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CN-116390669-B - Buckle assembly

CN116390669BCN 116390669 BCN116390669 BCN 116390669BCN-116390669-B

Abstract

A buckle assembly (1) is formed from a male buckle portion (20) and a female buckle portion (10). The female buckle portion (10) has a top wall (11), a bottom wall (12), side walls (13, 14), and a cavity (15) between the top wall (11) and the bottom wall (12) and a locking slot (16, 17) in each of the side walls (13, 14). The male buckle portion (20) has a bottom (21), two locking legs (24, 25), a central leg (28) and two intermediate legs (31, 32) between the locking legs (24, 25) and the central leg (28). The locking legs (24, 25) extend through locking slots (16, 17) in the female portion (10), and locking pawls (26, 27) at the ends of the locking legs (24, 25) engage edges of the locking slots (16, 17) to secure the buckle portions together. Each locking leg (24, 25) is connected to a flexible retaining member (33, 34) that prevents the locking legs (24, 25) from bending outwards beyond a predetermined point. The intermediate legs (31, 32) and/or the retaining members (33, 34) form stop surfaces which prevent the locking legs (24, 25) from bending inwardly beyond the contact point with the stop surfaces.

Inventors

  • R.Li

Assignees

  • 香港多耐福有限公司

Dates

Publication Date
20260505
Application Date
20210923
Priority Date
20201209

Claims (15)

  1. 1. A buckle assembly, comprising: A female buckle portion comprising a top wall, a bottom wall connected to the top wall by opposing side walls, a cavity between the top wall and the bottom wall, an insertion opening, and a locking slot in each of the side walls; A male buckle portion configured to be locked to the female buckle portion by inserting the male buckle portion into the insertion opening, the male buckle portion including a bottom portion, two locking legs, and two intermediate legs disposed between the two locking legs, Wherein each of the locking legs is configured to extend through a corresponding one of the locking slots in the female buckle portion when the buckle portions are locked together, Wherein each of the locking legs is connected to a retaining member which prevents the locking leg from bending outwards beyond a predetermined point, and wherein the intermediate leg and the retaining member are arranged such that when inward pressure is applied to the locking leg, the intermediate leg or the retaining member forms a stop surface to prevent the locking leg from moving inwards when contacting the stop surface, and Wherein the retaining members are flexible retaining members and each of the retaining members is configured to engage an adjacent one of the intermediate legs when the locking legs are bent outwardly to prevent further outward bending of the locking legs.
  2. 2. The buckle assembly of claim 1, further comprising a center leg extending between the two intermediate legs such that each of the intermediate legs is disposed between one of the locking legs and the center leg.
  3. 3. The buckle assembly of claim 1, wherein said intermediate leg is connected to said base and extends parallel to said locking leg.
  4. 4. The buckle assembly of claim 1, wherein each intermediate leg is connected to a lock leg of the lock legs adjacent to the intermediate leg.
  5. 5. The buckle assembly of claim 1, wherein said retaining member is attached to a free end of said locking leg.
  6. 6. The buckle assembly of claim 1, wherein said retaining member is attached to said intermediate leg.
  7. 7. The buckle assembly of claim 6, wherein said retaining member is attached to said intermediate leg on a side of each intermediate leg facing away from a locking leg of said locking legs adjacent said intermediate leg.
  8. 8. The buckle assembly of claim 6, wherein said retaining member is integrally molded in one piece with said locking leg and said intermediate leg.
  9. 9. The buckle assembly of claim 1, wherein said intermediate leg has a higher level of stiffness than said retaining member such that said intermediate leg does not move when said locking leg is flexed outwardly.
  10. 10. The buckle assembly of claim 1, further comprising a central leg extending between the two intermediate legs, wherein the female buckle portion has an aperture opposite the insertion opening, and wherein the central leg has a foot member on a distal end thereof, and wherein the foot member extends through the aperture when the male buckle portion and the female buckle portion are locked together.
  11. 11. The buckle assembly of claim 1, wherein each of said male buckle portion and said female buckle portion has at least one strap retaining bar connected thereto.
  12. 12. The buckle assembly of claim 1, wherein each of the intermediate legs has a hook disposed on a distal end thereof, and wherein each of the retaining members has a hook configured to engage the hook of the intermediate leg adjacent the retaining member when the respective locking leg is flexed outwardly.
  13. 13. The buckle assembly of claim 1, further comprising a central leg extending between the two intermediate legs such that each of the intermediate legs is disposed between one of the locking legs and the central leg, wherein each of the retaining members is connected to the central leg.
  14. 14. The buckle assembly of claim 4, further comprising a central leg extending between the two intermediate legs, wherein each of the intermediate legs is disposed between one of the locking legs and the central leg, and wherein each of the retaining members is connected to the central leg.
  15. 15. The buckle assembly of claim 13, wherein each of the retaining members has a U-shaped design with two parallel legs, and wherein outward flexing of the locking legs causes one of the parallel legs of each of the retaining members to press against an intermediate leg of the intermediate legs adjacent to the retaining member to prevent further outward flexing of the locking legs.

Description

Buckle assembly Technical Field The present invention relates to a two-piece buckle assembly for connecting two straps together. In particular, the present invention relates to a buckle assembly having a securing element that prevents excessive outward bending of the leg of one of the buckle portions. Background A two-piece side release buckle is typically formed from a male buckle portion and a female buckle portion. The male buckle portion typically has two locking legs that lock into locking slots on the female buckle portion. Typically, the center leg in the male portion increases the stability of the assembly. To prevent the locking legs from bending outwardly beyond a certain point, U.S. patent No. 5,791,026 proposes to have a flexible retaining member connecting the locking legs to the central leg so that the locking legs cannot bend outwardly beyond the length of the retaining member. Additional variations of this type of buckle are also shown in U.S. design patent nos. D401,533 and D425,443. While these are effective in controlling the movement of the locking legs, it is desirable to construct a buckle in which the center leg is not affected by the movement of the side locking legs, and in which excessive inward forces on the locking legs can also be counteracted. Disclosure of Invention Accordingly, the present invention relates to a buckle assembly formed from a male buckle portion and a female buckle portion, wherein the female buckle portion includes a top wall, a bottom wall connected to the top wall by opposing side walls, a cavity between the top wall and the bottom wall, an insertion opening, and a locking slot in each of the side walls. The male buckle portion is configured to be locked to the female buckle portion by inserting the male buckle portion into the insertion opening. The male buckle portion has a bottom, two locking legs, a central leg, and two intermediate legs between the locking legs and the central leg. Each of the locking legs is configured to extend through a corresponding one of the locking slots in the female portion when the male portion is inserted into the female portion, and a locking pawl at an end of each of the locking legs engages an edge of the locking slot to secure the male buckle portion to the female buckle portion. The male buckle portion is released by pressing the locking pawl inwardly until it passes over the edge of the locking slot, at which point the male buckle portion is forced away from the female buckle portion. Each of the locking legs is connected to another part of the male portion by a flexible retaining member, which may be formed as a connecting band. The retaining member prevents the locking legs from bending outwardly beyond a predetermined point because the locking legs cannot bend outwardly beyond the length of the retaining member. When normal inward force is applied to both locking legs to release the male buckle portion from the female buckle portion, the flexible retention member deforms, creating minimal resistance to inward bending of the locking legs. But when excessive inward force is applied and both locking legs are bent and urged into contact with the middle leg, the middle leg provides support for the locking legs and shares the force, thereby forming a stop surface and thus preventing the locking legs from bending beyond their breaking point. The intermediate leg preferably has an outer contour that matches the inner contour of the locking leg to minimize friction when the locking leg is pressed inwardly against the intermediate leg. In a preferred embodiment, the intermediate leg is connected to the bottom portion of the male buckle portion and extends substantially parallel to the locking leg. The retaining member is attached to the free ends of the locking legs and the bottom of the intermediate legs. However, the retaining member may be attached to the locking and intermediate legs at any point on the locking and intermediate legs, or may be connected to other areas of the male portion. In one embodiment, the retaining member is attached to the middle leg on the side of each middle leg facing the center leg such that the retaining member extends upward and over the top of the middle leg before being connected to the locking leg. In this way, the retaining member does not interfere with any inward movement of the locking legs during disengagement of the male buckle portion from the female buckle portion. The retaining member is preferably integrally molded in one piece with the locking leg and is formed of the same material as the rest of the buckle assembly. The retaining member is molded thin enough to be flexible. The intermediate legs are formed such that they have a higher stiffness than the retaining members such that when the locking legs are bent inwardly and outwardly, only the retaining members move and the intermediate legs do not move. For this purpose, the intermediate leg is made thicker than the retaining