Paintball pod belt

Abstract

An improved paintball pod belt is provided. The belt provides a means for urging the pod compartments upwards and adjacent to the lower back of the user despite strenuous physical maneuvers performed by the user. The belt further includes a means for providing an easily accessible handle for peeling a closure flap off of a middle portion of a pod compartment to remove or insert a paintball pod from or into the pod compartment. The belt may further include a means for reducing a side profile of the pod compartment to reduce the likelihood of being hit by a paintball on the empty pod compartment. The belt may further include a means for clipping the paintball pod into the pod compartment.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/856,194, filed on Nov. 2, 2006, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference.

STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to an improved paintball pod belt.

During a paintball game, a first team made up of a plurality of players is placed in a playing field. A second team made up of a plurality of different players compete against the first team. The goal of the paintball game may be to capture a flag, find something, bring a flag or something back, or simply be the last person standing. Players of the first and second team are eliminated when hit by a paintball. To play a game of paintball, each of the players may be equipped with a goggle for eye protection, body protection, a paintball gun and a plurality of paintballs. Extra paintballs are typically held in a paintball pod. A plurality of paintball pods are then secured to a paintball pod harness worn by the player.

During the paintball game, the player may have to run, slide, duck, jump, roll, or perform other physically strenuous maneuvers to escape from an opposing player or to gain a positional advantage over the opposing player. Unfortunately, a disadvantage of prior art paintball pod harnesses is that the prior art paintball pod harness may tend to slide downward about the user's hips and buttocks while the player performs the strenuous physical maneuvers. For example, when the prior art paintball pod harness is initially worn by the user, the prior art harness is tensioned about the waist of the user. During the paintball game, the user is performing strenuous physical maneuvers and inserting and removing paintball pods from the prior art paintball pod harness. These activities loosen the tension of the prior art paintball pod harness on the waist of the user. Accordingly, the prior art paintball pod harness may tend to slip downward about the hips or buttocks of the user. Such position is not optimal and may hinder the user's ability to perform the strenuous physical maneuvers discussed above.

Another disadvantage of prior art paintball pod harnesses is that the pod compartments may not be easily accessible. By way of example and not limitation, the prior art paintball pod harnesses are worn with the pod compartments disposed about the lower back portion of the player's waist. To access a paintball pod, the player must reach behind his or her back (i.e., out of visual sight) and grasp the paintball pod. Certain prior art paintball pod harnesses may have a closure flap to securely hold the paintball pod in the pod compartment. The reason for the closure flap is to prevent the paintball pod from falling out of the pod compartment while the player is performing the strenuous physical maneuvers discussed above. Unfortunately, the handle for the closure flap is flush against the pod compartment. The player typically with a glove on his or her hand must reach behind his or her back, feel for the handle which is flush against the pod compartment and traverse the closure flap to the opened position. Because the handle is flush with the pod compartment and the player is typically wearing a glove, it is difficult to find the handle during the excitement of a game of paintball.

Another disadvantage of the prior art paintball pod harness is that the prior art paintball harness is bulky. As discussed above, when the payer is hit by a paintball, the player is eliminated. This includes being hit by a paintball on a paintball pod of the prior art paintball pod harness.

Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved paintball pod harness.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The improved paintball pod belt discussed herein addresses the needs above, discussed below and those that are known in the art. The improved paintball pod harness may include one or more of the four aspects discussed herein, namely, 1) a means for urging the belt upward adjacent to the lower back of the user, 2) a means for easily finding a handle to traverse a closure flap to an opened position, 3) a means for reducing a side profile of a pod compartment, and 4) a means for clipping a paintball pod into a pod compartment.

The means for urging the belt upwards adjacent to the lower back of the user may include a waist encircling layer and a pod compartment or a plurality of pod compartments attached to the waist encircling layer. The waist encircling layer is removably attachable to the waist of the user. When the waist encircling layer is disposed about the waist of the user, the pod compartment or plurality of pod compartments are disposed at the lower back of the user. The pod compartment(s) may be attached to an upper portion of a midsection of the waist encircling layer. A lower portion of the midsection of the waist encircling layer may be fabricated from an elastic material and may be disposable on the upper curved portion of the user's buttocks to lift the pod compartment(s) upward.

The means for easily accessing a handle to traverse a closure flap from the closed position to an opened position may include a handle attached to the closure flap and oriented outward and away from a middle portion of the pod compartment. The handle may be inserted through a guide or between the guide and the closure flap for orienting the handle downward and below the pod compartment. In this manner, the user need only place his or her hand below the paintball pod to be removed with his or her palm facing outward. At this position, the handle may be disposed immediately in front of the palm of the user's hand. The user need only close his or her hand to grasp the handle.

The means for reducing a side profile of the pod compartment may include a shell fabricated from a rigid or semi-rigid material. The shell may partially define the pod compartment along with a first side portion. The first side portion may be fabricated from an elastic material. The first side portion may be attached to the waist encircling layer and a first edge portion of the shell. The second edge portion of the shell may be indirectly attached to the waist encircling layer via a second side portion. The second side portion may be fabricated from an elastic material such that when a paintball pod is inserted into a pod compartment, the first and second elastic side portions stretch and the rigid shell is traversed away from the waist encircling layer to provide room for the paintball pod to be inserted into the pod compartment. Conversely, when the paintball pod is removed from the pod compartment, the first and second elastic side portions contract and traverse the shell toward the waist encircling layer to reduce the profile of the pod compartment. Alternatively, the second side portion may be fabricated from an inelastic material such that when a paintball pod is inserted into a pod compartment, only the first elastic portion stretches to provide room for the paintball pod to be inserted into the pod compartment. Conversely, when the paintball pod is removed from the pod compartment, only the first elastic side portion contracts and traverses the shell toward the waist encircling layer to reduce the side profile of the pod compartment.

Alternatively, the second edge portion of the shell may be directly attached to the waist encircling belt such that the shell pivots about such direct attachment point and the elastic first side portion stretches to make room for a pod inserted into the pod compartment and contracts to traverse the shell closer to the waist encircling belt and reduce the player's side profile.

A means for clipping the paintball pod into the pod compartment may include a locking member rotatable with respect to the pod compartment between a holding position and a released position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features and advantages of the various embodiments disclosed herein will be better understood with respect to the following description and drawings, in which like numbers refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a rear view of a paintball pod belt;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the paintball pod belt shown in FIG. 1 worn by a user;

FIG. 3 is a side view of a paintball pod compartment with a paintball pod inserted into the pod compartment and a closure flap traversed to a closed position, wherein the closure flap and a handle are fabricated from a unitary member;

FIG. 3A is an alternate embodiment of attaching the handle to the closure flap;

FIG. 3B is a further alternative embodiment of attaching the handle to the closure flap;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the pod compartment shown in FIG. 3 illustrating the closure flap being peeled off of the pod compartment via the handle;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the pod compartment shown in FIG. 3 with the closure flap detached from the pod compartment;

FIG. 6 illustrates a pod compartment which compresses when the paintball pod is removed therefrom;

FIG. 7 illustrates a paintball pod removed from the pod compartment with the pod compartment having a lower side profile compared to the side profile of the pod compartment shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 7A is a cross-sectional configuration of the pod compartment shown in FIG. 7 wherein a shell is moved away from the belt to make room for the inserted paintball pod and traversed toward the belt when the paintball pod is removed from the pod compartment to reduce a side profile of the pod compartment and reduce the likelihood of being hit by a paintball pod;

FIG. 7B is an alternate embodiment of the shell and means for attaching the shell to the belt;

FIG. 7C is another further embodiment of the shell and a means for attaching the shell to the belt;

FIG. 8 illustrates a first embodiment of a clip for holding the paintball pod in the pod compartment;

FIG. 9 is an illustration of the pod compartment shown in FIG. 8 with the clip traversed to a released position for accessing or removing the paintball pod out of the pod compartment;

FIG. 10 is a bottom view of the clip shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a bottom view of the clip shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a second embodiment of the clip for holding the paintball pod in the pod compartment;

FIG. 13 is an illustration of the pod compartment shown in FIG. 12 with the clip traversed to the released position for accessing or removing the paintball pod out of the pod compartment;

FIG. 14 is a bottom view of the clip shown in FIG. 8; and

FIG. 15 is a bottom view of the clip shown in FIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the figures, a paintball pod harness 10 is shown in FIG. 1. The paintball pod harness 10 is typically worn around a waist (see FIG. 2) of the user while the user is engaged in a game of paintball. The paintball pod harness 10 may comprise a harness 10 and a plurality of pod compartments 14 which are attached to the belt 12. The belt 12 may be worn around the waist of the user with the pod compartments 14 disposed at a lower back portion of the user. The harness 10 may be removably attachable to the waist of the user via first and second components 16, 18 of a hooks and loops attachment system formed at distal end flaps 20 of the belt 12. A portion of the belt 12 may have an elastic portion or in the alternative, the entire belt 12 may be fabricated from an elastic material such that the belt 12 may contract or expand as the user's belly expands or contracts due to heavy breathing. The pod compartments 14 may be vertically oriented (as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2). Each of the compartments 14 may have a close-ended top 22 and an open bottom 24. The pods 26 may be inserted and removed from the pod compartments 14 via the open bottom 24. In use, the paintball pod harness 10 is worn around the waist of the user with the open bottom 24 of the pod compartment 14 facing downward and the pod compartments 14 disposed at the lower back of the user (see FIG. 2). When the user needs to reload his paintball gun with additional paintballs, the user may reach behind and pull downward on the paintball pod 26 (after removing the closure flap 46 discussed below) to remove the paintball pod 26 from the pod compartment 14. Once the paintball pod 26 is removed, the user may reload his paintball gun with additional paintballs.

In an aspect of the paintball pod harness 10, the harness 10 may define a midsection 28, intermediate sections 30 and end flaps 20. When the paintball pod harness 10 is worn around the waist of the user, the user may engage the end flaps 20 to each other to secure the paintball pod harness 10 around the waist of the user (see FIG. 2). The intermediate sections 30 may be fabricated from an elastic material. As such, the user may adjust the amount of tension that the harness 10 applies to the waist of the user. The elastic intermediate sections 30 expand and contract as the user breathes in and out such that constant pressure may be applied to the waist of the user to hold the paintball pod 26 in place at the lower back of the user.

To further maintain the position of the paintball pod 26 at the lower back portion of the user's waist, a lower portion 32 of the midsection 28 may be fabricated from an elastic material. The lower elastic portion 32 of the midsection 28 mates with the outwardly curved portion 34 (see FIG. 2) of the user's buttocks. The elastic lower portion 32 of the midsection 28 may be increasingly stretched from the upper edge 36 to the lower edge 38 of the lower portion 32 of the midsection 28 due to the outward curvature of the upper portion 34 of the user's buttocks.

As shown in FIG. 2, a side view of the paintball pod harness 10 worn about the waist of the user is shown. The pod compartments 14 are disposed at the lower back portion of the user's waist. The end flaps 20 are attached to each other about a belly portion of the user's waist. The amount of tension that the paintball pod 26 applies to the user's waist is adjusted by pulling harder on the belt end flaps 20 thereby stretching the elastic intermediate sections 30 and attaching the end flaps 20 to each other. The pod compartments 14 are attached to the upper portion 40 of the midsection 28. The upper portion 40 of the midsection 28 may be fabricated from an inelastic fabric material. However, it is also contemplated that the upper portion 40 of the midsection 28 may be fabricated from an elastic material. With the pod compartments 14 disposed about the lower back portion of the user's waist, the lower portion 32 of the midsection 28 presses against the upper portion 34 of the user's buttocks. Due to the outward curvature of the user's buttocks, the lower portion 32 is increasingly stretched from the upper edge 36 to the lower edge 38 of the midsection lower portion 32. The upper portion 34 of the user's buttocks pushes upward on the lower portion 32 of the midsection 28. This also pushes the midsection 28 of the belt 12 and the pod compartments 14 upward. Such configuration maintains the position of the pod compartments 14 at the lower back portion of the user's waist while the user may be running, ducking, rolling, jumping or performing other strenuous maneuvers during a paintball game.

The upper portion 40 of the midsection 28 may have a bowed configuration (see FIG. 1). In particular, an upper edge 42 may have a convex configuration. Additionally, a lower edge 44 of the upper portion 40 may have a corresponding convex configuration to curve up and around the user's buttocks. The pod compartments 14 may be attached to the upper portion 40 of the midsection 28.

The lower portion 32 may have an eyelet configuration (see FIG. 1). In particular, the upper edge 36 of the lower portion 32 may mate with the lower edge 44 of the upper portion 40. In this regard, the upper edge 36 of the lower portion 32 may also have a convex configuration. However, the lower edge 38 of the lower portion 32 may have a concave configuration. The lower portion 32 of the midsection 28 may be elastic in only the horizontal direction, only the vertical direction or both in the horizontal and the vertical directions.

In another aspect of the paintball pod harness 10, a closure flap 46 covering the open bottom 24 of the pod compartments 14 for securing the paintball pod 26 in the pod compartment 14 may be traversed to an opened position (see FIG. 5) via a handle 48 which is oriented outward and away from the pod compartment 14 (see FIG. 3). The handle 48 is easily accessible to the user. The user does not have to search for the handle 48 to make the pod compartment 14 accessible and remove the paintball pod 26 therefrom. Rather, the user may easily place his or her hand underneath the paintball pod 26 to be removed with his or her palm facing away from his or her body (see FIG. 3). At this point, the handle 48 is located in front of the user's palm. The user need only close his or her hand to grasp the handle 48.

Once the user grabs the handle 48, the user may pull downward on the handle 48 to traverse the closure flap 46 from a closed position (see FIG. 3) securing the paintball pod 26 in the pod compartment 14 to the opened position (see FIG. 5) making the paintball pod 26 accessible to the user such that the user may now remove the paintball pod 26 from the pod compartment 14.

The pod compartment 14 may define a middle portion 50 (see FIG. 3) having a through hole sized and configured to receive the paintball pod 26. The pod compartment 14 may further define a top portion 22 (see FIG. 3) fabricated from an elastic material. When the paintball pod 26 is inserted into the pod compartment 14, the paintball pod 26 is jammed into the pod compartment 14 so as to stretch the top portion 22 of the pod compartment 14. The closure flap 46 of the pod compartment 14 may be wrapped under and around the paintball pod 26 and attached to the middle portion 50 of the pod compartment 14 via a hooks and loops attachment system. In particular, the exterior surface of the middle portion 50 may have a first component 16 of the hooks and loops attachment system, as shown in FIG. 5. An interior surface of the closure flap 46 may have a second component 18 of the hooks and loops attachment system at the distal end 60 (see FIG. 3A) thereof, as shown in FIG. 5. To attach the closure flap 46 to the middle portion 50 of the pod compartment 14, the second component 18 of the hooks and loops attachment system is engaged to the first component 16 of the hooks and loops system. The first and second components 16, 18 of the hooks and loops attachment system may be (1) hooks and loops, respectively, or (2) loops and hooks, respectively.

The handle 48 may be attached to the closure flap 46. Preferably, the handle 48 is attached at or about the start 52 (see FIG. 3) of the second component 18 of the hooks and loops attachment system attached to the closure flap 46.

An elongate member 54 may be attached to left and right edges 56a, b (see FIG. 1) of the closure flap 46 forming a guide 58. The handle 48 may be inserted through the guide 58 to direct the handle 48 in a downward direction when the closure flap 46 is in the closed position. The handle 48 may be sufficiently long such that the handle 48 extends beyond the closure flap 46 and paintball pod 26 when the closure flap 46 is in the closed position (see FIG. 3). The elongate member 54 may be fabricated from a rigid plastic material, a flexible cord, bungee cord or other suitable material. When the handle 48 is pulled to traverse the closure flap 46 from the closed position to the open position, the handle 48 slides through the guide 58 and the distal end portion 60 of the closure flap 46 folds in two, as shown in FIG. 4. The width of the closure flap 46 is greater than a width of the guide 58. As such, the distal end portion 60 of the closure flap 46 does not escape out of the guide 58 when the handle 48 is pulled downward to traverse the closure flap 46 to the open position. Rather, the distal end 60 of the closure flap 46 is stopped by the narrow width of the guide 58.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the closed position, the handle 48 projects outward and downwardly from the paintball pod 26. The user places his or her hand below the paintball pod 26 to be removed with his or her palm directed outward. The user may close his or her hand to grasp the handle 48. Thereafter, the user may pull downward on the handle 48 (see FIG. 4). Such downward motion peels the closure flap 46 off of the middle portion 50 of the pod compartment 14. More particularly, the second component 18 of the hooks and loops attachment system formed on the closure flap 46 is peeled off of the first component 16 of the hooks and loops attachment system formed on the middle portion 50 of the pod compartment 14. Further downward motion of the user's hand traverses the closure flap 46 to the opened position (see FIG. 5). At this point, the top elastic portion 22 of the pod compartment 14 pushes the paintball pod 26 downward to an elevation below the remaining paintball pods 26 so as to make the ejected paintball pod 26 more accessible to the user. The user may remove the paintball pod 26 from the pod compartment 14 to refill his or her paintball gun with paintballs contained in the removed paintball pod 26.

FIGS. 3, 3A, and 3B illustrate three different attachment embodiments between the handle 48 and the closure flap 46. In FIG. 3, the handle 48 is fabricated from a unitary material with the closure flap 46. In FIG. 3A, the second component 18 of the hooks and loops attachment system is formed at the distal end portion 60 of the closure flap 46. A portion 62 of the distal end 60 of the closure flap 46 is not formed with any second component 18 of the hooks and loops attachment system. The distal end 64 of the handle 48 may be attached to such portion 62. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 3B, a distal end 64 of the handle 48 may be attached to the closure flap 46 at a distal end portion 66 or start 52 of the second component 18 of the hooks and loops attachment system. This increases the amount of downward force that the user must apply to the handle 48 to peel the second component 18 of the hooks and loops attachment system formed on the closure flap 46 off of the first component 16 of the hooks and loops attachment system formed on the middle portion 50 of the pod compartment 14. The amount of pull down force that is required to peel the closure flap 46 off of the middle portion 50 of the pod compartment 14 may be adjusted by the position of the attachment point between the handle 48 and the closure flap 46. Generally, the deeper the attachment point with respect to the distal end 66 or start 52 of the second component 18 of the hooks and loops system attached to the closure flap 46, the greater pull down force required to peel the closure flap 46 off of the middle portion 50 of the pod compartment 14.

In another aspect of the paintball pod harness 10, referring now to FIGS. 6-7C, the middle portion 50 of the pod compartment 14 may be fabricated from a shell 68 and elastic first and second side portions 70, 72 (see FIG. 7A) to reduce a profile of an empty pod compartment 14. In particular, as shown in FIG. 7A, the pod compartment 14 may be defined by the midsection 28 of the belt 12, first and second elastic side portions and a shell 68. When a paintball pod 26 is inserted into the pod compartment 14, the paintball pod 26 stretches the first and second side portions 70, 72 such that the pod compartment 14 may be large enough to receive the paintball pod 26 (see dashed lines in FIG. 7A). When the paintball pod 26 is removed from the pod compartment 14, the first and second elastic side portions contract and draw the shell 68 closer to the midsection 28 (see solid lines in FIG. 7A). Beneficially, this reduces the side profile of the pod compartment 14 such that the user has less probability of being hit on the empty pod compartment 14 with a paintball.

It is also contemplated that either the first or the second side portion 70, 72 be fabricated from an elastic material, but not both. For example, as shown in FIG. 7B, when the paintball pod 26 is inserted into the pod compartment 14, the first elastic portion stretches and the shell 68 pivots about the inelastic second side portion 72 defining a general pivot area to allow the pod compartment 14 to expand and receive the paintball pod 26. When the paintball pod 26 is removed from the pod compartment 14, the shell 68 is drawn toward the midsection 28 of the exterior layer by the first elastic side portion to reduced profile of the empty pod compartment 14 and the likelihood of the user being hit on the empty pod compartment 14 by paintball.

As an alternative embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7C, the pod compartment 14 may be defined by the midsection 28, a first side portion 70 and a shell 68. The second side portion 72 may be eliminated. The shell 68 may be pivotally attached to the midsection 28 directly as shown in FIG. 7C. The opposing distal end of the shell 68 may be attached to the midsection 28 via an elastic first side portion 70. When the paintball pod 26 is inserted into the pod compartment 14, the shell 68 pivots about the pivot axis such that the pod compartment 14 enlarges and receives the paintball pod 26. When the paintball pod 26 is removed from the pod compartment 14, the shell 68 is drawn closer to the midsection 28 via the first elastic side portion to reduce the side profile of the empty pod compartment 14 and reduce the possibility of the user being hit on the empty pod compartment 14 by a paintball.

The first and second side portions 70, 72 shown in FIG. 7A-7C may be attached to the midsection 28 of the belt 12 via stitching or other methods known in the art. As shown in FIG. 7A, an upper fabric 74 and a lower fabric 76 may be stitched onto the first and second side portions 70, 72 to receive shell 68.

The shell 68 may be fabricated from a semi-rigid material. When the paintball pod 26 is removed from the pod compartment 14, the semi-rigid shell 68 flattens to a flat configuration. In contrast, when the paintball pod 26 is inserted into the pod compartment 14, the semi-rigid shell 68 is curved and bent to the configuration of the paintball pod 26. In this sense, the semi-rigid shell 68 may be fabricated from a malleable material but biased to a flat position to further reduce the side profile of an empty pod compartment 14. Alternatively, the shell 68 may be fabricated from a rigid material. The rigid shell 68 does not substantially deform. When the paintball pod 26 is inserted into the pod compartment 14, the rigid shell 68 is traversed away from the midsection 28 of the belt 12 to provide room for the paintball pod 26 and substantially maintains its shape. Also, when the paintball pod 26 is removed from the pod compartment 14, the rigid shell 68 is traversed toward the midsection 28 to reduce the side profile of the pod compartment 14, yet the shell 68 substantially maintains its shape (e.g., curved, flat, etc.).

In another aspect of the paintball pod harness 10, referring to FIGS. 8-15, the paintball pod 26 may be secured in the pod compartment 14 via a clip 78a, b. The clip 78a, b may be rotatably traversed between a holding position (see FIGS. 8 and 12) and a released position (see FIGS. 9 and 13). In use, the user may rotate the clip 78a, b to the release position (see FIGS. 9 and 13) to allow the paintball pod 26 to be inserted into the pod compartment 14. The user inserts the paintball pod 26 into the pod compartment 14. The paintball pod 26 is pushed into the pod compartment 14 until a cap of the paintball pod 26 clears the clip 78a, b. The clip 78a, b is then rotated to the holding position, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 12.

In a first embodiment of the clip 78a (see FIGS. 8-11), the clip 78a may comprise a locking member 80 and a round shaft 82. The round shaft 82 may be received into a hollow tube 84. A first distal end 86 of the round shaft 82 may be secured to a first distal end 88 of an elastic member 90. A second distal end 92 of the elastic member 90 may be attached to the belt 12, pod compartment 14 or hollow tube 84. The hollow tube 84 and the second distal end 92 of the elastic member 90 does not move closer to or away from each other. Rather, the hollow tube 84 and second distal end 92 of the elastic member 90 stay spacially fixed with respect to each other. The round shaft 82 may longitudinally slide through the hollow tube 84 under the force of the elastic member 90 (see FIGS. 8 and 9). Also, the round shaft 82 may be rotatable within the hollow tube 84 (see FIGS. 10 and 11). FIGS. 8 and 10 illustrate the clip 78a at the holding position. In the holding position, the locking member 80 may be disposed over the cap of the paintball pod 26. The elastic member 90 is stretched and applies an upward force on the paintball pod 26 to securely hold the paintball pod 26 in the pod compartment 14. To release the paintball pod 26 from the pod compartment 14, the locking member 80 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction to the release position shown in FIGS. 9 and 11. At the released position, the locking member 80 is moved away from the paintball pod 26. Simultaneously, the elastic member 90 pulls the round shaft 82 inward and longitudinally through the hollow tube 84 as shown in FIG. 9, and the elastic top portion 22 of the pod compartment 14 pushes the paintball pod 26 outward such that the paintball pod 26 to be removed is elevationally lower than the rest of the paintball pods 26 in the pod compartments 14. The user may then remove the paintball pod 26 from the pod compartment 14 and refill his paintball gun with additional paintballs.

A biasing mechanism 94 may be attached to the hollow tube 84 which maintains the clip 78a in the released position when traversed to the released position or in the holding position when traversed to the holding position. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the round shaft 82 may have first and second flat surfaces 96, 98. A ball 100 of a detent 94 may push against the first flat surface 96 via a spring 102. A detent 94 force may resist any rotational force created by the elastic member 90, user or other object. The user is able to rotate the locking member 80 or the clip 78a in a counterclockwise direction to the released position. As shown in FIG. 10, at the released position, the locking member 80 is rotated 90° and also the ball 100 of the detent 94 pushes against the second flat surface 98 to hold the locking member 80 in the released position despite any rotational force created by the elastic member 90.

In a second embodiment of the clip 78b, referring to FIGS. 12-15, the clip 78b may be rotatable with respect to the pod compartment 14. The round shaft 82 is rotatable in the hollow tube 84. However, the round shaft 82 is not longitudinally slidable through the hollow tube 84 (compare FIGS. 12 and 13). In particular, the clip 78b may comprise a locking member 80 and a round shaft 82. The round shaft 82 may extend through the hollow tube 84 attached to the pod compartment 14. Retaining clips 104 (see FIG. 12) may be attached to the round shaft 82 at opposing distal ends of the hollow tube 84. The retaining clips 104 permit the round shaft 82 to rotate within the hollow tube 84 but does not permit the round shaft 82 to longitudinally slide within the hollow tube 84.

In use, the paintball pod 26 may be inserted into the pod compartment 14 with the locking member 80 in the released position (see FIGS. 13 and 15). The paintball pod 26 is pushed further into the pod compartment 14 to stretch the elastic top portion 22 of the pod compartment 14. Thereafter, the locking member 80 is traversed to the holding position, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 14. The locking member 80 may be retained or urged in the holding position via a detent 94 applying a holding force to the round shaft 82 of the clip 78b. In particular, as shown in FIG. 13, a detent 94 may be attached to the hollow tube 84. The round shaft 82 may have first and second flat surfaces 96, 98. When the ball 100 of the detent 94 is pressing against the first flat surface 96, the locking member 80 is urged or retained at the holding position, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 14. To remove the paintball pod 26 from the pod compartment 14, the locking member 80 is rotated and traversed to the released position as shown in FIGS. 13 and 15. When the locking member 80 is traversed to the released position, the ball 100 of the detent 94 pushes against the second flat surface 98 to maintain the locking member 80 in the released position. When the locking member 80 clears the paintball pod 26, the paintball pod 26 is slightly pushed out of the pod compartment 14 via the force of the elastic top portion 22 of the paintball pod 26 (see FIG. 13).

The various features discussed herein, namely, the means for disengaging a closure flap 46 from a pod compartment 14, the means for lifting the pod compartments 14 upward and maintaining the pod compartments 14 about the lower back portion of the user's waist, and the means for reducing a profile of an empty pod compartment 14 and the means for retaining a paintball pod 26 in a pod compartment 14 may be variously embodied and employed. By way of example and not limitation, the first means may be employed in the paintball pod harness 10 along with the second, third and/or fourth means. Alternatively, the second means may be employed in the paintball pod harness 10 along with the first means, third means, and/or fourth means. The third means may be employed in the paintball pod harness 10 along with the first means, second means, and/or fourth means. The fourth means may be employed in the paintball pod harness 10 along with the first, third and/or third means.

The above description is given by way of example, and not limitation. Given the above disclosure, one skilled in the art could devise variations that are within the scope and spirit of the invention disclosed herein. Further, the various features of the embodiments disclosed herein can be used alone, or in varying combinations with each other and are not intended to be limited to the specific combination described herein. Thus, the scope of the claims is not to be limited by the illustrated embodiments.

Claims

1. A belt for holding a plurality of paintball pods about a waist of a user, the belt comprising:

a pod compartment;

a waist encircling layer removeably attachable to the waist of the user, the waist encircling layer defining an upper portion and a lower portion, the pod compartment being attached to the upper portion which is disposable adjacent the lower back of the user when the belt is worn around the waist of the user, the lower portion being disposable upon the upper curvature portion of buttocks of the user when the belt is worn around the waist of the user, the lower portion being fabricated from an elastic material so as to conform to the shape of the upper curvature portion of a user's buttocks for urging the pod compartment upward and maintaining the pod compartment adjacent to the lower back of the user despite the user performing strenuous physical maneuvers in a game of paintball.

2. The belt of claim 1 wherein the upper portion defines a lower edge having a curved configuration for wrapping a midsection of the waist encircling layer over and around the buttocks of the user.

3. The belt of claim 2 wherein the lower edge of the upper portion has a convex configuration.

4. The belt of claim 1 wherein the lower portion has an eyelet configuration.

5. The belt of claim 1 wherein the upper portion has curved configuration.

6. A belt for holding a plurality of paintball pods, the belt comprising:

a waist encircling layer removeably attachable to the waist of a user;

a pod compartment attached to the waist encircling layer sized and configured to receive a paintball pod, the pod compartment having: a middle portion having a first component of a hooks and loops attachment system disposed on the middle portion; a closure flap traversable between a closed position and an opened position, the closure flap having a second component of the hooks and loops attachment system attached to the closure flap, the closure flap blocks an entrance to the pod compartment when the closure flap is in the closed position, the closure flap allows access to the pod compartment when the closure flap is in the opened position, the first and second components of the hooks and loops attachment system being attached to eachother when the closure flap is in the closed position and being disengaged from eachother when the closure flap is in the opened position; a handle attached to the closure flap for traversing the closure flap from the closed position to the opened position, the handle being attached to a distal end portion of the closure flap, the handle being oriented away from the pod compartment such that the user may easily find the handle.

7. The belt of claim 6 wherein the handle is oriented downward from the middle portion of the pod compartment.

8. The belt of claim 6 wherein the handle extends below a bottom of the pod compartment.

9. The belt of claim 6 wherein the handle is attached to a distal end of the closure flap.

10. The belt of claim 6 wherein the handle is attached to the closure flap between the distal end of the closure flap and a start of the second component of the hooks and loops attachment system disposed on the inner surface of the closure flap.

11. The belt of claim 6 wherein the handle is attached to the closure flap adjacent a starting portion of the second component of the hooks and loops attachment system disposed on the inner surface of the closure flap.

12. The belt of claim 6 wherein the closure flap and the handle are fabricated from a unitary material.

13. The belt of claim 6 wherein the handle and the closure flap are fabricated from separate materials.

14. The belt of claim 6 further comprising a guide attached to the closure flap, the handle being disposed between the guide and the closure flap for orienting the handle downward and below the middle portion of the pod compartment.

15. A belt for holding a plurality paintball pods, the belt comprising:

a waist encircling layer removably attachable to a waist of a user;

a pod compartment attached to the waist encircling layer, the pod compartment comprising: a shell and a first elastic side portion, the first side elastic portion being attached to the shell and the waist encircling layer, the rigid shell being attached to the waist encircling layer; wherein insertion of the paintball pod in the pod compartment stretches the first elastic side portion and traverses the shell away from the waist encircling layer to enlarge the pod compartment so as to receive the paintball pod, and removal of the paintball pod from the pod compartment contracts the first elastic side portion and traverses the shell closer to the waist encircling layer to reduce a side profile of the pod compartment and reduce a likelihood of being hit by a paintball during a paintball game.

16. The belt of claim 15 wherein a second edge portion of the shell is directly attached to the waist encircling layer.

17. The belt of claim 15 wherein the second edge portion of the shell is attached to the waist encircling layer via a second side portion.

18. The belt of claim 17 wherein the second side portion is elastic.

19. The belt of claim 17 wherein the second side portion is inelastic.

20. The belt of claim 15 wherein the shell is fabricated from a rigid material.

21. The belt of claim 15 wherein the shell is fabricated from a semi-rigid material such that the shell conforms to the outer diameter of the paintball pod when the paintball pod is inserted into the pod compartment and is biased in a flattened configuration such that the shell flattens out when the paint ball pod is removed from the pod compartment.

22. A belt for holding a plurality of paintball pods, the belt comprising:

a waist encircling layer removably attachable to a waist of a user;

a pod compartment comprising: a middle portion sized and configured to receive a paintball pod; a clip rotatably traversable between a holding position for securing a paintball pod in the pod compartment and a released position for removing the paintball pod from the pod compartment or inserting the paintball pod into the pod compartment.

23. The belt of claim 22 wherein the clip is longitudinally traversable with respect to the pod compartment.

24. The belt of claim 22 wherein the clip is biased upwardly.