JP2013063149A - Buckle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the damage of the connecting section and the leg sections from occurring by properly controlling the range of the expansion of a pair of the leg sections in a male member in a buckle including the male member and a female member combined with the male member.SOLUTION: The male member 2 of the buckle 1 includes: a base section 11; the pair of leg sections 12 and 12 engaged with the female member 3; the connecting section 13 for connecting the pair of leg sections at a position being away from the base section, and at the same time, includes a curved part 13c for forming a protruding shape to the base section side; and a pair of protruding sections 14 and 14 protruding to the combining direction with the female member from the base section at a space between the leg sections, and opposed to each other across at least a part of the curved section. The pair of leg sections are resiliently deformable in such a manner that the free end sides of them may expand. The connecting section can be extended by the resilient deformation of the curved part when the leg sections are expanded. The pair of protruding sections are constituted in a manner to regulate the extension of the connecting section by respectively engaging with the curved part when the connecting section is extended.

Description

  The present invention relates to a buckle including a male member and a female member coupled to the male member.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a buckle in which a pair of legs provided on a male member is locked in a state of being inserted into the female member so that both the members are in a coupled state has been widespread. In this type of buckle, the pair of leg portions of the male member is generally provided so as to protrude from the base portion to which the string-like member can be attached in the connecting direction with the female member. However, if the leg portion having such a configuration is caught in a surrounding object when not coupled, or is forcedly inserted in the coupling direction without being properly inserted into the female member, the free end side is expanded outward. There is a risk of damage.

  Therefore, in order to prevent such breakage of the leg portion, for example, in a male member, a pair of leg portions are coupled, and a coupling portion formed in a curved shape so that the intermediate portion is closest to the base side, and There is a buckle including a pair of projecting portions extending in the connecting direction of the male member between the intermediate portion and both leg portions of the connecting portion (see Patent Document 1). According to this conventional buckle, by extending the pair of projecting portions from between the pair of leg portions, the space between the intermediate portion and both the leg portions of the connecting portion is narrowed and a surrounding object or the like is hooked. The possibility can be reduced, and even when a torsional force acts between the male member and the female member in the coupled state, there is also an advantage that the protrusion can contact the female member to reduce the load on the leg portion. .

International Publication WO2009 / 093313

  However, since the buckle described in Patent Document 1 is configured to suppress the expansion of the leg portion only by the elastic force of the connection portion, when the leg portion is excessively expanded, the connection portion or the leg portion is There was a problem that the connection part and the leg part were damaged due to a large load. On the other hand, it is also conceivable to suppress the spread of the leg by increasing the rigidity of the connecting part 13, but in that case, the elastic deformation of the leg in normal coupling or decoupling operation is prevented. Problems arise.

  The present invention has been devised in view of such problems of the prior art, and appropriately limits the range of expansion of the pair of leg portions in the male member to prevent damage to the connecting portion and the leg portion. The main purpose is to provide a buckle that can be used.

  In a first aspect of the present invention made to solve the above problems, a buckle (1) comprising a male member (2) and a female member (3) coupled thereto, wherein the male member is The base (11), a pair of legs (12, 12) projecting from the base in the connecting direction with the female member and engageable with the female member, and the pair of legs at positions spaced from the base The leg part is coupled and the coupling part (13) having a curved portion (13c) that is convex on the base part side and the pair of leg parts project from the base part in the connecting direction with the female member. And a pair of projecting portions (14, 14) facing each other at least a part of the curved portion, and the pair of leg portions are elastically deformable so that their free end sides are expanded, The connecting portion is provided with an elastic portion of the curved portion when the leg portion is expanded. An extendable by deformation, the pair of projecting portions, the connecting portion is said to curved portion respectively engaged in a configuration for regulating the extension of the connecting portion when extended.

  In addition, as a second aspect of the present invention, with respect to the first aspect, the pair of protrusions can be elastically deformed in the expanding direction of the pair of leg portions while being engaged with the curved portions, respectively. It has a certain configuration.

  Further, as a third aspect of the present invention, with respect to the first or second aspect, the pair of protrusions are provided with first engaging claws (51, 51), respectively, A pair of second engaging claws (41, 41) that can be engaged with the first engaging claws are provided.

  Further, as a fourth aspect of the present invention, with respect to the third aspect, each of the first engaging claws is relative to a central axis (C1) of the male member along the coupling direction with the female member. Each of the second engaging claws is provided so as to be line symmetric with respect to the central axis (C2) of the female member along the coupling direction. To do.

  Further, as a fifth aspect of the present invention, the female member according to any one of the first to fourth aspects is a guide for guiding the movement of the pair of leg portions when coupled with the male member. Walls (75, 76) are provided, and the pair of protrusions are in contact with the guide wall when the coupling is completed.

  In addition, as a sixth aspect of the present invention, with respect to any one of the first to fifth aspects, a string-like member (A1) can be attached to the male member, and the female member is attached to the base portion. A through-hole (21) is formed which extends in a direction intersecting with the coupling direction and through which the string-like member can pass, and in the coupled state between the male member and the female member, A part is accommodated in the female member.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the pair of leg portions of the male member expands, the extension of the connecting portion (that is, elastic deformation of the curved portion) is restricted by the pair of projecting portions. Further, it is possible to appropriately limit the range of expansion of the pair of leg portions in the male member, and to prevent breakage of the connecting portion and the leg portion.
In addition, according to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to gently regulate the extension of the connecting portion by the pair of projecting portions that can be elastically deformed in the expanding direction of the leg portion. It can suppress that a local load is applied with respect to a connection part.
Moreover, according to the said 3rd side surface of this invention, when a pair of leg part of a male member expands, a pair of protrusion part can be engaged with a curved part by simple structure.
In addition, according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when the pair of leg portions of the male member expands, the pair of projecting portions can be more reliably engaged with the curved portion.
Further, according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when the buckle is in the coupled state, the pair of projecting portions are in contact with the guide wall, thereby preventing rattling between the male member and the female member. .
Further, according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to easily pass the string-like member through the through-hole in the uncoupled male member while suppressing an increase in the size of the buckle in the coupled state.

It is a perspective view which shows the combined state of the buckle 1 which concerns on embodiment. It is a top view of male member 2 concerning an embodiment. It is a side view of the male member 2 concerning an embodiment. It is the IV-IV sectional view taken on the line in FIG. It is a top view of female member 3 concerning an embodiment. It is a side view of the female member 3 which concerns on embodiment. It is a front view of the female member 3 which concerns on embodiment. It is the VIII-VIII sectional view taken on the line in FIG. It is the IX-IX sectional view taken on the line in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the expansion operation | movement of the leg part of the male member 2 which concerns on embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the coupling | bonding operation | movement of the male member 2 and the female member 3 which concerns on embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the coupling | bonding state of the male member 2 and the female member 3 which concern on embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In description, about the direction of the male member 2 and the female member 3 which comprise the buckle 1, according to the arrangement | positioning shown in each figure, it shall set up and down, front and back, and right and left.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the buckle 1 includes a male member 2 and a female member 3 coupled to the male member 2, and serves to connect the string-like members A <b> 1 and A <b> 2 attached to both the members 2 and 3. It is. The male member 2 and the female member 3 are integrally formed of synthetic resin.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the male member 2 includes a base portion 11 to which a string-like member can be attached, and a pair of leg portions 12 and 12 projecting forward from the base portion 11 (in the coupling direction with the female member 3). A connecting portion 13 that connects the leg portions 12 and 12 at a position spaced forward from the base portion 11, and a pair of protruding portions 14 and 14 that protrude forward from the base portion 11 between the pair of leg portions 12 and 12. Have The shape of each part of the male member 2 is axisymmetric (laterally symmetric) with respect to the central axis C1 (see FIG. 2) along the front-rear direction in plan view.

  The base 11 includes a substantially rectangular frame 22 having a through-hole 21 formed in the center in plan view, and a mounting bar 23 that spans the left and right of the frame 22 so as to cross the through-hole 21 from side to side. Have. As shown in FIG. 4, the end of the string member A <b> 1 is wound around the mounting bar 23. The string-like member A1 is pressed against the rear end edge 24a of the tongue-like portion 24 in a state where the fixed end side A1a is pulled rearward and the inner free end A1b side is bent. It is firmly fixed by the frictional force between the tongue-like portion 24 and the mounting bar 23.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the leg portions 12, 12 are connected to an elastic piece portion 31 that protrudes substantially linearly forward from the left and right sides of the front wall 11 a of the base portion 11, and the front end of the elastic piece portion 31. And an engagement piece 32 extending forward while curving inwardly toward the free end 12a. The elastic piece portion 31 is provided with a smaller width than the engagement piece portion 32 in plan view so that elastic deformation in the left-right direction (direction intersecting with the coupling direction with the female member 3) is easy. . Due to the elastic deformation of the elastic piece 31, the legs 12, 12 can be displaced so that the tips 12 a approach or separate from each other. At the boundary between the elastic piece portion 31 and the engagement piece portion 32, the engagement piece portion 32 is widened outward to form an engagement step portion 33. Furthermore, a guide protrusion 34 that protrudes in the vertical direction is provided at the distal end 12a of the legs 12 and 12.

  The connecting portion 13 extends in the left-right direction at an intermediate position in the protruding direction of the leg portions 12, 12. The connecting portion 13 is disposed at the center in the left-right direction so as to connect the substantially straight end portions 13a, 13a connected to the inside of the leg portions 12, 12, respectively, and the left and right end portions 13a, 13a. It has a curved portion (curved portion) 13c that protrudes rearward (to the base 11 side). The curved portion 13c is substantially U-shaped, and engaging claws (second engaging claws) 41 and 41 that protrude obliquely forward and outward are provided on the rear end side that forms an arc shape. .

  The projecting portions 14 and 14 extend from the front wall 11a of the base portion 11 and are curved inward toward the tip end 14a. The protrusions 14 and 14 are arranged in a space surrounded by the front wall 11a, the legs 12 and 12 and the connecting portion 13 in plan view, and face each other so as to sandwich the curved portion 13c therebetween. Engagement claws (first engagement claws) 51 and 51 projecting obliquely inward and rearward are provided at the tips 14a of the projections 14 and 14, respectively.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 to 9, the female member 3 has a substantially box shape, and includes an upper wall 61, a lower wall 62 facing the upper wall 61, and left and right edges of the upper wall 61 and the lower wall 62. The left and right side walls 63 and 63 are connected to each other, and an internal space into which the male member 2 is inserted is defined by these walls 61 to 63. The shape of each part of the female member 3 is symmetrical with respect to the central axis C2 (see FIG. 5) along the front-rear direction in plan view.

  As shown in FIG. 7, an insertion port 71 into which the leg portions 12, 12, etc. of the male member 2 are inserted is provided on the rear surface side of the female member 3, and this insertion port 71 is connected to the front side through an internal space. To the front opening 72 (see FIG. 8). Further, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 8, mounting bars 73 are bridged to the left and right at the front end portions of the left and right side walls 63, 63, and the ends of the string-like member A <b> 2 are attached to the mounting bars 73. The part is wound. Further, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 9, at the center of the side walls 63, 63 in the front-rear direction, the engaging piece 32 of the legs 12, 12 protrudes outward when coupled to the male member 2. Side openings 74 are provided respectively.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a pair of left and right guide walls 75, 75 that guide the movement of the legs 12, 12 of the male member 2 project downward from the inner surface of the upper wall 61. The guide walls 75, 75 are formed as stepped portions generated by increasing the thickness of predetermined regions on the left and right of the upper wall 61. As shown in FIG. 9, the rear ends of the guide walls 75, 75 are connected to the inner surfaces of the rear ends of the side walls 63, 63, while the intermediate portions of the guide walls 75, 75 are forward (that is, in plan view) , And the male member 2 is inclined inward so that the interval becomes narrower toward the insertion direction. Further, the front ends of the guide walls 75 are arranged so as to face each other with a predetermined interval. Similarly, on the inner surface of the lower wall 62, a pair of left and right guide walls 76, 76 project upwardly at positions corresponding to the upper and lower guide walls 75, 75 of the upper wall 61.

  In addition, a vertical wall 77 extending vertically toward the upper wall 61 is provided at the center in the left-right direction of the lower wall 62. The vertical wall 77 extends from the vicinity of the center of the female member 3 to the vicinity of the front edge of the upper wall 61 in the front-rear direction. Even if a force that crushes the flat female member 3 in the vertical direction acts on the flat female member 3, the gap between the upper wall 61 and the lower wall 62 is maintained and the female member 3 is damaged. Can be prevented. The position of the upper edge 77a of the vertical wall 77 substantially coincides with the position of the lower edge 76a of the guide walls 76, 76.

  Next, the expansion operation of the leg portions 12 and 12 of the male member 2 will be described. As shown in FIG. 10, when an external force is unexpectedly applied to at least one of the leg portions 12 and 12 of the male member 2 in the uncoupled state, the leg portions 12 and 12 of the male member 2 may be spread outward. is there. In such a case, the connecting portion 13 extends in the left-right direction as the leg portions 12, 12 expand. More specifically, both end portions 13a and 13a of the connecting portion 13 are pulled left or right by the leg portions 12 and 12, and the bending portion 13c is elastically deformed so as to open both U-shaped ends. Thereby, the engaging claws 41, 41 provided in the bending portion 13c are displaced obliquely forward and outward from the initial position, and engage with the engaging claws 51, 51 of the protruding portions 14, 14, respectively. These engagements restrict the extension of the connecting portion 13 in the left-right direction. As a result, the range of expansion of the leg portions 12 and 12 is appropriately limited, and damage to the connecting portion 13 and the leg portions 12 and 12 can be prevented.

  In this case, since the engaging claws 51 and 51 are configured to be positioned outside and forward of the engaging claws 41 and 41 of the engaging claws 41 and 41 of the connecting portion 13, the leg portions 12 and 12 of the male member 2 are arranged. When expanding, the engaging claws 51, 51 and the engaging claws 41, 41 can be reliably engaged.

  Here, the protrusions 14 and 14 are arranged in the left-right direction (the direction in which the legs 12 and 12 are expanded) in a state where the engaging claws 51 and 51 are engaged with the engaging claws 41 and 41 of the curved portion 13c, respectively. Each can be elastically deformable. Thereby, extension of the connection part 13 can be moderately regulated by the protrusions 14 and 14, and a local load on the connection part 13 can be suppressed.

  Contrary to the above operation, when an external force is applied in the direction of closing the legs 12, 12 of the male member 2 (for example, when the coupling of the buckle 1 is released, the engaging piece 32 protruding from the side opening 74 is removed. When the user pushes inward with a finger), the connecting portion 13 contracts as the leg portions 12 and 12 close (to bring the distal ends 12a closer to each other). More specifically, both end portions 13a and 13a of the connecting portion 13 are pushed inward by the leg portions 12 and 12, and the bending portion 13c is elastically deformed so that the U-shaped both ends approach each other. As a result, the rear edge side of the curved portion 13c is displaced forward (base portion 11 side), and the engaging claws 41, 41 are displaced obliquely forward inside. These displacements are a space between the projecting portions 14, 14. Therefore, the operation of the connecting portion 13 is not hindered by the protruding portions 14 and 14.

  Next, the coupling | bonding operation | movement of the male member 2 and the female member 3 is demonstrated. In the buckle 1, the leg portions 12, 12 of the male member 2 are inserted from the insertion port 71 of the female member 3, thereby being in a coupled state as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. When inserting the male member 2 into the female member 3, first, the guide protrusions 34 in the legs 12, 12 are guided by the guide walls 76, 76 in the vicinity of the insertion opening 71 of the female member 3 (the guide walls 75 of the upper wall 61, 75 also abuts. Thereafter, the guide protrusions 34 are pressed inwardly by the guide walls 76 and 76 whose intervals are gradually narrowed, so that the legs 12 and 12 move in the coupling direction while elastically deforming inward. Finally, when the guide protrusion 34 moves beyond the rear ends of the guide walls 76, 76 in the coupling direction, the pressure on the guide walls 76, 76 is released, thereby restoring the legs 12, 12 to their original state. And the coupling is completed. At this time, the engaging piece 32 of the legs 12, 12 protrudes outward from the side opening 74 of the female member 3, and the engaging step 33 is locked by the front edge 74 a of the side opening 74.

  Further, when the male member 2 is inserted into the female member 3, the projecting portions 14, 14 are guided by the guide walls 76, 76 in the same manner as the guide projecting portion 34. It will be in the state contacted to the inner surface. At this time, the protrusions 14 and 14 are in a state of being slightly elastically deformed inward so as to make their tips 14a approach. With such a configuration, rattling between the male member 2 and the female member 3 in the coupled state of the buckle 1 can be prevented. In addition, the restoring force of the elastic deformation of the protrusions 14 and 14 acts in a direction in which the male member 2 and the female member 3 are separated. Therefore, when releasing the coupling of the buckle 1, there is an advantage that the male member 2 can be easily detached by the restoring force of the protrusions 14, 14.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the upper and lower widths at both ends 13a and 13a of the connecting portion 13 are reduced compared to the vertical width of the curved portion 13c (front side), and the lower edges 75a of the guide walls 75 and 75 The distance between the guide walls 76 and 76 and the upper edge 76a is smaller. Therefore, in the coupled buckle 1, the connecting portion 13 does not engage with the guide walls 76 and 76. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, in the protrusions 14 and 14, the tip 14a is set to be the same as the vertical width of the both ends 13a and 13a of the connecting portion 13, but the vertical width of the portion other than the tip 14a. Is set larger than the distance between the upper edge 75a of the guide walls 75, 75 and the lower edge 76a of the guide walls 76, 76. Thereby, the protrusions 14 and 14 can be engaged with the guide walls 75 and 75 and the guide walls 76 and 76.

  Here, the vertical width of at least a part of the connecting part 13 (here, the curved part 13c (front side)) and the vertical width of at least a part of the projecting parts 14 and 14 (parts other than the tip 14a here) are defined. The size can be set substantially equal to the distance between the upper wall 61 and the lower wall 62 of the female member 3 to such an extent that the coupling and uncoupling operations are not hindered. With such a configuration, in the coupled state of the buckle 1, even if a force that crushes the female member 3 in the vertical direction acts on the female member 3, the female member 3 can be prevented from being damaged in the same manner as the vertical wall 77 described above. Can do. In this case, there is also an advantage that the effect of preventing breakage of the female member 3 is enhanced in combination with the vertical wall of the female member 3 located inside the curved portion 13c.

  In the buckle 1, when the male member 2 and the female member 3 are coupled, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, a part (front side) of the base 11 in which the through hole 21 is formed in the male member 2 is the female member 3. It will be in the state accommodated in. That is, in the male member 2, the front-rear direction width (the gap W <b> 1 between the front wall 11 a of the base portion 11 and the mounting bar 23) of the front side opening 21 a forming a part of the through hole 21 is ensured to a required size. When coupled with the female member 3, the width of the front opening 21 a is reduced by inserting the female member 3 side of the front opening 21 a into the female member 3 (between the front end of the female member 3 and the mounting bar 23. There will be a gap W2).

  With such a configuration, in the buckle 1, for example, when the free end A1b of the string-like member A1 (see FIG. 4) attached to the male member 2 is folded a plurality of times, and the thickness of the end portion is larger than other portions However, the male member 2 and the female member 3 can be easily attached to the male member 2 in the uncoupled state (that is, the string-like member A1 can be easily inserted into the through hole 21). The increase in size in the bonding direction can be suppressed.

  In addition, the through-hole 21 provided in the base 11 extends in at least a direction crossing the coupling direction with the female member 3, and is provided for attachment of the string-like member A1 (the string-like member can be passed through A1). The configuration (opening shape, arrangement of the mounting bar 23, etc.) can be variously changed. In addition, in the configuration in which a part of the through hole 21 in the base portion 11 of the male member 2 is accommodated in the female member 3, other components such as the protruding portion in the male member 2 are changed (omitted, omitted, It is also possible to appropriately adopt the case where the arrangement is changed.

  Although the present invention has been described based on specific embodiments, these embodiments are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to the embodiments. For example, the engaging claws provided in each of the pair of projecting portions and the curved portions of the connecting portion are not limited to strictly claw-shaped portions, for example, stepped portions and openings that function similarly. An edge part, a notch edge part, etc. may be sufficient. Moreover, the shape of the connection part which connects the leg part of a male member can be variously changed, for example, the structure provided with two or more curved parts is also possible. Furthermore, the object to be joined to the buckle is not limited to a belt, cable, string or other string-like member, and a configuration in which one of a male member or a female member is fixed to another instrument or the like is also possible. Note that all the components of the buckle according to the present invention shown in the above embodiments are not necessarily essential, and can be appropriately selected as long as they do not depart from the scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Buckle 2 Male member 3 Female member 11 Base part 12 Leg part 13 Connection part 13c Curved part (curved part)
14 Protruding portion 41 Engaging claw (second engaging claw)
51 engaging claw (first engaging claw)
75 Guide wall A1 String member C1 Center axis (male member)
C2 Center axis (female member)

Claims (6)

A buckle comprising a male member and a female member coupled to the male member,
The male member is
The base,
A pair of legs projecting from the base in the coupling direction with the female member and engageable with the female member;
Connecting the pair of legs at a position spaced apart from the base, and a connecting part having a curved portion convex toward the base;
A pair of projecting portions projecting from the base portion in the connecting direction with the female member between the pair of leg portions, and facing at least a part of the curved portion in between,
The pair of legs can be elastically deformed so that their free end sides expand.
The connecting portion can be extended by elastic deformation of the curved portion when the leg portion is expanded,
The pair of projecting portions are respectively engaged with the curved portions when the connecting portion extends to restrict the extension of the connecting portion.   2. The buckle according to claim 1, wherein the pair of projecting portions are elastically deformable in an expanding direction of the pair of leg portions while being engaged with the curved portions, respectively. Each of the pair of protrusions is provided with a first engagement claw,
3. The buckle according to claim 1, wherein the curved portion is provided with a pair of second engagement claws that can be engaged with the first engagement claws, respectively. Each of the first engaging claws is provided so as to be line symmetric with respect to the central axis of the male member along the coupling direction with the female member,
4. The buckle according to claim 3, wherein each of the second engaging claws is provided so as to be axisymmetric with respect to a central axis of the female member along the coupling direction. The female member includes a guide wall that guides the movement of the pair of legs when combined with the male member,
The buckle according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the pair of protrusions are brought into contact with the guide wall when the coupling is completed. A string-like member can be attached to the male member,
The base is formed with a through-hole that extends in a direction intersecting with the coupling direction with the female member and through which the string-like member can be inserted,
The buckle according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a part of the through hole is accommodated in the female member in a coupled state of the male member and the female member.

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