Buckle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10051922-B2
Application number	US-201414291732-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 30, 2014
Priority date	Jun 7, 2010
Publication date	Aug 21, 2018
Grant date	Aug 21, 2018

Abstract

A buckle includes a male member including a base part and a pair of flexible arms extending from the base part, and a female member including an insertion hole formed at one end portion thereof. The pair of flexible arms is inserted in the insertion hole. The base part contacts the one end portion when the male member engages the female member. An outer face portion of each of the pair of flexible arms has a shape curving outwardly at a middle portion thereof relative to an insertion direction of the pair of flexible arms, and the pair of flexible arms is provisionally fastened to the female member when the pair of flexible arm is inserted in the insertion hole.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A buckle, comprising:
a male member including a base part and a pair of flexible arms extending from the base part, each arm having an arm-latching part formed at a middle portion thereof and convexed laterally outwardly therefrom, a front side raised part protruding upwardly from a front surface thereof and a rear side raised part protruding downwardly from a rear surface thereof, and
a female member including an insertion hole formed at one end portion thereof, guide grooves extending inside thereof from the insertion hole, and guide faces arranged at the one end portion to partially define the insertion hole, the pair of flexible arms being inserted in the insertion hole,
wherein the pair of flexible arms has a width between the arm-latching parts perpendicular to an insertion direction of the pair of flexible arms, the width of the arm-latching parts being larger than that of the insertion hole such that when the pair of flexible arms is inserted in the insertion hole, the arm-latching parts contact the guide faces, then the pair of arms is bent in a direction approaching each other to increase an external force, thereby the pair of flexible arms is provisionally fastened to the female member, and after the arm-latching parts pass the guide faces, the front and rear side raised parts are guided through the guide grooves in the insertion direction, and the base part contacts the one end portion when the male member engages the female member.

2. The buckle according to claim 1 , wherein the female member includes a front wall, a rear wall facing the front wall, a pair of insertion-side connection walls connecting the front and rear walls at an insertion side, and a pair of open-side connection walls connecting the front and rear walls at a side opposite to the insertion hole,
the pair of insertion-side connection walls includes the guide faces at inner surfaces thereof, respectively, and
the front wall, the rear wall and the guide faces define the insertion hole.

3. The buckle according to claim 2 , wherein the guide grooves are arranged to displace leading ends of the pair of flexible arms in the direction approaching each other in a process of guiding the front and rear side raised parts in the insertion direction and latching grooves are arranged at ends of the guide grooves to release the leading ends in a direction moving away from each other after passing the guide grooves.

4. The buckle according to claim 2 , wherein the female member further includes a partition plate extending between the front wall and the rear wall to prevent the front wall and the rear wall from bending.

5. The buckle according to claim 1 , wherein the male member includes a connecting portion connecting the pair of flexible arms and housed in the female member when the male member engages the female member.

6. The buckle according to claim 1 , wherein an outer face portion of each of the pair of flexible arms curves outwardly from a leading end of each of the pair of flexible arms to the arm-latching part and curves inwardly from the arm-latching part to the base part, relative to the direction perpendicular to the insertion direction.

7. The buckle according to claim 1 , wherein the female member further includes upper and lower latching portions at a side opposite to the insertion hole, the front and rear side raised parts after passing through the guide grooves engaging the upper and lower latching portions.

8. The buckle according to claim 7 , wherein the lower latching portions are formed at a rear side open edge of a rear wall of the female member, and the upper latching portions are formed at an inside of a front wall of the female member.

9. A buckle, comprising:
a male member including a base part and a pair of flexible arms extending from the base part, each arm having an arm-latching part formed at a middle portion thereof and convexed laterally outwardly therefrom, a front side raised part protruding upwardly from a front surface thereof and a rear side raised part protruding downwardly from a rear surface thereof, and
a female member including an insertion hole formed at one end portion thereof, guide grooves extending inside thereof from the insertion hole, and guide faces arranged at the one end portion to partially define the insertion hole, the pair of flexible arms being inserted in the insertion hole,
wherein the pair of flexible arms has a width between the arm-latching parts perpendicular to an insertion direction of the pair of flexible arms, the width of the arm-latching parts being larger than that of the insertion hole such that when the pair of flexible arms is inserted in the insertion hole, the arm-latching parts contact the guide faces, then the pair of arms is bent in a direction approaching each other to increase an external force, thereby the pair of flexible arms is provisionally fastened to the female member, and after the arm-latching parts pass the guide faces, the front and rear side raised parts are guided through the guide grooves in the insertion direction, and the base part contacts the one end portion when the male member engages the female member,
a leading end portion of each of the pair of flexible arms protrudes in the insertion direction relative to the front and rear side raised parts such that an outer face portion between the arm-latching part and the front and rear side raised parts, in each of the pair of flexible arms, is convexed in the insertion direction,
a leading-end-positioning rib is arranged on each of the front surface and the rear surface of the leading end portion to protrude therefrom, and
a base-end-positioning rib is arranged on each of the front surface and the rear surface of a base end portion adjacent to the base part to protrude therefrom, to prevent a displacement of the male member relative to the female member.

Assignees

• Kawaguchi Gaku
• Nifco Inc

Inventors

• Kawaguchi Gaku

Classifications

• A44B11/2592 Primary

  fastening by sliding in the main plane or a plane parallel to the main plane of the buckle (A44B11/2503, A44B11/2584 take precedence) · CPC title

• Y10T24/45785

  Requiring manual force applied against bias to interlock or disengage · CPC title

• A44B11/2546

  Details · CPC title

• A44B11/266 Primary

  with at least one push-button acting parallel to the main plane of the buckle and perpendicularly to the direction of the fastening action · CPC title

• A44B11/26 Primary

  with push-button fastenings {(A44B11/2507 takes precedence; press-button fasteners A44B17/00)} · CPC title