US20240041167A1

US20240041167A1 - Buckle device

Info

Publication number: US20240041167A1
Application number: US18/067,018
Authority: US
Inventors: Allen Cheng; Chan-Lu CHANG; Chia-Ju CHENG
Original assignee: Taiwan Paiho Ltd
Current assignee: Taiwan Paiho Ltd
Priority date: 2022-08-04
Filing date: 2022-12-16
Publication date: 2024-02-08
Also published as: JP2024022439A; KR20240019676A; CN117547091A; TW202406472A; DE102023103154A1

Abstract

A buckle device includes a female buckle and a male buckle. The female buckle includes a wall forming an inserting hole. The male buckle includes a male buckle body, two engaging portions, an elastic connecting element and an actuating element. The two engaging portions are disposed at the male buckle body in intervals and located at an inserting side of the male buckle body, and the two engaging portions are configured to engage with the inserting hole of the female buckle. The elastic connecting element is connected between the two engaging portions. The actuating element includes an actuating portion and a connecting string. One of two ends of the connecting string is connected to the actuating portion, and the other one of the two ends of the connecting string is connected to the elastic connecting element.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to Taiwan Application Serial Number 111129431, filed Aug. 4, 2022, which is herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a buckle device. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a buckle device with a male buckle engaging with a female buckle.

Description of Related Art

To fulfill convenience in life, buckle devices are used in various fields widely for people to wear and detach accessories such as backpacks, gloves, etc. In order to allow people to easily release the buckle device by themselves, the practitioners develop buckle devices which can be released by pushing to improve the operating convenience for the user. However, the size of the conventional buckle device operated by pushing is limited by the size of user's fingers, the miniaturized buckle device cannot be provided, and thus the using variety of the buckle device is decreased. For example, in the condition that the user has worn the gloves on the hands, it is inconvenient for the user to operate the buckle device by pushing, and then the gloves must be taken off to operate the buckle device. In this case, the buckle device operated by pushing increases the operating difficulty for the user.
Accordingly, a buckle device which is favorable for the user to operate and miniaturized is still a pursued target for the practitioners.

SUMMARY

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a buckle device includes a female buckle and a male buckle. The female buckle includes a wall forming an inserting hole. The male buckle includes a male buckle body, two engaging portions, an elastic connecting element and an actuating element. The two engaging portions are disposed at the male buckle body in intervals and located at an inserting side of the male buckle body, and the two engaging portions are configured to engage with the inserting hole of the female buckle. The elastic connecting element is connected between the two engaging portions. The actuating element includes an actuating portion and a connecting string. One of two ends of the connecting string is connected to the actuating portion, and the other one of the two ends of the connecting string is connected to the elastic connecting element. When the two engaging portions of the male buckle are engaged with the inserting hole of the female buckle, and the actuating portion is pulled by an external force to bend the elastic connecting element, the two engaging portions are closed to each other so as to be disengaged from the inserting hole.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure can be more fully understood by reading the following detailed description of the embodiment, with reference made to the accompanying drawings as follows:

FIG. 1 shows a three-dimensional schematic view of a buckle device according to the 1st embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 shows an exploded view of the buckle device according to the 1st embodiment in FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 shows a top view of the male buckle disengaged from the female buckle according to the 1st embodiment in FIG. 1 .

FIG. 4 shows a top view of the male buckle engaged with the female buckle according to the 1st embodiment in FIG. 1 .

FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of the male buckle engaged with the female buckle according to the 1st embodiment in FIG. 4 .

FIG. 6 shows a three-dimensional schematic view of a buckle device according to the 2nd embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 shows a top view of the male buckle disengaged from the female buckle according to the 2nd embodiment in FIG. 6 .

FIG. 8 shows a three-dimensional schematic view of the female buckle according to the 2nd embodiment in FIG. 6 .

FIG. 9 shows a schematic view of a buckle device according to the 3rd embodiment of the present disclosure applied to a backpack.

FIG. 10 shows a schematic view of a buckle device according to the 4th embodiment of the present disclosure applied to a life vest.

FIG. 11 shows a schematic view of buckle devices according to the 5th embodiment of the present disclosure applied to gloves.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It will be understood that when an element (or device) is referred to as being “connected to” another element, it can be directly connected to the other element, or it can be indirectly connected to the other element, that is, intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connected to” another element, there are no intervening elements present. In addition, the terms first, second, third, etc. are used herein to describe various elements or components, and these elements or components should not be limited by these terms. Consequently, a first element or component discussed below could be termed a second element or component. Besides, a combination of these elements (unite or circuits) of the present closure is not a common combination in this art, so it cannot be predicted whether a relation of the combination hereof can be easily done by a person having skill in the art by these elements (units or circuits).
FIG. 1 shows a three-dimensional schematic view of a buckle device 100 according to the 1st embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 shows an exploded view of the buckle device 100 according to the 1st embodiment in FIG. 1 . FIG. 3 shows a top view of the male buckle 120 disengaged from the female buckle 110 according to the 1st embodiment in FIG. 1 . FIG. 4 shows a top view of the male buckle 120 engaged with the female buckle 110 according to the 1st embodiment in FIG. 1 . As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 , the buckle device 100 includes a female buckle 110 and a male buckle 120. The female buckle 110 includes a wall forming an inserting hole 111. The male buckle 120 includes a male buckle body 121, two engaging portions 122, an elastic connecting element 123 and an actuating element 124. The two engaging portions 122 are disposed at the male buckle body 121 in intervals and located at an inserting side of the male buckle body 121, and the two engaging portions 122 are configured to engage with the inserting hole 111 of the female buckle 110. The elastic connecting element 123 is connected between the two engaging portions 122. The actuating element 124 includes an actuating portion 1241 and a connecting string 1242, one of two ends of the connecting string 1242 is connected to the actuating portion 1241, and the other one of the two ends of the connecting string 1242 is connected to the elastic connecting element 123. When the two engaging portions 122 of the male buckle 120 are engaged with the inserting hole 111 of the female buckle 110, and the actuating portion 1241 is pulled by an external force to bend the elastic connecting element 123, the two engaging portions 122 are closed to each other so as to be disengaged from the inserting hole 111.
In detail, with the configuration of the actuating element 124, a user can operate the two engaging portions 122 to allow them to be disengaged from the female buckle 110 without hand touching to avoid the miniaturization problem caused by the size and the structure of the conventional buckle device limited by disengagement, and then reduce the size of the buckle device 100 and increase the design tolerance of the buckle device 100, thereby improving the variety of using of the buckle device 100. In specific, a total length of the buckle device 100 can be reduced to be less than 30 mm. In the 1st embodiment, the total length of the buckle device 100 can be 28.93 mm, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , a shape of the elastic connecting element 123 can be arc-shaped and the elastic connecting element 123 includes two legs 1231 and a top arc 1232. Each of the two legs 1231 is integrally connected to an inner side of each of the two engaging portions 122, and the top arc 1232 is integrally connected between the two legs 1231 and closer to the male buckle body 121 than the two legs 1231 to the male buckle body 121. With the arc structure of the elastic connecting element 123, when the actuating portion 1241 is pulled along a direction away from the female buckle 110, the top arc 1232 is dragged by the connecting string 1242, and then shrinks and deforms to drive the two legs 1231 to drag the two engaging portions 122 so that the two engaging portions 122 are closed to each other so as to be disengaged from the female buckle 110. Hence, the disengaging fluency of the two engaging portions 122 can be improved.
Furthermore, the elastic connecting element 123 can further include a protruding bump 1233. The protruding bump 1233 is located at the top arc 1232, and the connecting string 1242 is restricted to the protruding bump 1233. In detail, the connecting string 1242 is wound around the protruding bump 1233 to fix a position where the actuating portion 1241 pulls the elastic connecting element 123. As shown in FIG. 3 , the protruding bump 1233 is located at a center of the top arc 1232 so that the aforementioned the other end of the connecting string 1242 is fixed at the center of the top arc 1232, and then a forced position of the elastic connecting element 123 is fixed at the center such that the two engaging portions 122 can be pulled symmetrically.
FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of the male buckle 120 engaged with the female buckle 110 according to the 1st embodiment in FIG. 4 . As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 , the female buckle 110 can further include two barb grooves 114. The two barb grooves 114 are disposed in the wall and communicated with the inserting hole 111. Each of the two engaging portions 122 includes a hooking part 1221 and a leg part 1222, each of the two hooking parts 1221 is integrally connected to each of the leg parts 1222, each of the two leg parts 1222 is connected to the male buckle body 121, and each of the two hooking parts 1221 is configured to engage with each of the two barb grooves 114. With the configuration of the two hooking parts 1221 and the two barb grooves 114, when the two engaging portions 122 are engaged with the inserting hole 111, the situation that each of the two hooking parts 1221 are disengaged from each of the two barb grooves 114 by an external force can be prevented; when the actuating portion 1241 is pulled by a force, the two hooking parts 1221 are closed to each other so as to be disengaged from the two barb grooves 114.
Moreover, the two leg parts 1222 can incline towards each other and an included angle can be formed therebetween. In specific, the included angle between the two leg parts 1222 is 22 degrees, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Hence, when the two engaging portions 122 are engaged with the inserting hole 111, each of the two hooking parts 1221 can fit in the inserting hole 111 by interference fitting along an inclined direction of each of the two leg parts 1222.
As show in FIGS. 2 and 5 , each of the two engaging portions 122 can further include an abutting structure 1223 located at one end of each of the two legs parts 1222 close to the male buckle body 121, the wall can include two side wall portions, and the two abutting structures 1223 are configured for abutting against the two side wall portions, respectively. With the two abutting structures 1223 abutting against the two side wall portions, a gap between the two engaging portions 122 and the wall can be decreased, and then a noise caused by a shake between the female buckle 110 and the male buckle 120 can be reduced.
Moreover, the female buckle 110 can further include a plurality of stiffening ribs 113, the wall further includes an upper wall portion 1111 and a lower wall portion 1112, and the stiffening ribs 113 are located in the inserting hole 111 and disposed between the upper wall portion 1111 and the lower wall portion 1112. With the configuration of the stiffening ribs 113, the structural strength and stability of the female buckle 110 can be improved, thereby decreasing the possibility of the deformation of the buckle device 100 by an external torsion.
Furthermore, the female buckle 110 can further include a restricting groove 112 disposed at the wall of the female buckle 110 and communicated with the inserting hole 111, and the restricting groove 112 is configured for the connecting string 1242 to pass therethrough. As shown in FIG. 4 , the restricting groove 112 can be disposed on the upper wall portion 1111 and the restricting groove 112 is reduced radially to form a string gripping structure. When the male buckle 120 is engaged with the female buckle 110, the user can restrict the connecting string 1242 in the restricting groove 112 by the string gripping structure, and then the swing of the connecting string 1242 during using the buckle device 100 can be reduced to decrease the possibility that the connecting string 1242 hooks other objects accidentally.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , the male buckle body 121 can include a frame body and a horizontal rod 1214. The frame body includes two first rod portions 1211, 1212 and two second rod portions 1213, the two first rod portions 1211, 1212 are connected to the two second rod portions 1213 to form a rectangle, and the first rod portion 1211 is configured for connecting the two engaging portions 122. The horizontal rod 1214 is connected between the two second rod portions 1213, and the horizontal rod 1214 has a plurality of jagged structures 1215 facing towards the first rod portion 1211. In specific, the frame body formed by the first rod portions 1211, 1212 and the second rod portions 1213 can be provided for a lace connecting the male buckle 120 to wind therearound, and the jagged structures 1215 can improve the friction force between the lace and the male buckle body 121 to prevent the lace from slipping on the male buckle body 121.
Moreover, the actuating portion 1241 can have a light-emitting element. In specific, the light-emitting element is a fluorescence element made of a fluorescent material, and covers the surface of the actuating portion 1241. In other embodiments, the light-emitting element can be LED lights, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Hence, the recognizability of the actuating portion 1241 at night can be improved, and it is favorable for the user to operate the buckle device 100 at night.
FIG. 6 shows a three-dimensional schematic view of a buckle device 200 according to the 2nd embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 7 shows a top view of the male buckle 220 disengaged from the female buckle 210 according to the 2nd embodiment in FIG. 6 . FIG. 8 shows a three-dimensional schematic view of the female buckle 210 according to the 2nd embodiment in FIG. 6 . As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 , the buckle device 200 includes a female buckle 210 and a male buckle 220. In the 2nd embodiment, the structure and the configuration of the female buckle 210 and the male buckle 220 are similar with the female buckle 110 and the male buckle 120 of the 1st embodiment, and the detail will not be described here again. Specifically, an inserting hole 211 of the female buckle 210 is a V-shaped space which corresponds to the shape of two engaging portions 222 of the male buckle 220. In detail, when the engaging portions 222 are inserted in and engaged with the inserting hole 211, a part of an elastic connecting element 223 of the male buckle 220 is exposed from the inserting hole 211, and then a connecting string 2242 is exposed from the inserting hole 211 entirely. Hence, the weight and manufacturing cost of the female buckle 210 can be reduced, and it is favorable for the user to pull an actuating portion 2241 so as to improve operating fluency of the buckle device 200.
FIG. 9 shows a schematic view of a buckle device 300 according to the 3rd embodiment of the present disclosure applied to a backpack 10. FIG. 10 shows a schematic view of a buckle device 400 according to the 4th embodiment of the present disclosure applied to a life vest 20. FIG. 11 shows a schematic view of buckle devices 500 according to the 5th embodiment of the present disclosure applied to gloves 30. Each of the buckle devices 300, 400, 500 can be the buckle device 100 of the 1st embodiment or the buckle device 200 of the 2nd embodiment, and the detail of the buckle devices 300, 400, 500 will not be described herein. As shown in FIGS. 9 to 11 , the buckle devices 300, 400, 500 of the present disclosure can be applied to different fields variously.
As shown in FIG. 9 , when a user hikes in the mountain, the user can further fasten two shoulder straps of the backpack 10 by the buckle device 300 to prevent the backpack 10 from dropping out during hiking. With the buckle device 300 of the present disclosure, although the user wear cold-resist gloves which cause inconvenient to operate the buckle device 300, the user can still release the buckle device 300 by an actuating element of the buckle device 300 to take off the backpack 10 easily.
As shown in FIG. 10 , a detachable connecting device of a life protecting equipment as the life vest 20 is often disposed on a top of the user's shoulder, and is inconvenient for the user to take off by him/her-self. With the buckle device 400 of the present disclosure, the user can pull an actuating portion by him/her-self to release the buckle device 400, it is convenient for the user to take off the life vest 20 by him/her-self, and the convenience can be improved.
As shown in FIG. 11 , when the user wears the gloves 30, thickness of the gloves 30 can decrease the operating agility of the user's hands, and then it is inconvenient for the user to fasten adjustment belts on the gloves 30. With the buckle device 500 of the present disclosure, the user can pull an actuating portion of the buckle device 500 directly to release the buckle device 500 disposed on the adjustment belt quickly, and then it is convenient for the user to take off the gloves 30.
As shown in the aforementioned embodiments, the present disclosure has the following advantages. First, with the configuration of the actuating element, the buckle device can be miniaturized and the using variety of the buckle device can be improved. Second, with the configuration of the restricting groove, the possibility that the connecting string hooks other objects can be reduced. And, third, by disposing the stiffening ribs in the inserting hole, deformation of the buckle device by an external force can be prevented.
Although the present disclosure has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain embodiments thereof, other embodiments are possible. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the embodiments contained herein.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present disclosure without departing from the scope or spirit of the disclosure. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present disclosure cover modifications and variations of this disclosure provided they fall within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A buckle device, comprising:

a female buckle comprising a wall forming an inserting hole; and

a male buckle, comprising:

a male buckle body;

two engaging portions disposed at the male buckle body in intervals and located at an inserting side of the male buckle body, the two engaging portions configured to engage with the inserting hole of the female buckle;

an elastic connecting element connected between the two engaging portions; and

an actuating element comprising an actuating portion and a connecting string, wherein one of two ends of the connecting string is connected to the actuating portion, and the other one of the two ends of the connecting string is connected to the elastic connecting element;

wherein when the two engaging portions of the male buckle are engaged with the inserting hole of the female buckle, and the actuating portion is pulled by an external force to bend the elastic connecting element, the two engaging portions are closed to each other so as to be disengaged from the inserting hole.

2. The buckle device of claim 1, wherein a shape of the elastic connecting element is arc-shaped and the elastic connecting element comprises two legs and a top arc, each of the two legs is integrally connected to an inner side of each of the two engaging portions, and the top arc is integrally connected between the two legs and closer to the male buckle body than the two legs to the male buckle body.

3. The buckle device of claim 2, wherein the elastic connecting element further comprises a protruding bump, the protruding bump is located at the top arc, and the connecting string is restricted to the protruding bump.

4. The buckle device of claim 1, wherein the female buckle further comprises two barb grooves, the two barb grooves are disposed in the wall and communicated with the inserting hole, each of the two engaging portions comprises a hooking part and a leg part, each of the two hooking parts is integrally connected to each of the leg parts, each of the two leg parts is connected to the male buckle body, and each of the two hooking parts is configured to engage with each of the two barb grooves.

5. The buckle device of claim 4, wherein the two leg parts incline towards each other and an included angle is formed therebetween.

6. The buckle device of claim 5, wherein each of the two engaging portions further comprises an abutting structure located at one end of each of the two legs parts close to the male buckle body, the wall comprises two side wall portions, and the two abutting structures are configured for abutting against the two side wall portions, respectively.

7. The buckle device of claim 1, wherein the female buckle further comprises a restricting groove disposed at the wall of the female buckle and communicated with the inserting hole, and the restricting groove is configured for the connecting string to pass therethrough.

8. The buckle device of claim 1, wherein the female buckle further comprises a plurality of stiffening ribs, the wall comprises an upper wall portion and a lower wall portion, and the stiffening ribs are located in the inserting hole and disposed between the upper wall portion and the lower wall portion.

9. The buckle device of claim 1, wherein the male buckle body comprising:

a frame body comprising two first rod portions and two second rod portions, the two first rod portions connected to the two second rod portions to form a rectangle, wherein one of the two first rod portions is configured for connecting the two engaging portions; and

a horizontal rod connected between the two second rod portions, the horizontal rod having a plurality of jagged structures facing towards the one of the two first rod portions.

10. The buckle device of claim 1, wherein the actuating portion has a light-emitting element.