FLAG FOOTBALL BELT AND FLAGS

Abstract

A flag football belt assembly includes a belt having two or more fasteners. A flag assembly includes a flag clip having a first arm joined to a second arm an acute angle, a fitting on the first arm and a flag strip attached to the second arm. The fitting is engageable to the fastener to attach the flag assembly onto the belt, and the fitting is releasable from the fastener by pulling on the flag strip. The first arm may be joined to the second arm at a flex joint and/or the flag clip may be made of a flexible material. The flag clip having the first and second arms at an acute angle holds the flag strip away from the player's body to allow the flag strip to be more easily and reliably grabbed during play.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Flag football is a game similar to American football. Players advance the ball downfield towards the goal via running or passing plays. All players wear a belt having two or more flags. Defenders stop the player carrying the ball by pulling a flag off of the ball carrier's belt. The flags typically are ribbons or strips of fabric or plastic. For fair play, the flags must be easily grabbed by defenders. If the flags are out of position on the belt, or if the flags are slack against the players clothing, folded or bunched up, the offensive player may obtain an unfair advantage because the flags are more difficult to grasp. Improved flags and flag belts are needed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A flag football belt assembly includes a belt having two or more fasteners. A flag assembly includes a flag clip having a first arm joined to a second arm at an acute angle, a fitting on the first arm and a flag strip attached to the second arm. The fitting is engageable with the fastener to attach the flag assembly onto the belt, and the fitting is releasable by pulling on the flag strip. The first arm may be joined to the second arm at a flex joint and/or the flag clip may be made of a flexible material. The second arm may be at least twice as long as the first arm. The flag clip having the first and second arms at an acute angle holds the flag strip away from the player's body to allow the flag strip to be more easily and reliably grabbed during play.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings the same element number indicates the same element in each of the views.

FIG. 1 is a side view of a flag football belt assembly laid out flat.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the flag football belt assembly shown in FIG. 1 with longer flag strips provided.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the flag football belt assembly shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an end view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the flag clip shown in FIGS. 1-4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

As shown in FIGS. 1-3, a flag football belt assembly 10 includes a belt 12 made of flexible webbing material, such as woven Nylon, canvas, leather, etc. The belt 12 is designed so that it can adjust to the waist size of the user, as with a conventional dress belt. Any type of belt buckling device may be used for this purpose. In the example shown in the drawings, a buckle socket 18 is attached at one end of the belt 12 via a stitched-in belt loop 16. A complimentary buckle plug 20 is attached onto the other end of the belt 12, either using a belt loop and a sliding belt length adjuster 22, or via threading the belt end through tensioning slots in the buckle plug 20. Fittings such as snap buttons 28 are attached to the belt 12, optionally in two spaced apart clusters of three.

Referring now also to FIGS. 4 and 5, a flag assembly 32 includes a flag strip 34 attached to a flag clip 40. The flag clip 40 has a first leg 44 joined to a second leg 46 at an acute angle AA typically ranging from 25-65 or 35-55 degrees. The flag clip 40 may be made of a flexible material, such as soft plastic having a thickness WW of 0.5 to 3 or 4 mm. In this design, the resilience of the material allows the second leg 46 to bend relative to the first leg 44. Alternatively, the legs may be joined via a flex joint, such as a living hinge having a material thickness less than the legs. A flag strip 34 is permanently attached to the outer or lower end of the flag clip 40, optionally by looping the flag strip 34 through a slot 48. The flag strip 34 may be a fabric or plastic material. The upper end of the flag clip 40 may be angled or rounded. A snap ring 42 is provided on the first leg 44, with the snap ring 42 adapted to provide a snap fit with the snap button 28.

The user puts on the belt assembly 10 similar to a conventional belt. The belt length is adjusted either via the adjuster 22, if provided, or by pulling the belt through the tensioning slots in the buckle plug 20. With the belt buckle facing front, one or more snap buttons 28 are positioned at the user's left and right sides. The user presses the snap ring 42 of a flag assembly 32 onto or into one of the snap buttons 28 on the belt, to attach the flag assembly 32 onto the belt 12. Of course, the positions of the snap buttons and snap rings may be reversed, and other similar attaching devices may be used. These may include spring finger, spanner, latching and other devices providing nominal holding force while releasable by pulling at different directions.

Referring to FIG. 4, with the flag assembly 32 attached to the belt 14, the first leg 44 is substantially parallel (within +/−5 degrees) to the belt. The inside surface of the flag clip 40 may also be flush or nearly flush against the belt 14. The flag strip 34 is held out laterally away from the belt 14 due to the acute angle AA between the first and second legs, and the length of the second leg 46. Correspondingly, the flag strip 34 is held out away from the users body or clothing. As a result, the flag strip 34 is easier to grab, as generally there is space between the users clothing and the flag strip 34. When a defender grabs the flag strip 34, the flag assembly 32 is easily pulled off of the belt 14 as the snap ring 42 separates or disengages from the snap button 28 with a slight tug. The flag football game may be played based more on players abilities because the flag strips are more consistently positioned.

With certain snap fittings 28 and 42, the angle AA of the flag clip 40 may allow the two fitting components to separate more consistently, or with reduced force, because pulling on the flag strip 34 applies forces on the snap fitting differently from designs where the flag strip is co-planer with the snap fitting.

Thus, novel flag football belts and flag assemblies have been shown and described. Various changes and modifications may of course be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The invention, therefore, should not be limited, except by the following claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A flag football belt assembly, comprising:

a belt;

a fastener on the belt;

a flag assembly including a flag clip having a first arm joined to a second arm at acute angle, a fitting on the first arm and a flag strip attached to the second arm, with the fitting attachable to fastener, and with the fitting releasable from the fastener by pulling on the flag strip.

2. The flag football belt assembly of claim 1 wherein the first arm is joined to the second arm at a flex joint.

3. The flag football belt assembly of claim 1 wherein the flag clip comprises a resilient flexible material.

4. The flag football belt assembly of claim 1 wherein the second arm is at least twice as long as the first arm.

5. The flag football belt assembly of claim 1 wherein the fastener and the fitting comprise a snap-on fitting attaching the flag assembly to the belt.

6. The flag football belt assembly of claim 1 wherein the acute angle is 15 to 60 degrees.

7. The flag football belt assembly of claim 2 wherein the belt comprises a strip of flexible material having upper and lower edges, and with the flex joint substantially aligned with the lower edge of the belt.

8. The flag football belt assembly of claim 1 wherein the flag strip having an upper end spaced apart laterally from the belt by at least 2 cm.

9. A flag football belt assembly, comprising:

a belt having first and second ends;

first and second quick release fittings at the first and second ends of the belt, respectively;

a plurality of first snap fittings on the belt;

at least one flag assembly including a flag clip comprising having a first arm joined to a second arm an acute angle via a flex joint, with second arm at least twice as long as the first arm, a second snap fitting on the first arm and a flag strip attached to the second arm, with the second snap fitting attachable to one of the first snap fittings by pressing them together to attach the flag assembly to the belt, and with the flag assembly releasable from the belt by pulling on the flag strip to cause the second snap fitting to separate from the first snap fitting.

10. The flag football belt assembly of claim 9 with the plurality of first snap fittings arranged in groups of two or more spaced apart along a longitudinal centerline of the belt.

11. The flag football belt assembly of claim 9 wherein the flex joint comprises a flexible material joining the first arm to the second arm.

12. The flag football belt assembly of claim 11 wherein the entire flag clip comprises a flexible material.

13. A flag assembly comprising:

a flag clip comprising having a first arm joined to a second arm an acute angle via a flex joint, with the second arm at least twice as long as the first arm, a snap fitting on the first arm and a flag strip attached to the second arm.