Harness with separate, adjustable camera holder

Claim 1

A harness for carrying a camera or other instrument having a pair of apertured coupling elements (17) and (18) thereon wherein the harness is a flexible, non-elastic, elongated member (1) consisting of the following portions and have a length adapted to span the distance from the wearer's chest "first chest portion (2)", over one shoulder "first shoulder portion (3)", under the arm "first under arm portion (4)", across the chest"transverse chest portions (6) and (7)", under the second arm "second under arm portion (8)", over the second shoulder "second shoulder portion (9)", and back to the chest "second chest portion (11)", and a pair of releasable coupling members (12) and (13) are attached to the first and second ends (14) and (15) of said strap and are dimensioned to releasably couple to said apertured coupling elements on said camera 19; said improvement comprising: a. instrument holding means including only flexible, non-elastic, elongated member portions connected to said transverse chest portions (6) and (7) forming an enlarged opening and adapted for loosely encircling and receiving the lens barrel (21) of said camera (19) and being movable to a position forming a restricted non-expanding opening for gripping said barrel in a close fitting embrace; b. sliding grip means unattached to any selected portion of said harness and including a substantially non-elastic member encircling said holding means and having a first mode for free sliding movement along a portion of said non-elastic member portions and a second mode in frictional non-sliding gripping engagement with said non-elastic elongated member portions for gripping and holding two portions of said elongated member portions in side by side relationship at selected portions for selectively adjusting the diameter of the opening of said holding means encircling and gripping said camera lens barrel; c. said holding means and said grip means are adapted for gripping said camera with a force which is independent of the tightness with which said harness holds said camera to the body of said wearer; and d. when said holding means is in said position forming a restricted opening there is little or no elongation of said transverse chest portions of said harness or relative movement between said camera and said chest portions of said harness.