US20160198807A1

US20160198807A1 - Belt buckle

Info

Publication number: US20160198807A1
Application number: US14/592,174
Authority: US
Inventors: Tzu-Hsuan Lin
Original assignee: Merrimack River Precision Industrial Corp
Current assignee: Merrimack River Precision Industrial Corp
Priority date: 2015-01-08
Filing date: 2015-01-08
Publication date: 2016-07-14

Abstract

A belt buckle comprises an engaging axis, a pressing axis, a pulling axis perpendicular to the engaging axis, a female buckle member, a male buckle member; a holding mechanism disposed between the male buckle member and the female buckle member and disposed on the pulling axis. The female and male buckle member each comprises a connecting portion; an engaging portion. The engaging portion of the female buckle member comprises a bottom surface, an engaging recess, an inner surface; two engaging holes. The engaging portion of the male buckle member comprises two inner pressing components respectively comprising an engaging protrusion. The pulling force of straps mounted on the connecting portions is balanced by the holding mechanism and the combination of the engaging protrusions and the engaging holes when the belt buckle is in use, thereby improving the engaging strength of the male and female buckle members; ensuring the connection between straps.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a belt buckle; especially relates to a belt buckle mounted with straps.
2. Description of the Prior Art(s)
Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, the conventional belt buckle comprises an engaging axis P, a pressing axis Q, a female buckle member 50, and a male buckle member 60. The engaging axis P intersects with the pressing axis Q. The female buckle member 50 comprises a connecting portion 51 and an engaging portion 52 connected with connecting portion 51. The engaging portion 52 and the connecting portion 51 are arranged along the engaging axis P. The engaging portion 52 comprises an insert slot 521 extending along the engaging axis P and two engaging holes 522 arranged along the pressing axis Q. Each engaging hole 522 is connected with the insert slot 521. The male buckle member 60 comprises a connecting portion 61 and an engaging portion 62 connected with the connecting portion 61. The connecting portion 61 and the engaging portion 62 are arranged along the engaging axis P. The engaging portion 62 comprises two pressing components 621 separated from each other and disposed along the pressing axis Q. Each pressing component 621 comprises a protrusion 622 extending along the pressing axis Q.
When the conventional belt buckle is in use, the pressing components 621 are pressed toward each other along the pressing axis Q to allow the engaging portion 62 of the male buckle member 60 to be plugged in the insert slot 521 of the engaging portion 52 of the female buckle member 50. At last, the pressing components 621 are released and separated from each other along the pressing axis Q to engage each protrusion 622 with each engaging hole 522, so as to connect the strap mounted on the connecting portion of the male buckle member with the strap mounted on the connecting portion of the female buckle member. Also, the female buckle member 50 and male buckle member 60 are pulled by the straps along the engaging axis P when in use; that is, the engaging axis P of the conventional belt buckle also serves as a pulling axis.
However, when the pulling force that the straps exert on the conventional belt buckle is too large to be sustained by the protrusion 622 of the pressing components 621, the male buckle member 60 with fractured or deformed pressing components 621 is separated from the female buckle member 50 by the pulling force, thereby eventually failing to connect these two straps.
Therefore, the conventional belt buckle fails to connect two straps when encountering a pulling force greater than its maximum engaging strength.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a belt buckle to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The objective of the present invention is to provide a belt buckle having an improved engaging strength that can sustain strong pulling force, so as to effectively ensure the connection of the straps.
The belt buckle in accordance with the present invention comprises an engaging axis, a pressing axis, a pulling axis, a female buckle member, a male buckle member, and a holding mechanism. The engaging axis, the pressing axis, and the pulling axis intersect with each other. The pulling axis is perpendicular to the engaging axis. The female buckle member and the male buckle member are detachably engaged with each other and the male buckle member is located at the bottom side of the female buckle member. The female buckle member and the male buckle member each comprise a connecting portion and an engaging portion connected with the connecting portion. The engaging portion of the female buckle member and the connecting portion of the female buckle member are disposed along the pulling axis. The engaging portion of the female buckle member comprises a bottom surface, an engaging recess formed on the bottom surface and extending along the engaging axis, an inner surface surrounding the engaging recess and connected with the bottom surface, and two engaging holes formed through the inner surface and disposed along the pressing axis. The engaging portion of the male buckle member and the connecting portion of the male buckle member are arranged along the pulling axis. The engaging portion of the male buckle member is embedded in the engaging recess and comprises two inner pressing components respectively arranged on two sides of the engaging portion of the male buckle member. The inner pressing components are arranged along the pressing axis and respectively comprise an engaging protrusion. The engaging protrusions are respectively positioned in the engaging holes permanently. The holding mechanism is disposed between the male buckle member and the female buckle member and is disposed on the pulling axis.
When the belt buckle in accordance with the present invention is in use, the male buckle member and the female buckle member are engaged along the engaging axis. The pulling force applied on the female buckle member and the male buckle member by the straps mounted on the connection portions of the female buckle member and the male buckle member is along the pulling axis and is perpendicular to the engaging axis. The pulling force can be balanced by the combination of the engaging protrusions and the engaging holes and the holding mechanism spontaneously, thereby providing the belt buckle in accordance with the present invention an improved engaging strength that can sustain a greater pulling force and ensure the effectiveness to connect the straps.
Other objectives, advantages, and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a belt buckle in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the belt buckle in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is another exploded view of the belt buckle in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view along Z-X plane of the belt buckle in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view along X-Y plane of the belt buckle in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a schematic operational view of a first usage state of the belt buckle in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a schematic operational view of a second usage state of the belt buckle in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view of a conventional belt buckle; and

FIG. 9 is an exploded view of the conventional belt buckle in FIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, a belt buckle comprises an engaging axis Z, a pressing axis X, a pulling axis Y, a female buckle member 10, a male buckle member 20, and a holding mechanism. The engaging axis Z, the pressing axis X, and the pulling axis Y intersect with and are perpendicular to each other.
With reference to FIGS. 1 to 5, the female buckle member 10 comprises a connecting portion 11 and an engaging portion 12 connected with the connecting portion 11. The engaging portion 12 and the connecting portion 11 of the female buckle member 10 are arranged along the pulling axis Y. The engaging portion 11 of the female buckle member 10 comprises a bottom surface 121, an end surface 122, an engaging recess 123, an inner surface 124, two engaging holes 125, two first guiding surfaces 126, and two outer pressing components 127. The bottom surface 121 is connected with the end surface 122. The engaging recess 123 is formed in the bottom surface 121 and extends along the engaging axis Z. The inner surface 124 surrounds the engaging recess 123 and is connected with the bottom surface 121. The two engaging holes 125 are formed through the inner surface 124 and are disposed along the pressing axis X. The first guiding surfaces 126 are connected between the bottom surface 121 and the inner surface 124. The first guiding surfaces 126 are inclined toward the engaging recess 123 and are respectively connected with the engaging holes 125. The outer pressing components 127 are respectively arranged on two sides of the engaging portion 12. The outer pressing components 127 are arranged along the pressing axis X. Each of the outer pressing components 127 comprises an abutting block 1271 mounted on the end of each of the outer pressing components 127. The abutting blocks 1271 of the outer pressing components 127 are respectively positioned in the engaging holes 125 selectively. In an embodiment, with reference to FIG. 3, the female buckle member 10 further comprises an opening 13. The opening 13 is formed along the pulling axis Y through the end surface 122. The opening 13 is connected with the engaging recess 123.
With reference to FIGS. 1, 2, 4, and 5, the male buckle member 20 is detachably engaged with the female buckle member 10 and is located at the bottom side of the female buckle member 10. The male buckle member 20 comprises a connecting portion 21 and an engaging portion 22 connected with the connecting portion 21. The engaging portion 22 and the connecting portion 21 of the male buckle member 20 are arranged along the pulling axis Y. The engaging portion 22 of the male buckle member 20 is embedded in the engaging recess 123 and comprises two inner pressing components 221 respectively disposed on two sides of the engaging portion 22 of the male buckle member 20. The inner pressing components 221 are arranged along the pressing axis X and between the outer pressing components 127. Each of the inner pressing components 221 comprises an engaging protrusion 2211 mounted on the end of each of the inner pressing components 221. The engaging protrusions 2211 are respectively positioned in the engaging holes 125 permanently and respectively abut against the abutting blocks 1271 selectively. The engaging protrusions 2211 each comprise a second guiding surface 2212. The second guiding surfaces 2212 are respectively inclined at the same angle as the first guiding surfaces 126.
The holding mechanism is disposed between the male buckle member 20 and the female buckle member 10 and is disposed on the pulling axis Y to strengthen engagement of the male buckle member 20 and the female buckle member 10. With reference to FIGS. 2, 3, and 5, in one embodiment, the holding mechanism comprises a holding block 31 and a holding recess 32. The holding block 31 is disposed at the opening 13 of the engaging portion 12 of the female buckle member 10 and extends along the engaging axis Z. The holding recess 32 is formed between the connecting portion 21 and the engaging portion 22 of the male buckle member 20 and extends along the engaging axis Z. The holding block 31 is detachably embedded in the holding recess 32. In another embodiment, the holding block 31 is disposed between the connecting portion 21 and the engaging portion 22 of the male buckle member 20. The holding recess 32 is formed on the engaging portion 12 of the female buckle member 10.
With reference to FIGS. 2, 3, and 6, to connect the straps mounted on the female buckle member 10 and male buckle member 20, the female buckle member 10 is mounted with the male buckle member 20 along the engaging axis Z to make the first guiding surfaces 126 respectively flush with the second guiding surfaces 2212 of the inner pressing components 221. By forcing the male buckle member 20 toward the female buckle member 10, the second guiding surfaces 2212 slide relative to the first guiding surface 126 for allowing the inner pressing components 221 to approach close to each other. Then, referring to FIGS. 4 and 6, the engaging portion 22 of the male buckle member 20 is embedded into the engaging recess 123 of the female buckle member 10. The engaging protrusions 2211 are also respectively embedded into the engaging holes 125 along the pressing axis X by the recovery elasticity of the inner pressing component 221, and the holding block 31 is embedded in the holding recess 32, so as to engage the female buckle member 10 with the male buckle member 20 for the connection of the straps. After the female buckle member 10 and male buckle member 20 are engaged, the pulling force applied through the straps by users is along the pulling axis Y.
With reference to FIGS. 1, 5, and 7, to disconnect the straps, the outer pressing components 127 are pressed along the pressing axis X to force the abutting blocks 1271 to respectively abut on the engaging protrusions 2211 of the inner pressing components 221. After further pressing the outer pressing components 127, the engaging protrusions 2211 of the inner pressing components 221 are forced to leave the engaging holes 125. Then, referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the female buckle member 10 and male buckle member 20 are separated along the engaging axis Z, such that the holding block 31 and the holding recess 32 are separated along the engaging axis Z, thereby disconnecting the straps.
With the configurations that the engaging recess 123 is formed on the bottom surface 121 of the female buckle member 10 and extends along the engaging axis Z, and that the connecting portion 11, 21 and the engaging portion 12, 22 are arranged along the pulling axis Y perpendicular to the engaging axis Z, the holding mechanism is disposed between the male buckle member 20 and the female buckle member 10 and on the pulling axis Y. Not only the engaging protrusions 2211 disposed in the engaging holes 125 but also the holding mechanism can sustain the pulling force when the belt buckle is in use. Therefore, the belt buckle has an improved engaging strength to sustain a large pulling force and ensure the connection between the straps.
In addition, referring to FIGS. 4 and 6, the engaging protrusions 2211 are allowed to respectively enter the engaging holes 125 easily by the first guiding surface 126 and the second guiding surface 2212, thereby improving the convenience of the belt buckle in use.
Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and features of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in the details, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A belt buckle comprising:

an engaging axis;

a pressing axis intersecting with the engaging axis;

a pulling axis intersecting with the pressing axis and being perpendicular to the engaging axis;

a female buckle member comprising

a connecting portion; and

an engaging portion connected with the connecting portion, disposed along the pulling axis with the connecting portion, and comprising

a bottom surface;

an engaging recess formed on the bottom surface and extending along the engaging axis;

an inner surface surrounding the engaging recess and connected with the bottom surface; and

two engaging holes formed through the inner surface and arranged along the pressing axis;

a male buckle member detachably engaged with the female buckle member, located at a bottom side of the female buckle member, and comprising

a connecting portion; and

an engaging portion connected with the connecting portion of the male buckle member, disposed along the pulling axis with the connecting portion of the male buckle member, and comprising

two inner pressing components disposed along the pressing axis and respectively disposed on two sides of the engaging portion of the male buckle member, each of the inner pressing components comprising

an engaging protrusion permanently positioned in each of the engaging holes; and

a holding mechanism disposed on the pulling axis and between the male buckle member and the female buckle member, wherein the engaging portion of the male buckle member is embedded in the engaging recess.

2. The belt buckle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the holding mechanism comprises

a holding recess formed between the connecting portion of the male buckle member and the engaging portion of the male buckle member, and the holding recess extending along the engaging axis; and

a holding block detachably embedded in the holding recess, wherein the holding block is disposed on the engaging portion of the female buckle member, and extends along the engaging axis.

3. The belt buckle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the holding mechanism comprises

a holding recess formed on the engaging portion of the female buckle member; and

a holding block detachably embedded in the holding recess, wherein the holding block is disposed between the connecting portion of the male buckle member and the engaging portion of the male buckle member, and extends along the engaging axis.

4. The belt buckle as claimed in claim 2, wherein the engaging portion of the female buckle member comprises

an end surface connected with the bottom surface; and

an opening formed along the pulling axis through the end surface and connected with the engaging recess; wherein the holding block is disposed at the opening of the engaging portion of the female buckle member.

5. The belt buckle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the engaging portion of the female buckle member comprises two first guiding surfaces connected between the bottom surface and the inner surface, wherein the first guiding surfaces are inclined toward the engaging recess and respectively connected with the engaging holes; and each of the engaging protrusions of the male buckle member comprises a second guiding surface inclined at a same angle as each of the first guiding surfaces.

6. The belt buckle as claimed in claim 2, wherein the engaging portion of the female buckle member comprises two first guiding surfaces connected between the bottom surface and the inner surface, wherein the first guiding surfaces are inclined toward the engaging recess and respectively connected with the engaging holes; and each of the engaging protrusions of the male buckle member comprises a second guiding surface inclined at a same angle as each of the first guiding surfaces.

7. The belt buckle as claimed in claim 3, wherein the engaging portion of the female buckle member comprises two first guiding surfaces connected between the bottom surface and the inner surface, wherein the first guiding surfaces are inclined toward the engaging recess and respectively connected with the engaging holes; and each of the engaging protrusions of the male buckle member comprises a second guiding surface inclined at a same angle as each of the first guiding surfaces.

8. The belt buckle as claimed in claim 4, wherein the engaging portion of the female buckle member comprises two first guiding surfaces connected between the bottom surface and the inner surface, wherein the first guiding surfaces are inclined toward the engaging recess and respectively connected with the engaging holes; and each of the engaging protrusions of the male buckle member comprises a second guiding surface inclined at a same angle as each of the first guiding surfaces.

9. The belt buckle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the engaging portion of the female buckle member comprises two outer pressing components disposed along the pressing axis and respectively on two sides of the engaging portion, each of the outer pressing components comprises an abutting block mounted on an end of each of the outer pressing components, and the abutting block of each of the outer pressing components is selectively positioned in each of the engaging holes and selectively abuts against a corresponding engaging protrusion of the male buckle member.

10. The belt buckle as claimed in claim 2, wherein the engaging portion of the female buckle member comprises two outer pressing components disposed along the pressing axis and respectively on two sides of the engaging portion, each of the outer pressing components comprises an abutting block mounted on an end of each of the outer pressing components, and the abutting block of each of the outer pressing components is selectively positioned in each of the engaging holes and selectively abuts against a corresponding engaging protrusion of the male buckle member.

11. The belt buckle as claimed in claim 3, wherein the engaging portion of the female buckle member comprises two outer pressing components disposed along the pressing axis and respectively on two sides of the engaging portion, each of the outer pressing components comprises an abutting block mounted on an end of each of the outer pressing components, and the abutting block of each of the outer pressing components is selectively positioned in each of the engaging holes and selectively abuts against a corresponding engaging protrusion of the male buckle member.

12. The belt buckle as claimed in claim 4, wherein the engaging portion of the female buckle member comprises two outer pressing components disposed along the pressing axis and respectively on two sides of the engaging portion, each of the outer pressing components comprises an abutting block mounted on an end of each of the outer pressing components, and the abutting block of each of the outer pressing components is selectively positioned in each of the engaging holes and selectively abuts against a corresponding engaging protrusion of the male buckle member.

13. The belt buckle as claimed in claim 5, wherein the engaging portion of the female buckle member comprises two outer pressing components disposed along the pressing axis and respectively on two sides of the engaging portion, each of the outer pressing components comprises an abutting block mounted on an end of each of the outer pressing components, and the abutting block of each of the outer pressing components is selectively positioned in each of the engaging holes and selectively abuts against a corresponding engaging protrusion of the male buckle member.

14. The belt buckle as claimed in claim 6, wherein the engaging portion of the female buckle member comprises two outer pressing components disposed along the pressing axis and respectively on two sides of the engaging portion, each of the outer pressing components comprises an abutting block mounted on an end of each of the outer pressing components, and the abutting block of each of the outer pressing components is selectively positioned in each of the engaging holes and selectively abuts against a corresponding engaging protrusion of the male buckle member.

15. The belt buckle as claimed in claim 7, wherein the engaging portion of the female buckle member comprises two outer pressing components disposed along the pressing axis and respectively on two sides of the engaging portion, each of the outer pressing components comprises an abutting block mounted on an end of each of the outer pressing components, and the abutting block of each of the outer pressing components is selectively positioned in each of the engaging holes and selectively abuts against a corresponding engaging protrusion of the male buckle member.

16. The belt buckle as claimed in claim 8, wherein the engaging portion of the female buckle member comprises two outer pressing components disposed along the pressing axis and respectively on two sides of the engaging portion, each of the outer pressing components comprises an abutting block mounted on an end of each of the outer pressing components, and the abutting block of each of the outer pressing components is selectively positioned in each of the engaging holes and selectively abuts against a corresponding engaging protrusion of the male buckle member.

17. The belt buckle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the engaging axis, the pressing axis, and the pulling axis are perpendicular to each other.

18. The belt buckle as claimed in claim 5, wherein the engaging axis, the pressing axis, and the pulling axis are perpendicular to each other.

19. The belt buckle as claimed in claim 8, wherein the engaging axis, the pressing axis, and the pulling axis are perpendicular to each other.

20. The belt buckle as claimed in claim 16, wherein the engaging axis, the pressing axis, and the pulling axis are perpendicular to each other.