BUCKLE ASSEMBLY

Abstract

A buckle assembly including a first assembly and a second assembly is provided. The first assembly includes a first cover body, a pair of sliders, and a pair of first magnetic elements. The second assembly includes a second cover body and a pair of second magnetic elements. The first cover body includes an upper cover and a lower cover. The upper cover has a first fitting structure and a pair of first receiving grooves. The sliders are movably disposed in the first receiving grooves along a first direction. The first magnetic elements are embedded in the sliders, and the lower cover is assembled to the upper cover to limit the sliders and the first magnetic elements in the first receiving grooves. The second cover body has a second fitting structure and a pair of second receiving grooves.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial no. 112144981, filed on Nov. 21, 2023. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification.

BACKGROUND

Technology Field

The disclosure relates to an assembly, and in particular to a buckle assembly.

Description of Related Art

A buckle assembly is usually applied in safety helmets. However, nowadays with the development of virtual reality, the buckle assembly is also applied in virtual reality head-mounted devices.

The buckle assembly may initially be divided into a snap-on type or a magnetic type, but regardless of the snap-on type or the magnetic type, a hook is needed to achieve the functions of fitting and fixing.

It should be noted that a direction of force applied to the current magnetic buckle actually has multi-directional detachment angles to unfasten the buckle, so that the hook may be disengaged to unlock. However, given that the buckle assembly might be affected by shaking, pulling or dropping the head-mounted device, the hook subject to multi-directional detachment angles might have low stability, poor safety, and unreliability issues.

SUMMARY

The disclosure provides a buckle assembly with high stability and good safety.

The buckle assembly of the disclosure includes a first assembly and a second assembly. The first assembly includes a first cover body, a pair of sliders, and a pair of first magnetic elements. The second assembly includes a second cover body and a pair of second magnetic elements. The first cover body includes an upper cover and a lower cover. The upper cover has a first fitting structure and a pair of first receiving grooves. The sliders are movably disposed in the pair of first receiving grooves along a first direction. The pair of first magnetic elements is embedded in the pair of sliders, and the lower cover is assembled to the upper cover to cover up the first fitting structure and the pair of first receiving grooves to limit the pair of sliders and the pair of first magnetic elements in the pair of first receiving grooves. The second cover body has a second fitting structure and a pair of second receiving grooves. The pair of second receiving grooves is located on opposite sides of the second fitting structure. The pair of second magnetic elements is disposed in the pair of second receiving grooves. When the first cover body and the second cover body are engaged with each other along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, the pair of first magnetic elements and the pair of second magnetic elements are magnetically attracted to each other so that the pair of sliders moves to a limiting position in the pair of first receiving grooves.

In an embodiment, the first fitting structure is a convex structure protruding from a first surface of the upper cover, and the pair of first receiving grooves is formed in the first fitting structure, and the second fitting structure is a hole.

In an embodiment, the first fitting structure further has a pair of limiting openings, and opening directions of the pair of limiting openings are opposite, and the second cover body further has a pair of limiting edges. When the pair of sliders moves to the limiting position in the pair of first receiving grooves, each of the sliders has a portion protruding from the pair of limiting openings, and the portion is limited by the pair of limiting edges in a reverse direction of the second direction.

In an embodiment, the second cover body further has a guiding channel disposed along a third direction. The third direction is perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction, and the guiding channel has a necking portion along the third direction.

In an embodiment, when the first assembly and the second assembly move relative to each other in the third direction, the pair of first magnetic elements and the pair of second magnetic elements move away from each other to release magnetic attraction, and the portion of each of the sliders protruding from the pair of limiting openings is guided by the necking portion and moves into the first receiving grooves.

In an embodiment, the second cover body further has a second surface and a sloping rib, the sloping rib and the second fitting structure are disposed on the second surface, and extend in the third direction.

In an embodiment, an N pole of one of the pair of first magnetic elements faces an S pole of the other first magnetic element.

In an embodiment, magnetic attracting force of the pair of second magnetic elements is greater than magnetic attracting force of the pair of first magnetic elements.

In an embodiment, the magnetic attracting force of at least one pair of the pair of first magnetic elements and the pair of second magnetic elements is adjusted by changing magnetic forces of individual magnets, or relative positions and sizes of the two magnets.

Based on the above, in the buckle assembly of the disclosure, the magnetic elements match the sliders, and the sliders equipped with the magnetic elements may move back and forth in the receiving grooves through different magnetic attracting forces to achieve the purpose of buckling. In addition, a design of the necking portion allows the buckle assembly to be detached and unlocked in one single direction, which increases the reliability and firmness of the buckle assembly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a schematic view of a first assembly of a buckle assembly of the embodiment.

FIG. 1B is a schematic view of a second assembly of a buckle assembly of the embodiment.

FIG. 1C is a schematic view of the first assembly of FIG. 1A and the second assembly of FIG. 1B assembled into a buckle assembly.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of assembling the first assembly and the second assembly along a second direction.

FIG. 3A is a schematic cross-sectional view after the first assembly of FIG. 1C and the second assembly of FIG. 1C are engaged.

FIG. 3B is a schematic top view after the first assembly of FIG. 3A and the second assembly of FIG. 3A are engaged.

FIG. 3C is a schematic cross-sectional view of another viewing angle of FIG. 3B.

FIG. 3D is a cross-sectional view of the buckle assembly of FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of unlocking a first assembly and a second assembly.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of another embodiment of a buckle assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DISCLOSED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1A is a schematic view of a first assembly of a buckle assembly of the embodiment. FIG. 1B is a schematic view of a second assembly of the buckle assembly of the embodiment. FIG. 1C is a schematic view of the first assembly of FIG. 1A and the second assembly of FIG. 1B assembled into the buckle assembly.

Please refer to FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B, and FIG. 1C together. A buckle assembly 1 of the embodiment includes a first assembly 2 and a second assembly 3 that are detachable. When the first assembly 2 and the second assembly 3 are engaged, the buckle assembly 1 in FIG. 1C is formed.

Based on the above, the first assembly 2 includes a first cover body 21, a pair of sliders 22, and a pair of first magnetic elements 23, and the second assembly 3 includes a second cover body 31 and a pair of second magnetic elements 32.

The first cover body 21 includes an upper cover 211 and a lower cover 212. The upper cover 211 has a first fitting structure 213 and a pair of first receiving grooves 214. In the embodiment, the first fitting structure 213 is a convex structure protruding from a first surface 211a of the upper cover 211, and the first receiving grooves 214 are formed in the first fitting structure 213.

In addition, the sliders 22 are movably disposed in the first receiving grooves 214 along a first direction D1. Specifically, the sliders 22 are restricted to the first direction D1 when moving closer to or away from each other by matching sizes of the sliders 22 and the first receiving grooves 214.

The first magnetic elements 23 are embedded in the sliders 22. In the embodiment, an N pole of one of the first magnetic elements 23 faces an S pole of the other first magnetic element 23, so that both of the first magnetic elements 23 are attracted to each other to keep the sliders 22 closest to each other.

The lower cover 212 is configured to be assembled to the upper cover 211 to cover up the first fitting structure 213 and the first receiving grooves 214, so that the sliders 22 and the first magnetic elements 23 may be limited in the first receiving grooves 214.

The second cover body 31 has a second fitting structure 312 and a pair of second receiving grooves 314. The second fitting structure 312 is a hole, and the second receiving grooves 314 are located on opposite sides of the second fitting structure 312.

The second magnetic elements 32 are disposed in the second receiving grooves 314. Magnetic attracting force F32 of the second magnetic elements 32 is greater than magnetic attracting force F23 of the first magnetic elements 23. Two permanent magnets may be used as the first magnetic elements 23, and the magnetic attracting force F23 of the first magnetic elements 23 may be adjusted by changing parameters such as the magnetic force of the two magnets, the relative position of the two magnets from each other, or the sizes of the two magnets. Similarly, two permanent magnets may be used as the second magnetic elements 32, and the magnetic attracting force F32 of the second magnetic elements 32 may be adjusted by changing parameters such as the magnetic force of the two magnets, the relative position of the two magnets from each other, or the sizes of the two magnets.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of assembling the first assembly 2 and the second assembly 3 along a second direction D2. Please refer to FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B, and FIG. 2 together, the first assembly 2 is assembled to the second assembly 3 along the second direction D2. Specifically, a first surface 211a of the first cover body 21 faces a third surface 31c of the second cover body 31 to be assembled. The third surface 31c and a second surface 31a are two opposite surfaces of the second cover body 31.

When the first magnetic elements 23 are not yet affected by the second magnetic elements 32, an N pole of one of the first magnetic elements 23 faces an S pole of the other first magnetic element 23, so that both of the first magnetic elements 23 of the sliders 22 are attracted to each other to keep the sliders 22 closest to each other. At this moment, the sliders 22 are hidden in the first receiving grooves 214; that is, the sliders 22 do not protrude from the first receiving grooves 214.

FIG. 3A is a schematic cross-sectional view after the first assembly 2 of FIG. 1C and the second assembly 3 of FIG. 1C are engaged. FIG. 3B is a schematic top view after the first assembly 2 of FIG. 3A and the second assembly 3 of FIG. 3A are engaged. FIG. 3C is a schematic cross-sectional view of FIG. 3B from another viewing angle. Please refer to FIG. 3A, FIG. 3B, and FIG. 3C together. As the first assembly 2 and the second assembly 3 are engaged with each other, the first fitting structure 213, which is the convex structure, is fitted into the second fitting structure 312, which is the hole. At this moment, since the magnetic attracting force F32 of the second magnetic element 32 is greater than the magnetic attracting force F23 of the first magnetic element 23, due to the magnetic attraction of the second magnetic elements 32 the first magnetic elements 23 drive the sliders 22 to move in the first direction D1 to a limiting position in the first receiving groove 214. The second direction D2 is perpendicular to the first direction D1.

The first magnetic element 23 and the second magnetic element 32 are magnetically attracted to each other to fix the first assembly 2 and the second assembly 3 to each other.

FIG. 3D is a cross-sectional view of the buckle assembly 1 of FIG. 1C. Please refer to FIG. 3A, FIG. 3B, and FIG. 3D together. The first fitting structure 213 further has a pair of limiting openings 213a, and opening directions of the limiting openings 213a are opposite to each other, and the second cover body 31 further has a pair of limiting edges 33. When the sliders 22 move to the limiting position in the first receiving grooves 214, a portion 22a of each slider 22 protrudes from the limiting openings 213a to be limited by the limiting edges 33 in a reverse direction of the second direction D2. In this way, when the buckle assembly 1 gets shaken, a relative movement of the first assembly 2 and the second assembly 3 in the second direction D2 may be restricted, which prevents the first assembly 2 and the second assembly 3 from being disengaged from each other.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of unlocking the first assembly 2 and the second assembly 3. Please refer to FIG. 3B, FIG. 3C, and FIG. 4 together. When the first assembly 2 and the second assembly 3 are to be detached, the first assembly 2 is moved in a third direction D3 by a force greater than the magnetic attracting force. The third direction D3 is perpendicular to the first direction D1 and the second direction D2.

As the first assembly 2 moves relative to the second assembly 3 along the third direction D3, the magnetic attracting force of the second magnetic elements 32 on the first magnetic elements 23 becomes weaker and no longer affects the first magnetic elements 23.

It is worth mentioning that the second cover body 31 further has a guiding channel 34 disposed along the third direction D3. The guiding channel 34 has a necking portion 34a along the third direction D3. When the first assembly 2 enters the necking portion 34a, the portions 22a of the sliders 22 protruding from the first receiving grooves 214 are guided by the necking portion 34a, so that the sliders 22 come closer to each other in the first direction D1 and move into the first receiving grooves 214.

At this moment, since the attraction between the second magnetic elements 32 and the first magnetic elements 23 is gradually weaker or even no longer effective, the first magnetic elements 23 disposed on both of the sliders 22 attract the sliders 22 to each other through the magnetic attracting force, until the sliders 22 return to the original positions and restore to an unassembled state.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of another embodiment of a buckle assembly. Please refer to FIG. 5. In the embodiment of FIG. 5, the second cover body 31 may be further provided with a sloping rib 31b on the second surface 31a. The sloping rib 31b and the second fitting structure 312 are connected to each other and extend in the third direction D3 and are located in the guiding channel 34. While the first assembly 2 moves relative to the second assembly 3 in the third direction D3, the first assembly 2 contacts the sloping rib 31b and is guided by the sloping rib 31b, and may be tilted relative to the second assembly 3 in the second direction D2, thus facilitating an user to remove the first assembly 2 from the second assembly 3.

It should be noted that the first assembly 2 not only may be assembled with the second assembly 3 in the second direction D2, but may also be assembled with the second assembly 3 in the third direction D3, thus having an advantage of a multi-directional assembly. However, if the first assembly 2 and the second assembly 3 are to be detached, they may be unlocked by a single direction (the third direction D3), thus increasing assembly stability and improving safety.

In summary, in the buckle assembly of the disclosure, the magnetic elements are used to cooperate with the sliders, so that the sliders equipped with the magnetic elements may move in the receiving grooves to achieve engagement. In addition, the necking portion allows the buckle assembly to be detached and unlocked in a single direction, and increases reliability and robustness of the buckle assembly.

Claims

1. A buckle assembly, comprising: a first assembly, comprising: a first cover body, comprising an upper cover and a lower cover, and the upper cover having a first fitting structure and a pair of first receiving grooves;a pair of sliders, movably disposed in the pair of first receiving grooves along a first direction; anda pair of first magnetic elements, embedded in the pair of sliders, the lower cover assembled to the upper cover to cover up the first fitting structure and the pair of first receiving grooves to limit the pair of sliders and the pair of first magnetic elements in the pair of first receiving grooves;a second assembly, comprising: a second cover body, having a second fitting structure and a pair of second receiving grooves, and the pair of second receiving grooves located on opposite sides of the second fitting structure; anda pair of second magnetic elements, disposed in the pair of second receiving grooves, wherein when the first cover body and the second cover body are engaged with each other along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, the pair of first magnetic elements and the pair of second magnetic elements are magnetically attracted to each other so that the pair of sliders move to a limiting position in the pair of first receiving grooves.

2. The buckle assembly according to claim 1, wherein the first fitting structure is a convex structure protruding from a first surface of the upper cover, and the pair of first receiving grooves are formed in the first fitting structure, and the second fitting structure is a hole.

3. The buckle assembly according to claim 1, wherein the first fitting structure further has a pair of limiting openings, and opening directions of the pair of limiting openings are opposite, and the second cover body further has a pair of limiting edges, wherein when the pair of sliders move to the limiting position in the pair of first receiving grooves, each of the sliders has a portion protruding from the pair of limiting openings, and the portion is limited by the pair of limiting edges in a reverse direction of the second direction.

4. The buckle assembly according to claim 3, wherein the second cover body further has a guiding channel disposed along a third direction, the third direction is perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction, and the guiding channel has a necking portion along the third direction.

5. The buckle assembly according to claim 4, wherein when the first assembly and the second assembly move relative to each other in the third direction, the pair of first magnetic elements and the pair of second magnetic elements move away from each other to release magnetic attraction, and the portion of each of the sliders protruding from the pair of limiting openings is guided by the necking portion and moves into the pair of first receiving grooves.

6. The buckle assembly according to claim 4, wherein the second cover body further has a second surface and a sloping rib, the sloping rib and the second fitting structure are disposed on the second surface and extend in the third direction.

7. The buckle assembly according to claim 1, wherein an N pole of one of the pair of first magnetic elements faces an S pole of the other first magnetic element.

8. The buckle assembly according to claim 7, wherein magnetic attracting force of the pair of second magnetic elements is greater than magnetic attracting force of the pair of first magnetic elements.

9. The buckle assembly according to claim 8, wherein the magnetic attracting force of at least one pair of the pair of first magnetic elements and the pair of second magnetic elements is adjusted by changing magnetic force of individual magnets, or relative positions and sizes of the two magnets.