Police officers use what is commonly referred to as a “belt keeper” to hold/attach an outer duty belt to the inner dress belt worn by officers. For clarity, dress belts worn by officers are also referred to as trouser belts or garrison belts. These belts will be referred to herein as dress belts even though the specific belt may not be a traditional “dress belt” but a more utilitarian trouser belt or a garrison belt. Because of the number and size of components attached to the duty belt, feeding the duty belt through standard pant belt loops is impossible. Belt keepers help prevent the duty belt from moving up or down on the waistline in normal activities and more importantly when pulling tools such as firearms out of the duty belt. As is known in the art, current belt keepers are small leather or nylon straps that wrap around both the duty belt and dress belt tightly at the waistline to lock them together with snap or hook-and-loop fasteners. A normal sized officer typically uses four belt keepers to hold his/her belts together. At the beginning and end of each day, or if an officer has to use the facilities, the snaps have to be unsnapped and the keeper straps removed in order to separate the duty belt from the dress belt worn on the trousers. The keepers must be then reapplied after using the facilities a process that can take several minutes. Another concept is the use of hook-and-loop strips down the middle of the outer surface of the dress belt and inner surface of the duty belt. A major problem with hook-and-loop strips is that the material degrades over time and police departments have to buy all new dress and duty belts to make the transition. The prior art strap belt keeper is currently in use by law enforcement personnel and comprises a nylon or leather strap. The prior art belt keeper can have two sets of posts and sockets secured to a strap that allows an individual to snap multiple belt keepers around a duty belt and dress belt to secure the duty belt to the dress belt. An improved system to hold the duty belt to the dress belt is needed.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds