Paintball pod belt

Abstract

An improved paintball pod belt is provided. The belt provides a means for urging the pod compartments upwards and adjacent to the lower back of the user despite strenuous physical maneuvers performed by the user. The belt further includes a means for providing an easily accessible handle for peeling a closure flap off of a middle portion of a pod compartment to remove or insert a paintball pod from or into the pod compartment. The belt may further include a means for reducing a side profile of the pod compartment to reduce the likelihood of being hit by a paintball on the empty pod compartment. The belt may further include a means for clipping the paintball pod into the pod compartment.

1 . A belt for holding a plurality of paintball pods about a waist of a user, the belt comprising:
 a pod compartment;   a waist encircling layer removeably attachable to the waist of the user, the waist encircling layer defining an upper portion and a lower portion, the pod compartment being attached to the upper portion which is disposable adjacent the lower back of the user when the belt is worn around the waist of the user, the lower portion being disposable upon the upper curvature portion of buttocks of the user when the belt is worn around the waist of the user, the lower portion being fabricated from an elastic material so as to conform to the shape of the upper curvature portion of a user's buttocks for urging the pod compartment upward and maintaining the pod compartment adjacent to the lower back of the user despite the user performing strenuous physical maneuvers in a game of paintball.   
   
   
       2 . The belt of  claim 1  wherein the upper portion defines a lower edge having a curved configuration for wrapping a midsection of the waist encircling layer over and around the buttocks of the user. 
   
   
       3 . The belt of  claim 2  wherein the lower edge of the upper portion has a convex configuration. 
   
   
       4 . The belt of  claim 1  wherein the lower portion has an eyelet configuration. 
   
   
       5 . The belt of  claim 1  wherein the upper portion has curved configuration. 
   
   
       6 . A belt for holding a plurality of paintball pods, the belt comprising:
 a waist encircling layer removeably attachable to the waist of a user;   a pod compartment attached to the waist encircling layer sized and configured to receive a paintball pod, the pod compartment having:
 a middle portion having a first component of a hooks and loops attachment system disposed on the middle portion; 
 a closure flap traversable between a closed position and an opened position, the closure flap having a second component of the hooks and loops attachment system attached to the closure flap, the closure flap blocks an entrance to the pod compartment when the closure flap is in the closed position, the closure flap allows access to the pod compartment when the closure flap is in the opened position, the first and second components of the hooks and loops attachment system being attached to eachother when the closure flap is in the closed position and being disengaged from eachother when the closure flap is in the opened position; 
 a handle attached to the closure flap for traversing the closure flap from the closed position to the opened position, the handle being attached to a distal end portion of the closure flap, the handle being oriented away from the pod compartment such that the user may easily find the handle. 
   
   
   
       7 . The belt of  claim 6  wherein the handle is oriented downward from the middle portion of the pod compartment. 
   
   
       8 . The belt of  claim 6  wherein the handle extends below a bottom of the pod compartment. 
   
   
       9 . The belt of  claim 6  wherein the handle is attached to a distal end of the closure flap. 
   
   
       10 . The belt of  claim 6  wherein the handle is attached to the closure flap between the distal end of the closure flap and a start of the second component of the hooks and loops attachment system disposed on the inner surface of the closure flap. 
   
   
       11 . The belt of  claim 6  wherein the handle is attached to the closure flap adjacent a starting portion of the second component of the hooks and loops attachment system disposed on the inner surface of the closure flap. 
   
   
       12 . The belt of  claim 6  wherein the closure flap and the handle are fabricated from a unitary material. 
   
   
       13 . The belt of  claim 6  wherein the handle and the closure flap are fabricated from separate materials. 
   
   
       14 . The belt of  claim 6  further comprising a guide attached to the closure flap, the handle being disposed between the guide and the closure flap for orienting the handle downward and below the middle portion of the pod compartment. 
   
   
       15 . A belt for holding a plurality paintball pods, the belt comprising:
 a waist encircling layer removably attachable to a waist of a user;   a pod compartment attached to the waist encircling layer, the pod compartment comprising:
 a shell and a first elastic side portion, the first side elastic portion being attached to the shell and the waist encircling layer, the rigid shell being attached to the waist encircling layer; 
 wherein insertion of the paintball pod in the pod compartment stretches the first elastic side portion and traverses the shell away from the waist encircling layer to enlarge the pod compartment so as to receive the paintball pod, and removal of the paintball pod from the pod compartment contracts the first elastic side portion and traverses the shell closer to the waist encircling layer to reduce a side profile of the pod compartment and reduce a likelihood of being hit by a paintball during a paintball game. 
   
   
   
       16 . The belt of  claim 15  wherein a second edge portion of the shell is directly attached to the waist encircling layer. 
   
   
       17 . The belt of  claim 15  wherein the second edge portion of the shell is attached to the waist encircling layer via a second side portion. 
   
   
       18 . The belt of  claim 17  wherein the second side portion is elastic. 
   
   
       19 . The belt of  claim 17  wherein the second side portion is inelastic. 
   
   
       20 . The belt of  claim 15  wherein the shell is fabricated from a rigid material. 
   
   
       21 . The belt of  claim 15  wherein the shell is fabricated from a semi-rigid material such that the shell conforms to the outer diameter of the paintball pod when the paintball pod is inserted into the pod compartment and is biased in a flattened configuration such that the shell flattens out when the paint ball pod is removed from the pod compartment. 
   
   
       22 . A belt for holding a plurality of paintball pods, the belt comprising:
 a waist encircling layer removably attachable to a waist of a user;   a pod compartment comprising:
 a middle portion sized and configured to receive a paintball pod; 
 a clip rotatably traversable between a holding position for securing a paintball pod in the pod compartment and a released position for removing the paintball pod from the pod compartment or inserting the paintball pod into the pod compartment. 
   
   
   
       23 . The belt of  claim 22  wherein the clip is longitudinally traversable with respect to the pod compartment. 
   
   
       24 . The belt of  claim 22  wherein the clip is biased upwardly.