Buckle assembly with interchangeable face member

Abstract

A buckle assembly having a plurality of removable and interchangeable ornamental face plates. The buckle assembly includes a primary buckle component, a secondary buckle component and the face member components. The primary and secondary buckle components are selectively securable, i.e. male/female, to form a belt into a loop. The face plate members have a plurality of fasteners insertable into a plurality of receptacles on an outer surface of the primary buckle component. An outer surface of the face plate member carries an ornamental design, such as, indicia, a logo, a picture, words, or color. A single buckle assembly may include a plurality of face plate members to provide varying ornamental designs.

Description

[0001]This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 / 943,713, filed on Feb. 24, 2014.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention is directed to a customizable buckle assembly that permits quick and efficient attachment of indicia (for example, a logo, a phrase, or a design) to said buckle assembly. More particularly, the present invention relates to a buckle assembly comprising a removable and interchangeable face member that can be quickly and efficiently mounted to a weight-bearing chassis on at least one side, and typically a forward facing surface or said buckle assembly.[0003]Conventional buckles frequently comprise two mating members—a first (male) member and a second (female) member. Each member is connected to one end of an item—such as, for example, a belt, a strap, or the like—that is to be joined using the buckle assembly. The male and female members can be easily and conveniently latched (joined) or unlatched (disconnected) as desir...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0013]The buckle assembly of the present invention may further comprise a face or display member component that can be removable attached to an outer surface of the buckle assembly. The removable attachment of the face member component to the buckle assembly allows for quick and efficient mounting of said face member component onto the buckle assembly. In a preferred embodiment, the primary and secondary buckle components of the present invention (sometimes referred to as a chassis) can be manufactured in mass quantities, thereby insuring a more efficient overall process with a lower cost and quicker availability. If desired, the face member component can be manufactured in smaller quantities, as needed, with a quicker turn-around time.

Problems solved by technology

One drawback of such conventional decoration or adornment affixed at the time of manufacture is that it is permanent.

In addition, if the decoration or adornment on a particular buckle assembly is marred or damaged, the wearer must replace the entire buckle assembly or even belt.

The need for multiple decorations or adornments on a buckle assembly also complicates the manufacturing process as the machine that creates the buckle assemblies must be configurable to manufacture buckle assemblies with different decorations or adornments.

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