Patent ID: 7865975

Claim:
A device to transfer the weight of a protective garment from the shoulder area of the wearer to the waist/hip area of the wearer when said garment is worn over said device, the device comprising; a. a waist belt around the waist area of the wearer; b. a garment support assembly comprised of at least one vertical support member of substantially ridged material having an upper section and a lower section that are slidably attached to one another, an articulating junction with an upper and a lower portion and a waist belt attachment portion, where; i. the slidable attachment of the upper and lower sections of the vertical support member includes a post protruding from the surface of one section of a vertical support member that travels in a slot located in the wall of the other section of the vertical support member when the upper and lower sections of the vertical support member are slidably moved relative to one another along their common vertical axis, and, ii. the slidable attachment of the upper and lower sections of the vertical support member includes at least one hole through the horizontal axis of only one section of a vertical support member where a removable pin may be inserted through this hole such that the presences of the removable pin limits only the slidable shortening of the vertical support member without limiting the full extension range of slidable travel of the upper and lower sections of the vertical support member, and further, c. the upper portion of the vertical support member extending over the shoulder of the wearer and the lower end of the vertical support member is joined to the upper portion of the articulating junction; iii. the lower portion of said articulating junction is joined to a waist belt attachment means; and d. the garment support assembly is attached to the waist belt.