US3156961A - Buckle - Google Patents

Description

NOV. 17, V1964 M. GARBER l-:TAL

BUCKLE Filed May 31. 1962 United States Patent O 3,156,961 BUEKLE iviire i., Garber and Hilary Goldberg, Johannesburg, Transvaal, Repuhiic oi South Africa, assignors to Miniwheel limited, London, England Filed May 31, 1962, Ser. No. @3,995 Claims priority, application Repuhiic oit South Airica, .liuiy 1S, 1961, R 61/718 2 Claims. (Ci. 24m-34) This invention relates to buckles of the kind comprising a hinged, and preferably pronged, jaw which receives and clamps `a strap (or a web) between itself and the base plate of the buckle to vary the efective length 'of the strap. It thus divides the strap into two zones, one ot which is the zone in which the strap is, in use, under tension and the other of which is the untensed tail end of the strap.

These buckles are used on the straps which secure carriers to the .outside or" motor vehicles. The carriers may `be mounted on the roof, when the stra-ps may terminate in hooks which engage the gutter-ing to each side of the body; 4or on the boot where the edges of the boot cover may be used to anchor the carrier.

One object of the invention is to provide a buckle which can be used for yall these purposes.

According tothe invention, the buckle comprises a base plate that is formed with two hooked ends, the hooks being `of ditte-rent types to engage two different categories of anchor. Thus, for instance, a `strap may have to engage alternatively with the `glittering of -a motor car body, or with the rim of its boot.

Further `according to the invention, the pivoted clamping jaw is straddled by two lateral slots, and the jaw is reversible. To this end, the clamping jaw may be hinged on lugs projecting upwardly from a rectangular plate, the edges of which are slidably received in lateral grooves on the base plate.

Two embodiments are illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a tace view of the rst embodiment;

FIGURE 2 is a side view;

FIGURE 3 is `a side View of lthe second embodiment;

FIGURE 4 is a face View ot the second embodiment;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary view showing one hook in use; and

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary view showing the second hook in use.

In both embodiments, the base plate lo, which is bent from sheet metal, is formed at its ends with hooked portions y12, 14 of dilerent shapes. The hook 12 is intended to engage the guttering on either side of a vehicle body, as shown in FIGURE 5. The hook 14 is intended to enga-ge the edge ot the boot of -a vehicle, as shown in FIGUR-E 6. In the `former case, means is included to clamp the hooked buckle in position. In FlGURES l and 2 the means is a loose bracket 13 which is moved into the cavity of the `glittering and yclamped by a wing nut 22 on a bolt 214. In FIGURE 3, the means are two screws 26 that are screwed through holes in a ledge 28 in the base plate lll, for their ends to bear against 4the ange Ztl'.

The buckle proper consists, in both c-ases, of a pronged 3,156,961 23a-tenter! Nov. 17, 1964 'ice jaw 39 pivoted on lugs 32 provided by bending upwardly the terminal zones of a sheet metal strip 343 to deiine between Ithe pronged jaw and the strip a channel for a webbed strap 34.

The :strap is passed through the channel with the jaw 3i) pivoted to clear the channel and to lie parallel with the strap. The strap is drawn taut fand released, whereupon the prongs are engaged by the strap to rotate the jaw about its pivotal axis and tor the prongs to penetrate the strap to anchor it.

As the buckle is reversible, it is necessary that the jaw 3o be also reversible. To this end, the strip 33 extends to each side or" the lugs 32 to constitute tongues 36 that enga-ge slidably in two parallel grooves 38, formed by pressing out two slots 40, one to each side of the buckle and bending over the metal of the slots towards Aone another. The buckle is reversed by sliding strip 33 out of .the slots Alti, reversing =it and sliding it back into place.

One utility of the buckle is that the change of direction in the strap 34'- as `it leaves the pronged jaw 39 and passes through a slot di? subjects the strap to substantial frictional constraint against slip and thus supplements and buttresses the jaw Sti. Tension on the tail end of the strap causes the clamp to open and the frictional resistance to movement of the strap through the yslot is low enough for the strap easily to be drawn tight.

Finally, the base plate may be aperture-d to either side .of the slots d@ as shown `at 42 and possibly also in the hook 'forma-tions as shown at 44 to receive anchoring bolts, ter instance those which hold a roof carrier in place. In this case the free end of the bol-t Iis passed through the aperture and a nut anchors the base plate in position.

We claim:

1. A buckle comprising a base plate that is formed with two hooked ends, the hooks being of different type to engage two dilerent .categories of anchor, two spaced slots parallel to the ends 4of the base plate, the slots being formed by pressing out adjacent tongues from the base plate and the tongues being bent over to deiine opposed grooves between themselves, a rectangular plate wit-h lugs projecting upwardly therefrom, and a clamping jaw hinged on the lugs, the rectangular plate being slidably and reversibly received in the grooves.

2. The buckle claimed in claim 1 in which one hook is a plain hook for engaging over relatively thin edges and the other hook is provided with screw means for clamping an edge between the 'screw means and a part of the base plate.

Reierences Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,420,027 Ehrman et al. June 20, 1922 1,825,612 Barton Sept. 19, 1931 2,186,811 Uhlmann I an. 9, 194() 2,514,266 Walslager July 4, 1950 3,019,954 lFaltin Feb. 6, 1962 FOREIGN PATENTS 384,017 Great Britain Dec. 1, 1932 141,132 Switzerland H -.H V Oct. 1, 1930

Claims (1)

1. A BUCKLE COMPRISING A BASE PLATE THAT IS FORMED WITH TWO HOOKED ENDS, THE HOOKS BEING OF DIFFERENT TYPE TO ENGAGE TWO DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF ANCHOR, TWO SPACED SLOTS PARALLEL TO THE ENDS OF THE BASE PLATE, THE SLOTS BEING FORMED BY PRESSING OUT ADJACENT TONGUES FROM THE BASE PLATE AND THE TONGUES BEING BENT OVER TO DEFINE OPPOSED GROOVES BETWEEN THEMSELVES, A RECTANGULAR PLATE WITH LUGS PROJECTING UPWARDLY THEREFROM, AND A CLAMPING JAW HINGED ON THE LUGS, THE RECTANGULAR PLATE BEING SLIDABLY AND REVERSIBLY RECEIVED IN THE GROOVES.

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