Sliding connector assembly

Abstract

The present invention discloses a sliding connector assembly. The connector assembly is formed by a female portion, a male portion and a locking cover. The female portion has a longitudinal channel with an opening and a slot extending into the channel. The male portion has a locking post and a notch that aligns with the slot when the post is inserted into the channel. The locking cover has a locking tooth that extends through the slot and into the channel. The male portion is connected to the female portion by sliding the locking post into the channel until the notch aligns with the slot so that the locking tooth is located in the notch. The male portion is released from the female portion by pulling the locking cover away from the female portion until the locking tooth leaves the notch in the post mounted in the channel and sliding the male and female portions away from each other.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a connector assembly that can connect a fabric article to a length of webbing. In particular, the present invention relates to a connector whose parts can be quickly and easily engaged and disengaged, yet remain securely connected during use. Background Art

[0002] This type of connector is disclosed in Chinese utility model CN208550206U. The connector is formed by a male part having a tab and a locking post and a female part having a tab and a locking channel. The post of the male part slides into the locking channel of the female part to connect the two parts together. The tabs on each part can be permanently connected, such as by sewing to two different products. The locking claw at one end of the post of the male part engages with the wall outside the channel of the female part to connect the two parts together. The narrow slot in the locking channel cooperates with the protrusion in the post on the opposite end to prevent the male part from extending further into the channel. Sufficient force is required in the sliding direction to remove the male part from the engagement with the female part.

[0003] While this type of connector is useful, it would be desirable to create a more secure connector system that would prevent accidental disengagement, even under forces in the sliding direction. Summary of the invention

[0004] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a connector assembly that is simple to operate but strong enough to prevent accidental disengagement, even under the action of forces in any direction.

[0005] According to the present invention, this and other objects are achieved by a connector assembly formed by a concave portion, a convex portion and a locking cover. The concave portion has a base body having a longitudinal channel with an opening along one side of the base body. The width of the longitudinal channel is greater than the width of the opening. The base body has at least one slot extending through the longitudinal channel in an area away from the opening. The convex portion has a locking post extending along one longitudinal edge. The width of the locking post is greater than the width of the opening in the channel and has at least one notch that aligns with the slot when the post is inserted into the channel. Connected to the locking post is a portion that can be connected to an article. The locking cover is connected to the concave portion and has a lower side of the outer surface of the base body surrounding the concave portion. The locking cover has at least one locking tooth extending through the at least one slot and into the channel.

[0006] The male portion is connected to the female portion by sliding the locking post into the channel until the at least one notch is aligned with the slot, at which point the at least one locking tooth of the locking cover is located in the at least one notch to prevent the post from moving in the channel. The male portion is released from the female portion by pulling the locking cover away from the female portion until the at least one locking tooth clears the at least one notch in the post of the male portion mounted in the channel of the female portion, and sliding the post out of the channel to separate the male and female portions. In the present invention, the locking feature is hidden under the locking cover so that it cannot be accidentally activated if the buckle assembly is accessed from the outside. The only way to disengage the two parts is to lift the front end of the locking cover while sliding the male and female parts away from each other.

[0007] Preferably, the locking cap has two locking teeth, the concave portion has two slots, and the post has two notches, which can improve the stability of the assembly. Alternatively, a single large slot and notch can accommodate the two locking teeth of the cap.

[0008] These two parts can be used to attach a length of webbing to a cloth product. In this embodiment, the male portion has an attachment tab configured for sewing onto the product, and the female portion has an attachment bar configured for attaching to a length of webbing.

[0009] In one embodiment, the locking cover is U-shaped and has a front wall, a top wall and a rear wall, wherein the locking teeth are attached to the inner surface of the front wall. The female portion has a plurality of studs on the top and rear sides, and the locking cover has a plurality of sockets extending through the top and rear walls. The locking cover is connected to the female portion by snapping the studs into the sockets. The front wall of the locking cover is not attached to the female portion and can be freely moved to disengage the locking teeth from the notches in the posts of the male portion.

[0010] To enable simple assembly of the parts, the male portion is configured to snap into the female portion without having to lift the locking cover. To achieve this, the front end of the post is rounded so that when the post is inserted into the channel, the at least one locking tooth slides up from the rounded end and lifts away from the post to allow the post to be fully inserted into the channel. Once the post is fully inserted, the locking tooth extends through the slot into the channel to lock the male portion to the female portion.

[0011] To prevent the post from sliding past the fully inserted position, the rear end of the post has a flange that is wider than the channel, and the corresponding end of the concave portion has a cutout extending into the channel. When the post is fully inserted into the channel, the flange is located in the cutout and prevents the post from being inserted further into the channel.

[0012] To assist the user in lifting the locking cover to release the male and female parts, the locking cover has a ledge on the front wall that forms a lifting surface for fingers to lift the front wall upward and away from the female part and the post of the female part (which is inserted into the channel of the female part). The ledge may be grooved or textured to prevent the user's fingers from sliding when the locking cover is lifted.

[0013] In order to be able to lift and lower the locking cover more easily without causing damage, the locking cover is at least partially formed from a flexible material, such as a soft plastic, or may have a weak point that allows the material of the locking cover to flex. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the drawings are designed only for the purpose of illustration and not for definition of the limits of the present invention.

[0015] In the drawings, wherein like reference numerals represent like elements throughout the several views:

[0016] Figure 1 An exploded view showing the front side of a connector assembly according to the present invention;

[0017] Figure 2 An exploded view of the back side of the connector assembly is shown;

[0018] Figure 3 A front view of the concave portion is shown;

[0019] Figure 4 A bottom view of the concave portion is shown;

[0020] Figure 5 showing a perspective view of the concave portion with the locking cover mounted thereon;

[0021] Figure 6 A side view of the locking cover is shown;

[0022] Figure 7 A bottom view of the locking cover is shown;

[0023] Figure 8 The concave and convex parts are shown moving in the locking direction along the arrows;

[0024] Fig. 9shows a front view of the connector assembly;

[0025] Fig.10 shows the connector assembly along Fig. 9 A side sectional view taken along line XX;

[0026] Fig.11 shows the connector assembly along Fig. 9 A side cross-sectional view of the line XI-XI; and

[0027] Fig.12 Shown when the front of the cover assembly is lifted to release the locking teeth Fig.11 of the view. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] Now refer to the accompanying drawings in detail, Figure 1 and Figure 2 An exploded view of a connector assembly 1 is shown, which is formed by a male portion 10, a female portion 20 and a locking cover 30. The male portion 10 has a post 11 connected to a sewable tab 12, which can be sewn directly to a fabric article. The post 11 has a rounded front end 13, two stop flanges 14 at the rear end and two locking notches 15, 16 provided along its top surface.

[0029] exist Figures 3 to 5 The female part 20 shown in detail in FIG. 1 has a base body 21 connected to a belt retaining rod 22. A passage 23 passes through the base body 21 and has a longitudinal opening 24 (see FIG. Figure 4 ), whose width is less than the width of the channel 23 (see Figures 10 to 12 The base body 21 has two slots 25, 26 extending into the channel 23. Figure 1 and Figure 4 shown.

[0030] exist Figure 6 and Figure 7The locking cover 30 shown in detail in FIG. 1 is configured to be attached to the concave portion 20. The locking cover 30 has a front wall 31, a top wall 32 and a rear wall 33. Two locking teeth 35, 36 are provided inside the front wall 31. The locking cover 30 is attached to the concave portion 20 by snapping the protrusions 27, 28 of the concave portion 20 into the sockets 311, 312 on the top wall 32 of the cover 30 and snapping the protrusions 209, 210 on the rear of the base body 21 into the sockets 313, 314 on the rear wall 33 of the cover 30. The locking cover 30 is not connected to the concave portion 20 along its front wall 31. The locking cover 30 is preferably formed of a flexible material along a portion of the top wall and / or the front wall, or the overall material of the cover 30 is weakened so that the front wall 31 can be lifted and away from the concave portion 20 by the user pushing upward on the bottom edge of the front wall 31. Alternatively, the entire cover 30 may be formed of a flexible material. The cover 30 may be made of a different material than the male and female parts. Preferably, all components of the connector assembly are formed of plastic material. The front wall 31 may be provided with a ledge 34 to assist a user's finger in pushing the front wall upward and away from the female part 20 and out of engagement with the post 11 of the male part 10 mounted therein.

[0031] The connection between the male part 10 and the female part 20 is as follows, referring to Figure 1 and Figure 2 Parts shown: First, the cover 30 is snapped onto the female part 20 by snapping the protrusions 27, 28, 209 and 210 into the sockets 311, 312, 313 and 314. After this assembly, the locking teeth 35, 36 extend through the slots 25, 26 of the female part 20 and into the channel 23 (see Fig.11 ). Next, the front end 13 of the column 11 is inserted into the passage 23 of the concave portion 20, and these parts are moved along Figure 8 During the connection process, the front end 13 pushes the locking teeth 35, 36 of the cover 30 and forces them upward to allow the post 11 to pass through the channel 23. Once the post 11 is fully inserted, the locking teeth 35, 36 are located in the notches 15, 16 of the post 11 and prevent the post 11 from sliding further relative to the concave portion 20. Once the post 11 is fully inserted, the flange 14 is located in the cutout 211 to prevent further horizontal movement of the post 11. The fully assembled connector assembly is shown in FIG. Fig. 9 shown.

[0032] The position of the column 11 in the channel 23 can be Fig.10 and Fig.11 As can be seen in the cross section of Fig.11 As shown, locking teeth 36 are securely seated in notch 16 (and locking teeth 35 are seated in notch 15 at the other end) to prevent the post from sliding in either direction. To remove male portion 10 from female portion 20, the user presses upward on ledge 34 of cover 30, as shown in FIG. Fig.12 As shown, this causes the cover 30 to bend slightly and the locking teeth 35, 36 to move out of the notches 15, 16. At this point, the post 11 can be moved along the Figure 8 The arrows shown in the opposite direction slide out of the channel 23. Therefore, the parts can be connected together in a single step, but require two independent and simultaneous actions (i.e. lifting the cover 30 and sliding the post 11) to be separated.

[0033] Thus, while only a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be apparent that numerous changes and modifications can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A connector assembly, comprising: a concave portion having a base body having a longitudinal channel with an opening along one side of the base body, wherein a width of the longitudinal channel is greater than a width of the opening, and wherein the base body has at least one slot extending through to the longitudinal channel in an area distal to the opening; a male portion having a locking post extending along one longitudinal edge, the locking post having a width greater than the width of the opening in the channel and having at least one notch that aligns with the slot when the post is inserted into the channel, and a locking cover connected to the female portion, the locking cover having an underside surrounding at least a portion of the outer surface of the base body of the female portion and having at least one locking tooth extending through the at least one slot and into the channel, wherein the male portion is connected to the female portion by sliding the locking post into the channel until the at least one notch is aligned with the at least one slot, at which point the at least one locking tooth of the locking cover is located in the at least one notch to prevent the post from moving in the channel, and wherein the male portion is released from the female portion by pulling the locking cover away from the female portion until the at least one locking tooth on the locking cover leaves the at least one notch in the post of the male portion and sliding the male and female portions away from each other. 2 . The connector assembly of claim 1 , wherein the locking cover has two locking teeth, the female portion has two slots, and the post has two notches.

3. The connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the male portion further comprises an attachment tab connected to the post and configured for sewing to an article.

4. The connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the female portion further comprises a strap retention bar connected to the base body and configured for attachment to a length of webbing.

5. The connector assembly of claim 1 , wherein the locking cover comprises a front wall, a top wall and a rear wall, wherein a concave portion has a plurality of studs on a top side and a rear side, and the locking cover has a plurality of sockets extending through the top wall and the rear wall, wherein the at least one locking tooth is attached to an inner surface of the front wall, and wherein the locking cover is connected to the concave portion by snapping the studs into the sockets such that the front wall of the locking cover is not attached to the concave portion.

6. The connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the front end of the post is rounded so that when the post is inserted into the passage, the at least one locking tooth slides along the rounded end and lifts away from the post to allow the post to be fully inserted into the passage.

7. A connector assembly according to claim 1, wherein the rear end of the post has a flange that is wider than the channel, and the corresponding end of the concave portion has a cutout extending into the channel, so that when the post is fully inserted into the channel, the flange is located in the cutout and prevents the post from being further inserted into the channel.

8. The connector assembly of claim 5, wherein the locking cover has a ledge on the front wall, the ledge forming a lifting surface for fingers to lift the front wall upward and away from the concave portion.

9. The connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the locking cover is at least partially formed from a flexible material.

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