SE1850087A1

SE1850087A1 - Tool holder for a tool belt

Info

Publication number: SE1850087A1
Application number: SE1850087A
Authority: SE
Inventors: Carl Heinemark; Mikael Arvidsson
Original assignee: Husqvarna Ab
Priority date: 2018-01-26
Filing date: 2018-01-26
Publication date: 2019-07-27
Also published as: SE542447C2

Abstract

A tool holder 1 for a tool belt 7, the tool holder 1 comprises a tool loop 3, adapted for connection of at least one tool to the tool holder 1 and a belt connector 5, adapted to be opened at a mouth 31 configured to receive a tool belt 7, arranged about the tool belt 7 and closed at the mouth 31 to enclose the tool belt 7 for connection of the tool holder 1 to the tool belt 7. The mouth 31 is arranged, when the tool holder 1 is in use, at a first end 33 along the vertical length of the belt connector 5 and the tool loop 3 is connected to the belt connector 5 at a vertically lower end 34 of the belt connector 5.

Description

TOOL HOLDER FOR A TOOL BELT Field of the inventionThe present invention relates to a tool holder adapted to be connected to atool belt.

Background of the inventionMany forestry workers work in harsh terrain and must walk to the work site, and are thus inclined to bring a lot of equipment with them. Cans or bottles filled withgasoline or water, necessary forestry equipment and other tools are often brought tothe work site. The workers would have benefit from being able to hang these thingson a tool belt.

US 2015/0101151 shows a hook adapted to be connected to a tool belt. Thehook may be unitary moulded as a single part of a non-conductive material and isclamped tightly onto the tool belt in a locking fashion. There is however a need for amore convenient hook capable of carrying heavier loads.

Summarv of the invention lt is an object of to solve, or at least mltigate, the above-mentioned problem.To this end, there is provided a tool holder for a tool belt. The tool holder maycomprise a tool loop adapted for connection of at least one tool to the tool holder,and a belt connector, which belt connector is adapted to be opened at a mouthconfigured to receive a tool belt, arranged about the tool belt and closed at the mouthto enclose the tool belt for connection of the tool holder to the tool belt. The mouthmay be arranged, when the tool holder is in use, at an upper end along the verticallength of the belt connector, and the tool loop may be connected to the beltconnector at a vertically lower end of the belt connector. By arranging the mouth ofthe belt connector and the tool loop in different places along the vertical length of thebelt connector, the presence of the mouth does not weaken the interface betweenthe tool loop and the belt connector. Thereby, the interface between tool loop andbelt connector may be made stronger. Moreover, the tool loop may be positionedclose to the belt strap without blocking or otherwise interfering with the mouth, andany equipment attached to the tool loop may thereby be close to the user's body. Theequipment can then be easily accessed by the user. By hanging the equipment closeto the users body, the equipment will not be in the way of the user while working. 1 The belt connector may comprise two belt clamping parts: a proximal part,arranged to be closest to the user”s body, and a distal part, arranged to be furthestaway from the user”s body. The belt clamping parts may be connected to each otherthrough a hinge, arranged at the vertically lower end of the belt connector andadapted to allow creating the mouth by movement of the belt clamping parts inrelation to each other about the hinge. The mouth is thereby created in a simple way.The tool belt will be clamped between two parts, which looks the tool holder to thetool belt and prevents the tool holder from sliding along the length ot the belt. Thetool holder may also easily be teartahgeo arotlho the tool belt by opening the ntouth,reposltloltlhg, and closing the mouth again to eholose the tool belt.

The belt connector may further comprise a locking arrangement, adapted tosecure the tool belt in the belt connector when the tool holder is connected to the toolbelt. The locking arrangement may comprise a male part and a female part. Themale part may comprise a hook extending from a top portion of the proximal part, andthe female part may be arranged at a top portion of the distal part and comprises alock ridge. The male part may be configured to connect to the female part when thehook is moved over the lock ridge during closing of the mouth. The hook may beflexible and thus the locking arrangement can work as a snap lock when the hook ismoved over the lock ridge. This provides for a simple solution with few parts and ahigh reliability. The locking arrangement will be positioned at the top of the beltconnector and will thereby be easily accessed by the user.

The female part can be formed below a top face of the distal part of the beltclamping elements.

A distal end of the male part may, when the mouth is closed, be countersunkinto an outer side of the distal part. The snap lock is thereby less likely to be openedunintendedly thanks to having its opening interface placed countersunk into an outerside of the distal part and is thus protected from impacts.

The belt clamping parts may further comprise gripping elements, adapted toclamp the tool belt in the belt connector when the tool holder is connected to the toolbelt. This will further prevent the tool holder from sliding sideways along the length ottlte tool belt. The gripping elements may be configured as a set of orotrosiohsexteholltg from ah lttterlor face ot the belt clamping parts, to ehgage tfvlth the tool beltwhen clamped.

The belt clamping parts may be made of plastic. Hence, the belt connector willbe inexpensive and easy to produce, and contributes to a Iighter weight of the toolholder.

The tool loop may be made of a rigid material, for example a metal such assteel. Hence, heavy equipment, such as an axe, filled bottles and so on may beattached to the tool loop without causing the tool loop to break.

The tool loop may comprise an anchor portion molded into one of the beltclamping parts. For example, into the distal part of the belt clamping parts. Thisfurther contributes to that the tool loop will be able to carry heavy equipment withoutcausing the tool loop to break.

The anchor portion may extend along at least 50% of a vertical length of thedistal part. Hence, the tool loop may be connected to the tool holder in a simple butreliable way. This also contributes to a robust design of the distal part of the clampingparts.

The tool loop may be a closed loop or a substantially closed loop. Such asubstantially closed loop may define a perimeter corresponding to the handle shaft ofa forestry hand tool, such as an axe. An exemplary inner width of the loop may be, byway of example, between 50 mm and 110 mm.

The loop may curve, when attached to a tool belt carried by a worker, along asubstantially horizontal plane.

The tool loop may also be a rectangular loop. lf a tool comprising a head anda handle shaft, such as an axe is connected to the tool loop, the tool head will restagainst the tool loop. The design of a rectangle will prevent the tool head from turningwithin the tool loop.

Alternatively, the tool loop may be an open loop. The tool loop may beprovided with a substantially U-shaped portion curving along substantially verticalplane, to define a hook. Hence, it will be possible to bring objects provided with acarrying loop, such as bottles and cans.

The hook may comprise a S-shaped portion. The S-shape may preventequipment from sliding off the hook when the user is moving but still allows quickaccess.

Brief description of the drawinqsThe above, as well as additional objects, features and advantages of thepresent invention will be better understood through the following illustrative and non- 3 limiting detailed description of preferred embodiments of the present invention, withreference to the appended drawings, where the same reference numerals will beused for similar elements, wherein: Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a tool holder according to a firstembodiment.

Fig. 2 shows an exploded view in perspective of the tool holder.

Figs. 3A-B are a front view and a section view of the tool holder, wherein thesection in Fig. 3B is take along the line A-A in Fig. 3A.

Figs. 4A-4C shows perspective views of intermediate stages of the connectionof the tool holder to a tool belt.

Fig. 5 shows a perspective view of a tool holder according to a secondembodiment.

Detailed description of the exemplarv embodiments Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a forestry tool holder 1 according to a firstembodiment. Fig. 1 illustrates the tool holder 1 as it is oriented during normal use.The tool holder 1 comprises a tool loop 3 and a belt connector 5.

The tool loop 3 may be adapted for connection or suspension of at least onetool to/in the tool holder 1.

The belt connector 5 may be adapted to be opened at a mouth 31 configuredto receive a tool belt 7 (broken lines), arranged about the tool belt 7, and closed atthe mouth 31 to enclose the tool belt 7 for connection of the tool holder 1 to the toolbelt 7 (the design of the mouth 31 appears more clearly in Figs 4A-4C). For clarity ofillustration, the tool belt 7 is illustrated transparent, such that all parts of the toolholder 1 are visible. The mouth 31 may be arranged at a vertically upper end 33along the vertical length of the belt connector 5, and the tool loop 3 may beconnected to the belt connector 5 at a vertically lower end 34 of the belt connector 5.

As seen in Fig. 2, the belt connector 5 may comprise two belt clamping parts9, 11: a proximal part 9, arranged to be closest to the users body, and a distal part11, arranged to be furthest away from the user's body when the tool holder 1 isconnected to the tool belt 7. Each belt clamping part 9, 11 may be integrally formed.By way of example, they may be respectively moulded as a single piece of plastic.Each of the belt clamping parts 9, 11 may comprise two lateral edges 13a, 13b, anupper side 15a, a lower side 15b, an outer side 17 and an inner side 19. The belt clamping parts 9, 11 may be connected to each other through a hinge 21, arrangedat the vertically lower end 34 (Fig. 1) of the belt connector 5.ln the embodiment shown in fig. 2, the hinge is formed by a pin 23. The belt clamping parts 9, 11 are pivotally connected at their lower ends to the pin 23. The pin23 may be connected to the proximal part 9 by inserting the pin 23 into slots 25arranged in ear-shaped protrusions 26 extending from a vertically lower portion ofrespective |atera| edges 13a, 13b of the proximal part 9. The distal part 1 1 may beprovided with a protrusion 27, extending partly across the distal part 11, at the innerside 19 along the lower side 15b. The protrusion 27 is also provided with a holemating with the pin 23. The distal part 11 can be connected to the proximal part 9 byinserting the protrusion 27 of the distal part 11 into a space 29 between the ear-shaped protrusions 26 of the proximal part 9 and inserting the pin 23 through theslots 25 and a hole in the protrusion 27. The distal part 11 may thereby pivot aboutthe hinge 21 in relation to the proximal part 9, creating the mouth 31 at the verticallyupper end 33 of the belt connector 5 (Fig. 4A) _ This is only one example for creatingthe hinge 21, but other solutions are possible. By way of example, the belt clampingparts 9, 11 may be molded in ofta and the same piece, artcl connected with a thšrt,flexibla portion.

The belt connector 5 may also comprise a locking arrangement 35, 37,adapted to secure the tool belt 7 in the belt connector 5 when the tool holder 1 isconnected to the tool belt 7. The locking arrangement 35, 37 may comprise a malepart 35 and a female part 37. The male part 35 may comprise a hook 36 extendingfrom the upper side 15a of the proximal part 9 _ The female 37 part may be arrangedat the upper side 15a of the distal part 11 and comprises a lock ridge 39. The femalepart 37 may also be formed below a top face 41 of the distal part 11.

The male part 35 can be connected to the female part 37 by closing the mouth31, wherein the hook 36 is moved over the lock ridge 39, as seen in Figs 4A, 4B. Thehook 36 may be resilient to allow being pressed upwards by the lock ridge 39, andthereby, the locking arrangement 35, 37 can work as a snap lock when the hook 36is moved over the lock ridge 39. When the mouth 31 is closed, a distal end 43 of thehook 36 may be countersunk into a outer side 17 of the distal part 11. The lockingarrangement 35, 37 will not be opened unintendedly thanks to having its openinginterface placed countersunk into the outer side 17 of the distal part 11 and is thusprotected from impacts. By placing the locking arrangement 35, 37 above the toolbelt 7 when the tool holder 1 is connected to the tool belt 7 (Fig 4C), access for the 5 user is facilitated. The locking arrangment 35, 37 can be opened by pressing a distalend 43 of the hook 36 upwards by a thumb. lt can also be opened with a flatscrewdriver if the user is wearing gloves.

The tool loop 3 may be made of a rigid material, for example a metal, such assteel. The tool loop 3 may comprise an anchor portion 45 molded into the distal part11, with the loop 3 extending horizontally from the vertically lower portion 34 of thebelt connector 5, as seen in fig 3A, 3B. The anchor portion 45 may extend alongmost of the vertical length of the distal part 11, and preferably along more than 70%of the vertical length of the distal part 11. This contributes to a robust design of thedistal part and makes it possible to attach heavy equipment, such as an axe or filledbottles to the loop without causing the tool holder to break. l\/loreover, the tool loop 3may be positioned close to the belt strap 7 without blocking or otherwise interferingwith the mouth 31, and any equipment attached to the tool loop 3 may thereby beclose to the user's body. The equipment can then be easily accessed by the user. Byhanging the equipment close to the user's body, the equipment will not be in the wayof the user while working.

As illustrated in fig. 3B, the inner side 19 of the distal part 11 may be providedwith a suspension hook configured to engage with an upper edge of the tool belt 7(Fig. 1), for providing a direct transfer of the vertical load from the distal part 11 to thetool belt 7. According to the exemplary embodiment illustrated in Fig. 3B, thesuspension hook may be configured as a suspension ridge 47 extending downwardsbelow the female part 37. This suspension ridge 47 is urged against the upper end15a of the proximal part 9 when the mouth 31 is closed and the hook 36 is movedover the lock ridge 39.

Since the locking arrangement 35, 37 is positioned above the tool belt 7 whenthe tool holder 3 is connected to the tool belt 7, it will naturally be under load from anobject connected into the loop 3. The flexible male part 35 need not necessarily havethe sufficient strength to be subjected to this load. instead, the load will be taken upby the distal part 1 1 due to the geometry of the suspension ridge 47 and the rein-forcement from the anchor portion 45 of the tool loop 3. ln the embodiment shown in Fig. 3B, the proximal part 9 extends downwardfrom the hinge 21 a few centimeters below the distal part 11. This extension 49 isintended for the tool holder i to provide more support against the users body, at adistance below the belt 7, vviien tiie tool loop 3 is heavily Eoaded.

The connection of the tool holder 1 to the tool belt 7 is shown seen in Figs. 4A-4C. The mouth 31 is configured to be opened by movement of an upper end of theproximal part 9 away from the distal part 11, as is illustrated in fig. 4A. The tool belt 7is shaped to be arranged within the mouth 31, with a bottom edge 51 of the tool belt7 resting against the hinge 21 and a top edge 53 of the tool belt 7 inserted below thesuspension ridge 47 of the distal part 11, Fig. 4B. The mouth 31 is configured to beclosed to enclose the tool belt 7 by moving the male part 35 over the lock ridge 39(Fig. 2), to the position illustrated in fig. 4C, in which the hook 36 snaps in place on adistal side of the ridge 39. When having reached the position of Fig. 4C, the toolholder 1 is connected to the tool belt 7. The tool holder 1 may now easily bedisconnected from, and rearranged around, the tool belt 7 by again opening themouth 31. As is illustrated in Figs. 2 and 4A, the belt clamping parts 9, 11 may alsocomprise gripping elements 55 configured as ridges or protrusions on the inner sides19 of the clamping parts 9, 11, which gripping elements 55 are adapted to firmlyengage with the tool belt 7 in belt connector 5. The gripping elements 55 prevent thetool holder 1 front sliding sidewagfs along the length of the tool belt 7.

Figs. 1-4 shows a tool loop 3 according to a first embodiment. The tool loop 3may be closed, as illustrated. The closed loop 3 can define a perimetercorresponding to the handle shaft of a forestry hand tool, such as an axe. Anexemplary inner width of the loop 3 may be, by way of example, between 50 mm and110 mm. Preferably 70 cm.

The tool loop 3 may have the shape of a rectangle. By using a rectangularloop 3, it will be possible to carry an axe by inserting the shaft into the loop with thehead of the axe extending above the loop and thereby easily accessed by the user.The head of the axe will rest against the loop and is prevented from turning within thetool loop 3.

Fig 5 shows a tool holder 1 according to a second embodiment. The tool loop3 may be open. The tool loop 3 may be provided with a substantially U-shapedportion 57 curving along substantially vertical plane, to define a hook. Hence, it willbe possible to bring objects provided with a carrying loop, such as bottles and cans.

The hook may also be provided with an S-shaped portion 59. The hookbenefits from being shaped like an “S” since it then will prevent the attached equipment from sliding off the hook, but still allows for quick access of the equipment.

The invention has mainly been described above with reference to a fewembodiments. However, as is readily appreciated by a person skilled in the art, other 7 embodiments than the ones disclosed above are equally possible within the scope ofthe invention, as defined by the appended patent claims.

Claims

1. A tool holder (1) for a tool belt (7), the tool holder (1) comprising a tool loop (3), adapted for connection of at least one tool to the tool holder (1 ), a belt connector (5), adapted to be opened at a mouth (31) configured toreceive a tool belt (7), arranged about the tool belt (7) and closed at the mouth (31) toenclose the tool belt (7) for connection of the tool holder (1) to the tool belt (7), the mouth (31) being arranged, when the tool holder (1) is in use, at an upperend (33) along the vertical length of the belt connector (5), wherein the tool loop (3) is connected to the belt connector (5) at a verticallylower end (34) of the belt connector (5).

2. Tool holder (1) according to claim 1, wherein the belt connector (5)comprises two belt clamping parts (9, 11): a proximal part (9), arranged to be closestto the user”s body, and a distal part (11), arranged to be furthest away from the user'sbody, wherein the belt clamping parts (9, 11) are connected to each other through ahinge (21), arranged at the vertically lower end (34) of the belt connector (13) andadapted to allow creating the mouth (31) by movement of the belt clamping parts (9,11) in relation to each other about the hinge (31).

3. Tool holder (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the beltconnector (5) further comprises a locking arrangement (35, 37), adapted to securethe tool belt (7) in the belt connector (5) when the tool holder (1) is connected to thetool belt (7).

4. Tool holder (1) according to claim 3, wherein the locking arrangement(35, 37) comprises a male part (35) and a female part (37), wherein the male part(35) comprises a resilient hook (36) extending from a top portion of the proximal part(11), the female part (37) is arranged at a top portion of the distal part (11) andcomprises a lock ridge (39), and the male part (35) is configured to connect to the female part (37) when thehook (36) is moved over the lock ridge (39) during closing of the mouth (31 ).

5. Tool holder (1) according to claim 4, wherein the female part (37) isformed below a top face (41) of the distal part (11) of the belt clamping elements (9,11).

6. Tool holder (1) according to claim 4 or 5, wherein a distal end (43) of themale part (35), when the mouth (31) is closed, is countersunk into an outer side ofthe distal part (11).

7. Tool holder (1) according to claim any of the preceding claims, whereinthe belt clamping parts (9, 11) further comprise gripping elements (55), adapted toclamp the tool belt (7) in the belt connector (5) when the tool holder (1) is connectedto the tool belt (7).

8. Tool holder (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the beltclamping parts (9, 11) are made of plastic.

9. Tool holder (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the toolloop (3) is made of a rigid material.

10. Tool holder (1) according to claim 9, wherein the tool loop (3) is made ofmetal.

11. Tool holder (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the toolloop (3) comprises an anchor portion (45) molded into one of the belt clamping parts(9, 11).

12. Tool holder (1) according to claim 11, wherein the anchor portion (45)extending along at least 50% of a vertical length of one of the belt clamping parts(9,11).

13. Tool holder (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the toolloop (3) is a closed loop.

14. Tool holder (1) according to any of the preceding claims wherein the toolloop (3) is an open loop.

15. Tool holder (1) according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the tool loop (3) is arectangular loop.

16. Tool holder (1) according to claim 14, wherein the tool loop (3) comprisesa substantially U-shaped portion (57) curving along a substantially vertical plane, todefine a hook.

17. Tool holder (1) according to claims 15 and 16, wherein the hookcomprises an S-shaped portion (59).