Side Release Buckle Thickness Reduction via Local Quality
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Solution Overview
Problem
Side release buckles face challenges in achieving a balance between weight reduction and maintaining strength and secure engagement, with existing designs either increasing thickness or compromising on elasticity due to material limitations.
Innovation Solution
A buckle design featuring a plug with elastically deformable legs and a socket with a guide portion that gradually increases in thickness towards the engaged portion, allowing for a smaller thickness of the leg continuous with the engaging portion while maintaining strength and enabling favorable engagement, and using materials that can maintain elasticity despite potential impairment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the thickness of the plug is increased to provide a secure engagement, then the engagement reliability is improved, but the overall thickness of the buckle increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making the leg thickness non-uniform: the base end has a larger thickness for strength, while the portion continuous with the engaging portion has a smaller thickness to reduce overall buckle thickness. This localized variation in thickness allows the buckle to meet both requirements of secure engagement and reduced thickness.
2Length of stationary object
If the thickness of the legs is decreased to reduce the overall buckle thickness, then the buckle thickness is reduced, but the strength of the legs is decreased
Solution Approach 1:
The leg is designed with varying thickness along its length, with the base end having greater thickness to maintain strength and the distal portion having smaller thickness to reduce overall buckle thickness. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction between strength and thickness reduction.
3Reliability
If the projection height of the engaging portion is increased to improve engagement, then the engagement area is increased, but the overall thickness of the buckle increases
Solution Approach 1:
The engaging portion is designed with optimized projection height that provides sufficient engagement area while the reduced leg thickness compensates to keep the overall buckle thickness small. The local thickness variation allows adequate engagement without increasing overall dimensions.
4Ease of operation
If the legs are made more elastic to allow prompt deformation, then the ease of operation is improved, but the reliability of engagement may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes the thickness parameter of the leg to achieve a balance between elasticity and engagement reliability. The non-uniform thickness distribution allows the leg to be sufficiently elastic for easy operation while maintaining adequate strength for reliable engagement.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design achieves a secure engagement with a reduced overall thickness, preventing increased fatigue and maintaining a smooth outline, while allowing for effective deformation and stress distribution, thus enhancing the buckle's functionality and durability.
Implementation Method 1
a leg that projects from the base and is elastically deformable in a direction intersecting with an insertion direction of the plug
Data Source
AI summary
A buckle includes: a plug; and a socket into which the plug is inserted for engagement. The plug includes: a base; a leg that projects from the base and is elastically deformable in a direction intersecting with an insertion direction of the plug; and an engaging portion that is continuous with the leg and projects from the leg in a thickness direction of the plug. The socket includes an engaged portion engageable with the engaging portion and a guide portion guiding the engaging portion to the engaged portion. A thickness of a portion of the leg continuous with the engaging portion is smaller than a thickness of a base end of the leg. A thickness of a portion of the guide portion continuous with the engaging portion is larger than a thickness of a base end of the guide portion.