Patent ID: 7507141

Claim:
A garment which is intended to be worn on the body of a person, said garment comprising at least one strap; and a coupling securing said strap to said garment, said coupling comprising a slideway secured to said garment and a slider connected to said strap, said slider operable to be releasably secured at any position along said slideway, said slideway being flexible and including a rail and skirt, said skirt projecting from said rail for securing said slideway to said garment, said slider having open ends receiving said rail and skirt of said slideway for sliding engagement with, and travel along, said slideway and an open side from which said skirt of said slideway extends when said slider is mounted on said slideway, said rail being larger in dimension than said open side of said slider to resist passage of said rail through said open side, said slider including a body having a first wall and a second wall joined to one another at a position spaced from said open side and defining a channel therebetween for receiving said rail and skirt of said slideway, said second wall including a window opening therethrough, said walls engaging and receiving said slideway in said channel, said slider also including a clamp overlying the exterior of said second wall and at least a portion of said window opening and pivotally mounted to said second wall in a position aligned with but spaced from said first wall, said clamp including a jaw projecting inwardly through said window opening to engage and clamp said slideway against said first wall when said slideway is received in said channel, said clamp also including a second end displaceable from a closed position to an open position in order to disengage said jaw from said slideway to permit said slider to be moved along said slideway, and said jaw pivoting toward said first wall when said second end moves from said open to said closed position and said slideway is urged outwardly from said open side whereby tension in said strap serves to bias said jaw into engagement with said slideway.