Patent Publication Number: US-2018027910-A1

Title: Detachable belt loop

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates in general to a device forming a belt loop for securing a belt to an article of clothing. The device can be used regardless of whether the clothing has existing belt loops or other means to secure the belt to the clothing, or alternatively where the article of clothing has no such existing mechanism to secure a belt to the clothing. The device is removable such that a wearer can use one or more of the devices interchangeably on separate pieces of clothing. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     The belt has been around for a century or more. Over this time the belt has maintained its functional purpose of preventing a wearer&#39;s pants from falling below the waistline. However, the belt has also taken on an additional role as a fashion accessory, where often times a belt may be worn for its aesthetic value notwithstanding whether it is contemporaneously serving a functional purpose. For instance, a belt may be worn as a fashion accessory over a long shirt or sweater, including one without belt loops, such that the belt does not serve to keep the wearer&#39;s pants (or shirt/sweater) from falling down. The belt, instead, merely provides a visually appealing dividing line to the garment, which can also give the appearance that the garment is more tapered to the person&#39;s waistline. 
     Often times a clothing garment, such as a pair of pants, has an insufficient number of belt loops. Excess spacing between belt loops is created. This excess spacing can result in the belt separating from the waistline of the pants, for example, creating a vertical separation where the belt rises above the pant waistline and/or the pant waistline protrudes away from the wearer&#39;s body beyond the belt. Besides merely having an insufficient number of belt loops, many garments are sold with no belt loops at all. This class of clothing includes pants, but more commonly includes long shirts, sweaters, or dresses where a user may wish to add a belt for reasons set forth above, or for additional reasons understood by persons of skill in the art. 
     There are, of course, existing mechanisms to attach one or more belt loops to a clothing garment. For example, it is known to sew a belt loop to a clothing garment. However, sewing a belt loop to a garment takes requisite skills, equipment, and knowledge of sewing. Also, sewing a belt loop to clothing is permanent, at least to the extent that the user does not choose to rip the loop off of the clothing, causing potential damage to the garment, or cut the loop from the clothing, also risking damage to the clothing. This known solution of affixing a permanent loop to a garment also does not allow the wearer the variety afforded by a less permanent solution. For instance, a wearer may not always wish to wear a garment of clothing with the belt loops attached. Or, the wearer may wish to wear a different style of belt loop for a particular occasion, such as a more traditional belt loop during work hours followed by a more fashionable belt loop (e.g., textured or multi-colored) after work. 
     Prior art disclosing removable belt loops exists that purports to address certain, but not all, of the above mentioned issues—at the very least not in the novel manner those issues are addressed by the present invention. None of these prior art documents disclose the present invention. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,873,151 to Sood (“&#39;151 Patent” or “Sood”) discloses a rigid metallic or plastic rectangular belt loop pin for attachment to clothing. This purported solution differs from the present invention at least because a rigid metallic or plastic rectangle secured to a clothing garment does not provide the natural flexibility and comfort one expects from a belt loop, when compared to the disclosed belt box. Further, the belt loop pin disclosed in Sood was not designed to resemble the appearance of traditional existing belt loops and would thereby not provide a consistent, aesthetically pleasant appearance. The &#39;151 Patent also discloses the use of a single large pin attached to the rigid rectangular member for attachment to a user&#39;s clothing. Such a singular vertical pin as that disclosed in the &#39;151 Patent is ill-suited for the functional purposes of the present invention. For instance, the vertically-oriented pressure exerted upwards or downwards by a removable belt loop using a single vertical pin for attachment would likely result in undue strain on a clothing garment, leading to wear or even holes in the garment. This is a concern particularly if the garment was constructed of a less durable material (such as cotton, silk, or similar) commonly used for shirts or sweaters. 
     Further, U.S. Pat. No. 5,920,964 (“&#39;964 Patent) to Malzahn discloses a flexible, removable belt loop for decoration that is meant to couple the portion of a belt that extends beyond a belt buckle to the belt portion attached to the buckle. The &#39;964 Patent does not disclose additional belt loops for attachment to a clothing garment, the &#39;964 Patent&#39;s loop does is not attached to a garment at all, it instead wraps around the belt and attaches to itself, via Velcro, snaps or other means. The &#39;964 Patent&#39;s belt loop therefore does not address the problem of a clothing garment having a shortage of belt loops causing a belt to shift out of position in relation to the clothing. Further, the &#39;964 Patent&#39;s belt loop cannot provide belt loops for a garment with no belt loops at all. 
     Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 1,299,680 (“&#39;680 Patent”) to Chaney discloses detachable belt loops for attachment on the inside of a pair of pants. The &#39;680 Patent discloses only a hanging loop with a single attachment point atop the structure. If applied to the outside of a pair of pants—or worse a shirt, dress, or sweater—this single attachment point once engaged by a belt with any significant weight, would exert an undue downward and outward force against the clothing garment. This force would cause wear or holes in the garment and also likely create the undesirable physical appearance of a pulling on the garment (such as a shirt, sweater, or dress) at the attachment points or even a folding over of the beltline of a pair of pants. 
     For at least the above reasons, the present invention is distinguishable from these known prior art attempts and, instead, effectively addresses problems not solved by any known prior art removable belt loop. 
     Accordingly, it is the object of the invention to provide a removable belt loop to overcome the still-existing problems set forth above, which also does not embody the shortcomings present in prior art removable belt loops. 
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     A removable belt loop is provided for temporary attachment to a clothing article. The clothing article may or may not have existing belt loops. For instance, the present invention could be used with a pair of pants having existing, but an insufficient number of, belt loops present. Alternatively, the present invention could be used with a pair of pants, or other clothing garment (e.g., a dress or sweater) that lacks belt loops entirely. One or more belt loops in accordance with the present invention may be removeably attached to a clothing garment by use of one or more connectors present on the removable belt loop itself. The connectors, according to a preferred embodiment, are located on a connector portion at the top and bottom of the removable belt loop and can be securely attached to a clothing garment. 
     Between said connector portions of the belt loop is a spanning portion connecting said connector portions. This portion will form the majority of the loop that serves to keep a belt in place. According to one embodiment, this spanning portion is made of a cloth material, such as denim, and would resemble the material used for conventional belt loops found on a pair of pants. In another embodiment, the spanning portion could be made up of a metal material resembling a chain connecting the connector portions. Further, the spanning portion may contain various designs permitting the user to accessorize his or her outfit for particular occasions. 
     The above and other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent when reference is made to the following description, taken in conjunction with the figures found herein. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
       The detailed description corresponding to embodiments of the present invention will be made with respect to the included figures: 
         FIG. 1  is a depiction of an embodiment of the removable belt loop of the present invention removably attached to an exemplary clothing garment. 
         FIG. 2  is a top view of an embodiment of the removable belt loop of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a front view of an embodiment of the removable belt loop of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a side view of an embodiment of the removable belt loop of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a bottom view of an embodiment of the removable belt loop that would not be visible by an onlooker observing the belt loop once it was attached to a clothing garment. 
         FIG. 6  is a front view of an embodiment of the removable belt loop of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  is a side view of an embodiment of the removable belt loop of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION 
     One or more embodiments of the present invention is hereafter described in detail with reference to one or more of the figures contained herein. 
       FIG. 1  depicts an embodiment of the removable belt loop  100  of the present invention removeably attached to an exemplary clothing garment. Referring to  FIG. 1 , a portion of a clothing article (e.g., a pair of pants)  101  is shown where previously no belt loop was present. The garment could be, for example, a pair of pants with a shortage of existing, permanent belt loops, or no belt loops at all. The removable belt loop  102  has been removeably attached to the clothing article  101  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, permitting the wearer&#39;s belt  103  to be inserted through the loop. The removable belt loop shown is secured to the clothing article  101  at two locations. An upper connector portion  104  of the removable belt loop is secured to the clothing article  101 . Likewise a lower connector portion  105  is secured to the clothing article  101  at a location lower than the upper connector portion  104 . Between the upper and lower connector portions of the removable belt loop is a portion  106  that spans the distance between the upper and lower connector portions  105  and  104 . It is the spanning portion  106  that creates the loop through which a wearer&#39;s belt  103  will be inserted and maintained. 
       FIG. 2  is a top view of an embodiment of the removable belt loop  200  of the present invention. According to the embodiment shown in  FIG. 2 , a connector  201  is present within the upper connector portion  104  of the removable belt loop. In the preferred embodiment, said connector may include a metal pin  204 , wherein the pin  204  is attached via a hinge  202 , and the pointed end of the pin, when secured in a closed position, rests within a holder  203  to secure the pin  204  into place and to prevent the pointed end of the pin from being exposed. The pin  204  can be released from the holder using a mechanism like that of a safety pin or the like. When attached to a clothing article (not shown in  FIG. 2 ) the pin portion  204  of the connector  201  would be inserted through the outside of the clothing article such that it pierces through the inside surface of the clothing and then inserted through the inside of the clothing article such that it pierces back through to the outside surface of the clothing article before being secured in the holder  203 . Although this preferred embodiment is described such that the connector  201  includes a pin  204  secured by a holder  203 , the connector  201  of the present invention can be comprised of any means to removably secure the removable belt loop to a clothing article in a manner consistent with the purpose of the present invention. 
       FIG. 3  depicts a view of the removable belt loop  300  according to an embodiment of the present invention as the removable belt loop would appear to an observer viewing the removable belt loop with the connectors mostly hidden by the upper and lower connector portions. Alternatively, the removable belt loop could be designed such that the upper and lower connector portions  104  and  105  obscure from the view of an observer viewing from the depicted perspective the connectors  201 . In the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 3 , the spanning portion  106  is made up of a cloth material which may resemble the material typically used to make prior art belt loops, e.g. a denim material typically used in a pair of jeans. 
     In an embodiment where a cloth material such as denim is used for the spanning portion  106 , the connectors  201  can be permanently integrated into the removable belt loop by, for example, permanently attaching the connectors  201  via a sewn fold or pocket made in the cloth material as depicted in  FIG. 4  ( 400 ). For instance, the connector  201  on an upper connector portion  104  of the removable belt loop can be permanently attached by forming a loop in the material that will secure the connector  201  in place by feeding the loop through an open portion of the connector  201  and then sewing the cloth material forming the loop on each side of the open connector portion, thus surrounding the connector to keep it in place. Although  FIG. 4  depicts, and this description is directed to, one way to attach connectors to the removable belt loop according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the connectors can be attached to the connector portions of the removable belt loop of the present invention in any manner that will permanently affix the connectors to the removable belt loop at least at an upper and lower connector portion. 
       FIG. 5  depicts a bottom view of the removeable belt loop  500  that would not be visible by an onlooker observing the belt loop once it was attached to a clothing garment. As shown in  FIG. 5  the connector  201  in this embodiment includes a pin  204  which will assist in the removable attachment to the user&#39;s garment. As shown, the pin spans the underside of the belt loop, but that is not a required feature so long as the mechanism for attachment sufficiently affixes the belt loop securely to the garment. In this embodiment, the connector  201  is secured to the belt loop having been sewn into a fold or pocket  501  at the upper portion of the belt loop. Other mechanisms can also be used to secure the connector to the rest of the belt loop device. 
     The spanning portion  106  of the removable belt loop, according to an embodiment of the present invention can be comprised of a material that is not cloth. For example, as depicted in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , a metal chain could be used to form all or a portion of the spanning portion  601 . The upper and lower connector portions  602  and  603  could be integrated with the spanning portion  601  by, for example, having the chain attached to holes  604  in the connectors themselves. As shown in  FIG. 7 , this embodiment can still make use of a connector like that contemplated for use in the preferred embodiment, even though the spanning portion is comprised of a non-cloth material. For instance,  FIG. 7  depicts the connector  700  featuring a holder portion and hinge, which would include a pin (not shown) much like that disclosed for use in the preferred embodiment. Again, the connector of the present invention is not intended to be limited to the specific connector described in the context of embodiments presented herein, but can include any connectors consistent with the purposes of the present invention. 
     Likewise, the spanning portion is not limited to the cloth, or cloth-like material, nor the described chain material. The spanning portion can be made of any material sufficient to connect the upper and lower connector portions to form a loop such that a belt can be inserted therein. For instance, leather or any other suitable material would suffice and be within the scope of the invention. 
     On the whole, the embodiments described herein are exemplary in nature. A person of ordinary skill in the art in the field of this invention having read this disclosure would readily understand that many deviations exist from the specific embodiments described herein that would not, however, depart from the spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is to be determined by the claims that follow and not limited to specific aspects of the disclosed embodiments.