Abstract:
A non-slip belt clip comprises a backing, a face plate, and a clip including an internal and an external portion. The internal portion is configured to fit between the backing and the face plate and incorporating at least two cutouts such that connectors joining the backing to the face plate may pin the internal portion of the clip between the face plate and the backing in a fixed position. The two cutouts are configured such that while the connectors pass through the cutouts, the connectors are not surrounded on all sides by the internal portion of the clip.

Description:
NOTICE OF COPYRIGHTS AND TRADE DRESS 
       [0001]    A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material that is subject to copyright protection. This patent document may show or describe matter that is or may become trade dress of the owner. The copyright and trade dress owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright and trade dress rights whatsoever. 
       RELATED APPLICATION INFORMATION 
       [0002]    This patent claims priority from provisional patent application No. 62/364,575 filed Jul. 20, 2016, and entitled “Non-Slip Belt Clip.” 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Field 
       [0003]    This disclosure relates to belt clips and, more particularly, to a non-slip belt clip manufactured in such a way that the clip portion of the belt clip is securely held in place between a face plate and a backing portion. 
       Description of the Related Art 
       [0004]    There are numerous types of belt clips and temporary attachment devices. There exist plastic single-piece molded belt clips, there are steel clips affixed to leather front faces, and there are wrap around leather clips into which belts pass. Various devices are designed to fit within belt clips and similar temporary attachment devices, ranging from hammers held on the belts of contractors to handguns held in holsters of police officers to mobile phones held within holsters affixed to belts or within cases designed to interface with belt clips. 
         [0005]    In a design preferred by holster manufacturers to enable strength, ease of manufacture of components, ease of assembly, lifetime durability, and ease of operation by a user; a leather backing somehow affixed to a steel (or similar metal) clip portion is preferred. However, this design is subject to limitations in the ways in which the metal portion may be affixed to the leather portion. Occasionally, another material, such as plastic or metal is introduced to try and add structural rigidity to the combined article. These other materials are affixed using rivets or other connectors, often passing through holes created in the backing and clip. 
         [0006]    Typically a single rivet is passed through both the backing and the clip portion. Or, occasionally, two rivets, one near the top of the clip and another near the bottom of the clip. To ease manufacturing, the holes through the backing and the clip are created without significant care for the clearances required for the respective rivets. As a result, the primary aspect of the bond holding the clip and backing together is the strength of the coupling of the two portions of the rivet. 
         [0007]    Over time, rivets inevitably loosen their grip and the clip and backing combination are able to move, from side to side, relative to one another, thereby lowering the structural integrity of the clip and backing combination. This is undesirable for at least the reason that the articles held in place by these clips are often valuable or dangerous, such as mobile phones, glasses, or firearms. Therefore, secure retention and maintenance of the articles on a belt and within the control of the clip is extremely desirable. 
         [0008]    Other clips may make the clip portion and backing portion, at least in part, of a single piece of metal, plastic, or other material. This solves the problem of relative movement of the clip and backing portion. However, metal must be machined into appropriate shapes to serve as a belt clip. Notably, metal begins as sheet metal and must be thinned, rounded, and shaped. As a result, it is incredibly difficult to machine a single piece of metal into a complex, intermovable belt clip suitable for attachment to a counterpart hook or arm for easy insertion and removal of a device clipped to the belt clip from the belt clip. Plastic molds with drastic bends and shapes are more complex from which to remove the resulting pieces and are more likely to result in poor quality products. As a result, single-piece clips are more expensive to manufacture because they require more complex metal shaping or plastic molds in order to create. 
     
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a non-slip belt clip with an associated attachment pocket interfacing with a counterpart attachment stud. 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a front view of a counterpart attachment stud. 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is an exploded view of a non-slip belt clip. 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is a front view of a clip portion of a non-slip belt clip. 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  is a side view of a clip portion of a non-slip belt clip. 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  is a back view of a clip portion of a non-slip belt clip. 
           [0015]      FIG. 7  is a front view of a counterpart attachment stud going into an attachment pocket of a non-slip belt clip. 
           [0016]      FIG. 8  is a front view of a counterpart attachment stud being turned once inserted into an attachment pocket of a non-slip belt clip. 
           [0017]      FIG. 9  is a front view of a counterpart attachment stud secured within an attachment pocket of a non-slip belt clip. 
           [0018]      FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional view of a counterpart attachment stud secured within an attachment pocket of a non-slip belt clip. 
           [0019]      FIG. 11  is an internal cross-sectional view of a clip portion of a non-slip belt clip. 
       
    
    
       [0020]    Throughout this description, elements appearing in figures are assigned three-digit reference designators, where the most significant digit is the figure number and the two least significant digits are specific to the element. An element that is not described in conjunction with a figure may be presumed to have the same characteristics and function as a previously-described element having a reference designator with the same least significant digits. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0021]    Description of Apparatus 
         [0022]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a non-slip belt clip  100  with an associated attachment pocket interfacing with a counterpart attachment stud. The non-slip belt clip  100  includes a backing  110 , a clip portion  120 , a structural plate  130 , and a face plate  140 .  FIG. 1  also shows a mount point including a base plate  160  mounted on an article backing  170 . 
         [0023]    The backing  110  is designed to abut the pants or pocket of a user of the non-slip belt clip  100 . Specifically, the backing  110  may be a smooth material, padded, and may be designed to slip on to a belt, waist area, or within a pocket than the other materials. Example materials for the backing  110  include leather, smooth plastics, cloth, artificial leathers, metals, along with other materials. The backing  110  may be formed in an aesthetically-pleasing shape and may be made of a material that is aesthetically pleasing. 
         [0024]    The clip portion  120  is designed to interface with a belt, a pant waist, a pocket or other pouch or circle of material into which the clip portion  120  may be placed. The clip portion  120  is discussed more fully below with respect to  FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 . 
         [0025]    The structural plate  130  may provide structural rigidity to the backing  110  in cases in which the backing is made of material that is not rigid enough to serve as an adequate backing  110  for the non-slip belt clip. In other cases where the backing  110  is sufficiently rigid, the structural plate  130  may be combined with the backing  110  into a single component. The structural plate  130  may include an internal guide channel or a series of projections that operate as an internal guide channel for a counterpart attachment stud (not visible). 
         [0026]    The face plate  140  (see  FIG. 3 ) includes an attachment pocket (not visible) suitable for interfacing with a counterpart attachment stud (not visible). The face plate  140  may be made of metal or plastic or any sufficiently rigid and resilient material to be used repeatedly to affix and remove an article to the non-slip belt clip. 
         [0027]    The base plate  160  (See  FIGS. 1 and 2 ) is a metal, plastic, or other sufficiently rigid material to maintain its shape when affixed to the article backing  170 . Although rivets  162 T and  162 B are shown affixing the base plate  160  to the article backing  170 , adhesives, staples, or other methods of permanently or semi-permanently affixing the base plate  160  to the article backing  170  may be used. 
         [0028]      FIG. 2  is a front view of a counterpart attachment stud  166 . The counterpart attachment stud  166  is designed in such a way as to interface with the attachment pocket (not shown) of the face plate  140 . The counterpart attachment stud  166  includes a flattened edge  168  that is used to enable the counterpart attachment stud  166  to enter an attachment pocket (not shown) and then to be locked within the attachment pocket. The article backing  170  and base plate  160  through which rivets  162 T and  162 B pass to secure the attachment stud  166  to the article backing  170  are also shown. 
         [0029]      FIG. 3 , an exploded view of a non-slip belt clip  100 , shows the various aspects of each of the backing  110 , clip portion  120 , structural plate  130 , and face plate  140 . 
         [0030]    The backing  110  has holes  112 T and  112 B through which rivets  152 T and  152 B pass. The rivets  152 T and  152 B secure the backing, clip portion  120 , structural plate  130 , and face plate  140  together as a single unit. The holes  112 T are broader spaced than those of  112 B because the associated rivets  152 T should be on either side of the clip portion  120  when the non-slip belt clip  100  is assembled. The holes  112 B are close together to enable the rivets  152 B to abut substantially adjacent to the clip portion  120 . This application uses “substantially adjacent” to mean touching or within sufficient closeness that the internal portion (discussed below with respect to  FIG. 4 ) of the clip portion is unable to move more than superficially so long as the rivets  152 B are in place. 
         [0031]    The structural plate  130  also includes holes  132 T and  132 B, spaced to correspond with those holes  112 T and  112 B in the backing  110 . The structural plate also includes a guide channel formed by a guide post  134  and a locking post  136 . The guide post  134  ensures that a counterpart attachment stud (not shown) is guided straight into the attachment channel  144  when it is inserted for coupling. The locking post  136  enables the counterpart attachment stud to be locked into place, once turned, as will be discussed more fully below with respect to  FIGS. 7-9  below. The guide post  134  and locking post  136  may be formed of the same material as the structural plate  130 . The guide post  134  and locking post  136  may be partially punched out of the structural plate  130 . Alternatively, the guide post  134  and locking post  136  may be affixed to the structural plate by welding, adhesive, or other methods. 
         [0032]    The face plate  140  also includes holes  142 T and  142 B, corresponding to holes  112 T,  132 T,  112 B, and  132 B. Also visible in  FIG. 3  is attachment channel  144  which is designed so as to enable a counterpart attachment stud (not shown) to enter and be removed from the attachment channel  144 . 
         [0033]      FIG. 4  is a front view of a clip portion  120  of a non-slip belt clip. The clip portion  120  includes two cutouts  122 , a j-shaped terminator  124  for an outer portion  126 , a top  128  and an inner portion  129  ( FIG. 5 ). The two cutouts  122  are at the base of the inner portion  129 , but they could be elsewhere along the inner portion  129 . 
         [0034]    The cutouts  122 , which are visible in  FIG. 4 , are designed in such a way that rivets  152 B passing through holes  112 B,  132 B, and  142 B abut substantially adjacent to the inner portion  129  ( FIG. 5 ) of the clip portion  120  within the cutouts  122 . Thereby, the clip portion  120  may be “pinched” not only from upward movement because of the inner portion  129  material below the cutouts  122 , but from side-to-side movement of the inner portion  129 . Thus, the clip portion  120  may be secured within the non-slip belt clip  100 .  FIG. 4  shows only two cutouts, but three or more cutouts may be used. 
         [0035]    Prior art embodiments rely upon one or more holes through which rivets pass. As should be understood, the tolerances required for matching holes through multiple component parts making up an article are higher than those required for cutouts alone. Further, the manufacturing of the clip portion  120  as a single piece of metal (or other, sufficiently-rigid material) is much simpler than manufacturing the clip as a single piece. This is discussed above. Accordingly, cutouts are preferable to the use of holes through the clip portion  120 . 
         [0036]      FIG. 5  is a side view of a clip portion  120  of a non-slip belt clip. The j-shaped terminator  124 , the top  128  are more-visible in  FIG. 5 . 
         [0037]    The inner portion  129  is more-visible in  FIG. 6 , a back view of a clip portion  120  of a non-slip belt clip, than in  FIG. 4 or 5 . Otherwise the description of these elements will not be repeated here. 
         [0038]      FIG. 7  is a front view of a counterpart attachment stud  166  going into an attachment pocket  144  of a non-slip belt clip  100 . Here, the counterpart attachment stud  166  may be moved downward into the attachment pocket  144  (shown in dashed lines because it is on the back of the non-slip belt clip  100 ). The guide post  134  and locking post  136  are also shown in dashed lines because they are internal to the non-slip belt clip  100 . 
         [0039]    While being inserted, the counterpart attachment stud  166  is rotated such that the flattened edge  168  may slide past the locking post  136  as the counterpart attachment stud  166  is inserted into the attachment pocket  144 . When the counterpart attachment stud  166  is rotated in a different orientation, the counterpart attachment stud  166  is unable to pass the locking post  136 . 
         [0040]      FIG. 8  is a front view of a counterpart attachment stud  166  being turned once inserted into an attachment pocket  144  of a non-slip belt clip  100 . Once the counterpart attachment stud  166  is inserted into the attachment pocket  144 , it may be rotated, for example by rotating the device to which the counterpart attachment stud is connected about an axis through the center of the counterpart attachment stud  166 . 
         [0041]    By rotating the counterpart attachment stud  166 , the flattened edge  168  turns to a different orientation. Once the counterpart attachment stud  166  is past the locking post  136 , the counterpart attachment stud  166  cannot rotate. However, rotating the counterpart attachment stud  166  causes the counterpart attachment stud  166  to abut the locking post  136 , and is held in place by the guide post  134 , in such a way that the counterpart attachment stud  166  may not be removed from the attachment pocket  144 . To remove the counterpart attachment stud  166  from the attachment pocket, the counterpart attachment stud  166  must be rotated again such that the flattened edge  168  may pass the locking post  136 . 
         [0042]      FIG. 9  is a front view of a counterpart attachment stud  166  secured within an attachment pocket  144  of a non-slip belt clip  100 . The rotated counterpart attachment stud  166  may be seen abutting the locking post  136  such that movement out of the attachment pocket  144  is now prevented without re-rotating the counterpart attachment stud  166 . 
         [0043]      FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional view of a counterpart attachment stud  166  secured within an attachment pocket  144  of a non-slip belt clip  100 . This perspective shows the attachment stud  166  and guide post  134 . 
         [0044]      FIG. 11  is an internal cross-sectional view of a clip portion  120  of a non-slip belt clip  100 . This cross-sectional view shows the rivets  152 B within the cutouts  122  of the clip portion  120 . As discussed above, the cutouts are not holes within the clip portion  120 . The cutouts do not fully-encircle the rivets  152 B. In some cases, the cutouts  122  may not be circular, but may appear more like a “J” that stops the clip portion  120  from moving upward when pulled. In other cases, the cutouts  122  may be mere indentions in the sides of the clip portion  120  of sufficient depth that the rivets  152 B can hold the clip portion  120  in place within the non-slip belt clip. 
         [0045]    Closing Comments 
         [0046]    Throughout this description, the embodiments and examples shown should be considered as exemplars, rather than limitations on the apparatus and procedures disclosed or claimed. Although many of the examples presented herein involve specific combinations of method acts or system elements, it should be understood that those acts and those elements may be combined in other ways to accomplish the same objectives. With regard to flowcharts, additional and fewer steps may be taken, and the steps as shown may be combined or further refined to achieve the methods described herein. Acts, elements and features discussed only in connection with one embodiment are not intended to be excluded from a similar role in other embodiments. 
         [0047]    As used herein, “plurality” means two or more. As used herein, a “set” of items may include one or more of such items. As used herein, whether in the written description or the claims, the terms “comprising”, “including”, “carrying”, “having”, “containing”, “involving”, and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean including but not limited to. Only the transitional phrases “consisting of” and “consisting essentially of”, respectively, are closed or semi-closed transitional phrases with respect to claims. Use of ordinal terms such as “first”, “second”, “third”, etc., in the claims to modify a claim element does not by itself connote any priority, precedence, or order of one claim element over another or the temporal order in which acts of a method are performed, but are used merely as labels to distinguish one claim element having a certain name from another element having a same name (but for use of the ordinal term) to distinguish the claim elements. As used herein, “and/or” means that the listed items are alternatives, but the alternatives also include any combination of the listed items.