Accuracy in archery can be enhanced through the use of a bow release. Typically, the bow release includes a trigger mechanism which opens opposed jaws to release a bowstring. For convenience, a bow release is connected with a wrist strap which is worn by the archer. Such straps may be cumbersome to attach or adjust. The present invention relates to an improved buckle system quickly mounting and releasing a wrist strap to an archer.
Conventional wrist straps have a buckle, such as a belt type buckle at one end for receiving and retaining the free end of the strap. The strap is wrapped around the wrist and the free end is inserted into the buckle. The free end contains a plurality of longitudinally spaced openings for receiving a clasp or arm of the buckle. When the strap is pulled tight, the clasp is inserted into the appropriate opening in the free end of the strap and the free end is secured.
While such devices operate satisfactorily, they are cumbersome to operate and adjust. In addition, the area of the strap which passes through and engages the buckle becomes worn over time, thereby limiting the life of the strap.
The present invention was developed in order to overcome these and other drawbacks of the prior straps and buckles by providing a quick release buckle which is easy to use for attaching and detaching a wrist strap, particularly for an archery release.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the invention to provide a buckle having male and female members which are configured to be quickly connected and disconnected. The female member has front and rear portions and top and bottom surfaces. The front portion contains a laterally extending recess in the top surface. The female member further includes a top bar extending upwardly from the top surface rearward of the recess. The male member also has front and rear portions and top and bottom surfaces. The male member includes a pin extending from the rear portion and a top bar extending upwardly from the top surface. When the pin of the male member is arranged in the recess of the female member, the buckle is fastened. When the top bars of the male and female members are pressed toward each other, the pin is ejected from the recess to unfasten the buckle.
The pin and recess of the male and female members are configured to provide a hinge connection therebetween. More particularly, the recess extends toward to the front portion of the female member at least partially beneath the top surface to define an undercut portion for receiving the pin. The pin has a generally cylindrical configuration and extends laterally relative to the male member. The diameter of the pin is slightly less than the width of the recess for a snug fit connection.
According to a preferred embodiment, the buckle is used to connect the ends of a strap such as a wrist strap. Thus, the top bars of the male and female members contain lateral openings for receiving opposite ends of the strap, respectively. In addition, the male member front portion also contains a lateral opening for the strap. Between the openings, the male member includes an upwardly extending central peg which is inserted into a selected opening in the strap to position the male member in a desired location on the strap. The rear portion of the female member contains a slot which is open at one side to define a laterally extending arm of the female member. The arm is inserted into a loop at the other end of the strap to connect the female member therewith. When the male and female members are fastened, the strap may be mounted on the wrist, with the strap being adjustable in accordance with the arrangement of the male member relative to the spaced openings in the strap.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a study of the following specification when viewed in the light of the accompanying drawing, in which:
As shown in
The female member is shown in greater detail in
The female member 4 also includes a top bar 14 extending upwardly from the top surface. The top bar extends laterally across the female member and is arranged rearward of the recess. The top bar contains an opening 16 for receiving a strap or other mechanism which is to be fastened by the buckle.
The rear portion 4b of the female member contains a lateral slot 18 which is open toward one side of the female member as shown in
The male member 6 is shown more particularly in
The pin 22 extends laterally relative to the male member and has a generally cylindrical configuration. The diameter of the pin is slightly less than the width of the recess 10 in the female member. Accordingly, the recess is configured to receive the pin to connect the male and female members of the buckle as shown in
The female member recess and male member pin are configured to provide a hinge connection therebetween. As noted above, the wall portions of the female member which define the recess 10 are concave. The curvature of the wall portions matches the outer surface of the pin of the male member. The male member pin 22 is positioned within the undercut portion 10a of the female member recess and the end portions of the pin are retained in the undercut portion 10a by the overhanging top surface of the front portion 4a of the female member 4 as shown in
The hinge connection between the male and female members prevents the buckle from becoming unintentionally unfastened, such as when the buckle is bumped. Only when the top bars of the male and female members are pinched together will the pin of the male member be disengaged from the recess of the female member. A slight upward movement while pinching the top bars together will assist the pin from exiting the recess. Because of the configuration of the walls adjacent the recess and the curvature of the pin surface, pinching of the top bars causes the pin to be ejected from the recess to unfasten the buckle.
The male member 6 further includes an opening 28 in the front portion thereof for receiving a strap and a peg 30 which extends upwardly from the male member top surface 6c rearwardly of the opening 28. The peg is designed to insertion in a selected opening in a strap to fix the male member is a selected location on the strap.
The use of the buckle according to the invention with a strap is shown in
The strap is arranged around the wrist of the user and the pin 22 of the male member is inserted into the recess 10 of the female member to fasten the buckle. The strap free end 32 is passed through the opening 16 in the female member 4 for added safety and to prevent the pin of the male member from unhinging from the recess of the female member. The tension of the strap serves to safely retain the pin within the undercut portion of the recess and prevent unintentional disengagement of the buckle members.
The male and female members are preferably formed of a rigid lightweight material such as metal. Because the attachment is between metal parts, the life of the strap is extended significantly. There is less deterioration of the strap at the area where its ends are connected and wear and tear of the strap is avoided. In addition, the strength of the strap is maintained. Moreover, the strap is adjustable to fit different sized users by simply re-positioning the male member along the length of the strap. Once so positioned, the strap is consistently retained in the desired size for a particular user.
The buckle according to the invention can also be applied to existing straps by simply removing the original buckle and connecting the male and female members of the buckle with the ends of the strap as set forth above.
While the preferred forms and embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without deviating from the inventive concepts set forth above.