U.S. patent application number 11/168146 was filed with the patent office on 2006-03-23 for custom molded backpack hipbelt and method.
Invention is credited to Nathan Kuder, Michael Pfotenhauer.
Application Number | 20060060625 11/168146 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36072846 |
Filed Date | 2006-03-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060060625 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kuder; Nathan ; et
al. |
March 23, 2006 |
Custom molded backpack hipbelt and method
Abstract
A custom molded hipbelt for a backpack and method for molding it
to a user comprising the steps of (1) providing a belt blank
assembly of a thermo-moldable foam material within a sewn or
laminated shell, (2) heating the foam portion of the blank
sufficiently to allow molding of the foam while preventing the
heating of non-moldable hardware, (3) positioning the blank on the
hips of a user as it would be worn in use and (4) simulating a
load, while allowing the foam material to cool and set in a form
custom molded to the user.
Inventors: |
Kuder; Nathan; (Cortez,
CO) ; Pfotenhauer; Michael; (Cortez, CO) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Freudenberg & Associates
P.O. Box 841
Durango
CO
81302
US
|
Family ID: |
36072846 |
Appl. No.: |
11/168146 |
Filed: |
June 27, 2005 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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60583011 |
Jun 25, 2004 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
224/637 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A45F 3/12 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
224/637 |
International
Class: |
A45F 3/04 20060101
A45F003/04 |
Claims
1. A custom molded hipbelt for a backpack, custom molded to fit a
user, wherein the hipbelt comprises a belt blank assembly having a
core of thermo-moldable foam material contained within a sewn or
laminated shell, wherein the belt blank assembly is heated to its
point of permanent deformation, while heated to its point of
permanent deformation, the blank is molded to the shape of an
wearer's hips and cooled below the temperature of permanent
deformation.
2. A method of creating a custom molded weight supporting hipbelt
comprising the steps of providing a belt blank assembly of a
thermo-moldable foam material within a sewn or laminated shell,
heating the foam portion of the blank sufficiently to allow molding
of the foam while preventing the heating of non-moldable hardware,
positioning the heated blank on the hips of a user as it would be
worn in use, and simulating a load as the foam material is cooled
and set in a form custom molded to the user.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application is related to and claims priority to
U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/583,011, filed Jun. 25,
2004 the contents of which are incorporated herein by
reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to improvements in methods of
adjusting backpacks to fit a user and is directed to a method of
precisely molding a padded backpack hipbelt to the anatomy of a
particular user to achieve a close and comfortable fit.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0003] For maximum comfort of the user the load bearing contact
points at the shoulders and hips are typically padded so as to help
contour to the user's body and distribute the load fairly evenly
without significant pressure points. Padding often consists of
various types of flexible plastic or rubber-like foam compositions
which may be chosen for their particular characteristics. Softer,
more flexible or less dense foams will typically provide better
ability to contour or conform to irregular shapes or adapt to
varying shapes, while firmer, stiffer or denser foams may provide
better weight bearing characteristics. By providing a method of
accurately conforming a stiffer foam to the anatomical shape of a
user it is possible to achieve a better balance of the benefits of
both soft and firm foams.
[0004] It has long been recognized that the comfortable load
capacity of a backpack is greatly enhanced by use of a hipbelt to
support a substantial portion of the load in conjunction with the
normal shoulder straps. Current hipbelts typically attempt to
distribute weight over the hips of the user by providing a rigid
structure with a soft interface. Such hipbelts are shaped to wrap
comfortably around the hips of the user. However, they are most
commonly based on an average model for contouring and rely on a
high degree of conformability provided by the soft foam within the
interface material. By providing custom post-production molding,
the hipbelt of the present invention allows for personalized
contour horizontally around the hips, cupping (the vertically
oriented concavity) over the iliac crest, canting (the vertical
tilt), and specific physical features (i.e., iliac crest location)
of the user. Use of the custom molding of the present invention
also allows the potential for using a denser or stiffer foam
material which may be better suited to load bearing. Custom molding
the hipbelt to a user achieves exceptional fit, weight
distribution, and comfort.
[0005] In the present invention, a thermoplastic and/or
thermo-moldable foam core is used within a sewn or laminated fabric
shell to create a hipbelt blank. The exterior shell provided the
structural strength necessary to allow the complete belt to support
loads while the relative foam core provides padding and
conformabilty to improve the comfort of the wearer when as belt
bears the weight of a backpack or similar load. The blank is heated
under controlled conditions to a temperature which is sufficient to
allow the foam to be permanently deformable. The blank is then
positioned on the body of the user as it would be worn and a load
is simulated. The blank is given time to cool at which point it
"sets" in a shape corresponding accurately to the body of the user.
Because of the reasonably high temperatures necessary in order to
achieve mold ability of the foam, the foam is heated using an oven
or similar heating means which allows for heating only the
necessary portion of the belt blank while avoiding heating of
hardware such as the buckles for fastening the ends of the belt in
use. This avoids any problems of heat damage to such hardware which
might arise. More importantly, this avoids the possibility of
injury or simple discomfort which might occur if the heated
hardware should come in the contact with the user during the
conforming process as is typically necessary when fastening the
belt in place on the hips of a user. Even though such hardware is
typically made of various structural plastic materials such as
polycarbonate and acetal it has a much higher capacity for
retaining heat (i.e. density and/or specific heat), and even if
only heated to the molding temperature of the foam material, for
example 210 degrees F., would create more of a risk of burn injury
or discomfort to the user than is likely to occur from contact by
the user with the heated foam material or the soft fabric and
webbing components of the hipbelt.
[0006] It is an object of the present invention to provide a
hipbelt for a backpack which is custom moldable to a user.
[0007] It is an object of the present invention to provide a custom
molded hipbelt for a backpack which is more comfortable for the
user.
[0008] It is an object of the present invention to provide a custom
molded hipbelt for a backpack which provides an improved load
carrying capability.
[0009] It is another object of the present invention to provide a
hipbelt capable of using a very high density load bearing foam
material for a backpack which is custom moldable to a user for
greater comfort and utility.
[0010] It is another object of the present invention to provide a
back pack hipbelt capable of using a foam material which is
flexible to be conformable to a user and which is also moldable to
be custom fit to a user for greater comfort and utility
[0011] It is another object of the present invention to provide a
method of custom molding a belt for a backpack.
[0012] It is another object of the invention to provide a method of
thermo-molding a backpack hip belt to fit a user while avoiding
heating any hipbelt hardware which may come into contact with the
user during the molding process so that the possibility of
discomfort or burn injury to the user from heated hardware can be
minimized or avoided.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a backpack hip belt
blank.
[0014] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the exterior of an oven
with a hipbelt blank in place within the oven cavity and the buckle
ends of the hipbelt outside the oven cavity.
[0015] FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of the layers forming the
laminated hip pad assembly.
[0016] FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the components of the outer
shell assembly.
[0017] FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the components of the hip pad
assembly.
[0018] FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the components of the hip belt
blank assembly.
[0019] FIG. 7 is an plan view of the inner surface of the hip belt
blank assembly.
[0020] FIG. 8 is an plan view of the outer surface of the hip belt
blank assembly.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0021] In accordance with the present invention a moldable hipbelt
blank is constructed using a core of suitable thermal moldable foam
material. As examples, suitable materials include All EVA (ethyl
vinyl acetate) foams of various densities. Those skilled in the art
will recognize many acceptable alternatives which can be chosen
depending on the particular characteristics desired. It is highly
desirable to select a foam which may have sufficient conformablity
in its ordinary state so that the hipbelt may be comfortably used
even without being custom-formed. A benefit of EVA foam is that the
temperature which it requires for semi-permanent molding is higher
than typical temperatures which may be encountered by the belt
after molding, even in the extremes that might be encounterd in,
for example, the trunk of a car parked in the sun. This helps
insure that the custom molded belt retains its shape after being
custom molded.
[0022] The inner soft EVA foam is cut to 3/4'' thickness with
enough surface area to accommodate the pattern pieces for pad
portions for left and right sides of a belt. The inner foam is then
assembled to a stretch woven nylon fabric on both sides using a
high-temperature heat-activated film adhesive as illustrated in
FIG. 4 shown. This assembly is then heated to achieve lamination.
The laminated assembly shown in FIG. 3 is heated to approximately
240 degrees F. for approximately 5 minutes. This assembly is then
placed in a hydraulic press under approx 20 tons of pressure for 10
minutes with the appropriate shaped and sized mold. This creates a
hipbelt pad as shown in FIG. 5 which is installed into a sleeve to
become the final hipbelt blank A shown in FIGS. 1, 7 and 8.
[0023] The sleeve is comprised of nylon fabrics which are cut
according to patterns and sewn together into the appropriate
configuration order while inserting the main closure and attachment
webbings. This creates the left and right hipbelt pad
sleeve/backing. These sleeve/backing assemblies are then sewn to
the appropriate pads to create a pad assembly. Additional suitable
nylon fabrics and high density (HD) EVA approximately 0.25 in. are
cut according to the patterns to become an outer sheath and shell.
The sheath materials are sewn to nylon webbing and stay sleeves and
then the HD-EVA outer shell to create the outer shell assembly
shown in FIG. 4. The outer shell assembly is inserted into the left
and right pad assemblies which are then individually sewn together,
creating a hipbelt blank with substantial thickness and suitable
for molding.
[0024] Hipbelt blanks are constructed as described above in several
sizes which are selectable to provide initial fitting to a user.
The molding process is accomplished using a completed blank
appropriately sized and adjusted for a particular user.
[0025] A molding oven 10 is provided having a main heating cavity
11 capable of receiving a hipbelt blank A while allowing the ends
of the belt and buckles 2 to remain outside the heating cavity.
Alternatively the entire belt can be placed within the heating
cavity with buckles ends insulated or otherwise covered or
protected to prevent heating of the buckles. Generally, it is
desirable to have the belt blank A hang freely within the cavity 11
of oven 10 during the heating process as shown in FIG. 2.
[0026] With these steps taken to prevent heating of the buckles,
the hipbelt blank is placed into the oven cavity at approximately
210 degrees F. (100.degree. C.) for approximately 10 minutes. Upon
completion of the heating process, the hipbelt is fitted with a
lumbar spacer pad for appropriate fit and placed on the user. The
hipbelt is then tightened around the user's hips and thereby
compressed (or cinched) until the inner foam layer is a barely
separate from the outer foam layer (shell). The hipbelt is then
loaded to simulate the force and direction of the a load of a
weighted backpack. In order to simplify the molding process and
minimize the time lapse between heating the blank and molding it to
a user's hips, the preferred method of simulating such a load is to
place the hipbelt blank by itself on the user's hips and have the
user simply place his or her hands on the hipbelt to apply a slight
downward pressure to mimic a weighted pack load Alternatively the
heated hip belt may be attached to a backpack structure capable of
providing an actual load comprising either an actual backpack or
similar simulated structure which can be readily attached to the
belt and worn by the user. This simulated or actual load is
maintained for approximately 10-15 minutes while the hipbelt cools
to just above room temperature. At this point the foam components
of the hipbelt will have taken a permanent "set" and the belt will
have been custom molded to the anatomical shape of the user.
Typically a hipbelt blank can be re-molded several times if there
is an apparent problem with the initial molding or if it is desired
to reshape it for another user.
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