Plate carrier and a protective vest

Abstract

A plate carrier wearable by a user for housing an armor plate comprises a plurality of hinges that connect a front portion of the plate carrier and a back portion of the plate carrier at the bottom; and an attachment mechanism disposed near the top of the plate carrier and configured to adjustably secure the armor plate inside the plate carrier.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A plate carrier wearable by a user for housing an armor plate, comprising:
 a plurality of hinges that connect a front portion of the plate carrier and a back portion of the plate carrier at the bottom; and   an attachment mechanism disposed near the top of the plate carrier and configured to adjustably secure the armor plate inside the plate carrier.   
     
     
         2 . The plate carrier according to  claim 1 , wherein the plate carrier allows the armor plate to extend beyond the horizontal edges of the plate carrier. 
     
     
         3 . The plate carrier according to  claim 1 , wherein the front portion includes a plurality of cutouts. 
     
     
         4 . The plate carrier according to  claim 1 , wherein the front portion of the plate carrier gradually reduces its configuration from the bottom to the top when being used. 
     
     
         5 . The plate carrier according to  claim 4 , wherein the configuration at the top of the plate carrier is about half the size of the bottom of the plate carrier. 
     
     
         6 . The plate carrier according to  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of hinges are formed by a predetermined cutout at the bottom of the plate carrier. 
     
     
         7 . The plate carrier according to  claim 6 , wherein the predetermined cutout represents a single substantially circular cutout. 
     
     
         8 . The plate carrier according to  claim 6 , wherein the predetermined cutout represents a single substantially rectangular cutout. 
     
     
         9 . The plate carrier according to  claim 1 , wherein the back portion includes a plurality of shoulder harness slots and a plurality of waist harness slots. 
     
     
         10 . The plate carrier according to  claim 9 , wherein the plurality of shoulder harness slots have an angle between about 15 degrees to about 45 degrees relative to a horizontal direction. 
     
     
         11 . The plate carrier according to  claim 10 , wherein the plurality of shoulder harness slots have an angle of about 30 degrees relative to the horizontal direction. 
     
     
         12 . The plate carrier according to  claim 1 , wherein the back portion includes a cutout corresponding to a wearer's chest area. 
     
     
         13 . The plate carrier according to  claim 1 , wherein the plate carrier is capable of accommodating armor plates having different sizes. 
     
     
         14 . The plate carrier according to  claim 1 , wherein an anti-ballistic layer is attached to the back portion. 
     
     
         15 . The plate carrier according to  claim 14 , wherein a ventilation layer is attached to the anti-ballistic layer and is configured to provide ventilation passageways to dissipate heat generated by a wearer. 
     
     
         16 . The plate carrier according to  claim 1 , wherein the front portion and the back portion are capable of pivoting around the plurality of hinges like a clamshell. 
     
     
         17 . The plate carrier according to  claim 1 , wherein the plate carrier is free of any attachment slots. 
     
     
         18 . The plate carrier according  claim 1 , wherein the attachment mechanism near the top of the plate carrier represents an integral part of the plate carrier. 
     
     
         19 . A protective vest including at least one plate carrier of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         20 . The protective vest according to  claim 19 , further comprising a side panel.