Patent Application
20070271737
The first engaging member 40 and connecting member 20 are pivotally connected via a coaxial pair of pivot pins 2 traversing both U-shaped articles 20, 40 near their respective open ends. Consequently, the connecting member 20 may be pivoted between a closed position in which the connecting member 20 and first engaging member 40 are planarly aligned in concentric relationship, as shown in
The three letter-shaped members 20, 30, 40 are lockable into their aforementioned closed positions by virtue of locking means. Although the particular embodiment of locking means may vary greatly, the locking means illustrated herein comprises a spring-loaded latching mechanism. Specifically, within the stem portion 30a of the T-shaped second engaging member 30 is an open-ended and cylindrical chamber 18, and axially disposed therewithin are a latch pin 8 and spring 12. The latch pin 8 is a cylindrical piece which is a slip fit inside the chamber 18. The pin 8 and spring 12 are oriented within the second engaging member's hollowed chamber 18 such that one end of the spring abuts the closed end of the cavity 18 while its opposite end presses against the proximal end 16 of the latch pin 8. Thus, the spring 12 biases the latch pin 8 toward and through the open end of the cavity 18. However, the latch pin 8 is slidably retracted by manipulation of a thumb control 10. The thumb control 10 is affixed to and projects away from the latch pin 8, protruding through a slit 14 along the front face of the second engaging member 30.
When the three members 20, 30, 40 are aligned in concentric relation and the thumb control 10 is then released, the latch pin 8 propels from the stem section 30a of the second engaging member 30 and through an aligned hole (not shown) in the closed end of the U-shaped connecting member 20, lodging into a mating slot (not shown) that resides in the closed end of the U-shaped engaging member 40. Thus, the extended latch pin 8 locks the device 1 into closed position. Conversely, when the thumb control 10 is manually guided toward the second engaging member's crossbar section 30b, the spring 12 is compressed, and the latch pin 8 becomes entirely withdrawn into the second engaging member 30. This retraction of the latch pin 8 from the first engaging and connecting members 40, 20 enables all three the device members 20, 30, 40 to pivot relative to one another.
The device 1, while opened as it is in
Nevertheless, with the first engaging member 40 and second engaging member 30 both selectively fastened to the waist W, the latch pin 8 is retracted (by operation of the thumb control 10) and the engaging and connecting members 40, 30, 20 are pivoted into a mutually closed position defined by them being vertically overlapping and in generally concentric relation with each other, as shown in
A preferred embodiment of the device additionally features an openable front cover 50 that is attached to the first engaging member 40 by way of a hinge 52, as illustrated in
Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail and with reference to and illustration of a preferred version, it should be understood that other versions, which are not illustrated, are contemplated as being a part of the present invention. As a mere example, the latching mechanism described herein could be replaced by significantly different locking means for holding the inventive waist adjusting device in fixed position. As another example, the respective shapes and orientations of the engaging and connecting members, as well as that of a front cover, may vary from what is disclosed herein, as their pivot relationships are considerably more germane to the inventive concept than are the particular shapes of those constituent parts.
