Buckles – buttons – clasps – etc. – Buckles – Harness
Reexamination Certificate
2003-03-18
2004-05-18
Sakran, Victor (Department: 3677)
Buckles, buttons, clasps, etc.
Buckles
Harness
C024S0680CD, C024S171000, C024S191000, C024S194000, C024S2650CD
Reexamination Certificate
active
06735826
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a buckle and, more specifically, to a buckle which can be moved in the longitudinal direction of a web-like material (e.g. a tape, a belt or a flat strap) and also can be fixed in an optional position.
2. Description of Related Art
As a buckle capable of being moved in the longitudinal direction of a web-like material and being fixed in an optional position, which comprises a first member and a second member displaceably provided in the first member, for example, a buckle disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-open H5-31926 (Conventional Example 1) or Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-open H4-9841 (Conventional Example 2) is well-known.
The buckle of the Conventional Example 1 comprises a buckle main body and a stopper piece. The buckle main body comprises a pair of side frames, an attachment shaft provided over one edge between a pair of the side frames, a winding shaft provided over the other end between the pair of side frames and a guide shaft. One end of the stopper piece is rotatably supported in between the side frames on the attachment shaft side. Further, the stopper comprises an engagement protrusion on the other end for fastening a belt between with the winding shaft.
In this structure, one of the belts is attached to the attachment shaft. After winding the other belt around the winding shaft and reversing it, the engagement protrusion of the stopper piece is pushed into the reversed face of the belt. Thereby, the reversed face of the belt is engaged with the winding shaft by pressure in the side face of the engagement protrusion. That is, the belt is engaged with the buckle in an optional position in the longitudinal direction.
The buckle of the Conventional Example 2 comprises a buckle main body and a stopper. The buckle main body comprises a pair of side frames, a pair of bearing grooves formed on one end of the pair of side frames, a winding shaft and a guide shaft provided over the other end between the pair of side frames. The stopper piece comprises a protrusion shaft which is engaged with the winding shaft provided on one end and the bearing grooves, and an engagement protrusion provided in the other end for fastening the belt between with the winding shaft.
In this structure, one of the belts is attached to the attachment shaft. After winding the other belt around the winding shaft and reversing it, the engagement protrusion of the stopper piece is pushed into the reversed face of the belt. Thereby, the reversed face of the belt is engaged with the winding shaft by pressure in the side face of the engagement protrusion. That is, the belt is engaged with the buckle in an optional position in the longitudinal direction.
However, both buckles described above have the structure which prevents shift of the belt by pinching the belt between the engagement protrusion of the stopper piece and the winding shaft. Thus, it is necessary to precisely fabricate the buckles so that, when the stopper is rotated, the space between the engagement protrusion of the stopper piece and the winding shaft becomes smaller than the thickness of the belt by appropriate amount. Therefore, it becomes necessary to fabricate each part with high precision thereby increasing the cost. If the space between the engagement protrusion of the stopper piece and the winding shaft is not smaller than the thickness of the belt by appropriate amount, there may face following problems.
For example, if the space between the engagement protrusion of the stopper piece and the winding shaft is extremely smaller than the thickness of the belt, it requires a force to rotate the stopper piece. Thus, the force is applied to the stopper piece and the buckle main body which rotatably supports the stopper. Therefore, these parts are likely to be damaged.
Inversely, if the space between the engagement protrusion of the stopper piece and the winding shaft is extremely larger than the thickness of the belt, the force for pinching the belt becomes insufficient so that the shift of the belt cannot be surely prevented.
Further, when being repeatedly used for a long period of time, it is possible that the engagement protrusion of the stopper becomes slippery due to wear. Therefore, the shift of the belt cannot be surely prevented. In other words, it is likely to cause deterioration in the fixing function due to wear.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been designed to overcome the foregoing problems. An object of the present invention is to provide a buckle in which each part is not required to be fabricated with high precision, which is capable of moving and fixing by simple operation, suffers less damage for a long period of time and, at the same time, is capable of preventing the deterioration in the fixing function.
A buckle of the present invention comprises a first member and a second member which is provided displaceable in the first member. The first member comprises a base part, at least two insertion parts provided in the base part with a space in between to which the web-like material is inserted, and a bending part provided in between the two insertion parts for bending the web-like material in a direction away from the base part. The second member is displaceable to a first position where the buckle can be moved against the web-like material and to a second position where the buckle can be fixed to the web-like material, and comprises a pressurizing part for pressurizing one side of the web-like material in a bent state towards the other side so as to obtain a further bent state in the second position.
When pressurizing one side of the bent web-like material towards the other side thereby to further bend it, the web-like material may come to be in contact with the bent part and the pressurizing part. However, it is not necessary that the web-like material be fastened by a strong force being pinched between the bent part and the pressurized part as long as the bent state of the web-like material serves as resistance to the shift of the buckle thereby to restrict the shift of the buckle.
In this structure, the web-like material, for example, is pulled out from one of the insertion part via the bending part, after being inserted to the other insertion part. When the second member is placed in the first position, the buckle is in a movable state against the web-like material so that the buckle can be moved to an optional position of the web-like material in the longitudinal direction. In the case of moving the web-like material against the buckle, the web-like material can be moved against the buckle in the longitudinal direction.
When moving the second member to the second position, the pressurizing part of the second member pressurizes the one side of the bent web-like material towards the other side thereby to further bend it. Thus, the shift of the buckle against the web-like material is restricted so that the buckle can be fixed in an optional position of the web-like material in the longitudinal direction.
As described, it is a structure that the buckle is fixed by the pressurizing part of the second member, which pressurizes one side of the bent web-like material towards the other side so as to further bent the web-like material. In other words, it is not a structure in which the buckle is fixed through fastening the web-like material by a strong force being pinched between the bent part and the pressurizing part. Therefore, unlike the related art, it is not necessary to fabricate each part with high precision. Further, because of the same reason, that is, it is not the structure in which the buckle is fixed through fastening the web-like material by a strong force being pinched between the bent part and the pressurizing part, moving and fixing operations of the buckle can be easily performed. Also, it suffers less damage for a long period of time and, at the same time, prevents the deterioration in the fixing function.
In the buckle of the present invention, the bending part is c
Kinebuchi Shinichiro
Takahashi Yoshinobu
Uehara Ryoichiro
Bell Boyd & Lloyd LLC
Sakran Victor
YKK Corporation
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