Despite being used throughout history, knots are still useful in the modern day. However, these knots can come undone at the most inopportune times and must be re-tied, wasting time and energy. One example where this is a problem is the field of martial arts. Frequently, martial artists must stop and re-tie their belts in the middle of practice, lessons and even tournaments. Such interruptions make practice, lessons and tournaments inefficient, and, especially in the case of tournaments, unfair due to abuse. Some competitors will take advantage of the belts coming undone in order to rest in the middle of a fight, which is normally not allowed. Others have even purposefully tied their belts loosely in order to assure that the belts will come undone and offer an unfair rest period.
Previous solutions are primitive, often involving a last-minute application of tape to keep the knot from coming undone. Though useful in many areas, tape is not ideal for martial arts belts or other applications utilizing knots because of the conflicting aesthetics and the difficulty of application and removal. Use of tape in such a situation goes against the point of using knots: a strong, yet removable (and reusable) connection. Others have tried a martial arts belt with an integrated knot holder. However, this again runs into the problems of aesthetics as it does not offer the option of easily switching to a traditional aesthetic; one must completely change out a belt. A more elegant solution and functional solution is needed.
Other areas of use have comparably problematic situations for which an elegant solution is required.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds