Field of Invention

[001] The present invention relates to tactical back pack systems; the back pack systems have optimized load-bearing, quick -release, compatibility and modular features, and are configured to aid user mobility; the features include back-height adjustment, shoulder harness with quick-release connectors, a quick attach-release adapter for connecting a tactical rucksack to a user’s hip belt, elastic cords for load suspension, compression straps for load compaction, and a load transfer yoke for transferring load from the tactical rucksack to the trapezius shoulder muscles. These systems are also compatible with a backframe, an attachment panel, pouches and a load-bearing ballistic vest; the load-bearing ballistic vest has a ballistic plate which fits with the backframe, with the load-bearing ballistic vest also equipped with a yoke for transferring load from the tactical rucksack to the trapezius shoulder muscles. Modularity allows the components or sub-systems to be interchangeable and adaptable, with quick release or attachment.

Background

[002] Soldiers and law enforcement personnel have to adopt advancing technologies as they tend to take on additional roles or missions, such as, rescue and disaster relief; often, they carry more and more electronic equipment, supplies and consumables. To ensure soldiers and law enforcement personnel are not overloaded with heavy loads, an approach is to provide modularity of back packs, load supporting vests and rucksacks which are donned together, often with bullet-proof vests. Preferably, these rucksacks can be put on or jettisoned off very quickly, or modules can be attached or detached quickly, easily and safely on/from the rucksacks or back packs.

[003] Besides the weights on these rucksacks, load distribution also affects fatigue and mobility of these personnel, and these factors, in turn, impact directly on mission performance. For example, a loosely packed rucksack has a centre of gravity that is far away from the user’s back and tends to cause undesirable swaying of the rucksack; these drawbacks adversely affect comfort and mobility of the user. [004] It can thus be seen that there exists a need to provide tactical back pack systems with improvements over known carrier systems. The tactical back pack systems should be modular and allow interchangeability, reconfiguration, quick donning or shedding off of rucksacks, components or sub-systems; preferably, the back pack systems provide balanced load distribution and load suspension, which ultimately give a user improved comfort, mobility, physical endurance and mental concentration.

Summary

[005] The following presents a simplified summary to provide a basic understanding of the present invention. This summary is not an extensive overview of the present invention, and is not intended to identify key features of the invention. Rather, it is to present some of the inventive concepts of this invention in a generalised form as a prelude to the detailed description that is to follow.

[006] The present invention seeks to provide tactical back pack systems for use on a person, for eg., wearing a load-bearing ballistic vest. The tactical back pack systems should provide both comfort and ease of use, such as, back-height adjustment, load suspension and compaction, quick donning on, quick jettisoning off during an emergency situation, and so on.

[007] In one embodiment, the present invention provides a tactical back pack system comprising: a rucksack; a shoulder harness, where a bridge portion of the shoulder harness is connectable to the rucksack by a height-adjust mechanism, whilst two stabilising straps are connectable to the rucksack near a base portion by two side-release buckles, with one side-release buckle being disposed at each distal end of the stabilising straps; a hip-belt that is wearable by a user; and a quick attach-release mechanism for connecting the rucksack near the base portion to the hip-belt; wherein the rucksack can be donned on the user’s back or jettisoned off quickly from the user’s back by disconnecting one of the side-release buckles and the quick attach-release mechanism.

[008] In another embodiment, the present invention provides a tactical back pack system comprising: a backframe; a shoulder harness, where a bridge portion of the shoulder harness is connectable to the backframe by two webbing folds WF, whilst two stabilising straps are connectable to the backframe at a base portion by two side-release buckles, with one side-release buckle being disposed at each distal end of the stabilising straps; an attachment panel that is removeably connected to the backframe with via webbings; a hip- belt that is wearable by a user; and a quick attach-release mechanism for connecting the backframe near the base portion to the hip-belt; wherein the backframe and the attachment panel can be donned on the user’s back or jettisoned off quickly from the user’s back by disconnecting one of the side-release buckles and the quick attach-release mechanism.

[009] In another embodiment, the present invention provides a tactical back pack system comprising: a rucksack; a shoulder harness, with two stabilising straps extending to a base of the rucksack and one stabilising strap has a jettison connector; a hip-belt that is wearable by a user; and a quick attach-release mechanism for connecting the rucksack near the base to the hip-belt; wherein the rucksack can be donned on the user’s back or jettisoned off quickly from the user’s back with one-hand, single-point trigger to release or disconnect both the jettison connector and the quick attach-release mechanism.

[0010] In yet another embodiment, the present invention provides a method for quick jettisoning of the above rucksack from a user’s back, the method comprising: with a non master hand, disconnecting a jettison connector joining a distal end of a shoulder harness to a distal end of a stabilising strap that extends from a base of the rucksack; at the same time, tugging a trigger cord joining the jettison connector to a quick attach-release adapter to disconnect both the quick attach-release adapter and the jettison connector, thereby allowing the rucksack to fall off the shoulder associated with the master hand; and allowing the rucksack to slide off the shoulder associated with the non-master hand, so that the master hand continues to maintain a weapon or rescue tool during moments of mission- critical, time-critical or safety-critical situation.

[0011] The above tactical back pack systems are seamless integrated with a backframe, a hip-belt, load-bearing ballistic vest, any load-bearing vest or any conventional load-bearing hip-belt that is in use.

[0012] Preferably, a quick attach-release adapter connecting a base portion the backframe to the rucksack is provided. The quick attach-release adapter comprises a belt-attach member, a pin-lock member and a height-adjust member, with the height-adjust member being attachable to the backframe whilst the belt-attach member is connectable to the hip-belt. Preferably, the height-adjust member has a pair of rails whilst the pin-lock member has groove block that is engageable to slide with the pair of rails when connecting or disconnecting these two members. Pairs of screw holes located on the height-adjust members, with separate pairs of screw holes being spaced apart, and a pair of holes located on the pin-lock member to match each pair of screw holes, so that screws going through the pair of holes and engaging with a selected pairs of screw holes provide vertical height adjustments between the rucksack and the hip-belt.

[0013] Preferably, a vertical position of the bridge portion on the rear of the rucksack is adjustable by a height-adjust mechanism.

[0014] Preferably, the rucksack is compactable with elastic cords to the backframe, which elastic cords also provide elastic suspension the rucksack. The rucksack is also compactable with horizontal and/or vertical compression straps equipped with side-release buckles.

[0015] Preferably, straps of the shoulder harness are contoured so as to rest securely over straps of the load-bearing vest, to distribute load uniformly over the trapezius shoulder muscles, or to minimise slippage or displacement of the shoulder harness. HDPE and foams of different densities or softness are disposed in strategic positions inside the shoulder harness to provide uniform load distribution and to minimise any load concentration; in addition, removable shoulder paddings are connectable to the shoulder harness at selectable buckle positions, whilst anti-slip materials disposed at strategic positions under the shoulder harness minimise any slippage movement.

[0016] Preferably, the attachment panel allows an object that cannot fit into the rucksack to be mountable on the attachment panel; in addition, any pouch or accessory is attachable onto the tactical back pack system via a webbing.

[0017] Preferably, the hip-belt has a hip padding and a removeable padding disposed on each of two sides of the hip padding, wherein a height of the side padding tapers towards the front.

[0018] Features or components of the above tactical back pack systems are designed to be adaptable, compatible and reconfigurable to provide comfort, to enhance user mobility and performance, and yet allowing quick donning on or quick jettisoning off of the rucksack during an emergency. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0019] This invention will be described by way of non-limiting embodiments of the present invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0020] FIG. 1 illustrates a tactical back pack system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] FIG. 2A illustrates a quick attach-release adapter disposed between a rucksack shown in FIG. 1 and an associated hip-belt, whilst FIG. 2B illustrates a component of the quick attach-release adapter for connecting to a hip-belt; and FIGs. 2C-2G further illustrate component members of the quick attach-release adapter;

[0022] FIGs. 3A-3B illustrate use of elastic cords for compacting the tactical rucksack shown in FIG. 1, with FIG. 3B also illustrating adjustable shoulder and back-height mechanisms; and FIGs. 3C-3D illustrate a jettison connector connecting a shoulder harness to a stabilising strap;

[0023] FIG. 4A illustrates a quick attach-release adapter according to another embodiment of the present invention, whilst FIGs. 4B-4G further illustrate components of the quick attach-release adapter;

[0024] FIGs. 5A-5F illustrate two jettison connectors according to further embodiments of the present invention;

[0025] FIGs. 6A-6B illustrate one-hand single-point trigger for jettisoning the above back pack system in relation with the user’s master-hand;

[0026] FIGs. 7A-7C illustrate height adjustment of the back pack system on a user’s back;

[0027] FIGs. 8A-8B illustrate use of a load transfer yoke located below the shoulder harness to distribute load from the back pack system to the trapezius muscles; [0028] FIGs. 9A-9B illustrate a tactical back pack system according to another embodiment, whilst FIGs. 9C-9E illustrate a rucksack, FIG. 9F illustrates the shoulder harness and FIG. 9G illustrates the hip-belt shown in FIGs. 9A-9B;

[0029] FIGs. 10A-10B illustrate a tactical rucksack shown in FIG. 9A-9B together with a backframe according to another embodiment;

[0030] FIGs. 1 lA-1 IB illustrate a tactical pack system with a contoured shoulder harness, a hip-belt and a backframe equipped with an attachment panel according to another embodiment; and

[0031] FIGs. 12A-12B illustrate a tactical back pack system shown in FIGs. 10A-10B together with an attachment panel, whilst FIG. 12C illustrates pouches are attachable to the rucksack.

Detailed Description

[0032] One or more specific and alternative embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the attached drawings. It shall be apparent to one skilled in the art, however, that this invention may be practised without such specific details. Some of the details may not be described at length so as not to obscure the present invention.

[0033] FIG. 1 shows a tactical back pack system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The tactical back pack system 100 is suitable for use when a user wears a load-bearing ballistic vest 200 and a hip-belt 400 and carries a rucksack 102; when a load-bearing ballistic vest is not required, the tactical back pack system 100 can be used with the hip-belt 400. Preferably, a load-transfer yoke 210 is provided below each strap of a shoulder harness 150 to transfer loads from the rucksack 102 to the trapezius muscles, which are located behind the shoulders of the user. It is also possible that the load-bearing ballistic vest 200 also has a load transfer yoke 216 embedded within the vest straps 214 to help transfer loads on the load-bearing ballistic vest to the trapezius muscles. A snap clip 220 is provided on each side of the load-transfer yoke 210 to hold the associated strap of the shoulder harness 150 to the load-transfer yoke 210. As seen in FIG. 1, the tactical back pack system 100 is made up of the rucksack 102 being supported on a backframe 110, which, in turn, is connected to the hip-belt 400 via a quick attach-release adapter 300. There are two shoulder harness 150 straps provided for stabilizing the rucksack 102 on the user’s back; the two shoulder harness 150 straps join together at a bridge portion 152, with the bridge portion 152 being adjustable on the rear side of the rucksack 102 to suit the user’s back length; to allow quick releasing of the entire back pack system 100, the snap clips 220 are pressed to release the shoulder harness 150 straps from the load-bearing ballistic vest 200, whilst a jettison connector 380 located on one shoulder harness 150 strap is tugged via a trigger cord 360 to release the jettison connector 380, the quick attach- release adapter 300 and the rucksack 102 (as will be described with at least FIGs. 3C-3D and 6A-6B). As will also be described, the quick attach-release adapter 300 also allows for vertical adjustments of the tactical rucksack 102 in relation to the hip-belt 400 according to the user’s back length. Together with elastic cords 180 to compact the rucksack 102 to the backframe 110, the entire back pack system 100 is then optimized with balanced load distribution, elastic load suspension and load compaction, which help to improve the user’s comfort, mobility, physical endurance and mental concentration to achieve mission performance.

[0034] When the back pack system 100 is not in use with a backframe 110, the quick attach-release adapter 300 connects the rucksack 102 directly to the hip-belt 400. It is possible that a rear portion, near the base of the rucksack 102 is provided with some snap buttons, Molle slots, Velcro V or other types of connecting members, to facilitate the quick attach-release adapter 300 to be connected to the rucksack 102.

[0035] FIG. 2A shows an assembly of the quick attach-release adapter 300, whilst FIG. 2C shows an exploded view of the assembly. The quick attach-release adapter 300 is made up of 3 component members, namely, a belt-attach member 310, a pin-lock member 330 and a height-adjust member 370; these component members are preferably made of reinforced engineering plastic; it is also possible for the components to be made of metal (such as, aluminium) or of glass or carbon fibre composite.

[0036] As seen from FIGs. 2A and 2B, the belt-attach member 310 is U-shaped in section and, in use, it is connected over a top edge of the hip-belt 400 with its protruding element 320 projecting to the rear. A top part of the belt-attach member 310 has an opening 313, which allows part of a hip-belt harness 402 to go through to support the hip-belt 400. As seen from FIG. 2D, the U-shaped belt-attach member 310 is strengthened by four ribs 314 with the protruding element 320 extending from a rear surface 318. The protruding element 320 is shown to be round in section, with a pin hole 321 formed on its upper surface; it is possible that the protruding element 320 may be formed of other shape, such as, square or oval, so long as it is shaped and dimensioned to fit with an aperture 332 formed on the cooperating pin-lock member 330. In one embodiment, the belt-attach member 310 is attached to the hip-belt 400 via an elastic member; the elastic member allows the hip-belt 400 to adjust relative to the rucksack, for eg., when the user squats down.

[0037] As seen from FIG. 2D, the pin-lock member 330 is made up of a groove block 331 and two wings 340 extending laterally from the groove block, with the aperture 332 formed near the centre of the groove block 331 and going through a thickness of the groove block. The side of the groove block 331 adjacent each wing 340 is formed with a longitudinal groove 333. A top end of the groove block 331 has an internal stepped-hole 335 that extends longitudinally into the aperture 332, with a threaded hole 336 formed at the top face. On the face of each wing 340, a hole 342 is provided to receive a fixing screw for attaching the pin-lock member 330 onto the height-adjust member 370. As seen from FIG. 2D, the two wings 340 are arranged to bend rearwardly (instead of laying in a flat plane). Preferably, each hole 342 is counter-sunk to accommodate a head of the fixing screw. The two wings 340 are arranged at an angle to act as positioning guides when the user attempts to locate the protruding element 320 into the aperture 332 when donning the rucksack 102 and connecting the rucksack 102 to the hip-belt 400. The fit of the protruding element 320 in the aperture 332 is relatively loose, to allow wobble of some degrees so that small movements of the body of the user are not transmitted to the rucksack, thereby contributing to more comfort of use. On the front face of the groove block 331 adjacent to the wings 340, there are two longitudinal ribs 338 on each side of the aperture 332. The height of the ribs 338 are substantially similar to the height of the ribs 314 located on the belt-attach member 310.

[0038] The grooves 333 formed along edges of the groove block 331 can be dovetail, square, part-circular, V-shaped, and so on, in sectional view; these grooves 333 cooperate with similarly shaped tongues 373 formed along inner edges of rails 372 of the height- adjust member 370. Regularly spaced at a pitch distance p along the rails 372 are three pairs of threaded holes 374 for receiving the fixing screws that are insertable through the hole 342 located on the pin-lock member 330. The pitch distance p is determined from the spread of anthropometric heights of the target users corresponding to the 95th and 5th percentiles; for eg., p may range from about 3 cm to about 4 cm. To connect the pin-lock member 330 to the height-adjust member 370, the groove block 331 is slidable between the rails 372 and fixing screws go through the holes 342 and 374 are tightened to attach the two members together. The user has a choice of using the top, middle or lower pairs of threaded holes 374 for securing the fixing screws, as seen in FIGs. 2F-2G; this allows the user to adjust the vertical position of the backframe 110 according to user’s torso length, by a pitch distance of 2xp.

[0039] When the belt-attach member 310 is sub-assembled with the pin-lock member 330, the protruding element 320 is received in the aperture 332 and the pin hole 321 is aligned with the stepped hole 335. FIG. 2E shows a lock pin 350 and accompanying parts that are received inside the stepped hole 335, so that the lock pin 350 extends into the pin hole 321 to keep the sub-assembly together, when the lock pin 350 is held in place by a spring 354 and a retainer 352 that are engaged in the stepped hole 335.

[0040] When quick shedding or jettisoning of the rucksack 102 and the backframe 110 is desired, the trigger cord 360 connected to the lock pin 350 is pulled; by so doing, the spring 354 is compressed, the lock pin 350 is released from the pin hole 321 and the protruding element 320 is freed from engaging in the aperture 332, thereby disconnecting the backframe 110 from the hip-belt 400.

[0041] Preferably, the backframe 110 has a large opening 112 that is shaped and dimensioned to accommodate a ballistic plate 230 that is located inside the load-bearing ballistic vest 200. A suitable backframe may be obtained from Crossfire, Pty. and is described in patent publication WO2017177263. As can be seen from FIGs. 2A and 2C, the height-adjust member 370 is removeably attached by screws (not shown in the figures) to mounting holes 114, 115 provided at a base region of the backframe 110.

[0042] As described above, the rucksack 102 is preferably compacted so that the centre of gravity is close to the backframe 110 or user’s back. To achieve this, FIGs. 3A-3B show the use of elastic cords 180 to compact the rucksack 102 and, at the same time, provide elastic suspension of the rucksack 102 on the backframe 110. Preferably, the elastic cords 180 are threaded through holes 120 located on the backframe 110 so that portions of the elastic cords are substantially orientated diagonally and are in tension, so that the rucksack 102 is suspended at a stable position with respect to the backframe 110.

[0043] As can be seen from FIGs. 1 or 3B, a distal end of one shoulder harness 150 strap (associated with the shoulder of a master-hand) has a jettison connector 380. From the jettison connector 380, a stabilising strap 151 is connected to a base of the rucksack 102. The other shoulder harness 150 strap is connected to an associated stabilising strap 151 by another jettison connector 380 or a conventional snap or side-release buckle. With two stabilising straps 151 located on separate lateral sides of the rucksack, the tendency of swaying of the rucksack 102 on the user’s back is minimised. FIGs. 3C-3D show construction of the jettison connector 380. As shown, the jettison connector 380 is made up of two engaging parts 381 and 390. Connector part 381 has a base plate 383 and two side flanges extending from an upper part of the base plate 383, such that a swivel pin 384 is supported by the side flanges. A flap 385 is pivoted about the swivel pin 384 and the flap 385 is urged against the base plate 383 by a torsion spring 386. A peg 387 is provided on the inside face of the flap 385 to engage with a hole 391 formed on the connector part 390, so that in an un-actuated position, the connector part 390 is clamped between the flap 385 and the base plate 383, and is held firmly in position by the peg 387 engaging in the hole 391. An upper part of the base plate 383 has a looped end 382 about which the shoulder harness 150 strap is connected; similarly, a lower end of the connector part 390 has a looped end 392 about which the stabilising strap 151 is connected. The trigger cord 360 is terminated at a hole 388 located on a distal end of the flap 385; when the trigger cord 360 is pulled away from the front of the user and to overcome the tension in the torsion spring 386, the flap 385 is displaced and the peg 387 is freed from engagement with the hole 391; as a result, the connector parts 381 and 390 become disengaged and the shoulder harness 150 becomes disconnected from the stabilising strap 151.

[0044] FIG. 4A shows an exploded view of a quick attach-release adapter 1300 according to another embodiment of the present invention. As like the above embodiment, the quick attach-release adapter 1300 is also made up of 3 component members, namely, a belt- attach member 1310, a pin-lock member 1330 and a height-adjust member 1370; these component members are also preferably made of reinforced engineering plastic; it is also possible for the components to be made of metal (such as, aluminium) or of glass or carbon fibre composite. To illustrate the use of the quick attach-release adapter 1300, FIG. 4B shows the belt-attach member 1310 is connectable to the hip-belt 400 via some Molle slits 410 and straps 1312, whilst FIG. 4C shows a sub-assembly of the pin-lock member 1330 and height adjust member 1370 being used in another back pack system 1100.

[0045] As seen from FIG. 4B, the upper and lower horizontal edges of the belt-attach member 1310 have two hoops 1311 located along each edge. The hoops 1311 are dimensioned to receive two fixing straps 1312; the belt-attach member 1310 is removeably connected to the hip-belt 400 by ends of these fixing straps 1312 going through the hoops 1311 and the opposite ends going through Molle slits 410 formed on a rear face of the hip- belt 400, as seen in FIG. 4B. When the belt-attach member 1310 is firmly connected to the hip-belt 400, a major part of the weight on the tactical back pack system 1100 is transmitted to the hip-belt 400 through the backframe 110 and the quick attach-re lease adapter 1300.

[0046] As seen from FIGs. 4D, the belt-attach member 1310 is made from a quadrilateral plate with a thickness. An oblong hole 1322 is formed near the centre of the belt-attach member 1310 to receive a boss 1320 formed on the cooperating pin-lock member 1330. A stepped hole 1323 is formed at a top edge of the belt-attach member 1310 and the stepped hole 1323 opens into the oblong hole 1322; the stepped hole 1323 is formed to receive a lock pin 1350, a spring 1354 and a retainer 1352 which are similar to those components shown in FIG. 2E. A pin hole 1321 is formed on a top part of the oblong hole 1322 to receiving the lock pin 1350. When the lock pin, the spring and the retainer are assembled in the stepped hole 1323, a distal end of the pin 1350 extends into the oblong hole 1322. When the pin-lock member 1330 and the belt-attach member 1310 are engaged, the distal end of the lock pin 1350 projects into the pin hole 1321 formed on the boss 1320, thereby positively locking the component members 1310 and 1330 together; like the above embodiment, when the lock pin 1350 is pulled, for eg. at a loop end, the spring 1354 is compressed and the pin distal end extending into the oblong hole 1322 is retracted into the stepped hole 1323, thereby releasing the boss 1320 from the belt-attach member 1310; in this manner, the lock pin 1350 is used to quickly release connection between the pin-lock member 1330 and the belt-attach member 1310.

[0047] The pin-lock member 1330 is made up of a plate 1334 that is similar in size to a groove block 1371 located on the height-adjust member 1370. On a rear face of the plate 1334 that is facing with the groove block 1371, the plate 1334 has a plurality of long substantially horizontal projections 1373 that are dimensioned and spaced apart at the same pitch p2 spacing as grooves 1333 formed on the groove block 1371, so that the grooves 1333 and longitudinal projections 1373 are engageable and slidable in pairs; FIG. 4E indicates the slidable engagement of the height-adjust member 1370 and the pin-lock member 1330 along the arrow direction. FIGs. 4F and 4G show two ways in which at least two of the longitudinal projections 1373 and at least two grooves 1333 are engaged; between these two ways of engagement, the quick attach-release adapter 1300 provides a vertical adjustment distance of 4xp2.

[0048] Now, referring to FIG. 4E, the height-adjust member 1370 is made from a sheet metal that is formed into a U-shape. On a front face 1375, the groove block 1371 is mounted; the groove block 1371 has a plurality of horizontally aligned grooves 1333 that are spaced uniformly and parallelly at pitch p2 spacing; for illustration only, five grooves 1333 are shown; the grooves 1333 thus give the back pack system 1100 a vertical height adjustment, for eg., of 4xp2. On a rear face 1376, there is a plurality of pipe sections 1377 that link the rear face 1376 to a back of the front face 1375; the internal surfaces of the pipe sections 1377 are threaded, where the threads match with threads on screws which secure the height-adjust member 1370 to the backframe 110; these screws go through mounting holes 115 formed at a lower region of the backframe 110, as can be seen in FIG. 4A. The mounting holes 115 are formed in three rows, with each row being spaced apart at a vertical pitch p3 distance from an adjacent row; when needed, this vertical pitch p3 distance can also provide vertical height adjustment, in addition to that provided by pitch spacing p2 of the grooves 1333.

[0049] In the above description, the grooves 1333 on the groove block 1371 are formed as dovetail grooves. In another embodiment, the grooves 1333 are formed with other cross- sectional shapes, for eg., the grooves may be part-circular or part-polygonal in sectional shape and the cooperating projections 1373 are shaped accordingly for the grooves and projections to engage in a sliding manner.

[0050] FIGs. 5A-5B show a jettison connector 1380 according to another embodiment. As shown in FIGs. 5A-5B, the jettison connector 1380 is made up of two parts 1381, 1390 that are connected by a semi-rigid ring 1383. Connector part 1381 has a base and a hinge socket 1384 located on a front face of the base, whilst the connector part 1390 has a base and a U- shaped clasp 1385. The base members of the connector parts 1381, 1390 are attached respectively to the distal ends of the shoulder harness 150 strap and the stabilising strap 151. A semi-rigid chord goes through the hinge socket 1384 and the ends are welded to form the semi-rigid ring 1383. In use, the semi-rigid ring 1383 is connected to the connector part 1390 by looping it under the U-shaped clasp 1385; to release component part 1381 from the component part 1390, the semi-rigid ring 1383 is tugged (for eg., at the trigger cord 360) to free it from the U-shaped clasp 1385.

[0051] FIGs. 5C and 5E show a jettison connector 2380 according to another embodiment, with FIGs. 5D and 5F showing the rear views. The jettison connector 2380 is also made up of two component parts 2381, 2390; each component part is attached separately to the distal ends of the shoulder harness 150 and the stabilising strap 151. The component part 2381 has a shaped aperture 2386 formed with a peg 2387, whilst the component part 2390 has a swivel button 2388; the swivel button 2388 has a hook 2389; when the swivel button 2388 is inserted into the shaped aperture 2386, the swivel button 2388 is slidable along a pair of ribs to a lock position; in the lock position, the swivel button 2388 is rotated, the hook 2389 engages with the peg 2387; to release the jettison connector 2380, the swivel button 2388 is rotated in an opposed direction, so that the hook 2389 is released from the peg 2387 and the swivel button is then slidable to the open position. The above jettison connectors 1380,2380 thus provide quick means for connecting the ends of the shoulder harness 150 strap to the associated ends of the stabilising straps 151, or for disconnecting them.

[0052] FIGs. 6A-6B show the above back pack system 100,1100 configured with a single jettison trigger point located at the jettison connector 380,1380,2380 associated with the user’s master hand, which master hand supports a weapon or a rescue tool. As shown, the trigger cord 360 is attached to the jettison connector 380, 1380,2380 which is located on the same side as the user’s master hand. In use, the trigger cord 360 is tugged with the non master hand to disconnect both the jettison connector 380,1380,2380 and the quick attach- release adapter 300,1300; as a result, the shoulder harness 150 associated with the shoulder of the master hand is released and the rucksack 102 is released from the hip-belt 400, thereby allowing the rucksack 102 to droop on the shoulder of the non-master hand; by tilting the shoulder of the non-master hand, the rucksack 102 is allowed to slide off the shoulder and the rucksack 102 is thus quickly jettisoned, thus allowing the user’s master hand to continue holding onto the weapon or rescue tool (in a so-called heads-up, eyes-out and hands-on trigger readiness), especially during moments of mission-critical, time- critical or safety -critical situations.

[0053] FIG. 7 A shows a bridge portion 152 that joins upper portions of the two shoulder harness 150 straps together at a top, rear face 103 of the rucksack 102. A back-adjust mechanism 140 is provided at the bridge portion 152 to allow the user to adjust a vertical height position of the bridge portion 152 on the rear face 103 according to the user’s back length. The back-adjust mechanism 140 include a pair of adjust straps 143 configured between anchor rings 141 and buckles 142; in addition, Velcro V members are disposed on an inner surface of the bridge portion 152 and the rear face of the rucksack 102 for easy vertical adjustment. Preferably, a button or buttons 145 secure the bridge portion 152 onto the rear face 103 of the rucksack 102 after the vertical height position has been adjusted. FIGs. 7B and 7C show the adjust straps 143 are pulled down or pulled up so that the rucksack 102 is at a comfortable vertical height according to the user’s back length. For eg., the back-adjust mechanism 140, the pitch p, p2 of the height-adjust member 370, 1370 or mounting pitch p3 at the backframe 110 allow the height of the rucksack 102 to adjust by a combined distance of substantially 15cm.

[0054] Preferably, the above tactical back pack system 100,1100 is used together with a load-bearing ballistic vest 200 when the user is on a security mission; instead of a load- bearing ballistic vest, a user may don a load-bearing attachment vest when the user is on a rescue mission. Preferably, the rucksack 102 has a load transfer yoke 210 provided below the shoulder harness 150 strap, so that a major part of the load on the rucksack 102 is transferred to the trapezius shoulder muscles. As shown in FIGs. 8A-8B, the shoulder clips 220 are provided to hold the shoulder harness 150 to the associated load-transfer yoke 210. In addition, a Molle strap M is also provided on the shoulder harness 150 strap; when the shoulder clip 220 is kept in position by the associated Molle strap M, the shoulder harness 150 straps are prevented from shuffling, thereby providing stability to the rucksack 102 on the user’s back.

[0055] Besides providing quick jettisoning of the above rucksack, the jettison connector 380,1380,2380 and the quick attach-release adapter 300,1300 also enable a user to quickly exchange the rucksack 102 for another rucksack without having to remove the hip-belt 400; this is useful, for eg. during an emergency situation. [0056] FIGs. 9A-9G show a tactical pack system 3100 according to another embodiment. FIG. 9A shows an exploded view of the tactical pack system 3100, whilst FIG. 9B shows a side view of the exploded tactical pack system 3100. As seen in FIGs. 9A-9B, the tactical pack system 3100 is made up of a rucksack 3102, a contoured shoulder harness 3150, and a hip-belt 3400. Preferably, the rucksack 3102 has a removable internal frame (not shown in the figures); the internal frame is to maintain the shape and structure of the rucksack. As will be appreciated, the pack system 3100 allows easy height adjustment of the rucksack 3102, quick donning or shedding of the rucksack, compacting of the rucksack and easy retrieval of contents in the rucksack. Besides ease of use and adjustability, the pack system 3100 is modular and is re -configurable with various sub-systems or components, all to provide ease of use and comfort; such modularity and re-configurations allow quick deployment according to the user’s needs; such comfort thus contributes to user’s mobility, physical endurance and mental concentration.

[0057] FIG. 9C shows a rear view of the rucksack 3102, whilst FIG. 9D shows the front view. As seen from the figures, the rucksack 3102 is equipped with pairs of compression straps 3190,3191 located at each lateral side; preferably, the compression straps 3190,3191 are removably connected to the rucksack 3102 via buckles B. For eg., the buckles B are fixedly located at each lateral and bottom sides of the rucksack 3102; the buckles B at the sides and base of the rucksack are connected into seams of the rucksack, whilst the Molle straps M located on the lateral sides allow pouches to be attachable onto the rucksack; the Molle straps M are provided with multiple rows and columns to give ranges of lateral and vertical positions for attaching the pouches. Each compression strap has a male side-release buckle component 3192, which cooperates with a female side-release buckle component 3193 located on a cooperating component pair of the compression strap 3190,3191, with the female side-release buckle component 3193 being more clearly seen in FIG. 9A. In a variation, the male and female side-release buckle components 3192,3193 can be reversely located on each pair of the compression strap 3190,3191. The length of each compression strap 3190,3191 is adjustable at the male or female side-release buckle components 3192,3193, so that contents of the rucksack 3102 can be compacted by using the compression straps 3190,3191. By compacting the rucksack, (1) any free space inside the rucksack can be reduced; (2) movements of contents in the rucksack are reduced, so that probability of damage of the contents is minimised; (3) centre of gravity of the entire rucksack is moved closer to user’s back to reduce moments that induce fatigue. Preferably, the lower compression straps 3191 is configured in the shape of a Y with two anchoring points near the base of the rucksack 3102. The Y-shaped compression straps 3191 anchoring points are also configured with buckles B and can be removed and used with other buckles B provided on the rucksack 3102 or component of the back pack system 3100. The Y-shaped compression straps 3191 are provided to compress a wider section of the rucksack 3102, while minimizing the number of buckles used and simplifies the process of installing the compression straps; as will be appreciated in a later description, the Y-shaped compression straps 3191 will also help reduce the time required for users to retrieve equipment mounted onto an attachment panel 3600 or attaching the rucksack 3102 to the backframe 110. The compression straps 3190,3191 are flexible but are drawn with straight lines only for easy illustration in the figures.

[0058] On the rear side of the rucksack 3102, there are two paddings 3105 to provide cushioning, say with the user’s back. Between the paddings 3105, there are height-adjust Molle straps ladder ML arranged in a ladder formation where the straps are arranged with a vertical pitch distance p4. In use, a shoulder harness attachment strap 3157 (as seen in FIG. 9B) is looped through a selected height-adjust Molle straps ladder ML and is held securely in position by Velcro V. By selecting the height-adjust Molle straps ladder ML to attach the shoulder harness attachment strap 3157, the length of the harness attachment strap 3157 and height position of the rucksack 3102 on the user’s back can be adjusted to fit the user for comfort. In addition, two upper harness straps 3154 are provided, one on each side of the shoulder harness attachment strap 3157. Preferably, each end of the upper harness strap 3154 terminates with a webbing fold WF, which can be used to connect to buckles B located near an upper part of the rucksack 3102, or to aperture slots located on a backframe 110. Extending from the lower ends of the shoulder harness 3150 are two stabilising straps 3151, where each end terminates with a male side-release buckle component 3192. In use, the male side-release buckle component 3192 is connected to a female side-release buckle component located on a webbing W, which has a terminal webbing fold WF that is connectable to the buckle B as shown in the inserts in FIGs. 9A and 9B; the webbing fold WF is easily disconnected from the associated buckle B by turning the WF to its side and pushing it through the buckle B. Preferably, the WF is located on a strap with a quick- release buckle 3156 which allows the length of attachment of the stabilizing straps 3151 at the base of the rucksack 3102 to be adjusted. [0059] FIG. 9D shows a front view of the rucksack 3102. A U-zip 3106 provides swift access into a lower section of the rucksack 3102, in addition to access from a top hatch 3103. As can be seen from FIG. 9D, contents of the rucksack 3102 are compactable by tightening the compression straps 3190,3191 so that the centre of gravity is as close as possible to the rear of the rucksack 3102 (and also to the user’s back). With the contents being compacted, it will also help provide stability when the user is in dynamic motions. Preferably, additional compression straps 3190a are provided on the front face of the rucksack 3102, together with Molle straps M; these additional compression straps 3190a are fixed onto the front face, for eg. by stitching (instead of being removeably connected through the buckles B). With all the compression straps being connectable and disconnectable with side-release buckles 3192,3193, the interior of the rucksack 3102 is made for quick access. In addition, the Molle straps M provide anchor points for the user to attach any additional pouches or accessories onto the rucksack.

[0060] FIG. 9E (on drawing page 20) shows a bottom view of the rucksack 3102. Preferably, the bottom of the rucksack 3102 is also provided with some Molle straps M. These Molle straps M can be used with additional compression straps 3190,3190a to provide vertical compression on the rucksack 3102, for eg. when the additional compression straps 3190,3190a are connected to the buckles B. These vertical compression straps help to compact the load towards the centre of the rucksack, thus optimising the center of gravity of the back pack system 3100.

[0061] FIG. 9F shows the above shoulder harness 3150. The shoulder harness 3150 is contoured to fit a human body to provide comfortable wearing, to reduce any pressure point and to provide load distribution to the large trapezius shoulder muscle. Based on a threat level, the user may need to adopt different combat configurations, such as with the use of:

• Tactical vest;

• Tactical vest with soft ballistic armour plate; or

• Tactical vest with soft and hard ballistic armour plate.

Such configurations may require adjustments in the shoulder harness 3150 to enhance user comfort. The Molle straps ladder ML of the back pack system 3100 as such, caters to users with varying torso lengths for a variety of combat configurations. Angles of the contours have been optimized reiteratively, to promote compatibility with the load-bearing vest 200; for eg., the shoulder harness 3150 is specifically contoured to wrap around the neck of the user and over the shoulder straps of the load-bearing vest 200 to promote compatibility and to reduce slippage when the rucksack 3102 is donned. As a result, the shoulder harness 3150 is able to rest securely above the shoulder straps of the load-bearing vest 200. This provides a snug system that minimizes displacements or slipping of the shoulder harness 3150 when the user is in motion, like running or bending over. At strategic locations inside the shoulder harness 3150 are HDPE and foams (not shown in the figures) to allow the shoulder harness to conform closely to the contours of the user’s body, thus minimizing any pressure points on the user’s body; the HDPE and foams are of different densities or softness disposed at the different strategic locations; in addition, also at strategic locations below the shoulder harness 3150 are non-slip materials to minimise slipping of the shoulder harness. By minimising slippage, user comfort and mobility are enhanced, thus diminishing the need for the user to re-position the shoulder harness 3150 while on the move. Together with uniform load distribution over different sections of the trapezius muscle and non-slippage, the shoulder harness 3150 gives comfort of use, which leads to reduced fatigue and promotes mobility.

[0062] In FIG. 9F, the attachment strap 3157 is shown to extend from a bridge portion 3152 of the shoulder harness 3150. The attachment strap 3157 can be looped through the height- adjust Molle strap ladder ML located on the rucksack 3120, to the backframe 110 or the Molle straps ladder ML located on the attachment panel 3600 (as will be described). Additionally, buckles B are also provided at the sides of the shoulder harness 3150; the buckles B can be used with an additional webbing straps according to a need, such as a sternum webbing. In FIGs. 9A and 9F, two paddings 3158 are shown connected to the buckles B to provide cushioning at the shoulder harness 3150; these paddings 3158 can be tucked under the shoulder harness 3150 or shoulder strap of the load-bearing vest 200 and provides horizontal adjustability according to user’s torso width. When the paddings 3158 are not in use, they can be removed or loosened and be kept on the shoulder harness using two elastic bands 3159.

[0063] FIG. 9G shows the above hip-belt 3400. The hip belt 3400 serves to distribute the load of the rucksack 3102 from the shoulder straps to the lumbar section of the user’s torso. The hip-belt 3400 secures the rucksack 3102 to the user’s hip to prevent oscillatory motion of the rucksack when the user is on the move; this minimizes fatigue experienced by the user, as the load does not interfere with body motion. As shown, the hip-belt 3400 is made up of a hip webbing W, a hip padding 3410 and two removeable side paddings 3412. This 3-piece padding design, comprising the hip padding 3410 and the two side paddings 3412, allows the hip-belt 3400 to contour snugly to user’s hip, for eg. with a height of the side padding 3412 tapering towards the front side. This allows the hip-belt to rest comfortably around the lumbar region, thus improving user comfort and load distribution. The hip-belt 3400 is also designed to be compatible with and to complement the load-bearing ballistic vest 200, to cater for a wider range of combat operations. The functionality of the load- bearing ballistic vest 200 is maintained even with the use of the hip-belt 3400, as there is minimal interference between these two equipment or component when being utilized concurrently. The shape of the hip-belt paddings is designed to provide maximal comfort at strategic locations and with weight saving considerations at non-critical regions. Also, webbing guides on the side paddings 3412 secure the hip webbing W and restrict vertical movement of the webbing W, hence enhancing user comfort. The side paddings 3412 can be detached to avoid interference with any pouches attached to a conventional load-bearing belt, which then functions as a waist-belt when used together with the hip-belt 3400. The hip webbing W connects one side of the hip padding 3410 to an opposite side, where the ends are anchored at two separate buckles B, each with a webbing fold WF. At one side, the hip webbing W is dis-connectably joined by a tri-glide buckle 3492; the tri -glide buckle 3492 allows the girdle of the hip-belt 3400 to be adjustable according to a user’s waist size; in addition, the hip webbing W has a non-adjustable buckle 3403 located near the front and allows quick donning or release of the hip-belt 3400. On a rear face of the hip padding 3410, there are two webbings 3420 which together with associated buckles B1 are used to secure the side paddings 3412 to the hip padding 3410. Each end of the webbings 3420 terminates with two webbing folds WF. The webbing folds WF are used to connect aperture slots located on the backframe 110 or the buckle B (shown in the inserts in FIGs. 9A and 9B) located on the rucksack 102,3102 to the hip-belt 3400; for eg., the inner webbing fold WF is connectable to the rucksack 3102 without the backframe 110 whilst the terminal webbing fold WF is connectable to the rucksack 3102 with the backframe 110; also, the side paddings 3412 can be removed when not to be used. As indicated above, the webbings are shown with straight lines in the figures only for easy presentation. The rear surface of the hip padding 3410 is also provided with a Velcro V, which is engageable with the Velcro V disposed at the base of the backframe 110 or the rucksack 102,3102. In a variation, two tri-glide buckles 3492 may be provided and this is useful for ambidextrous users.

[0064] FIGs. 10A-10B show a tactical back pack system 3100a according to a variation of the above embodiment. As shown, this back pack system 3100a is configured for the shoulder harness 3150 to attach to a backframe, for eg. the above backframe 110. The shoulder upper harness straps 3154 and the shoulder stabilizing strap 3151 are connectable to cooperating aperture slots located on the backframe, whilst the rucksack 3102 is mountable onto the backframe 110, with webbings to the buckles B located on the rucksack 3102. In addition, the rucksack is secured onto the backframe 110 by first inserting the webbing fold WF ends of the detachable compression straps 3190 and 3191 through the aperture slots of the backframe, followed by clipping the male side-release buckles 3192 to the female side-release buckles 3193 found on the rucksack. Finally, the base of the rucksack is connected via Velcro V to the hip-belt 3400. With this embodiment, quick donning or jettisoning of the rucksack 3012 is provided, which enhances eyes-out, hands- on-trigger readiness.

[0065] FIGs. 11A-11B show a tactical back pack system 3100b according to a variation. The back pack system 3100b shows the shoulder harness 3150 and the hip-belt 3400 complement an attachment panel 3600 and the backframe 110; this configuration allows a user to carry any bulky or odd-shaped item that cannot fit inside the rucksack 102,3102. With this system 3100b, the equipment load is packed close to the user’s back, thereby promoting mobility of the user and providing comfortable use. [0066] FIGs. 12A-12B show a tactical back pack system 3100c according to another variation. In this back pack system 3100c, the rucksack 3102 is designed to work efficiently or complement with a variety of backframes and attachment panels (as illustrated, with an example of a backframe 110 and an attachment panel 3600). Users adopt this configuration to carry bulky or odd-shaped equipment, in addition to the rucksack 3102. This configuration minimises risks of potential injuries, arising from improper load carrying postures or techniques. It is also possible that additional pouches 4000,4000a can be attached onto the attachment panel 3600, the backframe 110 or the rucksack 102,3102 with webbing straps, as shown in FIG. 12C. [0067] As described above, the advantages of using the tactical back pack system 100, 1100, 3100,3 lOOa-c of the present invention are:

(a) Compatibility to associated protection equipment - seamless integration with any backframe 110, shoulder harness 150,3150, rucksack 102,3102, load-bearing hip- belt 400,3400, existing load-bearing ballistic vest 200 or any load-bearing vest;

(b) Compatibility to the user

- Vertical adjustment mechanism 140 and the Molle strap ladder ML located on the rucksack at the bridge portion 152,3152 of the shoulder harness 150,3150, provide vertical adjustments to cater for different torso lengths and different operational needs, in addition to the pitch p,pl-p4 distance provided by the height-adjust member 370,1370;

- Non-interference with personal equipment (including the load-bearing ballistic vest and the load-bearing hip-belt) worn by the user, as vertical height of the rucksack 102,3102 is adjustable according to the user’s back length;

Contoured shoulder harness:

. provides load distribution;

. re-locatable shoulder paddings 3158 can be tucked under the shoulder harness 3150 or shoulder strap of the load-bearing vest 200 and thus provide horizontal adjustability according to user’s torso width;

. minimises intermittent slippage of the shoulder harness straps during user dynamic motion;

. the angles of the contours have been optimized reiteratively, to promote compatibility with any existing load-bearing pack system, and non-interference with the load-bearing vest and the quick-release mechanism.

- Hip Belt:

. distributes load of the rucksack 102,3102 from the shoulder straps to the lumbar section of the user’s torso;

. secures the rucksack 102,3102 to the user’s hip to minimise oscillatory motion of the rucksack;

. compatible with a conventional load-bearing hip-belt. (c) Load distribution compaction of the rucksack 102,3102 using the elastic cords 180, the compression straps 3190 or the Y-shaped compression straps 3191; load is transmitted from the shoulder through the shoulder harness 150,3150 to the load-transfer yoke 120, and at the same time, the load is transferred through the stabilising strap 151,3151, the backframe 110, the elastic cord 180 suspension and down to the hip-belt 400,3400.

(d) Ease of operation

The jettison connector 380,1380,2380, the quick attach-release adapter 300,1300, buckles B,B1, side-release buckles 3192,3193 and Velcro V provide quick jettisoning of the rucksack 102,3102, without having to remove the hip-belt 400,3400;

Quick interchanging or swapping of rucksacks 102,3102 without having to remove or change the hip-belt 400,3400;

- Additional pouches or load packages can be attached flexibly onto the rucksack 102,3102, or the hip-belt 400,3400, by using Molle straps M or providing load-bearing cut-slots;

Unobstructed movement of user’s limbs and body as the rucksack 102,3102 is compacted, and the hip-belt 400,3400 fits comfortably and snugly on the user’s body;

- Allows interchanging or swapping of the hip-belt 400,3400 or a load- bearing hip-belt with the rucksack 102,3102 whilst the backframe 110 and rucksack are still worn on the user’s back.

(e) Comfort of use

- Hip-belt: The 3 -piece cushion configuration allows the hip-belt 400,3400 to contour snugly to the user’s body profile. This aids in improving user comfort and load distribution, with increased contact surface between the hip-belt 400,3400 and the user;

Shoulder harness: The contoured shoulder harness 3150 straps optimise load distribution across different sections of the trapezius muscle to mitigate health complications for the user and to reduce fatigue over long periods of use; and

- the hip-belt 400,3400 complements use of a conventional load-bearing hip-belt. (f) Adaptability and re-configuration

- known backpack or carrier systems provide limited load re configurations or do not offer integration between various sub-systems or components. Conventionally, users have to sling bulky equipment across their shoulders whilst carrying the backpack; the overall load distribution and mobility of the users are adversely affected, which have an impact on the user’s combat or mission performance.

The present invention provides users with the flexibility to adopt different configurations based on the users’ operational needs; for eg., users can carry bulky equipment/tools, pouches, etc. together with the rucksack 102,3102, yet with the load line located close to the user’s body, the load is thus comfortably distributed on the user’s body and minimised from swaying.

Overall, improved load distribution through the use of the above tactical back pack system 100,1100,3100, 3100a-c and rucksack height-adjustment 140, ML to fit on a user’s back allows the user to endure longer or to concentrate better, and these personal comforts translate to better mobility and mission performance.

[0068] While specific embodiments have been described and illustrated, it is understood that many changes, modifications, variations and combinations of variations disclosed in the text and drawings thereof could be made to the present invention without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the groove block 331 has been described as having a pair of grooves cooperating to slide with a pair of tongues 373 on the rails 372; it is possible that the pair of grooves be formed on the rails whilst the cooperating tongues be formed on the groove block.