US3562766A

US3562766A - Buckle for adjustable belt

Info

Publication number: US3562766A
Application number: US799246A
Authority: US
Inventors: George A Dye
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1969-02-14
Filing date: 1969-02-14
Publication date: 1971-02-09
Anticipated expiration: 1988-02-09

Abstract

AN IMPROVED BELT BUCKLE IS DISCLOSED IN TWO EMBODIMENTS. THE FIRST EMBODIMENT IS A TWO PIECE STRUCTURE WITH EACH PIECE HAVING ONE END SLOTTED TO RECEIVE THE BIGHT OF A WAISTBAND. ONE PIECE HAS A FLANGED PROTRUSION AND THE OTHER PIECE HAS AN APERTURE TO ADMIT THE FLANGED PROTRUSION WHEN THE PIECES ARE IN ONE ORIENTATION, BUT WHICH WILL NOT ALLOW ITS REMOVAL WHEN THEY ARE IN A SECOND ORIENTATION. THE SECOND EMBODIMENT IS A SYMMETRIC THREE PIECE STRUCTURE HAVING TWO COUPLINGS EACH SIMILAR TO THE ONE IN THE FIRST EMBODIMENT.

Description

Feb. 9, 1971 G. A. DYE v 3,562,766

BUCKLE FOR ADJUSTABLE BELT Filed Feb. 14, 1969 L; r L

F IG 4 2 IO 2 mum-mm) 3 F 5 4 INVENTOR GEORGE A. DYE

b deFFERsVouNe Aflorr'meys United States Patent 3,562,766 BUCKLE FOR ADJUSTABLE BELT George A. Dye, 2630 Corvallis Ave., Fort Wayne, Ind. 46809 Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 434,889, Feb. 24, 1965. This application Feb. 14, 1969, Ser. No. 799,246

Int. Cl. A44b 13/00, 17/00 U.S. Cl. 2-321 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Ser. No. 434,889 filed Feb. 24, 1965, now Pat. No. 3,440,667 granted April 29, 1969.

This invention relates to belt buckles, and more particularly to an improved belt buckle suitable for use with adjustable belts such as are disclosed in the aforementioned application. Almost all belts which are used for trousers, skirts, etc. in mens, womens, and childrens wearing apparel include provision for adjustment of the belt. This provision is generally in the form of a buckle having a locking finger which fits through one of the number of spaced openings in the belt. This arrangement is objectionable because the tension on the belt tends, after a time, to produce a noticeable crease or mark in the belt so that upon adjustment the crease becomes apparent and the belt is noticeably Worn and has a substantially less attractive appearance. It is also generally provided that such buckles are permanent fixtures on the same belt and can not be used interchangeably with other belts, nor reversed on a given belt so as to expose a different surface. Consequently, the belt and the buckle combinations in use tend to be objectionable both because of the damage the buckle produces on the belt and because the belt is not readily changeable.

The prior art belt buckles are further objectionable in that the fastening and adjusting structure is exposed to view giving an unsightly appearance. These disadvantages have been partially overcome by the adjustable belt disclosed in the aforementioned application. However, the buckle there disclosed is somewhat inconvenient to disengage.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a belt buckle which is easily and rapidly disengaged.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel belt and buckle construction in which the buckle permits a number of adjustments of the flexible Waistband which encircles the waist in order to provide for waist adjustment but without producing the aforementioned damage to the belt in the form of crease lines and other distortions of the belt.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel buckle construction which is readily usable with a number of different belts which permits the user to select the color, size, and style as well as the composition of the belt for a given article of wearing apparel. Thus, the same buckle is usable with a leather or fabric composition belt or other construction belt, all of which are ice readily interchangeable with a given buckle construction, and all of which are adjustable to a preferred size for the wearer.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a belt and buckle construction which is durable and is economically manufacturable, the belt being not only readily adjustable but also once being adjusted is capable of forming a secure lock.

It is a salient object of the present invention to provide a belt and buckle combination in which the fastening and adjusting structure is hidden from view, that is easily adjusted, and is readily disengaged.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a belt buckle which give an esthetically pleasing external appearance and allows an interchange not only of the entire buckle structure, but of a portion of that structure so as to give the wearer a choice of decorative embellishments within a given buckle structure.

These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description of the two specific embodiments of the invention, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the buckle linking the ends of an adjustable belt;

FIG. 2 is a plane view showing the back side of the buckle and belt of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a bottom sectional view taken along the line 33 of the buckle of FIG. '2 showing one of the couplings engaged and the other coupling disengaged;

FIG. 4 is a front view of a second embodiment of the buckle;

FIG. 5 is a top view of the buckle shown in FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6- is a perspective view showing the back side of the buckle of FIG. 4.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows an adjustable belt designated generally by reference numeral 1 and a buckle. The buckle has two slots at its

extreme ends

3 and 4 and the belt passes through each of these slots to form a bight or loop 2. The structure which serves to fasten this bight in place will be explained later in reference to FIG. 2.

The structure of the novel coupling of the present invention is most readily seen in reference to FIG. 6'. The buckle consist of a first member 13 and a second member 14. The first end 3 of the first member has a slot for receiving the bight of the waistband, as does the second end 4 of the second member. The first member 13 has a projecting or protruding portion 5, which may for example be a rectangular cross section, on its back side with a flange 6. The second member has an aperture 7 having substantially the same shape as the cross section of the protruding portion 5. The buckle is then engaged by slipping the aperture 7 over the flange 6 and down on to the protruding portion 5, as may be seen from the sectional portion of FIG. 2. The first member 13 may also be provided with a lip or rim 10 to provide symmetry of appearance as well as to hide or obscure the coupling mechanism. This feature is readily seen in FIG. 5.

It should also be noted in FIG. 6 that the second member 14 is symmetrical and thus may be worn with the face 17 exposed to view or hidden with the opposite face exposed. This allows the wearer a choice of two different decorations, colors or other embellishments while being burdened with the expense of only a single belt buckle.

A second embodiment of the instant invention is shown in FIG. 2 and is characterized by two couplings each similar to the coupling in the first embodiment. This embodiment again has a first member 13. However, the second member is now seen to consist of a first portion 8 and a second portion 9. The second portion 9 has a second protruding portion 11 provided 'with a second flange 12. Thus, it may be seen that the buckle of FIG. 2

may not only be disengaged by means of either of the couplings, but that the second coupling allows complete removal of the portion 8. It has been found desirable to make the portion 8 symmetrical so that it may be completely disengaged and reversed front to back or top to bottom to allow different colors or designs to be displayed. Thus either embodiment allows the wearer substantial latitude in that one portion may be reversed so as to allow either of two surfaces to be exposed to the front of the belt.

FIG. 2 shows how the buckle is attached to the belt or waistband 1. The waistband is passed through the slot 3 and doubled back on itself so as to form a loop or bight 2. The belt is then attached to itself by means of snap fasteners having a male portion '15 and a plurality of female portion 16 to allow adjustment of the belt to a suitable length. The operation of the buckle coupling is most readily seen in FIG. 2 where the first portion 8 and the second portion 9 are coupled together in what might be called a hinged relationship. This relationship allows these two portions to remain coupled in various orientation and allows their separation only when the angle of inclination exceeds some fixed value. To disengage these two portions, they must be re-oriented with respect to one another. Thus, for example, to remove portion '8 we would rotate it outwardly about its hinged portion until it is at such an inclination, say thirty degrees or more, such that the aperture 11 may be slid past the flange 12.

While the instant invention has been shown and described herein in what is considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention which is therefore not to be limited to the details disclosed herein but is to be accorded the full scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In combination, a belt buckle and a flexible waistband having two ends; each of said waistband ends being adapted to be doubled back on and fastened to the waistband to form two bights, at least one of said waistband ends being provided with means to adjustably fasten it to the waistband so as to vary the bight size; said belt buckle comprising a first member and a second member, each of said members having respective first and second ends, the first end of the first member and the second end of the second member being slotted to receive the bight of said waistband, the second end of said first member being provided with a protruding portion which protruding portion has a flange, said flange extending toward the first end of said first member, the first end of said second member being provided with a tongue having an aperture which will admit the flange protrusion of the first member when the said members are in a first orientation and will not allow its removal when the said members are joined in a second orientation, said first member being provided with at least one rim so disposed as to obscure said aperture and said protruding flange when said first and second members are joined in said second orientation, said tongue being thinner so as to form shoulders that abut the end of the second end of said first member and said rim in joined position.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said aperture is of a substantially rectangular shape.

3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said protruding portion has a substantially rectangular cross section.

4. The combination of claim 1 wherein said second member comprises two portions, a first portion which includes the first end of the second member and a second portion which includes the second end of the second member, said first and second portions being detachable.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein the second portion of said second member is provided with a protruding portion which protruding portion has a flange disposed opposite to and extending toward the second end of said second member.

6. The combination of claim 5 wherein the first portion of said second member is provided with a second aperture disposed opposite to the first end of said second member which will admit the flanged protrusion of the second portion when the portions are in a first orientation and will not allow its removal when the said portions are joined in a second orientation.

7. The combination of claim 1 wherein at least one of said waistband ends is detachably fastened so a to allow removal and reversal of the buckle member through which the corresponding bight passes.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,047,376 12/1912 Brynteson 24201HAUX 1,852,506 4/ 1932 Dalton 24-225 2,074,036 3/ 1937 Ward 24201HEUX 2,592,148 4/1952 Isaacs 24201HEUX 3,121,931 2/1964 Diaz 24225 3,165,803 1/1965 Gaylord 24-225 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,450,825 7/1966 France 24201HA 831,336 10/1955 Germany 24225 34,013 4/ 1905 Switzerland 24-225 BERNARD A. GELAK, Primary Examiner us. or x ,24-2o1, 22