Power belt

Claim 2

A power belt comprising: a belt member adapted to be secured around a person''s waist in use; a plurality of pockets coupled to said member and spaced along it; an inverter unit adapted to be received in one of said pockets, the remaining pockets being adapted to receive electrical cells; a connector unit in said one pocket, the unit including output means connectible to a device to be powered by the belt and input means connectible to an external power supply; means adapted to connect in series, electrical cells received in said remaining pockets, and to connect said cells to the connector unit; and a plug-in coupling for connecting together said inverter unit and said connector unit in one of two positions, in the first of which the inverter unit operates in its noRmal mode to invert the d.c. voltage from the cells when the belt is in use, whereby an a.c. voltage is available at said output means, and in the second of which the inverter unit operates as a charger when an external power supply is connected to the input means, to enable the cells to be recharged.

Claim 3

A power belt as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plug-in coupling comprises a male coupling part on one of said units, a complementary female coupling part on the other of said units, and releasable locking means to hold the inverter unit and connector unit together with the coupling parts engaged with one another.

Claim 4

A power belt as claimed in claim 2, wherein the releasable locking means comprises inwardly deflectable resilient latch members on the inverter unit, and retaining means on the connector unit for the latch members, said retaining means being positioned to inwardly deflect the latch members as the inverter unit is plugged into the connector unit, the latch members returning to their initial positions after such deflection to engage the retaining means.

Claim 5

A power belt as claimed in claim 1, wherein the input means of the connector unit is adapted to be coupled to an external source of power by a lead and plug which are normally received in a storage compartment in the connector unit, but which can be withdrawn for use in recharging the cells.

Claim 6

A power belt comprising: an elongate flexible member adapted to be secured around at least part of a person''s waist; a plurality of pockets mounted on the side of said member which is outermost in use, at least some of said pockets being adapted to receive electrical cells; electrical connections for connecting cells in said pockets, at least parts of said connections passing through the elongate member from said pockets to the inner side of the member and extending along said inner side; cover means for the parts of said electrical connections at the inner side of the elongate member, the said cover means and elongate member being permanently secured together along a bottom marginal portion of the cover means; and, releasable retaining means between an upper marginal portion of the cover means and the elongate member, said retaining means comprising strips of cohesive fabrics secured in corresponding positions on the cover means and elongate member respectively, whereby the fabric strips adhere to one another to secure the upper marginal portion of the cover means to the elongate member, but can be separated by tearing the fabrics apart to allow access to the parts of said electrical connections at the inner side of the elongate member.

Claim 7

A power belt comprising: an elongate flexible member adapted to be secured around at least part of a person''s waist; a plurality of pockets mounted on the side of said member which is outermost in use, at least some of said pockets being adapted to receive electrical cells; electrical connections for connecting cells in said pockets, at least parts of said connections passing through the elongate member from said pockets to the inner side of the member and extending along said inner side; cover means for the parts of said electrical connections at the inner side of the elongate member, the said cover means and elongate member being permanently secured together along a bottom marginal portion of the cover means; and, releasable retaining means between an upper marginal portion of the cover means and the elongate member, said retaining means comprising strips of cohesive fabrics secured in corresponding positions on the cover means and elongate member respectively, whereby the fabric strips adhere to one another to secure the upper marginal portion of the cover means to the elongate member, but can be separated by tearing the fabrics apart to allow access to the parts of said electrical connections at the inner side of the elongate member.

Claim 8

A power belt as claimed in Claim 5, wherein one of said fabrics has a surface covered with fine hairs and the other fabric has a corresponding surface covered with hooked tines which, when the two fabrics are in contact, engage the hairs on the other fabric to retain the fabrics together, the fabrics being separable by tearing the same apart to release the hairs from the hooks.

Claim 9

A power belt as claimed in claim 6 wherein the cover means comprises a flexible web adapted to be secured around a person''s waist in use, and wherein the said elongate flexible member carrying the pockets is permanently secured to the web at each opposite end and along its bottom marginal portion, the upper marginal portion of the member and the corresponding part of the web being releasably held together by said fabrics.

Claim 10

A power belt as claimed in claim 5 and further comprising: an inverter unit for engagement in one of said pockets, the remaining pockets being adapted to contain said cells, the cells being connected electrically in series by said electrical connections and connected to the inverter unit; a connector unit in said one pocket, the connector unit being coupled to the inverter unit and including output means connectible to a device to be powered by the belt, and input means connectible to an external electrical power Supply; a plug-in coupling for connecting together said inverter unit and said connector unit in one of two positions, in the first of which the inverter unit operates in its normal mode to invert the d.c. voltage from the cells when the belt is in use, whereby an a.c. voltage is available at said output means, and in the second of which the inverter unit operates as a charger when an external power supply is connected to the input means to enable the cells to be recharged.

Claim 11

A power belt as claimed in claim 5, wherein the elongate flexible member is of a foldable material, wherein at least those parts of the electrical connections at the inner side of the elongate member are flexible, wherein there are at least two pairs of pockets, each pocket being of generally box-form, the pairs of pockets being spaced along the member by a distance at least substantially equal to the sum of the thicknesses of the adjacent pockets in the respective pairs, whereby the said adjacent pockets can be folded together in face-to-face relationship with the elongate member extending along their adjacent ends, and wherein the pockets in each pair are spaced from one another by a smaller amount sufficient to enable them to be folded together in back-to-back relationship with the elongate member folded back on itself between the two pockets.

Claim 12

A power belt comprising: a relatively norrow elongate belt member which is of a foldable material and which has opposite outer ends; means at said outer ends of the belt member for coupling said ends together to secure the belt member about a person''s waist; and, at least two pairs of generally box form pockets depending from said belt member, each pocket being of a height substantially greater than the width of the belt member, and at least some of said pockets being adapted to carry electrical cells, the respective pairs of pockets being spaced from one another along the belt member by a distance at least substantially equal to the sum of the thicknesses of adjacent pockets in the respective pairs, so that the said adjacent pockets can be folded together in face-to-face relationship with the belt member extending along their adjacent ends, the pockets in each pair being spaced from one another by a smaller distance sufficient to enable them to be folded together in back-to-back relationship with the belt member folded back on itself between these two pockets, and the pockets in the respective pairs nearest said outer ends of the belt member being spaced substantially from said outer ends such that, when the belt is in use, said pockets rest generally on the hips of the wearer of the belt, and the remainder of the pockets are located across the wearer''s back.

Claim 13

A power belt comprising: a relatively norrow elongate belt member which is of a foldable material and which has opposite outer ends; means at said outer ends of the belt member for coupling said ends together to secure the belt member about a person''s waist; and, at least two pairs of generally box form pockets depending from said belt member, each pocket being of a height substantially greater than the width of the belt member, and at least some of said pockets being adapted to carry electrical cells, the respective pairs of pockets being spaced from one another along the belt member by a distance at least substantially equal to the sum of the thicknesses of adjacent pockets in the respective pairs, so that the said adjacent pockets can be folded together in face-to-face relationship with the belt member extending along their adjacent ends, the pockets in each pair being spaced from one another by a smaller distance sufficient to enable them to be folded together in back-to-back relationship with the belt member folded back on itself between these two pockets, and the pockets in the respective pairs nearest said outer ends of the belt member being spaced substantially from said outer ends such that, when the belt is in use, said pockets rest generally on the hips of the wearer of the belt, and the remainder of the pockets are located across the wearer''s back.

Claim 14

A power belt comprising: a belt member which is adapted to be secured about a person''s waist and is of a foldable material; at least two pairs of generally box-form pockets attached to the outer side of the belt member, at least some of said pockets being adapted to carry electrical cells; and flexible electrical connections for connecting cells in said pockets; said pairs of pockets being spaced along the belt member by a distance at least substantially equal to the sum of the thicknesses of the adjacent pockets in the respective pairs, whereby the said adjacent pockets can be folded together in face-to-face relationship with the belt member extending along their adjacent ends, and wherein the pockets in each pair are spaced from one another by a smaller amount sufficient to enable them to be folded together back-to-back with the belt member folded back on itself between the two pockets; an inverter unit adapted to be engaged in one of said pockets, the remaining pockets being adapted to receive electrical cells, said electrical connections being adapted to connect cells in said pockets in series and to connect the cells to the inverter unit; a connector unit in said one pocket and coupled to the inverter unit, the connector unit including output means connectible to a device to be powered by the belt, and input means for connection to an external power supply; and, a plug-in coupling for connecting together said inverter unit and said connector unit is one of two positions, in the first of which the inverter unit operates in its normal mode to invert the DC voltage from the cells when the belt is in use, whereby an AC voltage is available at said output means, and in the second of which the inverter unit operates as a charger when an external power supply is connected to the input means to enable the cells to be recharged.

Claim 15

A power belt comprising: a belt member which is adapted to be secured about a person''s waist and is of a foldable material; at least two pairs of generally box-form pockets attached to the outer side of the belt member, at least some of said pockets being adapted to carry electrical cells; and flexible electrical connections for connecting cells in said pockets; said pairs of pockets being spaced along the belt member by a distance at least substantially equal to the sum of the thicknesses of the adjacent pockets in the respective pairs, whereby the said adjacent pockets can be folded together in face-to-face relationship with the belt member extending along their adjacent ends, and wherein the pockets in each pair are spaced from one another by a smaller amount sufficient to enable them to be folded together back-to-back with the belt member folded back on itself between the two pockets; an inverter unit adapted to be engaged in one of said pockets, the remaining pockets being adapted to receive electrical cells, said electrical connections being adapted to connect cells in said pockets in series and to connect the cells to the inverter unit; a connector unit in said one pocket and coupled to the inverter unit, the connector unit including output means connectible to a device to be powered by the belt, and input means for connection to an external power supply; and, a plug-in coupling for connecting together said inverter unit and said connector unit is one of two positions, in the first of which the inverter unit operates in its normal mode to invert the DC voltage from the cells when the belt is in use, whereby an AC voltage is available at said output means, and in the second of which the inverter unit operates as a charger when an external power supply is connected to the input means to enable the cells to be recharged.

Claim 16

A power belt as claimed in claim 11, in which at least parts of said electrical connections pass through the elongate member from said pockets to the inner side of the member and extend along said side, and in which the belt further comprises: cover means for said parts of said electrical connections at the inner side of the belt member;; and, releasable retaining means which normally secures the cover means to said inner side of the belt member over said parts of the electrical connections.