The present invention relates to a buckle, in particular a belt buckle, with at least one hook part and at least one eye part, wherein the hook part has a hook part base body and a hook rigidly connected thereto and, in a connected state of the buckle, the eye part is hooked into the hook of the hook part and, in a separated state of the buckle, is unhooked from the hook of the hook part, wherein the buckle has a securing device for securing the connected state.
Generic buckles and belt buckles are known from the prior art. They are used to connect two or more belts, ropes, straps or the like together or to other bodies. The securing device serves to prevent the eye part from accidentally or unintentionally coming out of the connected state, in other words from being unhooked from the hook of the hook part. Generic buckles are known by virtue of public prior use in which a push button is used as the securing device. This is fastened to the hook part. The eye part can only be unhooked from the hook of the hook part when this push button is pressed.
A disadvantage of this buckle which has become known from public prior use is that, because they are not pressed from exactly above, push buttons generally have the tendency to or wear out or jam. Furthermore, push buttons which are guided in a guide are generally prone to contamination and their functioning can be affected by particles of dirt which penetrate between the guide and push button.
The object of the invention is to improve a generic buckle such that it is minimally liable to contamination.
This is achieved according to the invention by the securing device having at least one leaf spring.
A high degree of operational reliability and a marked reduction in the tendency to become contaminated are achieved by the leaf spring of the securing device. The leaf spring can preferably be elastically deflected out of a blocking position into a release position. In the blocking position, it prevents the eye part from becoming unhooked from the hook of the hook part and thus secures the buckle in its connected state. In the release position, the eye part can be unhooked from the hook of the hook part and the buckle can thus be brought into its separated state. The leaf spring preferably springs back elastically into the blocking position when it is let go in the release position, as a result of which the securing of the connected state of the buckle, effected by the securing device, is achieved when the eye part is correspondingly hooked into the hook.
The leaf spring is advantageously a strip- or blade-like body which has an inherently elastically resilient design and/or is suspended in an elastically resilient fashion. In the latter alternative embodiment, the leaf spring itself can also be designed at least in places as an inherently rigid body. The eye part is a body which has at least one opening or eye via which it can be hooked into the hook.
Preferred embodiments of the invention provide that the leaf spring has a freely projecting tongue section and a fastening section for fastening the leaf spring to the hook part, preferably to the hook part base body. The leaf spring is advantageously as far as possible made independent so that its functioning cannot be hindered by dirt accumulating between it and adjoining components. To this end, preferred embodiments of the invention provide that the leaf spring is fastened exclusively with the fastening section on the hook part, preferably on the hook part base body. It is furthermore advantageous if the freely projecting tongue section is in contact with the hook part exclusively via the fastening section. In embodiments in which the tongue section contacts the hook directly in the blocking position of the leaf spring, it can alternatively be provided that the freely projecting tongue section is in contact with the hook part exclusively via the fastening section and the hook.
As mentioned, the leaf spring can be inherently elastic or be suspended inherently rigidly and resiliently at least in places. An elastic movement should in any case be possible between the tongue section and the fastening section. The leaf spring can preferably be manufactured from metal and/or plastic. It may be a pure metal body or a pure plastic body, but also a body with different materials such as, for example, metal and plastic. The hook part and eye part can also be manufactured from metal and/or plastic, to mention suitable materials by way of example. Steel or especially aluminum are appropriate metals, as required. The different components of the buckle, in particular the hook part and the eye part, can, for example, take the form of bent sheet metal parts or castings.
A preferred group of alternative embodiments of the invention provide that the leaf spring, preferably a freely projecting tongue section of the leaf spring, has a blocking position in which the leaf spring, preferably the tongue section, fully or partially blocks a receiving opening of the hook for receiving the eye part, and that the leaf spring, preferably the tongue section, has a release position in which the leaf spring, preferably the tongue section, releases the receiving opening of the hook for introducing and/or withdrawing the eye part into and/or out of the receiving opening. In the blocking position, the leaf spring can preferably thus even bear directly against the hook with its freely projecting tongue section. It is favorable if the eye part can be hooked into the hook part or its hook without there being any need to actuate the leaf spring individually to do this. This can, for example, be achieved by the leaf spring, preferably the freely projecting tongue section, and/or the hook having at least one guide surface against which the eye part can be applied in the blocking position, wherein the leaf spring, preferably the freely projecting tongue section, can be pivoted into the release position by pulling the eye part bearing against the guide surface toward the receiving opening. It is of course possible to press in the corresponding direction instead of pulling. It can be provided that the leaf spring, preferably the freely projecting tongue section, can be pivoted from the blocking position into the release position toward the hook part base body.
Another group of embodiments according to the invention provides that the eye part has an eye part section, preferably formed in the form of a protruding projection, which, in order to hook the eye part into the hook, can be pushed into a cross-sectionally U-shaped groove of the hook part when the leaf spring, preferably a freely projecting tongue section of the leaf spring, is deflected. The leaf spring can here be arranged in the cross-sectionally U-shaped groove of the hook part. Furthermore, the leaf spring can be arranged on the hook part, opposite the hook part, at a distance from it.
The hook part base body and/or the eye part preferably have a fastening means for fastening a belt. These components can, however, also have a fastening means for fastening a rope, or other suitable connection means via which they can be fastened to other bodies. The hook part base body and/or the hook and/or the eye part are preferably designed as inherently rigid bodies. A body is inherently rigid if it does not undergo any deformation when it is subjected to forces. The hook and also the said U-shaped groove can be integrally formed with the hook part base body. However, these components can also be manufactured separately initially and then fastened to the hook part base body. Alternative fastening methods that may be encountered are, for example, welding, bonding, riveting, screwing or other fastening measures known per se.
Particularly preferred embodiments of the invention provide that the buckle has a displaceably mounted bar as the fastening means for a belt or a rope or a strap, wherein the bar is pre-tensioned toward a clamping position by means of at least one pre-tensioning spring and the pre-tensioning spring is part of the leaf spring. In these alternative embodiments, the belt, the rope or the strap can be passed around the displaceably mounted bar serving as the fastening means and clamped between this bar and the counter-bar arranged fixedly on the hook part base body. The loading of the displaceably mounted bar by means of a pre-tensioning spring prevents the belt, rope or strap from inadvertently being loosened when it is not under tension. A highly compact construction with as few buckle parts as possible is achieved as a result of integrating the at least one pre-tensioning spring into the leaf spring.
In order to allow the eye part to be hooked into the hook part without any visual contact, i.e. almost blind, preferred embodiments of the invention provide that the hook part and the eye part each have mutually corresponding guide walls. It is hereby favorable if the guide walls are each designed such that they extend obliquely with respect to the other areas of the hook part and the eye part.
Other advantages and features of preferred embodiments of the invention are explained with the aid of exemplary embodiments of the invention which are shown in the drawings, in which:
In the exemplary embodiment shown, the components can be manufactured from metal or plastic, and they can be castings, injection-molded parts or the like. The components can, however, also be produced from bent pieces of sheet metal. The buckle 1 has the hook part 2. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the hook 5 of this hook part 2 is integrally formed on the hook part base body 4 of this hook part 2. The eye part 3 can be hooked into the hook 5. A clip-in bar 19 of the eye part 3 is provided for this purpose. In the connected state shown in
In the first exemplary embodiment shown, the tongue section 7 of the leaf spring 6 is in contact with the hook part 2 only via the fastening section 8 of the leaf spring 6 and the contact with the hook 5 which exists in the blocking position. Otherwise, the freely projecting tongue section 7 is free of any contact with other components of the buckle 1 and in particular of the hook part 2. This free position of the tongue section 7 prevents any dirt that may have been deposited on the tongue section 7 from having a negative effect on the capacity of the securing device and the leaf spring 6 to function.
In the first exemplary embodiment shown, the hook part 2 and the eye part 3 both each have mutually corresponding guide walls 14. In the first exemplary embodiment, these are in each case designed so that they extend obliquely with respect to the other areas of the hook part 2 and the eye part 3 such that they exert a certain centering effect when hooking in and unhooking. Moreover, they also contribute to stabilizing the buckle 1 in the connected state.
In order to be able to fasten a belt or a strap or a rope, both the hook part 2 and the eye part 3 each have a fastening means 12. The eye part 3 is here a bar arranged fixedly on the remaining eye part 3 and positioned opposite the clip-in bar 19. In this exemplary embodiment, the fastening means 12 of the hook part 2 for the belt is a displaceably mounted bar. In the first exemplary embodiment, the latter is pre-tensioned toward a clamping position shown in
Based on this second exemplary embodiment according to
In the sixth exemplary embodiment, the eye part 3 has an eye part section 11 which, when the eye part 3 is hooked into the hook 5, serves to deflect a leaf spring 6 which is arranged in a cross-sectionally U-shaped groove 13 of the hook part 2. As can be seen particularly well in
The hook part 2 of this exemplary embodiment is shown in
In the connected state of the buckle 1, as shown in
The seventh exemplary embodiment according to the invention according to
The fundamental structure of the eighth exemplary embodiment according to
In the eighth exemplary embodiment, both the hook part 2 and the eye part 3, as also in the first exemplary embodiment, each have mutually corresponding guide walls 14. These are designed so that they extend obliquely with respect to the other areas of the hook part 2 and the eye part 3. They thus perform a guide function when the eye part 3 is hooked into and unhooked from the hook part 2.
In order to be able to locate easily the tongue section 7 of the leaf spring 6 in order to unhook the eye part 3 from the hook 5 without having to look at it, preferred embodiments of the invention provide that the hook 5 and/or the leaf spring 6 has or have at least one element 27 which can be identified by touch. As a result, the leaf spring 6 and thus also its tongue section 7 can be located, without having to look at it, so that it can be actuated. They can thus be located almost blind. In the eighth exemplary embodiment, the element 27 which can be identified by touch is made in the form of an indentation in the hook 5. However, of course a bulge on the hook 5 or otherwise formed tactile elements, i.e. ones which can be located by touch, are also possible. Elements 27 which can correspondingly be identified by touch can of course also be arranged on the leaf spring 6.
In
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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A 1786/2011 | Dec 2011 | AT | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/AT2012/000298 | 11/27/2012 | WO | 00 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2013/078486 | 6/6/2013 | WO | A |
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Pages 1-7 from www.charly-produkte.de—PL-Hook Gurtschloss, dated Nov. 24, 2011. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20140325804 A1 | Nov 2014 | US |