GB1582516A - Buckles - Google Patents

Description

(54) IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO BUCKLES (71) We, LADBROOK ENGINEER ING & MANUFACTURING COMPANY LIMITED, a British Company whose Registered Office address is Norwich Road, North Walsham, Norfolk, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: This invention concerns buckles for helmets.

Hitherto helment buckles have tended to be formed completely from metal and in a conventional design the buckle comprises a ring of generally square configuration and a transverse apertured bar which slides on two of the opposite parallel sides of the ring, the bar being provided with a roughened surface so that a strap which is wrapped around the bar and is gripped between it and one of the transverse end sections of the ring has little tendency to slip due to the selftightening action between the rough surface bar and the strap.

The method of cbnstructing this conventional form of buckle comprises forming a generally U-shaped member from circular section bar with the angles between the three limbs of the U-section being substantially at right angles, threading onto the two parallel limbs of the U-section a transverse bar formed as a separate member and thereafter folding inwardly the two end regions of the two parallel limbs of the U-section so that they meet and form a closed square outline and butt welding the two abutting ends together to form a continuous ring.

Butt welding the two ends with the metal transverse bar in place is difficult and more expensive than if the transverse bar were not in position during the welding operation.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an alternative design of buckle which allows the ring to be a continuous member or to be formed by welding prior to the fitting thereon of the transverse bar.

According to one aspect of the present invention in a buckle comprising a generally square-shape ring having a transversely extending apertured bar sliding on two of the parallel sides of the ring, the bar is formed from a resilient material and includes two apertures which receive the two parallel sides of the ring and a slot which extends between the two apertures and is of a width less than the thickness of the bar material from which the ring is formed, the resilience of the material from which the bar is formed allowing it to be push fitted over one of the transversely extending ends of the ring so that the two apertures are received in the parallel sides of the ring.

The reduced width of the slot prevents the bar from leaving the ring unless it is specifically deformed so as to open up the slot. In use the bar will have the strap wrapped at least partially therearound and the strap of the helmet or other device to which the buckle is attached will be between the bar and one of the transverse ends of the ring so that there will be no tendency for the bar to become splayed open under pressure and so leave the ring.

Preferably the material from which the transverse bar is formed is a plastics material. Typically a Nylon-based material is used. (Nylon is a Registered Trade Mark).

The ring may be a continuous loop of bar and may be formed from metal or plastics material.

Alternatively the ring may be a preformed loop constructed from a single length of bar folded into the desired square outline with its two free ends abutting so as to allow them to be butt welded together.

Alternatively the ring may be formed from a composite material comprising a metal core and an outer plastics sheath.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure I is a plan view of a known type of buckle, Figure 2 is a similar view of a buckle embodying the invention, Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view on the line III-III in Figure 2 and Figure 4 is an end view of the transverse bar used in the embodiment shown in Figures 2 and 3.

Referring first of all to Figure 1, a buckle comprises a square ring 10 formed from a length of circular section metal bar the two abutting ends of which are butt welded at 12.

A metal transverse bar 14 having two parallel spaced apart passages 16 and 18 slides on the ring 10 with the two parallel sides 20 and 22 of the ring in the passages 16 and 18.

As previously mentioned the method of constructing a buckle as shown in Figure 1 involves forming a generally U-shaped member of the bar from which the ring is formed, threading the transverse bar 14 onto the U-section and subsequently inwardly folding the two outer ends of the limbs of the U and butt welding the two abutting ends as shown at 12.

The outer surface of the transverse bar 14 is knurled as denoted by reference numeral 24 so as to provide a good grip on a strap threaded through and around the buckle.

In accordance with the invention a buckle is formed from a ring 26 which may be formed in the same way as the ring 10 or may be a continuous member formed for example by stamping or guillotining and the transverse bar is fitted over the ring after the latter has been formed instead of during its manufacture as is required in the embodiment of Figure 1.

To this end the transverse bar 28 is formed from a resilient plastics material such as a Nylon-based plastics and as best seen with reference to Figures 3 and 4, the bar includes a dumbbell shaped slot so as to define two parallel passages 30 and 32 within which the two parallel limbs 34 and 36 of the ring 26 can slide, the remaining narrow section of the dumbbell slot denoted by reference numeral 38 serving to join the two passages 30 and 32 together. The purpose of the narrower slot 38 is to allow the bar 38 to be pushed onto a ring 26 by first of all opening up the slot 38 so that the now enlarged slot can be pushed over the transverse limb 40 for example as shown in Figure 2, of the ring 26.Once in place the transverse bar 28 assumes its normal proportions and to this end the width of the slot region 38 is selected so as to be less than the thickness dimension (for example diameter) of the material from which the ring 26 is formed so that the transverse bar 28 cannot under normal circumstances be pulled off the ring 26 particularly if a strap is located around the bar 28.

The relative dimensions of the enlarged passages 30 and 32 and the narrower passage 38 can be seen clearly by the hidden detail in Figure 4.

The ring 26 may be formed from metal or plastics or from a combination of metal and plastics materials.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A buckle of the type comprising a generally square-shape ring having a transversely extending apertured bar sliding on two of the parallel sides of the ring in which the bar is formed from a resilient material and includes two apertures which receive the two parallel sides of the ring and a slot which extends between the two apertures and is of a width less than the thickness of the ring.

2. A buckle as claimed in claim 1 in which the material from which the transverse bar is formed is a plastics material.

3. A buckle as claimed in claim 1 or 2 in which the ring is a continuous loop of bar and is of metal or plastics material.

4. A buckle as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3 in which the ring is a preformed loop constructed from a single length of bar folded into the desired square outline with its two free ends butt welded together.

5. A buckle as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 4 in which the ring is formed from a composite material comprising a metal core and an outer plastics sheath.

6. A buckle constructed and arranged substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrted in the accompanying drawing.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (6)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. from a composite material comprising a metal core and an outer plastics sheath. The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure I is a plan view of a known type of buckle, Figure 2 is a similar view of a buckle embodying the invention, Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view on the line III-III in Figure 2 and Figure 4 is an end view of the transverse bar used in the embodiment shown in Figures 2 and 3. Referring first of all to Figure 1, a buckle comprises a square ring 10 formed from a length of circular section metal bar the two abutting ends of which are butt welded at 12. A metal transverse bar 14 having two parallel spaced apart passages 16 and 18 slides on the ring 10 with the two parallel sides 20 and 22 of the ring in the passages 16 and 18. As previously mentioned the method of constructing a buckle as shown in Figure 1 involves forming a generally U-shaped member of the bar from which the ring is formed, threading the transverse bar 14 onto the U-section and subsequently inwardly folding the two outer ends of the limbs of the U and butt welding the two abutting ends as shown at 12. The outer surface of the transverse bar 14 is knurled as denoted by reference numeral 24 so as to provide a good grip on a strap threaded through and around the buckle. In accordance with the invention a buckle is formed from a ring 26 which may be formed in the same way as the ring 10 or may be a continuous member formed for example by stamping or guillotining and the transverse bar is fitted over the ring after the latter has been formed instead of during its manufacture as is required in the embodiment of Figure 1. To this end the transverse bar 28 is formed from a resilient plastics material such as a Nylon-based plastics and as best seen with reference to Figures 3 and 4, the bar includes a dumbbell shaped slot so as to define two parallel passages 30 and 32 within which the two parallel limbs 34 and 36 of the ring 26 can slide, the remaining narrow section of the dumbbell slot denoted by reference numeral 38 serving to join the two passages 30 and 32 together. The purpose of the narrower slot 38 is to allow the bar 38 to be pushed onto a ring 26 by first of all opening up the slot 38 so that the now enlarged slot can be pushed over the transverse limb 40 for example as shown in Figure 2, of the ring 26.Once in place the transverse bar 28 assumes its normal proportions and to this end the width of the slot region 38 is selected so as to be less than the thickness dimension (for example diameter) of the material from which the ring 26 is formed so that the transverse bar 28 cannot under normal circumstances be pulled off the ring 26 particularly if a strap is located around the bar 28. The relative dimensions of the enlarged passages 30 and 32 and the narrower passage 38 can be seen clearly by the hidden detail in Figure 4. The ring 26 may be formed from metal or plastics or from a combination of metal and plastics materials. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A buckle of the type comprising a generally square-shape ring having a transversely extending apertured bar sliding on two of the parallel sides of the ring in which the bar is formed from a resilient material and includes two apertures which receive the two parallel sides of the ring and a slot which extends between the two apertures and is of a width less than the thickness of the ring.

2. A buckle as claimed in claim 1 in which the material from which the transverse bar is formed is a plastics material.

3. A buckle as claimed in claim 1 or 2 in which the ring is a continuous loop of bar and is of metal or plastics material.

4. A buckle as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3 in which the ring is a preformed loop constructed from a single length of bar folded into the desired square outline with its two free ends butt welded together.

5. A buckle as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 4 in which the ring is formed from a composite material comprising a metal core and an outer plastics sheath.

6. A buckle constructed and arranged substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrted in the accompanying drawing.