US 11,864,600 B1
Utility garment
Ashley A. Burnsed, Jr., Port Wentworth, GA (US); and Stephen G. Hilliard, Charleston, SC (US)
Assigned to Blue Force Gear, Inc., Pooler, GA (US)
Filed by Blue Force Gear, Inc., Pooler, GA (US)
Filed on Dec. 13, 2020, as Appl. No. 17/120,187.
Application 17/120,187 is a continuation of application No. 15/714,156, filed on Sep. 25, 2017, granted, now 10,893,708.
Application 15/714,156 is a continuation in part of application No. 14/059,417, filed on Oct. 21, 2013, abandoned.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/399,717, filed on Sep. 26, 2016.
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. A41D 13/00 (2006.01); F41H 1/02 (2006.01); A41D 1/04 (2006.01)
CPC A41D 13/0002 (2013.01) [A41D 1/04 (2013.01); F41H 1/02 (2013.01); A41D 2400/70 (2013.01)] 19 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A utility garment comprising:
a front garment portion configured for positioning at a wearer's chest;
a rear garment portion configured for positioning at a wearer's back;
the front garment portion and rear garment portion being removably detachable at a plurality of attachment facilities;
each attachment facility including a front facility portion connected to the front garment portion and a rear facility portion connected to the rear garment portion;
at least a first one of the front facility portion and the rear facility portion comprising first and second bodies;
the first body defining a first cable passage and the second body defining a second cable passage;
the first cable passage and the second cable passage being registered with each other and configured to receive a single cable;
the first body and second body being spaced apart from each other to define a latch receptacle space;
the first body and second body having opposed end surfaces facing the latch receptacle space;
a base element connected between the first and second bodies and spaced apart from a cable path defined by a location of the single cable when received in the first and second passages;
at least a second one of the front facility portion and the rear facility portion comprising a latch element configured to be removably received in the latch receptacle space;
the latch element having a retention element that is flexible having an unflexed condition and a flexed condition;
the retention element configured to contact at least one of the first and second bodies to prevent extraction of the latch element from the latch receptacle space when the single cable occupies the first and second passages and the retention element is in the unflexed condition;
the retention element configured to bypass the at least one of the first and second bodies to enable extraction of the latch element from the latch receptacle space in an extraction direction angularly offset from the first and second cable passages when the single cable occupies the first and second cable passages and the retention element is in the flexed condition;
the retention element configured to bypass the at least one of the first and second bodies to enable extraction of the latch element from the latch receptacle space when the first and second passages are free of the single cable and the retention element is in the unflexed condition; and
the retention element having a raised step portion surface facing the extraction direction and being configured to engage at least one of the first and second bodies when the latch element is received in the latch receptacle space.