Buckle apparatus for wearable device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9750316-B2
Application number	US-201514847339-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 8, 2015
Priority date	Sep 23, 2014
Publication date	Sep 5, 2017
Grant date	Sep 5, 2017

Abstract

A buckle apparatus for a wearable device may include a main body of the wearable device; a band for wearing the main body on a user's wrist; and a buckle assembly including a cover part to which a first end of the band is coupled and a coupling part in which a second end of the band is inserted into and maintained. The cover part includes upper and lower covers coupled to each other to form rails, and the coupling part includes first and second link pieces hingedly coupled to each other and is assembled to the lower portion of the cover part.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A buckle apparatus for a wearable device, comprising:
a main body;
a band for providing the main body to be adapted on a wrist; and
a buckle assembly comprising a cover part to which a first end of the band is coupled and a coupling part in which a second end of the band is inserted into and maintained in, wherein the cover part comprises an upper cover and a lower cover coupled to each other to form rails, and the coupling part comprises first and second link pieces hingedly coupled to each other and is assembled to a lower portion of the cover part, wherein the upper cover comprises a band fixing part into which the first end of the band is inserted, a spring accommodating part formed to accommodate a spring therein, and a screw-fastening part.

2. The buckle apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:
a sliding locking part comprising a sliding assembly for locking sliding of the cover part;
a plate spring cooperating with the sliding assembly to cause a stopper to move down when the sliding assembly slides in a first direction and to move up when the sliding assembly slides in a second direction opposite of the first direction; and
a spring for pressing the sliding assembly in one direction.

3. The buckle apparatus of claim 2 , wherein opposite ends of the plate spring are coupled to the upper cover and the stopper, respectively.

4. The buckle apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the sliding assembly further comprises sliding frames formed on opposite sides thereof to move along the rails formed in the cover part, a positioning protrusion on which the plate spring is seated, and an insertion protrusion inserted into the spring.

5. The buckle apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the plate spring comprises a corrugated section that is bent a predetermined number of times and has resilience, a screw-fastening piece formed on one end thereof, which is screw-coupled to the upper cover, and a fastening hook formed on an opposite end thereof, which is fastened to the stopper, and the stopper comprises a fastening recess to which the fastening hook is fastened.

6. The buckle apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the sliding assembly has a pin-coupling hole inserted between the rails to move along the rails formed by the upper and lower covers.

7. The buckle apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the sliding assembly of the sliding locking part slides in the first direction opposite to the sliding of the cover part to compress the spring, and the stopper moves downward and is stopped by the second link piece to lock the sliding of the cover part.

8. The buckle apparatus of claim 2 , wherein, while the stopper moves downward and is stopped by the second link piece, the stopper is moved upward by the sliding of the cover part in the second direction, and the sliding assembly returns to an original position by a resilience of the spring.

9. The buckle apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first link piece comprises pin-coupling holes formed on opposite ends thereof and a fastening piece protruding downward from a rear surface thereof between the pin-coupling holes, and
the second link piece comprises an insertion piece on one end thereof, into which the second end of the band is inserted, an opening formed on an upper portion of the insertion piece, a protruding piece integrally protruding from a front surface of the insertion piece, a pin-coupling hole on an opposite end thereof to correspond to the pin-coupling hole provided in the first link piece, and a pole protruding downward from a center thereof.

10. The buckle apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the fastening piece of the first link piece is fastened to the opening formed in the insertion piece of the second link piece such that a length of the band is set to a basic fastening length for wearing the wearable device.

11. The buckle apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the pole of the second link piece is inserted into one of a plurality of fastening holes formed on the second end of the band such that the band is set to a basic fastening length.

12. The buckle apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the lower cover comprises rail frames formed on opposite sides thereof, an opening formed in a center thereof, a stopper coupling part to which the stopper is coupled so as to be movable up and down, a spring accommodating part for accommodating the spring therein, screw-fastening holes formed on opposite sides of the spring accommodating part, and a pair of fastening protrusions inserted into a pair of insertion holes formed on the first end of the band.

13. The buckle apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the upper cover and the lower cover comprises a screw fastening part and a screw-fastening hole, respectively, and the screw fastening part and the screw-fastening hole are formed to correspond to each other.

14. A buckle apparatus for a wearable device, comprising:
a main body;
a band for providing the main body to be adapted on a wrist;
a buckle assembly including a cover part to which a first end of the band is coupled and a coupling part in which a second end of the band is inserted into and maintained in, wherein the cover part comprises an upper cover and a lower cover coupled to each other to form rails, and the coupling part comprises first and second link pieces hingedly coupled to each other and is assembled to a lower portion of the cover part;
a sliding locking part having a sliding assembly for locking sliding of the cover part;
a plate spring cooperating with the sliding assembly to cause a stopper to move down when the sliding assembly slides in a first direction and to move up when the sliding assembly slides in a second direction opposite of the first direction; and
a spring for pressing the sliding assembly in one direction.

15. The buckle apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the sliding assembly has a pin-coupling hole inserted between the rails to move along the rails formed by the upper and lower covers.

16. The buckle apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the sliding assembly further comprises sliding frames formed on opposite sides thereof to move along the rails formed in the cover part, a positioning protrusion on which the plate spring is seated, and an insertion protrusion inserted into the spring.

17. The buckle apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the first link piece comprises pin-coupling holes formed on opposite ends thereof and a fastening piece protruding downward from a rear surface thereof between the pin-coupling holes, and
the second link piece comprises an insertion piece on one end thereof, into which the second end of the band is inserted, an opening formed on an upper portion of the insertion piece, a protruding piece integrally protruding from a front surface of the insertion piece, a pin-coupling hole on an opposite end thereof to correspond to the pin-coupling hole provided in the first link piece, and a pole protruding downward from a center thereof.

18. The buckle apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the sliding assembly of the sliding locking part slides in the first direction opposite to the sliding of the cover part to compress the spring, and the stopper moves downward and is stopped by the second link piece to lock the sliding of the cover part.

19. The buckle apparatus of claim 14 , wherein, while the stopper moves downward and is stopped by the second link piece, the stopper is moved upward by the sliding of the cover part in the second direction, and the sliding assembly returns to an original position by a resilience of the spring.

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Baek Sangin

Classifications

• Y10T24/4782

  Watch strap · CPC title

• Y10T24/2155

  Jewelry-watch straps · CPC title

• A44C5/246 Primary

  having size adjusting means · CPC title

• A44C5/243

  Automatic folding spring closure · CPC title

• G06F1/163

  Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt · CPC title