditional stitching on the fabric to increase the
ballistic resistance of the clothing, in the present invention,
sizing made of a layer of fabric is applied between each layer
of Kevlar®; said fabric layer is covered on both sides with
non-hardening adhesive material. The sizing, which is applied
with heat and pressure, is of the permanent type.
All the elements 1, 3, 4, 6, 11, 12, 13, 16, with the exception
of the portions 3b, 14 and the second sector 16b, are realized
by means of five layers made up of five layers of Kevlar®,
said total twenty-five layers of Kevlar®. This total number of
layers being the minimum suitable to guarantee a protection of
up to class III of the United States' NIJ standards for ballistic
tests corresponding to protection against fire arms endowed
with a speed of up to 426 m/sec.
All the elements of clothing in question in the present
invention are endowed with fireproof properties; the two
portions 3b and the two second sectors 16b only present
fireproof properties, not antiballistic characteristics.
The protection offered by the clothing in question in the
present invention is able to protect the human body for bullet
speeds up to the values contemplated by said class III of the
NIJ standards, i.e. 426 m/sec, even though, in reality, the tests
effected have demonstrated the possibility of the clothing in
question in the present invention effectively resisting a bullet
speed of approximately 450m/sec.
In correspondence with the protection zones fitted with armor
plates 9 and those positioned in correspondence with the first
sector 16a, protection classes III/IV of said NIJ standards are
reached. In the clothing zones in question in the present
invention not covered by the armor plates, the protection
reaches said class III of the NIJ standards.
The portion 4b performs a protective function for the sacrum-
lumbar region in relation to the lower vertebral column against
the entrance of splinters via the lower section of the vest
element 1.
A further embodiment, not shown, of the clothing in question
in the present invention envisages the integral application,
inside said clothing, of an underwear body suit in order to
guarantee thermal comfort: in this further embodiment, the
bulletproof and knife-proof clothing becomes clothing of an
isothermal type.
A first advantage offered by the clothing in question in the
present invention is constituted, as far as the vest element is
concerned, of total protection for the bust, including the sides
of this zone, which are covered.
A further advantage of the clothing in question in the present
invention is constituted of the high proportion of flexibility,
softness and lightness, guaranteeing the wearer ease of
movement.
A still further advantage is constituted of the modularity of the
clothing: in fact, each of the protective elements can be
advantageously utilized independently of all or any of the
others depending on the operative needs.