Patent Publication Number: US-2023157395-A1

Title: Adjustable belt accessory system

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/281,897, filed on Nov. 22, 2021, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Conventional belt accessory holders tend to rely on pressure between a user&#39;s waist and the belt to keep the accessory in place. Many conventional accessory holders will have a portion that will loop over a belt and secure back onto the accessory to create a hole that the belt will fit through, wherein the hole acts as the only securing means for the accessory. Such configurations lead to undesirable results as user&#39;s must set their belts to be tight about their waists or accept that accessory&#39;s hung on their belts will have a general tendency to slide along the length of their belts. Thus, a need exits to attach accessories to a belt in a manner as to prevent the accessory from inadvertently sliding along the length of the belt. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to a first aspect, there is provided an accessory coupler for a belt. The accessory coupler includes a main body having a pawl operable between a locked position and an unlocked position. The accessory coupler further includes a coupling system positioned about the main body and configured to couple the main body to an accessory base member that supports or otherwise includes an accessory for support on the belt. In operation, when the pawl is in the locked position, the main body is securely fastened to the belt to prevent movement along a length of a belt and when the pawl is in the unlocked position, the main body is movable along the length of the belt. 
     According to a second aspect, there is provided a belt accessory coupling system. The system includes a belt having a length and a coupling portion disposed along at least a portion of a surface of the belt. An accessory coupler positioned about and movable along the coupling portion of the belt. The accessory coupler includes a latch movable between an unlocked position and a locked position. The system further includes an accessory base member positioned about an opposed surface of the belt from the accessory coupler and coupled to the accessory coupler such that when the latch is in the locked position, the latch engages with the coupling portion to prevent movement of the accessory base member relative to the belt, and when the latch is in the unlocked position, the latch does not engage with the coupling portion enabling the accessory base member to move relative to the belt. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The disclosure will become more fully understood from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements, in which: 
         FIG.  1    illustrates a perspective view of an embodiment of an adjustable belt accessory coupling system in a locked state. 
         FIG.  2    illustrates a user-side plan view of the system of  FIG.  1    in the unlocked state. 
         FIG.  3    illustrates a side plan view of the system of  FIGS.  1  and  2    in the unlocked state. 
         FIG.  4    illustrates a user-side plan view of the system  100  in the locked state. 
         FIG.  4 A  illustrates a section view of the system  100  taken along the line  4 A- 4 A in  FIG.  4   . 
         FIG.  5    illustrates a side plan view of the system  100  in the locked state. 
     
    
    
     The drawings are not necessarily to scale and certain features may be shown exaggerated in scale or in somewhat schematic form in the interest of clarity and conciseness. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG.  1    illustrates a perspective view of an embodiment of a belt accessory coupling system  100  that includes a belt  105  that may be worn around a user&#39;s waist, including for example, with a pair of pants, shorts, trousers, skirts or any other article of clothing. The belt accessory coupling system  100  includes an accessory coupler  102  that, as explained in greater detail below, is movably coupled to the belt  105  for supporting an accessory device (e.g., a holster, etc.) thereon. In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG.  1   , the belt  105  includes a coupling portion/latching surface  110  formed having a series of teeth  115 . Each tooth  115  is configured to engage a latch or pawl  108  that extends from the accessory coupler  102 , as shown for example, in  FIG.  3   . According to some embodiments, the latching surface  110  extends along the entire length of the belt  105 . In other embodiments, the latching surface  110  extends only along a portion of the length of the belt  105 . It should be appreciated that in some embodiments, the latching surface  110 , by being formed as part of the belt  105 , substantially increases the stiffness of the belt  105  along the areas where the teeth  115  are located. The increased stiffness reduces or otherwise minimizes the bending or deflection of the belt  105  when the user attaches an accessory base member  200  in order to, as explained in greater detail below, secure the accessory to the belt  105  via the accessory coupler  102 . 
     In the embodiment illustrated in  FIGS.  1 - 3   , the accessory coupler  102  is formed having a main body  250  that includes a coupling system formed having one or more accessory mounting points  101  for securing the accessory base member  200  thereto. The accessory coupler  102  further includes an actuator  106  that is accessible through lock openings  109   a  and  109   b , the actuator  106  being movable relative to the main body  250  so as to, as explained in greater detail below, lock the accessory coupler  102 , and thus the accessory base member  200 , relative to the belt  105 . With continued reference to  FIGS.  1 - 3   , the main body  250  of the accessory coupler  102  includes a top extended section  112  and a bottom extended section  113 , each extending and/or otherwise cantilevering from the main body  250  forming a gap or receiving area  252  to receive at least a portion of the belt  105  therebetween. In the embodiment illustrated in  FIGS.  1 - 3   , the at least one accessory mounting point  101  is positioned on each extended section  112  and  113 ; however, it should be understood that the accessory mounting points  101  may be otherwise positioned and may include a greater or lesser number of mounting points  101 . 
     In the embodiment illustrated in  FIGS.  1 - 3   , the accessory mounting points  101  are illustrated as through holes configured to accept a screw, bolt, or any other suitable fastener to couple the accessory base member  200  via the accessory mounting points  101  to the accessory coupler  102 . It should be understood that mounting points  101  may be otherwise configured. For example and not by way of limitation, in some embodiments, the mounting points  101  may include magnets for magnetically and removably coupling to the accessory base member  200 . In other embodiments, hook and loop fasteners can be used for coupling to the accessory base member  200 . In still other embodiments, the mounting points may be any other frictional type of engagement including, for example, using buttons, snaps or the like. 
     As illustrated in  FIG.  1    by way of example, when the accessory base member  200  is coupled to the accessory coupler  102  via the accessory mounting points  101 , a gap/cavity  254  is formed between the accessory base member  200  and the accessory coupler  102 . The gap  254  is sized to receive the belt  105  therein and facilitate sliding movement of the accessory coupler  102  relative to the belt  102 . In use, a user couples the accessory base member  200  to the accessory coupler  102  via the accessory mounting points  101  (via screws or other fasteners) and then inserts the belt  105  through the cavity formed between the extended sections  112  and  113 , the accessory coupler  102  and the accessory base member  200 . According to embodiments disclosed herein, the accessory base member  200  can support or otherwise be formed integral with any number of articles to be secured to a user&#39;s belt. For example, the accessory base member  200  can support or otherwise include a holster for a firearm or taser, a pouch, a bag, a walkie-talkie, mobile phone holder, or any other accessory that a user may desire to attach or couple to the belt  105 . 
     In the embodiment illustrated in  FIGS.  1 - 3   , the actuator  106  includes a lock member  107  extending in a direction away from the belt  105  and a pawl  108  ( FIGS.  2  and  3   ) extending in a direction toward the belt  105  and opposite the lock member  107  so as to engage the teeth  115  of the belt  105 . The lock member  107  and pawl  108  are joined together as a single unit (i.e., integrally molded or otherwise) and movable relative to the main body  250 . In use, movement and/or actuation of the lock member  107  in a direction toward the belt  105  removes the lock member  107  from the opening  109   b . Once removed from the opening  109   b , the actuator  106  is movable in the direction of arrow  111   a  to position the pawl  108  from a locked position, whereby the accessory coupler  102  (and the accessory base member  200 ) are securely fastened to the belt  105  to prevent relative movement therebetween, and an unlocked position, whereby the accessory coupler  102  (and the accessory base member  200 ) are freely movable relative to the belt  105 . In particular, when the accessory coupler is in the locked position, the pawl  108  is disposed between and otherwise engaging the teeth  115  of the belt  105 . When in the unlocked position, the pawl  108  is separated from and no longer disposed between and engaging the teeth  115 . 
     Referring specifically to  FIGS.  4  and  4 A , further details of the actuator  106  are illustrated. In the embodiment illustrated in  FIGS.  4  and  4 A , To transition the accessory coupler  102  from the locked state to the unlocked state, the user must first press the lock  107  in the direction of arrow  260  towards the belt side  104  such that the lock  107  is removed from the opening  109 B. The actuator  106 , via the grip portion  262 , can then be moved in the direction of arrow  111   a , which causes the pawl  108  to similarly move in the direction of arrow  111   a  and disengage from and otherwise be no longer positioned between the teeth  115 . Once the pawl  108  has been disengaged from the teeth  115 , the accessory coupler  102  can be repositioned along the length of the belt  105 . It should be understood that while the actuator  106  and the pawl  108  are depicted as moving along the same direction, alternate configurations may be used. For example, in some embodiments moving the actuator  106  in the direction of arrow  111   a  causes the pawl  108  to move in the opposite direction, or vice versa. 
     With continued reference to  FIG.  4 A , the lock  107  contains a sloped surface  266  to slidably engage the upper wall  268  of the opening  109 A so as to deflect the lock  107  in the direction of arrow  260  to enable the actuator  106  to travel in the direction of arrow  111   b  for eventual re-insertion into opening  109   b  when it is desired to return to the locked position. As previously stated, when the accessory coupler  102  is in the locked state, the pawl  108  is positioned such that it engages with the teeth  115  and prevents the accessory coupler  102  from sliding along the length of the belt  105 . The pawl  108  and the teeth  115  have relative shapes such that, when the accessory coupler  102  is in the locked state, the relative shapes engage one another and prevent the accessory coupler  102  from moving along the length of the belt  105 . 
     According to some embodiments, the belt  105  is be attached to a belt buckle, which can be a conventional buckle that has a pin that inserts into a hole in the belt  105  to fix the buckle and belt  105  in a looped state. In other embodiments, the belt  105  is attached to a pinless buckle that is configured to engage with the series of teeth  115  to fix the pinless buckle and belt  105  in a looped state, such as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/151,360 filed Jan. 18, 2021 and entitled “Belt Buckle System”, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     Although embodiments of a belt accessory coupling system  100 , apparatus, and method of use have been described in detail, those skilled in the art will also recognize that various substitutions and modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the appended claims. 
     In the foregoing description of certain embodiments, specific terminology has been resorted to for the sake of clarity. However, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the specific terms so selected, and it is to be understood that each specific term includes other technical equivalents which operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar technical purpose. Terms such as “left” and right”, “front” and “rear”, “above” and “below” and the like are used as words of convenience to provide reference points and are not to be construed as limiting terms. 
     In this specification, the word “comprising” is to be understood in its “open” sense, that is, in the sense of “including”, and thus not limited to its “closed” sense, that is the sense of “consisting only of”. A corresponding meaning is to be attributed to the corresponding words “comprise”, “comprised” and “comprises” where they appear. 
     In addition, the foregoing describes some embodiments of the disclosure, and alterations, modifications, additions and/or changes can be made thereto without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosed embodiments, the embodiments being illustrative and not restrictive. 
     Furthermore, the disclosure is not to be limited to the illustrated implementations, but to the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Also, the various embodiments described above may be implemented in conjunction with other embodiments, e.g., aspects of one embodiment may be combined with aspects of another embodiment to realize yet other embodiments. Further, each independent feature or component of any given assembly may constitute an additional embodiment.