ADJUSTABLE BELT ACCESSORY SYSTEM
An accessory coupler for a belt includes a main body having a pawl configured to transition between a locked position and an unlocked position and a coupling system positioned about the main body and configured to couple the main body to an accessory. The accessory coupler further includes wherein when the pawl is in the locked position, the main body is configured to be fixed along a length of a belt and when the pawl is in the unlocked position, the main body is configured to be moved along the length of the belt.
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This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/281,897, filed on Nov. 22, 2021, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUNDConventional belt accessory holders tend to rely on pressure between a user's waist and the belt to keep the accessory in place. Many conventional accessory holders will have a portion that will loop over a belt and secure back onto the accessory to create a hole that the belt will fit through, wherein the hole acts as the only securing means for the accessory. Such configurations lead to undesirable results as user's must set their belts to be tight about their waists or accept that accessory's hung on their belts will have a general tendency to slide along the length of their belts. Thus, a need exits to attach accessories to a belt in a manner as to prevent the accessory from inadvertently sliding along the length of the belt.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccording to a first aspect, there is provided an accessory coupler for a belt. The accessory coupler includes a main body having a pawl operable between a locked position and an unlocked position. The accessory coupler further includes a coupling system positioned about the main body and configured to couple the main body to an accessory base member that supports or otherwise includes an accessory for support on the belt. In operation, when the pawl is in the locked position, the main body is securely fastened to the belt to prevent movement along a length of a belt and when the pawl is in the unlocked position, the main body is movable along the length of the belt.
According to a second aspect, there is provided a belt accessory coupling system. The system includes a belt having a length and a coupling portion disposed along at least a portion of a surface of the belt. An accessory coupler positioned about and movable along the coupling portion of the belt. The accessory coupler includes a latch movable between an unlocked position and a locked position. The system further includes an accessory base member positioned about an opposed surface of the belt from the accessory coupler and coupled to the accessory coupler such that when the latch is in the locked position, the latch engages with the coupling portion to prevent movement of the accessory base member relative to the belt, and when the latch is in the unlocked position, the latch does not engage with the coupling portion enabling the accessory base member to move relative to the belt.
The disclosure will become more fully understood from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements, in which:
The drawings are not necessarily to scale and certain features may be shown exaggerated in scale or in somewhat schematic form in the interest of clarity and conciseness.
DETAILED DESCRIPTIONIn the embodiment illustrated in
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According to some embodiments, the belt 105 is be attached to a belt buckle, which can be a conventional buckle that has a pin that inserts into a hole in the belt 105 to fix the buckle and belt 105 in a looped state. In other embodiments, the belt 105 is attached to a pinless buckle that is configured to engage with the series of teeth 115 to fix the pinless buckle and belt 105 in a looped state, such as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/151,360 filed Jan. 18, 2021 and entitled “Belt Buckle System”, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Although embodiments of a belt accessory coupling system 100, apparatus, and method of use have been described in detail, those skilled in the art will also recognize that various substitutions and modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the appended claims.
In the foregoing description of certain embodiments, specific terminology has been resorted to for the sake of clarity. However, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the specific terms so selected, and it is to be understood that each specific term includes other technical equivalents which operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar technical purpose. Terms such as “left” and right”, “front” and “rear”, “above” and “below” and the like are used as words of convenience to provide reference points and are not to be construed as limiting terms.
In this specification, the word “comprising” is to be understood in its “open” sense, that is, in the sense of “including”, and thus not limited to its “closed” sense, that is the sense of “consisting only of”. A corresponding meaning is to be attributed to the corresponding words “comprise”, “comprised” and “comprises” where they appear.
In addition, the foregoing describes some embodiments of the disclosure, and alterations, modifications, additions and/or changes can be made thereto without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosed embodiments, the embodiments being illustrative and not restrictive.
Furthermore, the disclosure is not to be limited to the illustrated implementations, but to the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Also, the various embodiments described above may be implemented in conjunction with other embodiments, e.g., aspects of one embodiment may be combined with aspects of another embodiment to realize yet other embodiments. Further, each independent feature or component of any given assembly may constitute an additional embodiment.
Claims
1. An accessory coupler for a belt, the accessory coupler comprising:
- a main body having a pawl operable between a locked position and an unlocked position;
- a coupling system positioned about the main body and configured to couple the main body to an accessory base member; and
- wherein when the pawl is in the locked position, the main body is securely fastened to the belt to prevent movement along a length of a belt and when the pawl is in the unlocked position, the main body is movable along the length of the belt.
2. The accessory coupler of claim 1, wherein the coupling system is configured to couple the main body to an accessory base member in a manner such that a gap is formed between the main body and the accessory base member.
3. The accessory coupler of claim 2, wherein the gap is sized to receive a belt therethrough.
4. The accessory coupler of claim 1, further comprising a release actuator coupled to the pawl.
5. The accessory coupler of claim 4, wherein the release actuator is configured to secure the pawl in a locked position until the release actuator is actuated.
6. The accessory coupler of claim 1, further comprising an accessory base member coupled to the coupling system.
7. The accessory coupler of claim 6, further comprising a belt received between the accessory base member and the main body.
8. A belt accessory coupling system, the system comprising:
- a belt having a length and a coupling portion disposed along at least a portion of a surface of the belt;
- an accessory coupler positioned about the coupling portion of the belt, the accessory coupler including a latch movable between an unlocked position and a locked position;
- an accessory base member positioned about an opposed surface of the belt from the accessory coupler and coupled to the accessory coupler; and
- wherein when the latch is in the locked position, the latch engages with the coupling portion, and when the latch is in the unlocked position, the latch does not engage with the coupling portion.
9. The system of claim 8, wherein when the latch is in the unlocked position, the accessory coupler is free to move along the length of the belt and when the latch is in the locked position, the accessory coupler is prevented from moving along the length of the belt.
10. The system of claim 8, wherein the accessory coupler includes a release actuator coupled to the latch that is configured to secure the latch in the locked position until the release actuator is actuated.
11. The system of claim 8, wherein the accessory coupler further includes a coupling system and the accessory is coupled to the coupling system.
12. The system of claim 11, wherein the coupling system is a through hole configured to receive a fastener.
13. The system of claim 8, wherein the coupling portion is a series of teeth.
14. The system of claim 8, wherein the accessory base member includes a holster.
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 21, 2022
Publication Date: May 25, 2023
Applicant: TEAM NexBelt Operating, Inc. (Rancho Cucamonga, CA)
Inventors: Edward Rowland (Rancho Cucamonga, CA), Brett Seber (Waller, TX)
Application Number: 17/991,597