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(11) | EP 1 557 108 A1 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Device for fixing a buckle to a belt a buckle including said device and implement for quickly releasing the buckle from the belt |
| (57) A housing (3) destined to accommodate the end of the belt, accommodates a laminate
elastic member (7), U-shaped with end lips (20, 22) of the arms (7B) folded towards
each other and towards the inside and with projecting points (9) destined to have
a retention action on the belt which is inserted between said arms; with an implement
with two blades placed over and made to slide on the belt it is possible to release
said points (9) therefrom to allow release of the end of the belt. |
[0001] The object of the invention is a device for connecting one end of a belt to a buckle in a particularly simple and quick way, and which also allows quick release to be performed with the aid of a simple implement. Moreover, the device can be adapted without any difficulty for belts of different thicknesses.
[0003] A first subject of the invention is a buckle, in a component of which a housing is provided to accommodate said end of the belt; said housing has at least one elastic lip or advantageously two elastic lips, facing each other and facing the bottom of said housing and shaped with projecting points destined to penetrate in the belt and to have a retention action on the belt inserted between said elastic lips. To release the belt from the buckle, blades which detach the points from the leather are required.
[0004] According to a possible advantageous embodiment, said housing - designed to accommodate the end of the belt - accommodates and retains a laminate elastic member with a U-shaped section and with end lips folded towards each other and towards the bottom joining the U-shaped arms; these lips are shaped with projecting points destined to penetrate in the belt and to have a retention action on the belt, when inserted between said arms of the elastic member.
[0005] To retain the elastic member in the housing bosses can be provided inside said housing, against which the edges of indentations formed in the elastic member are made to abut.
[0006] Another object of the invention is an implement to release the belt from the buckle, which comprises two blades suitable to be placed over the end of the belt and made to slide between the belt and the lips with points, such as to release the belt from the points and to allow release of the end of the belt from the buckle.
[0007] The invention shall be better understood by following the description and accompanying drawing, which shows a non-limiting practical example of the invention. In the drawing:
Figure 1 shows an exploded perspective view of the principal components of the device and the end of the belt to be fixed to said device;
Figures 2 and 3 show two perspective views of an elastic member which is part of the device;
Figure 4 shows a longitudinal section of the device in the phase of coupling to the belt;
Figure 5 shows, again in a longitudinal section, the device coupled to the belt and an implement which is on the point of releasing it;
Figure 6 is analogous to Figure 5, showing the arrangement after the belt has been released from the device, by means of the implement; and
Figures 7 and 8 show perspective views of belt, device coupled with the buckle and implement in the arrangements before and during release.
[0008] According to the illustrations in the accompanying drawing, the numeral 1 generically indicates a component which is part of a buckle destined to be applied to one end of a belt (leather or the like) and equipped either with a hinged tongue or a pin designed to penetrate one of the holes of the other end of the belt equipped with holes suitable to regulate the dimension of the closed belt. This component 1 will be equipped with a shaped part 1A destined to be connected to other members of the buckle known and therefore not described herein.
[0009] This component must be fixed to the end of the belt which, to be adapted for different users, must be cut to size and adjusted even repeatedly with cuts to shorten it, if required; the buckle must be susceptible to allow these operations, also by the final user in a domestic environment. The device of the invention has been invented for this purpose. Moreover, said component is produced to allow fixing to belts of different thicknesses.
[0010] To achieve the above, the component 1 has a housing 3 with an essentially prismatic shape and suitable to house the end C1 of the belt C which has to be fixed and which must be releasable from said component 1; this end C1 of the belt C must be cuttable to allow reduction of the final dimension of the belt, at the opposite end to the end provided with holes for removable connection from the buckle which the component 1 is part of. In intermediate positions along the two longest edges of this housing 3, with prismatic shape, are two opposed bosses 5 provided for a function to be described hereunder.
[0011] The housing 3 is intended to house an elastic member indicated generically with 7, the laminate structure of which is shown clearly in Figures 1 to 3. It has - in the planar development thereof - an essentially rectangular shaped part, with two opposed sides which form two toothed or serrated edges 9 separated by a more or less rectangular indentation 10. The blade which forms the elastic member 7 is folded along the edges 12, 14, 16 and 18, so as to take - in a section transverse to the folding edges - a U-shape with a bottom 7A, two symmetrical and opposed arms 7B, two edges corresponding to the folding edges 16 and 18 and - as an extension of these two edges 16, 18 - two lips 20 and 22 equipped with teeth 9. These lips 20 and 22 extend towards and in front of each other and towards the bottom 7A of the U-shaped part of the elastic member; the two lips 20 and 22 are interrupted in the middle by the presence of the two indentations 10 which form two edges approximately at the level of the folding edges 16 and 18 from which said lips 20 and 22 originate. The teeth of the toothed or serrated edges 9 of the lips 20, 22 form projecting points which are designed to penetrate into the surface of the end portion of a belt, and to retain it, as will be described later on.
[0012] The elastic member 7 as described above can be inserted - by drawing the two arms 7B towards each other elastically - in the housing 3 and to be retained therein, as the bottom of the two indentations 10 engage with the corresponding intermediate boss 5 of the edge of the indentation 10, as can be clearly seen in Figures 4, 5 and 6.
[0013] When the end C1 of the belt is inserted according to the arrow fB, it is blocked inside the housing 3 by the component 1 of the belt; during insertion this end C1 slides easily between the two lips 20 and 22 to reach the bottom 7A of the elastic member 7, but the end C1 of the belt can no longer be extracted as the pointed edges 9 penetrate the leather and block it, preventing any sliding in the opposite direction to the arrow fB.
[0014] This operation is particularly simple and does not require any implement to be performed. The elastic member 7 inserted with deformation in the housing 3 is pressed against the inside walls of said housing and removal thereof is prevented by the bosses 5 which abut against the bottom of the indentations 10; the elastic lips 20 and 22 are deformed by the presence of the end C1 of the belt and press the teeth 9 thereof into the belt, preventing removal.
[0015] To release the end C1 of the belt from the component 7 and therefore from the component 1 and from the buckle which they are part of, a simple implement, shown in Figures 5 to 8, is used. This implement comprises a handle or handgrip 51 bifurcating into two end branches 53, which define therebetween a space 55 sufficiently large for the belt C to be housed slidingly therein. The space 55 is delimited by two blades 57 which extend and taper with an approximately rectangular development, to the ends 57A which are particularly tapered and shaped to facilitate introduction.
[0016] When the end C1 of the belt C is to be released, said end must be freed from the grip of the teeth 9 of the lips 22. To obtain this, the implement 51, 53, 57 is placed over the belt so that the blades 57 graze the belt, coming into contact therewith, and the implement is pushed according to the arrow fU (Figures 5 and 6) until the ends 57A of the blades 57 penetrate between the lips 20 and 22 and the end C1 of the belt. At this point the ends 57A of the blades 57 release the teeth formed by the toothed edges 9 of the elastic lips 22 from the end C1 of the belt, freeing the hold thereon; consequently, the belt can be removed from the housing 3 and from the elastic member 7 engaged therein. If necessary, the end C1 is shortened to the required length, and the new end C1 of the belt (or the end of a new belt) is inserted between the lips 22 in the direction according to the arrow fB which corresponds to the direction of the arrow fU.
[0017] The implement 51, 53, 55 can be produced with assembled components or can even be produced in a single element made of synthetic thermoplastic resin molded in a specific mold. In any case, the implement is particularly low-cost and consequently an implement of this type can be sold together with the belt to perform, when required, modifications to the length thereof with respect to the end provided with holes which must cooperate with the buckle.
[0018] A partial shortening adjustment can also be obtained by making the end C1 of the belt penetrate the component 7 progressively, until touching the bottom 7A.
[0019] The buckle can be fixed to belts of various thicknesses, as the lips 20, 22 can be widened elastically to various distances to accommodate belts of different thickness.
[0020] It is understood that the drawing only shows a simplification provided purely as a practical example of the invention, which may vary in forms and arrangements without however departing from the scope of the concept on which the invention is based. Any reference numerals in the appended claims are provided purely to facilitate reading of the claims with reference to the description and to the drawing, and do not limit the scope of protection represented by the claims. For example, an elastic member similar to the one 7 but with only one of the lips 20 (or 22) equipped with a toothed edge 9 and without a second lip may be provided. In this case, an implement with only one blade would suffice; the member similar to the one 7 would not require to be U-shaped, as the end of the belt can be pushed against a wall of the housing 3 by the single elastic lip.
1. A buckle component with means for fixing said component to the end (C1) of a leather
belt (C) or the like, and for easy release thereof from said end (C1) of the belt
(C) with a relevant implement, characterized in that it comprises:
- a housing (3) to accommodate said end (C1) of the belt;
- in said housing (3), at least an elastic lip (20; 22) shaped with projecting points (9) destined to penetrate and have a retention action on the belt which is inserted in said housing, to prevent spontaneous removal of said end of the belt.
2. Component as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one lip faces towards the bottom
of said housing (3).
3. Component as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that two elastic lips (20, 22) are provided in said housing, facing each other and preferably
oriented towards the bottom of said housing.
4. Component as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said at least one elastic lip is formed by a laminate elastic member, arranged in
said housing.
5. Component as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that in said housing (3) a laminate elastic member (7) is arranged, said elastic member
having a U-shaped section with a bottom (7A) and arms (7B) extending from and joined
by said bottom (7A), the end portions of said arms (7B) being folded towards each
other, forming said elastic lips and being provided with said projecting points (9);
and that means are provided to retain said elastic member (7) in said housing.
6. Component as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that said lips are folded towards the bottom (7A) of said elastic member and of said housing.
7. Component as claimed in claim 5 or 6, characterized in that said retaining means include bosses inside said housing, against which edges of indentations
formed in the elastic member are made to abut.
8. Component as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that said retaining means include indentations (10) formed in the edges (16, 18) between
said arms (7B) and said lips (20, 22), and internal bosses (5) projecting in said
housing (3) and forming an abutment for said indentations (10) to retain said elastic
member (7) in said housing (3).
9. A buckle including a component as claimed in one or more of the preceding claims.
10. A belt including a buckle according to claim 9.
11. An implement to release the end of a belt from a buckle component (1) according to
one or more of the preceding claims, characterized by at least one blade (57; 57A) suitable to be placed over the belt to release said
projecting points (9) of said at least one elastic lip (20, 22) from said belt, to
allow the end (C1) of the belt to be released from the buckle.
12. Implement according to claim 11, characterized by two blades (57, 57A) suitable to be placed over said belt to release said projecting
points (9) of said two elastic lips (20, 22) from said belt.
13. Implement according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that said at least one blade is tapered.
14. Implement according to claim 12 or 13, characterized by a handle (51) bifurcating into two end branches (53) defining a space (55) therebetween,
said two blades being connected to said branches (53) and being arranged in said space
(55), the distance between said blades being sufficiently large for the belt (C) to
be slidingly housed between said blades.