U.S. patent application number 14/582279 was filed with the patent office on 2016-06-30 for side release buckle.
The applicant listed for this patent is MERRIMACK RIVER PRECISION INDUSTRIAL CORPORATION. Invention is credited to Tsung-Ming Kung.
Application Number | 20160183637 14/582279 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 56162789 |
Filed Date | 2016-06-30 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160183637 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kung; Tsung-Ming |
June 30, 2016 |
Side Release Buckle
Abstract
A side release buckle has a male buckle member and a female
buckle member. To separate the buckle members, the male buckle
member is further pushed toward the female buckle member, and
abutting recess slopes of pressing arms of the male buckle member
slide along abutting segment slopes of abutting segments of the
female buckle member to transversely bend the pressing arms inward.
Then, the abutting segments can depart from the abutting recesses
by further slightly pressing the pressing arms, and the male buckle
member may be removed. The pushing is accomplished by the wrist and
the arm, which is an easy way to apply force. The pressing can be
easily accomplished by the fingers, since the pressing arms have
been bent. Even if the pressing arms are strengthened in structure
to enhance the engagement strength, the buckle members also can be
easily separated by the same way.
Inventors: |
Kung; Tsung-Ming; (Taipei
City, TW) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
MERRIMACK RIVER PRECISION INDUSTRIAL CORPORATION |
Taipei City |
|
TW |
|
|
Family ID: |
56162789 |
Appl. No.: |
14/582279 |
Filed: |
December 24, 2014 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
24/625 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A44B 11/266
20130101 |
International
Class: |
A44B 11/26 20060101
A44B011/26 |
Claims
1. A side release buckle comprising: a female buckle member having
an inner space; an opening formed in a longitudinal direction of
the female buckle member and communicating with the inner space;
and two abutting segments respectively formed on two transverse
sides of an inner surface of the female buckle member; each
abutting segment having an abutting segment slope formed on the
abutting segment, and being inclined transversely outward toward
the opening of the female buckle member; and a male buckle member
selectively mounted into the female buckle member, and having two
pressing arms respectively formed on two transverse sides of the
male buckle member, protruding in a same direction, and selectively
mounted in the inner space of the female buckle member; each
pressing arm having an abutting recess formed in a transverse outer
surface of the pressing arm, selectively disposed around the
abutting segment, and having an abutting recess slope formed in an
inner surface of the abutting recess, being inclined transversely
inward toward the opening of the female buckle member, and
selectively abutting the abutting segment slope; wherein when the
abutting recesses of the male buckle member are disposed around the
abutting segments of the female buckle member and the male buckle
member is pushed toward the female buckle member, the abutting
recesses slope slide along the abutting segment slopes to
transversely bend the pressing arms inward and deform the pressing
arms.
2. The side release buckle as claimed in claim 1, wherein each
pressing arm of the male buckle member has an extending segment
formed on a transverse inner surface of the pressing arm; and the
abutting recess of said pressing arm extends into the extending
segment.
3. The side release buckle as claimed in claim 2, wherein the
abutting recess and the extending segment of each pressing arm are
disposed adjacent to an end of the pressing arm.
4. The side release buckle as claimed in claim 2, wherein each
pressing arm of the male buckle member has a strengthening rib
formed on the transverse inner surface of the pressing arm,
connected to the extending segment, and being thinner than the
extending segment in vertical thickness.
5. The side release buckle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
female buckle member has two stops respectively formed on the
transverse sides of the inner surface of the female buckle member;
the abutting segments of the female buckle member are respectively
disposed between the stops and the opening of the female buckle
member; and ends of the pressing arms of the male buckle member
respectively and selectively abut the stops.
6. The side release buckle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
female buckle member has two supporting ribs formed on the inner
surface of the female buckle member and transversely arranged
separately; each supporting rib connected to two vertical sides of
the inner surface of the female buckle member.
7. The side release buckle as claimed in claim 6, wherein the male
buckle member has a guiding arm protruding from the male buckle
member in a direction same as the protruding direction of the
pressing arms, and selectively mounted into the female buckle
member and between the supporting ribs of the female buckle member.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a buckle, especially to a
side release buckle.
[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Arts
[0004] With reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, a conventional side release
buckle comprises a male buckle member 92 and a female buckle member
91. The female buckle member 91 has an inner space, an opening 911
and two abutting recesses 912. The opening 911 communicates with
the inner space. The abutting recesses 912 are respectively formed
in two transverse sides of an inner surface of the female buckle
member 91. The male buckle member 92 has two pressing arms 921. The
pressing arms 921 are respectively formed on two transverse sides
of the male buckle member 92, and protrude in a same direction.
Each pressing arm 921 has an abutting segment 922 protruding from a
transverse outer surface of the pressing arm 921.
[0005] When in use, the male buckle member 92 is pushed toward the
opening 911 of the female buckle member 91, such that the pressing
arms 921 are mounted into the inner space of the female buckle
member 91. The pressing arms 921 are pressed to be slightly and
inwardly deformed, and then the abutting segments 922 are
respectively mounted in and abut the abutting recesses 912 of the
female buckle member 91. Therefore, the male buckle member 92 and
the female buckle member 91 are engaged together. To separate the
male buckle member 92 and the female buckle member 91, the pressing
arms 921 are inwardly pressed to depart the abutting segments 922
from the abutting recesses 912. Then the male buckle member 92 is
removed from the female buckle member 91 when the pressing arms 921
remain pressed.
[0006] However, the conventional side release buckle has the
following shortcomings.
[0007] First, the easiest way to enhance the engagement strength
between the male buckle member 92 and the female buckle member 91
is to thicken the pressing arms 921 or to install an outer
structure to make the pressing arms hard to be pressed, thereby
preventing the male buckle member 92 and female buckle member 91
from easily separating from each other. However, the hard-to-press
pressing arms 921 also pose difficulty for a user to separate the
male buckle member 92 and female buckle member 91. In particular,
the pressing arms 921 are usually pressed by the thumb and the
forefinger, which is a laborious way to apply force.
[0008] Second, when the male buckle member 92 and the female buckle
member 91 are separated, the abutting segments 922, which protrude
from the outer surface of the pressing arms 921, may easily contact
and rub against other objects and thus get worn. The wear of the
abutting segments 922 may affect the engagement between the
abutting segments 922 and the abutting recesses 912, and further
lowering the engagement strength between the male buckle member 92
and the female buckle member 91.
[0009] To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides
a side release buckle to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned
problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] The main objective of the present invention is to provide a
side release buckle that can enhance the engagement strength
between the male buckle member and the female buckle member, and
the male buckle member and the female buckle member also can be
separated conveniently.
[0011] The side release buckle has a male buckle member and a
female buckle member. The female buckle member has an inner space,
an opening, and two abutting segments. The opening is formed in a
longitudinal direction of the female buckle member and communicates
with the inner space. The abutting segments are respectively formed
on two transverse sides of an inner surface of the female buckle
member. Each abutting segment has an abutting segment slope. The
abutting segment slope is formed on the abutting segment, and is
inclined transversely outward toward the opening of the female
buckle member. The male buckle member is selectively mounted into
the female buckle member, and has two pressing arms. The pressing
arms are respectively formed on two transverse sides of the male
buckle member, protrude in a same direction, and are selectively
mounted in the inner space of the female buckle member. Each
pressing arm has an abutting recess. The abutting recess is formed
in a transverse outer surface of the pressing arm, is selectively
disposed around the abutting segment, and has an abutting recess
slope. The abutting recess slope is formed in an inner surface of
the abutting recess, is inclined transversely inward toward the
opening of the female buckle member, and selectively abuts the
abutting segment slope. When the abutting recesses of the male
buckle member are disposed around the abutting segments of the
female buckle member and the male buckle member is pushed toward
the female buckle member, the abutting recess slopes slide along
the abutting segment slopes to transversely bend the pressing arms
inward and deform the pressing arms.
[0012] To separate the male buckle member and the female buckle
member, the male buckle member is further pushed toward the female
buckle member, and the abutting recess slopes of the pressing arms
respectively slide along the abutting segment slopes to
transversely bend the pressing arms inward and deform the pressing
arms while the abutting segments are still mounted in the abutting
recesses. At this time, the abutting segments can depart from the
abutting recesses by further slightly pressing the pressing arms,
and then the male buckle member may be removed when the pressing
arms remain in the foregoing status. Pushing the male buckle member
toward the female buckle member is accomplished by the force of the
wrist and the arm of the user, which is an easy way to apply force.
In addition, when the user further presses the pressing arms by the
fingers, the pressing arms have been bent and deformed, such that
the user does not have to spend much physical effort pressing. Even
if the pressing arms are strengthened in structure to enhance the
engagement strength between the male buckle member and the female
buckle member, the male buckle member and the female buckle member
also can be easily separated by the way mentioned above.
[0013] In addition, since the concaved abutting recess is disposed
in the pressing arm and the protruding abutting segment is disposed
in the inner surface of the female buckle member, the abutting
segment does not easily contact or rub against other objects and
get worn, thereby avoiding affecting the engagement between the
abutting segment and the abutting recess.
[0014] Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the
invention will become more apparent from the following detailed
description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a side release buckle in
accordance with the present invention;
[0016] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the side release
buckle in FIG. 1;
[0017] FIG. 3 is a perspective view in partial section of the side
release buckle in FIG. 1;
[0018] FIG. 4 is a first top view in partial section of the side
release buckle in FIG. 1;
[0019] FIG. 5 is a second top view in partial section of the side
release buckle in FIG. 1;
[0020] FIG. 6 is a third top view in partial section of the side
release buckle in FIG. 1;
[0021] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a conventional side release
buckle in accordance with the prior art; and
[0022] FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the conventional
side release buckle in FIG. 7.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0023] With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a side release buckle in
accordance with the present invention comprises a female buckle
member 10 and a male buckle member 20.
[0024] With reference to FIGS. 2 to 4, the female buckle member 10
has an inner space, an opening 11, two stops 12, two abutting
segments 13, and two supporting ribs 15. The opening 11 is formed
in a longitudinal direction of the female buckle member 10 and
communicates with the inner space. The stops 12 are respectively
formed on two transverse sides of an inner surface of the female
buckle member 10. The abutting segments 13 are respectively formed
on the transverse sides of the inner surface of the female buckle
member 10. The abutting segments 13 are respectively disposed
between the stops 12 and the opening 11. Each abutting segment 13
has an abutting segment slope 14. The abutting segment slope 14 is
formed on the abutting segment 13, and is inclined transversely
outward toward the opening 11. The supporting ribs 15 are formed on
the inner surface of the female buckle member 10, and are
transversely arranged separately. Each supporting rib 15 is
connected to two vertical sides of the inner surface of the female
buckle member 10, thereby vertically strengthening the structure of
the female buckle member 10.
[0025] The male buckle member 20 is selectively mounted into the
female buckle member 10, and has two pressing arms 21 and a guiding
arm 22. The pressing arms 21 are respectively formed on two
transverse sides of the male buckle member 20, protrude in a same
direction, and are selectively mounted in the inner space of the
female buckle member 10 from the opening 11. Ends of the pressing
arms 21 respectively and selectively abut the stops 12 of the
female buckle member 10. Each pressing arm 21 has an extending
segment 211, a strengthening rib 212 and an abutting recess 213.
The extending segment 211 and the strengthening rib 212 are formed
on a transverse inner surface of the pressing arm 21. The extending
segment 211 is disposed adjacent to the end of the pressing arm 21.
The strengthening rib 212 is connected to the extending segment
211, and is thinner than the extending segment 211 in vertical
thickness. The strengthening ribs 212 transversely strengthen the
structure of the pressing arm 21, thereby preventing the pressing
arm 21 from being easily bent transversely and deformed. The
abutting recess 213 is disposed adjacent to the end of the pressing
arm 21, is formed in a transverse outer surface of the pressing arm
21, extends into the extending segment 211, is selectively disposed
around the abutting segment 13 of the female buckle member 10, and
has an abutting recess slope 214. The abutting recess slope 214 is
formed in an inner surface of the abutting recess 213, is inclined
transversely inward toward the opening 11 of the female buckle
member 10, and selectively abuts the abutting segment slope 14 of
the female buckle member 10. The guiding arm 22 protrudes from a
center of the male buckle member 20 in a direction same as the
protruding direction of the pressing arms 21, and is selectively
mounted into the female buckle member 10 and between the supporting
ribs 15 of the female buckle member 10.
[0026] To assemble the male buckle member 20 and the female buckle
member 10, the male buckle member 20 is pushed toward the opening
11 of the female buckle member 10. A relative insertion angle
between the male buckle member 20 and the female buckle member 10
may be adjusted by the cooperation of the guiding arm 22 and the
supporting ribs 15. Then, the ends of the pressing arms 21
respectively slide along the abutting segment slopes 14 of the
female buckle member 10 to slightly bend the pressing arms 21
inward, such that the ends of the pressing arms 21 can pass the
abutting segments 13. Finally, the abutting recesses 213 of the
pressing arms 21 are respectively disposed around the abutting
segments 13, and the assembling of the male buckle member 20 with
the female buckle member 10 is completed.
[0027] With reference to FIG. 5, to separate the male buckle member
20 and the female buckle member 10, the male buckle member 20 is
further pushed toward the female buckle member 10 until the ends of
the pressing arms 21 abut the stops 12. During the movement of the
male buckle member 20, the abutting recess slopes 214 of the
pressing arms 21 respectively slide along the abutting segment
slopes 14 to transversely bend the pressing arms 21 inward and
deform the pressing arms 21, but the abutting segments 13 are still
mounted in the abutting recesses 213 of the pressing arms 21. With
reference to FIG. 6, at this time, the abutting segments 13 can
depart from the abutting recesses 213 by further slightly pressing
the pressing arms 21, and then the male buckle member 20 may be
removed while the pressing arms 21 remain in the foregoing status.
Pushing the male buckle member 20 toward the female buckle member
10 is accomplished by the force of the wrist and the arm of the
user; which is an easy way to apply force. In addition, when the
user further presses the pressing arms 21 by the fingers, the
pressing arms 21 have been bent and deformed, such that the user
does not have to spend much physical effort pressing.
[0028] Even if the pressing arms 21 are strengthened in structure
to enhance the engagement strength between the male buckle member
20 and the female buckle member 10, the male buckle member 20 and
the female buckle member 10 still can be easily separated by the
way mentioned above.
[0029] In addition, since the concaved abutting recess 213 is
disposed in the pressing arm 21, and the protruding abutting
segment 13 is disposed in the inner surface of the female buckle
member 10, the abutting segment does not easily contact or rub
against other objects and get worn, thereby avoiding affecting the
engagement between the abutting segment 13 and the abutting recess
213.
[0030] In another preferred embodiment, the abutting recess and the
extending segment can be non-adjacent to the end of the pressing
arm, and is disposed adjacent to the middle part of the pressing
arm, which also has the same merits mentioned above.
[0031] Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the
present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description,
together with details of the structure and features of the
invention, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made
in the details, especially in matters of shape, size, and
arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the
full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in
which the appended claims are expressed.
* * * * *