Back Support Belt Attachment

Many tradesmen carry tools and equipment suspended from a belt around their waists, for example, a police officer commonly carries his gun, baton, hand cuffs, flash light and other equipment suspended from a Sam Brown belt worn around the waist so that all the weight and the equipment is concentrated from a single belt. In the past, the weight of the equipment so suspended from the belt, was at least partially supported by the wearer's shoulder by reason of a diagonal belt which was originally secured at opposite ends to the Sam Brown belt and extended over a shoulder. However, the diagonal belt presented an attractive "handle" for a would-be attacker and some unfortunate experiences that have occured in the past resulted in the decision to remove the diagonal belt as a part of the patrolman's uniform. Consequently, virtually all of the equipment weight is borne by the lower back.

The officer, with all this weight may get in and out of a patrol car numerous times during the course of a day's activities, and this repeated impact with the patrol car seat, while wearing all this equipment can cause damage to the seat, as well as to his back. The resultant damage to the seat aggravates the back problem because of the diminished support provided thereby.

It is an object of this invention to provide a back support which will distribute the load of suspended tools and equipment over a wider area.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a back support which will apply a certain amount of pressure to the lower back to decrease incidence of lower back injury.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a back brace which may be unified with the wearer's trouser-supporting belt as well as to the equipment-supporting belt.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the description to follow, particularly when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

In carrying out this invention, I provide a relatively wide back brace having an outer panel of a relatively stiff leather and long enough to extend over the kidney areas. An inner panel of a resilient foam material covered with fabric is stitched to the leather back panel, and is of a larger area then the back panel so that there is a margin of resilient material extending completely around the back brace. A plurality of horizontal slots in the back panel enable loops of leather or the like to be extended therethrough to suspend equipment from the large area back panel, as well as to receive the Sam Brown belt conventionally worn by police officers. A pair of leather support patches on the inside of the back brace have vertical slots to receive the officer's trouser-supporting belt so that the back brace is unified with both the trouser supporting and the equipment-supporting belts, all around the waistline of the wearer. The outer panel is relatively wide and the lower edge extends downward at the mid-point to cover, protect and brace the lower spine of the wearer.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a back view of the back brace of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the back brace;

FIG. 3 is a view in perspective showing the trouser-supporting belt and the equipment-supporting belt both attached to the back brace;

FIG. 4 is a view in perspective showing the belt and back brace in place.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2 with greater particularity, the back brace belt attachment 10 of this invention includes a back panel 12 of a relatively stiff leather, or a synthetic material having similar characteristics of rigidity. The back panel 10 is stitched at 14 to a padded inner pad of resilient material.

For example, the inner ply could comprise a closed cell foam plastic 18 encased in a cover of a suitable fabric such as a strong Nylon.

As shown best in FIG. 1, the brace is relatively wide from top to bottom, and the stiff back panel 12 has a relatively horizontal top edge 22 extensive enough to cover the kidney area of the wearer. However, the bottom panel curves downward at 24 to extend down over the lower spine of the wearer. The inner panel 16 is of larger area than the back panel 12 to provide a resilient margin 16a completely around the back panel 12 which prevents the back panel from digging into the flesh of the wearer while bending, stooping or sitting.

A series of pairs of horizontal slots 26 in the back panel 12 are adapted to receive loops 28 of leather or the like, the ends of which are snapped together at 30. The loops are conditioned to receive the officer's baton, flashlight holder or the like and, in addition, will receive the officer's Sam Brown belt 32 (FIGS. 3 and 4) on which bullets, gun and other equipment are frequently carried. Hence, as well as a back brace, the belt attachment 10 provides a means for distributing the weight of equipment being carried by it, or by the Sam Brown belt, over a wider area which, in addition, is cushioned.

Stitched at 34 to the inside of the resilient pad, prior to attachment of the back panel 12 is a pair of leather stiffener patches which are positioned to engage and press against the "dimples" of the wearer's back, on either side of the spine and to provide support therefor. A pair of vertical slots 38 in each stiffener patch enables the police officer to thread his trouser-supporting belt 40 through the loops 42 formed between the slots to maintain proper location of the back brace 10 on his back. Thus, when the patrolman dons his uniform, he can extend his belt through the side loops of this trousers and then, simultaneously through the loops 42 on the leather patches and the back loops on his trousers. With the back brace in place, the Sam Brown belt may be then extended through loops 28 placed in the horizontal pairs of slots 26 to distribute the load on the Sam Brown belt and to keep it from sliding down over the hips.

While this invention has been described in conjunction with a preferred embodiment thereof, it is obvious that modifications and changes therein may be made by those skilled in the art to which it relates, without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention as defined by the claims appended hereto.