Buckle

Abstract

To provide a buckle with an automatic lock function that has a simple structure and can be minimized.SOLUTION: There is disclosed a buckle for connecting both ends of a belt 20 so as to be capable of adjusting an interval between both ends or connecting two belts so as to be capable of adjusting the axial length of the belts. The buckle includes: a buckle body 2; at least one stopper member 3 supported to the buckle body so as to be rotatable; and at least one elastic piece 4 installed to the buckle body or the stopper member. The stopper member has an L-shaped cross section and includes: an operation part 5 extending in the longitudinal direction of the L-shape; and a locking part 6 extending in the transverse direction of the L-shape. In a natural state where the stopper member is fitted to the buckle body, the tip end of the locking part is urged by the elastic piece so as to be directed to the belt and engages the belt. Operating the operation part in a direction against the elastic force of the elastic piece moves the tip end of the locking part in a direction separating from the belt and releases the engagement with the belt.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a buckle for connecting both ends of a single belt in an adjustable manner, or for connecting two belts in an adjustable manner in the axial length. [Background technology]

[0002] Buckles are used to connect and adjust the length of belts used in trousers, swimming goggles, ski goggles, article fastening devices, etc., and are known that allow stepwise or stepless adjustment.

[0003] For example, Utility Model Registration No. 3024322 (Patent Document 1) discloses a buckle for adjusting a trouser belt in stages, which includes a belt with a series of locking projections on the back side, and a buckle device to which the rear end of the belt is attached and which has a protruding piece that engages with the locking projections of the belt.

[0004] Furthermore, Japanese Patent No. 3199532 (Patent Document 2) discloses a buckle for use with swimming goggles, shoelaces, and the like, which has a pair of elastic bands with multiple locking portions along the longitudinal direction, a pair of locking pins to which the pair of elastic bands are respectively attached, and a pair of guide surfaces that are inclined in opposite directions relative to a plane passing through the pair of locking pins.

[0005] Furthermore, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2005-212826 (Patent Document 3) discloses a buckle for use with mounting belts for ship fenders and bow protection materials, and for securing belts for various articles, luggage, etc., which has a frame body with a mounting frame part on one side for attaching a belt end, a locking member that can slide between a fixing frame part facing the mounting frame, and a stopper member as a means for regulating displacement of the locking member, thereby enabling the belt to be maintained in a clamped state.

[0006] However, the above-mentioned conventional techniques have the drawbacks that some do not have an automatic locking function, and even if they do have an automatic locking function, the structure is complicated and the number of parts is large. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Utility Model Registration No. 3024322 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 5356596 [Patent Document 3] JP 2005-212826 A [Patent Document 4] Patent No. 5630704 [Patent Document 5] Patent No. 3199532 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] The object of the present invention is to provide a buckle with an automatic locking function that can adjustably connect the distance between both ends of a single belt or adjustably connect the axial length of two belts, and can be made compact with a simple structure.

[0009] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a buckle for connecting both ends of a single belt in an adjustable manner, or for connecting two belts in an adjustable manner in the axial direction, the buckle including a buckle body, at least one stopper member rotatably supported by the buckle body, and at least one elastic piece provided on the buckle body or the stopper member, the stopper member having an L-shaped cross section and including an operating portion extending in the vertical direction of the L shape and a locking portion extending in the horizontal direction of the L shape, and in a natural state in which the stopper member is attached to the buckle body, a tip of the locking portion is biased by the elastic piece toward the belt and engages with the belt, and by operating the operating portion in a direction against the elastic force of the elastic piece, the tip of the locking portion moves in a direction away from the belt and is released from engagement with the belt.

[0010] In one embodiment, the elastic piece is formed integrally with the stopper member from resin, or is formed integrally with the buckle body from resin.

[0011] In one embodiment, the elastic piece is a separate component made of a resin piece or a metal piece, and is fixed to the stopper member or the buckle body.

[0012] In one embodiment, the buckle body is a buckle in which two members, a male member and a female member, are press-fitted and detachably connected, or a buckle formed of a single unit.

[0013] In one embodiment, the operating portion is disposed in an opening provided in the buckle body and protrudes from a surface of the buckle body.

[0014] In one embodiment, the tip of the engaging portion engages with a protrusion, a recess, a hole, or a friction surface formed on the belt.

[0015] Furthermore, in one embodiment, the belt is folded into a U-shape around a belt folding axis provided on the buckle body and engages with the tip of the fastening portion, or is inserted linearly through a belt insertion port provided on the buckle body and engages with the tip of the fastening portion. Effect of the Invention

[0016] According to the buckle of the present invention, which connects both ends of a single belt with the above-mentioned configuration so that the distance between them can be adjusted, or which connects two belts with the axial length so that the buckle can be adjusted, it is possible to provide a buckle with an automatic locking function that can be made compact with a simple configuration. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] An explanatory diagram of the appearance of a buckle connecting two belts. [Diagram 2]5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating an engagement state between the belt and the stopper member. [Diagram 3] Diagram of the stopper part (part 1) [Figure 4] Diagram of the stopper part (part 2) BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THEINVENTION

[0018] An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to Figures 1 to 4. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described below, and includes all other configurations within the scope of the configurations described in the claims.

[0019] The buckle 1 shown in Fig. 1 has a conventionally known buckle configuration in which a buckle body 2 presses and fixes a male side 2-1 to a female side 2-2 using elastic force, and two belts 20, one on the left and one on the right, are engaged with the male side 2-1 and the other on the female side 2-2, respectively, and the male side 2-1 and the female side 2-2 can be separated by pressing the pressing part 11. The belt 20 has a plurality of ridges provided at predetermined intervals on its surface in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction, and the adjusted length can be fixed (positioned) by engaging one of the ridges with a stopper member 3 provided on each of the male side 2-1 and the female side 2-2, which will be described later.

[0020] Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration for engaging and releasing the engagement between the stopper member 3 and the belt 20. As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the stopper member 3 has an L-shaped cross section (L-shaped in side view) and has an operating portion 5 extending in the vertical direction of the L shape and a locking portion 6 extending in the horizontal direction of the L shape.

[0021] The stopper member 3 is attached to the buckle body 2 so as to be freely rotatable relative to the buckle body 2 by fitting a rotating shaft 8 provided on the stopper member 3 into a bearing recess (not shown) provided on the buckle body 2. In the natural state in which the stopper member 3 is attached to the buckle body 2, the stopper member 3 is always biased to rotate in the X direction in FIG. 2 (the direction toward the belt 20) by an elastic piece 4 provided on the buckle body 2.

[0022] In this embodiment, the belt 20 is folded into a U-shape around the belt folding axis 10 provided on the buckle body 2, and the tip 7 of the locking portion 6 is engaged with the convex strip of the belt 20 to fix the adjusted length.

[0023] The user can pull the belt in the direction to tighten it, but cannot pull it with normal force in the opposite direction to loosen it; in other words, the cross section of the ridge of the belt 20 is in a delta shape (one of the two sides is inclined and the other is vertical) so that the ridge of the belt 20 and the tip 7 of the engaging portion engage like a one-way clutch.

[0024] When a user moves the belt in a direction to loosen it in order to widen the gap between the belts, the user operates the operating part 5 protruding outward from the opening 9 of the buckle body 2 in the Y direction in Figure 2 (a direction against the elastic force of the elastic piece 4), separating the tip 7 of the engaging part from the convex strip of the belt 20 to release the engagement, thereby allowing the belt 20 to move freely and making it easy to loosen and adjust the gap between the left and right belts 20.

[0025] In the above example, the elastic piece 4 is provided on the buckle body 2, but as shown in Fig. 4, it may be provided on the stopper member 3. Also, the buckle body 2 and the elastic piece 4, and the stopper member 3 and the elastic piece 4 may all be formed by integral resin molding, or may be formed as separate bodies. When formed as separate bodies, the elastic piece 4 may be a metal piece instead of a resin piece.

[0026] In the above embodiment, an example was shown in which the stopper member 3 was provided on each of the male side 2-1 and the female side 2-2, but the stopper member 3 may be provided on only one of the male side 2-1 and the female side 2-2.

[0027] In addition, the buckle body 2 is divided into a left and right section so that the male side 2-1 and the female side 2-2 can be freely engaged and disengaged, but it may be a single (integral) buckle. In this case, the stopper member 3 may be provided on only one of the left and right sides.

[0028] In addition, the length adjustment is not limited to the example in which the end of the engaging portion 7 is engaged with one of a plurality of protrusions provided in the longitudinal direction of the belt 20, but the engagement and length adjustment may be performed by fitting the end of the engaging portion 7 into one of a plurality of recesses or one of a plurality of holes provided in the longitudinal direction of the belt.

[0029] Furthermore, the surface of the belt 20 over a predetermined length may be treated to have a high coefficient of friction, so that the surface of the belt 20 and the end 7 of the engaging portion may be engaged and the length adjusted by friction, making it possible to adjust the length in a stepless manner.

[0030] The belt 20 may be inserted linearly from a belt insertion opening (not shown) provided in the buckle body 2 without being bent into a U-shape, and the end 7 of the engaging portion may be engaged with a protrusion provided on the belt 20. The belt 20 may be a stretchable rubber belt or a non-stretchable resin belt.

[0031] In the above embodiment, the example was shown in which the device was used to connect and adjust the length of two belts, one on the left and one on the right, but the device may also be used to connect and adjust the length of both ends of a single belt.

[0032] Furthermore, the buckle according to the present invention can be applied to various belts (including strings), such as trouser belts, swimming goggle belts, ski goggle belts, shoe laces, belts used for bags, and belts for fastening various items, and is not particularly limited.

[0033] As described above, the buckle according to the present invention can provide a buckle having an automatic locking function that can be made compact with a simple structure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0034] 1 Buckle 2 Buckle body 2-1 Male side 2-2 Female side 3 Stopper member 4 Elastic piece 5 Control section 6 Locking part 7 End of locking part 8 Rotation Axis 9 Openings 10 Belt folding shaft 11 Pressing section 20 Belt

Claims

1. A buckle for connecting both ends of one belt in an adjustable manner, or for connecting two belts in an adjustable manner in the axial length, The buckle includes a buckle body, at least one stopper member rotatably supported by the buckle body, and at least one elastic piece provided on the buckle body or the stopper member, The stopper member has an L-shaped cross section and includes an operating portion extending in a vertical direction of the L shape and a locking portion extending in a horizontal direction of the L shape, In a natural state in which the stopper member is attached to the buckle body, the tip of the engaging portion is biased toward the belt by the elastic piece and engages with the belt, By operating the operating portion in a direction against the elastic force of the elastic piece, the tip of the engaging portion moves in a direction away from the belt, and the engagement with the belt is released. A buckle characterized by:

2. The elastic piece is integrally formed with the stopper member using resin, or is integrally formed with the buckle body using resin.

2. The buckle according to claim 1 .

3. The elastic piece is a separate component made of a resin piece or a metal piece, and is fixed to the stopper member or the buckle body.

3. The buckle according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The buckle body is a buckle in which two male and female members are press-fitted and detachably connected, or a buckle constructed as a single unit.

3. The buckle according to claim 1 or 2.

5. The operating portion is disposed in an opening provided in the buckle body and protrudes from a surface of the buckle body.

3. The buckle according to claim 1 or 2.

6. The tip of the engaging portion engages with a protrusion, a recess, a hole, or a friction surface formed on the belt.

3. The buckle according to claim 1 or 2.

7. The belt is folded into a U-shape around a belt folding axis provided on the buckle body and engaged with the tip of the fastening portion, or is inserted linearly from a belt insertion port provided on the buckle body and engaged with the tip of the fastening portion.

3. The buckle according to claim 1 or 2.

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