US3045304A - Buckle assembly - Google Patents

Description

tirait-ted btates 3,045,304 BUCKLE ASSEMBLY Stuart T. Shears, Belmont, Mass., assigner to United- Carr Fastener Corporation, Cambridge, Mass., a corporation of Delaware Filed Sept. 30, 1959, Ser. No. 843,576 3 Claims. (Cl. 24-7'7) This invention relates to a garment assembly and in particular to an adjustable buckle for varying the width of a garment waistband.

Various means have been heretofore used by garment manufacturers, particularly in childrens wear to vary the waistband sizes. Buckles which will slide freely on a strap have been one answer to the problem but in normal wear or in the laundering of the garment, buckles are apt to slip olf the strap with the resulting problem of replacement and in severe damage to automatic Washers. Furthermore, straps having both ends sewed to the material With a freely moveable buckle shifting between the sewed ends result in an unsightly puckering of the cloth.

The object of this invention is to provide an inexpensive buckle assembly adapted to vary a waistband width or the like which is freely adjustable through the length of the strap and having a keeper to retain the buckle on the strap.

A further object of this invention is to provide a buckle assembly which is universally adjustable `for use with any waistband garment. t

Other objects of the invention will, in part, be obvious, and will, in part, appear hereinafter.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the buckle assembly;

`FIG. 2 is a view in side elevation with the buckle superimposed over a socket;

FIG. 3 is a enlarged view in section taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view in side elevation, partly in section of the buckle assembly;

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of the buckle assembled on the strap.

Referring to the drawing, there is illustrated a buckle adapted to be threaded on a strap A12 having a keeper means \14 to retain the buckle in assembly on a garment 15.

The buckle 10` is of the conventional type Iand formed of metal, or a suitable rigid plastic, having a frame =16 with a center portion 18 and end portions 20 spaced from the center portion by strap receiving slots 22. The center portion 18 has a stud member 24 loosely attached to its lower surface 26 by a suitable eyelet 28 upset within the stud so as to -be laterally moveable therein. The base 30 of the stud member is of greater area than the center portion 18, with the peripheral edges 31 serrated and adapted to extend into the strap receiving slots to permit biting engagement with a strap inserted therebetween.

Any construction of a keeper means may be provided at the free end of the strap so long as it meets the requirement of being of a larger area than the slot and the form best embodying the features of my invention as shown in FIG. 5 is a bridging tape 14 comprising a strip of cloth or webbing or other suitable material of a lesser width than 3,045,304 Patented July 24, 1962 ice the strap 1.2 and secured to both ends 32 of the strap in such a manner that it lies in parallel relation thereto so as to run along one edge 34 of the strap as illustrated in FIG. 5. A bridging tape positioned in such a manner will not interfere with stud entering into cooperative snap fastener engagement with a conventional socket member 35 secured to the garment -15 by a prong ring 36.

It will be obvious that the buckle 10 may shift to various positions on -the strap `12 `and when the strap has one end secured to the garment 15, a predetermined amount of tuck may be temporarily made in the waistband of a garment. Further-more, it will also be seen that the buckle 10 is prevented from being removed over the loose end of the strap by the bridging tape 14.

Since certain other obvious modifications may be made in this device without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained herein be interpreted in an illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. A buckle assembly including -a slidable buckle threaded on a strap and keeper means for retaining the buckle in assembly, said buckle comprising a frame having a center portion spaced from end portions by strap receiving slots, and fastening means extending downwardly from said center portion for cooperate engagement with cooperating fastening means on a garment and the like, said keeper means comprising a bridging tape secured lat a free end of said strap to prevent the buckle from accidental removal from the strap and arranged to pass over the buckle laterally relative to the fastening means to prevent interference with the action of engaging the same.

2. As an article of manufacture, a garment assembly comprising a strap, a slidable buckle threaded on said strap and a bridging tape secured at both ends to said strap, cooperative snap 4fastener means on said buckle and said garment, said bridging tape having a lesser width than said strap and disposed adjacent one edge thereof, maintaining continuity between said strap ends and arranged to be free of interference with the snapping of the snap fastener means.

3. A buckle assembly of the class described including a garment and the like, a strap having one end secured to said garment and the other end being free, a fastening buckle slidably attached to said strap, a fastening means attached to said garment and adapted to engage a cooperating fastening means on said buckle, and buckle engaging means at the free end of the strap arranged along one edge of said strap laterally of the fastening means of the buckle to keep the buckle attached to the strap while being free of interference when engaging and disengaging of the fastening means.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,389,664 Jackson Sept. 6, 1921 2,800,697 Carpinella July 30, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 119,493 Germany Apr. 17, 19011 313,305 Great Britain June 13, 1929

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