Abstract:
The present invention broadly comprises a support belt having a band including a first end having a fastener, a second end configured to receive the fastener and a middle portion having a midpoint and arranged between the first and second ends. The present invention also includes a first dependent loop coupled to the first end of the band and a second dependent loop coupled to the second end of the band, wherein the first and second dependent loops are disposed at a predetermined angle to the band.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     None. 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     None. 
     REFERENCE TO A “SEQUENCE LISTING” 
     None. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to belts for lifting and carrying large amounts of weight. More specifically, the present invention is related to belts that secure conventional pinching and/or clamping devices and to belts that allow a carrier (user) to utilize their legs, rather than their back, to lift heavy objects. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Heavy and bulky slab materials, such as natural stone, tile, ceramics and glass, are often used in the construction of homes and commercial buildings. These materials can weigh as much as five hundred to six hundred pounds and traditionally take four to six men to carry and install. Further, wide slabs of these materials must be carried vertically to prevent the material from breaking. Pinchers were recently introduced to assist users in carrying the slabs of material vertically, to more evenly distribute the weight of the heavy materials between users and to reduce the amount of strain on individuals. The pincher handles are gripped in the hands of the user and are held near the front-middle of the torso. 
     A problem with pinchers is that it requires carriers to rely heavily on their backs and arms to carry heavy object. Thus, carriers often suffer from severe back pain and are subject to muscle strains of their biceps, triceps, deltoids, Latissimus dorsi and other arm and back muscles. Further, serious and even permanent back injuries sometimes occur, including painful herniated disks and compression fractures. 
     What is needed, then, is an apparatus that will distribute the weight of heavy loads to the legs of the carrier rather than their back and arms. An apparatus that will reduce the cost of labor for the movement of heavy, bulky materials is also needed. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention broadly comprises a support belt having a band including a first end having a fastener, a second end configured to receive the fastener and a middle portion having a midpoint and arranged between the first and second ends. A first dependent loop is coupled to the first end of the band and a second dependent loop is coupled to the second end of the band. The first and second dependent loops are disposed at a predetermined angle to the band. 
     The present invention also comprises a band having a first end, a second end, a fastener for removably securing the first and second ends and a middle portion disposed between the first and second ends and having a midpoint. A first dependent loop is coupled to the first end of the band and a second dependent loop is coupled to the second end of the band. Each dependent loop is disposed at a predetermined angle from the band. 
     The present invention further comprises a support belt comprising a band including a first end having a fastener and a second end configured to receive the fastener. The band includes a middle portion arranged between the first and second ends and having a midpoint. The strap includes a first dependent loop and a second dependent loop. The strap is parallely disposed at least along the middle portion of the band, and the first and second dependent loops are disposed at a predetermined angle to the band. 
     Another embodiment of the invention includes a support belt comprising a band including a first end having a fastener and a second end configured to receive the fastener. Preferably, the embodiment also includes a first dependent loop coupled to the first end of the band and a second dependent loop coupled to the second end of the band, wherein the first and second dependent loops are disposed at a predetermined angle to the band. A pincher having self-locking first and second handles is disposed in the first and second dependent loops. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES 
         FIG. 1  is a top view of a belt with dependent strap loops. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the belt showing pinchers being aligned for inserting into the dependent strap loops. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a person wearing the belt with pinchers inserted into the dependent strap loops to carry a heavy object. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view, similar to  FIG. 3 , except showing a closer view of the belt having pinchers inserted into the dependent strap loops. 
         FIG. 5  is a top view of the belt showing measurements of an embodiment of the belt. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     At the outset, it should be appreciated that the use of the same reference number throughout the several figures designates a like or similar element. Referring now to the figures,  FIGS. 1-2  show a belt  10  comprises a band  12  and an overlapping strap  14  having a first loop  16  and a second loop  18  for receiving handles of a pincher  19 , as shown in  FIG. 2 . 
     The pincher  19  is commercially available at Granite City Tool and is sold under the name Stone Pro Carry Clamps, Item # 2507-0020. The Stone Pro Carry Clamps can be purchased from the following website: http://www.granitecitytool.com/showitem.cfm?itemnum=85&amp;catnum=115&amp;p catnum=115&amp;mcatnum=93. The pincher  19  is operatively arranged to be self-locking, wherein the pincher  19  grips the slab of material more tightly as the force exerted on the pinchers increases. That is, when the user pivots the handles of the pincher  19  downwardly, towards the ground, the jaws of the pincher  19  open enabling the pincher  19  to receive the slab of material. When the user pivots the handles of the pinchers  19  upwardly, the jaws of the pincher  19  clamp the slab of material. The greater the force exerted upwardly on the handles of the pincher  19  by the user and the greater the force exerted downwardly on the jaws of the pincher  19  by the extreme weight of the slab of material, the more tightly the jaws of the pincher  19  clamp the slab of material. 
     The band  12  is preferably made of leather however other materials known in the art, such as nylon webbing and synthetic leather may be used. For integrity purposes, the band  12  is preferably double stitched around the entire perimeter. In an embodiment of the invention, the overlapping strap  14  is centrally positioned and affixed to outer surface of the band  12 . In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the strap  12  is affixed to the inner surface of the band  12 . By “outer surface” of the band  12 , it is meant the top view shown in  FIG. 1 . By “inner surface” of the band  12 , it is meant the surface that is in contact with the body when the belt is worn. Although the strap  14  is shown sewn to the band  10 , it should be appreciated that the strap  14  can be affixed to the belt using other means, including, but not limited to by a strong adhesive and/or rivets. 
     The belt  10  further preferably includes a widest portion  20 , a buckle end  22 , and an opposite end  24 . The first and second loops  16 ,  18  include strap ends  26 ,  28  connected to the strap  14 , wherein the strap ends  26 ,  28  are perpendicular to the band  12 . In one embodiment, a substantial portion of the strap  14  is affixed to the band  12  and the strap ends  26 ,  28  are independent from the band  12 . The strap  14  can be, however, integrally connected to the band  12 . The strap ends  26 ,  28  are folded downwardly at approximately a 45 degree angle, wherein folded regions  30 ,  32  are permanently secured. The folded regions  30 ,  32  can be sewn together along the folded portion, adhered together, or secured with rivets or other means. It should be apparent that the folded regions  30 ,  32  can be folded at other angles, for example, in the range of 15 degrees to 90 degrees, and this modification is intended to be within the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed. As seen in FIGS  1 ,  2 ,  3  and  4 , the attachment of the straps  26 ,  28  to the belt at the folded regions  30 ,  32  is at an anterior portion of the user. That is, the straps  26 ,  28  depend from an anterior portion of the belt  10 . 
     Each loop  16 ,  18  may be formed by affixing a terminal end of each the independent section of the strap ends  26 ,  28  to an upper portion of the strap ends  26 ,  28 . That is, the strap ends  26 ,  28  are each folded upwardly onto themselves and the upper portion of each strap end  26 ,  28  is affixed. The lower portion of the strap ends  26 ,  28  remains unattached, forming a loop for receiving the pincher handles. Referring to  FIGS. 1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4  and  5 , each strap thus has a spacer portion  26   a ,  28   a  intermediate the folded region  30 ,  32  and the loops  16 ,  18 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1-3 , a tapered flap  33  can be connected to the buckle end  22  of the belt  10 . In a preferred embodiment, the top portion of the tapered flap  33  is connected to the buckle end  22  and is approximately six inches wide. The tapered flap  33  extends approximately three to four inches below the band  12  and protects the groin area of the carriers. Preferably, the tapered flap  33  is made of protective leather, although other materials, including but not limited to nylon webbing, canvas, and heavy vinyl can be used. Preferably, the buckle  22  is dual-pronged metal connected by rolled-over leather  34  attached with four to six rivets and double stitched. Preferably, the band  10  includes aligned sets of two holes  36 , preferably spaced at 1¼ inches, on the belt end  24  to receive the dual-pronged metal buckle  22 . 
     In use, as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , a first carrier and a second carrier each fasten belts  10  tightly around their upper hip portion of their torso. Handles of pinchers  19  are inserted through the loops  16 ,  18  of the strap  14 , wherein the handles of the pinchers  19  point away from the body of each carrier. The two carriers squat and place the pinchers on the lower portion of a slab of heavy material. Then the carriers simultaneously and slowly press upwardly using their legs for the lifting power. As the carriers begin to stand, the pincher handles automatically pivot inwardly towards the middle of the torsos of the carriers such that the pinchers firmly grip the slab of heavy material. Once the carriers reach a full standing position, the slab of heavy material is held off the ground, with the belts  10  and lower bodies of the carriers bearing the weight of the slab. Thus, only two men are required to lift the heavy slab of material saving labor costs. Further, the legs of the carriers are utilized, saving the backs of the carriers from severe injury. In addition, the hands of the carriers are available for negotiating doorways, hallways and the like, as well as for helping the carriers maintain their balance. 
       FIG. 5  shows an embodiment of the belt  10  and measurements related thereto. It should be appreciated by those having ordinary skill in the art that the size of the belt may vary and thus, the distance from the center of the belt to the folded regions  30 ,  32  may vary. Preferably, the first and second loops  16 ,  18  are disposed approximately equidistant from the midpoint of the band. More preferably, the distance from the center of the band  12 , or the midpoint, to the folded region  30  of the first loop  16  is shorter than the distance from the center of the band  12  to the folded region  32  of the second loop  18 . For example, as shown in  FIG. 5 , the distance from the midpoint of the band  12  to the first loop  16  is ten inches and the distance from the center of the band  12  to the folded region  32  of the second loop  18  is thirteen inches. Similar proportions can be used for other belt sizes. In a preferred embodiment, the strap  14  has a width of at least two inches. 
     In an embodiment of the invention, the loops  16 ,  18  have a diameter of approximately two inches. It should be appreciated that the diameter of the loops need only be large enough to accommodate the size of the pincher handles. Further, the band  12  has a width of at least three inches. More preferably, the band  12  includes a wider center portion, wherein the widest portion  20  of the band  12  is in the range of six to ten inches, preferably in the range of seven to nine inches and more preferably eight inches. The band  12  then preferably tapers at each of a buckle end  22  and an opposite end  24  to a width in the range of one to five inches, preferably two to four inches, and more preferably ⅗ inches. The buckle end  22  may comprise a belt buckle, retention buckle, hook and loop fasteners known as VELCRO™, or other types of fastening means. 
     The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description and all changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.