Belt keeper for utility belts
A belt keeper for securing a duty belt to a garment is disclosed. The belt keeper has a fastener tab on the inside surface so that the belt keeper can be detachably attached to the fastener strip on the inside of the duty belt. The fastener tab is flexibly attached to the belt keeper so that the belt keeper can readily allow its user to secure the duty belt to the garment belt, and keep the belt keeper in its position even after disengagement. In another embodiment, the belt keeper has a flexibly attached clamp on the inside of the belt keeper. The clamp can be detachably attached to the duty belt, so that the duty belt can be readily secured to the garment belt, while facilitating the belt keeper to maintain its position on the duty belt upon disengagement. In yet another embodiment, the clamp is a dual clamp, where one clamp is attached to the inside surface of the belt keeper and the other clamp can be detachably attached to the duty belt.
The present invention relates to belts and more particularly relates to duty or utility belts worn by law enforcement, military, security and industrial personnel.
ART BACKGROUNDIt has become quite common for law enforcement, military, security and industrial personnel with gear attachments to wear a duty belt, or a utility belt, to carry their gear, such as pistols, pepper spray, batons, handcuffs, flash lights, ammo, tools etc. The belt, commonly referred to as the “Sam Brown Belt,” is usually made of heavy-duty leather in a basketweave pattern, or made of plain heavy-duty nylon. The duty belt or utility belt (hereinafter “duty belt”) is typically worn by the users in addition to the garment belt on their pants. Ideally, the duty belt should distribute the weight of the gear evenly around the waist. However, as the users, e.g. police officers, begin carrying more and more gear, the collective weight tends to force the duty belt downward from the ideal waist-level position. This displacement ends up causing confusion and delay, sometimes with fatal consequences, as the officer may not be able to draw his or her weapon in a critical moment.
To keep the duty belt in its place, some have used cross straps, which connect the front and back of the duty belt over the wearer's shoulder. Others have used a set of belt keepers, which are small heavy-duty nylon straps with snap-on buttons to wrap around both the duty belt and the officer's garment belt.
To utilize the belt keepers 10, an officer usually first puts on the duty belt, which already has all the gear attached thereto, around his garment belt at the waist level. Then the officer places belt keepers at the open spots around the duty belt, so that the belt keepers can tie both the garment belt and duty belt together when the belt keepers' buttons are snapped together. When the officer goes off-duty, the belt keepers have to be removed from the garment belt, one by one. To keep the belt keepers from being misplaced, the officer usually keeps them buttoned up around the duty belt. However, when the officer goes on duty again, he has to go through the whole routine; sometimes the officer has to painstakingly “fish around” for the belt keepers as they tend to shift away from the desired positions. If the belt keepers are not in their preferred positions, as they seldom are, the officer ends up wasting valuable time and being late for “roll call.”
No matter how the officers keep their belt keepers after-shift, it is always very time-consuming when they have to put their belt keepers back on before-shift. The task becomes even more challenging for the belt keepers to be placed on the backside of the officer, especially if the officer has a wide build or limited flexibility. Since each officer has a different build or different placement preference, it is virtually impossible for the vendors to supply the duty belts with fixed belt keepers.
Therefore, it is desirable to have the belt keepers maintain the same designated or desired positions on the duty belt on or off duty, once the optimal position has been established by the officer.
It is also desirable to have the belt keepers be adjustable and flexible, so that they can readily secure the duty belt to the garment belt.
It is further desirable to be able to quickly attach and detach the belt keepers even when they are positioned at the backside of the duty belt.
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTIONA belt keeper for securing a duty belt to a garment is disclosed. The belt keeper has a fastener tab on the inside surface so that the belt keeper can be detachably attached to the fastener strip on the inside of the duty belt. The fastener tab is flexibly attached to the belt keeper so that the belt keeper can readily allow its user to secure the duty belt to the garment belt, and keep the belt keeper in its position even after disengagement. In another embodiment, the belt keeper has a flexibly attached clamp on the inside of the belt keeper. The clamp can be detachably attached to the duty belt, so that the duty belt can be readily secured to the garment belt, while facilitating the belt keeper to maintain its position on the duty belt upon disengagement. In yet another embodiment, the clamp is a dual clamp, where one clamp is attached to the inside surface of the belt keeper and the other clamp can be detachably attached to the duty belt.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A belt keeper for convenient attachment of a utility belt to a garment belt is disclosed. The belt keeper in accordance with the present invention allows the users to quickly secure their utility belt to their garment belt, while ensuring that the belt keepers are not misplaced after the duty belt is disengaged from the garment belt. Also, the belt keepers in accordance with the present invention obviate the need for repositioning between gear on the duty belt with each use.
Reference is first directed to
As shown in
It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other means of flexibly and detachably engaging the belt keepers to the duty belt are available based on the teaching of the present invention. They are flexible so that they can readily accommodate the garment belt. They are also detachable so that their positions can be adjusted and fixed on the duty belt.
Reference is now directed to
Reference is turned to
Although the invention is described herein with reference to the preferred embodiment, one skilled in the art will readily appreciate that other applications may be substituted for those set forth herein without departing from the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the invention should only be limited by the claims included below.
Claims
1. A belt keeper and duty belt for securely fastening the duty belt to a garment belt, comprising:
- a fastener tab;
- at least one belt keeper, said belt keeper having one end of said fastener tab attached to the inside of the belt keeper;
- a fastener strip on the inside of said duty belt, for detachable attachment by the other end of said fastener tab.
2. The belt keeper and duty belt of claim 1, wherein said one end of said fastener tab is flexibly attached to a predetermined position on the inside of said belt keeper, such that said belt keeper can accommodate said garment belt.
3. The belt keeper and duty belt of claim 2, wherein said fastener strip and said fastener tab are hook and loop fasteners.
4. The belt keeper and duty belt of claim 2, wherein said fastener strip and said fastener tab are Velcro fasteners.
5. The belt keeper and duty belt of claim 3, wherein another end of said fastener tab is freely movable.
6. An apparatus for securely and conveniently fastening a duty belt to a garment belt, comprising:
- a clamp having a pair of clamping prongs joined at a base;
- at least one belt keeper, said belt keeper having said base flexibly attached to a predetermined position on the inside of said belt keeper, said clamp being controllably and releasably clamped to said duty belt, such that said belt keeper accommodates said garment belt when in use.
7. The belt keeper and duty belt of claim 6, wherein said clamp is a dual clamp having a first clamp as said base and a second clamp, said first clamp is releasably and flexibly attached to the inside of said belt keeper, said second clamp is detachably and releasably attached to said duty belt.
8. A belt keeper for securely and releasably attaching a duty belt to a garment belt, comprising:
- a strip of heavy-duty material, said strip having two ends;
- closure means on both ends of said strip;
- an inside strip having one end being flexibly attached to a predetermined position on the inside of said strip such that said strip and said inside strip can accommodate said garment belt, the other end of said inside strip having a fastener for releasable attachment to said duty belt.
9. The belt keeper of claim 8, wherein said heavy-material is nylon.
10. The belt keeper of claim 8, further comprising a fastener strip on the inside of said duty belt for releasable attachment by said inside strip.
11. The belt keeper of claim 10, wherein said fastener and fastener strip are hook and loop fasteners.
12. The belt keeper of claim 10, wherein said closure means are one of Velcro, plastic buckles and quick-release buckles.
13. A clamp for flexibly attaching a belt keeper to a duty belt, comprising:
- a first clamp having a pair of prongs resiliently joined at a base, the body of said first clamp being positioned generally in a first axis, adapted for clamping to said belt keeper;
- a second clamp having a pair of prongs resiliently joined at a base, the body of said second clamp being positioned generally in a second axis, perpendicular to said first axis, adapted for clamping to said duty belt,
- wherein one of said prongs of said first clamp is mounted on the base of said second clamp.
14. The clamp of claim 13, wherein the length of said prongs of said first clamp is generally the same as the width of said base of said second clamp.
15. The clamp of claim 14, further comprising a belt keeper, wherein a predetermined position on said belt keeper is adapted to receive said first clamp.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 12, 2005
Publication Date: Feb 15, 2007
Inventor: Adam Long (Los Angeles, CA)
Application Number: 11/203,470
International Classification: A41D 3/02 (20060101); A41D 1/00 (20060101);