Belt System
A belt system worn by an individual includes a belt having an inner side, an outer side, a first end and a second end, and a belt panel having a first end and a second end. The first end of the belt panel is connected to the outer side of the belt between the first end of the belt and the second end of the belt. The second end of the belt panel has a closure for detachably connecting the second end of the belt panel to the belt between the first end of the belt panel and the first end of the belt.
The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/105,348, filed on Jan. 20, 2015, and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/115,637, filed on Feb. 13, 2015. The disclosures of the noted provisional patent applications are incorporated herein by reference.
FIELDThe present application generally relates to a belt system with a belt having an outer panel to hang holsters, equipment, and pouches.
BACKGROUNDFor individuals using belts to hang equipment, holsters, and pouches, one of the current problems is that when the belt is unbuckled, the weight of the equipment being hung, can pull the belt free of belt loops and allow the equipment to slide off, particularly on the open end of the belt without a buckle. This would result in damage to that fallen equipment, pouches, and holster. The other problem is that one of the most common ways holsters, pouches, and equipment are attached to belts are closed loops on the back of the equipment that forces the user to slide the equipment onto the belt, they cannot be clipped or hung.
Another problem is that to slide the equipment on and off, the user must unbuckle the belt. This forces the user to hold up his pants which can be heavy with existing equipment on the belt or items in their pants, and at the same time slide on and off additional equipment. It also requires the user to pull the belt out of the belt loops of their pants to slide on and off equipment, and then run the remainder of the belt back through the belt loops, before the belt can be re-buckled, this increases the amount of time this process takes which can be problematic in emergency situations and inconvenient on a day-to-day basis if the user has to frequently go into and out of areas where certain equipment, firearms, etc. are not allowed.
Undercover agents or law enforcement officers in plain-clothes dress need to be able to conceal their equipment. One common restraining device to replace handcuffs are zip ties. But there is a need to conceal these devices on a person due to their dimension and rigidity.
There is also a need in the law enforcement to conceal devices to get out of restraints. A small razor blade or knife can be used to get out of improvised restraining devices such as zip-ties, rope, etc. Therefore, there is a need for a small concealed cavity to hold these devices safely
A common problem with belts is that they come in many different widths, for example 1.5″, 1.75″, 2″, and 3″ are very common belt widths. To compound the problem, holsters and gear use an attachment mechanism called a closed loop. The mechanism is simply a closed loop of plastic, metal, or fabric that the belt feeds through. This closed loop mechanism is more secure because there is no chance that the holster or gear can be pulled off intentionally or accidentally. The problem with closed loops is that, like belts, come in a variety of fixed dimensions, for example 1.5″, 1.75″, 2″, and 3″. The problem is that many times, the belt width and the closed loop width don't match up. This difference adds slack and that allows a lot of up and down movement which makes accessing equipment difficult and becomes uncomfortable when wearing something for a long period of time. There has been effort to make closed loop attachment mechanisms adjustable to reduce that slack and minimize that movement (see U.S. Ser. No. 09/352,452), but nothing for the belt to make that adjustment.
Another factor that adds movement and makes the task of drawing equipment out of a holster or accessory holder more difficult are pant belt loops. Pant belt loops can vary in size depending on pant manufacture. Pant belt loops are another form of closed loops and as referenced above can create similar problems when waring gear.
Hunters, professional shooters, law enforcement officers, and workers are required to carry a lot of additional equipment in pursuit of work and sport. But much of this equipment needs to be switched out or only necessary for a specific task or short period of time. The current limitations of existing equipment and designs make it difficult to change items on and off or necessitates the wearer to have an all or nothing approach which places unnecessary physical burden and cost on the users.
For simplicity and clarity of illustration, the drawing figures illustrate the general manner of construction, and descriptions and details of well-known features and techniques may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present disclosure. Additionally, elements in the drawing figures may not be depicted to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help improve understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure.
DESCRIPTIONThe panel 103 in combination with the belt 100 and closure mechanisms 105, 106, 109 and 110 creates a closed loop around at least one pant belt loop when worn, as shown in
The panel 103 can be made of the same material of the belt 100 or a different material depending on the intended use and load bearing capacity of the belt 100 and panel 103. Friction material 107 may be added, through various methods such as sewn, glued, etc. to the inner surface of the panel 103 (shown in
The panel 103 is fixed to the belt 100 at two ends without any attachment points between the two ends. Accordingly, any equipment mounted on or between the panel 103 and/or the belt 100 can slide along the panel 103 while being supported by the panel 103 and/or the belt 100.
According to the belt system discussed herein, the panel 103 allows a user to slide gear that is supported by the belt 100 and/or panel 103 on and off while the belt is worn and supporting the pants of the wearer. In other words, the belt system performs the function of holding up the pants of a wearer while equipment is slid on and off the panel 103. Furthermore, because the connection point 104 may be a pivoting connection, the panel 103 can be pivoted relative to the belt 100 to allow the panel 103 to be oriented a preferred angle relative the waist for loading and unloading gear from the belt system. The belt system also provides for equipment supported by the panel 103 and/or the belt 100 to remain on the panel 103 and/or the belt 100 due to the closed loop connection of the panel 103 to the belt 100. In other words, other mechanisms to prevent any equipment from sliding off the belt system 100 may not be needed. Additionally, the frictional layer or material 107 is configured to hold equipment mounted on the panel 103 and/or the belt 100, in particular when the panel 103 is tensioned and attached to the belt 100 with a closure as discussed herein (e.g., creating a clamping pressure between the panel 103 and the belt 100).
A belt system according to one example may include a load carrying assembly having a belt mount 400 and a load or duty panel 500 as described in detail herein.
The belt system may include a load or duty panel 500 as shown in the example of
As discussed herein, belt mount 400 can be used on both ends of the load panel 500. If hardware 504 is replaced with belt mount 400 as shown in
The belt system according to one example may include an attachable add on panel 600 as shown in
The belt system may include a weapon support panel 700 as shown in
As shown in
A belt system according to one example may include a pocket 800 that can hold a razor blade 805 as shown in
The use of the word “pant” or “pants” herein refers to any garment that can be worn by an individual that covers at least a portion of the body of the individual below the waist, such as pants, shorts, overalls, pants with suspenders and/or bibs, skirts, or any similar garments. Any of the belts or belt systems described herein may be used on non-garment objects such as backpacks, suitcases, duffle bags, and/or any other object that may be used by an individual to hold or carry equipment.
The terms “and” and “or” may have both conjunctive and disjunctive meanings. The terms “a” and “an” are defined as one or more unless this disclosure indicates otherwise. The term “coupled” and any variation thereof refer to directly or indirectly connecting two or more elements chemically, mechanically, and/or otherwise. The phrase “removably connected” is defined such that two elements that are “removably connected” may be separated from each other without breaking or destroying the utility of either element.
The term “substantially” when used to describe a characteristic, parameter, property, or value of an element may represent deviations or variations that do not diminish the characteristic, parameter, property, or value that the element may be intended to provide. Deviations or variations in a characteristic, parameter, property, or value of an element may be based on, for example, tolerances, measurement errors, measurement accuracy limitations and other factors. The term “proximate” is synonymous with terms such as “adjacent,” “close,” “immediate,” “nearby”, “neighboring”, etc., and such terms may be used interchangeably as appearing in this disclosure.
The apparatus, methods, and articles of manufacture described herein may be implemented in a variety of embodiments, and the foregoing description of some of these embodiments does not necessarily represent a complete description of all possible embodiments. Instead, the description of the drawings, and the drawings themselves, disclose at least one embodiment, and may disclosure alternative embodiments.
Although certain example apparatus, methods, and articles of manufacture have been described herein, the scope of coverage of this disclosure is not limited thereto. On the contrary, this disclosure covers all apparatus, methods, and articles of articles of manufacture fairly falling within the scope of the appended claims either literally or under the doctrine of equivalents.
Claims
1. A belt system comprising:
- a belt having an inner side, an outer side, a first end and a second end;
- a belt panel having a first end and a second end, the first end of the belt panel being connected to the outer side of the belt between the first end of the belt and the second end of the belt, the second end of the belt panel having a closure configured to detachably connect the second end of the belt panel to the belt between the first end of the belt panel and the first end of the belt; and
- wherein at least a portion of the belt facing an inner side of the belt panel or a portion of an inner side of the belt panel facing the belt includes a material configured to increase friction between the belt and the inner side of the belt panel.
2. A belt system as defined in 1 further comprising an equipment attachment mechanism having attachment loops and a slack panel, wherein the equipment attachment mechanism is configured to receive a portion of the belt panel and a portion of the slack panel through the attachment loops, wherein when the belt panel and the slack panel are received in the attachment loops, the belt panel is between between the equipment attachment mechanism and the slack panel.
3. A belt system as defined in 1 further comprising a load carrying assembly comprising:
- a load panel having a first end and a second end, the first end of the load panel having a closure configured to adjustably attach to the belt panel along a length of the belt panel, and the second end of the load panel having a closure;
- a belt mount having a first end and a second end, the first end of the belt mount configured to slidably mount on the belt panel, and the second end of the belt mount having a closure; and
- wherein the closure at the second end of the load panel and the closure at the second end of the belt mount are configured to connect to attach the load carrying assembly to the belt or the belt panel.
4. A belt system as defined in 1 further comprising a load carrying assembly comprising:
- a load panel having a first end and a second end, the first end of the load panel having a closure configured to adjustably attach to the belt panel along a length of the belt panel, and the second end of the load panel having a closure, a lower portion of the load panel including a thicker portion configured to substantially fill the space between loads mounted on the load panel and a wearer of the belt;
- a belt mount having a first end and a second end, the first end of the belt mount configured to slidably mount on the belt panel, and the second end of the belt mount having a closure; and
- wherein the closure at the second end of the load panel and the closure at the second end of the belt mount are configured to connect to attach the load carrying assembly to the belt or the belt panel.
5. A belt system as defined in 1 further comprising a load panel having a first end and a second end, the first end of the load panel having a first closure configured to attach the first end of the load panel to the belt, the second end of the load panel having a second closure configured to attach the second end of the load panel or the belt.
6. A belt system as defined in 1 further comprising a load carrying assembly comprising:
- a first load panel having a first end and a second end, the first end of the first load panel having a closure configured to adjustably attach to the belt panel along a length of the belt panel, and the second end of the first load panel having a closure;
- a belt mount having a first end and a second end, the first end of the belt mount configured to slidably mount on the belt panel, and the second end of the belt mount having a closure;
- a second load panel having a first end and a second end, the first end of the second load panel having a first closure configured to attach the first end of the second load panel to the first load panel, and the second end of the second load panel having a second closure configured to attach the second end of the second load panel or the first load panel; and
- wherein the closure at the second end of the first load panel and the closure at the second end of the belt mount are configured to connect to attach the load carrying assembly to the belt or the belt panel.
7. A belt system as defined in 1 further comprising a load carrying assembly comprising:
- a first load panel having a first end and a second end, the first end of the first load panel having a closure configured to adjustably attach to the belt panel along a length of the belt panel, and the second end of the first load panel having a closure;
- a belt mount having a first end and a second end, the first end of the belt mount configured to slidably mount on the belt panel, and the second end of the belt mount having a closure;
- a second load panel having a first end and a second end, the first end of the second load panel having a first closure configured to attach the first end of the second load panel to the first load panel, and the second end of the second load panel having a second closure configured to attach the second end of the second load panel or the first load panel, the second load panel comprising a plurality of attachment points configured to receive equipment; and
- wherein the closure at the second end of the first load panel and the closure at the second end of the belt mount are configured to connect to attach the load carrying assembly to the belt or the belt panel.
8. A belt system comprising:
- a belt having a first end, a second end, an inner belt portion and an outer belt portion, the outer belt portion being spaced apart from the inner belt portion to define a gap between the inner belt portion and the outer belt portion; and
- a belt panel having a first end and a second end, the first end of the belt panel being connected to an outer side of the outer belt portion of the belt between the first end of the belt and the second end of the belt, the second end of the belt panel having a closure configured to detachably connect the second end of the belt panel to the belt between the first end of the belt panel and the first end of the belt.
9. A belt system as defined in 8, wherein at least a portion of the belt facing an inner side of the belt panel or a portion of an inner side of the belt panel facing the belt includes a material configured to increase friction between the the belt and the inner side of the belt panel.
10. A belt system as defined in 8 further comprising a load carrying assembly comprising:
- a load panel having a first end and a second end, the first end of the load panel having a closure configured to adjustably attach to the belt panel along a length of the belt panel, and the second end of the load panel having a closure;
- a belt mount having a first end and a second end, the first end of the belt mount configured to slidably mount on the belt panel, and the second end of the belt mount having a closure; and
- wherein the closure at the second end of the load panel and the closure at the second end of the belt mount are configured to connect to attach the load carrying assembly to the belt or the belt panel.
11. A belt system as defined in 8 further comprising a load carrying assembly comprising:
- a load panel having a first end and a second end, the first end of the load panel having a closure configured to adjustably attach to the belt panel along a length of the belt panel, and the second end of the load panel having a closure, a lower portion of the load panel including a thicker portion configured to substantially fill the space between loads mounted on the load panel and a wearer of the belt;
- a belt mount having a first end and a second end, the first end of the belt mount configured to slidably mount on the belt panel, and the second end of the belt mount having a closure; and
- wherein the closure at the second end of the load panel and the closure at the second end of the belt mount are configured to connect to attach the load carrying assembly to the belt or the belt panel.
12. A belt system as defined in 8 further comprising a load panel having a first end and a second end, the first end of the load panel having a first closure configured to attach the first end of the load panel to the belt, the second end of the load panel having a second closure configured to attach the second end of the load panel or the belt.
13. A belt system as defined in 8 further comprising a load carrying assembly comprising:
- a first load panel having a first end and a second end, the first end of the first load panel having a closure configured to adjustably attach to the belt panel along a length of the belt panel, and the second end of the first load panel having a closure;
- a belt mount having a first end and a second end, the first end of the belt mount configured to slidably mount on the belt panel, and the second end of the belt mount having a closure;
- a second load panel having a first end and a second end, the first end of the second load panel having a first closure configured to attach the first end of the second load panel to the first load panel, and the second end of the second load panel having a second closure configured to attach the second end of the second load panel or the first load panel; and
- wherein the closure at the second end of the first load panel and the closure at the second end of the belt mount are configured to connect to attach the load carrying assembly to the belt or the belt panel.
14. A belt system as defined in 8 further comprising a load carrying assembly comprising:
- a first load panel having a first end and a second end, the first end of the first load panel having a closure configured to adjustably attach to the belt panel along a length of the belt panel, and the second end of the first load panel having a closure;
- a belt mount having a first end and a second end, the first end of the belt mount configured to slidably mount on the belt panel, and the second end of the belt mount having a closure;
- a second load panel having a first end and a second end, the first end of the second load panel having a first closure configured to attach the first end of the second load panel to the first load panel, and the second end of the second load panel having a second closure configured to attach the second end of the second load panel or the first load panel, the second load panel comprising a plurality of attachment points configured to receive equipment; and
- wherein the closure at the second end of the first load panel and the closure at the second end of the belt mount are configured to connect to attach the load carrying assembly to the belt or the belt panel.
15. A belt system for use with pants having pant loops, the belt system comprising:
- a belt having an inner side, an outer side, a first end and a second end, the belt configured to be inserted between the belt loops and the pants;
- a belt panel having a first end and a second end, the first end of the belt panel being pivotally connected to the outer side of the belt between the first end of the belt and the second end of the belt, the second end of the belt panel having a closure configured to detachably connect the second end of the belt panel to the belt between the first end of the belt panel and the first end of the belt; and
- wherein the belt panel is movable between a first position and a second position, wherein in the first position, the second end of the belt panel is detachably connected to the belt and the belt loops are between the inner side of the belt panel and the outer side of the belt, and wherein in the second position, the second end of the belt panel is detached from the belt and the belt panel is pivotable about the belt at the first end of the belt panel.
16. A belt system as defined in 15 wherein at least a portion of the belt facing an inner side of the belt panel or a portion of an inner side of the belt panel facing the belt includes a material configured to increase friction between the the belt and the inner side of the belt panel.
17. A belt system as defined in 15 further comprising a load carrying assembly comprising:
- a load panel having a first end and a second end, the first end of the load panel having a closure configured to adjustably attach to the belt panel along a length of the belt panel, and the second end of the load panel having a closure;
- a belt mount having a first end and a second end, the first end of the belt mount configured to slidably mount on the belt panel, and the second end of the belt mount having a closure; and
- wherein the closure at the second end of the load panel and the closure at the second end of the belt mount are configured to connect to attach the load carrying assembly to the belt or the belt panel.
18. A belt system as defined in 15 further comprising a load carrying assembly comprising:
- a load panel having a first end and a second end, the first end of the load panel having a closure configured to adjustably attach to the belt panel along a length of the belt panel, and the second end of the load panel having a closure, a lower portion of the load panel including a thicker portion configured to substantially fill the space between loads mounted on the load panel and a wearer of the belt;
- a belt mount having a first end and a second end, the first end of the belt mount configured to slidably mount on the belt panel, and the second end of the belt mount having a closure; and
- wherein the closure at the second end of the load panel and the closure at the second end of the belt mount are configured to connect to attach the load carrying assembly to the belt or the belt panel.
19. A belt system as defined in 15 further comprising a load carrying assembly comprising:
- a first load panel having a first end and a second end, the first end of the first load panel having a closure configured to adjustably attach to the belt panel along a length of the belt panel, and the second end of the first load panel having a closure;
- a belt mount having a first end and a second end, the first end of the belt mount configured to slidably mount on the belt panel, and the second end of the belt mount having a closure;
- a second load panel having a first end and a second end, the first end of the second load panel having a first closure configured to attach the first end of the second load panel to the first load panel, and the second end of the second load panel having a second closure configured to attach the second end of the second load panel or the first load panel; and
- wherein the closure at the second end of the first load panel and the closure at the second end of the belt mount are configured to connect to attach the load carrying assembly to the belt or the belt panel.
20. A belt system as defined in 15 further comprising a load carrying assembly comprising:
- a first load panel having a first end and a second end, the first end of the first load panel having a closure configured to adjustably attach to the belt panel along a length of the belt panel, and the second end of the first load panel having a closure;
- a belt mount having a first end and a second end, the first end of the belt mount configured to slidably mount on the belt panel, and the second end of the belt mount having a closure;
- a second load panel having a first end and a second end, the first end of the second load panel having a first closure configured to attach the first end of the second load panel to the first load panel, and the second end of the second load panel having a second closure configured to attach the second end of the second load panel or the first load panel, the second load panel comprising a plurality of attachment points configured to receive equipment; and
- wherein the closure at the second end of the first load panel and the closure at the second end of the belt mount are configured to connect to attach the load carrying assembly to the belt or the belt panel.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 20, 2016
Publication Date: Jul 21, 2016
Inventor: Charlie W. Chiang (Anaheim, CA)
Application Number: 15/001,882