Particularly shaped buckle prong and buckle comprising said prong

Abstract

 It is proposed a buckle prong (10) comprising an arched part (14) to constrain the prong to the buckle so as to rotate as well as a pointed part (12), connected with the arched part (14), said pointed part (12) being suited to be inserted in a hole of a belt so as to constrain said belt to the buckle.
In particular, the pointed part (12) of the prong comprises a reinforcing element (20) so that said prong can be produced in a composite material, as well.

Description

[0001] The present invention refers in general to a buckle prong and to a buckle comprising said prong. More particularly, the shape of this buckle prong allows to use a composite material but to maintain its strength.

[0002] Buckle prongs are known to fix a belt or a band provided with through-holes in a wished position. In order to constrain a belt in a certain position in relation to a buckle, the buckle comprises a prong, namely, a pointed tongue passing through a hole of the belt so as to fix the buckle.

[0003] Accordingly, the prong acts as a stop for the belt in relation to the buckle and therefore, it must bear traction forces, and sometimes, impelling forces, which tend to separate the belt from the buckle. As a consequence of this, such buckles and in particular their prongs must be produced by utilizing strong and solid materials.

[0004] It is known to use metal materials to manufacture such buckles and prongs.

[0005] In case the buckles are used on articles that come in touch with water, they are subjected to a particular treatment to avoid rust. However, this treatment against rust caused an increase in the production costs of the buckles and finished products.

[0006] In some cases, for the reduction of the costs, plastic buckles are used but such buckles are provided with metal prongs treated as indicated above. However, although this kind of buckle allows a reduction in the production costs, it does not offer an excellent result as regards its look since the prong is clearly different at sight from the remaining part of the buckle.

[0007] The aim and object of this invention is to conceive a buckle prong and a buckle comprising said prong so as to overcome the drawbacks of the known art and although such prong is light, it is strong and in particular, it is resistant to mechanical stresses and oxidation caused by atmospheric agents.

[0008] Said aim and other ones have been achieved by a buckle prong comprising an arched part to constrain the prong to the buckle so as to rotate, and a pointed part, developed especially along a direction and connected with the arched part, said pointed part being inserted in the hole of a belt or similar element so as to constrain said belt to the buckle. The buckle prong is characterized in that its pointed part comprises a reinforcing element.

[0009] As an advantage, the reinforcing element has a linear development and is arranged according to the direction of longest extension of the pointed part of the prong in order to reinforce that prong part that must resist the traction forces of the belt in relation to the buckle.

[0010] As an advantage, since the prong is provided with said reinforcing element instead of consisting of a metal material, it can be molded with a composite material including polyamide, long fiber glass, molding assistants, and pigments.

[0011] The pointed part of the prong comprises a side surface subdivided into a lower sector and an upper sector. Said lower sector has an extreme part in contact with the buckle in the closing position when the belt is constrained to the buckle.

[0012] As an advantage, the reinforcing element can be arranged on the lower sector of the side surface of the pointed part so that it is not visible when the buckle is in its closing position and does not prejudice the look of the buckle.

[0013] In addition, the reinforcing element may not interest the extreme part of the lower sector of the side surface of the pointed part of the prong so as to maintain, in any case, a sufficient contact surface between prong and buckle in the closing position.

[0014] As an advantage, the arched part of the prong has a profile shaped like an arc of circle so as to obtain an opening for the release connection of the prong with a buckle cross element around which the prong can rotate. In this way, the prong, which is made of a composite material in one piece, is coupled and constrained to the buckle so as to rotate.

[0015] The composite material of the prong comprises polyamide present in weight percentages varying between 45% and 55% of the long fiber glass present in weight percentages varying between 45% and 55% of the molding assistants present in weight percentages varying between 3% and 6% of the pigments present in percentages less than 3%.

[0016] As an advantage, the presence of the long fiber glass makes the prong stronger and resistant to tensile strength.

[0017] In addition, the prong and the whole buckle comprising said prong have dielectric characteristics and therefore, do not allow the electric conductivity and are not corroded by water, acids and atmospheric agents.

[0018] Besides, said prong and buckle are not metallic and are not detectable by metal detectors and therefore, an unwished loss of time is avoided in those places where this kind of control is required.

[0019] The composite material makes the prong and buckle light.

[0020] The peculiarities and advantages of the present invention are more evident from the following specification which is given as an example on the base of the accompanying drawing wherein:

• Figure 1 is a tridimensional view of a buckle prong according to this invention.

[0021] With reference to Figure 1, number 10 denotes a buckle prong designed to grasp a first cross element of a buckle so as to remain constrained to said element but with the possibility of rotating.

[0022] The prong 10 comprises an arched part 14 to constrain the prong to the buckle so as to rotate as well as a pointed part 12, more developed along a direction and connected with the arched part 14 to form an only piece.

[0023] The arched part 14 has an arc-of-circle profile that delimits a passage 18. The arc of circle formed in section by the arched part 14 has an opening 16. In the assembling phase, the first cross element of the buckle passes through said opening 16 so as to position in said passage 18. In this way, the prong 10 rotates relatively to the first cross element of the buckle and is constrained to it.

[0024] The pointed part 12 of the prong is inserted in a hole of a belt or the like so as to constrain said belt to the buckle, which assumes a closed position.

[0025] The pointed part 12 comprises a side surface formed by a lower part 24 and an opposite upper part that is in sight when the buckle is in its closed position. According to the invention, a protuberance 20 is provided on the lower part 24 of the side surface of the pointed part 12 of the prong 10 so as to form an only piece. This protuberance acts as a reinforcing element for the pointed part 12.

[0026] The reinforcing element does not occupy the extreme part 22 of the lower part 24 of the side surface of the pointed part 12 of the prong 10. Said extreme part corresponds with the part of the prong in contact with a second cross element of the buckle so as to obtain the closed form of the buckle.

[0027] The prong 10 and the whole buckle are produced by molding in a composite material comprising the following components: polyamide 6.6, long fiber glass, molding assistants, and pigments.

[0028] The molding assistants are enucleating substances such as metal oxides, metal salts and silicates, antioxidizing adhesion agents and lubricants.

[0029] The pigments to be used can be titania (to obtain the color white), carbon black (black), iron oxides (red), soluble pigments (orange, yellow and red), non toxic organic pigments (green, blue).

[0030] In particular, the polyamide is included in a percentage of about 45%, fiber glass in a percentage of about 50%, the molding assistants in a percentage of about 4%, and the pigments in a percentage of about 1%.

[0031] Obviously, said percentages can vary according to percentages varying in certain limits but the qualities of strength, resistance to wear and tear and lightness remain. In particular, the percentage of polyamide can vary between 45% and 55%, the percentage of long fiber glass can vary between 45% and 55%, the percentage of molding assistants is included between 3% and 6% and the percentage of pigments can vary between 0 and 3%.

[0032] The prong comprising the reinforcing element 20 and carried out by utilizing the so-described composite material has such mechanical qualities that it can replace the known prongs produced in a metal material.

[0033] Unlike the metal prongs, the element in question has dielectric features, does not alter (corrosion, rust) if it comes in contact of water, acids and atmospheric agents. Besides, this element is not detectable by a metal detector or similar devices.

Claims

1. Buckle prong (10) comprising:

- an arched part (14) to constrain the prong to the buckle so as to rotate;

- a presser foot (24) and relevant adjusting means (26), a pointed part (12), more developed along a direction and connected with the arched part (14), said pointed part (12) being suited to be inserted in a hole of a belt or similar element so as to constrain said belt to the buckle; said pointed part (12) having a side surface comprising a lower part (24) and an upper part, which is opposite to the lower part (24); said lower part (24) of side surface having an extreme part (22) of contact with the buckle when the belt is constrained to the buckle,

characterized in that
said pointed part (12) comprises a reinforcing element (20).

2. Buckle prong (10) according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing element (20) has a linear development and is arranged according to the more developed direction of the pointed part (12).

3. Buckle prong (10) according to claim 2, wherein the reinforcing element (20) is arranged on the lower part (24) of the side surface of the pointed part (12).

4. Buckle prong (10) according to claim 3, wherein the reinforcing element (20) interests the extreme part (22) of the lower part (24) of the side surface of the pointed part (12).

5. Buckle prong (10) according to claim 3, wherein the reinforcing element (20) does not interest the extreme part (22) of the lower part (24) of the side surface of the pointed part (12).

6. Buckle prong (10) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the arched part (14) is shaped like an arc of circle so as to obtain an opening (16) for the connection of the prong with the buckle and to constrain the prong to the buckle so as to rotate.

7. Buckle prong (10) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is produced by molding in an only piece, in a composite material comprising:

- polyamide,

- long fiber glass,

- molding assistants, and

- pigments.

8. Buckle prong (10) according to claim 7, wherein:

- the polyamide is included in a weight percentage varying between 45% and 55%,

- the long fiber glass is included in a weight percentage varying between 45 % and 55%,

- the molding assistants are included in a weight percentage varying between 3% and 6%,

- the pigments are included in percentages lower than 3%.

9. Buckle prong (10) according to claim 8, wherein:

- the polyamide is included in a weight percentage of 45%,

- the long fiber glass is included in a weight percentage of 55%,

- the molding assistants are included in a weight percentage of 4%,

- the pigments are included in a percentage of 1 %.

10. Buckle prong (10) according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the molding assistants are one or more of the following substances:

- nucleants such as metal oxides, metal salts and silicates;

- antioxidizing adhesion agents;

- lubricants.

11. Buckle, characterized in that it comprises a prong (10) according to any of the preceding claims.

Drawing