US20050274767A1

US20050274767A1 - Tool belt

Info

Publication number: US20050274767A1
Application number: US10/866,856
Authority: US
Inventors: Stuart Lyle
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2004-06-14
Filing date: 2004-06-14
Publication date: 2005-12-15
Also published as: US20060278677A1

Abstract

A tool belt that is secured about a wearer's waist or hips and leg is provided, the belt providing support for the wearer's back when in use. The belt includes a tool holding panel, upper support arms for extending about a wearer's waist or hips, and lower support arms for securing the lower portion of the tool belt about the wearer's leg. The tool holding panel includes pockets and loops for holding various tools and objects. In one embodiment, the tool belt includes a pair of tool holding panels that are securable along the sides of both legs of the wearer, and an intermediate portion interconnecting the tool panels and providing support for the wearer's back.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a tool belt and in particular to a tool belt with waist and thigh attachment bands.
2. Related Art
Tool belts are often bulky and uncomfortable, and are typically worn about the waist with various tools hanging from loops on the belt. When the wearer moves, the tools on the belt tend to swing about and hit the wearer's body, causing discomfort and interfering with work. Conventional tool belts can also shift about the waist, thus requiring adjustment to reorient the location of the tools, and causing inconvenience for the wearer trying to quickly access the tools. Further, if the tool belt carries a substantial load of tools, and the tool belt is worn for extended periods of time, strain on the wearer's back can result in back pain. Over time, this may cause back injuries.
Another problem with existing tool belts is that they often do not snugly fit the wearer, and tend to droop. As can be readily appreciated, this contributes to discomfort for the wearer. Further, tool belts that are not properly secured against a wearer's body are at risk of becoming caught on objects while a wearer is working, thereby resulting in a potentially dangerous situation, particularly if the wearer is operating a power tool.
Accordingly, what would be desirable, but has not yet been provided, is a tool belt that fits securely about a wearer's waist, supports the wearer's back, and is attachable at upper and lower ends about a wearer's body.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a tool belt that is securable about a wearer's waist or hips and leg. The belt includes a tool holding panel. Upper support arms extend from the tool holding panel for securing the tool belt about a wearer's waist or hips. The end of one support arm is attachable to the end of the other support arm. The upper support arms taper from wide portions at the tool holding panel to narrow portions at the ends. Lower support arms extend from a lower portion of the tool holding panel for securing the belt about the wearer's leg. The ends of the lower support arms are attachable together.
The present invention also provides a tool belt that is securable about a wearer's waist or hips and two legs. The belt includes first and second tool holding panels. A back support connects the first and second tool holding panels. Upper support arms extend from the tool holding panels for securing the tool belt about a wearer's waist or hips. The ends of one of the upper support arms are attachable to ends of the other upper support arm, thereby surrounding the wearer's waist or hips. Lower support arms extend from a lower portion of each of the two tool holding panels for securing the belt about the wearer's legs. The ends of the lower support arms are attachable together.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other important objects and features of the invention will be apparent from the following Detailed Description of the Invention taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a front view of the tool belt of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the tool belt of the present invention, being worn by a person.
FIG. 3 is a front view of the tool belt shown in FIG. 2.
FIG. 4 is a side view of the tool belt shown in FIG. 2.
FIG. 5 is a front view of another embodiment of the tool belt of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the tool belt shown in FIG. 5, being worn by a person.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a tool belt that is securable about a wearer's waist or hips and leg. The belt includes a tool holding panel. Upper support arms extend from the tool holding panel for securing the tool belt about a wearer's waist or hips. The ends of the upper support arms are attachable together. The upper support arms taper from wide portions at the tool holding panel to narrow portions at the ends. Lower support arms extend from a lower portion of the tool holding panel for securing the belt about the wearer's leg. The ends of the lower support arms are attachable together. The belt provides support for a wearer's back, provides a snug fit during wearing, and resists slipping. The present invention also relates to a tool belt having a tool holding panel on each side of the wearer attached to each leg of the wearer.
FIG. 1 is a front view of the tool belt of the present invention, indicated generally at 10. The tool belt 10 has a central tool holding panel 40 with an outer surface 44. Mounted to the outer surface 44 of central tool holding panel 40 are tool pockets 50 and loops 55 for holding any desired number and combination of tools or other objects. Upper support arms 20 extend from an upper portion of central tool holding panel 40. The upper support arms 20 have opposing ends 22 and 23, each having an inner surface 24, and outer surface 26. The ends 22 and 23 are attachable about the waist or hip of a wearer.
As shown in FIG. 1, a hook and loop fastening system can be utilized to connect the ends 22 and 23 when the belt is positioned around the wearer. One of the hook or loop fastener 28 is positioned on outer surface 26 of end 23. The other of the hook or loop fastener can be positioned on inner surface 24 of end 22. Of course, any other means for fastening together the ends 22 and 23 could be used, such as buttons, hooks, or other suitable fasteners.
The upper support arms 20 can be tapered, or optionally, the arms 20 could have a constant width. Preferably, the upper support arms 20 have a sufficient width to effectively provide support to the wearer's lower back when the belt 10 is worn.
The tool belt 10 further includes lower support arms 30 which extend from a lower portion of the central tool holding panel 40. The lower support arms 30 include opposing ends 32 and 33, each having an inner surface 34 and outer surface 36. The ends 32 and 33 are attachable about the leg of a wearer. As shown in FIG. 1, a hook and loop fastening system can be used to attach together the ends 32 and 33 when the arms are positioned about the leg of the wearer, wherein one of the hook or loop fastener 38 is positioned on outer surface 36 of end 33 and the other of the hook or loop fastener is positioned on inner surface 34 of end 32. Any other suitable fastening means could be used. The lower support arms 30 are generally narrower in width than upper support arms 20.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the tool belt 10 of the present invention, being worn by a wearer 80. As can be seen, the upper support arms 20 of the tool belt 10 fit snugly about the waist 82 of the wearer 80, and prevent the tool belt 10 from slipping. Additionally, the belt 10 provides support for the lower back 84 of the wearer 80. The lower support arms 30 extend about the leg 86 of the wearer 80, firmly securing the panel 40 against the side of the wearer 80. The belt 10 provides a comfortable and secure fit, while providing easy access to tools and objects.
FIG. 3 is a front view of the tool belt 10 shown in FIG. 2 and positioned about the wearer 80. The upper and lower support arms 20, 30 firmly secure the tool panel 40 to the side of the wearer 80, and provide a comfortable fit while supporting the back of the wearer 80 and preventing slipping of the belt 10. The pockets 50 and loops 55 of the panel 40 are within easy reach of the hand 88 of the wearer 80, thereby providing easy access to objects and tools stored in the pockets 50 and loops 55. It should be noted that one support arm could be longer than the other to allow for the support arms to be connected at a front area of a wearer's body. Importantly, swinging or banging of tools due to the wearer's movements and discomfort to the wearer are minimized, and support is provided for the wearer's back.
FIG. 4 is a side view of the tool belt 10 shown in FIG. 2 and positioned about the wearer 80. Importantly, the upper support arm 20 follows the contour of the lower back 84 of the wearer 80, and provides support thereto. The lower support arm 30 is sufficiently snugly secured about the leg 86 of the wearer to firmly retain the panel 40 against the side of the wearer 80, yet allows movement of the leg 86.
FIG. 5 is a front view of another embodiment of the tool belt of the present invention, indicated generally at 110. The tool belt 110 has two holding panels 140 for holding tools, each of which includes pockets 150 and loops 155 for holding tools and any other desired objects. Upper support arms 120 extend from an upper portion of each of the tool holding panels 140. The holding panels 140 are joined by an intermediate portion 124, which provides support for the lower back of a wearer. The upper support arms 120 include ends 122 and 123 that are attachable together when the tool belt is positioned about the waist of a wearer. A hook and loop fastening system 128 can be utilized to secure the ends 122, 123 of the upper arms 120, but any desired fastening means can be utilized. The intermediate portion 124 has a constant width that is sufficient to provide support for the wearer's back.
The tool belt 110 further includes lower support arms 130, which extend from lower portions of tool holding panels 140. The lower support arms 130 have opposing ends 122, 123, which are attachable about the wearer's legs. A hook and loop fastening system 138 can be utilized to secure the arms, however, any other securing or fastening means can be utilized.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the tool belt 110 shown in FIG. 5, being worn by a person 80. The ends 122 and 123 of the upper support arms 120 are secured at the front of the wearer 80, and positioned about the waist 82 of the wearer 80. The lower support arms 130 are secured about the wearer's legs 86. The tool holding panels 140 are positioned on either side of the wearer 80, i.e., against the wearer's hips and legs. The pockets 150 and loops 155 are easily accessible by the hands 84 of the wearer 80, thereby allowing easy access to tools and objects stored in the pockets 150 and loops 155.
The support arms and tool holding panels of tool belts 10 and 110 can be cut from a continuous piece of material. The tool belt can be made of any material used for conventional weight lifting support belts, such as woven and non-woven fabrics, canvas, webbing, nylon webbing, leather, leather substitutes, polymeric materials, natural or synthetic rubbers, combinations thereof and the like. The tool pockets and loops can be made from the same materials as the support arms and tool holding panels.
The tool pockets 50, 150 and loops 55, 155 can be mounted directly to the outer surface of the tool holding panels using conventional fastening means. The tool pockets and loops may be sewn to the tool belt, or may be mounted using rivets or other like mounting means. The tool pockets are preferably upwardly opening compartments and are sufficiently deep to effectively store tools or objects, but could also include flaps with buttons or other retaining means to provide a closed container. The pockets and loops can be rigid or semi-rigid, and are sized, shaped, and positioned to conform to the configuration of particular tools, e.g., screwdrivers, pliers, hammers and the like.
Having thus described the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the foregoing description is not intended to limit the spirit and scope thereof. What is desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A tool belt comprising:

a tool holding panel for holding tools;

upper support arms extending from an upper area of the tool holding panel and attachable together about a wearer's waist, the upper support arms having a width sufficient to provide support for a wearer's back; and

lower support arms extending from a lower portion of the tool holding panel and attachable together about a wearer's leg.

2. The belt of claim 1, wherein the tool holding panel and upper and lower support arms are formed of a unitary construction.

3. The belt of claim 1, further comprising fasteners on ends of the upper and lower support arms for fastening the ends together.

4. The belt of claim 3, wherein the fasteners comprise hook-and-loop type fasteners.

5. The belt of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of pockets and loops on the tool holding panel for holding tools and objects.

6. A tool belt comprising:

first and second tool holding panels for holding tools;

an intermediate portion interconnecting the first and second tool holding panels, the intermediate portion providing support for a wearer's back;

upper support arms extending from upper areas of the tool holding panels and attachable together about a wearer's waist; and

lower support arms extending from lower portions of the tool holding panels and attachable together about a wearer's leg.

7. The belt of claim 6, wherein the tool holding panels, the intermediate portion, and the upper and lower support arms are formed in a unitary construction.

8. The belt of claim 6, further comprising fasteners on ends of the upper and lower support arms for fastening the ends together.

9. The belt of claim 8, wherein the fasteners comprise hook-and-loop type fasteners.

10. The belt of claim 6, further comprising a plurality of pockets and loops on the tool holding panels for holding tools and objects.

11. A method for holding tools and objects comprising:

providing a tool belt having a tool panel for holding tools and upper and lower support arms connected to the panel;

positioning the upper support arms about a wearer's waste such that the upper support arm provides support for the wearer's back;

attaching ends of the upper support arms together;

positioning the lower support arms about a wearer's leg;

attaching ends of the lower support arms together; and

storing tools and objects on the tool panel.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the step of attaching ends of the upper support arms together comprises releasably attaching the ends together with a hook-and-loop type fastener.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the step of attaching ends of the lower support arms together comprises releasably attaching the ends together with a hook-and-loop type fastener.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of storing tools and objects on the tool panel comprises positioning tools and objects in a plurality of pockets and loops attached to the tool panel.