Buckle and timepiece

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12016438-B2
Application number	US-202217854675-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 30, 2022
Priority date	Jul 1, 2021
Publication date	Jun 25, 2024
Grant date	Jun 25, 2024

Abstract

A buckle includes a folding member linked to a band, a slide plate having a plurality of groove sections provided along the longitudinal direction of the band, a swing arm including an engagement click engageable with any of the groove sections, and a spring that urges the swing arm in a first rotational direction, and the folding member restricts rotation of the swing arm in the second rotational direction when the folding member is accommodated in the buckle cover, and cancels the restriction of the rotation of the swing arm in the second rotational direction when the folding member is detached from the buckle cover.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A buckle that links a first band and a second band to each other, the buckle comprising:
a folding member linked to the first band;
a buckle cover pivotably linked to the folding member;
a slide plate supported slidably relative to the buckle cover in a longitudinal direction of the first band and the second band and linked to the second band;
a swing arm rotatably supported by the buckle cover; and
a spring that urges the swing arm,
wherein the slide plate has a plurality of groove sections provided along the longitudinal direction,
the swing arm includes an engagement click engageable with any of the groove sections of the slide plate and is supported rotatably in a first rotational direction in which the engagement click engages with any of the groove sections and in a second rotational direction in which the engagement click separates from the groove section,
the spring urges the swing arm in the first rotational direction, and
the folding member restricts rotation of the swing arm in the second rotational direction when the folding member is accommodated in the buckle cover, and cancels the restriction of the rotation of the swing arm in the second rotational direction when the folding member is detached from the buckle cover.

2. The buckle according to claim 1 ,
wherein the swing arm includes a base rotatably supported by the buckle cover, an arm section extending from the base toward the slide plate and provided with the engagement click, and a restriction strip extending from the base toward a side opposite to the arm section, and
rotation of the swing arm in the second rotational direction is restricted when the restriction strip comes into contact with the folding member accommodated in the buckle cover.

3. The buckle according to claim 1 ,
further comprising a button unit including a lock member urged by the spring and a first button and a second button protruding out of the buckle cover,
wherein the folding member is provided with a hook, and
when the lock member is urged by the spring, the lock member urges the first button and the second button in opposite directions and moves to a locked position where the hook is locked, and when the first button and the second button are pressed, the lock member is moved against an urging force produced by the spring to an unlocked position where the hook is unlocked.

4. The buckle according to claim 1 ,
wherein the engagement click of the swing arm has a triangular shape in a side view viewed in an axial direction of an axis of rotation of the swing arm, and
the groove sections of the slide plate each have an inverted triangular shape with which the engagement click is engageable.

5. The buckle according to claim 4 ,
wherein the groove sections of the slide plate each have
a first inclining surface with which the engagement click comes into contact when the slide plate is moved in a direction in which the slide plate approaches the axis of rotation of the swing arm, and
a second inclining surface with which the engagement click comes into contact when the slide plate is moved in a direction in which the slide plate moves away from the axis of rotation of the swing arm, and
an inclination angle of the first inclining surface with respect to a direction of the movement of the slide plate is smaller than an inclination angle of the second inclining surface with respect thereto.

6. The buckle according to claim 1 ,
wherein the buckle cover includes a front surface section, a first sidewall section, and a second sidewall section,
guide grooves extending along the longitudinal direction are formed at inner surfaces of the first sidewall section and the second sidewall section, and
the slide plate includes a plate section inserted into the guide grooves.

7. The buckle according to claim 1 ,
wherein the slide plate includes a movement restriction section provided continuously with the groove sections,
the movement restriction section has a restriction surface perpendicular to a sliding direction of the slide plate and protruding beyond the groove sections, and
the engagement click has a perpendicular surface that comes into contact with the restriction surface.

8. A timepiece comprising the buckle according to claim 1 .

Assignees

• Seiko Epson Corp

Inventors

• Yamashita Yuki

Classifications

• A44C5/246 Primary

  having size adjusting means · CPC title

• A44C5/2066 Primary

  Fasteners with locking means acting parallel to the main plane of the fastener and perpendicularly to the direction of the fastening · CPC title

• A44C5/24 Primary

  with folding devices · CPC title