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There are no related patent applications.
The subject matter of the present invention did not receive federal government research and development funding.
The present invention generally relates to a buckle-less belt that can be secured around the waist and aids in securing a pair of pants or other article of clothing. More particularly, the invention relates to a belt that comprises complementary strips of hook and loop material over an entire front and back face of the belt to create a universal belt that may be used by different individuals with varying waist sizes. Ornamental patches, tools, holsters and like items may be fastened along the length of the belt at different intervals. The items comprise complementary strips of hook and loop material for securing the items to a face of the belt and may be worn in various manners and locations on the belt.
Belts have traditionally served both utility and fashion purposes. Belts are useful in securing an article of clothing to wearer's body. Belts come in a variety of shapes and sizes to accommodate different sized waists or body parts. Belts are provided in various sizes, shapes, colors, and patterns. However, it is believed that none of these belts allow the ornamental design portrayed upon one face of the belt to be easily modified for different uses.
In general, belts are strips of fabric, leather or other flexible material that conforms to a region of the body such as the waist. Typically, a belt includes a buckle having a metal fastener that extends through a hole in the belt. Other known belts, such as those worn by military personnel include a buckle fastened at one end to the belt and include an opening through which the opposite end of the belt passes. A bar in the buckle is forced in a direction causing the opposite end of the belt to be seized down against the belt. Other belts have a buckle whereby one end of a belt is affixed thereto and the other end passes through an opening in the buckle and is pulled back onto and secured against the belt via hook and latch material or other cinching means. However, all of these belts require the use of a buckle and none disclose an ability to be easily modified for different uses.
While these belts meet their primary objectives, they also leave room for improvement. Typically, the fabric, leather or other material deteriorates and breaks down over time. This leads to rips and tears both in the belt and around the buckle. Moreover, it may be difficult for individuals who have arthritic hands or who are physically challenged to operate a buckle to secure a prior art belt. Therefore, looking to the prior art, it is clear that a buckle-less belt made of a more durable material encounters no such problems and is superior to the prior art belts.
The present invention includes a buckle-less belt comprised of one face entirely covered by a hook material and a second face entirely covered of a loop material. Ornaments, holsters, tools and other like items may be fastened along one of the two faces of the belt by a material that is complementary to the face of the belt upon which the item is fixed. Thus, a belt of the present invention can fit multiple waist sizes.
The invention at hand features all of the aforementioned desirable criteria. It is an improvement on the prior art for several reasons. For one, the fastening ability of the complementary material rivals that of a zipper. Additionally, a wearer ease of use is enhanced by the fact that the belt is fastened by simply pressing the opposing sides against each other. Thus, the present invention provides a belt which is easier to use by individuals who have arthritic hands or may be physically handicapped. Moreover, the instant belt may include an identification pocket comprising a clear plastic material or the like for securing an identification card to the belt. This identification pocket may be used for securing pictures also.
The belt of the present invention is also more durable than those of the prior art because the instant belt can take more wear and tear because it does not have a buckle. Oftentimes, buckles cause belts to deteriorate and break more easily. This belt's utility is also expansive as it can act as a support for gun holsters, cell phone or pager clips, pockets, tools, similar devices. Also, the belt is suitable for any person of any age and may be provided in a variety of colors while including removable patterns that overlay a face of the belt. The patterns may be in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors. Moreover, the patterns may be in the form of letters or numbers. The above explanations are provided to illustrate the utility of the invention. And, by no means necessary were these explanations intended to limit the application of this invention to other purposes.
It is an object of the invention to provide a buckle-less belt that secures one face of the belt against an opposite face of the belt.
It is another object of the invention to provide a belt that easily accommodates a variety of ornaments, holsters, tools or the like to be quickly modified for different uses.
It is a further object of the invention to teach a universal belt that can accommodate an array of accessories which are temporarily secured to a face of the belt but which may be easily arranged to reconfigure the belt and accessories.
These and other objects of the invention and advantages of the invention will be set forth, appear in part or become apparent after considering the specification and accompanying drawings. It is to be realized that the following embodiments of the invention have been represented in their simplest form for ease in understanding the invention.
FIG. 1A shows a face of the belt having a loop material which acts as a binding medium where hooks from an opposite face of the belt embed to securely fastening the two overlapping ends of the belt.
FIG. 1B depicts the face of the belt comprised of hooks which are typically stiff nylon pieces that securely attach to the loops when pressed together.
FIG. 2 is a cross section view of the belt having an inner material to which a strip of hook material is affixed onto one face and a strip of loop material is affixed onto the other face.
FIG. 3A portrays a backside of a cell phone having hook material that secures to the latch material shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3B depicts a first embodiment of a gun holster that may be secured to the belt of the instant invention. FIG. 3C depicts a second embodiment of a gun holster that may be secured to the belt of present invention. FIG. 3D shows the resultant combination of the belt, cell phone and gun holster.
FIG. 4 shows an embodiment the invention and includes ornamental features that may be affixed and arranged to the belt.
FIG. 5A shows an identification pocket of the type shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 5B shows the pocket of the present invention shown in FIG. 4.
FIG. 6 shows how the belt would encircle around the user's waist and attach and also demonstrates how a gun in it holster could hang from the belt.
The following is the preferred embodiment or best mode for carrying out the invention. It should be noted that this invention is not limited by the discussion of the preferred embodiment and should only be defined by the appended claims.
FIGS. 1A and 1 B show the front face 3A and the back face 3B of the belt 1. In this instance, front face 3A comprises hook material 21; whilst back face 3B comprises loop material 23. It should be understood that the belt may be flipped over to cause either the hook or loop material to be displayed on an outer surface of the belt away from the wearer, as shown in FIG. 6.
In FIG. 2, a base material 25 forms a belt or strap 1 and includes hook material 21 affixed on a first side of the belt 1. Loop material 23 is affixed on an opposite side of the belt.
FIG. 3A shows a cellular telephone 51 that comprises a strip of complementary loop material 23 for affixing the telephone 51 to the belt 1 via a mating action created by the hook 21 and loop 23 material. The cellular telephone 51 may be arranged at any point along the belt 1.
FIG. 3B shows a first embodiment of a holster 41 that includes an overlapping member 31 which overlaps a lip 39 of the belt shown in FIG. 3D. An inner surface of the overlapping member 31 comprises a complementary hook material 21 that mates with loop material 23 provided on an inner surface of belt 1. In FIG. 3C, the holster 41 includes a strip of loop material 23 for mating with the hook material 21 provided on an exterior surface of the belt that faces away from the wearer.
FIG. 3D shows the cellular telephone 51 and holster 41 attached to the exterior surface of the belt. It should be noted that the angle at which the telephone 51 and holster 41 hang may be varied by simply detaching each item from the exterior of the belt and positioning it at a desired angle before reengaging the complementary hook and loop material.
FIG. 4 depicts a belt 1 having a plurality of items affixed thereto. The items may include numerals 52, ornamental shapes 33 and 35, identification pockets 70, or hanging pockets 75. Numerals 52 and ornamental shapes 33, 35 each include a complementary strip of material, either hook or loop material, that is affixed to a back edge of the item to secure it to a face of the belt that faces away from the wearer. A protective pocket 70, as shown in FIG. 5A, includes a clear plastic pocket material 29 having edges that comprise complementary strips of material that affixes the material 29 and any identification card or picture to the face of the belt.
In FIG. 5B, pocket 75 comprises a zipper 71 for gaining entry into the pocket 75. Pocket 75 also includes an overlapping member 31 equipped with hook material 21. Alternatively, pocket 75 may comprise a strip of complementary material affixed to a back side of the pocket in similar means to the cell phone 51 of FIG. 3A.
FIG. 6 depicts a belt 1 worn by a wearer who has individualized the belt by adding ornamental letters 51. The belt 1 is cut is a size small enough to extend within the belt loops 61 of pants 60. The wearer is also wearing a holster that carries a pistol 44 and is affixed to outer surface 77 that extends away from the wearer.
It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact construction illustrated and described above. Various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.