Patent Application
20060218761
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a buckle for use in belts, seat belts, backpacks, or other uses. In particular, the invention relates to a buckle with a slidable bar that secures the buckle to a strap to prevent inadvertent slippage of the strap during use.
2. The Prior Art
In conventional plastic buckles that are used in belt applications, i.e., to secure two straps together, each side of the buckle typically has a bar around which each strap is threaded to attach the strap to the buckle piece. An example of such a buckle is shown in U.S. Design Pat. No. D401,533, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference.
One problem encountered with these basic buckles is that the straps often slip out of their initially tensioned state, and cause the belt to loosen unexpectedly. Another problem is that it can often be difficult to loosen the belt when desired, because the straps can sometimes be stuck on the bars, especially if the strap retaining bars are spaced close to the buckle body.
One solution to this problem is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,774,1947 for an Anti-Slip Webbing Adjustor. This patent uses a pivoting bar disposed adjacent the strap-retaining bar. When the strap is threaded around the strap retaining bar, the pivoting bar rests against the strap and prevents backward sliding movement of the strap to prevent loosening. The pivoting bar is spring loaded to press against the strap in a resting position. The strap retaining bar and the pivoting bar can be grooved or have teeth to increase the amount of grip on the strap. To release the strap, the user pivots the bar away from the strap to allow the strap to slide freely. While this is an effective way to prevent slippage, it requires extra work on the part of the user to loosen the belt. Additionally, pivoting the bar may require more dexterity than the user possesses, especially in low light or when the buckle is in motion.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a buckle that prevents inadvertent slippage of the strap, yet allows the user to easily loosen the strap when desired.
It is another object of the invention to provide such a buckle that is simple to construct and operate.
These and other objects are accomplished by a buckle having a male portion and a female portion. The male portion comprises two sidewalls, first and second retaining bars disposed between the sidewalls and at least one locking arm. There is a slidable strap gripping bar disposed between the two side walls and adjacent the first strap retaining bar. The strap gripping bar is adapted to slide between a release position and a gripping position. For ease of threading a strap, the first strap retaining bar may be offset vertically from the second strap retaining bar.
The female portion comprises a hollow body with an open end and at least one locking slot for receiving the at least one locking arm. When the male portion is inserted into the female portion, the locking arm locks into the locking slot and the female portion pushes the strap gripping bar into a gripping position. When a strap is threaded through the strap retaining bars and the strap gripping bar is in the gripping position, the strap gripping bar grips the strap and prevents the strap from slipping. When the male portion is released from the female portion, the strap gripping bar slides into the release position and allows adjustment of the strap.
The strap gripping bar may have teeth along a side facing the strap retaining bar, so that when the strap gripping bar is in a gripping position, the teeth grip the strap.
The strap gripping bar may comprise a pushing surface facing away from the strap retaining bars, which abuts the female portion when the male and female portion are locked together and allows the female portion to push the strap gripping bar into the gripping position.
In one embodiment, the strap gripping bar has two ends and has at least one protrusion at each end. There is at least one aperture in each of said sidewalls of the female portion. The at least one protrusion extends through the at least one aperture to connect the strap gripping bar to the male portion.
In a preferred embodiment, there are two protrusions on each end of the strap gripping bar, and two apertures in each of the sidewalls. In motion, the strap gripping bar slides and pivots between the release position and the gripping position.
In a preferred embodiment, there are two locking arms and two locking slots.
The female portion may also have least one strap retaining bar.
In another embodiment, the strap gripping bar is initially integrally molded with the male portion via locking gates. Pushing the male portion into the female portion and locking the male portion to the female portion causes the female portion to push against the slidable strap gripping bar and break the molding gates on the male portion to separate the strap gripping bar from the male portion.
In another version of this embodiment, the locking gates are formed such that they can actually be sheared or broken as the parts are ejected from the mold during the molding process, thereby not making it necessary to have these two connection points broken as the male is inserted into the female. After ejection from the mold, the gripping bar floats freely. In this embodiment, the molding gates are submerged under the steel of the mold so as the part ejects, it breaks the gate.
In another embodiment, the strap gripping bar has a series of protrusions along its side facing the strap retaining bar, and the strap retaining bar has a series of corresponding indentations facing the protrusions. When the strap gripping bar is pushed toward the strap retaining bar, the protrusions nest in the indentations. For use with this buckle, a strap is provided htat has a series of corresponding holes therethrough. When the strap is threaded through the buckle, the protrusions in the strap gripping bar extend through the holes in the strap to securely retain the strap in a fixed position. No slippage of the strap can occur until the strap gripping bar is slid backward upon release of the male portion to release the strap. Preferably, there are at least 3 protrusions, 3 indentations and 3 holes, with several rows of the 3 holes along the strap, but any other suitable arrangement is also possible.
Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed as an illustration only and not as a definition of the limits of the invention.
In the drawings, wherein similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views:
Referring now in detail to the drawings,
Strap gripping bar 26 has a plurality of teeth 27 disposed along a face adjacent strap retaining bar 24. Strap gripping bar 26 is connected to male portion 20 via two protrusions 28, 29 on each end of strap gripping bar 26, which extend through two apertures 40,41 on each of sidewalls 21 of male portion 20. The shape of the protrusions 28, 29 and of apertures 40, 41 are such that strap gripping bar 26 can slide and/or pivot between a gripping position and a release position, which will be described in detail below. A detailed picture of male portion 20 is shown in
As shown in
In preferred embodiment, as shown in
Accordingly, while only a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it is obvious that many changes and modifications may be made thereunto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
