Belt Shelf

A unitary static structure that provides an assist for a human user to carry unwieldy and/or heavy objects is simple, easy to construct (e. g. by injection molding to provide a single piece of rigid plastic), and contains no moving parts. The structure includes a main plate, a garment belt-receiving manifestation associated with the main plate, and a flat shelf extending perpendicular to the main plate. The garment belt-receiving manifestation desirably defines a channel so that a garment belt passes through the channel and engages portions of the front face of the main plate.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

There are many situations where it is desirable to have an assist that helps a user carry objects without requiring the user's hands and arms to provide the sole support for an object. There are numerous prior art devices that provide such assists such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,822,116 (a belt mounted bait box), U.S. Pat. No. 7,175,061 (a belt mounted hook-shaped cavity), U.S. Pat. No. 7,575,136 (a belt mounted child carrier), U.S. Pat. No. 8,783,534 (a waistband mounted support for a ladder), U.S. Pat. No. 9,999,291 (a weight bearing ledge for boxes fastened directly to a back support belt and shoulder straps), and U.S. Pat. No. 10,640,320 (a belt mounted holder for rolls of tape), and US Patent Publications 2001/0004987 (webbing which wraps around a user's hand or wrist to support man-made sheet materials), 2007/0017945 (a belt mounted lifting device for packaged goods), and 2008/0283563 (a belt mounted carrier for a tape measure). While all of these, and some other, prior art devices can provide a desirable assist for certain objects some are specific-purpose devices which are not universally usable, and most have a degree of complexity that is undesirable if they are to be manufactured easily and inexpensively.

According to the present invention an assist for carrying objects is provided that is extremely simple and easy to produce, comprising a unitary device with no moving parts or complicating elements, that is feasible for assisting a human user in the transport of an almost endless variety of objects. For example the assist according to the invention may effectively be utilized to support cardboard, wooden, or metal boxes; packages; pieces of furniture; construction materials; machinery; and almost any other object that can be safely carried by a single human.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a unitary static (i. e. no moving parts) structure which comprises: a main plate; a garment belt-receiving manifestation associated with the main plate; and a substantially flat shelf extending substantially perpendicular to the main plate and having a upper surface and a lower surface.

Desirably, the unitary static structure is formed by a single piece of rigid plastic, such as one selected from the group consisting essentially of glass-filled polypropylene, ABS, and glass-filled nylon. Also, the structure desirably includes at least one support connected between the shelf lower surface and the main plate, the at least one support preferably comprising at least one gusset, such as a pair of spaced gussets. The main plate desirably has a slight curvature, to roughly correspond to the front of a human's torso, although in some circumstances it can be substantially flat.

The garment belt-receiving manifestation may comprise a pair of spaced apertures (such as elements6in US 2007/0017945) or a belt clip (such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 10,640,320). However, the preferred construction, which has a number of advantages, allows the garment belt to engage the main plate to more securely hold it in place on the torso front of a human user. In this preferred, advantageous, embodiment the main plate preferably has a front face from which the shelf extends and a rear face; and the garment belt-receiving manifestation comprises a channel-forming manifestation including a top portion substantially parallel to the shelf and integral with the main plate and extending outwardly from the front face of the main plate, and a front portion substantially parallel to the main plate and integral with the top portion and the shelf upper surface, so that a garment belt may pass through the channel formed by the top and front portions of the channel-forming manifestation and engage portions of the main plate front face. Desirably, the main plate is discontinuous opposite the channel-forming manifestation front portion, defining an open area in the main plate substantially the same size as the front portion of the channel-forming manifestation.

In a preferred embodiment the main plate has a width of about 8-10 inches (most desirably about 8.5-9.0 inches) and a height of about 1.5-3 inches (most desirably about 2.0-2.5 inches); and the shelf has a length of about 2-4 inches (most desirably about 2.5-3.0 inches) and a width of about 8-10 inches (most desirably about 8.5-9.0 inches). Also, the channel desirably has a height of about 2-4 inches (most desirably about 2.5-3.0 inches) and a thickness of about 0.1-0.4 inches (most desirably about 0.2-0.3 inches). Also in the preferred embodiment the unitary structure further comprises at least one support connected between the shelf lower surface and the main plate, the support desirably comprising one or more gussets.

As used herein the term “substantially perpendicular” means (for example with respect to the main plate and the shelf) that two elements make an angle of about 85°-95° with respect to each other, preferably about or exactly 90°.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided an object-supporting assist which comprises: A main plate having a front face and a rear face; a shelf extending substantially perpendicular to the main plate and having an upper surface and a lower surface; and a garment belt-receiving manifestation comprising a channel-forming manifestation including a top portion substantially parallel to the shelf and integral with the main plate, and extending outwardly from the front face of the main plate, and a front portion substantially parallel to the main plate and integral with the upper surface of the shelf, so that a garment belt may pass through the channel formed by the top and front portions of the channel-forming manifestation and engage portions of the main plate front face.

According to yet another aspect of the invention there is provided: A combination for assisting a human in carrying an unwieldy and/or heavy object, which comprises: a unitary static structure including: a curved main plate; a garment belt-receiving manifestation associated with the curved main plate; a substantially flat shelf extending substantially perpendicular to the curved main plate; and a garment belt passing through the belt-receiving manifestation for securement around a human's waist so that the shelf extends outwardly from the garment belt for supporting an unwieldy and/or heavy object.

It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a simple, easy-to-construct, versatile, object-supporting assist attachable to a human user's belt. This and other objects of the invention will become clear from the detailed description of the drawings and from the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A unitary static (i. e. no moving parts) structure according to the invention is shown generally by reference numeral10in the drawings. The static structure10comprises a main plate12, a garment belt (G—seeFIGS. 2, 6 & 7)—receiving manifestation, shown generally at14, associated with the main plate12, and a shelf16extending substantially perpendicular to the main plate12, the shelf16having a substantially flat upper surface18(FIGS. 1, 2, &6) and a lower surface20(FIGS. 4 & 5). Desirably at least one support (shown as a pair of spaced gussets22inFIGS. 4 & 5) is connected between the shelf16lower surface20and the main plate12.

Desirably, the unitary static structure10is formed by a single piece of rigid plastic (e. g. by injection molding), such as one selected from the group consisting essentially of glass-filled polypropylene, ABS, and glass filled nylon, although other materials and construction techniques may be used. As seen in all of the drawing figures, the main plate12desirably has a slight curvature (see C inFIG. 5), to roughly correspond to the front of a human's torso (see H inFIGS. 6 & 7), although in some circumstances the plate12can be substantially flat. The degree of curvature C illustrated inFIG. 5may be about 45-60 degrees (most desirably about 52°).

The garment belt-receiving manifestation14may comprise a pair of spaced apertures (such as elements6in US 2007/0017945) or a belt clip (such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 10,640,320). However, the preferred construction, which has a number of advantages, including allowing the garment belt G to engage the front face24of the main plate12to more securely hold the plate12in place on the front torso of a human user H (seeFIGS. 6 & 7), is seen most clearly inFIGS. 1, 2 & 4. In this preferred, advantageous, embodiment the main plate12preferably has the front face24from which the shelf16extends and a rear face26(seeFIGS. 3 & 5), and the garment belt-receiving manifestation14comprises a channel-forming manifestation (the channel indicated by reference numeral28and most clearly seen inFIGS. 1 & 4) including a top portion30substantially parallel to the shelf16and integral with the main plate12and extending outwardly from the front face24thereof, and a front portion32substantially parallel to the main plate12and integral with the top portion30and the substantially flat shelf upper surface18, so that a garment belt G may pass through the channel28formed by the top and front portions30,32, respectively, of the channel-forming manifestation14and securely engage portions of the main plate front face24(seeFIGS. 2 & 6).

Desirably, the main plate12is discontinuous opposite the channel-forming manifestation front portion32, defining an open area (35, seen inFIG. 3) in the main plate12substantially the same size as the front portion32of the channel-forming manifestation14. This open area35not only reduces the amount of material necessary to form the structure10but under some circumstances can receive a buckle, snaps, VELCRO strips, or other attachments for the ends of the garment belt G, although the belt end attachments may be provided on a side of the human user H.

In a preferred embodiment, in order to provide optimum functionality of the structure10, the main plate12has a width37(seeFIG. 3) preferably of about 8-10 inches (most desirably about 8.5-9.0 inches) and a height38(seeFIG. 3) preferably of about 4-7 inches (most desirably about 5-6 inches), and the shelf16has a length40(seeFIG. 1) preferably of about 1.5-3 inches (most desirably about 2-2.5 inches) and a width41substantially the same as the width37of the main plate12(seeFIG. 1). Also, the channel28preferably has a height43(seeFIG. 4) of about 2-4 inches (most desirably about 2.5-3 inches) and a thickness44(FIG. 4) preferably of about 0.1-0.4 inches (most desirably about 0.2-0.3 inches).

As used herein the term “substantially perpendicular” means (for example with respect to the main plate12and the shelf16) that two elements make an angle of about 85°-95° with respect to each other, preferably about or exactly 90°.

FIGS. 6 & 7show the unitary static structure10according to the invention fastened to the front torso of a human user H, using a garment belt G, and supporting an unwieldy and/or heavy object shown in dotted line at50inFIG. 7. The structure10thus provides an excellent assist to the human user H in carrying the object50so that he/she need not use his/her arms and hands alone to carry the object50.

The invention is to be interpreted so that all possible individual ranges within a broad range are specifically included herein. Also, while the invention has been herein shown and described in what is presently conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment thereof it is to be understood that many modifications may be made within the scope of the invention, which scope is only to be limited by the appended claims and the prior art.