Patent Description:
Body builders and weightlifters may use various lifting techniques to lift barbells. These lifts include the 'Bench Press', 'Squat' and 'Dead Lift' and may be employed by body builders working in the gym or by weightlifters in competition. In either case, the lifter's abdominal region may be put under considerable stress, particularly when lifting very heavy weights. To avoid damage to the lifter's body, it is known to wear a heavy duty weightlifter's belt to contain the torso between the ribcage and pelvic girdle. A similar need for support may arise in other sports or disciplines in which weight lifting is involved.

In order to provide the necessary containment, weightlifter's belts need to be stiff and relatively wide and when worn are secured tightly about the lifter's abdomen to prestress the abdominal region. The tightness of the support belt generates internal pressures in the abdomen that assist in preventing damage to the abdominal muscles and spine when they are subjected to the stresses imposed by a heavy lift. The stiffness and tightness of weightlifter's belts makes them uncomfortable to wear. This makes it desirable to be able to easily tighten the belt shortly before a lift takes place and then release it shortly afterwards. It may also be desirable to release a lifter's belt quickly in the event of a medical emergency.

The invention provides a support belt as specified in claim <NUM>.

In the following disclosure, reference will be made to the drawings, in which:.

<FIG> shows an example of a support belt <NUM> that may be worn by persons lifting weights, such as body builders or weightlifters. The support belt <NUM> comprises an elongate belt <NUM> having a dead end region <NUM>, a live end region <NUM> and buckling <NUM>. The buckling <NUM> is operable to releasably connect the dead end and live end regions in a relaxed tightness condition of the support belt and secure them in a plurality of tightened closed conditions of the support belt in which a free, or leading, end <NUM> of the live end region overlies a free, or trailing, end <NUM> of the dead end region. The buckling <NUM> comprises a first anchor portion <NUM> fixedly secured to the live end region <NUM>, a second anchor portion <NUM> configured to releasably engage apertures <NUM> provided in the dead end region <NUM> and a locking mechanism <NUM> (<FIG>) pivotally connected with the first and second anchor portions and configured to draw the second anchor portion <NUM> towards the first anchor portion <NUM> to change the tightness condition of the support belt from the relaxed tightness condition to a tightened closed condition.

The belt <NUM> has a length defined between the ends <NUM>, <NUM>. The belt length is selected to enable it to extend circumferentially around a designated waist size, or sizes, with some overlap at the dead and live end regions <NUM>, <NUM> when the support belt is in its tightened closed position(s). The belt <NUM> has an inwardly facing side <NUM> (<FIG>) and an outwardly facing side <NUM> disposed opposite the inwardly facing side <NUM>. In use the inwardly facing side faces the wearer's body, while the outwardly facing side <NUM> faces away from the wearer's body. The belt <NUM> is a relatively heavy duty construction and may be made of leather or a suitable synthetic substitute. Examples of the belt <NUM> may have a thickness T in the range <NUM> to <NUM> and a width W in the range <NUM> to <NUM>. The heavy duty construction of the belt <NUM> makes it relatively stiff so that it will not readily yield to changes in contour from its natural curvature. The natural radius of curvature of the belt <NUM> may be limited by its thickness. This may make the support belt <NUM> relatively uncomfortable to wear, especially when in its tightened closed condition.

The dead end region <NUM> of the belt <NUM> is provided with a plurality of apertures <NUM>. The apertures <NUM> are arranged to allow securing of the support belt <NUM> in a plurality of tightened closed conditions. While not essential, in the illustrated example the apertures <NUM> are arranged in two rows of aligned apertures disposed in parallel spaced apart relation to define pairs of apertures that are aligned in the widthways direction of the belt <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG>, the first anchor portion <NUM> of the buckling <NUM> comprises a body <NUM>. The body <NUM> has a generally rectangular profile and is curved, or arcuate, in the lengthways direction, or direction of pull, of the support belt <NUM>. A generally rectangular recess <NUM> is defined in the body <NUM>. The recess <NUM> is open at the outwardly facing side <NUM> of the body <NUM> and at its end disposed closest to the free end <NUM> of the live end region <NUM> of the belt <NUM>. The recess <NUM> is bounded on two sides by oppositely disposed sidewalls <NUM> that are a part of the body <NUM>. The recess <NUM> is configured to receive a portion of the locking mechanism <NUM>. Respective through-holes are provided in the sidewalls <NUM> to receive a pivot pin <NUM> by which the locking mechanism <NUM> is pivotally connected to the first anchor portion <NUM>.

The second anchor portion <NUM> of the buckling <NUM> comprises a generally rectangular body <NUM>. A pivot mounting <NUM> is disposed on the outwardly facing side <NUM> of the body <NUM>. Although not essential, in the illustrated example the pivot mounting <NUM> is a generally rectangular projection. The pivot mounting <NUM> is provided with a transverse through-hole (not shown) to receive a pivot pin <NUM> by which the over centre locking mechanism <NUM> is pivotally connected to the second anchor portion <NUM>.

The first anchor portion <NUM> is fixedly secured to the live end region <NUM> of the belt <NUM> by securing means <NUM> (<FIG>). According to the invention the securing means are rivets or screws. Although not essential, a keep plate <NUM> may be provided on the inwardly facing side <NUM> of the belt <NUM>. The keep plate <NUM> may be disposed opposite the first anchor portion <NUM> and has respective apertures configured to receive the heads of the securing means <NUM>. Optionally, the keep plate <NUM> may be generally U-shaped to define a guide recess <NUM> to receive a tongue <NUM> that extends from an end of the body <NUM> of the second anchor portion <NUM>. The tongue <NUM> extends in the lengthways direction of the support belt <NUM> and is configured to slide into the guide recess <NUM> when the mechanism <NUM> is operated to secure the dead and live end regions <NUM>, <NUM> in a tightened closed condition of the support belt <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the second anchor portion <NUM> is provided with two pin sets that each comprise a location pin <NUM> and a gripping pin <NUM>. The location pins <NUM> are in line with and spaced from the respective gripping pins <NUM> in the lengthways direction of the belt <NUM>. The pin sets are disposed in opposed spaced apart relation with the respective locating pins <NUM> aligned in the widthways direction of the belt <NUM> and the respective gripping pins <NUM> aligned in the widthways direction of the belt. The locating pins <NUM> are cylindrical bodies that have a diameter substantially corresponding to the diameter of the apertures <NUM> so that they are a snug fit in the apertures. The gripping pins <NUM> comprise a body portion <NUM>, which is cylindrical and has a diameter less than the diameter of the apertures <NUM>, and a head portion <NUM> projecting from the body portion and configured to engage against the inwardly facing side <NUM> of the dead end region <NUM>. In other examples, instead of having a reduced diameter, the cross-section width of the body portion <NUM> in the lengthways direction of the belt <NUM> may be reduced, as compared with the diameter of the locating pins <NUM> and apertures <NUM>, by providing a lengthways extending flat that faces towards the respective locating pin <NUM>.

The locking mechanism <NUM> is pivotally connected to the first and second anchor portions <NUM>, <NUM> and may be a toggle mechanism operable to draw, or pull, the first anchor portion towards the second anchor portion so as to reduce the spacing between the first and second anchor portions and draw the live end region <NUM> towards the dead end region <NUM>. The locking mechanism <NUM> may be an over centre locking mechanism.

As best seen in <FIG>, in the illustrated example the locking mechanism <NUM> comprises a lever, or actuator, arm <NUM> and a connecting arm <NUM>. The lever and connecting arms <NUM>, <NUM> have generally rectangular cross-sections and each is curved, or arcuate, in the lengthways direction of the belt <NUM>.

The lever arm <NUM> has a first end <NUM> and a second end <NUM>. The first end <NUM> of the lever arm <NUM> is pivotally connected to the second anchor portion <NUM> via the pivot mounting <NUM> and pivot pin <NUM> so as to be movable between a first position (<FIG>) corresponding to the relaxed tightness condition of the support belt <NUM> and a second position (<FIG>) corresponding to a tightened closed condition. The first end <NUM> of the lever arm <NUM> is provided with a recess <NUM> that defines a yoke configured to receive the pivot mounting <NUM>. The second end <NUM> of the lever arm <NUM> is gripped and manipulated to operate the locking mechanism <NUM>. Accordingly, the second end <NUM> of the lever arm <NUM> may be contoured or provided with formations to facilitate gripping.

The connecting arm <NUM> has a first end <NUM> that is that is pivotally connected to the first anchor portion <NUM> via the pivot pin <NUM> housed in the sidewalls <NUM> of the recess <NUM>. The second end <NUM> of the connecting arm <NUM> is pivotally connected to the lever arm <NUM> by a pivot pin <NUM> that passes through the lever arm at a position intermediate its first and second ends <NUM>, <NUM>. The second end <NUM> of the connecting arm <NUM> is provided with a recess <NUM> that defines a yoke in which the first end <NUM> of the lever arm <NUM> is received.

As best seen in <FIG>, the lever arm <NUM> and connecting arm <NUM> are curved, or arcuate, in the lengthways direction of the belt <NUM>. The curvature corresponds at least substantially to the curvature of the first and second anchor portions <NUM>, <NUM>. This enables the buckling <NUM> to conform generally to the curvature of the belt <NUM> and the lifter's body, at least better than it would if the parts were flat. Additionally, when the buckling <NUM> is in a tightened closed condition as shown in <FIG>, the first end <NUM> of the connecting arm <NUM> is snugly received in the recess <NUM> in first anchor portion <NUM> and the second end <NUM> extends from the recess such that it forms a continuation of the body <NUM>, while the first end <NUM> of the lever arm <NUM> is snugly received in the recess <NUM> provided in the second end <NUM> of the connecting arm and the second end <NUM> projects from the connecting arm such that it forms a continuation of the connecting arm. The result is that the outer surfaces of the buckling <NUM> combine to define a substantially continuous surface. This provides a pleasing aesthetic appearance that has the practical benefit of there being fewer edges and corners to dig into or catch the lifter's body and clothing.

In use, a lifter may prepare the support belt <NUM> for wear by separating the second anchor portion <NUM> from the dead end region <NUM> of the belt <NUM> and moving the dead and live end regions <NUM>, <NUM> apart to allow the belt to be wrapped around their waist. Then with the buckling <NUM> in the open condition shown in <FIG>, the second anchor portion <NUM> may be moved towards the dead end region <NUM> and the gripping and locating pins <NUM>, <NUM> inserted into selected apertures <NUM>. In some cases at least, it may be necessary for the lifter to raise the dead end region <NUM> a little away from their body to make it easier to insert the gripping pins <NUM>. Once the head portions <NUM> of the gripping pins <NUM> have passed through the selected apertures <NUM> so that the respective body portions <NUM> are received in the apertures and the head formations <NUM> engage the inwardly facing side <NUM> of the belt <NUM>, the dead end region <NUM> can be moved back towards the body and as the dead end region and second anchor portion <NUM> 'flatten' against the body, the locating pins <NUM> will be forced into the respective selected apertures so that they are fully received in the apertures. At this stage with the buckling <NUM> in the open condition, the head portions <NUM> of the gripping pins <NUM> gripping against the inwardly facing side <NUM> of the belt <NUM> and the locating pins <NUM> fully received in their apertures <NUM>, the dead and live end regions <NUM>, <NUM> are in a releasably connected relaxed tightness condition. The lifter may select the apertures <NUM> in which the locating and gripping pins <NUM>, <NUM> are received such that in this condition the belt <NUM> is slightly loose around the waist and comfortable to wear.

When the lifter wishes to lift a load, the second end <NUM> of the lever arm <NUM> is gripped and pulled to the right (as viewed in <FIG>) to cause the lever arm to pivot in a clockwise direction (again as viewed in <FIG>) about a pivot axis defined by the pivot pin <NUM>. As the lever arm <NUM> moves to the right, the first anchor portion <NUM> and live end region <NUM> of the belt <NUM> are drawn towards the second anchor portion <NUM> and dead end region <NUM> by virtue of the connection of the second anchor portion to the lever arm by means of the connecting arm <NUM>. As the first anchor portion <NUM> approaches the second anchor portion <NUM>, the tongue <NUM> sliding into the recess <NUM> assists in guiding the live end region <NUM> toward the dead end region <NUM> in a straight line so that the longitudinal axis of the belt <NUM> in the dead and live end regions is at least substantially aligned and the belt ends do not twist.

Once the lever arm <NUM> has been moved to its fully closed position, as shown in <FIG>, the dead and live end regions <NUM>, <NUM> of the belt <NUM> are in a tightened closed condition in which the lifter's abdomen is pre-stressed to generate an internal pressure in the lifter's abdomen that may assist in preventing damage to the abdominal muscles and spine when they are subjected to the stresses imposed by a lift. The amount of pre-stressing provided by the support belt <NUM> will depend on the selection of the apertures <NUM> in which locating and gripping pins <NUM>, <NUM> are received and the pull length defined by the distance between the respective axes of pivot pins <NUM>, <NUM>.

In a 'one-size' version of the support belt <NUM>, there may be just four apertures <NUM> to receive respective pins <NUM>, <NUM>. In the illustrated example there is a series of apertures <NUM> extending along the length of the dead end region <NUM> to provide a series of size adjustment steps. This means that the support belt <NUM> can be quickly and easily be moved through a series of progressively tighter tightened closed conditions by releasing the buckling <NUM> and moving to apertures that are disposed further from the free end <NUM> of the dead end region <NUM> of the belt <NUM> so as to reduce the diameter or circumference of the. A benefit of this is that in preparing for a lift, the lifter does not have to go straight from a loose relaxed tightness condition to a tightened closed position that would be used for lift. Instead, the lifter can move up through a series of steps in which the support belt <NUM> is used to induce progressively greater internal pressures in the lifter's abdomen so that the lifter can get used to relatively lower internal pressures before arriving at a relatively high level pressure required for performing a lift. A further benefit is that the support belt <NUM> is not 'one-size' making it susceptible to sharing. This also makes it easy to accommodate any reduction in waist size that may result from a lifter cutting weight for a competition.

In the illustrated example the apertures <NUM> are arranged in two rows extending in the lengthways direction of the belt <NUM> and there are respective pin sets <NUM>, <NUM> to engage the two rows. In other examples, there may be just one row of apertures or three or more rows with a corresponding number of pin sets.

It will be understood that the provision of the connecting arm <NUM> makes it possible to configure the buckling <NUM> so that when the lever arm <NUM> is operated to change the tightness condition from the relaxed tightness condition to a tightened closed condition, the first anchor portion <NUM> and live end region <NUM> of the belt slide smoothly towards the second anchor portion <NUM> and dead end region <NUM> in a movement that is essentially circumferential with respect to the belt <NUM> or lifter's waist. Due to the relatively short range of the movement, it will often be essentially a straight line sliding movement. A benefit of this may be that the support belt <NUM> is less likely than known support belts to pinch the lifter's body or clothing during tightening. A further benefit is that the support belt may be tightened up to a maximum the lifter can withstand and be secured in that condition. With known belts, such as those that have a generally rectangular frame carrying one or more pivoting prongs that is fitted to one end of a belt so that the prongs can be inserted through holes in the other end of the belt, the belt passes through maximum tightness condition during the tightening process before finally arriving at a lower tightness when securing is complete.

The buckling <NUM> may be made of any material having sufficient strength to secure the belt <NUM> and cope with the loads imposed during lifting. Generally it is desirable that the buckling be kept as light as possible and so a suitable lightweight metal such as an aluminium alloy may be used. Alternatively, in other examples at least some parts of the bucking may be made of an engineering plastics material. When manufacturing from suitable metals, the parts of the buckling may be produced by a casting process, such as die casting.

In the illustrated example the lever arm pivots about a pivot axis carried by the anchor portion that releasably engages apertures of the dead end region of the belt to draw the anchor portion fixed to the live end region of the belt towards the dead end region of the belt. In other examples, the lever arm may pivot about a pivot axis provided on the anchor portion fixed to the dead end region of the belt to draw an anchor portion that releasably engages apertures of the live end region of the belt towards the dead end region.

Claim 1:
A support belt for weight lifting comprising:
an elongate belt (<NUM>) having a dead end region (<NUM>) and a live end region (<NUM>); and
buckling (<NUM>) to releasably connect said dead and live end regions in a relaxed tightness condition of the support belt and secure said dead and live end regions in at least one tightened closed condition of the support belt in which a free end of the live end region overlies a free end of the dead end region, wherein said buckling comprises
a first anchor portion (<NUM>), a second anchor portion (<NUM>) and a locking mechanism (<NUM>) pivotally connected with said first and second anchor portions and operable to draw said first anchor portion towards said second anchor portion to change a tightness condition of the support belt from a relaxed tightness condition to at least one tightened closed condition,
characterised in that said first anchor portion (<NUM>) is fixedly secured to said live end region (<NUM>) by securing means comprising screws or rivets and said second anchor portion is configured to releasably engage apertures (<NUM>) of said dead end region (<NUM>) of the support belt and in that said apertures (<NUM>) provided in said dead end region (<NUM>) of said belt (<NUM>) are arranged to form at least one row apertures disposed in spaced apart relation along said dead end region to define a plurality of progressively tighter tightened closed conditions of said belt.