Abstract
A carrying belt for carrying a video camera or still camera on the body having a shoulder pad, a belt coupled to the shoulder pad that runs transversely across the upper body of a user, and at least one connecting piece for fastening the belt to the video or still camera. The belt includes a slide via which the belt is coupled to the shoulder pad so that the belt is movable in the direction of a longitudinal extension of the belt relative to the shoulder pad and is simultaneously secured to the shoulder pad transversely to the longitudinal extension. This solution is a development of a known carrying belt by allowing attachment of a still or video camera to the belt at the fittings provided for attaching a classical neck strap or to one of these fittings and a tripod belt bush on a camera.
Claims
1. A carrying belt for carrying a video camera or still camera on the body, having a shoulder pad; a belt coupled to the shoulder pad, and which runs transversely across the upper body of a user; at least one connecting piece for fastening the belt to a video camera or a still camera to be carried, a slide via which the belt is coupled to the shoulder pad in such a way that the belt is movable in a direction of a longitudinal extension of the belt relative to the shoulder pad and is simultaneously secured to the shoulder pad transversely to the longitudinal extension.
2. The carrying belt according to claim 1, wherein the belt has two longitudinal ends on each of which a connecting piece for attachment to the video camera or the still camera is arranged.
3. The carrying belt according to claim 2, wherein one of the connecting pieces is a tripod screw adapted to screw into a tripod threaded bush provided on the video camera or the still camera.
4. The carrying belt according to claim 1, wherein the shoulder pad has a cushioning.
5. The carrying belt according to claim 1, further comprising a securing belt which is connected to the shoulder pad and which, when in use, is adapted to run under a shoulder on which the shoulder pad rests and is closable to form a closed loop.
6. The carrying belt according to claim 1, wherein the slide in the form of at least two retaining loops attached to the shoulder pad, and through which loops the belt is threaded.
7. The carrying belt according to claim 1, wherein the slide is in the form of at least one sliding casing formed on the shoulder pad, through which the belt is fed.
8. The carrying belt according to claim 1, further comprising multiple pairs of claw-like elements opposite one another transversely to the longitudinal direction, wherein the multiple pairs of claw-like elements are arranged one after the other in a longitudinal direction of the shoulder pad along a longitudinal direction of the belt and arranged in a guided manner in the slide, wherein the multiple pairs of claw-like elements retain the belt arranged in the slide, and wherein a gap is left between the claw-like elements of each pair of claw-like elements and the gap is left for the insertion of the belt into the slide.
9. The carrying belt according to claim 8, wherein the multiple pairs of claw-like elements are arranged firmly on the shoulder pad and connected to the shoulder pad, and wherein the multiple pairs of claw-like elements are comprised of a material which has less flexibility than a material used in a rest of the shoulder pad.
10. The carrying belt according to claim 8 wherein the slide has a longitudinal groove introduced into the shoulder pad and in which the belt is arranged in a guided manner and over which the multiple pairs of claw-like elements extend.
11. The carrying belt according to claim 1, further comprising at least one securing element placed over the belt and attached to the shoulder pad.
12. The carrying belt according to claim 11, wherein the securing element is detachably attached to the shoulder pad.
13. The carrying belt according to claim 1, further comprising a protection against severing provided on the belt, wherein the protection is a reinforcement led in the longitudinal direction of the belt.
14. The carrying belt according to claim 13, wherein the reinforcement led is one or more of a metal wire, a metal rope, a strand made of poly(p-phenylene terephthalamide) (PPTA), an ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE), and another cut-resistant material.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0023] Additional advantages and features of the invention result from the following description of possible embodiment examples in reference to the appended figures. In the figures:
[0024] FIG. 1 shows a diagrammatic partial representation of a person who is carrying a still camera with an inventive carrying belt formed according to a first embodiment in a carrying position, from the front;
[0025] FIG. 2 shows a diagrammatic partial representation of the person shown in FIG. 1, from the back;
[0026] FIG. 3 shows a detailed representation of a shoulder pad of an inventive carrying belt in a first design variant;
[0027] FIG. 4 shows a detailed representation of a shoulder pad of an inventive carrying belt in a second alternative design variant;
[0028] FIG. 5 shows a diagrammatic partial representation of a person who is carrying a still camera with an inventive carrying belt formed according to an alternative embodiment in a carrying position, from the front;
[0029] FIG. 6 shows a diagrammatic partial representation of the person shown in FIG. 5 from the back;
[0030] FIG. 7 shows a detail representation of a shoulder pad of an inventive carrying belt formed according to the alternative embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 and 6,
[0031] FIG. 8 shows another view of the shoulder pad according to FIG. 7 with belt inserted in the slide,
[0032] FIG. 9 shows, in a view similar to FIG. 5, a diagrammatic representation of a person in a view from the front, said person carrying a still camera with a carrying belt which is formed in particular with regard to its connecting pieces according to another possible embodiment design variant, and
[0033] FIG. 10 shows a view of the person shown in FIG. 5 with the carrying belt of the embodiment shown there, from the back.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0034] In the figures, in highly diagrammatic representations, possible embodiments of an inventive carrying belt are shown. Here, it must be emphasized that the figures are neither true to scale nor technically correct in terms of details. Instead, they are used to illustrate the invention in possible design variants, wherein the figures also do not show, for example comprehensively, all the conceivable possible embodiments of the invention.
[0035] In FIG. 1, to be begin with, a person P is diagrammatically represented, wherein the representation here is limited largely to the upper body O of the person P, and said person P has put on an inventive carrying belt 1 and by means of said carrying belt carries a camera K (here a still camera) in a carrying position. In FIG. 1, this person P is shown represented in a view from the front. FIG. 2 shows the same person P with the inventive carrying belt 1 in a view from the back.
[0036] The inventive carrying belt 1 comprises a shoulder pad 2 which rests on a shoulder S, here the left shoulder, of the person P. The carrying belt 1 moreover has a belt 3 which is led through a slide 4 on the shoulder pad 2 and which comprises at two free ends in each case a connecting piece 5 for the connection with a belt connection R of the camera K. In the embodiment example shown, the connecting pieces 5 are formed in the form of rings like key rings. However, the shape of the connecting pieces 5 is not limited here to this form, for example. In particular, on the camera K, on the belt connections R, adapter pieces can be mounted, to which the free ends of the belt 3 are attached. Such adapter pieces can then contain, for example, shock absorbing elements or also receiving pockets for small objects to be carried along, such as, for example, data cards, filter inserts or cellphones or lipsticks. By means of the slide 4, the belt 3 is coupled to the shoulder pad 2, but cannot be detached from it during use. However, the slide 4 enables a relative movement of the belt 3 relative to the shoulder pad 2 in the longitudinal direction of the belt 3. Thereby, when the person P takes the camera K resting in the carrying position approximately at the level of the hip H of the person P and moves it into a position of use in front of the face, the belt 3, which is guided transversely over the upper body O relative to the shoulder pad 2 in the carrying position as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, is shifted so that, in the position of use, the belt 3 hangs down loosely on both sides from the camera K and does not interfere.
[0037] In order to ensure that the shoulder pad 2 securely maintains its position on the shoulder S of the person P during the use of the carrying belt 1, in the design variant of an inventive carrying belt 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a securing belt 6 is provided, which is attached in the area of the two longitudinal ends of the elongate shoulder pad 2 and which can be connected by means of a latching buckle 7 to form a closed loop or which can be opened from the loop. The securing belt 6 here is ideally configured so as to be adjustable in length, so that it can be adjusted optimally by the person P using the carrying belt 1 tailored to his/her anatomical conditions. Here the securing belt 6 prevents in particular a shifting of the shoulder pad 2 relative to the shoulder S of the person P (or at least limits such shifting), when the camera K is moved and raised by the person P from the carrying position into the position of use, and, in the process, the belt 3 is shifted relative to the shoulder pad 2 through the slide 4.
[0038] In FIGS. 3 and 4, two possible design variants of the belt 3 and of an associated slide 4 are shown. Here the slides 4 are each formed as a sliding casing, wherein the belt 3 shown in FIG. 3 is formed to be flat and with a substantially rectangular cross section, and the slide 4 designed as a sliding casing is accordingly also formed to be flat, wherein, in the embodiment example shown in FIG. 4, the belt 3 has an approximately circular cross section and accordingly the slide 4 formed as a sliding casing also has a circular cross section. In the embodiment example shown in FIG. 4, the slide 4 formed as a sliding casing and thus in the end also the belt 3 are additionally secured with retaining loops 8 against detachment from the shoulder pad 2. However, the shoulder pad 2 and the slide 4, in particular in the form of a sliding casing, can also be produced from one piece of material. This can occur, for example, by injection molding from a particularly elastic material. If necessary, a sliding casing can receive a tube-like insert which leaves sufficient play for the belt 3 for a free movement in its longitudinal direction.
[0039] In FIGS. 5 to 8, an additional alternative embodiment example for a design of an inventive carrying belt 1 is shown. This carrying belt 1 is of identical implementation in terms of essential components and constructed like the carrying belt in the above-described embodiment examples. Here too, a shoulder pad 2 is provided, which is connected to a belt 3 which is attached to the shoulder pad in such a manner that it is guided in a slide 4 and can be moved relative to the shoulder pad 2. Here too, a securing belt 6 can be guided under the arm on the shoulder S of the person P using the carrying belt 1, for securing the shoulder pad 2 in its position on the shoulder S. By means of latching buckles 7, the securing belt 6 can be detachably connected to the shoulder pad 2, so that the carrying belt 1 can also be used without the securing belt 6. In particular, for this purpose, the securing belt 6 can also be offered as a separate accessory, as is the case also for the above-described embodiment examples. In the embodiment example described here, the belt 3 also has, on its free ends, connecting pieces 5 by means of which the belt 3 can be connected in a known manner to the belt connections R of a camera K, shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, here a single-lens reflex camera. The carrying position and the functioning of the carrying belt 1 are also identical to those according to the above-described embodiment examples, in particular the carrying belt 1 is here also worn transversely over the upper body O of the person P using the carrying belt 1, wherein the camera K rests at the level of the hip H of the person P in a carrying position. From here, the camera K can be gripped and raised into a position of use in front of the face of the person P using the carrying belt 1, wherein in the process the belt 3 is shifted relative to the shoulder pad 2 in the slide 4.
[0040] Compared to the above-described embodiments, the particular and distinguishing feature of the embodiment variant shown in FIGS. 5 to 8 then consists of the concrete design of the shoulder pad 2 with the slide 4. As in the above embodiment example, the shoulder pad 2 also comprises as base a shoulder cushion which consists of a flexible and resilient material which, on the one hand, brings about the desired cushioning properties and, on the other hand, enables a deformation of the shoulder pad 2 for the adaptation to the form of the shoulder S of the person P using the carrying belt 1. The material of this shoulder cushion can be, for example, a foam, a neoprene or the like. In the shoulder pad 2 according to the embodiment example described here, claw-like elements 9 are firmly connected to the shoulder cushion. These claw-like elements 9 extend in each case in pairs facing one another in a longitudinal direction of the slide 4, in which the belt 3 is mounted in such a manner that it can be shifted in its longitudinal direction in a guided manner. The claw-like elements 9 are here formed in particular by a material which is clearly less flexible than the material of the shoulder cushion of the shoulder pad 2, in particular a rigid material, for example, a plastic such as PE or PP. As can be seen in FIGS. 7 and 8, the claw-like elements 9 arranged in pairs in the longitudinal direction face one another in the respective pairs transversely to the longitudinal direction of the slide 4, and thus transversely to the direction of extension of the belt 3 in the slide 4 by means of protrusions 13 which leave a gap 14 between themselves. Here, the claw-like elements 9 with the protrusions 13 surround the belt 3, which is shown in this embodiment example with circular cross section, but which is not limited to this cross-sectional form and can also have a cross section of different form, for example partially rectangular or square, thus retaining the belt in the slide 4. Here, a longitudinal groove 11, located in the shoulder pad 2 and between the claw-like elements 9 of the respective pairs and extending in longitudinal direction of the shoulder pad 2 and the slide 4, is provided, which forms a portion of the slide 4 and in which the belt 3 is guided, with partial positive connection. In this manner, by the longitudinal groove 11 and the claw-like elements 9, in particular the protrusions 13 thereof, a type of sliding casing is formed through which the belt 3 can move in its longitudinal direction relative to the shoulder pad 2. The material of the upper side of the longitudinal groove 11 facing the belt 3 and the material of the claw-like elements 9, in particular in the sections in which the belt 3 is in contact with these claw-like elements 9, are in the interaction with the material of the belt 3 selected in such a manner that the result is a sufficiently low friction which allows a relative movement between belt 3 and shoulder pad 2 in the above-described manner. At the same time, a minimum friction action is set here, which, already during normal movements, for example when the person P is walking, prevents the belt 3 from moving through the slide 4 and thus prevents the carried camera K from dangling along the hip H of the person P in a kind of pendulum movement.
[0041] The above-described design of the shoulder pad 2 with claw-like elements 9, which are a substantial component of the slide 4 formed in this embodiment example, enables a simple insertion of the belt 3 into the slide 4. In particular, the circumstance that the shoulder cushion of the shoulder pad 2 comprises a relatively flexible material and the claw-like elements 9 are formed in a clearly more rigid manner in comparison thereto enables a spreading apart of the claw-like elements 9 by an opening buckling movement of the shoulder pad 2 along the longitudinal groove 11 which thus provides a kind of folding line here. Thereby, the claw-like elements 9 spread apart, as indicated in FIG. 8, so that the gaps 14 formed by the latter open and the belt 3 can be inserted into or removed from the slide 4. This enables not only a simple mounting of the carrying belt 1 but it also allows a replacement either of the belt 3 or of the shoulder pad 2 in an existing carrying belt 1.
[0042] In order to ensure that the belt 3 does not become accidentally detached from the shoulder pad 2 during use due to a deformation of the shoulder pad 2 and an associated spreading apart of the claw-like elements 9, in the embodiment example shown here, securing elements 10 are provided, which can be inserted and firmly clipped into latching recesses 12 in the shoulder pad 2 and which completely cover the belt 3 and thus secure the shoulder pad 2 from becoming detached transversely to the longitudinal direction of the belt 3. In the embodiment example shown, corresponding securing elements 10 are provided on the two longitudinal ends of the shoulder pad 2. In FIGS. 5 and 6, the securing elements 10 are shown detached from the shoulder pad 2, wherein it is indicated by an arrow that the securing elements 10 are inserted and clipped into the corresponding latching recesses 12 and thus attached. The securing elements 10 can here be detachably engaged on the shoulder pad 2 and attached in the latching recesses 12, in order to be make it possible to detach the belt 3 from the shoulder pad 2 and thus achieve the possibility, already described above, of a replacement of belt 3 and/or shoulder pad 2.
[0043] In FIGS. 9 and 10—therein with a variant of the design of the shoulder pad according to the embodiment variant described in FIGS. 5 to 8—a carrying belt with an alternative design of the connections to the camera K, which are formed on the ends of the belt 3, is represented. In the variant shown there, which can also be implemented with other designs of the shoulder pad, as shown in greater detail in FIGS. 3 and 4 for example, a connecting piece 5 for the connection to a belt connection R of the camera K is provided on a first end of the belt 3, and a tripod screw is fastened to a second end of the belt 3. In this design variant, by means of said tripod screw, the belt 3 of the carrying belt 1 is attached to a tripod threaded bush B of the camera as typically provided on a housing bottom of the camera, in that the tripod screw 15 is screwed into the tripod threaded bush B. In order to secure the tripod screw in the tripod threaded bush B, it is possible to provide securing means which are known from the prior art and therefore not described in further detail here.
[0044] In this variant, as can be seen in FIG. 9 for example, in particular in comparison to FIGS. 1 and 5, a camera K attached to the carrying belt 1 can be carried in another position, namely a position rotated over the head, on the side on the hip H. This ensures a particularly satisfactory carrying comfort, in particular in the case of cameras K with long lenses. Here too, the camera K hung and carried in this manner has a lower tendency to undergo pendulum movements.
[0045] Besides the differently detached fastening to the camera K with the correspondingly modified means, the connecting piece 5 and the tripod screw 15 on the ends of the belt 3, the carrying belt 1 shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 also works according to the above-described principle, and, in particular, the belt 3 is arranged on the shoulder pad in a longitudinally shiftable manner with respect to the shoulder pad 2.
[0046] In all the embodiment variants shown, the shoulder pad 2 can be provided with a cushioning in order to increase the carrying comfort. Here, the belt 3 can also be provided with a protection against severing, for example, in the form of a reinforcement with, for example, a metal wire or metal rope extending in longitudinal direction of the belt or with a strand made of poly(p-phenylene terephthalamide) (PPTA), for example a material available under the commercial name “Kevlar,” an ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE), for example a material of the brand Dyneema® from the Royal DSM N.V. or a similar cut-resistant material. Other measures besides those described above for including a protection against severing can also be used here.
[0047] The above-mentioned description of the embodiment example further clarifies the essential features and the advantageous properties of the inventive carrying belt 1.
LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS
[0048] 1 Carrying belt [0049] 2 Shoulder pad [0050] 3 Belt [0051] 4 Slide [0052] 5 Connecting piece [0053] 6 Securing belt [0054] 7 Latching buckle [0055] 8 Retaining loop [0056] 9 Claw-like element [0057] 10 Securing element [0058] 11 Longitudinal groove [0059] 12 Latching recess [0060] 13 Protrusion [0061] 14 Gap [0062] 15 Tripod screw [0063] B Tripod threaded bush [0064] H Hip [0065] K Camera [0066] O Upper body [0067] P Person [0068] R Belt connection [0069] S Shoulder
