Patent Document

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation application of U.S. non-provisional patent application Ser. No. 11/663,202, which was a 35 U.S.C. §371 national-phase filing of international application PCT/US2005/034036 filed on Sep. 19, 2005, and which issued on Aug. 10, 2010 as U.S. Pat. No. 7,770,770. International application PCT/US2005/034036 claimed priority from and the benefit of U.S. provisional application 60/611,655 filed on Sep. 20, 2004. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The field of the invention is that of article carriers supported by an animate bearer, such as a human being. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Human beings have long carried articles by attaching them to belts worn around the waist or hips. Such objects have included canteens, weapons, food carriers, and the like. In modern times, for example, photographers may carry cameras, lens systems such as telephoto lens systems, and other photographic gear in pouches or carriers suspended from a belt worn about the waist or hips. 
     An article to be carried by a belt may be permanently or releaseably attached to a definite position on the belt. Alternatively, the article may be attached to the belt by a sleeve or the like so that the article may be moved along the belt as needed in order to access the article or to wear it in the most comfortable position. A belt carrier system that provides for both types of attachment at the choice of the wearer is needed. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,881,933 to Rogers, entitled “Track Member System” discloses a system for carrying containers suspended from a track member which may be attached to a body encircling belt or attached to clothing which includes a pair of protruding tracks substantially parallel and from which the containers for holding articles are suspended by clips on the containers which are attachable to the tracks anywhere along the lengths thereof or positionable lengthwise on the tracks by sliding thereon at tapered ends of the tracks. This system includes a clamp in the form of a planar wedge for locking the container in place on the tracks to prevent the container from sliding along the tracks to an undesired position and inhibiting forceful unintended removal of the clip and container from the tracks without removal of the clamp. The track member system of Rogers is complicated and expensive to make because its construction requires the provision of two parallel and protruding members and a rigid clip attached to a carrier that is specifically shaped to receive the parallel members and thereby hold the carrier on the belt. The security of the attachment of the clip to the carrier depends on how well the clip encloses the members so that failure of that enclosure will cause detachment of the carrier from the belt. In addition, the planar wedge clamp is complicated and requires the provision of additional components. 
     What is needed is an improved carrier system that provides for attaching articles to a belt that provides for the articles to be releaseably attached at a fixed position on the belt or, in the alternative, to be in a slideable relation to the belt. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention is a system comprising an elongated planar member or belt to be worn by an animate bearer such as a human being having an outside surface facing away from the bearer&#39;s body and an inside surface facing toward the body of the bearer, at least one loop or pocket attached to the outside surface of the belt, and at least one carrier for an object comprising a sleeve having a first end attached to a body of the carrier and a second end detachably attached to the body of the carrier, the first end and the second end of the sleeve being spaced apart at their respective places of attachment to the body of the carrier so that the second end of the sleeve can be folded over the belt and attached to the body of the carrier, and further comprising a tab of stiff material having a first end attached to the carrier at or near the junction of the first end of the sleeve to the carrier and a second end remaining unattached, the tab having an axis generally aligned with the sleeve, the second of the tab being capable of being inserted through one of the loops of the belt when the sleeve is folded over the belt for attachment of the carrier to the belt and thereby fixing the carrier with respect to the belt so that the carrier substantially may not be slid along the belt whereas if the tab is not inserted into a loop when the sleeve is folded over the belt the carrier is not substantially fixed with respect to the belt and therefore may be slid along the belt. 
     OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object and advantage of the present invention to provide to provide an improved system for carrying equipment on the wearer. Another object and advantage is to provide a system for carrying equipment on the wearer that will positively attach the equipment to a member supported by the wearer so that the equipment will not become accidentally detached. 
     Another object and advantage is to provide a system that will positively attach equipment to the wearer that will permit the equipment to be moved with respect to the member worn by the wearer while the equipment is supported by that member but alternatively, at the option of the wearer, to permit the equipment to be carried in a fixed relationship to the member. 
     Another object and advantage is to provide a system for carrying equipment on a wearer that is simple and inexpensive to manufacture. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the carrier system according to the invention shown being worn by a person; 
         FIG. 2  is a front side view of a portion of the preferred embodiment of the carrier system according to the invention shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a back side view of the portion of the carrier system according to the invention shown in  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a partial sectional view of the portion of the carrier system according to the invention shown in  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view from the right of the portion of the carrier system according to the invention shown in  FIG. 2  demonstrating how the tab attached to a carrier for articles is inserted in a loop attached to the belt so as to prevent the carrier for objects from sliding with respect to the belt; 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view from the right of a portion of the carrier system according to the invention shown in  FIG. 2  demonstrating how the tab of the carrier for objects is not inserted into a loop attached to the belt so as to allow the carrier for articles to slide with respect to the belt; 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view from below of a portion of the carrier system according to the invention shown in  FIG. 2  demonstrating how the tab of the carrier for articles is inserted into a loop attached to the belt so as to prevent the carrier for articles from sliding with respect to the belt; and 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the tab shown as a separate component and not attached to the carrier for articles. 
     
    
    
     REFERENCE NUMERALS IN THE DRAWINGS 
     
         
           1  carrier system 
           2  person 
           10  belt 
           11  buckle 
           12  fabric tube 
           13  foam interior 
           14  outside surface of belt 
           16  inside surface of belt 
           20  webbing 
           22  bar tack 
           24  loop 
           30  carrier for objects 
           32  zipper 
           34  body of carrier 
           40  sleeve 
           42  first end of sleeve 
           44  second end of sleeve 
           46  loop strip 
           48  hook strip 
           60  tab 
           62  first end of tab 
           64  second end of tab 
       
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring now to the drawings, an animate bearer (in this case a person)  2  wearing a preferred embodiment of a carrier system according to the invention  1  is shown in  FIG. 1 . The carrier system  1  is comprised of a belt  10  attached to a carrier for articles  30 . 
     The belt  10  is shaped in the form of an elongated planar member having an outside surface  14  facing away from the bearer&#39;s body and an inside surface  16  (not shown in  FIG. 1 ; see  FIG. 3 ) facing toward the body of the bearer. The belt  10  is shown in cross-section in  FIG. 4  and preferably comprises a fabric tube  12  surrounding a foam interior  13 . The foam interior  13  is preferably made of EVA (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate) foam. 
     The specific structure and materials of the belt  10 , however, are not important to this invention. The belt  10  could be made without the foam interior  13  or could be made of leather or other materials known to the art to which this invention pertains. The belt  10  is secured around the body of the wearer  2  by a buckle  11 . The buckle shown in  FIG. 1  comprises two mating and detachable pieces formed from a thermoplastic of a kind well known to the art. Such buckles are sold under the FASTEX, DURAFLEX, and other brands. The specific structure and materials of the buckle  11  are not important to this invention. The buckle  11  could have any number of designs and be made of different materials known to the art as long as it is suitable to be a buckle for a belt. 
     The carrier for articles  30  comprises a body  34  and a sleeve  40 . The carrier for articles  30  shown in the drawings is a pouch of a known kind in the photography field having an interior main compartment (not shown) with a top opening secured by a zipper  32 . The carrier  30  shown in the drawings is designed to hold photographic articles such as a lens system and the like. The structure and form of the body of the carrier for articles  30  is not important to the invention. All that is necessary is that the carrier for articles  30  be suitable for carrying an article or articles that a wearer may wish to carry. The system of the invention could be used with virtually any carrier for articles, such as a holster for a handgun or a canteen. 
     Webbing  20  is sewn by regularly spaced bar tacks  22  to the outside surface  14  of the belt  10 . The spacing of the bar tacks  22  causes the webbing  20  to form loops (or bottomless pockets)  24  spaced along and above the outside surface  14  of the belt  10 . Webbing made of nylon or polyester is preferred. 
     At least one or more loops  24  must be provided on the outside surface  14  of the belt  10  for cooperation with the tab  60  attached to the carrier for articles  30  (see  FIGS. 5 and 7  and the discussion below). The specific structure and materials of the loops  24  are not important as long as at least one loop  24  capable of cooperating with a tab  60  is provided. 
     The carrier for articles  30  is provided with a sleeve  40  made of fabric. The sleeve  40  has a first end  42  sewn or otherwise attached to the carrier for articles  30 , as is best seen in  FIGS. 3 ,  5 ,  6 , and  7 . A second end  44  of the sleeve  40  detachably connects to a location on the carrier for articles  30  that is spaced from the attachment of the first end  42  so that the sleeve  40  forms a loop sized to enclose the belt  10  as shown in  FIGS. 1-4 . In the preferred embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings the means for attaching the second end  44  of the sleeve  40  to the carrier for articles  30  is by provision of mating hook and loop strips  46  and  48  sewn onto to the carrier for articles  30  and adjacent the second end  44  of the sleeve  40 , respectively. Although hook and loop strips are preferred, other means of detachable connection such as snaps and the like are suitable for use in this invention. 
     The means of attachment of the second end  44  of the sleeve  40  to the body  34  of the carrier for articles  30  is illustrated best in  FIGS. 4-7 . The mating hook and loop strips  46  and  48  may be separated in order to rotate the second end  44  of the sleeve  40  away from the carrier for articles  30  as shown in  FIGS. 5-7  so that the carrier for articles  30  can be attached or detached from the belt  10 . 
     The specific structure and materials of the sleeve  40  is not important as long as the sleeve  40  can be detachably secured at one of its ends to the carrier  30 . 
     As may be seen in  FIGS. 5-7 , a tab  60  is attached to the carrier  30  by being sewn at a first end  62  between the carrier  30  and the first end  42  of the sleeve  40 . The tab  60  is preferably made of a thin and stiff material such as polyethylene (PE) board that may be sewn through. The second end  64  of the tab  60  is not sewn or otherwise permanently attached to anything so that it may be inserted through one of the loops  22  as shown in  FIGS. 5 and 7 . 
     The tab  60  lies between the carrier for articles  30  and the sleeve  40  when the second end  44  of the sleeve  40  is attached to the carrier for articles  30  and thus will not be observed when the carrier for articles  30  is in that condition and is viewed from front and back as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . The tab  60  will be easily observable when the second end  44  of the sleeve  40  is detached from the carrier for articles  30  as shown in  FIGS. 5-7 . The preferred tongue-like structure of the tab  60  is shown in  FIG. 8 . The first end  62  of the tab  60  is broadened in the form of the cross-bar of a “T” to provide a broader space for sewing in the attachment of that end to the carrier for articles  30 . This will help prevent rotation of the second end  64  of the tab  60  from side to side along the plane of the tab and will anchor the tab  60  more securely to the carrier  30  because of the greater length of the stitch line. 
     The second end  64  of the tab  60  is rounded to facilitate insertion of the second end  64  through one of the loops  22  as shown in  FIGS. 5 and 7 . The tab  60  being preferably made of a stiff but flexible material such as the PE board mentioned in order facilitates the insertion of the second end  64  through one of the loops  22 . Preferably the tab  60  is long enough that the second end  64  will be in contact with the hook and loop strips  46  and  48  when the second end  44  of the sleeve  40  is attached to the body  34  of the carrier for articles  30  but will not extend below or beyond the sleeve  40 . This positioning and length of the tab  60  is indicated in  FIGS. 5-7 . It has been found that the configuration is preferred in order to further prevent twisting or rotation of the tab  60  with respect to its attachment to the body  34  of the carrier for articles  30  when the carrier for articles  30  is subjected to forces that would tend to twist the carrier for articles  30  with respect to the belt  10  because the second or free end  64  of the tab  60  is anchored with respect to the body  34  of the carrier for articles  30  by being trapped between the hook and loop strips  46  and  48 . 
     The carrier for articles  30  may be attached to the belt  10  in one or another of two modes.  FIGS. 5 and 7  show a first mode of attachment in which the carrier for articles  30  will be fixed with respect to the belt  10  because the tab  60  is inserted through one of the loops  22  when the sleeve  40  is wrapped around the belt  10 . In this mode the carrier for articles  30  cannot slide or move along the belt and therefore will remain in the same position with respect to the body of the bearer as long as the belt  10  itself remains in the same relative position with respect to the body of the bearer. This is the mode to use if the bearer has found a preferred position for the carrier for articles  30  or simply wishes for the carrier for articles  30  to not shift while the bearer is moving. 
     The other or second mode of attachment is shown in  FIG. 6 . In this mode the tab  60  is not inserted through one of the loops  22  when the sleeve  40  is wrapped around the belt  10 . In this mode the carrier for articles  30  can slide or move along the belt. The bearer can slide or move the carrier for articles  30  on the belt as needed for use and/or comfort. This is the mode to use if the bearer wishes to adjust the position of the carrier for articles  30  without removing the carrier for articles  30  from the belt  10 . The bearer, for example, may want to bear the carrier for articles  30  in one position on the belt for reasons of comfort or convenience when moving, sitting or standing but would like to quickly move the carrier for articles  30  to a position for more ready access to the articles contained in the carrier. 
     While the invention has been described in conjunction with the preferred embodiment, it will be understood that it is not intended to limit the invention to this embodiment. On the contrary, the invention is intended to cover alternatives, modifications and equivalents that may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Technology Category: 1