CA1332825C

CA1332825C - Pouch assembly for carpenters and other tradesmen

Info

Publication number: CA1332825C
Application number: CA000613335A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Jay C. Ashley
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1988-09-26
Filing date: 1989-09-26
Publication date: 1994-11-01
Anticipated expiration: 2011-11-01
Also published as: US4932576A

Abstract

A nail and screw pouch and tool holder assembly includes one or more slidable belt-attached pouch holders with slots through which a belt passes, worn by the user.
Each pouch holder, which may be of leather so as to be relatively stiff, has a pouch hanger member formed of a generally horizontal rigid bar or rail with a plurality of depending U-shaped sections, each for supporting and locating a clip from which a pouch or tool holder hangs.

Description

133282~
POUCH ASSEMBLY FOR CARPENTERS AND OTHER TRADESMEN

3 Background of the Invention The invention is in the field of tools and workpiece 6 holding garments, and is particularly concerned with an 7 improved belt-supported pouch or bag apparatus for 8 conveniently and accessibly storing nails, screws and other 9 items for a tradesman such as a carpenter or electrician, and also for carrying tools used by the tradesman.

12 Belt-supported pouches or bags for carrying nails, 13 tacks, screws, bolts, etc. are well known. Generally such 14 apparatus consist of a belt worn by the user, with a series of fixedly attached leather pouches positioned around the 16 belt. Some of the belt devices have also had provision for 17 carrying tools.

19 The following United States patents disclose generally belt apparatus for carrying items used by workers in 21 various trades: Patents Nos. 1,113,590, 1,207,lS8, 22 1,482,130, 3,172,583, 4,166,557, and 4,747,527. Most of 23 these patents disclose various types of nail pouch or tool 24 holder devices, most of which are attached to a belt by metal clips or fasteners. In some, the nail or screw 26 pouches or bags are removable from the belt and 27 interchangeable with other similar pouches as dictated by 28 the needs of the user.

However, none of these patents shows a nail/screw 3L pouch or bag apparatus having the efficient and 32 advantageous features of the present invention described 33 below.

~' 1332g~

1 Summary of the Invention 3 In accordance with the belt-supported nail pouch or 4 tool holder apparatus of the present invention, a belt worn by the user supports any of a series of different nail or 6 screw pouches or bags, or tool holders, in a convenient 7 manner which enables a pouch or tool holder to be quickly 8 snapped onto the belt in a manner requiring very little 9 attention of the user. A pouch holder member is connected to the belt and has a generally horizontal bar or rail with lL dips or U-shaped depending sections, each of which will 12 hold and locate a hook of a pouch or tool holder attached 13 to the bar. The preferably metal hook holding bar or 14 bracket is configured so as to be spaced away slightly from the remainder of the pouch holder member, enabling a 16 closable snap hook to be readily snapped over the bar to 17 connect the hook onto the bar. The bracket or bar may be L8 connected to the remainder of the pouch holder by generally 19 vertical legs which give the bar or bracket twisting resistance when the weight of several pouches is hung on 21 the bar.

23 The pouches or bags which form a part of the invention 24 preferably are formed of a flexible material such as woven nylon, rather than the relatively stiff leather pouches 26 which have been conventional. In preferred embodiments, 27 the bags have an open mouth having generally two sides, 28 which have patches of cooperating Velcro material, for 29 closing the mouth of the bag an re-opening it conveniently.
In one side of the bag's mouth there may be a substantially 3L rigid rod, as of plastic, secured by a loop of the bag 32 material extending over it and held by stitching, for 33 example. This rod may support a base end of the closable 34 snap type hook or "dog hook" or "Caribbeaner hook" which enables the pouch or bag to be secured to the belt via the 36 hanger bracket. Thus, the bag or pouch is supported from 37 one side of its open mouth, so that when it is not secured 38 in the closed position with the Velcro, it hangs open to d~

13~8?5 provide easy access to the contents.
Also in preferred embodiments, the nylon fabric bag or pouch is constructed with seamed edges at its vertical corners, helping to hold the shape of the bag when it hangs in the open position.
The pouches or bags when removed from the rail of the belt apparatus are useful in storing nails or other items used by the tradesman. They can be packed in a tool box or bag supported on a special storing device, by their hooks.
As mentioned above, the apparatus of the invention may include a series of tool holders which are interchangeable with the nail /screw bags, so that on any of the hanger brackets there may be suspended one or more nail bags and one or more tools. The apparatus of the invention also encompasses a single belt loop tool holder which may form a part of the apparatus interchangeable on the belt worn by the user.
In accordance with the present invention there is provided a belt-supported assembly for tradesmen, for hanging nails, screws or other items conveniently and accessibly from the belt, comprising, a pouch support having means for attachment to a belt worn by the user, and comprising a belt-attachable support member, with a rigid bar or rail secured to and extending generally hori-zontally along the support member, the rigid bar or rail including a plurality of depending U-shaped sections formed into the shape of the bar adapted each to receive and locate a hook placed on the bar, a series of storage pouches or bags for receiving and storing . ~,~

1~3~82~
- 3a -screws, nails or other items for access by the user, each pouch having secured to its upper end a closable hook means for snapping over the rigid bar and closing, and each pouch having an open mouth at its upper end for access by the user, with closure means for securing the open mouth to a closed position when desired.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a belt-supported assembly for tradesmen, for hanging nails, screws or other items conveniently and accessibly from the belt, comprising, a pouch support having means for attachment to a belt worn by the user, and comprising a belt-attachable support member, with a loop means secured to and extend-ing generally across the support member, the loop means adapted to receive hooks placed thereon, a series of storage pouches or bags of flexible material for receiving and storing screws, nails or other items for access by the user, each pouch having secured to its upper end a closable hook means for snapping over the loop means and closing, and each pouch having an open mouth at its upper end for access by the user, with closure means for securing the open mouth to a closed position when desired and with a generally rigid rod extending generally linearly through one side of the open mouth, with the closable hook means having a lower end secured around the rod in a generally central position, whereby the rigid rod connects the pouch structure to the closable hook means as well as holding one side of the open mouth straight to improve access to the pouch when in the open position.
It is therefore among the objec*s of the present invention - 3b -to provide an improved nail/screw pouch apparatus and tool holder apparatus for use by a tradesman, affording convenience in use and efficiency and interchangeability of a number of different items which might be used by the tradesman. These and other objects, advantages and features of the invention will be apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment, con-sidered along with the accompanying drawings.
Description of the Drawings Figure 1 is a perspective view showing apparatus according to the present invention, including a pouch support member attachable to a belt, for receiving a plurality of nail/
screw pouches or tool holders attachable to the support member.

~.

1332~2~

1 Figure 2 is a view in perspective showing a preferred 2 embodiment of a pouch or bag for containing nails, screws, 3 bolts or other items, including a snap hook for connecting 4 to the pouch support member shown in Figure 1.

6 Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the pouch or 7 bag of Figure 2, but in a closed position.

9 Figure 4 is a perspective view showing a tool holder which also has a snap hook for connection to the support lL member shown in Figure 1, interchangeable with the pouches 12 or bags.

14 Figures 5 and 6 are front and side elevation views of a single belt loop tool holder usable in conjunction with 16 the apparatus shown in Figure 1-4.

18 Description of Preferred Embodiments ~9 In the drawings, Figure 1 shows a belt-supported 21 nail/screw pouch and tool holding apparatus generally 22 identified by the reference number 10.

24 The apparatus of the invention can include a belt 12, or the belt 12 can simply comprise the user's pants belt or 26 any carpenter's belt of typical construction. Connected to 27 the belt 12 is a pouch supporting member 14 which, as 28 illustrated, preferably is engaged on the belt via a pair 29 of vertically extending slots 16, with the belt passing through the slots as indicated. The pouch supporting 31 member 14 may comprise a relatively stiff member which 32 tends to remain in planar configuration, and it may be 33 formed of a piece of leather. Near the bottom of the pouch 34 supporting member 14 is a pouch hanger bracket or bar or rail 18 preferably configured as shown. The bracket or 36 rail 18 may be formed of a metal bar, bent and formed into 37 a configuration as shown or it can be formed of rigid 38 plastic, as by molding.

l In any event, the hanger bracket 18 has a generally 2 horizontally extending main portion 20 which contains a 3 plurality of dips or U-shaped sections 22 as shown. The 4 hanger bracket may also include a pair of connecting legs 24, extending generally vertically upwardly as shown in 6 Figure 1, for securing the hanger bracket to the pouch 7 supporting member 14. If the hanger bracket is mounted as 8 shown in Figure 1, it is important that the main horizontal 9 portion 20 be spaced outwardly from the face of the flat pouch supporting member 14, so that hooks 26 (Figures 2-3) lL can be snapped over the bracket. The vertical legs 24 of 12 the hanger bracket give torsional stability to the hanger 13 bracket, in that it will not tend to any appreciable degree 14 to tip the pouch support member 14 when carrying a load via the hooks 26 engaged in the U-shaped dips 22.

17 Alternatively, the pouch supporting member 14 can 18 comprise a softer or more flexible sheet of material, with 19 a hanger bracket depending from its bottom edge and in this way spaced from the sheet of material so as to receive the 21 hooks (not shown). However, the construction illustrated 22 in Figure 1 is preferred, since a principal object of the 23 invention is to enable the tradesman or user to quickly and 24 easily snap the hooks 26 onto the main portion 20 of the hanger bracket, without requiring two hands and without 26 even requiring the user's visual attention. It is 27 therefore preferred that a relatively stiff backing member 28 14 be behind the bar section 20 over which the hooks are to 29 be snapped.
31 Figures 2 and 3 show a preferred construction of a 32 nail/screw pouch or bag 28 in accordance with the 33 invention. As illustrated, the bag preferably is of a 34 flexible material, such as woven nylon fibers (or other suitable fibers). It has an open mouth 30 at its upper 36 end, and at one side (a back side) 32 of the open mouth 37 there is preferably a relatively rigid rod 34 sewn in into 38 the material or otherwise affixed thereto. The function of l the rigid rod is in part to help hold the bag in an open 2 position as shown, with the open mouth generally 3 rectangular and providing ample opening space for the user 4 to insert his hand. Another function of the rod is for securement to a lower or base end ring 35 of the snap 6 hook 26.

8 The snap hook 26 may be of the type known of as - ~ 9 ~"Caribbeaner," often used in sailing and mountain climbing.
Such a hook has a hook-shaped upper end 36, with a spring-11 biased snap closure member 38. It is a precision-made hook 12 which offers little resistance to snapping over the bracket 13 or bar 20 and which gives a good feel to the user when he 14 snaps the hook over the bar. Alternatively, a simple "dog hook" can be used, which is generally similar but of some-16 what cruder construction.

18 As also illustrated in Figures 2 and 3, the pouch or 19 bag 28 is preferably formed with seams 40 at all corners, helping it to be relatively rigid when in the opened 21 position shown in Figure 2. There is also a hem 44 with 22 doubled-over material at the outer side 46 of the open 23 mouth of the bag, and this reinforcing means helps to keep 24 this side of the open mouth from bunching or folding.
26 The bag or pouch 28 preferably has cooperating patches 27 of "Velcro" material 48 and 50 on the two sides of the open 28 mouth, as shown. The Velcro hook and loop fastener 29 material is advantageous in enabling a quick and convenient closure of the top of the bag, requiring little attention 31 of the user. The patches of Velcro material, stitched or 32 adhered to the two sides of the mouth, also add some 33 stiffness to each side, particularly the outer side 46, 34 which, as discussed above, helps maintain the mouth in the wide open position and also helps in the closure of the 36 bag's mouth, by tending to keep the Velcro edge in a flat, 37 linear configuration.

1332~3 l Figure 4 shows a tool holder 55. The tool holder, 2 which may hold a pair of pliers, for example, as 3 illustrated, has a snap hook 26 similar to those on the 4 nail/screw pouches or bags as discussed above. As such, the tool holder 55 is interchangeable with the bags on the 6 hanger bracket or rail 18 of the assembly of the invention.

8 In use of the tool and nail/screw pouch holding 9 apparatus of the invention, the tradesman or other user slides the pouch holder 14 on the belt 12, and there may be lL a series of pouch holders 14 secured to the belt. When at 12 work on a job, the user picks appropriate bags from a tool 13 box or other storage facility as needed for the particular 14 task being undertaken. The bags or pouches form a very convenient storage medium for nails, screws, etc. whether 16 on or off the belt. They may be used to store the items 17 directly from the time of purchase. He simply orients the 18 snap hook 26 of each item in the inwardly facing direction 19 and snaps it onto the bar or hanger bracket 18. This can be done by feel alone, since there is no eye hole to feed 21 the hook through, and since the hook can be located at any 22 position along the horizontal length of the hanger bracket 23 bar 20. The U-shaped dips 22 in the bar will eventually 24 catch the snap hooks, one by one, and will keep them thus located and separated from each other.

27 When the user moves to a different operation, he can 28 very easily remove one or more of the pouches and tool 29 holders and quickly substitute different ones, as called for by the job.

32 Figures 5 and 6 show a single belt loop tool or bag 33 holder 60 which may form a part of the apparatus described.
34 The loop, preferably formed of a woven material such as Cordura nylon, has patches of Velcro hook and loop fastener 36 material 62 and 64 on opposed faces of overlapping flaps 37 62a and 64a as shown. It may thus be easily placed over 38 the user's belt 12, without removal of the belt. A bottom ~Q~ R~

1332~25 1 edge below the flap 64a is hemmed and stitched to hold a 2 tool holder loop 66 as illustrated. The loop may hold a 3 hammer or other tool, or it may hold a bag 28 snapped over 4 the loop 66, or even a tool and a small bag, if desired.
s 6 The above described preferred embodiment illustrates 7 the principles of the invention but are not intended to 8 limit the scope of the invention. Variations to this 9 embodiment will be apparent to those skilled in the art and may be made without departing from the scope of the lL following claims.

13 I CLAI~I:

Claims

1. A belt-supported assembly for tradesmen, for hanging nails, screws or other items conveniently and accessibly from the belt, comprising, a pouch support having means for attachment to a belt worn by the user, and comprising a belt-attachable support member, with a rigid bar or rail secured to and extending gener-ally horizontally along the support member, the rigid bar or rail including a plurality of depending U-shaped sections formed into the shape of the bar adapted each to receive and locate a hook placed on the bar, a series of storage pouches or bags for receiving and storing screws, nails or other items for access by the user, each pouch having secured to its upper end a closable hook means for snapping over the rigid bar and closing, and each pouch having an open mouth at its upper end for access by the user, with closure means for securing the open mouth to a closed position when desired.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the closure means of the pouch comprises cooperating patches of hook and loop fas-teners on opposed sides of the open mouth of the pouch.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pouch includes a generally rigid rod extending generally linearly through one side of the open mouth, with the closable hook means having a lower end secured around the rod in a generally central position.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pouch is formed of flexible fabric material.

5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the pouch is formed of a flexible fabric material with the generally rigid rod encased in a loop of the fabric at the top of said one side of the open mouth.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the support member comprises a relatively stiff sheet of material, with the pouch hanger bar being secured to front face of the sheet of material such that it is spaced slightly away from the face of the sheet of material at the depending U-shaped sections and between said sections.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the support member comprises a sheet of leather, and wherein the pouch hanger bar has a pair of integral legs extending upwardly and generally perpen-dicularly at its ends, the hanger bar being secured to the leather support member by the two legs.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, further including a looped tool or pouch holder also attachable to the user's belt, comprising a flexible band of material of sufficient length to loop trans-versely around the user's belt and to overlap itself in a pair of overlapping ends, the overlapping ends having opposed hook and loop fastener material so as to be secureable together to hold the flexible band on the belt, and including loop means secured to a bottom portion of the band for receiving either a closable hook means of a storage pouch, or a tool.

9. A belt-supported assembly for tradesmen, for hanging nails, screws or other items conveniently and accessibly from the belt, comprising, a pouch support having means for attachment to a belt worn by the user, and comprising a belt-attachable support member, with a loop means secured to and extending generally across the support member, the loop means adapted to receive hooks placed thereon, a series of storage pouches or bags of flexible mate-rial for receiving and storing screws, nails or other items for access by the user, each pouch having secured to its upper end a closable hook means for snapping over the loop means and closing;
and each pouch having an open mouth at its upper end for access by the user, with closure means for securing the open mouth to a closed position when desired and with a generally rigid rod ex-tending generally linearly through one side of the open mouth, with the closable hook means having a lower end secured around the rod in a generally central position, whereby the rigid rod connects the pouch structure to the closable hook means as well as holding one side of the open mouth straight to improve access to the pouch when in the open position.