Abstract
A quick-release buckle with a main body, a plate, and a strap. The main body has a frame and a release lever that rotates about a shaft. The plate has two parallel and longitudinal slots, and the strap passes through the slots in the plate. The frame has two parts that are separated by an angled wall that extends laterally across the frame width. The shaft is secured to the first part of the frame. The second part of the frame is configured to form a seat for receiving the plate. The second part of the frame has two side walls and a channel on an inside surface of each side wall adjacent to the angled wall. Each channel is parallel to the angled wall and at least as wide as the thickness of the plate. The two channels together are configured to receive the width of the plate.
Claims
1. A quick-release buckle comprising: (a) a main body comprising a frame and a release lever that rotates about a shaft; (b) a plate having two parallel and longitudinal slots, wherein the plate has a thickness and a width; and (c) a strap that passes through the slots in the plate; wherein the frame comprises a first part and a second part; wherein the first part of the frame and the second part of the frame are separated by an angled wall that extends laterally across a width of the frame; wherein the shaft is secured to the first part of the frame; wherein the second part of the frame is configured to form a seat for receiving the plate; and wherein the second part of the frame comprises two side walls and a channel on an inside surface of each side wall adjacent to the angled wall, each channel being parallel to the angled wall and at least as wide as the thickness of the plate, and wherein the two channels together are configured to receive the width of the plate.
2. The quick-release buckle of claim 1, wherein the strap is secured to itself with stitching after passing through the two slots in the plate.
3. The quick-release buckle of claim 1, wherein the strap is secured to itself with adhesive after passing through the two slots in the plate.
4. The quick-release buckle of claim 1, wherein the release lever comprises a spring that is situated around a center part of the shaft and configured to maintain the release lever in a closed position unless a user exerts manual force against the spring.
5. The quick-release buckle of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of teeth on the front of the release lever.
6. The quick-release buckle of claim 1, wherein the release lever comprises a thumb pad; and wherein the thumb pad comprises a plurality of rows of protrusions that increase in height from a front of the thumb pad to a back of the thumb pad.
7. The quick-release buckle of claim 1, wherein the frame comprises a top edge; and wherein the angle of the angled wall relative to the top edge of the frame is in the range of fifteen to forty-five degrees.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
(1) FIG. 1A is a bottom perspective view of the main body of the buckle assembly of the present invention shown with the strap inserted through the frame of the main body.
(2) FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the plate of the buckle assembly of the present invention shown with the strap attached to it.
(3) FIG. 2A is a perspective view of the present invention shown with the plate inserted into the underside of the second part of the frame.
(4) FIG. 2B is a side view of the present invention shown with the plate in the same position as in FIG. 2A.
(5) FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the present invention shown with the plate inserted through the underside of the second part of the frame.
(6) FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of the present invention shown with the plate seated on top of the first part of the frame.
(7) FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the present invention shown with the plate seated on top of the first part of the frame and the strap situated around an object.
(8) FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the present invention shown with the plate unseated and ready to be pulled back down through the second part of the frame to release the strap.
(9) FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the main body of the present invention shown with the release lever in a fully open position and the strap and plate omitted for clarity.
(10) FIG. 8 is a bottom view of the main body of the present invention shown without the strap and plate.
(11) FIG. 9 is a top view of the main body of the present invention shown without the strap and plate.
(12) FIG. 10 is a top perspective view of the main body of the present invention shown without the strap and plate.
(13) FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the main body of the present invention showing a first spring connection point.
(14) FIG. 12 is a second perspective view of the main body of the present invention showing a second spring connection point.
(15) FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the thumb pad of the present invention.
(16) FIG. 14 is a top view of the plate shown without the strap.
(17) FIG. 15 is a section view of the main body.
REFERENCE NUMBERS
(18) 1 Main body (of buckle assembly) 2 Plate (of buckle assembly) 3 Strap 4 Frame (of main body) 5 Release lever (of main body) 6 Spring 7 Shaft 8 First part (of frame) 9 Second part (of frame) 10 Thumb pad (on release lever) 11 Protrusions (on thumb pad) 12 Teeth (on release lever) 13 Side wall (of second part of frame) 13a Inner wall (on second part of frame) 14 Rear stop (of frame) 15 Angled wall (between first and second parts of frame) 15a Top surface (of angled wall) 16 Recess (on side wall of second part of frame) 17 Side wall (of first part of frame) 18 Front part (of frame) 19 Ledge (in main body) 20 Slot (in plate)
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION
(19) FIG. 1A is a bottom perspective view of the main body of the buckle assembly of the present invention shown with the strap inserted through the frame of the main body, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the plate of the buckle assembly of the present invention shown with the strap attached to it. As shown in these two figures, the present invention is comprised of a main body 1 and a plate 2. The strap 3 is preferably secured to itself after passing through the plate 2 with stitching, as shown. In an alternate embodiment, an adhesive may be used in lieu of stitching.
(20) The main body is comprised of a frame 4 that is generally rectangular in shape and a release lever 5. The release lever 5 comprises a spring 6 that is configured to maintain the release lever in a closed position unless the user exerts manual force against the spring to open the release lever. The release lever 5 rotates about a shaft 7, and the spring 6 is situated around the center of the shaft. One end of the spring 6 is anchored by a ledge 19 in the center and at the bottom of the frame 4 (see FIGS. 10 and 11), and the other end of the spring 6 abuts up against the top of an opening in the rear of the release lever itself (see FIG. 12). The ledge 19 extends laterally across the width of the main body 1. In this manner, the spring 6 is configured so that when the user presses down on the thumb pad 10 (see FIG. 4), the spring is compressed, the release lever 5 rotates about the shaft 7, and the teeth 12 on the front of the release lever (see FIG. 13) move away from and are no longer in contact with the strap 3, thereby allowing the user to pull the strap through the first part 8 of the frame between the front of the release lever 5 and the front part 18 of the frame (see also FIG. 4).
(21) As shown in FIG. 14, the plate 2 is a flat plate with two parallel slots 20 that are configured to receive the width of the strap 3. As shown in FIG. 8, the main body 1 is comprised of a first part 8 and a second part 9. The first part 8 is configured to hold the shaft 7 and spring 6 and the bottom part of the release lever 5. The top part of the release lever 5 is a thumb pad 10 that preferably comprises a plurality of protrusions 11. In a preferred embodiment, the protrusions 11 increase in height from the front of the thumb pad to the back of the thumb pad (the back of the thumb pad being that part of the thumb pad that is situated over the middle part of the frame 4), as shown in FIG. 15. The purpose of the protrusions 11 is to facilitate the gripping of the user's thumb on the thumb pad 10. The front of the release lever 5 comprises a plurality of teeth 12 (see FIG. 13) that are configured to grip the strap 3 when the release lever is in a closed position (with no force being exerted on the spring 6). The second part 9, which is discussed more fully below, is configured to receive the plate 2.
(22) FIG. 2A is a perspective view of the present invention shown with the plate inserted into the underside of the second part of the frame. The second part 9 of the frame 4 comprises two side walls 13, a rear stop 14 that extends between the two side walls 13 and forms the rear-most end of the buckle assembly, and an angled wall 15 situated in the center of the frame 4 between the first and second parts 8, 9. On either side of the angled wall are two recesses 16 on the interior of the side walls 13. These recesses 16 are also angled (see FIG. 1A), and they are configured to receive the plate 2 so that when the plate 2 is inserted into the second part 8 directly behind the angled wall 15, the plate is directed through the second part 8 at an angle (see FIGS. 2A and 15). Note that when the release lever 5 is pressed all the way down, the thumb pad 10 rests on top of the angled wall 15 but does not extend behind it (which would block passage of the plate 2 through the recesses 16) (see FIG. 7). Note also that the two side walls 13 overlap with the side walls 17 of the first part and that the shaft 7 extends through both sets of side walls 13, 17 (see also FIG. 10).
(23) FIG. 2B is a side view of the present invention shown with the plate in the same position as in FIG. 2A. Note the angle of the plate 2 as it extends through the channels 16 in the main body 1. This angle matches the angle of the channels 16 relative to the bottom and top edges of the main body frame. In a preferred embodiment, this angle is approximately thirty degrees (30) from vertical (see FIG. 15). In a preferred embodiment, this angle is between fifteen (15) and forty-five (45) degrees.
(24) FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the present invention shown with the plate inserted through the underside of the second part of the frame. In this figure, the plate 2 has been pulled all the way through the second part 8. In the next step (FIG. 4), the plate 2 is rotated so that it is parallel to the main body 1, and the strap 3 is pulled back down through the second part 8 until the plate is seated on top of the second part 8 of the frame 4. As shown in FIG. 10, the angled wall 15 comprises a top surface 15a that forms part of the seat in the first part of the frame onto which the plate 2 is situated when the buckle assembly is fastened. Two inner walls 13a extend partway across each of the side walls 13 to form the recesses 16 discussed above. The inner walls 13a extend to the bottom edges of the side walls 13, but they stop short of the top edges of the side walls 13 (see FIG. 15), thereby forming two surfaces upon which the sides of the plate 2 can rest when the buckle assembly is fastened. Similarly, the rear stop 14 comprises a flat top surface 14a (see FIG. 7) that is lower than the top edge of the side walls 13 and contiguous with the top surface of each of the inner walls 13a. Thus, the plate 2 also rests upon the top surface 14a of the rear stop 14 when the buckle assembly is fastened. The top surface 15a of the angled wall 15, the top surfaces of the inner walls 13a, and the top surface 14a of the rear stop 14 are all at the same level and, collectively, form the seat onto which the plate rests when the buckle assembly is fastened, as shown in FIG. 4.
(25) FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the present invention shown with the plate seated on top of the first part of the frame and the strap situated around an object. The present invention is configured so that once tension is placed on the strap, the plate 2 cannot be dislodged from its seat on the frame 4. The plate 2 cannot be moved from the position shown in FIG. 5 unless the user presses down on the release lever 5 to create some slack in the strap 3, moves the plate 2 off of the frame 4 (as shown in FIG. 6), and then slides the plate 2 back down through the second part 9 of the frame via the recesses 16, as described above.
(26) Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects. The appended claims are therefore intended to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.
