US2189118A - Buckle - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 6, 1940. J, R. YBURN 2,189,118

" BUCKLE Filed Oct. 7, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Jam/,8 2.5mm?

ATTORNEY Feb. 6, 1940. J REYBURN 2,189,118

BUCKLE Fi led Oct. 7, 19:57 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Patented Feb. 6, 1940 BUCKLE John R. Reyburn, Fairfield, .Conn assignor to American Chain & Cable Company, 1110., a corporation of New York Application October 7, 1937, Serial lfio 10.01ai'ms. (Cl. 24- 193).

the strap ten-sioning holding functions do This invention relates to a strap buckle of the lever type adapted to be'used more particularly in connection with emergency traction. chains for vehicle wheels. M v I The main objects of this invention are to provide an improved buckle which is simple in construction, easy to manipulate and inexpensive to manufacture, and which continues to function properly independently of precise original dimensions of the strap and buckle parts and of changes effected by wear during service.

One known type of buckle comprises a buckle plate and a pivoted lever of the cam type. In this type of lever the cam bites into the strap as it presses the strap against the. base during movement into locking position and when in looking position. The eificiency of this type of buckle depends upon refinements of manufacture not only of the buckle but also of the strap as resistance to withdrawal of the strapirom the buckle depends upon the amount of bite of the cam lever into the strap. Such biting into the strap causes the strap to weaken and to fray at the points-where the cam bites into the strap.

Insuch construction-s it is also necessary to pro,-', vide a relatively deep channel in the. buckle plate to accommodate the cam of the lever andthe strap which results in the creation of a space between the lever and thestrap in which grit and v the lever locking elements from cooperating with the cam locking means unless and until there has been suiiicient slippage through the cam locking means to take up the slack created by the loop of the strap. In certain of these constructions the lever locking means comprises a transversely extending closed or interrupted loop through which the strap must be threaded, or with which it may be engaged with more or less diificulty by several reverse lateral movements and disengaged by reverse lateral movements, all of which will be difiicult under actual conditions in service. Furthermore, grit and ice and snow will collect in the loop portionof thejstrap whereby when the lever is moved into open position the strap will not be pushed back over the base of the bucklerplate.

v.One of the more Specific objectsof thisinvention is to provide an improved buckle which said strap under said lug.

not de 1nd uponany roping action between the"lever"and the"bottom oi the base of the buckleplate whereby a greater tolerance may be aiiowedin the manuiacture of the buckle and in" the selection of thestrap for use with the buckle.

'Another object is to provide the lever with a strap receiving 'means' a ndto so locate such means on said lever with respect tothe bottom of the channel in the buckle plate, that the strap may be readily' passed' through "ea-id channel and threaded into said meanswh'en the "lever is infull open position parallel with-the buckle plate.

Another object of this invention is the-provi-- "sion of a lever lockinglug over-hanging one edge or the lever and betwe'en'which and the lever a strap may be moved by simple lateral movements of the strap, together with m ans-son the lever onjopposite sides of the lug for holding Another objectof th mention is the provision of a buckle which includes a more efiective primary holding means the effectiveness of which increases with the increase of tension of 'the strap. a Other objects of the invention will appear-from the following description taken in connection with the drawings in which are shown several forms of theinvention.

In the accompanying-drawings; i

Figure 1 shows one former buckle applied to a tirechain shown mounted on a tire;

Fig. 2 shows 'in flongitudinal section a strap threaded through the loop in the lever in fully open position;-

Fig. 3 shows in longitudinal section the strap and lever in midway position;

Fig. i ls a detailed perspective View of the buckle showing the lever in looking position, with the free end of thestrap swung lateraly prior to its being engaged with the wring g on the stal mate;

Fig. 5 is aview similar ,to Fig. fl in which the strap has beenlmovedfl into locking position be w n t e iev atmep awa e atented is l t ...b$. 1 mev d int l ck n len al i lse with a slot inth e lever; I Fig. .16 is .aperspective View of a ,tire chain and oflthe lever and strap .in locking position; H

Fig. 7 is 'a longitudinal section :through 1th buckle and strap on .line l-Jdn Fig.16;

Fig. 8 is atop plan view of the lever and buckle plate with the strap removed; o

Fig. 9 is an end view of the lever and buckle plate with parts of the buckle plate in section;

Fig. 10 is a top plan view of a modified form of the buckle;

Fig. 11 is an end view of the modification shown in Fig. 10;

Fig. 12 shows the'lever in open position and the strap threaded through the loop in the lever;

Fig. 13 is'a longitudinal section taken on the line l3l3 on Fig. 10 showing the lever in looking position;

Fig. 14 shows a top plan view of a second modified form of the buckle showing the lever in closed position;

Fig. 15 is an end view of the buckle shown in Fig. 14;

Fig. 16 shows the lever in open position and the end of a strap threaded through slots in the lever; and

Fig. 17 is a longitudinal section on line l'|-l'| of Fig. 14 showing the lever in locking position.

Referring to the drawings and first referring to Figs. 1 to 9 which disclose what may be considered the preferred form of my invention, in Fig. 1 there is disclosed by dot and dash lines the outline of a tire and felloe showing a tire chain 20 of any suitable construction secured in position on the tire by a buckle made according to this invention.

The buckle comprises a buckle plate 2| which may be provided with a channel 22 providing side walls 23 and 24 forming a guide groove for the free end of a strap 25 the other end of which may be secured in the usual manner to a plate 26 to which one set of ends of the cross chains 20 may be secured, asindicated in Fig. 6. The side walls 23 and 24 are preferably integral with laterally extended wings 21 and 28 to which the opposite set' of ends of the chains may be secured, as indicated in Fig. 6. The tensioning and locking lever indicatedat 30 is preferably provided with laterally extending pintles 3| and 32 journalled in holes 3la: and 32a: in the walls 23 and 24. The pintle holes 3la: and 32a: are preferably located near the ends of the walls 23 and 24, as indicated in Figs. 8 and 9, and at a distance from the bottom of the base sufficient to accommodate the end of the strap 25 freely as the end of the strap is threaded over the base of the channel in the buckle plate or removed therefrom, as indicated in Fi 2. This distance is also such that there will never be any gripping or pressing action by the lever of the strap against the base, as indicated clearly in Figs. 2, 3 and 7.

The wing 21 is provided with a locking lug 34 struck out of the side wall 23 and projecting over one side of the channel or guide groove 22 into the path of the locking lever 30 which lever is provided with a slot 34:1: to permit the lever to be moved below said lug, as indicated in Fig. 8. This lug may be wider at its base than at its free end for purposes of strengthening same and it is preferably slightly inclined upwardly, as indicated in Figs. 4, 5, 8 and 9 to facilitate the movement of the strap into and out of locking position between the lever and the lug. The free end of the lever may be provided with a slot 30.7: through which the strap maybe passed and located, asindicated in Fig. 6, the walls 30g and 30a of said slot functioning as means for pre- [venting disengagement of the strap from the lug 34 I.

For the purpose of causing the strap to hug the end of the lever tightly as it is moved from its open horizontal position to its locking horizontal position the top portion of the rear or pivoted end of the lever, as viewed in Fig. 8, is provided with opposing ears 36 and 3'! spaced from the body of the lever to permit the free passage of the end of the strap therebetween and which are placed sufficiently close to the pivot on the lever to cause the strap to engage the end of the lever as the lever is moved from open to locking position for the purpose of increasing the bite between the pivoted end of the lever and the strap. These ears also function to hold the strap under the lug 34. The end of the lever may be provided with teeth 38, as indicated in Fig. 8.

The strap and buckle may be assembled as follows: In Figure 2 the lever is shown in open position and the end of the strap has been threaded through the channel in the buckle plate and through the space between the ears 35 and 31 and the upper face of the lever. As clearly indicated in this figure, this may be freely done as the parts are proportioned so that the distance between the lever and the bottom of the channel 22 and the distance between the ears 36 and 31 and the upper face of the lever are slightly greater than the thickness of the strap 25. The side walls of the channel provide means also for facilitating threading of the strap under the ears 36 and 37. After the strap has been threaded into the buckle, as shown in Fig. 2, the lever may be moved toward closing position, and as also indicated in Fig. 3 the lever may be moved with the strap in the full line position A or the strap may be pressed on the lever and held in contact therewith as indicated in the dotted position B or it may be preferably engaged with the slot 30a: in the end of the lever, as indicated in dotted position C. It will be noted that when the lever is moved from the op'encposition in Fig. 2 to the midway position in Fig. 3, thestrap is immediately pulled and held against the end of the lever and that this biting contact of the lever on the strap causes the lever to take up slack in the strap and tension the same.

.As the lever is then moved from the midway position shown in Fig. 3 into the closed position,

indicated in Figs. 1, 4, 5, 6, '7 and 8, the tensioning of the strap is continued. When the lever is in closed position the strap may be moved laterally to the left, as indicated in Fig. 4, to clear the locking lug 34 after which it may be moved laterally to the right into locking position under the lug 34. From this position the end of the strap may be moved farther to the right andthen into alinement with the slot in the lever, as indicated in Fig. 5, and then moved to the left into the position shown in Figs. 6 and 1. In this position the walls of the slot 300: in the end of the lever act as a lock for the locking engagement provided by the lug 34. The ears 3'6 and 31 on the lever also hold the strap under the lug 34. The construction is such that when the lever is moved into locking position, the portion of the strap between the free end of the lever and the pivoted end of the lever will be substantially taut immediately opposing any tendency of the strap to slip about the biting edge of the lever as appears more clearly from Figs. 3 and 7.

To release the strap the operations before described for locking the lever in looking position, are reversed and disconnection between the strap 0..the size ofthe loop will not be increased and.

with biting edges 54a: and 54 and 55m and set These slots have the same func-y ahdbuckle maybe readily effected as is -apparent. As shown in Fig; 7,.th'erspaces between thestrap, lever and buckle platehave been reduced to a minimum thereby preventing clogging of parts with grit, sand, snow, ice and the like: As the strap is held in close contactwith the pivotedend of the lever providing a very narrow U- shaped loop; at .this point it is obvious that when. thelever is moved from looking to open position,

that the strap will be pushed. rearwardly by movement of the lever without first having to reduce the size of the loop at this pointl As. appears from the figures and description given, it is clear that the efficiency. of the buckle does not depend upon any refinements in construction, such as would limit tolerances either in the construction of the buckle or in the construction of the strap. to beused therewith. It

;is also obvious that the biting of the pivoted end of thelever on the strap is increased directly with the tension on the strap and isindependent of the thickness of the-strap, and that looking lug 34 immediately functions to prevent the strap from slipping on the biting end of the lever.v i

The modification disclosed in Figs. 10 to 13 inclusive includes a buckle plate 40 provided with a guidingv groove or channel 4! with horizontally flaring walls to provide for a wider section at the pointof pivotal connection with the lever 42. The free end of the lever :32 is formed generally the same as the free end of the lever of the preferred form. Near its pivoted end the 35,:;lever E2 is bent upwardly, as at 13, and downwardly, as atM, when. considered with respect to its locking position. The portion id" is extended laterally and then upwardly to providepivot lugs 45 and ii which are provided with apertures and .48'to receive pintles 41m and 48a: struck out from the ends of the side walls of the channel in the buckle plate 40. lhe lugs 45 and 4B are bent toward each other, as indicated to provide ears 49 and 50 constituting with the portion 44 an interrupted loop to receive the strap 25. The strap is assembled withthe buckle in the same way as described in connection with Figs. 1 to 9, the open position of the lever being shown in Fig. 12 and the closed position being shown in Figs. 10, 11 and 13. By forming the pintles on the buckle plate instead of on the lever it is possible to locate the ears 49 and 50 closer to the pivoted end of the lever to operate directly and immediately upon the strap to bend the same about the end of the lever duringtensioning and locking operation and to push the strap rearwardly toward the entrant end of the channel upon initial movement of the lever from the locking position shown in Fig. 13. By inclining the interrupted loop with respect to the length of the lever such operation is further facilitated. In this modification as well as in the preferred form the parts are constructed so that the strap will freely clear the bottom of the channel in the buckle plate in any position of the lever.

In the modification disclosed in Figs. 14 to 17,

r the buckle plate 5! is of the same construction respectively. tion as the opposing cars 36 and 31 of themeferred' form. Pintles 55 and 51. are iormedon the end of the lever and aresupportedin open ings 56:1: and 51a: inthe side .walls of the chain" nel in the buckle platen l V As shown in Fig. 16, the lever when in itslfully. open position will permitthe strap to bethreaded over the base'of thechannel in the buckle plate and throughthe aligned slots in the V--shaped portion 53of thelever'. When the lever-isswung toward closing. position the pivoted end"58' or the lever and the walls ofthe aligned slots will frictionally engageand bite into the strapand bend it-around the end of the lever and tension it as will be apparent from the description of the leverin thepreferredform. The free end of the strap islockeclin position. between the lever and the locking lug on the-buckle plate by engagement ina slot in the lever in the same wayas in the other modifications.

All ofthe modifications disclosed show" the same principle of construction. and operation;

Innone of these is the securing. and tensioning function dependent uponany cooperation: be;-:

tween the lever-and the bottom of the channel in the buckle plate. The, friction, and biting.

created between the lever and the strap results from engagement between the strap and the-portionsof: the lever through which it isthreaded.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention: and several modifications thereof, it will be understood that the principles of my invention may be incorporated.

in still' other embodiments,fand that thedise closure herein made is to be taken as illustrative and not limitative and that I- reservethe right to make various changes. in form, construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention as set forth in the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. A strap securing device comprising a plate,

a lever pivoted at one of its ends to said plate for pivotal movement into a plane parallel to the plane of said plate in strap releasing and.

securing positions, and a strap receiving loop on said lever receiving the end of a strap passed across the plate when the lever is in strap releasing position and providing means for causing the strap to bite the end of the lever upon initial and continued movement of the lever as it is moved toward strap securing position.

such as to provide for free movement of the strap over the plate and free movement of the strap with the pivoted end of the lever as the lever is moved toward strap securing position.

3. A strap securing device comprising a plate, a lever pivoted at one of its ends to said plate and mounted for movement into a plane parallel to said plate in strap releasing and securing positions, and strap receiving means on the lever extendingtoward the plate when the lever is in strap releasing position and away fromthe plate when the lever is in strap securing position, said means being so located with respect to the pivot and end-of the lever as to cause thestrap to bite the end of thelever and draw the strap forward as the lever is moved toward strap securing position,-and to move the strap rearwardly across the plate to release the sameas the lever is moved toward strap releasing position.

4. A strap securing device comprising a plate, strap tensioning and strap securing lever, pivots on one end of said lever lying in the plane of the main body of the lever and its pivoted end and journalled in said plate, said pivots being so located with respect to the plate as to permit the strap to move freely with the lever over the plate in either direction, strap retaining means-on said leveroperable to bend thestrap against the end of the lever as the lever is moved into strap securing position to take up and tension the strap and ii to push the strap in the opposite direction as the lever is returned to strap releasing position, and

means on the plate and lever cooperating with the strap to lock the lever in strap securing position;

a 5. In a strap securing means, the combination of a plate, a locking lever pivoted near one of its:

ends to said plate, ears on'the pivoted end of the lever provided with apertures to receive pintles on said plate, pintles on said plate, and oppositely facing extensions on said ears in the plane of said pintles providing a strap receiving loop at said pivoted end of said lever. i r l 6. A strap securing lever comprising a flat bar,

pintles projecting laterally from the side edges at one end of the bar, and strap receiving opposed ears formed on the side edges of said bar adjacent said pintles.

7. A strap securing lever comprising a fiat bar provided at one end with a V-shaped portion extending transversely of the length of said bar,

apertured pivot ears formed on the leg of the V constituting the pivoted end of the link, and oppositely facing members on said ears constituting a strap receiving means in connection with said leg of said V.

8. A strap securing lever comprising a flat bar provided at one end with a V-shaped portion extending transversely of the length of said bar, the legs of said V being provided with alined strap receiving slots, and pintles formed on the free end of the leg of the V constituting the end of the lever.

9. A buckle comprising a plate, a lever pivoted at one end to said plate to be swung from strap releasing to strap securing position, a strap receiving loop on the rear face of said lever adjacent the pivoted end of the lever through which the free end of a strap passed across the pivoted end of the lever may be threaded, the relative sizes of said loop and strap being such the loop will frictionally engage the strap and bend it against the pivoted end of the lever as the lever is moved toward strap securing position, and means on the plate cooperating with the strap on the rear face of the lever for holding the strap against the lever and the lever in strap securing position.

10. A buckle comprising a frame, a lever pivoted at one end on the frame for movement between positions in which it secures a strap to the frame and releases a strap from the frame, a lug on the frame projecting into the path of said lever, said lever being notched to clear said lug as the lever is moved into strap securing position, and strap retaining means on said lever located between said notch and pivoted end for drawing said strap upon the pivoted end of the lever to tension the strap as the lever is moved from strap releasing into strap securing position.

JOHN R. REYBURN.

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