Decorative belt loop pin

The present invention relates to a decorative belt loop pin for the decorating of an article of clothing and for the securement of a belt to an article of clothing. The belt loop pin comprises a rectangularly shaped frame having a central internal opening of rectangular shape. A front member is arranged to receive a decorative panel thereon. A rear member has an upper end and a lower end, the upper end having an upper standoff thereon, the lower end having a lower standoff thereon. The upper standoff has an elongated securement pin hingedly attached thereto. The lower standoff has a securement grasping member thereon. The internal opening of the rectangular frame crtically has a minimum length of about one inch, and a minimum width of about at least three-eighths of an inch, to permit a belt to be readily passed therethrough.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention relates to functional jewelry and more particularly to a 
decorative pin which functions as a belt loop. 
2. Prior Art 
Current customs of dress and clothing often omit belt loops on slacks, 
pants, and skirts or dresses. It may be desirable to add a number of belt 
loops on any of those articles of clothing, or to be able to adjust them 
as necessary. Those articles of clothing which do have belt loops, may 
have their belt loops which are too loose, or they may break. 
It is an object of the present invention however, to provide a decorative 
belt loop pin, which may be utilized on an article of clothing at the 
discretion of the wearer. 
It is an object of the present invention, to provide a decorative belt loop 
pin, which will readily accommodate most typical belts without jamming or 
breaking. 
It is yet a further object of the present invention, in one embodiment 
thereof, to provide a belt loop pin which is flexible so as to flex or 
yield with the width of the belt, when the wearer is bending or moving. 
It is still yet a further object of the present invention, to provide a 
belt loop pin which will not dig into the sides of the wearer or make the 
wearer uncomfortable. 
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention comprises a belt loop pin, having portions made from 
a rigid metallic or plastic material, and which belt loop pin is of 
rectilinear configuration. The belt loop pin of the present invention 
thereby acting as a functional item of jewelry to be worn as securing 
clothing to the wearer, and to decorate that clothing as well. 
The rectilinear configuration of the present belt loop pin is critical, so 
as to permit a belt of the required size to fit readily therethrough. The 
belt loop pin comprises a rectangular frame having a central passageway 
therethrough. The central passageway has a length of a minimum of about 
one inch and a width of at least about three eighths of one inch. These 
minimum dimensions are critical, so as to permit a typical belt, often 
with multiple layers of material, to pass therethrough. The width 
dimensions will also permit the typical multiple stitched-together leather 
or the like to pass readily therewithin. 
The rectangular frame of the belt loop pin has a rear side. The rear side 
of the frame of the belt loop pin has a first or upper standoff at an 
upper end thereof. The standoff at the upper end includes an elongated 
hingedly mounted pin attached to the standoff. The lower end of the rear 
side of the rectangular frame member of the belt loop pin has a second or 
lower standoff extending thereon. The lower standoff includes a grasping 
member which captures the distal tip of the elongated pin. The grasping 
member includes a slot with a finger moveable therearound, so as to secure 
the distal end of the elongated pin therein, in a known manner. 
The rectangular shape of the belt loop pin has a front face plate thereon. 
A decorative panel may be attached to the face plate on the front of the 
belt loop pin. The decorative face plate may be attached via an adhesive, 
a screw means, or the decorative face plate may have longitudinal edges 
which extend around the side portions of the front face plate, so as to 
securely hold the decorative panel thereto. 
In a further embodiment of the present invention, the rear panel of the 
rectangularly shaped belt loop pin, has a gap extending thereacross. This 
gap provides an open space in the rear panel between the upper standoff 
and the lower standoff. This gap permits a belt or article of clothing to 
be slipped through the gap in the rear panel of the pin, and not 
necessarily fed through the side openings on the belt loop pin itself. 
This feature may make it easier to add or remove the pin from the belt. 
In yet a further embodiment of the present invention, the belt loop pin is 
comprised of a pair of opposed U-shaped channel members, spaced apart the 
minimum distance, each channel member having a front lip thereon. The 
front lip of each channel member faces its opposed member, and has a 
flexible fabric attached to each respective lip and bridging the two lips. 
The two channels thus comprising an upper member and a lower member 
attached by a flexible web of material permitting a certain degree of 
bending and flexibility to the pin when it is worn as a belt loop attached 
to an article of clothing. The elongated pin and the grasping element on 
the rear upper and lower lips of the belt loop pin respectively, of this 
embodiment, are engagable as was described hereinabove. 
A further critical feature of the present invention, is that the standoffs 
which secure the elongated articulable pin and the standoff for the 
grasping component be no further than three-eighths of an inch from the 
end of each respective portion of the pin. That is, the upper and lower 
edges of each standoff must be no closer than three-eighths away from the 
upper and lowermost ends of the belt loop pin. This minimizes the 
likelihood of piercing or pinching the body or side of a wearer of this 
belt loop pin, when a wearer bends or twists wearing these belt loops. 
The invention thus comprises a decorative belt loop pin for the decorating 
of an article of clothing and for the securement of a belt to an article 
of clothing, comprising a rectangularly shaped frame having a central 
internal opening therethrough of rectangular shape, a front member 
arranged to receive a decorative panel thereon, a rear member having an 
upper end and a lower end, the upper having an upper standoff thereon, the 
lower end having a lower standoff thereon, the upper standoff having an 
elongated securement pin hingedly attached thereto, the lower standoff 
having a securement grasping member thereon; and the internal opening of 
the rectangular frame having a minimum length of about one inch, and a 
minimum width of about at least three-eighths of an inch, to permit a belt 
to be readily passed therethrough. The decorative panel for the front 
member has flanged edges so as to snap onto the front member in a 
changable and readily decorable manner. The rear member has a gap 
thereacross, between the standoffs to permit a belt or article of clothing 
to be inserted into the central internal opening. The front member has a 
gap thereacross, the frame member thus comprising an upper "U" shaped 
channel member and a lower "U" shaped channel member, the upper and the 
lower channel members each having a front lip, the front lips having a 
flexible fabric extending therebetween, to provide flexibility and 
twistability to the decorative belt loop pin. The upper standoff has an 
uppermost edge and the lower standoff has a lowermost edge, the uppermost 
edge and the lowermost edge of the respective standoffs being no closer 
than three-eigthts of an inch to the uppermost and lowermost ends of the 
decorative pin, to minimize the liklihood of pinching of a wearer of the 
decorative pin. 
The invention also includes a method of decorating an article clothing and 
securing a belt to that article of clothing, comprising the steps of: 
providing a rectangularly shaped frame having a central internal opening 
therethrough of rectangular shape, the frame having a front member 
arranged to receive a decorative panel thereon, the frame having a rear 
member with an upper end and a lower end, the upper end having an upper 
standoff thereon, the lower end having a lower standoff thereon, the upper 
standoff having an elongated securement pin hingedly attached thereto, the 
lower standoff having a securement grasping member thereon, and the 
internal opening of the rectangular frame having a minimum length of about 
one inch, and a minimum width of about at least three-eighths of an inch, 
to permit a belt to be readily passed therethrough; attaching the 
rectangularly shaped frame to an article of clothing; and placing a belt 
through the rectangular shaped central opening in the frame member. The 
method includes the step of: attaching a decorative panel to the front 
member by engagement of a pair of flanged edges around the sides of the 
panel, so as to snap onto the front member in a changable and readily 
decorable manner. The method includes the step of: placing a gap in the 
rear panel member so as to permit a belt or article of clothing to be 
placed therethrough more easily than through openings in the sides of the 
decorative pin, and placing a gap across the front member, the frame 
member thus comprising an upper "U" shaped channel member and a lower "U" 
shaped channel member, the upper and the lower channel members each having 
a front lip, and attaching a flexible fabric across the gap between the 
front lips of the upper and lower channel shaped members, to provide 
flexibility and twistability to the decorative belt loop pin.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring to the drawings in detail, and particularly to FIG. 1, there is 
shown a decorative belt loop pin 10, having portions made from a rigid 
metallic or plastic material, and which belt loop pin 10 is of rectilinear 
configuration, in a side view, as shown. The decorative belt loop pin 10 
of the present invention thereby acts as a functional item of jewelry to 
be worn as securing clothing to the wearer, and to decorate that clothing 
as well. 
The rectilinear configuration of the present decorative belt loop pin 10 is 
critical to the invention, so as to permit a belt "B", of the required 
size to fit readily therethrough, the belt "B" being shown in phantom in 
FIG. 2. The belt loop pin 10 comprises a rectangular frame 12 having a 
rectangular central passageway 14 therethrough. The central passageway 14 
has a minimum length "L" of about one inch and a width "W" of at least 
about three-eighths of one inch. These minimum dimensions are critical, so 
as to permit a typical belt, often with multiple layers of material, to 
easily pass therethrough. The width dimensions will also permit the 
typical multiple stitched-together leather or the like to pass readily 
therewithin. 
The rectangular frame 12 of the decorative belt loop pin 10 has a rear side 
member 16. The rear side member 16 of the frame 12 of the decorative belt 
loop pin 10 has a first or upper standoff 18 at an upper end thereof. The 
upper standoff 18 at the upper end includes an elongated securement pin 20 
hingedly attached to the upper standoff 18. The lower end of the rear side 
member 16 of the rectangular frame member 12 of the decorative belt loop 
pin 10 has a second or lower standoff 22 extending therefrom. The lower 
standoff 22 includes a grasping member 24 which captures the distal tip 26 
of the elongated securement pin 20. The grasping member 24 includes a slot 
28 with a finger 30 moveable therearound, so as to secure the distal end 
tip 26 of the elongated securement pin 20 therein, in a known manner. 
The rectangular shape of the decorative belt loop pin 10 has a front face 
member 32 thereon. A decorative panel 34 may be attached to the face 
member 32 on the front of the belt loop pin 10. The decorative face member 
32 may be attached via an adhesive, a screw means, or the decorative face 
plate may have longitudinal edges 36 which extend around the side portions 
of the front face plate, so as to securely hold the decorative panel 
thereto, as shown in phantom, in FIG. 2. 
In a further embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3, the 
rear side member 16 of the rectangularly shaped decorative belt loop pin 
10, has a gap 40 extending thereacross. This gap 40 provides an open space 
in the rear member 16 between the upper standoff 18 and the lower standoff 
22. This gap 40 permits a belt "B" or article of clothing to be slipped 
through the gap 40 in the rear member 16 or side of the decorative belt 
loop pin 10, and not necessarily fed through the side openings on the 
decorative belt loop pin 10 itself. This feature may make it easier to add 
or remove the decorative belt loop pin 10 from a belt, or vice versa. 
In yet a further embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 4 
and 5, the decorative belt loop pin 10 is comprised of an upper and a 
lower U-shaped channel member 44 and 46, spaced apart the minimum distance 
"L", each channel member 44 and 46 having its minimum internal width "W" 
of three-eighths of an inch, and having a front lip 48 thereon. The front 
lip 48 of each channel member 44 and 46 faces its opposed member, and has 
a flexible fabric 50 attached to and bridging the two respective lips 48. 
The two channel members 44 and 46 thus comprise an upper member and a 
lower member attached by a flexible web of material to permit a certain 
degree of bending and flexibility to the decorative pin assembly when it 
is worn as a belt loop attached to an article of clothing. The elongated 
securement pin 20 and the grasping element 24 on the rear upper and lower 
lips 52 and 54 of the decorative belt loop pin 10 respectively, in this 
embodiment, are engagable as was described hereinabove. 
A further critical feature of the present invention, is that the standoff 
18 which secures the elongated articulable securement pin 20 and the 
standoff 22 for the grasping member 24 be no closer than three-eighths of 
an inch from the end of each respective portion of the decorative pin 10, 
as shown in representative manner in FIG. 4. That is, the upper and lower 
edges 18' and 22' of each standoff respectively, must be no nearer than 
three-eighths of an inch away from the uppermost and lowermost ends of the 
decorative belt loop pin 10, those dimensions represented as M and 
M.sub.1. This distance condition minimizes the likelihood of piercing or 
pinching the body or side of a wearer of this belt loop pin, when a wearer 
bends or twists wearing these belt loops.