U.S. patent application number 14/212358 was filed with the patent office on 2014-09-18 for belt buckle with exchangable face plate.
The applicant listed for this patent is Eric N. Eliason. Invention is credited to Eric N. Eliason.
Application Number | 20140259303 14/212358 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 51520413 |
Filed Date | 2014-09-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140259303 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Eliason; Eric N. |
September 18, 2014 |
BELT BUCKLE WITH EXCHANGABLE FACE PLATE
Abstract
A belt buckle includes a face plate having a front face and an
opposing back face with a display opening extending therebetween.
An attachment sheet has a front face and an opposing back face, at
least a portion of the front face includes or has a connector
disposed thereat. A mechanism is provided for securing the
attachment sheet to the face plate so that the connector is aligned
with the display opening. A display has a front face and an
opposing back face. The display is removably secured to the
connector so that the display at least partially covers the display
opening.
Inventors: |
Eliason; Eric N.; (Sandy,
UT) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Eliason; Eric N. |
Sandy |
UT |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
51520413 |
Appl. No.: |
14/212358 |
Filed: |
March 14, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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61794622 |
Mar 15, 2013 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
2/338 ;
24/595.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
Y10T 24/45262 20150115;
A44B 11/001 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
2/338 ;
24/595.1 |
International
Class: |
A44B 11/00 20060101
A44B011/00 |
Claims
1. A belt buckle comprising: a face plate having a front face and
an opposing back face with a display opening extending
therebetween; an attachment sheet having a front face and an
opposing back face, at least a portion of the front face being
comprised of or having a connector disposed thereat; means for
securing the attachment sheet to the face plate so that the
connector is aligned with the display opening; and a display having
a front face and an opposing back face, the display being removably
secured to the connector so that the display at least partially
covers the display opening.
2. The belt buckle as recited in claim 1, further comprising: the
connector comprising a first hook and loop material; and a second
hook and loop material being secured to the back face of the
display, w the display being removably secured to the attachment
sheet by the second hook and loop material engaging the first hook
and loop material.
3. The belt buckle as recited in claim 1, wherein the means for
securing comprises a back plate secured to the back face of the
face plate so that at least a portion of the attachment sheet is
captured between the face plate and the back plate.
4. The belt buckle as recited in claim 3, further comprising
fasteners securing the back plate to the face plate.
5. The belt buckle as recited in claim 3, wherein the attachment
sheet is secured to the back plate by an adhesive.
6. The belt buckle as recited in claim 1, further comprising
indicia disposed on the front face of the display.
7. The belt buckle as recited in claim 3, further comprising a
tongue outwardly projecting from and a retaining loop pivotably
mounted to the back face of the face plate or the back plate.
8. A belt comprising: the belt buckle as recited in claim 7; and an
elongated belt strap coupled to the retaining loop.
9. A belt buckle comprising: a face plate having a front face and
an opposing back face with a display opening extending
therebetween; an attachment sheet having a front face and an
opposing back face, at least a portion of the front face being
comprised a first hook and loop material or having a first hook and
loop material attached thereto; a back plate secured to the back
face of the face plate so that at least a portion of the attachment
sheet is captured between the face plate and the back plate and the
first hook and loop material is aligned with or disposed in the
display opening; and a display having a front face and an opposing
back face, a second hook and loop material being secured to the
back face of the display, the second hook and loop material
removably engaging the first hook and loop material so that the
display at least partially covers the display opening.
10. The belt buckle as recited in claim 9, further comprising
fasteners securing the back plate to the face plate.
11. The belt buckle as recited in claim 9, wherein the attachment
sheet is secured to the back plate by an adhesive.
12. The belt buckle as recited in claim 9, further comprising
indicia disposed on the front face of the display.
13. The belt buckle as recited in claim 9, further comprising a
tongue outwardly projecting from and a retaining loop pivotably
mounted to the back face of the face plate or the back plate.
14. A belt comprising: the belt buckle as recited in claim 9; and
an elongated belt strap coupled to the retaining loop.
15. The belt as recited in claim 14, further comprising a plurality
of secondary displays, each secondary display having a front face
and an opposing back face, a second hook and loop material being
secured to the back face of the display so that each secondary
display can be attached to the first hook and loop material.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional
Application No. 61/794,622, filed Mar. 15, 2013, which is
incorporated herein by specific reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. The Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to belt buckles and, more
specifically, belt buckles having an exchangeable display.
[0004] 2. The Relevant Technology
[0005] Although belt buckles have long served a functional purpose
of retaining a belt, they are increasingly contributing more to the
aesthetic appearance and fashion of the wearer. One common
configuration of a belt buckle includes a plate having a front face
and an opposing back face. An elongated belt strap is hingedly
mounted to the back face at one end thereof while a tongue
outwardly projects from the back face at an opposing end. The
tongue is configured to catch within one of a plurality of punch
holes formed along the belt strap so as to form the belt strap into
a continuous loop.
[0006] The front face of the belt buckle typically has a design
formed thereon so as to contribute to the aesthetic appearance of
the belt buckle. Some belt buckles are formed so that they can be
detached from the belt strap. As a result, two or more different
belt buckles can be attached to a single belt strap. This permits a
user to select a desired belt buckle to wear with a common belt
strap and avoids the need for the user to purchase a belt strap
with each belt buckle. Although the above system is functional, it
still remains expensive for a user to replace an entire belt buckle
when seeking to obtain a desired appearance.
[0007] Accordingly, what is needed in the art are belt buckles
wherein the appearance can be changed without having to replace the
entire belt buckle.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] Various embodiments of the present invention will now be
discussed with reference to the appended drawings. It is
appreciated that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of
the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of
its scope.
[0009] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a belt incorporating an
inventive belt buckle;
[0010] FIG. 2 is a partially exploded perspective view of the belt
buckle shown in FIG. 1;
[0011] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the body of the
belt buckle shown in FIG. 2; and
[0012] FIG. 4 is an exploded bottom perspective view of the body of
the belt buckle shown in FIG. 3.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0013] Depicted in FIG. 1 is a belt 10 incorporating features of
the present invention. Belt 10 comprises an elongated belt strap 12
having a first end 14 and an opposing second end 16. Belt strap 12
can be made of leather, plastic, or any other desired material. A
belt buckle 18 is attached to belt strap 12 at first end 14. A
plurality of spaced apart punch holes 20 extend through belt strap
12 along second end 16.
[0014] As depicted in FIG. 2, belt buckle 18 comprises a body 24, a
display 26 that removably attaches to body 24 and a retaining loop
28 that is pivotally mounted to body 24. In general, body 24
comprises a front face 30 and an opposing back face 32. Brackets 34
are mounted on back face 32 and are configured to pivotally secure
retaining loop 28. As depicted in FIG. 4, a tongue 36 also
outwardly projects from back face 32 and is configured to pass
through and engage with a corresponding punch hole 20 (FIG. 1) on
belt strap 12.
[0015] Centrally formed on front face 30 is a display area 38 on
which a fastener 40 is disposed for removably connecting display
26. In one embodiment fastener 40 can comprise a hook and loop
material such as is commonly sold under the trademark VELCRO.RTM..
In other embodiments, fastener 40 can comprise one half of a snap
connection, loop connection, tongue and groove connection, magnet
or the like. In the depicted embodiment, fastener 40 is shown as
comprising one half of a hook and loop material.
[0016] Returning to FIG. 2, display 26 comprises a base 46 having a
front face 48 and an opposing back face 50. Mounted on back face 50
is a fastener 52 which is the corresponding other half of fastener
40. Examples of fastener 52 are the same as previously discussed
above with regard to fastener 40. In the depicted embodiment,
fastener 52 comprises the other half of hook and loop material.
Fastener 52 can be secured to base 46 by adhesive, welding,
mechanical fastener, or the like. Although not required, in the
depicted embodiment indicia 52 is disposed on front face 48.
Indicia 52 can comprise lettering, a design, coloring, three
dimensional features, combinations of the foregoing, and other
features. Indicia 52 can be integrally molded on front face 48 or
attached thereto such as by painting, printing, secured by an
adhesive, such as in the form of a sticker, or otherwise secured to
front face 46. Base 46 is typically in the form of a plate, such as
a metal or plastic plate. Other materials can also be used. Base 46
can be flat, curved or have other desired contours.
[0017] In one embodiment, display 26 has a configuration
complementary to display area 38. For example, display area 38 and
display 36 can both be elliptical, circular, square, rectangular,
polygonal, irregular or any other desired configuration. In other
embodiments, display 26 can be larger than display area 38 and can
be a different configuration than display area 38. Thus, display 26
may connect with fastener 40 but extend over a larger area of front
face 30 of body 24. In the depicted embodiment, a single fastener
is used to secure display 26 to display area 38. In other
embodiments, a plurality of spaced apart fasteners can be mounted
on front face 48 that couple with corresponding fasteners on
display 26.
[0018] As depicted in FIGS. 3 and 4, in one embodiment body 24 of
belt buckle 18 comprises a face plate 58, a back plate 60, and an
attachment sheet 62 that is secured therebetween. Face plate 58 has
a front face 64 which in one embodiment can correspond to front
face 30 (FIG. 2) and has an opposing back face 66. A display
opening 68 extends through face plate 58 from front face 64 to back
face 66. A recess 70 is formed on back face 66 and encircles
display opening 68. If desired, a plurality of spaced apart
mounting openings 72 can also extend through face plate 58 from
front face 64 to back face 66.
[0019] Back plate 66 also comprises a front face 78 and an opposing
back face 80. Mounted on back face 80 are brackets 34 and tongue
36. Back plate 60 is configured to be received within recess 70. A
plurality of spaced apart mounting openings 82 can extend through
back plate 60 so that mounting openings 82 are aligned with
mounting openings 72 when back plate 60 is received within recess
70.
[0020] Attachment sheet 62 has a front face 86 and an opposing back
face 88. Front face 86 is either comprised of or has mounted
thereon fastener 40 as previously discussed. Again, the depicted
embodiment shows one half of hook and loop material formed on front
face 86. During assembly, attachment sheet 62 is received within
recess 70 of face plate 58 following which back plate 60 is
received within recess 70 so that attachment sheet 62 is sandwiched
between face plate 58 and back plate 60. In this configuration, at
least a portion of fastener 40 on attachment sheet 62 is disposed
within or aligned with display area 68. By sandwiching attachment
sheet 62 between face plate 58 and back plate 60, attachment sheet
62 is securely retained therebetween. If desired, an adhesive can
be used to further secure attachment sheet 62 to front face 78 of
back plate 60 and/or back face 66 of front plate 58 within recess
70.
[0021] In one embodiment of the present invention, means are
provided for securing the attachment sheet 62 to face plate 58 so
that fastener 40 is aligned with the display opening 68. By way of
example and not by limitation, back plate 60 can be secured to face
plate 58 by being press fit within recess 70 so as to secure
attachment sheet 62. In conjunction with or separate from back
plate 60 being press fit onto face plate 58, the plates can be held
together by welding, adhesive, or fasteners. For example, a
fastener 92 in the form of a screw or bolt can be passed through
each mounting hole 72 and threaded into corresponding mounting hole
82 or, alternatively, can be passed through mounting hole 82 and
threaded into corresponding mounting hole 72. In other embodiments,
fastener 92 can comprise a rivet that is passed through holes 72
and 82 to securely clamp face plate 58 and back plate 60 together.
One additional benefit to this embodiment is that fastener 92 can
also be passed through a portion of attachment sheet 62 for further
retaining attachment sheet 62 between plates 58 and 60. In any
embodiment, it is generally desired that attachment sheet 62 be
compressed between face plate 58 and back plate 60 so as to help
maintain attachment sheet 62 secured. Securing attachment sheet 62
between face plate 58 and back plate 60 has the benefit of ensuring
that attachment sheet 62 does not pull away from face plate 58 as
different displays 26 are repeatedly attached and removed from
attachment sheet 62.
[0022] In other embodiments of the means for securing, back plate
60 can be eliminated and attachment sheet 62 can be secured to back
face 66 of face plate 58 by adhesive, welding, fasteners or the
like.
[0023] The present invention thus enables a plurality of displays
26, each having a different indicia 52, to be selectively and
securely attached to body 24 of belt buckle 18. Because replacing
displays 26 is less expensive than replacing an entire belt buckle,
the present invention provides an easy an inexpensive way for a
person to change the aesthetic appears of the belt buckle.
[0024] The present invention may be embodied in other specific
forms without departing from its spirit or essential
characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in
all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of
the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims
rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come
within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be
embraced within their scope.
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