Abstract:
A belt buckle primarily for law enforcement or military personnel, for a relatively wide service belt, is of low profile, i.e. narrow from left to right so as to occupy minimal belt span to provide maximum space for equipment to be supported on the belt.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention generally concerns tactical gear, but specifically a belt buckle for police, military or tactical personnel, the belt buckle being of low profile (width) so as to minimize the length of belt span which it occupies. 
     Belt buckles have been provided in a variety of forms. Police and tactical personnel normally wear a heavy, somewhat wide belt on which may be carried one or more weapons, ammunition, communication gear or other equipment. The typical belt buckle is fairly heavy duty and can occupy a considerable amount of space in the circumference of the belt span, especially at front, limiting space for equipment carried on the belt. An objective of the current invention is to minimize the lateral width of belt span occupied by a belt buckle while providing a strong, heavy duty buckle that is also aesthetically attractive. 
     The prior art contains several buckles or clasps relevant to the present invention. These include U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,480,967, 2,956,324 and 4,054,972. The first of these shows a conventional belt buckle with a typical prong to engage through a selected hole in an end portion of a belt, but with a mechanism to remove the terminal, active part of the belt buckle from a separately formed base end, with a slide-apart motion. A male cylinder component slides into a female cylindrical slot, with a ball and detent provided to hold these components together. The buckle is not of low profile in the lateral direction, and the slide-apart feature is not used to engage and release the belt from the person&#39;s waist, but rather to remove the operative buckle component from the base part of the buckle. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 2,956,324 noted above describes a buckle with cylindrical slide-together parts configured on a slant, the assembly not being one of low profile. U.S. Pat. No. 4,054,972 shows a typical brassiere clamp that involves sliding the components together vertically in the typical manner. 
     U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,282,634 and 5,447,092 describe belt buckles with typical male/female components configured to plunge together in the axial (belt-tightening) direction of the belt, engaged by plastic spring tabs that snap into place. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention is a two-part belt buckle, preferably formed of molded plastic (such as injection-molded nylon or acetal) and of a low profile laterally (left to right as worn) so as to preserve space in the belt&#39;s span for tactical or other equipment to be retained on the belt. To this end the two parts of the buckle have male and female components that slip together and apart in a vertical motion relative to one another, which enables a buckle design of limited lateral width, occupying, for example, only about 1¾ inches of belt space, or even less, such as 1½ inches. The buckle has a slender and smoothly contoured exterior when clipped together, and tends to appear as a single body on the belt. 
     This is achieved with male and female buckle components, the male component having an elongated lug of preferably rectangular cross section that slides vertically into and latches in a complementary slot in a casing of the female component. Each component has an outer or outboard side, to which the belt is affixed, and to facilitate the sliding together of the lug and slot. The outboard part of the male component is connected by a thin bridging element to the lug, and the female component has a narrow slit opening the slot on the connecting side. Thus, the thin bridging element slides through the slit as the male lug slides into the slot. 
     The two components latch together via a spring latch of the male lug, a cantilevered plastic arm that is squeezed to a slightly retracted condition during insertion of the lug and then snaps back outwardly (forwardly, with respect to a person when worn) when the end of the spring latch reaches an open notch of the slot in the casing. This occurs when the lug is fully inserted into the slot, the two components being securely nested together. In a preferred form the spring latch&#39;s end is a rounded knob that becomes exposed at the front of the buckle when secured, so that the knob can be pushed in for release, allowing separation of the two components. 
     It is a main object of the invention to provide a narrow two component service belt buckle that leaves a maximum of belt span for carrying tactical weapons and other service equipment on the belt, especially at the front of the user. This is accomplished with two buckle components that slide together vertically and snap into a latched state, conveniently released by the wearer when desired. These and other objects, advantages and features of the invention will be apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment, considered along with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing a belt buckle of the invention in a secured configuration, and indicating attachment of the belt. 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded view showing the two components of the buckle in perspective. 
         FIG. 3  is a top plan view showing the belt buckle as secured together. 
         FIG. 4  is a sectional view as seen along the line  4 - 4  in  FIG. 3 , showing the secured buckle. 
         FIG. 5  is an end view of the connected-together buckle, seen from what could be the bottom or the top of the buckle, essentially from the left in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 6  is a sectional view of the secured belt buckle, as seen along the line  6 - 6  in  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 7  is a bottom or back side plan view of the secured buckle. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       FIG. 1  shows a belt buckle  10  of the invention in a secured-together condition, and indicates two ends of a belt  12  connected to the two belt buckle components  14  and  16 . Note that the belt is shown connected by looping over a bar  18  at outer or outboard sides of each of the two components  14  and  16  (only visible on the component  16  in  FIG. 1 ). Other types of connections to the belt could be employed, and the bar  18  could be replaced with a double bar system for webbing tensioning. The figure shows a latch device  20 , seen here as a somewhat rounded knob, that pops up into place in a notch  22  when the two components are fully inserted together. 
       FIG. 2  shows the two components  14  and  16  separated, in exploded view. The male component  14  has an elongated lug  24  that, as indicated, inserts into a slot  26  of the female component  16 . The elongated lug  24  preferably is essentially rectangular-shaped in cross section as shown, with parallel sides and of a configuration to fit closely within the slot  26  of the female component  16 . The slot  26  is formed within a casing  28 , this casing having a narrow slit  30  at a connection side of the component  16 , and this slit, although not so indicated in  FIG. 2 , extends to the right in the drawing completely to the end of the slot  26 . The purpose of the slit  30  in the side of the slot is to enable the slug lug  24  to be inserted in the slot  26  without interference from the remainder of the male component  14 , which includes an outer or outboard side  32  as seen in  FIG. 2 . The outboard side  32  of the male component is connected to the lug  24  by a narrow bridging element or plate  34 , and this bridging element  34  slides through the slit  30  in the side of the slot  26  as the belt components are assembled together. The bridging plate  34  terminates as shown without reaching the end of the lug  24  (i.e. at the left in  FIG. 2 ), so that the slit  30  need not extend completely to the end of the slot (at left in  FIG. 2 ), leaving some solid structure for integrity of the female component. 
     The latch device  20 , as seen in  FIG. 2 , is essentially a cantilevered leaf spring  36  formed integrally with the remainder of the preferably plastic female component  14 . This cantilever has a free end at the left in the drawing, and this free end has a latch component that can comprise the generally rounded knob  20  seen in the drawings, although other shapes can be used. As can be seen from  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the rounded knob provides an incline that forces the cantilevered latch leaf spring  36  to an inwardly compressed position as the lug  24  is pushed into the slot  26 , but when the latch component  20  reaches the opening or notch  22 , the cantilever spring snaps the latch component  20  outwardly, up into the notch, locking the male component at the fully inserted position in the female component. For release, a wearer simply pushes the exposed rounded knob or latch component  20  inward (toward the user&#39;s body), allowing the male component to be slid out and removed from the female component. 
       FIG. 3  shows the secured belt buckle in plan view. The drawing shows elongated openings  40 , one on each component, for receiving the belt, which loops over the bar  18  on each component. The male component  14  is shown at the upper side of  FIG. 3 , as it is in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . As seen in all of  FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  3 , the female component&#39;s casing  28  has a form of step  42  at its outer surface, and the outboard side  32  of the male component has a similar, complementary-shaped flange or edge  44 . The flange  44  abuts the step  42  when the male component is fully connected into the female component, as can best be seen in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . This defines the fully connected position and serves to prevent further sliding of the lug  24  through the slot  26 , even with force. Note that this function could also be accomplished by other structural limiting features, if desired. 
     A part  45  at one end of the female component  16  is seen in  FIG. 3 . This slides under the adjacent structure of the male component&#39;s outboard side  32  as the male component  14  is slid to the right in  FIG. 3 , or the female component  16  to the left in  FIG. 3 . It slides under the element  44 , which can be understood with reference to  FIG. 2  as well as  FIG. 3 . 
       FIG. 4  shows the two components in cross section, in the fully secured position, and indicates the action of depressing the rounded knob latch component  20  inwardly for release (the depressed, released position of the latch is shown in dotted lines). As illustrated, the rounded knob or latch component has a ledge abutment  46  at its back edge closer to the point of cantilever support, and this snaps out into position (solid lines in  FIG. 4 ) when the fully inserted position is reached, held in place by engaging with a face  47  of the female component. 
     Preferably each of the components  14  and  16  is injection molded of a strong plastic material, with the cantilever spring element or latch component integrally molded in the male component. 
     The sectional view of  FIG. 6  again shows the belt  12  secured to the outer or outboard sides of the male and female components, each belt end looping over a connecting bar  18  of the respective component. As noted above, other belt securement arrangements are possible. The lug  24  is shown within the slot  26 , the lug being without walls at upper and right sides in this central region, which can be seen from  FIG. 2 . The thin bridging element  34  is seen extending through the slit  30 , and a wall  48  at the outboard side  32  of the male component is seen integrally connected to the bridging element  34 . The secured buckle can withstand very high belt tension, due to the engagement of the entire length of the lug  24  against the entire length of the outer wall of the female component  16 , at both sides of the slit  30  (above and below the slit as seen in  FIG. 6 ). Moreover, the slit  30  is open at its end which is shown to the right as the component is viewed in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , and could tend to spread open and fail under very high belt tension. Spreading is prevented by the flanges  44  of the male component, the flanges  44  being on both front and back and retaining the structure at the slit from spreading open. See also  FIGS. 6 and 7 . The width of the assembled belt buckle (dimension from left to right as worn) is indicated, and as noted above, this is preferably no more than about 1¾ inches or preferably in the range of about 1½ to 2 inches. A typical belt that connects together horizontally with a similar latch oriented horizontally would be about 2% to 3 inches wide. The height of the buckle can vary according to the belt, but may be about 2½ inches, or about 1½ to 3 inches. The buckle is intended for a belt of at least about 1¾ inch width, preferably at least about two inches width. 
     As seen in the drawings, the assembled belt buckle is smoothly contoured, with rounded sides and edges and with the two components closely mated. As such, the secured buckle gives the appearance of a slim, smoothly contoured and unitary device when worn. 
     The above described preferred embodiments are intended to illustrate the principles of the invention, but not to limit its scope. Other embodiments and variations to these preferred embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art and may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.