BALLISTIC BODY ARMOR EMPLOYING COMBINATION OF DESICCANT AND BALLISTIC MATERIAL

• US 20030217402A1
• Filed: 03/06/2003
• Published: 11/27/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/07/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pacific Safety Products, Inc. (Safariland LLC)
• Original Assignee: Bradley Field, Pacific Safety Products, Inc. (Safariland LLC)
• Inventors: Field, Bradley J., Ditchfield, Bradley J.
• Granted Patent: US 6,845,513 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 2/2.5
• CPC Class Codes: F41H 5/0485 all the layers being only fibre- or fabric-reinforced layers
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 2/90 Camouflaged
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 428/911 Penetration resistant layer

Abstract

A ballistic body armor and dehumidification system includes a flexible carrier containing a watertight sealed pouch which itself contains a desiccant and a stack of substantially vertical layers of ballistic material whose performance degrades under certain conditions in the presence of moisture. The watertight sealed pouch is mounted into the carrier so as to cover a portion of a user'"'"'s body. The desiccant is mounted into the pouch so that either it is, or its effect is, distributed uniformly across the ballistic material to uniformly reduce the humidity level within the pouch.

Claims

1. Ballistic body armor comprising a flexible carrier for wearing by a user, a watertight sealed pouch mounted into said carrier so as to cover a portion of the user'"'"'s body, a compacted stack of substantially vertical layers of flexible woven ballistic material mounted into said pouch, a desiccant mounted into said pouch wherein said desiccant reduces a humidity level within said pouch and said compacted stack:

2. The ballistic body armor of claim 1 wherein said desiccant is at least one desiccant impregnated sheet.

3. The ballistic body armor of claim 1 wherein said ballistic material is PBO.

4. The ballistic body armor of claim 2 wherein said ballistic material is PBO.

5. The ballistic body armor of claim 3 wherein said desiccant is at least one desiccant impregnated sheet.

6. The ballistic body armor of claim 2 wherein said sheet is interleaved between layers of said stack.

7. The ballistic body armor of claim 5 wherein said sheet is interleaved between layers of said stack.

8. The ballistic body armor of claim 2 wherein said sheet is sandwiched between said stack and a wall of said pouch.

9. The ballistic body armor of claim 1 wherein said desiccant is a plurality of sheets impregnated with a desiccant means, and wherein said plurality of sheets are interleaved with or snugly adjacent to said stack.

10. The ballistic body armor of claim 1 wherein said plurality of sheets are co-extensive with said layers in said stack.

11. Ballistic body armor system for reducing humidity in sealed flexible body armor comprising a flexible carrier for wearing by a user,

a watertight sealed pouch mountable into said carrier so as to cover a portion of the user'"'"'s body, a stack of substantially vertical layers of flexible woven ballistic material mountable into said pouch, a desiccant mountable into said pouch distributed uniformly across said stack, wherein said desiccant reduces a humidity level within said pouch and said stack.

12. The ballistic body armor of claim 11 wherein said desiccant is at least one desiccant impregnated sheet.

13. The ballistic body armor of claim 11 wherein said ballistic material is PBO.

14. The ballistic body armor of claim 12 wherein said ballistic material is PBO.

15. The ballistic body armor of claim 13 wherein said desiccant is at least one desiccant impregnated sheet.

16. The ballistic body armor of claim 12 wherein said sheet when mounted in said stack is interleaved between layers of said stack so as to be co-extensive with said layers in said pouch.

17. The ballistic body armor of claim 15 wherein said sheet is interleaved between layers of said stack so as to be co extensive with said layers in said pouch.

18. The ballistic body armor of claim 12 wherein said sheet when mounted in said pouch is sandwiched between said stack and a wall of said pouch and is co-extensive with an outermost layer of said stack.

19. The ballistic body armor of claim 11 wherein said desiccant is a plurality of sheets impregnated with a desiccant means, and wherein said plurality of sheets when mounted in said pouch are interleaved with or snugly adjacent to said stack.

20. The ballistic body armor of claim 11 wherein said plurality of sheets when mounted in said pouch are co-extensive with said layers in said stack.