US3550216A - Extendible buckle for securing the ends of a bracelet and the like - Google Patents

Description

,1970 M. D. GANDELMAN 3,550,1

EXTENDIBLE BUCKLE FOR SECURING THE ENDS OF A BRACELET AND THE LIKE Filed June 13, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY 2 Sheets-Sheet 5.

1970 M. D. GANDELMAN EXTENDIBLE BUCKLE FOR SECURING THE ENDS OF A BRACELET AND THE LIKE Filed June 13, 1969 United States Patent 3,550,216 EXTENDIBLE BUCKLE FOR SECURING THE ENDS OF A BRACELET AND THE LIKE Morris D. Gandleman, Fort Lee, N.J., assignor to Jacoby- Bender, Inc., Woodside, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed June 13, 1969, Ser. No. 833,094 Int. Cl. A43c 11/00; A44c 5/18 U.S. Cl. 24-71 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A buckle for operatively securing the ends of a bracelet and the like comprises a housing having a pin extending between its side walls. A slide member is received in that housing and is slidable between a retracted position close to the pin and an extended position remote from the pin. A bracelet securing member has a mounting portion disposed about the pin but leaves a portion of that pin exposed. A spring is disposed about that exposed portion of the pin, has its free end operatively secured to the slidable member and is thus effective to urge the slidable member to its retracted position within the housing when the buckle is closed.

The present invention relates generally to a buckle for securing together the ends of a bracelet, watchband and the like, and particularly to a buckle of the type having a member slidably received in a housing to permit the bracelet to be circumferentially expanded when the bracelet is to be slipped over the wearers hand.

One type of buckle commonly used to secure the ends of a bracelet, watch band and the like comprises a housing in which a slide member is slidably received. The slide member has a plurality of axially spaced pairs of adjustment openings formed in opposing walls thereof. One end of the bracelet comprises a suitable connector that is received within one pair of these openings to secure the bracelet to the slide member, thereby to adjust the overall circumference of the bracelet to conform to the size of the wearers wrist. The other end of the bracelet is operatively secured to the housing by any appropriate means such as a folding connector.

When the bracelet is worn on the wearers wrist the slide member is retracted by a spring into the housing, thereby to establish a minimum bracelet circumference. When it is desired to place the bracelet on wrist or to remove it therefrom, the slide member is withdrawn from the housing against the force of the spring, thus increasing the circumference of the bracelet to an extent sufiicient to permit the bracelet to be readily passed over the wearers hand.

The provision of the extendible slide member also permits slight variations in the bracelet circumference when the bracelet is worn to accommodate the bracelet to changes in the wrist due to flexing, expansion in warm weather, or the like.

As the bracelet is usually a decorative item, it is most desirable that the slide member, when it is retracted in the housing, be hidden from view. This is particularly true with regard to rendering invisible the adjustment openings thereon. Moreover, the sliding movement of the slide member should be as free as possible in order to permit maximum variation in the size of the bracelet with minimum effort. The slide member should be as long as is compatible with the housing length to maximize the amount by which the bracelet circumference is enlarged when the slide member is withdrawn from the housing.

In the known bracelet buckles of this type, there are several areas of difficulty, most of which stem from the use of a spring to return the slide member into the housing. The mounting and housing of that spring has heretofore involved the use of a substantial portion of the housing interior and has thus limited the amount of space in that interior available for receiving the slide member when the latter is retracted therein. This has necessitated the use of a slide member shorter than would otherwise be desired and often results in a slight but perceptible amount of the slide member extending outwardly from the housing even when it is retracted into the housing to its maximum extent. As a result some of the adjustment openings are exposed to view. This is unsightly and materially detracts from the appearance of the bracelet.

The springs that have heretofore been used to retract the slide member exhibit a substantially linear relationship between spring force and the amount of spring expansion-the more the slide member is pulled out of the housing, the greater is the force developed by the spring in opposition to that movement. Since bracelet handling is often performed by the use of only one hand, the force required to overcome the spring force and to achieve maximum withdrawal of the slide member from the housing may prove to be excessive for facile bracelet handling.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an extendible buckle of the type having a slide member slidably arranged within a housing in which a spring, operatively connected to the slide member to urge the latter into the housing, is arranged in the housing in a manner utilizing a minimum amount of housing space.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a bracelet buckle of the type described in which the useful length of the slide member is maximized.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a buckle of the type described in which the slide member is substantially completely retracted within the housing, thereby to optimize the decorative appearance of the bracelet.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a buckle of the type described in which the slide member may be moved into and out of the housing more readily than has heretofore been the case, and in which the force active on the slide member remains substantially uniform for any position of the slide member relative to the housing.

It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a buckle of the type described in which the slide member is freely movable with respect to the housing when the buckle is closed, thereby to accommodate flexing of the wrist of the wearer, or other conditions requiring a temporary enlargement of the bracelet.

To these ends, in the buckle of the present invention, the return spring is arranged in the interior of the housing in a manner such that it utilizes little or no space not otherwise occupied. A mounting element to which one end of a bracelet is operatively connected, is disposed about, and exposes a portion of a pin or shaft. The spring is disposed about the pin at that exposed portion and is active on the slide member to urge it toward a position close to the pin. As a result of this placement of the spring in the housing the slide member can be brought quite close to the pin, thereby to increase the effective length of the slide member that can be completely accommodated within the housing when the buckle is closed, and thus increase the usable length of the slide member. The spring is preferably of the type in which the spring force remains substantially uniform for any length that the spring is extended. That is, for any degree of movement of the slide member from its re tracted position adjacent the pin, the spring force opposing 3 such withdrawal remains substantially constant. The use of a spring of this type permits easy movement of the slide member both into and out of the housing to accommodate wrist flexing and the like.

To the accomplishment of the above, and to such other objects as may hereinafter appear, the present invention relates to a buckle for securing the ends of a bracelet, band and the like, as defined in the appended claims and as described in this specification taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view, partly broken away, of the extendible buckle of this invention as used with a foldable bracelet connector, the buckle being shown in its open position;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing the folding connector in an intermediate position prior to the closing of the buckle;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIGS. 2 and 3 but showing the buckle in its closed position;

'FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a buckle-like structure in an identification bracelet or the like in which structure of this invention is incorporated; and

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 6-6 in FIG. 5.

In the bracelet and buckle assembly illustrated in FIGS. 1-4, the extendible buckle of this invention generally designated 10 is incorporated with a folding bracelet connector. The buckle assembly is adapted to have the two ends of a watch bracelet 12 or the like secured thereto.

The buckle 10 comprises a housing generally designated 14 having a top wall 16 and a pair of spaced depending side walls 18 and 20. A slide member generally designated 22 is slidably received within the interior space of housing 14 defined by the housing walls 16-20, and is adapted to move within that space between two operative positions, a retracted position shown in FIG. 4 and an extended position shown in FIGS. 1-3.

The slide member 22 comprises a top wall 24 and side walls 26 and 2 8. Side walls 26 and 28 are provided with registering pairs of adjustment openings 30. A pin 32 operatively connected to one end of bracelet 12 is received in a selected pair of openings 30, thereby to provide for the connection of that one end of the bracelet to the buckle, as well as the adjustment of the overall circumference of the bracelet. When bracelet 12 is worn on the wearers wrist it is desirable that these adjustment openings be hidden from view. This is accomplished in the buckle of this invention by ensuring that the slide member 22 is substantially completely received in the housing interior when the buckle is closed.

A pin 34 is secured to and extends between side walls 18 and of housing 14. The other end of bracelet 12 is operatively secured to housing 14 by means of a bracelet securing structure generally designated 36 to which one end of the bracelet 12 is pivotally connected at 38.

The bracelet securing structure 36 is connected to clasp housing 18 by means of a mounting structure generally designated 40 disposed about pin 34 in a manner permitting rotational movement of structure 36 about pin 34. Structure 40 comprises a laterally spaced pair of mounting sections or curls 42 and 44 each of which is disposed about the pin 34. A space 46 is defined between sections 42 and 44 through which a portion of pin 34 is exposed (see 'FIG. 1).

A resilient member in the form of an elongated tension spring 48 is coiled or wound around pin 34 at space 46 and has its free end extending from space 46 and connected to the slide member 22. An aperture 50 is formed in that spring-free end and receives therethrough a finger 52 depending from the top wall 24 of slide member 22. Spring 48 is active on the slide member to urge the latter to a retracted position within housing 14 with the inner end of slide member 22 adjacent pin 34 (FIG. 4). In this position of slide member 22 substantially the entire length of spring 48 is wound about pin 34 at space 46 and occupies a cross-sectional area about the pin which may be less than, but in any event is not substantially greater than, that occupied by the sections 42 and 44 of mounting structure 40. When the slide member 22 is moved outwardly away from the interior of housing 14 against the opposing force of spring 48, such as when the bracelet is to be passed over the wearers hand, a major portion (e.g., seven-eighths) of the length of spring 48 is unwound from about pin 34 to permit the maximum outward movement of slide member 22 towards its open position shown best in FIGS. 2 and 3.

To permit the easy longiutdinal movement of slide member 22 between its two operative positions whenever desired, the spring 48 is preferably of the type having a uniform force in the direction of spring movement for any length thereof unwound from the coiled portion at space 46. A spring having this uniform force characteristic is manufactured by the Hunter Spring Division of Amtek Corp. of Hatfield, Pa., and is identified by them as a negator spring. The use of this spring enables the outward movement of slide member 22 by the application thereto of a uniform, axially directed pulling force. A catch 54 (FIG. 2) projects from a longiutdial flange extended from side wall 18 of housing 14. When slide member 22 is withdrawn from housing 14 to its maximum extent as shown in FIG. 2, a part '58 provided at the inner end of wall 26 of slide member 22 is engaged by catch 54, thereby to prevent further movement of slide member 22 from housing 14.

The bracelet securing structure 36 is, in the embodiment of FIGS. 14, a folding connector comprising a first buckle plate 60 to which mounting structure 40 is connected. Plate 60 is thus pivotally mounted at one end on pin 34 by means of mounting structure 40. The other end of plate 60 is hingedly connected by a pin 62 to a second plate 64 to which one end of bracelet 12 is secured at 38. A resilient finger '66 is formed from plate 60 and extends downwardly therefrom as viewed in FIG. 2, leaving an opening 68 therein. A similar finger 70 is formed from plate '64 and projects upwardly therefrom as viewed in FIG. 2.

In the open position of buckle 10 as seen in FIG. 2, plates 60 and 68 are unfolded and lie in an end-to-end relationship and slide member 22 may be withdrawn from the interior of housing 14 to its maximum extent against the opposing force of spring 48. In this position of the buckle, the diameter of bracelet 12 is at a maximum and it can be easily passed over the hand of the wearer.

To close the buckle, the buckle plate 60 is folded about pin 62 over plate 64 and finger 70 passes through opening 68 to come into an abutting and press fit engagement with finger 66, thereby to latch plates 60 and 64 to one another. The combined plates 60 and 64 are pivoted about pin 40 so as to be received within the interior of housing 14, where they are retained in any desired manner. When the outwardly directed pulling force on slide member 22 is released the latter is retracted into the housing by spring 48 until it is substantially completely received within housing 14. That retracted condition of buckle 10 is shown in FIG. 4, where it can be seen that the front edge of wall 26 of slide member 22 abuts against section 42 of mounting structure 40. The adjustment openings 30 in slide member 22 are all within housing 14 and are thus hidden from view as desired.

The embodiment of FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrates the use of the present invention in an identification bracelet in which the expansion of the bracelet when required is provided solely by the withdrawal of the slide member 22' from the interior of housing 14. The outer surface of the top wall 16 of 'housing 14' has suitable identification indicia inscribed thereon as at 72. The end of bracelet 12' is directly connected to the mounting structure 40 mounted on pin 34, a space 46 once again being defined between the component sections or curls of structure 40. A spring 48 is wound or coiled about pin 34 in that space.

The extendible buckle of the present invention thus permits the use of a slide member of an appreciable length which may be easily withdrawn from the buckle housing whenever it is desired to increase the circumference of the bracelet. The slide member is substantially completely retracted into the housing when the buckle is closed so that the adjustment openings on the slide member are not externally visible and no part of the slide member projects from the housing at that time.

The benefits of utilizing a slide member in an extendible buckle are retained while the drawbacks present in the prior art buckles of this type are substantially eliminated. The length of the slide member is maximized and can be almost as great as that of the buckle housing without detracting from the decorative appearance of the bracelet. The improved buckle construction is achieved by the use of an inexpensive spring that may be readily incorporated into the bracelet mounting structure in a novel and highly advantageous manner, whereby the spring occupies little or no additional space within the housing and thus permits the substantially complete retraction of the slide member into the housing when the buckle is closed.

While several embodiments of this invention have been herein specifically disclosed, it will be apparent that many variations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. An extendible buckle for securing the ends of a band, bracelet or the like, said buckle comprising a housing having a pair of side Walls spaced from one another to define a space therebetween, pin means extending between said side Walls, a slide member received within said space, adapted to be operatively secured to one end of the band, and slidable within said space between first and second operative positions respectively close to and remote from said pin means, means adapted to have the other end of the band operatively secured thereto, said means comprising a mounting portion disposed about said pin means but exposing a portion of said pin means, and resilient means about said pin means at said exposed portion thereof, operatively connected to said slide member, and elfective to urge said slide member toward said first portion, said resilient means then being essentially received in an area about said pin means not substantially greater than that occupied by said mounting portion.

2. The buckle of claim 1, in which said resilient means comprises an extension spring having a portion wound about said pin means and adapted to be unwound therefrom as said spring is extended, said spring having the characteristic that its tension is substantially uniform for any unwound length thereof.

3. The buckle of claim 2, in which said mounting portion comprises a laterally spaced pair of sections substantially surrounding said pin means, said spring being disposed on said pin means in registration with, and having an end extending out thorugh, the space between said sections.

4. The buckle of claim 3, in which said slide member comprises an upper wall having a part depending therefrom, said end of said spring being operatively secured to said part.

5. The buckle of claim 4, in which said spring has an opening formed at its said end, said slide member part extending through said opening, thereby to define the operative connection between said slide member and said spring.

6. The buckle of claim 1, in which said mounting portion comprises a laterally spaced pair of sections substantially surrounding said pin means, said resilient means being disposed on said pin means in registration with, and having an end extending out through, the space between said sections.

7. The buckle of claim 6, in which said slide member comprises an upper Wall having a part depending therefrom, said end of said resilient means being operatively secured to said part.

8. The buckle of claim 7, in which said resilient means has an opening formed at its said end, said slide member part extending through said opening, thereby to define the operative connection between said slide member and said resilient means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,746,457 2/ 1930 Bigney et al 24---71I 1,829,493 10/1931 Armbrust 2471JUX 2,486,057 10/1949 :Ohl 24711 DONALD A. GRIFFIN, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

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