US20190289967A1

US20190289967A1 - Buckle

Info

Publication number: US20190289967A1
Application number: US16/217,221
Authority: US
Inventors: Po Chu Lin
Original assignee: Duraflex Hong Kong Ltd
Current assignee: Duraflex Hong Kong Ltd
Priority date: 2018-03-21
Filing date: 2018-12-12
Publication date: 2019-09-26
Also published as: CN208144600U

Abstract

A buckle has a male buckle portion and a female buckle portion, wherein the female buckle portion comprises a female buckle portion body and a channel for the insertion of the male buckle portion. The female buckle portion further comprises a limiting skirt at an opening of the channel for guiding the male buckle portion into alignment with the opening of the channel.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 USC 119 of Chinese Application No. 201820413355.7, filed on Mar. 21, 2018, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a buckle.

2. The Prior Art

In existing two-piece buckles that consist of a male buckle portion and a female buckle portion, the female buckle portion is provided with a flat opening. When a male buckle portion and a female buckle portion are fastened together, the male buckle portion and the female buckle portion are prone to dislocation due to a pulling force of a buckle belt connected to the respective buckle, which easily leads to a user repeating a buckling action many times in order to align the male buckle portion with the female buckle portion. At the same time, in the process of fastening the male buckle portion and the female buckle portion, the male buckle portion, the female buckle portion and the buckling direction must be aligned; otherwise, it is impossible or difficult to achieve a fastening effect. In addition, there are various influences in outdoor activities, such as load bearing, operation with one hand, lack of visual aids (at night or on the back), and backpack expansion, all of which greatly increase the difficulty of fastening the male buckle portion and female buckle portion

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention is to propose a buckle that overcomes the aforementioned problems.
To solve the technical problems mentioned above, the present invention relates to a buckle comprising a male buckle portion and a female buckle portion, wherein the female buckle portion comprises a female buckle portion body, and a channel for the insertion of the male buckle portion is formed on the female buckle portion body. The female buckle portion further comprises a limiting skirt, which is provided or formed at an opening of the channel and is used for guiding the male buckle portion to be aligned with the opening of the channel. The female buckle portion further comprises a latch provided or formed on an inner wall of the channel.
The male buckle portion comprises a male buckle portion body, and further comprises a stop member provided or formed on the male buckle portion body. The stop member is provided with an engagement groove which is close to the male buckle portion body and is used for limiting the latch, and a guiding groove which is away from the male buckle portion body and in communication with the engagement groove and is used for guiding the latch to slide into the engagement groove when the male buckle portion is inserted into the channel.
The width of at least one section of the guiding groove increases with increasing distance from the engagement groove. The latch is provided in the middle of the channel and the engagement groove is correspondingly arranged in the middle of the male buckle portion.
A first outer end of the guiding groove is arc-shaped; and a second outer end of the latch is chamfered, such that the latch is guided into the arc-shaped first outer end. The engagement groove and the guiding groove are both H-shaped grooves; two latches are correspondingly provided and are respectively arranged on an inner wall close to the limiting skirt and on an inner wall away from the limiting skirt of the channel; and second outer ends of the two latches cooperate to form a notch, which is convenient for the sliding of the guiding groove.
In the buckle of the present invention, engagement holes are provided on two sides of the female buckle portion body, and the two engagement holes are respectively in communication with the channel. The male buckle portion further comprises two first engagement members which are provided or formed on the male buckle portion body, and the two first engagement members are respectively arranged on two sides of the stop member and correspond to the two engagement holes one to one; and when the male buckle portion slides into the channel, the first engagement members slide into the corresponding engagement holes.
In the buckle of the present invention, with the clever use of the guiding function of the channel, the cooperating structure of the female buckle portion and the male buckle portion is correspondingly designed, so that the female buckle portion and the male buckle portion can be easily fastened together. In particular, with the limiting skirt, through its limiting function, when the male buckle portion and the female buckle portion are fastened together, the male buckle portion is forced to stop when it becomes aligned with the opening of the channel, which facilitates the insertion of the male buckle portion into the channel. Moreover, the female buckle portion and the male buckle portion are stably aligned by means of the cooperation of the stop member and the latch. Furthermore, it is convenient for the latch to slide into the engagement groove more easily due to the structure of the guiding groove. The buckle of the present invention has an ingenious design and strong practicability.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be further explained below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a structural schematic diagram of a buckle according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a structural schematic diagram of a female buckle portion of the buckle as shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a structural schematic diagram of the female buckle portion as shown in FIG. 2 in another direction;

FIG. 4 shows a structural schematic diagram of a male buckle portion of the buckle as shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 shows a structural schematic diagram of the male buckle portion as shown in FIG. 4 in another direction;

FIG. 6 shows a structural schematic diagram of the male buckle portion as shown in FIG. 5 in yet another direction;

FIG. 7 shows a structural schematic diagram of the female buckle portion as shown in FIG. 2 in yet another direction; and

FIG. 8 shows a structural schematic diagram of a female buckle portion according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The technical problems to be solved by the present invention are: when a male buckle portion and a female buckle portion are fastened together, the male buckle portion and the female buckle portion are prone to dislocation due to a pulling force of a buckle belt connected to the respective buckle; and in the process of fastening the male buckle portion and the female buckle portion, the male buckle portion, the female buckle portion and the buckling direction must be kept in the same line, otherwise, it is impossible or difficult to achieve a fastening effect. The present invention overcomes because this due to the clever use of the guiding function of the channel, the cooperating structure of the female buckle portion and the male buckle portion is correspondingly designed, so that the female buckle portion and the male buckle portion can be easily fastened together.
In order to make the technical purposes, technical solutions and technical effects of the present invention clearer so as to facilitate those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present invention, the present invention will be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and particular embodiments.

First Embodiment

As shown in FIGS. 1-3, FIG. 1 shows a structural schematic diagram of a buckle according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 shows a structural schematic diagram of a female buckle portion of the buckle as shown in FIG. 1; and FIG. 3 shows a structural schematic diagram of the female buckle portion as shown in FIG. 2 in another direction. In particular, the buckle comprises a male buckle portion 100 and a female buckle portion 200, wherein the female buckle portion 200 comprises a female buckle portion body 210, and a channel 211 for the insertion of the male buckle portion 100 is formed on the female buckle portion body 210; and the female buckle portion 200 further comprises a limiting skirt 220, which is provided or formed at an opening 212 of the channel 211 and is used for guiding the male buckle portion 100 to be aligned with the opening 212 of the channel 211. It can be seen from FIG. 3 that the limiting skirt 220 protrudes from the profile of the female buckle portion body 210 and is equivalent to a “wall”, and when the male buckle portion 100 and the female buckle portion 200 are fastened together, the limiting skirt can force, through its limiting function, the male buckle portion 100 to stop when it is aligned with the opening 212 of the channel 211, which facilitates the insertion of the male buckle portion 100 into the channel 211.
Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the female buckle portion 200 further comprises a latch 230 provided or formed on an inner wall of the channel 211. FIG. 4 shows a structural schematic diagram of a male buckle portion of the buckle as shown in FIG. 1. The male buckle portion 100 comprises a male buckle portion body 110, and further comprises a stop member 120 provided or formed on the male buckle portion body 110. The stop member 120 is provided with an engagement groove 121 which is close to the male buckle portion body 110 and is used for limiting the latch 230, and a guiding groove 122 which is remote from the male buckle portion body 110 and in communication with the engagement groove 121 and is used for guiding the latch 230 to slide into the engagement groove 121 when the male buckle portion 100 is inserted into the channel 211. In this embodiment, the latch 230 is fitted in shape with the engagement groove 121, both in the shape of a straight bar, and the latch 230 and the engagement groove 121 both in the shape of a straight bar facilitate the production of buckles. It can be understood that the latch 230 and/or the engagement groove 121 may be of other shapes, for example, the latch 230 is in the shape of a straight bar, while the engagement groove 121 is gourd-shaped, and the engagement groove 121 realizes the limiting function of the latch 230 by means of multiple points thereof recessed inwards. As another example, the latch 230 is gourd-shaped, the engagement groove 121 is in the shape of a straight bar, and the latch 230, by means of multiple points thereof protruding outwards, is limited by the engagement groove 121.
Further, FIG. 5 shows a structural schematic diagram of the male buckle portion as shown in FIG. 4 in another direction. The width of at least one section of the guiding groove 122 increases with increasing distance from the engagement groove 121. Thus, the guiding groove 122 can have a relatively large inlet for the latch 230 to insert. Thus, the male buckle portion 100 can be laterally inserted into the female buckle portion 200 under the action of its own plasticity. Preferably, the side wall of the guiding groove 122 is smoothly arranged so that the latch 230 can slide into the engagement groove 121 more easily.
Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the latch 230 is provided in the middle of the channel 211; and the engagement groove 121 is correspondingly arranged in the middle of the male buckle portion 100.
FIG. 6 shows a structural schematic diagram of the male buckle portion as shown in FIG. 5 in yet another direction. A first outer end 123 of the guiding groove 122 is arc-shaped. FIG. 7 shows a structural schematic diagram of the female buckle portion as shown in FIG. 2 in yet another direction. A second outer end 231 of the latch 230 is chamfered, such that the latch 230 is guided into the arc-shaped first outer end 123 to finally realize the effective fastening of the male buckle portion 100 and female buckle portion 200.
Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, the engagement groove 121 and the guiding groove 122 are both H-shaped grooves, and at the same time, two latches 230 are correspondingly provided and are respectively arranged on an inner wall close to the limiting skirt 220 and on an inner wall away from the limiting skirt 220 of the channel 211, so as to strengthen the fastening of the male buckle portion 100 and the female buckle portion 200; and second outer ends 231 of the two latches 230 cooperate to form a notch, which is more convenient for the sliding of the guiding groove 122.
Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 7, engagement holes 213 are provided on two sides of the female buckle portion body 210, and the two engagement holes 213 are respectively in communication with the channel 211. As shown in FIG. 4, the male buckle portion 100 further comprises two first engagement members 130 provided or formed on the male buckle portion body 110, and the two first engagement members 130 are respectively arranged on two sides of the stop member 120 and correspond to the two engagement holes 213 one to one; and when the male buckle portion 100 slides into the channel 211, the first engagement members 130 slide into the corresponding engagement holes 213 so as to firmly fasten the male buckle portion 100 and the female buckle portion 200.

Second Embodiment

The difference between the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-7 and the second embodiment shown in FIG. 8 lies in the structure of the latch 230 in the female buckle portion 200. In particular, in this embodiment, the latch 230 is still provided or formed on an inner wall of the channel 211. At the same time, the stop member 120 of the male buckle portion 100 is still provided with an engagement groove 121 which is close to the male buckle portion body 110 and is used for limiting the latch 230, and a guiding groove 122 which is remote from the male buckle portion body 110 and in communication with the engagement groove 121 and is used for guiding the latch 230 to slide into the engagement groove 121 when the male buckle portion 100 is inserted into the channel 211. However, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, a plurality of latches 230 are provided on the inner wall of the same side of the channel 211, the plurality of latches 230 on the inner wall of the same side of the channel 211 form a second engagement member 300, and the second engagement member 300 is symmetrically arranged as a symmetrical face of the female buckle portion 200 in the insertion direction of the channel 211; and the guiding groove 122 is used for guiding the second engagement member 300 to slide into the engagement groove 121 when the male buckle portion 100 is inserted into the channel 211.
As shown in FIG. 8, two latches 230 are provided on the inner wall of the same side of the channel 211 and are parallel to each other; and the second engagement member 300 is fitted in shape with the engagement groove 121, both being straight. It can be understood that the second engagement member 300 and/or the engagement groove 121 may be of other shapes, for example, the second engagement member 300 is straight, while the engagement groove 121 is gourd-shaped, and the engagement groove 121, by means of multiple points thereof recessed inwards, realizes the limiting function of the second engagement member. As another example, an outer edge of the second engagement member 300 is gourd-shaped, the engagement groove 121 is in the shape of a straight bar, and the second engagement member 300 is limited by the engagement groove 121 by means of the multiple points thereof protruding outwards.
In the buckle of the present invention, with the clever use of the guiding function of the channel, the cooperating structure of the female buckle portion and the male buckle portion is correspondingly designed, so that the female buckle portion and the male buckle portion can be easily fastened together. In particular, with the limiting skirt 220, through its limiting function, when the male buckle portion 100 and the female buckle portion 200 are fastened together, the male buckle portion 100 is forced to stop when it is aligned with the opening 212 of the channel 211, which facilitates the insertion of the male buckle portion 100 into the channel 211. Moreover, the female buckle portion and the male buckle portion are stably aligned by means of the cooperation of the stop member 120 and the latch 230. Furthermore, it is convenient for the latch 230 to slide into the engagement groove 121 more easily by means of the structure of the guiding groove 122. The buckle of the present invention has an ingenious design and strong practicability.
It should be understood that a person of ordinary skill in the art still could modify or replace the above description, and all these modifications and replacements shall fall within the scope of protection of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A buckle comprising:

a male buckle portion; and

a female buckle portion comprising a female buckle portion body, a channel configured for the insertion of the male buckle portion, and a limiting skirt that is provided or formed at an opening of the channel, the limiting skirt being configured for guiding the male buckle portion into alignment with the opening of the channel.

2. The buckle according to claim 1, wherein the female buckle portion further comprises a latch provided or formed on an inner wall of the channel, wherein the male buckle portion comprises a male buckle portion body, a stop member provided or formed on the male buckle portion body, the stop member having an engagement groove near the male buckle portion body and which is configured for limiting the latch, and a guiding groove which remote from the male buckle portion body and in communication with the engagement groove and is used for guiding the latch to slide into the engagement groove when the male buckle portion is inserted into the channel.

3. The buckle according to claim 2, wherein a width of at least one section of the guiding groove increases with increasing distance from the engagement groove.

4. The buckle according to claim 2, wherein the latch is provided in a middle of the channel and wherein the engagement groove is correspondingly arranged in a middle of the male buckle portion.

5. The buckle according to claim 2, wherein a first outer end of the guiding groove is arc-shaped and wherein a second outer end of the latch is chamfered, such that the latch is guided into the arc-shaped first outer end.

6. The buckle according to claim 5, wherein the engagement groove and the guiding groove are both H-shaped grooves, wherein the female portion has two latches that are respectively arranged one on an inner wall close to the limiting skirt and one on an inner wall away from the limiting skirt of the channel, and wherein second outer ends of the two latches cooperate to form a notch that is configured for assisting sliding of the guiding groove.

7. The buckle according to claim 1, wherein engagement holes are provided on two sides of the female buckle portion body, and the two engagement holes are respectively in communication with the channel; wherein the male buckle portion further comprises two first engagement members which are provided or formed on the male buckle portion body, the two first engagement members being respectively arranged on two sides of the stop member and corresponding to the two engagement holes one to one; and wherein when the male buckle portion slides into the channel, the first engagement members slide into the corresponding engagement holes.