Close quarter battle chaps
An article of manufacture for protecting the upper leg against injury from small arms fire that also protects against shrapnel and debris propelled from an explosive compound or device that also provides for attachment points for a myriad of combat equipment such as magazine pouches, holsters, grenade pouches, radio pouches, first aid kits, etcetera, includes a knee length set of chaps type of protective garment. The chaps provide frontal and flank protection to the upper leg and accordingly the femur and femoral artery, thus providing an over-garment that protects the wearer without impairing the wearers flexibility, and a piece of combat equipment that incorporates up to level 4 ballistic protection.
This invention relates generally to the field of combat and more specifically to an article of manufacture for protecting the upper leg against injury from small arms fire (Leg Armor) that also protects against shrapnel and debris propelled from an explosive compound or device that also provides for attachment points for a myriad of combat equipment such as magazine pouches, holsters, grenade pouches, radio pouches, first aid kits, etcetera.
I designed the Close Quarter Battle Chap to protect the modern day combatant, soldier or law enforcement officer against gunshot wounds and shrapnel propelled by explosive devices.
Known products on the market today include what is referred to as Drop leg platforms, such as those available from Diamondback Tactical Solutions. The drop leg platforms also may incorporate armor, but they do not offer frontal protection as they extend only over the flank of the leg. There also is in existence a gunners suit that the Army uses to protect their Humvee turret gunners, but the gunner cannot operate outside of the truck as that suit greatly limits the gunners mobility and would induce heat exhaustion.
There are no other inventions on the market today that are perfectly suited for the assaulter or entry team member conducting swat type operations. House to house clearing operations are very taxing physically and require equipment specifically designed for this purpose, which the combatant needs readily accessible during the conduct of operations. Close quarter battle chaps are perfectly suited for this mission.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe Close Quarter Battle Chaps offer frontal and flank protection to the upper leg and accordingly the femur and femoral artery.
The chaps also offer physical flexibility with protection.
The chaps further offer a mounting platform with greater surface area for combat related equipment on your body.
Still further, the chaps offer relief from lower back pain caused by wearing too much equipment load on the soldiers vest, when that load is transferred to the chaps.
Detailed descriptions of the preferred embodiment are provided herein. It is to be understood, however, that the present invention may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but rather as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed system, structure or manner.
Close Quarter Battle Chaps (CQB Chaps) 10 closely resemble in shape the traditional outline and cut of western wear “cowboy chaps”, but as shown in
As can be seen in
As shown in
CQB Chaps secure to a belt via hook and loop tape 50 and have a belt channel 52 across the top of each leg assembly 20. In the embodiment shown in
CQB Chaps are covered on the exterior in strapping that serves as attachment points for all sorts of combat equipment. In the embodiment shown in
CQB Chaps are supported not only by a belt but are also intended to be supported by suspenders, such as suspenders 64 shown in
While the invention has been described in connection with a preferred embodiment, it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to the particular form set forth, but on the contrary, it is intended to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
Claims
1. An article of manufacture for protecting the upper leg against injury from small arms fire (Leg Armor) that also protects against shrapnel and debris propelled from an explosive compound or device that also provides for attachment points for a myriad of combat equipment such as magazine pouches and holsters and grenade pouches and radio pouches and first aid kits etcetera comprising:
- A protective garment that covers more surface area than any other on the drop leg platform on the market today;
- A over-garment that protects the wearer without impairing the wearers flexibility; and
- A piece of combat equipment that incorporates up to level 4 ballistic protection.
2. A ballistic over-garment, comprising:
- ballistic armor;
- a pair of knee-length leg assemblies, each leg assembly configured to cover a front portion and a flank portion of a wearer's upper leg, each leg assembly having a pocket to retain the ballistic armor and a belt channel for mounting the leg assembly to a belt; and
- a plurality of leg straps, at least one leg strap coupled to each leg assembly and configured to releasably secure each leg assembly about the wearer's upper leg such that the ballistic armor substantially covers the front portion and the flank portion of the upper leg.
3. The ballistic over-garment as recited in claim 2, wherein each leg assembly includes a front panel and a rear panel that define the pocket therebetween.
4. The ballistic over-garment as recited in claim 2, wherein each leg assembly includes an outer peripheral edge extending about a perimeter of the leg assembly, and wherein the outer peripheral edge substantially defines the size of the pocket.
5. The ballistic over-garment as recited in claim 2, wherein each leg assembly includes an opening through which the ballistic armor is removably received into the pocket.
6. The ballistic over-garment as recited in claim 5, wherein each leg assembly includes a flap movable between open and closed positions, and, when in the closed position, the flap covers the opening to retain the ballistic armor in the pocket.
7. The ballistic over-garment as recited in claim 2, comprising a plurality of attachment regions coupled to a front surface of each leg assembly, the attachment regions configured to retain peripheral equipment when attached thereto.
8. The ballistic over-garment as recited in claim 7, wherein the attachment regions comprise a plurality of straps, each strap coupled to the front surface of each leg assembly at spaced apart intervals along the length of the strap.
9. Ballistic chaps, comprising:
- ballistic armor;
- a pair of knee-length leg assemblies, each leg assembly having a front side edge, a rear side edge, and a pocket to retain the ballistic armor, each leg assembly configured to cover a front portion and a flank portion of a wearer's upper leg;
- a plurality of leg straps, at least one leg strap coupled to each leg assembly proximate the front side edge and the rear side edge and configured to releasably secure each leg assembly about the wearer's upper leg such that the ballistic armor substantially covers the front portion and the flank portion of the upper leg; and
- a plurality of straps coupled to an outer surface of each leg assembly in a plurality of spaced apart rows that extend between the front side edge and the rear side edge, each strap coupled to the outer surface at spaced apart intervals along the length of the strap to form a plurality of attachment regions to retain peripheral equipment when attached thereto.
10. The ballistic chaps as recited in claim 9, wherein each leg assembly includes a belt channel for mounting the leg assembly to a belt.
11. The ballistic chaps as recited in claim 9, wherein each leg assembly includes a front panel and a rear panel that define the pocket therebetween.
12. The ballistic chaps as recited in claim 9, wherein each leg assembly includes an outer peripheral edge extending about a perimeter of the leg assembly, and wherein the outer peripheral edge substantially defines the size of the pocket.
13. The ballistic chaps as recited in claim 9, wherein each leg assembly includes an opening through which the ballistic armor is removably received into the pocket.
14. The ballistic chaps as recited in claim 13, wherein each leg assembly includes a flap movable between open and closed positions, and, when in the closed position, the flap covers the opening to retain the ballistic armor in the pocket.
15. The ballistic chaps as recited in claim 9, wherein the ballistic armor is made of Kevlar.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 23, 2007
Publication Date: Oct 28, 2010
Inventor: Donald Mathew Bennett (Katy, TX)
Application Number: 11/656,118
International Classification: F41H 1/02 (20060101); A41D 13/00 (20060101);