US20160183637A1

US20160183637A1 - Side Release Buckle

Info

Publication number: US20160183637A1
Application number: US14/582,279
Authority: US
Inventors: Tsung-Ming Kung
Original assignee: Merrimack River Precision Industrial Corp
Current assignee: Merrimack River Precision Industrial Corp
Priority date: 2014-12-24
Filing date: 2014-12-24
Publication date: 2016-06-30

Abstract

A side release buckle has a male buckle member and a female buckle member. To separate the buckle members, the male buckle member is further pushed toward the female buckle member, and abutting recess slopes of pressing arms of the male buckle member slide along abutting segment slopes of abutting segments of the female buckle member to transversely bend the pressing arms inward. Then, the abutting segments can depart from the abutting recesses by further slightly pressing the pressing arms, and the male buckle member may be removed. The pushing is accomplished by the wrist and the arm, which is an easy way to apply force. The pressing can be easily accomplished by the fingers, since the pressing arms have been bent. Even if the pressing arms are strengthened in structure to enhance the engagement strength, the buckle members also can be easily separated by the same way.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a buckle, especially to a side release buckle.
2. Description of the Prior Arts
With reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, a conventional side release buckle comprises a male buckle member 92 and a female buckle member 91. The female buckle member 91 has an inner space, an opening 911 and two abutting recesses 912. The opening 911 communicates with the inner space. The abutting recesses 912 are respectively formed in two transverse sides of an inner surface of the female buckle member 91. The male buckle member 92 has two pressing arms 921. The pressing arms 921 are respectively formed on two transverse sides of the male buckle member 92, and protrude in a same direction. Each pressing arm 921 has an abutting segment 922 protruding from a transverse outer surface of the pressing arm 921.
When in use, the male buckle member 92 is pushed toward the opening 911 of the female buckle member 91, such that the pressing arms 921 are mounted into the inner space of the female buckle member 91. The pressing arms 921 are pressed to be slightly and inwardly deformed, and then the abutting segments 922 are respectively mounted in and abut the abutting recesses 912 of the female buckle member 91. Therefore, the male buckle member 92 and the female buckle member 91 are engaged together. To separate the male buckle member 92 and the female buckle member 91, the pressing arms 921 are inwardly pressed to depart the abutting segments 922 from the abutting recesses 912. Then the male buckle member 92 is removed from the female buckle member 91 when the pressing arms 921 remain pressed.
However, the conventional side release buckle has the following shortcomings.
First, the easiest way to enhance the engagement strength between the male buckle member 92 and the female buckle member 91 is to thicken the pressing arms 921 or to install an outer structure to make the pressing arms hard to be pressed, thereby preventing the male buckle member 92 and female buckle member 91 from easily separating from each other. However, the hard-to-press pressing arms 921 also pose difficulty for a user to separate the male buckle member 92 and female buckle member 91. In particular, the pressing arms 921 are usually pressed by the thumb and the forefinger, which is a laborious way to apply force.
Second, when the male buckle member 92 and the female buckle member 91 are separated, the abutting segments 922, which protrude from the outer surface of the pressing arms 921, may easily contact and rub against other objects and thus get worn. The wear of the abutting segments 922 may affect the engagement between the abutting segments 922 and the abutting recesses 912, and further lowering the engagement strength between the male buckle member 92 and the female buckle member 91.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a side release buckle to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main objective of the present invention is to provide a side release buckle that can enhance the engagement strength between the male buckle member and the female buckle member, and the male buckle member and the female buckle member also can be separated conveniently.
The side release buckle has a male buckle member and a female buckle member. The female buckle member has an inner space, an opening, and two abutting segments. The opening is formed in a longitudinal direction of the female buckle member and communicates with the inner space. The abutting segments are respectively formed on two transverse sides of an inner surface of the female buckle member. Each abutting segment has an abutting segment slope. The abutting segment slope is formed on the abutting segment, and is inclined transversely outward toward the opening of the female buckle member. The male buckle member is selectively mounted into the female buckle member, and has two pressing arms. The pressing arms are respectively formed on two transverse sides of the male buckle member, protrude in a same direction, and are selectively mounted in the inner space of the female buckle member. Each pressing arm has an abutting recess. The abutting recess is formed in a transverse outer surface of the pressing arm, is selectively disposed around the abutting segment, and has an abutting recess slope. The abutting recess slope is formed in an inner surface of the abutting recess, is inclined transversely inward toward the opening of the female buckle member, and selectively abuts the abutting segment slope. When the abutting recesses of the male buckle member are disposed around the abutting segments of the female buckle member and the male buckle member is pushed toward the female buckle member, the abutting recess slopes slide along the abutting segment slopes to transversely bend the pressing arms inward and deform the pressing arms.
To separate the male buckle member and the female buckle member, the male buckle member is further pushed toward the female buckle member, and the abutting recess slopes of the pressing arms respectively slide along the abutting segment slopes to transversely bend the pressing arms inward and deform the pressing arms while the abutting segments are still mounted in the abutting recesses. At this time, the abutting segments can depart from the abutting recesses by further slightly pressing the pressing arms, and then the male buckle member may be removed when the pressing arms remain in the foregoing status. Pushing the male buckle member toward the female buckle member is accomplished by the force of the wrist and the arm of the user, which is an easy way to apply force. In addition, when the user further presses the pressing arms by the fingers, the pressing arms have been bent and deformed, such that the user does not have to spend much physical effort pressing. Even if the pressing arms are strengthened in structure to enhance the engagement strength between the male buckle member and the female buckle member, the male buckle member and the female buckle member also can be easily separated by the way mentioned above.
In addition, since the concaved abutting recess is disposed in the pressing arm and the protruding abutting segment is disposed in the inner surface of the female buckle member, the abutting segment does not easily contact or rub against other objects and get worn, thereby avoiding affecting the engagement between the abutting segment and the abutting recess.
Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a side release buckle in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the side release buckle in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view in partial section of the side release buckle in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a first top view in partial section of the side release buckle in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a second top view in partial section of the side release buckle in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a third top view in partial section of the side release buckle in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a conventional side release buckle in accordance with the prior art; and

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the conventional side release buckle in FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a side release buckle in accordance with the present invention comprises a female buckle member 10 and a male buckle member 20.
With reference to FIGS. 2 to 4, the female buckle member 10 has an inner space, an opening 11, two stops 12, two abutting segments 13, and two supporting ribs 15. The opening 11 is formed in a longitudinal direction of the female buckle member 10 and communicates with the inner space. The stops 12 are respectively formed on two transverse sides of an inner surface of the female buckle member 10. The abutting segments 13 are respectively formed on the transverse sides of the inner surface of the female buckle member 10. The abutting segments 13 are respectively disposed between the stops 12 and the opening 11. Each abutting segment 13 has an abutting segment slope 14. The abutting segment slope 14 is formed on the abutting segment 13, and is inclined transversely outward toward the opening 11. The supporting ribs 15 are formed on the inner surface of the female buckle member 10, and are transversely arranged separately. Each supporting rib 15 is connected to two vertical sides of the inner surface of the female buckle member 10, thereby vertically strengthening the structure of the female buckle member 10.
The male buckle member 20 is selectively mounted into the female buckle member 10, and has two pressing arms 21 and a guiding arm 22. The pressing arms 21 are respectively formed on two transverse sides of the male buckle member 20, protrude in a same direction, and are selectively mounted in the inner space of the female buckle member 10 from the opening 11. Ends of the pressing arms 21 respectively and selectively abut the stops 12 of the female buckle member 10. Each pressing arm 21 has an extending segment 211, a strengthening rib 212 and an abutting recess 213. The extending segment 211 and the strengthening rib 212 are formed on a transverse inner surface of the pressing arm 21. The extending segment 211 is disposed adjacent to the end of the pressing arm 21. The strengthening rib 212 is connected to the extending segment 211, and is thinner than the extending segment 211 in vertical thickness. The strengthening ribs 212 transversely strengthen the structure of the pressing arm 21, thereby preventing the pressing arm 21 from being easily bent transversely and deformed. The abutting recess 213 is disposed adjacent to the end of the pressing arm 21, is formed in a transverse outer surface of the pressing arm 21, extends into the extending segment 211, is selectively disposed around the abutting segment 13 of the female buckle member 10, and has an abutting recess slope 214. The abutting recess slope 214 is formed in an inner surface of the abutting recess 213, is inclined transversely inward toward the opening 11 of the female buckle member 10, and selectively abuts the abutting segment slope 14 of the female buckle member 10. The guiding arm 22 protrudes from a center of the male buckle member 20 in a direction same as the protruding direction of the pressing arms 21, and is selectively mounted into the female buckle member 10 and between the supporting ribs 15 of the female buckle member 10.
To assemble the male buckle member 20 and the female buckle member 10, the male buckle member 20 is pushed toward the opening 11 of the female buckle member 10. A relative insertion angle between the male buckle member 20 and the female buckle member 10 may be adjusted by the cooperation of the guiding arm 22 and the supporting ribs 15. Then, the ends of the pressing arms 21 respectively slide along the abutting segment slopes 14 of the female buckle member 10 to slightly bend the pressing arms 21 inward, such that the ends of the pressing arms 21 can pass the abutting segments 13. Finally, the abutting recesses 213 of the pressing arms 21 are respectively disposed around the abutting segments 13, and the assembling of the male buckle member 20 with the female buckle member 10 is completed.
With reference to FIG. 5, to separate the male buckle member 20 and the female buckle member 10, the male buckle member 20 is further pushed toward the female buckle member 10 until the ends of the pressing arms 21 abut the stops 12. During the movement of the male buckle member 20, the abutting recess slopes 214 of the pressing arms 21 respectively slide along the abutting segment slopes 14 to transversely bend the pressing arms 21 inward and deform the pressing arms 21, but the abutting segments 13 are still mounted in the abutting recesses 213 of the pressing arms 21. With reference to FIG. 6, at this time, the abutting segments 13 can depart from the abutting recesses 213 by further slightly pressing the pressing arms 21, and then the male buckle member 20 may be removed while the pressing arms 21 remain in the foregoing status. Pushing the male buckle member 20 toward the female buckle member 10 is accomplished by the force of the wrist and the arm of the user; which is an easy way to apply force. In addition, when the user further presses the pressing arms 21 by the fingers, the pressing arms 21 have been bent and deformed, such that the user does not have to spend much physical effort pressing.
Even if the pressing arms 21 are strengthened in structure to enhance the engagement strength between the male buckle member 20 and the female buckle member 10, the male buckle member 20 and the female buckle member 10 still can be easily separated by the way mentioned above.
In addition, since the concaved abutting recess 213 is disposed in the pressing arm 21, and the protruding abutting segment 13 is disposed in the inner surface of the female buckle member 10, the abutting segment does not easily contact or rub against other objects and get worn, thereby avoiding affecting the engagement between the abutting segment 13 and the abutting recess 213.
In another preferred embodiment, the abutting recess and the extending segment can be non-adjacent to the end of the pressing arm, and is disposed adjacent to the middle part of the pressing arm, which also has the same merits mentioned above.
Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and features of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in the details, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A side release buckle comprising:

a female buckle member having

an inner space;

an opening formed in a longitudinal direction of the female buckle member and communicating with the inner space; and

two abutting segments respectively formed on two transverse sides of an inner surface of the female buckle member; each abutting segment having

an abutting segment slope formed on the abutting segment, and being inclined transversely outward toward the opening of the female buckle member; and

a male buckle member selectively mounted into the female buckle member, and having

two pressing arms respectively formed on two transverse sides of the male buckle member, protruding in a same direction, and selectively mounted in the inner space of the female buckle member; each pressing arm having

an abutting recess formed in a transverse outer surface of the pressing arm, selectively disposed around the abutting segment, and having

an abutting recess slope formed in an inner surface of the abutting recess, being inclined transversely inward toward the opening of the female buckle member, and selectively abutting the abutting segment slope;

wherein when the abutting recesses of the male buckle member are disposed around the abutting segments of the female buckle member and the male buckle member is pushed toward the female buckle member, the abutting recesses slope slide along the abutting segment slopes to transversely bend the pressing arms inward and deform the pressing arms.

2. The side release buckle as claimed in claim 1, wherein

each pressing arm of the male buckle member has

an extending segment formed on a transverse inner surface of the pressing arm; and

the abutting recess of said pressing arm extends into the extending segment.

3. The side release buckle as claimed in claim 2, wherein the abutting recess and the extending segment of each pressing arm are disposed adjacent to an end of the pressing arm.

4. The side release buckle as claimed in claim 2, wherein

each pressing arm of the male buckle member has

a strengthening rib formed on the transverse inner surface of the pressing arm, connected to the extending segment, and being thinner than the extending segment in vertical thickness.

5. The side release buckle as claimed in claim 1, wherein

the female buckle member has

two stops respectively formed on the transverse sides of the inner surface of the female buckle member;

the abutting segments of the female buckle member are respectively disposed between the stops and the opening of the female buckle member; and

ends of the pressing arms of the male buckle member respectively and selectively abut the stops.

6. The side release buckle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the female buckle member has

two supporting ribs formed on the inner surface of the female buckle member and transversely arranged separately; each supporting rib connected to two vertical sides of the inner surface of the female buckle member.

7. The side release buckle as claimed in claim 6, wherein the male buckle member has

a guiding arm protruding from the male buckle member in a direction same as the protruding direction of the pressing arms, and selectively mounted into the female buckle member and between the supporting ribs of the female buckle member.