Pinless belt system
View Patent ↗A belt system may be worn with an article of clothing. The system can also be used with other items such as watch straps, purse straps or animal collars or other articles that may include a buckle system that is adjusted for size or where a number of size variations would be desirable. The system is a pin was configuration in that it includes a belt that does not have any holes. The belt includes a row of teeth that interface with a clamp like buckle. The row of teeth and/or the belt can be collectively made of a single material, such as silicon.
1. A method of manufacturing a belt system, comprising:
providing a mold, the mold having an internal cavity that forms an elongated belt member with a set of teeth on a first end region of the belt member, the set of teeth having a ramped portion facing an end of belt member and a stepped portion perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the belt member;
injecting a material into the mold;
allowing the material to set into a belt member with the set of teeth on the first end region of the belt member;
removably attaching a belt buckle to a second end region of the belt member opposite the first end region, wherein the belt buckle has a clamp that clamps onto the belt member and a pawl that engages the stepped portion of the set of teeth of the belt member, wherein the pawl is biased toward engagement with the set of teeth.
2. A method as in claim 1 , wherein the material is silicone, rubber, or polychloroprene.
3. A method as in claim 1 , further comprising sizing the belt member to fit around a user's waist.
4. A method as in claim 1 , wherein a magnet biases the pawl toward the set of teeth.
5. A method as in claim 1 , wherein the pawl is attached to a rotatable pin such the pawl rotates to engage the set of teeth.