Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
REMOVABLE EXPANDABLE SEMIRIGID CUMMERBUND
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to cummerbunds and in particular to a removable
longitudinally expandable semirigid cummerbund particularly suited for use
with
tactical or outdoor equipment.
2. Description of Related Art
Cummerbunds for use on outdoor or tactical equipment to secure such
equipment around a user's waist are known in these fields of art. Typically
the
cummerbund is of a material fabric that provides some flexibility to
accommodate
changes in the user's waist in response to movement of the user, but are
generally too flexible to provide support for additional equipment attached to
or
suspended from the cummerbund itself. Such prior art cummerbunds tend to sag
under the weight of such additional equipment. An object of the invention is
to
address the above and other shortcomings.
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SUMMARY
The above shortcomings may be addressed by providing, in accordance
with one aspect of the invention, an expandable semirigid cummerbund for
removable attaching to an object to be carried in a manner that secures the
object to a wearer's waist, the cummerbund comprising two segments wherein
each segment comprises: an attachment member having a first side panel and
an opposite second side panel that is connected to the first side panel to
define a
pocket between said side panels, the pocket includes an open end and an
opposite closed end; a semirigid belt portion having an enclosed end slidably
received within the pocket in a manner that a body of the belt portion extends
out
of the open end of the pocket; an elastic member connecting the enclosed end
of
the belt portion to the closed end of the pocket, wherein the elastic member
expands in response to a pulling force applied to the belt portion to permit
partial
extraction of the enclosed end of the belt portion from the pocket, and to
contract
on withdrawal of the pulling force to pull the enclosed end back into the
pocket;
and a first connector on an outward facing surface of the first side panel
operable
to removably connect the attachment member to the object.
In some embodiments, the attachment member may comprise a fabric
pouch, and the elastic member is stitched to both the enclosed end of the belt
portion and the closed end of the pocket.
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In some embodiments of the cummerbund, the belt portion may further
comprise a terminal end remote from the enclosed end that may include a
terminal end connector operable to connect to the terminal end connector of
the
other segment in a manner that allows the belt portions of both segments to
extend around the wearer's waist. In some embodiments, the terminal end
connector comprises one or both of hooks and loops of a hook and loop
fastener.
In some embodiments, the terminal end connectors of both segments together
comprise a buckle.
In some embodiments, the first connector may comprise a strap
mechanism.
In some embodiments, the first connector may comprise one hooks and
loops of a hook and loop fastener.
In some embodiments, the cummerbund may further comprise a second
connector on an outward facing surface of the second side panel wherein the
second connector comprises one of hooks and loops of a hook and loop
fastener. In some embodiments, the second connector is a counterpart to the
first
connector.
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In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a
backpack, vest or body armor having a cummerbund of the present invention.
The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any
way limiting. Other aspects and features of the present invention will become
apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon review of the following
description of embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the
accompanying figures and claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In drawings which illustrate by way of example only embodiments of the
invention:
Figure 1 is a side view of a removable longitudinally expandable semirigid
cummerbund according to an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 2 is a view of the cummerbund of Figure 1 shown attached to an
object such as a tactical vest;
Figure 3 is a perspective close up partial view of the pouch and
enclosed
end of a cummerbund segment of cummerbund of Figure 1;
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Figure 4 is a perspective close up partial view of the inside of the
pouch and
enclosed end of a cummerbund segment of cummerbund of Figure
1 with the first side panel shown in phantom;
Figure 5 is a close up partial side view with the first side panel
removed
showing the inside of the pouch and the enclosed end of the
semirigid belt portion and the elastic member of a cummerbund
segment of the cummerbund of Figure 1;
Figure 6 is a close up partial view from a side of another embodiment
of a
cummerbund segment showing a connector having a webbing strap
attachment;
Figure 7 is a close up partial view from the other side of the
cummerbund
segment in Figure 6; and
Figure 8 is a close up partial section view showing the attachment of
the
connector of the cummerbund segment of Figure 6 of the pouch
onto complementary webbing loop arrangement on the object.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
In the following detailed description, reference is made to the
accompanying figures, which form a part hereof. In the figures, similar
symbols
typically identify similar components, unless context dictates otherwise. The
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illustrative embodiments described in the detailed description, figures, and
claims
are not meant to be limiting. Other embodiments may be utilized, and other
changes may be made, without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject
matter presented herein. It will be readily understood that the aspects of the
present disclosure, as generally described herein, and illustrated in the
figures,
can be arranged, substituted, combined, separated, and designed in a wide
variety of different configurations, all of which are explicitly contemplated
herein.
Referring to Figure 1, a removable longitudinally expandable semirigid
cummerbund according to a first embodiment of the invention is shown generally
at 10. The cummerbund 10 removable attaches an object to be carried in a
manner that secures the object 14 to a wearer's waist. The cummerbund 10 is
particularly well suited for use with tactical or outdoor equipment such as
for
example tactical vest 16 (by way of an example only of one kind of object 14)
in
the embodiment illustrated in Figure 2.
Cummerbund 10 comprises two segments 12a and 12b that cooperate
with each other to secure the object to a wearer's waist and are structurally
similar insofar as the inventive subject matter; however, it is contemplated
that
additional add on structures may be provided on one segment that may not be
mirrored on the other segment. Segments 12a and 12b are collectively referred
as cummerbund segment 12 herein.
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Each cummerbund segment 12 comprises an attachment member such as
fabric pouch 18 having a first side panel 22 and an opposite second side panel
24 that is connected to the first side panel 22 to define a pocket 26 between
said
side panels. Pocket 26 includes an open end 28 and an opposite closed end 32.
Preferably pouch 18 is constructed of a durable nylon or nylon blend fabric
material such as a cordura fabric. Fabric is preferred for the pouch 18
because it
enables a thin profile for the pouch which is advantageous when the
cummerbund 10 is worn on the inside of the object 14. However, the attachment
member may be made from other materials as would be apparent to the skilled
reader in light of the present disclosure.
Cummerbund segment 12 further comprises a semirigid belt portion 34
having an enclosed end 36 slidably received within the pocket 26 in a manner
that a body of the belt portion 34 extends out of the open end 28 of the
pocket 26
and the belt portion 34 may slide back-and-forth within the pocket 26 in a
longitudinal direction 30. Belt portion 34 may be provided with a plurality of
apertures such as holes 39 along its length to provide venting for airflow.
Preferably semirigid belt portion 34 is made of a thermoplastic and provides
suitable rigidity to limit sagging of the belt portion when other accessories
or
equipment are attached to the belt portion, such as for example, firearms,
body
armor, ammunition pouches, radios, or other tactical or outdoor equipment. The
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term "semirigid" when used in conjunction with the belt portion herein means
that
the belt portion is rigid to resist sagging vertically but has sufficient
flexibility to be
curved along its length to enable the belt portion to curve along a wearer's
waist.
Cummerbund segment 12 further comprises an elastic member 38 that
connects the enclosed end 36 of the belt portion 34 to the closed end 32 of
the
pouch 18. The elastic member 38 may be an elastic webbing or other form of
elastic and is operable to expand in response to a pulling force applied to
the belt
portion along the longitudinal direction 30 to permit partial extraction of
the
enclosed end 36 of the belt portion 34 from the pocket 26, and to contract on
withdrawal of the pulling force to pull the enclosed end back into the pocket.
Hence the elastic member 38 biases the enclosed end 36 of the belt portion 34
to
be received within the pouch 18 in the absence of a force tending to pull the
enclosed end 36 out of the pocket 26. The elastic member 38 may be stitched to
both the enclosed end 36 of the belt portion 34 and the closed end 32 of the
pouch 18 or it may be in some other suitable manner so attached. The pulling
force may be provided during use by an expansion of the wearer's waist as a
result of movement by the wearer. Accordingly, the cummerbund 10 allows for
expansion of the overall length of the cummerbund during use to accommodate
the wearer's movement and thereby avoid unnecessary constriction of the
wearer's waist and associated discomfort.
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The pouch 18 of the cummerbund segment 12 further includes a first
connector 42 on an outward facing surface of the first side panel 22. The
first
connector 42 is operable to removably connect the pouch 18 to the object 14.
Preferably, first connector 42 is one of either the hooks or the loops of a
hook
and loop fastener and is operable to connect to the counterpart hooks or loops
that may be provided on the object 14. Preferably, the pouch 18 further
includes
a second connector 44 on an outward facing surface of the second side panel 24
that is one of either the hooks or the loops of a hook and loop fastener, and
preferably the second connector 44 has the opposite or counterpart (hooks or
loops) to the first connector 42. Thus, for example, if the first connector 42
comprises the hooks then the second connector 44 may comprise the loops, and
vice versa. This enables the pouch 18 to be connected to an object having one
of
either hooks or loops thereon since the pouch 18 includes both sets of hooks
and
loops, one on each side panel. In such embodiments, the pouch 18 may be
made with hook and loop fastener components themselves with the backings
thereof positioned back to back to form the pocket 26 and the hooks and loops
facing outward to provide the first connector 42 and second connector 44.
Cummerbund segment 12 further includes a terminal end connector 46 on
a terminal end 48 of the belt portion 34 operable to connect to the terminal
end
connector 46 of the other segment 12 in a manner that allows the belt portions
of
both segments to extend around the wearer's waist. Preferably, the terminal
end
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connectors 46 of both segments 12a and 12b together comprise a hook and loop
type fastener that enables the terminal end connectors 46 to be conveniently
and
removably attached to each other. In other embodiments, the terminal end
connectors 46 of both segments 12a and 12b together may comprise a buckle or
some other mechanism by which the terminal end connectors may be attached to
each.
Referring to Figures 6-8 there is shown another embodiment of a
cummerbund of the present invention having cummerbund segments 112a and
112b on which the first or second connectors on the pouch 118 comprise
attachment straps 162 that originate from an edge of the pouch 118 and webbing
loops 164 that are provide on the first side panel 122 on the pouch 118 and
are
configured to receive the straps 162. The webbing loops 164 are arranged in
several rows such that the loops are in vertical alignment. This embodiment is
adapted to attach to an object 14 having similarly configured and
complementary
layout of webbing loops 172 through which the straps 162 are able to be
passed.
Examples of such attachment straps systems are commonly referred to in the
tactical and outdoor equipment fields of art as MOLLE (Modular Lightweight
Load-carrying Equipment) or PALS (Pouch Attachment Ladder System) webbing,
and the skilled reader knowledgeable with these fields would be familiar with
such attachment systems. Briefly, as shown in Figure 8, with the panel 122 of
the
pouch 118 being in proximity to the complementary loops 172 on the object 14,
Date Recue/Date Received 2020-09-16
the rows of loops 164 on the pouch are aligned in between the rows of loops
172
on the object. The straps 162 are then alternatingly threaded through a loop
172
on the object, then a loop 164 on the pouch, then again a loop 172 and then a
loop 164, and so on until all of the straps have been threaded through all of
the
loops. The straps 162 are drawn taut and each terminal end 166 of the straps
is
threaded back up into a loop or in some other manner secured, such as for
example by a snap, button or the like. Once all straps 162 are threaded
through
the corresponding vertical alignment of loops, both on the pouch 118 and the
object, then the pouch is thereby removably attached to the object. Removal
may
be accomplished by loosening the terminal ends 166 and removing the straps
162 from the webbing loops 164 on the pouch and webbing loops 172 on the
object.
Accordingly, a cummerbund of the present invention may be removable
connected to an object to be carried, such as a backpack, body armor, tactical
vest, tactical radio, and the like, that typically have or can be provided
with some
form of connector mechanism, such as one portion of hook and loop fastener (as
with cummerbund segment 12) or MOLLE/PALS webbing (as with cummerbund
segment 112), and the cummerbund secures the object around the wearer's
waist. The semirigid belt portion provides sufficient rigidity to enable the
cummerbund to support the weight of the object, and other accessories or
equipment attached thereto, without sagging, yet the elastic member provides
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flexibility to the cummerbund to enable it to longitudinally expand to
accommodate slight variations of the wearer's waistline consequent to movement
for additional comfort.
While embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated,
such embodiments should be considered illustrative of the invention only. The
invention may include variants not described or illustrated herein in detail.
Thus,
the embodiments described and illustrated herein should not be considered to
limit the invention as construed in accordance with the accompanying claims.
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