JP2010110502A - Buckle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inexpensive and lightweight buckle with a sufficient strength but with a reduced number of parts. <P>SOLUTION: An insertion piece 12 projecting in a male member 10 is inserted into an insertion hole 28 in a female member 20 to connect a strap 2 of the buckle 1. The insertion piece 12 in the male member has a pair of engaged parts, and the female member 20 is formed of one elastic metal wire. A pair of arms 22a and 22b of the female member respectively have a pair of engagement parts which are integrally formed by the folding work. The engagement parts can be engaged/disengaged with the engaged parts of the insertion piece 12 as the distance between the arms 22a and 22b is widened/narrowed by the elastic deformation. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a buckle for detachably connecting ends of belts such as animal collars and heels, for example.

As a structure of a buckle for connecting ends of string bodies such as animal collars and heel belts, there are those disclosed in the following patent documents. This consists of an insertion / removal body attached to one end of the belt, and a connector body attached to the other end of the belt, into which the insertion / removal body is inserted and engaged with each other.
A pair of engaging claws protruding in a hook shape are integrally formed on both sides of the insertion / removal body. On the other hand, the connector main body includes an upper and lower plate having a storage portion therein, a pair of engagement portions supported in the storage portion so as to be swingable about a support shaft, and an engagement claw of the pair of engagement portions. Are constituted by spring members urging in a direction approaching each other, and the engaging claws of the insertion / removal body and the engaging claws of the connector main body are engaged.

Each part which comprises these insertion / removal bodies and a connector main body is formed with the metal in order to satisfy | fill required intensity | strength.
JP 2003-102516 A

However, although the metal buckle of the conventional example has sufficient strength, it has a complicated structure with a large number of parts, and the whole is made of metal, resulting in considerable weight. .
Therefore, for example, when such a buckle is used for an animal collar, it may be an excessive burden for the animal to be worn. Also, when used for bags and other personal belongings, the necessary strength can be obtained, but it is also inappropriate in terms of weight.
In addition, the large number of parts increases the cost required for procurement and management of parts, and the number of assembly steps increases, which is inevitably reflected in a rise in product prices.

  Therefore, the present invention has an object to solve the problems of such a conventional metal buckle, and provides an inexpensive and lightweight buckle having a necessary and sufficient strength and a small number of parts. Objective.

In order to solve the above problems, a buckle according to the present invention has the following configuration.
The insertion piece protruding from the male member is a buckle that is inserted into the insertion port of the female member to connect the string body, and the insertion piece of the male member includes a pair of engaged portions, The female member is formed of a single metal wire having elasticity, and includes a pair of arm portions that are bent and protruded from both ends of the base portion. The pair of arm portions has an elastic space between the arm portions. A pair of engaging portions that can be engaged with and disengaged from the engaged portion of the insertion piece by being expanded and contracted by deformation are integrally formed by bending.

As described above, the female member of the buckle according to the present invention is formed by bending a single elastic metal wire including the engaging portion, so that the number of components is significantly smaller than that of the conventional one, and the weight is light. Therefore, both material costs and production costs are very inexpensive. And since the female member is formed with the metal wire, it can exhibit sufficient intensity | strength.
In the above configuration, the pair of arm portions of the female member can intersect each other at a midway portion that reaches the engaging portion.
Thereby, it becomes possible to convert the operation which presses a pair of arm part from the outside into the effect | action which expands the space | interval of engaging parts. Moreover, if the insertion piece of the male member is hung from the thickness direction in a crossing range between the arms, the engagement state between the male member and the female member becomes stable with little backlash. .

Further, in each of the above configurations, the pair of engaging portions of the female member are such that the bent inner edges face each other, and the difference between the female members is in a space surrounded by the pair of engaging portions. A slot may be configured.
If it does in this way, since an engaging part can serve as an insertion port, and also, it can hold a plug of a male member in cooperation with an insertion port enclosed by engaging parts. The engaged state between the male member and the female member is also stable.
Furthermore, the female member is built in a cover body, and the cover body has an insertion port into which the insertion piece of the male member can be inserted, and a storage portion that communicates with the insertion port and houses the female member. And an operating portion capable of releasing the engaged state between the engaged portion and the engaging portion from the outside of the cover body.

Thereby, a female member can be protected from an external impact or the like, and the female member can be improved in design as compared with a structure in which the female member is composed only of a metal wire.
In addition, the said cover body is provided with the string attachment part for connecting with a string, and the base part of the said female member can be fitted to this string attachment part.
Thereby, fixation of a cover body and a female member is reliable and easy. And since the base of a female member can also comprise a part of string body attachment part of a cover body, a cover body and a female member can be attached with sufficient intensity | strength with respect to a string body.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an inexpensive and lightweight buckle having a sufficient strength and a small number of parts.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, the buckle of the present invention is applied to an animal collar.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an essential part of the collar of this animal, wherein 1 is a buckle of this embodiment and 2 is a flat string belt as a string. The entire belt 2 is not shown, and only the vicinity of both ends of the belt 2 to which the buckle 1 is attached is depicted.
In FIG. 1, 3 is a D can made of stainless steel, and 4 is a belt can made of resin. Although not shown, an adjustment can for adjusting the belt length is also attached. Since these D can 3, belt can 4 and the like are publicly known ones which are generally used, their details are omitted.

Next, the buckle 1 of this embodiment will be described in detail.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of components of the buckle 1 of the present embodiment. Moreover, FIG.2 (d) is a d arrow line view of FIG.2 (c).
The buckle 1 mainly includes a male member 10 attached to one end of the belt 2 and a female member 20 attached to the other end of the belt 2, and the female member 20 is covered with a resin cover body 30.
As shown in FIGS. 2 (c) and 2 (d), the male member 10 includes an attachment portion 11 for attaching to the belt 2 and an insertion piece 12 protruding from the attachment portion 11, and punching a stainless steel plate. It is formed. The attachment portion 11 has a substantially rectangular shape, and is formed with two slits 11 ′ and 11 ′ for inserting the belt 2. One end of the belt 2 is inserted into each slit 11 ′, and as shown in FIG. 1, the male member 10 is attached to the belt 2 as a string body by a known method using a belt can 4 or the like.

On the other hand, the insertion piece 12 protrudes in a direction orthogonal to the long side from one side of the substantially rectangular opposing long side of the mounting portion 11 and has a hook-like engaged portion 12a protruding in a bilaterally symmetrical manner. 12b and the tip 12c has an arcuate shape, and has a rounded arrowhead shape as a whole.
In addition, as for the male member 10 of this embodiment, as shown in FIG.2 (d), the insertion piece 12 is bent with respect to the said attaching part 11 in the thickness direction. This is to make it easy to follow the curved surface of the neck of the animal that the buckle 1 contacts when the buckle 1 is applied to a curved object such as a collar of this embodiment. However, when the buckle 1 is applied to a heel belt or the like, the portion with which the buckle 1 comes into contact is generally a flat surface.

Next, the female member 20 that is detachable from the male member 10 will be described.
The female member 20 is formed by bending a single metal wire rod having a circular cross section and having elasticity into a shape as shown in FIGS. 2B and 3. As the metal wire having elasticity, one made of stainless steel is suitable.
The female member 20 includes a pair of arm portions 22 a and 22 b that are bent and protruded from both ends of the base portion 21. The arm portions 22a and 22b that protrude once in parallel in the same direction are bent in directions approaching each other to form a substantially rectangular annular portion 23 having the base portion 21 as a long side, and the belt 2 as a string body can be inserted therethrough. It is like that.

Furthermore, the arm portions 22a and 22b are curved portions 25 that curve in a direction in which the distance between the annular portion 23 and the engagement portions 24a and 24b, which will be described later, away from each other. A slanted line portion 27 that inclines in a direction in which the distance between them approaches again via the bent portion 26 having a square shape is formed, and the slanted line portions 27 intersect each other with a three-dimensional gap h. The three-dimensional gap h is substantially the same as or slightly larger than the thickness of the insertion piece 12 of the male member 10.
The arm portions 22a and 22b are elastically deformed by the elasticity of the metal wire at the curved portion 25, the bent portion 26, and the shaded portion 27, respectively, as shown by the solid line and the virtual line in FIG. It is possible to scale.

Further, engaging portions 24a and 24b that can be engaged with the engaged portions 12a and 12b of the male member 10 are formed at the distal ends of the arm portions 22a and 22b. The engaging portions 24a and 24b are integrally formed by bending the tip portions of the arm portions 22a and 22b (shaded portions 27 and 27) into a U-shape. Here, the “U-shape” is a concept including not only a literal U-shape but also a rounded shape such as a U-shape and a J-shape.
More specifically, when the expansion / contraction direction of the space between the arm portions 22a and 22b is the left-right lateral direction, the engagement portion 24a has a U-shape along the arm portion 22a from the bottom to the top. On the contrary, the engagement portion 24b is folded back along the arm portion 22b in a U-shape from the top to the bottom. The distal end surface 22a ′ of the arm portion 22a faces in a direction substantially orthogonal to the hatched portion 27 of the other arm portion 22b, and the distal end surface 22b ′ of the arm portion 22b is substantially orthogonal to the hatched portion 17 of the other arm portion 22a. Face to face. The gap h ′ between the engaging portions 24a and 24b is substantially the same as the three-dimensional gap h between the shaded portions 27.

Here, when the expansion / contraction direction of the space between the arm portions 22a and 22b is the horizontal direction, the engagement portions 24a and 24b are V-shaped when viewed from the vertical direction. Accordingly, the bent inner edges corresponding to the U-shaped concave portions of the engaging portions 24a and 24b are not opposed to each other but are substantially opposed to each other. The engaging portions 24a and 24b In a space surrounded by each other, an insertion port 28 into which the insertion piece 12 of the male member 10 is inserted is configured.
Further, the insertion port 28 has a rectangular shape when viewed from the side of the insertion port 28 from the side of the insertion port 28. FIG. 3 shows the expansion and contraction of the mutual interval due to the elastic deformation of the arm portions 22a and 22b. The normal state (normal state) in which the interval is reduced as shown in (c) and the extended state as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3 (b), the male member 10 inserts the insertion piece 12 into the attachment portion 11 in the middle portion from the annular portion 23 of the arm portions 22 a and 22 b to the engaging portions 24 a and 24 b. Is bent with respect to the annular portion 23 for the same reason as that is bent in the thickness direction.
Next, the cover body 30 that houses the female member 20 will be described.
The cover body 30 is preferably made of POM (polyacetal). As shown in FIGS. 2A and 4, a frame-shaped string attachment portion is attached to a disc-shaped cover main body 31 having an elliptical appearance. 32 is protrudingly provided. A belt 2 as a string body can be inserted into the string body attaching portion 32. 4B, the string attachment portion 32 is bent with respect to the cover main body 31 for the same reason as the male member 10 and the female member 20 are bent.

The cover main body 31 is provided with a rectangular insertion port 33 that opens so that the insertion piece 12 of the male member 10 can be inserted on the opposite side of the string attachment portion 32, and in an internal space communicating with the insertion port 33. A storage portion 34 that can house the female member 20 is formed. Further, the storage portion 34 is formed with a rear opening 35 that opens to communicate with the string attachment portion 32 side.
Further, on both side surfaces of the cover main body 31, a side opening 36 is formed which is partly cut off from the side surface and opens to communicate with the storage portion 34. A hinge connected to the opening edge of the side opening 36. A cantilevered operation portion 38 is provided through the portion 37 so as to be swingable.

Each hinge portion 37 has a recess 37 a on the side of the storage portion 34 that is the internal space of the cover main body 31, and each operation portion 38 has a protrusion 39 on the side of the storage portion 34 that is the internal space of the cover main body 31. The projections 39 face each other so that they can enter the storage portion 34 from the side openings 36. In addition, the uneven | corrugated slip prevention part 40 is provided in the outer surface of each operation part 38. As shown in FIG.
Further, the string attachment portion 32 is provided with a groove 41 that is recessed along the frame shape. The groove 41 has a shape in which the annular portion 13 including the base 11 of the female member 20 is fitted.
Next, a method for incorporating the female member 20 into the cover body 30 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the female member 20 is incorporated in the cover body 30 by inserting the arm portions 22a and 22b of the female member 20 into the storage portion 34 from the rear opening 35 of the cover main body 31. The portion 23 is fitted into the groove portion 41 of the string body attaching portion 32 to complete. By fitting the annular portion 23 including the base portion 21 into the groove portion 41 of the cord body attachment portion 32, the insertion port 28 of the female member 20 is positioned so as to correspond to the insertion port 33 of the cover body 30, and the arm portion 22a. , 22b are in contact with the projections 39 of the operation portions 38, and the annular portion 23 is a core material of the string attachment portion 32.

Then, the other end side of the belt 2 is inserted into the string body attaching portion 32, and as shown in FIG. 1, the female member 20 built in the cover body 30 is attached to the belt 2 that is the string body by a method such as attachment. It is attached.
Next, with reference to FIG. 5, a method for connecting and releasing the buckle 1 will be described.
First, to connect the buckle 1, as shown in FIG. 5B, the insertion piece 12 of the male member 10 is inserted into the insertion port 28 of the female member through the insertion port 33 of the cover body 30.
When the insertion piece 12 is to be inserted into the insertion port 28, the engaging portions 24 a and 24 b constituting the insertion port 28 are formed of a round bar-shaped metal wire, and the distal end of the insertion piece 12. Since 12c also has an arc shape, the interval between the engaging portions 24a and 24b (insertion port 28) smoothly pushes and spreads against the elastic force of the arm portions 22a and 22b along the arc. It is done.

When the insertion piece 12 is further inserted into the insertion port 28, the engaging portions 24a and 24b get over both ends of the insertion piece 12 projecting in an arc shape, and the interval between the engagement portions 24a and 24b (insertion port). 28) contracts due to the elastic force of the arm portions 22a and 22b, and engages with the engaged portions 12a and 12b of the insertion piece 12 as shown in FIG.
In this engaged state, the insertion piece 12 of the male member 10 is hooked from the thickness direction (front and back in FIG. 5C) in the crossing range of the arm portions 24a and 24b of the female member 20, The member 20 is stable with little backlash.

On the contrary, in order to release the connection of the buckle 1, as shown in FIG. 5 (d), the operating portion 38 of the cover body 30 is pressed from the outside, and the interval between the engaging portions 24a and 24b (the insertion port 28). ) Is expanded, and the insertion piece 12 of the male member 10 is pulled out.
That is, when the operation parts 38, 38 of the cover body 30 are pressed from the outside, each operation part 38 swings via the hinge part 37, and each projection 39 enters the storage part 34, and the arm part 22a. , 22b is pressed. When each bent portion 26 is pressed, the arm portions 22a and 22b intersect at the midway portion. Therefore, the interval between the engaging portions 24a and 24b (insertion port 28) is caused by elastic deformation of the arm portions 22a and 22b. The engagement with the engaged portions 12a and 12b of the insertion piece 12 is released, and the connection of the buckle 1 is released by pulling out the insertion piece 12 of the male member 10.

The above is the description of the buckle 1 of the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, the male member 10 formed of a single stainless steel plate and the female member 20 formed by bending a single stainless steel material, While maintaining a strength comparable to that of a conventional metal buckle, there is an effect that it can be manufactured at a light weight and at a low cost.
In addition, although this embodiment demonstrated as a buckle suitable for a collar for animals, it cannot be overemphasized that it can apply to buckles, such as a bag and a pouch, within the scope of the technical idea of this invention.
Moreover, in this embodiment, although the female member 20 is incorporated in the cover body 30, the effect as a buckle can fully be exhibited even if the cover body 30 is omitted. Even when the cover body 30 is used, the operation portion 38 of the cover body 30 of this embodiment is omitted, and the arm portions 22a and 22b are directly operated from the side opening 38 of the cover body 30 to engage the buckle. It is also possible to cancel the state, and the cover body is not a type in which the female member 20 is built, but a plate or sheet shape as a simple partition that prevents the female member 20 from directly contacting the animal's neck, heel, etc. May be good.

Further, the male member 10 of the present embodiment has hooked portions 12a and 12b of the insertion piece 12 in a hook shape. However, as long as the shape can be engaged with the engaging portion of the female member, the male member 10 is not necessarily limited. It doesn't have to be hooked. On the other hand, the engaging portions 24a and 24b of the female member 20 may be not only U-shaped but also L-shaped as long as they can engage with the engaged portion of the insertion piece that is the mating counterpart. The direction is not limited.
Further, the cord body 2 can also be a round cord shape instead of a flat cord-like belt. In this case, depending on the shape of the cord body, the male member mounting portion, the female member annular portion, the cover It goes without saying that the shape of the string attachment portion of the body can be appropriately changed.

It is a principal part perspective view at the time of applying the buckle of embodiment of this invention to the collar of an animal. It is a perspective view which shows the component of the buckle of embodiment of this invention, (a) is a cover body, (b) is a female member, (c) is a male member, (d) is d arrow of FIG.2 (c). FIG. The female member of embodiment of this invention is shown, (a) is a top view, (b) is a front view, (c) is a left view, (d) is equivalent to the state of the virtual line of Fig.3 (a). It is a left side view. The cover body of embodiment of this invention is shown, (a) is a top view, (b) is the bb sectional view taken on the line of Fig.4 (a), (c) is the cc sectional view of FIG.4 (a). FIG. 4D is a bottom view. The operation | movement of the connection and cancellation | release of the buckle of embodiment of this invention is shown, (a) is the state before connection, (b) is the state immediately before connection, (c) is a connection state, (d) is the middle of releasing connection FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Buckle 2 String body 10 Male member 12 Insertion piece 12a, 12b Engagement part 20 Female member 21 Base part 22a, 22b Arm part 23 Annular part 24a, 24b Engagement part 28 Insert port 30 Cover body 32 String body attachment part 34 Storage part 38 Operation part

Claims (5)

The insertion piece (12) protruding from the male member (10) is inserted into the insertion port (28) of the female member (20) to connect the string (2), and the buckle (1),
The insertion piece (12) of the male member (10) includes a pair of engaged portions (12a, 12b),
The female member (20) is formed of a single metal wire having elasticity, and includes a pair of arm portions (22a, 22b) protruding from both ends of the base portion (21). The part (22a, 12b) can be engaged with and disengaged from the engaged part (12a, 12b) of the insertion piece (12) by expanding and contracting the distance between the arm parts (22a, 22b) by elastic deformation. A buckle, wherein the pair of engaging portions (24a, 24b) are integrally formed by bending.   2. The buckle according to claim 1, wherein the pair of arm portions (22 a, 22 b) of the female member (20) intersect each other at a midway portion reaching the engaging portions (24 a, 24 b).   The pair of engaging portions (24a, 24b) of the female member (20) have their bent inner edges facing each other, and a space surrounded by the pair of engaging portions (24a, 24b). The buckle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an insertion port (28) of the female member (20) is formed. The female member (20) is built in the cover body (30),
The cover body (30) includes an insertion port (33) into which the insertion piece (12) of the male member (10) can be inserted, and the female member (20) built into the insertion port (33). And an operating portion that can release the engaged state between the engaged portions (12a, 12b) and the engaging portions (24a, 24b) from the outside of the cover body (30). 38, 38). The buckle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising:   The cover body (30) is provided with a string body attaching part (32) for connecting to the string body (2), and the base part (21) of the female member (20) is provided on the string body attaching part (32). The buckle according to claim 4, which is fitted.

Images