1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to buckle, and more particularly to a buckle assembly which comprises a locking arrangement which is capable of providing an enhanced locking performance and convenient operation of the buckle assembly.
2. Description of Related Arts
A conventional buckle assembly, such as a buckle assembly for use with a webbing strap, usually comprises a first buckle member and a second buckle member which may be detachably engaged with the first buckle member. The first buckle member may have an insertion member while the second buckle member may comprise a plurality of buckle latches and have a receiving slot formed at a position corresponding to the insertion member of the first buckle member. The receiving slot is shaped and sized to receive the insertion member so as to connect the first buckle member to the second buckle member. The buckle latches may be pivotally moved on the second buckle member to lock up the insertion member in the receiving slot. Typically, the first buckle member and the second buckle member are adjustably connected to two end portions of a webbing strap so that the buckle assembly may be utilized for fastening the webbing strap onto a human body, or to an external object.
There are several disadvantages in relation to the above-mentioned buckle assembly. First, the first buckle member and the second buckle member are usually locked by the buckle latches, and this locking mechanism is far from reliable. When the insertion member of the first buckle member is inserted into the receiving slot of the second buckle member, the locking latches may be urged by a plurality of resilient elements to engage with the insertion member and lock up the insertion member in position. The locking latches prevent the insertion member from being pulled out by external force. In order to release the insertion member from the receiving slot, a user may pivotally move the locking latches from an exterior of the second buckle member for disengaging the locking latches from the insertion member. When locking latches are pivotally moved to disengage from the insertion member, it may be manually pulled out of the receiving slot. Conventionally, the locking latches are partially exposed to an exterior of the second buckle member so that the user may manually access the locking latches for unlocking the first buckle member from the second buckle member. As a result, the locking latches may be accidentally actuated so that first buckle member may accidentally disengage from the second buckle member.
Second, even if the first buckle member and the second buckle member are engaged with each other in a proper manner, the engagement may be not secure enough so that there may exist a lot of lateral movement between the first buckle member and the second buckle member.
As a result, there is a need to develop a buckle assembly which is enough when engaged.
An objective of the present invention is to provide a buckle assembly which is capable of providing an enhanced locking performance and convenient operation.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a buckle assembly which comprises a locking arrangement arranged to provide a triple locking mechanism for locking a first buckle member with a second buckle member.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a buckle assembly which comprises a locking arrangement which is capable of preventing the locking latches of the buckle assembly to be accidentally actuated.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a buckle assembly which comprises a locking arrangement adapted to minimize a relative movement between the first buckle member and the second buckle member.
In one aspect of the present invention, it provides a buckle assembly, comprising:
The following detailed description of the preferred embodiment is the preferred mode of carrying out the invention. The description is not to be taken in any limiting sense. It is presented for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the present invention.
Referring to
The first buckle member 10 may comprise a first buckle body 11 comprising an insertion member 111.
The second buckle member 20 may comprise a second buckle body 21, a first buckle latch 22, a second buckle latch 23, and a plurality of resilient elements 24. The second buckle body 21 may have a receiving slot 211 formed at a position corresponding to the inserting member 111 of the first buckle body 11.
The first buckle latch 22 and the second buckle latch 23 may be connected to the second buckle body 21. Each of the first buckle latch 22 and the second buckle latch 23 may be arranged to move between a locked position and an unlocked position, wherein in the unlocked position, each of the first buckle latch 22 and the second buckle latch 23 is pivotally moved to allow the insertion member 111 of the first buckle body 11 to be inserted in the receiving slot 211, wherein in the locked position, each of the first buckle latch 22 and the second buckle latch 23 is pivotally moved to lock up the insertion member 111 of the first buckle body 11 in the receiving slot 211.
The plurality of resilient elements 24 may be mounted in the second buckle body 21 to normally exert an urging force to normally retain the first buckle latch 22 and the second buckle latch 23 in the locked position respectively.
The locking arrangement 30 may comprise a first locking member 31 extended from one of the first buckle member 10 and the second buckle member 20 to retain one of the first buckle latch 22 and the second buckle latch 23 at the locked position.
According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the buckle assembly may be used in conjunction with a webbing strap 80 so that the webbing strap 80 may be worn by a person who may need to bear extensive loading. Alternatively, the webbing strap 80 may also be fastened to an external object.
The first buckle body 11 of the first buckle member 10 may further comprise a connecting member 112 for connecting with a first end portion 81 of the webbing strap 80. The connecting member 112 may have a first connecting slot 1121 formed therein.
The first buckle body 11 may further comprise a connecting shaft 113 extended across the first connecting slot 1121, so that the first end portion 81 of the webbing strap 80 may be adjustably fastened to the first buckle body 11 by repetitively passing through the first connecting slot 1121 and fasten on the connecting shaft 113.
The insertion member 111 may be integrally extended from the first connecting member 112 for selectively receiving in the receiving slot 211. The insertion member 111 may have a contracting portion 1111 and an engaging portion 1112 extended from the contracting portion 1111 to form an engagement shoulder 1113 at an intersection between the contracting portion 1111 and the engaging portion 1112. As shown in
The first buckle member 10 may further comprise a covering member 12 movably coupled to the first buckle body 11. The covering member 12 may be pivotally connected to the first buckle body 11 so that it may pivotally move about a transverse direction of the first buckle body 11.
Specifically, the covering member 12 may be a panel-like member which is pivotally mounted to the first buckle body 11. The locking arrangement 30 may be provided on the covering member 12 so as to restrict unwanted movement of the first buckle latch 22 and the second buckle latch 23. As shown in
One may appreciate that when the first buckle member 10 is coupled with the second buckle member 20, the exposed parts of the first buckle latch 22 and the second buckle latch 23 are well-protected and covered by the first locking member 31 and the second locking member 32 respectively so that the first buckle latch 22 and the second buckle latch 23 are prevented from being accidentally actuated from an exterior of the second buckle member 20. Thus, unwanted or undesired movement of the first buckle latch 22 and the second buckle latch 23 may be effectively prevented.
The locking arrangement 30 may further comprise a third locking member 33 downwardly extended from a front extension portion 14 of the covering member 12, and contain a locking slot 34 indently formed on the second buckle body 21. When the first buckle member 10 is coupled with the second buckle member 20, the third locking member 33 may be pivotally moved to engage with the locking slot 34 so as to prevent unwanted movement of between the first buckle member 10 and the second buckle member 20. The third locking member 33 may be used to reinforce locking performance between the first buckle member 10 and the second buckle member 20.
The second buckle member 20 may further have a through second connecting slot 25 formed on the second buckle body 21, wherein second end portion 82 of the webbing strap 80 may be arranged to pass through the second connecting slot 25 so as to be adjustably fastened on the second buckle body 21.
The resilient elements 24 of the second buckle member 20 is mounted to one end (unexposed end) of the first buckle latch 22 and the second buckle latch 23 for normally retaining the first buckle latch 22 and the second buckle latch 23 at the locked position.
Referring to
The operation of the present invention may be as follows: the first buckle member 10 and the second buckle member 20 are normally separated from each other. The insertion member 111 of the first buckle body 11 may be inserted into the receiving slot 211 of the second buckle body 21. When the insertion member 111 is inserted into the receiving slot 211, the engaging portion 1112 of the insertion member 111 may be arranged to bias against the slanted surfaces 221, 231 so as to pivotally move the first buckle latch 22 and the second buckle latch 23 until the they engage with the engagement shoulder 1113 of the insertion member 111. At that time, the first buckle latch 22 and the second buckle latch 23 are urged by the resilient elements 24 to move back to the locked position.
At the same time, the covering member 12 is pushed to engage with the locking slot 34 for further reinforcing a locking performance between the first buckle member 10 and the second buckle member 20. When the first locking member 31, the second locking member 32 and the third locking member 33 are properly positioned, the first buckle member 10 and the second buckle member 20 are securely locked with each other and the first buckle latch 22 and the second buckle latch 23 are substantially prevented from being accidentally actuated or moved so as to prevent the first buckle member 10 from accidentally disengaging from the second buckle member 20.
Referring to
Furthermore, the third locking member 33′ may also be extended from the covering member 12 of the first buckle member 10 while the locking slot 34′ may also be formed on the second buckle member 20 so that when the first buckle member 10 is engaged with the second buckle member 20, the third locking member 33′ is detachably engaged with the locking slot 34′.
Accordingly, the covering member may further have a front extension portion 14′, wherein the third locking member 33′ is formed on a bottom side of the extension portion 14′ of the covering member 12. When the first buckle member 10 is coupled to the second buckle member 20, the third locking member 33′ is engaged with the locking slot 34′ while the first locking member 31′ and the second locking member 32′ may be extended to prevent the first buckle latch 22 and the second buckle latch 23 from pivotally moved. Since the third locking member 33′ is engaged with the locking slot 34′, a longitudinal movement of the first buckle member 10 and the second buckle member 20 are substantially restricted (i.e. the first buckle member 10 and the second buckle member 20 are not capable of moving away from each other). In this state, the first buckle member 10 is prevented from accidentally disengaged from the second buckle member 20 because the pivotal movement of the first buckle latch 22 and the second buckle latch 23 is substantially restricted by the first locking member 31 and the second locking member 32.
As shown in
In order to disengage the first buckle member 10 from the second buckle member 20, a user of the present invention has to disengage the third locking member 33′ from the locking slot 34′ first. After that, the user is able to pivotally move the first buckle latch 22 and the second buckle latch 23 for disengaging the first buckle member 10 from the second buckle member 20.
The present invention, while illustrated and described in terms of a preferred embodiment and several alternatives, is not limited to the particular description contained in this specification. Additional alternative or equivalent components could also be used to practice the present invention.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62095265 | Dec 2014 | US |