Fabric (woven – knitted – or nonwoven textile or cloth – etc.) – Woven fabric – Woven fabric including an additional woven fabric layer
Reexamination Certificate
2000-11-28
2001-08-28
Calvert, John J. (Department: 3765)
Fabric (woven, knitted, or nonwoven textile or cloth, etc.)
Woven fabric
Woven fabric including an additional woven fabric layer
C442S218000, C442S242000, C442S301000, C139S38300A, C139SDIG001, C002S002500
Reexamination Certificate
active
06281149
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to ballistic protective wear or body armor and, more particularly, to a multilayer laminated woven structure for ballistic protective wear conformable to non-planar surfaces, e.g., female torso.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Typically, multilayer fabrics have been used for composites and laminated structures. Additionally, the use of high performance fibers within multilayer laminated and composite structures is known in the art.
Prior art material for use in ballistic protective wear or body armor commonly employs laminated woven structures to provide resistance to penetration from high velocity and high impact projectiles.
Additionally, thermoplastic materials have been used in prior art to fuse fibers of textile structures for certain applications. More particularly, resins are used to provide interstitial strength and overall structural cohesion in a substrate after having been infused into the substrate and often treated under heat and/or pressure for curing.
However, prior art laminated materials for ballistic protection and impact resistance have not been well-suited for all body types of human beings, particularly when using the materials to provide ballistic protection in the torso region, especially for women. Given the requirements for laminate overall thickness to ensure ballistic- and impact-resistance effectiveness, most laminated materials for ballistic protection, particularly those developed for torso protection, have been constructed in a substantially planar vest form. While the vest form is configured to functionally satisfy ballistic- and impact-resistance requirements, its inflexibility, bulk, and thickness caused problems with fit, or match to torso size and shape, and comfort. Moreover, multiplayer fabric and laminate design precluded tailoring without compromising functional protective characteristics of the vest or body armor.
Thus, there remains a need for a multilayer laminated woven structure for ballistic protective wear that is moldable to substantially conform to non-planar human body shapes, e.g., a female torso and/or bust region, and capable of retaining that molded shape for providing increased comfort and ease of movement when the protective wear is in use.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a multilayer laminated woven material for ballistic protective wear that is moldable to substantially conform to non-planar human body regions, including but not limited to a female torso.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a multilayer laminated woven material that is capable of retaining a molded shape for providing increased comfort and ease of movement when the protective wear is in use.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a method for making a multilayer laminated woven material for use in ballistic protective wear.
Accordingly, in support of these objects, it is one aspect of the present invention to provide a three-dimensional woven material that is used as a substrate and functional layer of a moldable ballistic protective material that can be used to cover portions of a human body.
Additionally, it is another aspect of the present invention to provide a three-dimensional woven material that incorporates a thermoplastic material that used to reinforce the fibers to provide improved handling during lamination of the material and improved ballistic resistance during use.
Preferably, the multilayer laminated woven structure includes a woven fabric having at least one layer of high performance fiber material in each of the substantially perpendicular yam systems, i.e., the warp and filling directions of the fabric.
Also, it is yet another aspect of the present invention to provide a method for making a moldable, multilayer woven laminate and composite structure for use in protective body armor for ballistic- and impact-resistance that substantially conforms to non-planar surfaces of the human body, in particular a female torso.
Thus, the present invention provides a multilayer laminated woven structure for ballistic protective wear that is moldable to substantially conform to non-planar human body regions, including but not limited to a female torso, and capable of retaining that molded shape for providing increased comfort and ease of movement when the protective wear is in use and a method for making same.
These and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art after a reading of the following description of the preferred embodiment when considered with the drawings.
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Hussein Mansour
Parker Grey
3TEX, Inc.
Calvert John J.
Glasgow Law Firm
Muromoto Jr. Robert H.
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