Patent Application
20140053378
(Not Applicable)
Golf is popular in the summer months despite many areas of the country having high heat and humidity. While playing golf, golfers typically wear a golf glove to improve grip and to prevent calluses and blisters. Golfers may take off and put on their glove several times throughout a round. For example, many golfers remove their glove when putting.
Once removed, golfers usually stuff their glove in their back pocket. Because of the heat and humidity, however, the glove may be damp from sweat and/or the humidity in the air. Stuffing a damp glove in their pocket not only prevents the glove from getting a chance to air out, but worse yet, it dampens the contents of the golfer's pocket (such as a score card) and the golfer's shorts.
To avoid this, some golfers throw their glove on the green before putting. This causes more problems, however, as it is easy to forget.
It would be desirable if there were somewhere else for golfers to secure a glove when it is removed.
Most golfers wear a belt when they play golf, and the belt is a logical place to secure the glove. Nearly all golf gloves include a securing flap that is secured with a hook and loop fastener (e.g., Velcro®). It would be desirable to incorporate structure into a belt that would be cooperable with the existing fastening components of the golf glove.
In an exemplary embodiment, a belt includes a belt strip, a belt buckle at one end of the belt strip, and holes at an opposite end of the belt strip. A connector strip is cooperable with the belt strip and is configured to secure an object to the belt strip.
In one arrangement, the connector strip includes a hook part or a loop part of a hook and loop fastener.
The belt may include two connector strips. In this context, the two connector strips may be positioned such that in use, the connector strips are positioned on opposite sides of a rear belt loop.
The belt strip may include an inner layer and an outer layer, where the outer layer includes a window, and the connector strip is secured to the inner layer adjacent the window. In an alternative arrangement, the connector strip is secured to the belt strip with an adhesive.
A color of the connector strip may substantially match a color of the belt strip. In one arrangement, the connector strip may be formed into a logo or personal design.
These and other aspects and advantages will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
With reference to the drawings, a belt conventionally includes a belt strip 10a, a belt buckle 10b, and holes 10c cooperable with the belt buckle. The belt strip 10a according to preferred embodiments includes two connector strips 12 (such as the hook part or the loop part of a hook and loop fastener). The belt 10 may alternatively include one connector strip 12 or more than two connector strips 12. The connector strips 12 enable a golfer to remove his golf glove 14 and attach it securely and unobtrusively to the belt 10. The Velcro® from the glove 14 clings tightly to the Velcro® on the belt 10. Additionally, the glove 14 is no longer a lump in the golfer's back pocket but hanging just right or left of the golfer's lower back.
Preferably, the belt strip 10a is assembled using layered materials, such as leather. That is, the belt strip may be formed with at least an inner layer and an outer layer. The belt buckle 10b is secured to the belt strip 10a, and the holes 10c are formed. In one embodiment, a window 10d is formed in the outer layer, and the connector strips 12 can be secured to an outside surface of the inner layer adjacent the window 10d such that the connector strips are effectively embedded into the belt 10. Alternatively, the strips can be fastened via an adhesive or the like to an exterior surface of the belt 10.
The sports belt of the preferred embodiments will work like any other belt, that is, it still holds one's pants up. However, in one arrangement, the fastener strips that when put through the loops of most pants will be on either side of the rear belt loop. The Velcro® strips can be discreet in that the color of the strips can match the color of the belt or alternatively be purposely noticeable. An individual can create a personal design or a company can add a logo as the strips.
While the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/691,425, filed Aug. 21, 2012, the entire content of which is herein incorporated by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61691425 | Aug 2012 | US |
