This invention relates generally to removable belt buckles and, more particularly, to a belt buckle accessory that is selectively attachable and removable from a traditional belt buckle.
One traditional type of belt buckle has a generally rectangular frame with an open center area and a pin for selectively engaging a belt hole when the belt is inserted through the open center area. Another type of belt buckle includes a generally solid base member connected to one end of a belt, the base member having a hook or clasp for engaging a hole adjacent an opposite end of the belt. The solid type of belt buckle may include a fashionable pattern, picture, or company logo.
Although assumably effective for their intended purposes, the existing belt buckles are not easily removable from the belt so as to quickly replace the belt buckle with another having a different fashion, picture, pattern, or logo. Therefore, it would be desirable to have a belt buckle accessory that may be selectively coupled to a traditional frame type belt buckle, the accessory having a generally planar front surface with indicia such as a picture, logo, or other image. Further, it would be desirable to have a belt buckle accessory that will not inadvertently become dislodged from the belt buckle.
A belt buckle accessory according to the present invention includes a base having opposed front and rear surfaces extending between opposed end edges, the base front and rear surfaces having a generally planar configuration. The accessory includes a sleeve coupled to the base rear surface adjacent a base upper or lower edge thereof such that a portion of the sleeve is unattached from the base rear surface between the base upper and lower edges so as to enable a belt to be inserted between the sleeve and the base rear surface. There is indicia positioned on the base front surface.
Therefore, a general object of this invention is to provide a belt buckle accessory that enables a generally flat panel base with indicia to be selectively coupled to a belt having a traditional buckle.
Another object of this invention is to provide a buckle accessory, as aforesaid, that quickly slides on and off of a belt buckle.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a buckle accessory, as aforesaid, having fashionable indicia on a front surface.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a buckle accessory, as aforesaid, that is inexpensive to manufacture and user-friendly to use.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein is set forth by way of illustration and example, embodiments of this invention.
a is a front view of the belt buckle accessory as in
b is a side view of the belt buckle accessory as in
a is a front view of the belt buckle accessory of
b is a side view of the belt buckle accessory as in
c is a rear view of the belt buckle accessory as in
a is a front view of a belt buckle accessory according to another embodiment of the invention;
b is a side view of the belt buckle accessory as in
c is a rear view of the belt buckle accessory as in
a is a front view of the belt buckle accessory as in
b is a side of the belt buckle accessory as in
A belt buckle accessory according to embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to
The belt buckle accessory 10 includes a base 20 having opposed front 22 and rear 24 surfaces, the base 20 having a generally planar configuration. The front 22 and rear 24 surfaces of the base 20 extend between opposed end edges 26 with upper 28 and lower 29 edges extending generally longitudinally between respective end edges 26. The base 20 may include a general rectangular configuration in which upper 28 and lower 29 edges have a length dimension that is longer than a length dimension of said opposed end edges 26, although circular, oval, or other configurations may also work. The base 20 may include a slightly annular or concave configuration relative to the base rear surface 24 so as to conform to the person's body shape, as will be further described later. Alternately, the base 20 may be constructed of a generally resilient or flexible material so that it may flex to conform to a person's abdominal body contour when attached to a belt buckle 4. Additionally, the base 20 may be constructed of metal, hard plastic, resilient plastic, cloth, vinyl, foam, or other material that provides a level of rigidity and moderate flexibility.
The sleeve 30 includes a sleeve upper end 32 that is attached to the base rear surface 24 adjacent to a base upper edge 28 and a sleeve lower end 34 that is attached to the base rear surface 24 adjacent to a base lower edge 29. The sleeve 30 includes a center portion that extends between the upper 32 and lower 34 ends thereof, the center portion 36 being unattached to the base rear surface 24. The center portion 36 of the sleeve 30 either has a relative length of non-elastic material, such as cloth or leather, that results in “slack” or is constructed of an elastic material such that a belt 2 may be selectively inserted between the center portion 36 and the base rear surface 24 (
The belt buckle accessory 10 includes indicia 40 situated on the front surface 22 of the base 20. Various types of indicia may be included on the base front surface 22. Specifically, one type of indicia 40 may be used singly or a combination of indicia types may be used. The indicia 40 may be ink printing, paint, screen printing, laser printing, lenticular printing, an image affixed with glue or other adhesive, a three dimensional object, a cloth or other textile object, or other types of indicia. It is understood that the indicia 40 may cover substantially the entire front surface 22 or may be limited to an area less than an entirety of the front surface 22. In other words, there may be portions of the front surface 22 that include no indicia at all.
In another aspect of the invention, a clamp member 50 may be attached to the rear surface 24 of the base 20. The clamp member 50 may include a generally C-shaped configuration defining an open side directed toward the trailing end edge 26 of the base 20 although it may work if the open side is directed toward either of the base end edges 26. The clamp member 50 is configured so as to engage a respective frame member of a belt buckle 4 when selectively coupled thereto as shown in
In another embodiment (not shown), the rear surface 24 of the base 20 may define recess, depression, or cutout. Preferably, the recess is positioned generally beneath the sleeve 30 although it would likely extend toward each end edge 26. The recess would be configured to receive a traditional belt buckle 4 therein when the accessory 10 is coupled thereto. It is understood that by providing a structure to nest a belt buckle 4 into the accessory 10, the accessory 10 with its indicia 40 (potentially raised indicia that extends outwardly from the base front surface 22) will not extend an awkward or undesirable distance out in front of the belt buckle 4.
In use, the belt buckle accessory 10 may be slidably coupled to a person's belt buckle 4. More particularly, an end of a belt 2 may be inserted through the sleeve 30 and then fastened by a pin 6 of the belt buckle 4 engaging a respective belt hole. In doing so, the belt buckle accessory 10 is positioned atop the belt buckle 4 as shown in
It is understood that while certain forms of this invention have been illustrated and described, it is not limited thereto except insofar as such limitations are included in the following claims and allowable functional equivalents thereof.