U.S. patent number 3,807,000 [Application Number 05/361,905] was granted by the patent office on 1974-04-30 for belt buckle with double acting unitary spring.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Sigmatex A.G.. Invention is credited to Per Olaf Weman.
United States Patent |
3,807,000 |
Weman |
April 30, 1974 |
BELT BUCKLE WITH DOUBLE ACTING UNITARY SPRING
Abstract
A belt buckle and tongue combination wherein the latching device
of the buckle includes a planar unitary spring which is tensed by
the act of inserting the tongue into the buckle. The spring then
urges the latch into locking engagement with the tongue, and also
ejects the tongue when the latch is manually released.
Inventors: |
Weman; Per Olaf (Haslah,
DT) |
Assignee: |
Sigmatex A.G. (Basel,
CH)
|
Family
ID: |
27585853 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/361,905 |
Filed: |
May 21, 1973 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
24/655 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A44B
11/2511 (20130101); B64D 25/06 (20130101); Y10T
24/45686 (20150115); Y10T 24/45738 (20150115); Y10T
24/45665 (20150115); Y10T 24/45654 (20150115); Y10T
24/4567 (20150115) |
Current International
Class: |
A44B
11/25 (20060101); B64D 25/06 (20060101); B64D
25/00 (20060101); A44b 011/26 () |
Field of
Search: |
;24/23AL,23AN |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Gelak; Bernard A.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Plaut; Jonathan
Claims
I claim:
1. A belt buckle and tongue in combination comprising:
a. a buckle housing having an opening at one end for the insertion
of the tongue, means for attaching a length of belt, and an open
face, exposing a cavity extending to the base wall of the buckle
housing;
b. said housing having grooves, parallel to the base wall of the
housing and to each other, disposed in parallel side walls for
slideably guiding and supporting the tongue on its insertion into
the buckle housing;
c. said housing having opposing guide channels, each centrally
disposed in the parallel side walls, said channels being
perpendicular to the base wall, for positioning a unitary biasing
spring, latching member and a latch release member disposed within
the cavity, and restricted by said channels to limited motion
substantially perpendicular to the base wall;
d. a rear wall opposite the opening for the tongue, serving to stop
the tongue in its forward motion when inserted into the buckle;
e. said unitary biasing spring comprising a flat elongated strip
positioned within the cavity against the base wall, with each end
of the strip extending loosely into one of the two opposing
channels, said strip having an arm extending therefrom in the
direction away from the opening for the tongue, but arcuately
upturned to pass through the path for the tongue, for contact with
the leading edge of said tongue at a point between about 0.1 to 0.6
inches from the terminus of its inward travel;
f. a latching member disposed above the strip of the spring, and
also extending on each side into the opposing channels, said
latching member having located thereon, an upwardly sloping latch
structure for engaging a corresponding opening in the tongue;
g. a latch release member with two legs to straddle the inserted
tongue, and to contact the latching member;
h. a retaining cover plate having an opening therein, and means for
attachment to the housing for retaining the latching and unlatching
components within the housing while permitting access to the press
button.
2. The belt buckle and tongue combination of claim 1 wherein the
opposing guide channels have channel pieces inserted therein to
reduce the size of the containing channels and provide slideable
surfaces for the legs of the latching member and latch release
member.
3. The belt buckle and tongue combination of claim 1 wherein there
are two guide-blocks for the tongue, extending from the rear wall
into the cavity of the buckle, said guide-blocks having grooves for
receiving the leading edge of the tongue upon its insertion, and
wherein there is a channel-like space between the guide-blocks into
which the arm of the spring recedes when urged thereto by force
applied to the tongue during its insertion.
4. The belt buckle and tongue combination of claim 3 wherein the
unitary spring has additionally, two short arms between about 0.1
to 0.6 inches long, one on each side of the upwardly extending arm,
said additional arms curving slightly downward to contact the base
wall along the line where the two guide-blocks join the base wall,
to there establish a fulcrum about which the unitary spring may
rock when the upwardly extending arm is urged toward the rear wall
by the inserted tongue.
5. The belt buckle and tongue combination of claim 1 wherein there
is a guide-block for the tongue extending from the rear wall into
the cavity of the buckle, said guide-block having a groove for
receiving the tip of the tongue when inserted, and two channel-like
spaces, one on each side of the guide-block and wherein the arm of
the unitary spring comprises two arms, one on either side of an
additional short arm between about 0.1 to 0.6 inch long which curls
slightly downward to contact the base wall along the line where the
guide-block joins the base wall, to establish a fulcrum about which
the unitary spring may pivot, when the upwardly extending arms are
urged toward the rear wall and into the channel-like spaces by the
inserted tongue.
6. The belt buckle and tongue combination of claim 5 wherein the
short downwardly turned arm forms a fulcrum by engaging a ridge in
the base wall, said ridge being perpendicular to the line of travel
of the tongue in the buckle, and wherein the ends of the flat
elongated strip of the spring extending into the channels are
angled upward to provide additional resilience to the spring.
7. The belt buckle and tongue combination of claim 1 wherein the
flat elongated strip of the spring, and the latching member
disposed above it, are a single unit and an upwardly sloping latch
structure for engaging the corresponding opening in the tongue,
said strip having additionally, upwardly extending projections at
the ends extending into the channels to provide contact surfaces
for the latch release member.
8. The belt buckle and tongue combination of claim 4 wherein the
flat elongated strip of the spring and the latching member disposed
above it are a single unit, having two upwardly sloping latch
structures for engaging corresponding openings in the tongue, said
strip having additionally, upwardly extending projections at the
ends extending into the channels to provide contact surfaces for
the latch release member.
9. A safety seat belt buckle and tongue in combination
comprising:
a. a seat belt buckle housing having an elongated substantially
rectangular opening at one end for the insertion of the tongue, a
loop at the other end for the attachment of a length of seat belt,
and an open face, exposing a cavity extending to the base wall of
the buckle housing;
b. said housing having opposing thickened parallel sidewalls
adjacent to the opening for the insertion of a tongue, extending
inwardly, and having in their inner faces, grooves, parallel to the
base wall of the housing and to each other, disposed for slideably
guiding and supporting the tongue on its insertion into the buckle
housing;
c. said thickened walls each having a guide channel centrally
located therein and perpendicular to the base wall of the housing,
with the channel openings opposing each other, said channels
serving to position a spring, a latching member and a latch release
member, disposed within the cavity and restricted by said channels
to limited motion substantially perpendicular to the base wall;
d. said housing having a guide-block extending centrally from the
rear wall facing the opening for the tongue, said block being
grooved for receiving the tip of the tongue and for stopping its
forward motion when fully inserted into the buckle;
e. said housing having two channel-like spaces vertical to the base
wall of the housing, between the block and each adjacent thickened
wall;
f. a normally relaxed, unitary planar biasing spring fabricated
from spring metal sheet stock, comprising an elongated strip which
is positioned within the cavity above the base wall, with each end
of the strip extending loosely into one of the two opposing
channels, said spring strip having two arms extending at right
angles to the strip, toward the channel-like spaces, but curling
upwardly into the path of the tongue, and directly in front of
these channel-like spaces, said arms extending upwardly
substantially to the open face of the cavity; a third arm centrally
located between the other two and curving slightly downward from
the strip to contact the base wall at its junction with the
guideblock, there forming a fulcrum;
g. a latching member disposed above the strip of the unitary
spring, and having arms extending on each side partially into the
opposing channels, to limit movement of the latching member to
motion perpendicular to the base wall of the housing, said
extending arms each having at its terminus disposed within the
channel, a short upwardly extending projection to provide contact
surfaces for cooperation with the latch release member, said
latching member having centrally located on its upper surface, an
upwardly sloping latch structure, for engaging a corresponding
opening in the tongue;
h. a latch release member comprising a press button with two
extending arms each extending into one of the two opposing
channels, for engaging the contact surface of the latching member,
and having at its terminus a downwardly extending leg, said legs
disposed within the channels whereby the latch release member
straddles the tongue and the latching member, said latch release
member being guided by the channels to limited motion perpendicular
to the base wall of the housing;
i. a covering retaining plate having an opening therein and a
plurality of downwardly extending legs for fixed engagement with
corresponding openings in the thickened wall of the housing to thus
retain the latching and unlatching components within the housing,
while permitting access to the press button whereby; inserting the
tongue all the way into the housing will cause its tip to press the
two arms of the unitary spring into the channel-like spaces on
either side of the guide-block, to thereby rock the strip of the
spring on said fulcrum and raise the overlaying latching member,
urging it into latching engagement with the opening in the tongue;
and whereby manual pressure on the press button to overcome the
bias of the tensed spring will depress the latching member below
the opening in the tongue, whereupon the two arms of the spring
pressing against the tip of the tongue will eject the tongue, said
spring then returning to its normally relaxed condition.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a belt buckle and tongue combination of
the type used in automobiles, for retaining an occupant in a seated
position when subjected to forces which develop during a collision.
Such buckle and tongue combinations are usually included in safety
seat belt assemblies having at least two belts anchored to the
vehicle frame or body, with one of the belts connected to the
buckle and at least one other to the tongue. With this arrangement,
two of the straps may be disposed over an occupant's lap and the
tongue inserted into the buckle, to be retained therein until
manually released by manipulation of the buckle's latching
mechanism. Frequently a third belt is also connected between the
tongue and a point in the vehicle, which will permit the third belt
to pass diagonally across the occpant's torso, for additional
protection.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A large number of such buckle and tongue combinations are found in
the prior art, practically all of which incorporate a buckle having
some type of latching means to co-act with a tongue, said latching
means being movable between a latched and a release position. The
tongue is generally retained within the buckle in the latched
position and may be removed from the buckle in the release
position. These buckles employ various subassemblies, devices,
linkages, etc. for attachment or co-action with the latching
means.
In substantially all buckles of the prior art, one or more latch
members are biased upwardly into the channel through which the
tongue is guided when inserted into the buckle. These latch members
slope upwardly away from the tongue, so that as the tongue is
inserted, its leading edge depresses the biased latch member.
Springs are generally employed to bias the inclined latching member
into the path of the incoming tongue.
When such a tongue and buckle is used, the tongue, on insertion,
first meets resistance as its tip encounters the obstructing biased
latching member, and forces it out of its path. The latch member
now scrapes across the surface of the tongue, against which it is
biased, until a corresponding opening, slot or depression in the
tongue meets the latching member. The biased latching member is
thereupon urged into latching engagement with the tongue.
In actual use, it sometimes happens that the wearer mistakes the
resistance of the biased latch member, and the firmness imparted to
the unlatched tongue by the biased latch, for actual engagement.
The wearer then incorrectly assumes that he or she is safely
"buckled up." Such an effect is known in the art as "false
latching."
The biasing means of the buckle and tongue combinations of the
prior art generally have a single purpose, namely to constantly
urge the latching member toward the tongue so as to engage the
tongue the moment the corresponding opening is moved into
coincidence. Such springs are constantly under tension and serve no
other purpose. Although devices for ejecting a tongue from a buckle
have been suggested, such devices generally involve additional
parts and complication. They do not utilize the latching spring,
primarily because the force required to eject a tongue is
perpendicular to that required for latching.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a buckle and
tongue combination free of the danger of "false latching;" a
latching mechanism which is positive acting, simply devised, and
requires only a single spring; a mechanism which latches smartly
and safely, yet when manually moved to the release position, ejects
the tongue.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a belt buckle and tongue in
combination, comprising a buckle housing having an opening at one
end for the insertion of the tongue, means for attaching a length
of belt, and an open face exposing a cavity extending to the base
wall of the buckle housing. This buckle housing has grooves,
parallel to the base wall of the housing and to each other,
disposed in parallel side walls for slideably guiding and
supporting the tongue upon its insertion into the buckle housing.
The housing also has opposing guide channels, each centrally
disposed in the parallel side walls, said channels being
perpendicular to the base wall, for positioning a unitary biasing
spring, a latching member and a latch release member within the
cavity and restricted by the channels to limited motion
substantially perpendicular to the base wall. A rear wall opposite
the opening for the tongue serves to stop the tongue in its forward
motion when inserted into the buckle. The unitary biasing spring
comprises first, a flat elongated strip positioned within the
cavity, against the base wall, with each end of the strip extending
loosely into one of the two opposing channels. This strip has an
arm extending therefrom in the direction away from the opening for
the tongue, but arcuately upturned to pass through the path for the
tongue, for contact with its leading edge at a point between about
0.1 to 0.6 inch from the end point of its inward travel.
We refer to such a spring as a "planar spring," being fabricated of
flat spring stock, but shaped to provide an up-sweeping or
arcuately upturned arm, with other embodiments to include other
curved extending arms, as will be later described. The planar
spring need not be of uniform thickness. A latching member is
disposed above the strip of the unitary spring, also extending on
each side into the opposing channels, said latching member having
located thereon an upwardly sloping latch structure for engaging a
corresponding opening in the tongue. A latch release member with
two legs to straddle the inserted tongue contacts the latching
member, and a retaining cover plate is provided, having an opening
therein and means for attachment to the housing. This plate serves
to retain the latching and unlatching components within the housing
while permitting access to the press button.
The spring is normally relaxed, so that the latch member is not
urged against the tongue to offer resistance or cause frictional
drag. The spring is tensed by the act of inserting the tongue, for
as the leading edge contacts the upturned spring arm, it forces it
back to the rear wall of the housing which tends to rock the flat
elongated strip upward against the superimposed latching member.
Since this member is restrained by the plane of the tongue, the
spring is tensed at substantially the same moment that the opening
of the tongue coincides with the latch structure. As the opening in
the tongue becomes aligned with the latch structure the now tensed
spring urges the latching member into positive engagement with the
tongue, and the tip of the tongue maintains the spring in this
tensed condition. If now the latching member is manually depressed,
in opposition to the bias of the spring, to withdraw the latch
structure, the tension on the spring is increased still further,
and the upturned arm pressed against the leading edge of the tongue
forcefully ejects the tongue. We thus have a spring, normally
relaxed, which is tensed by the insertion of the tongue. Although
tensed by the force applied parallel to the base, this spring
releases the stored energy in two directions at right angles to
each other. It applies a force perpendicular to the base wall of
the housing to urge the latch structure upwardly for engagement
with the tongue, and parallel to the base to eject the tongue from
the buckle on its release.
In a preferred embodiment of the buckle and tongue combination of
my invention, the side walls of the buckle housing adjacent to the
opening for the tongue, are thickened and carry the grooves for the
tongue, as well as the channels for limiting the latching means and
press button to motion perpendicular to the base wall.
In one embodiment the rear wall of the buckle housing, opposite the
opening for the tongue is also thickened, and carries a groove to
receive the tip of the tongue at the end of its forward travel.
Preferably, these grooves are flared outwardly somewhat, to guide
the leading edge of the tongue. The thickened portion of the wall
is not continuous, but is broken in the central portion leaving a
channel-like space, perpendicular to the base wall, between the two
grooved sections of thick grooved wall. These block-like sections
of grooved wall, are referred to as "guide-blocks" for the tongue.
The channel-like space between them is of a width sufficient to
receive the upturned arm of the spring when it is forced to the end
of the buckle housing by the incoming tongue. On each side of the
upturned arm of the spring there is a shorter arm curved slightly
downward. Each of these short arms contacts the base wall of the
housing at the point where the guide-blocks intersect the base.
They therefore contact the base in a line perpendicular to the
direction of the incoming tongue, and form a fulcrum on which the
planar unitary spring rocks when the upturned arm is forced
backward by the leading edge of the tongue. Besides fixing the
degree of leverage, these short arms add additional resilience to
the planar spring. Further resilience may also be obtained by
upturning the tips of the elongated flat strip of the spring where
they enter the channels.
In the preferred embodiment, a single guide-block for the tongue is
centrally located in the rear wall of the buckle housing. This too
is grooved for receiving the tip of the tongue, and preferably the
groove is outwardly flared to guide the tip of the tongue to the
end point of its travel. This guide-block leaves two channel-like
spaces, one on each side, beside the block and the opposing side
walls of the buckle. In this embodiment, there are two arcuately
upturned spring arms, which when forced back by the advancing edge
of the tongue, fit into the two channel-like spaces beside the
guide-block, the groove of which extends within the guide-block to
a plane substantially in line with the rear wall of the
channel-like spaces; preferably the rear wall of the buckle
housing. A third spring arm extends from the flat strip in the same
direction as the two upturned arms. This arm, shorter than the
upturned arms, curves slightly downward to contact the base wall of
the housing along the line of its intersection with the
guide-block, thus forming the fulcrum. If desired, this downturned
short arm may engage a ridge or depression in the base wall to form
the fulcrum.
In still another embodiment, either of the abovedescribed springs
may have a flat elongated strip which has a thickness of between
about 0.1 and 0.3 inch, with a latch structure extending upward
therefrom. The latching member disposed above the spring is
therefore a part of the unitary spring itself, thus eliminating one
of the moving parts, the latching member. With this arrangement,
the extending arms of the spring are thinned, or are added to the
strip as by spot welding, riveting or other means.
A better understanding of the operation of the buckle and tongue
combination of the present invention may be had by reference to the
accompanying drawing wherein like reference characters refer to
like parts throughout the several views.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the buckle and tongue
combination of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view o the assembled buckle with the tongue
inserted and latched.
FIGS. 3A dnd B are longitudinal cross-sections taken through line
3--3 of FIG. 2. In FIG. 3B, a portion of the stopblock has been
broken away to show the position of the upturned arm of the spring
which is hidden in the illustration of FIG. 3A.
FIG. 4 is also a longitudinal cross-section taken through line 3--3
of FIG. 2 except that the tongue has not been inserted all the way.
It can be seen that the latch does not obstruct the entry of the
tongue as it does in the case of most buckes of the prior art.
FIG. 5 is a transverse cross-section of the buckle and tongue
combination taken along line 5--5 of FIG. 2.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a section of the buckle housing
adapted to receive a single upturned arm of the spring. The planar
unitary spring is also shown having an upturned arm and two short
downturned arms to form the fulcurm or pivot line with the base
wall of the buckle housing. The terminals of the flat elongated
strip which normally lie within the channels of the buckle housing,
are shown as partially upturned.
FIG. 7 represents another embodiment of the spring wherein the flat
elongated strip has substantial thickness, and has a latch
structure on its upper surface. The ends of this elongated strip
have upward projections for contacting matching surfaces of the
press button. Such a spring also serves as the latching member,
thus eliminating the latching member as a separate component.
FIG. 8 represents a modification of the unitary spring of FIG. 7.
In this case we have a single upturned spring arm, two short
downwardly turned arms to meet the base wall of the buckle housing
to form the fulcrum, and two latch structures for cooperating with
openings in the tongue, which actually constitute slots in the
sides of the tongue. A tongue may have openings, slots, or carry a
surface depression for co-action with the latch structure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
WITH REFERENCE TO THE DRAWINGS
With particular reference to FIG. 1, but also to FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and
5, my invention is directed to a safety seat belt buckle and tongue
combination comprising: a seat belt buckle housing 1 having an
elongated, substantially rectangular opening 2 at one end, for the
insertion of a tongue 4, a loop 6 at the other end for the
attachment of a length of belt, and an open face, exposing a cavity
7 extending to the base wall 8 of the buckle housing. The housing
has opposing thick parallel side walls 9 adjacent to the opening
for the insertion of a tongue, extending inwardly and having in
their inner faces, grooves 11, parallel to the base wall of the
housing and to each other. These are disposed for slideably guiding
and supporting tongue 4 on its insertion into the buckle housing.
The thick walls also each have a guide channel 12, centrally
located therein and perpendicular to the base wall 8 of the
housing, with the channel openings opposing each other. These
channels serve to position the moving components of the buckle,
namely a spring 19, a latching member 14 and a latch release member
15 disposed within the cavity 7, and restricted by said channels to
limited motion substantially perpendicular to the base wall 8. The
housing also has a guide-block 16 extending centrally from the rear
wall facing the opening for the tongue, said block being grooved at
17 for receiving the tip of tongue 4 and for stopping its forward
motion when fully inserted into the buckle. The housing also has
two channel-like spaces 18, vertical to the base wall 8, between
the guide-block and each adjacent thick side wall 9. A normally
relaxed, unitary biasing spring 19, fabricated from spring metal
sheet stock is positioned within cavity 7 above the base wall 8.
This spring has an elongated strip 21, each end of which extends
loosely into one of the two opposing channels, said spring strip
having two arms 22 extending at right angles to the strip toward
the channel-like spaces 18, but curling upward into the path of
tongue 4, and directly in front of these channel-like spaces. These
arms extend upwardly, substantially to the open face of cavity 7. A
third arm, 23, centrally located between the other two, curves
slightly downward from strip 21 to contact the base wall 8 at its
junction with guide-block 16, there forming a fulcrum.
The latching member 14, disposed above strip 21 of the unitary
spring 19 has arms 24 on each side extending partially into
opposing channels 12 to limit movement of said latching member 14
to motion perpendicular to the base wall 8 of the housing, said
extending arms each having at its terminus, disposed within the
channel 12, a short upward projection 25 to provide a contact
surface for cooperation with the latch release member 15. The
latching member 14 has, centrally located on its upper surface, an
upwardly sloping latch structure 26, for engaging a corresponding
opening 27 in tongue 4. Opening 36 in tongue 4 is adapted for the
attachment of a belt.
A latch release member is also included comprising a push or press
button 28 with two arms 29, each extending into one of the two
opposing channels 12 for engaging the contact surface of the short
upturned projection 25 of the latching member, and having at its
terminus a downwardly extending leg 31. These legs are disposed
within channels 12 for straddling tongue 4 and the latching member
14, said latch release member 15 thereby being guided by channels
12 to limited motion perpendicular to the base wall 8 of the
housing. A cover retaining plate 32 is provided, having an opening
33 therein, and a plurality of downwardly extending lugs 34 for
fixed engagement with corresponding openings 35 in the thick side
walls 9 of the housing, to thus retain the latching and unlatching
components 14, 15 and 19 within the housing, while permitting
access to press button 28. In regard to the buckle and tongue
combination of the present invention, when tongue 4 is inserted all
the way into the buckle, its tip presses the two upwardly extending
spring arms 22 of the unitary spring 19 into the channel-like
spaces 18 on either side of the guide-block 16 to thereby rock the
unitary spring 19 on its fulcrum, thus raising elongated strip 21
against the overlaying latching member 14, and urging it into
latching engagement with opening 27 of tongue 4. When manual
pressure is applied to press button 28, to overcome the bias of the
now tensed, planar unitary spring 19, the latch structure 26 is
withdrawn below opening 27 of the tongue, whereupon the two arms 22
of spring 19 pressing against the tip of tongue 4 will eject the
tongue and leave planar spring 19 in its normally relaxed
condition.
In the exploded view of FIG. 1, two metal guides or channel pieces
37, preferably of stainless steel are also included. These guides
may be inserted into the opposing channels 12 to reduce the size of
the containing channels, prevent galling of the metal of the
housing by the moving components of the buckle, and provide
slideable surfaces for the latching member and the latch release
member. Preferably, the buckle housing itself is die cast.
FIG. 2 illustrates the assembled buckle with the tongue in latched
engagement.
FIG. 3A is a longitudinal cross-section of FIG. 2 taken along line
3--3. The tongue is latched, latch structure 26 being urged into
opening 27 of the tongue by spring 19 which is shown rocked
upwardly and tensed by the tongue 4 which has pressed the upturned
spring arms against the rear wall of the buckle housing. In FIG.
3B, the guide-block 16 has been partially broken away to show the
position of the tip of the tongue in relation to the upturned
spring arms 22. When latch structure 26 is withdrawn downward, by
manually pressing button 28, spring arms 22 will eject the tongue
and return to their relaxed position.
FIG. 4 illustrates the buckle and tongue combination in the
unlatched condition. Spring 19 is relaxed, and latch structure 26
is below the incoming or outgoing tongue. This differs from most
buckles of the prior art, wherein latch structure 26 would be
biased up into the path of the incoming tongue, and would be
displaced downwardly by the tongue. As the tongue presses against
upturned spring arms 22, the spring will rock back, using line 39
at the intersection of base wall 8 and guide-block 16 as a fulcrum,
as in FIG. 3.
FIG. 5 is a transverse cross-section along line 5--5 of FIG. 2.
Latch 26 is latched with the tongue. This illustration shows the
manner in which the latch release member 15 contacts the latching
member 14 in guide channels 37.
FIG. 6 illustrates another embodiment wherein there are two
guide-blocks 16 for the tongue, extending from the rear wall into
the cavity 7 of the buckle. These guide-blocks have grooves 17 for
receiving the leading edge of the tongue upon its insertion.
Between the two guide-blocks there is a channel-like space into
which the arm 22 of planar unitary spring 19 recedes when urged
thereto by force applied to the tongue during its insertion. Planar
unitary spring 19 has, in addition to arcuately upturned arm 22,
two slightly downturned arms 23 between about 0.1 to 0.6 inch long.
The terminals of the elongated strip 21 of this spring are upturned
to add resilience. When inserted in the buckle shown in the
break-away perspective drawing, these upturned termini are disposed
in channels 12. The short arms 23 contact the base wall 8 along the
line where the two guide-blocks 16 join the base wall, to there
establish a fulcrum. Pressure of the tongue against arm 22 causes
the spring to rock back on the lower edge of the short arms 23,
raising elongated strip 21 against the latching member disposed
above it, and urging the latch structure into engagement with the
tongue. When the latch bar is manually depressed by means of the
press button, the latch structure is withdrawn from the belt, and
spring arm 22 ejects the tongue.
FIG. 7 illustrates still another embodiment wherein the flat
elongated strip 21 of the spring 19 and the latching member
comprises a single unit. Strip 21 has a substantial thickness of
between about 0.1 and 0.3 inch, and an upwardly sloping latch
structure 26 for engaging the corresponding opening in the tongue.
Additionally, the strip may have upwardly extending projections 25
at the ends, extending into channels 12, to provide contact
surfaces for cooperation with corresponding surfaces of the latch
release member 15 (FIG. 1). With this arrangement, one moving part
has been eliminated, leaving only two moving parts, the latch
release member 15 and the combined spring and latching member of
FIG. 7.
FIG. 8 illustrates a variation of the embodiment of FIG. 7, wherein
the flat elongated strip 21 of the spring 19 and the latching
member are a single unit. Strip 21 has a substantial thickness of
between about 0.1 and 0.3 inch, and two upwardly sloping latch
structures for engaging corresponding openings 27 in the tongue.
Additionally, the strip may have upwardly extending projections 25
at the ends extending into channels 12 to provide contact surfaces
for cooperation with corresponding surfaces of the latch release
member 15 (FIG. 1). As with the embodiment of FIG. 7, only two
moving parts are employed. The tongue may have one or more
openings, slots, or depressions for cooperation with a latch
structure.
While I have described preferred embodiments of my invention, it
will be understood that various modifications and changes can be
made in the buckle and tongue combination described, without
departing from the spirit of this invention or the scope of the
following claims.
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