Abstract:
An inward-wind type belt buckle in which the rear end portion of a belt is wound between the front end portion of the belt and the clothes is disclosed. A fixing piece for fixing the front end portion of the belt is fixed to the inner side wall of the belt buckle, so that a hinge pin of a fixture for fixing the belt is not exposed outwardly, and thus, its outer appearance is fine as well as improving a stability in use.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a belt buckle, and more particularly, to an inward-wind type belt buckle through which a rear end portion of the belt is wound between the front end portion of the belt and the clothes. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     Belt buckles have a main function of steadily fixing clothes, especially trousers, to its user to thereby remove any uncomfortable factors in users′ activities, as well as an additional function of satisfying aesthetic taste of the users. 
     Belt buckles in a variety of forms having such functions are in use. 
     With respect to the conventional belt buckles, the rear end portion of a belt is mostly wound outwardly of the front end portion of the belt that is fixed at the belt buckle, so that the rear end portion, that is, the end portion of the belt is off from the clothes, which is not good in its appearance and apt to be touched by cuffs of jackets or taken by any objects when users are walking. 
     In order to solve the problems, Korean Patent Laid Open No. 1996-000111 (Publication date: Jan. 25, 1996), a former application of the applicant of this application, proposes an inward-wind type belt buckle that a rear end portion of a belt is wound between a front end portion and the clothes. 
     The inward-wind type belt buckle is made by an upper and a lower channel in a hexahedral shape forming a passage through which the rear end portion of the belt passes. The marginal portions of a plate body are bent to form the side walls having a predetermined height, and the lower end portions of each wall is attached to a lower channel in a plate form by welding to form a belt passage therebetween. A cut-out portion is formed at one side of the bottom of the lower channel through which a rear end portion of the belt passes. 
     Accordingly, when the user wears the belt, since the rear end portion of the belt is inserted into the internal passage of the buckle in the plate form and positioned between the front end portion of the belt and the clothes after passing through the cut-out portion, it is not exposed. 
     In addition, serrated hooking grooves are formed at regular intervals at the inner face of the lower channel and a hook is protrusively formed upwardly at the entrance of the lower channel of the buckle so as to be hooked by a hooking hole of the belt, so that when the rear end portion of the belt is inserted into the internal passage of the belt buckle, the hook of the buckle is inserted into the hooking hole of the belt readily and fixedly. 
     That is, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, hinge pins  31  formed at both sides of a fixture  30  is inserted into the hinge holes  22  formed at the side walls  21  of the upper channel  20  of the belt buckle so as for the fixture  30  to be rotatable, and the serrated portion  32  provided to the fixture  30  is in mesh with the front end portion of the belt and attaches it to the bottom of the upper channel  20  of the belt buckle, thereby fixing the belt. 
     However, this kind of belt buckle has the following problems. That is, since the hinge pins  31  of the fixture  30  are exposed outwardly through the hinge holes  21  of the belt buckle, resulting in that the hinge pins  31  of the fixture  30  exposed outwardly may contact the skin of the user to hurt or clothes may be caught on the hinge pins to be torn off, and thus, its appearance is not satisfied. 
     TECHNICAL GIST OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a belt buckle of which hinge pins of a fixture for fixing a front end portion of a belt to a belt buckle are not exposed outwardly, thereby improving a stability in wearing it. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     In order to achieve the above objects, there is provided a belt buckle including: a buckle body having a lower plate with a cut-out portion at the central portion thereof and side walls formed bent to have a predetermined height in the lengthy direction at both sides thereof and a front plate integrally attached to the upper portion of the side wall of a lower body to thereby form a belt passage therebetween; a fixture having a serrated portion at one end portion thereof and hinge pins at the both end portions of the serrated portion; and a fixing piece for fixing the fixture to the inner side wall of the lower plate. 
     At the lower plate of the buckle body, a position fixing hook is upward-protrusively formed at the front side on the basis of the cut-out portion for passing a belt, and at the rear side of the lower plate, a fixing hole is formed to be combined with the bottom plate of the fixing piece inserted to the side wall of the lower body. 
     The fixing piece includes a bottom plate tightly to be fixed at the upper surface of the lower plate at the rear side of the buckle body and having a fixing hole formed at its central portion corresponding to the fixing hole formed at the lower plate of the lower body, and side walls formed bent at the both sides of the bottom plate, with a predetermined height. 
     The side wall of the fixing piece includes an extended end portion at the rear side thereof, going off from the bottom plate. The extended end portion includes a fixing groove at its lower side to which a hinge pin of the fixture. In a state that the hinge pins of the fixture are inserted into the fixing grooves formed at the side walls of the fixing piece, when the fixing piece is inserted to the side walls of the lower body, the hinge pins of the fixture are shut between the marginal portion of the cut-out portion formed at the bottom plate of the lower body, that is, the support marginal portion formed at the region where the side walls of the lower plate and the upper surface of the lower plate and the fixing grooves formed at the extended end portion of the fixing piece, according to which the fixture is rotatable on the hinge pins. 
     Instead of the fixing grooves formed at the extended end portions of the side walls of the fixing piece, fixing holes may be formed, and in a state that the hinge pins of the fixture are inserted into the fixing holes, the fixing piece can be combined with the inner side of the side walls of the belt buckle. 
     In accordance with the other embodiment of the present invention, the side walls of the fixing piece contacting the inner side of the side walls of the lower body are bent inwardly to form a fixing protrusion, and the fixing protrusion includes fixing holes into which the hinge pins of the fixture are inserted, thereby combining the fixture with the buckle body. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a coupling structure of a fixture of a buckle in accordance with the conventional art; 
     FIG. 2 is a disassembled perspective view showing a structure of a belt buckle in accordance with first embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a cut-out portion after the belt buckle is assembled in accordance with first embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing an operation of the belt buckle after it is completely assembled in accordance with first embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line V—V of FIG. 4 in accordance with first embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a cut-out portion of a belt buckle in accordance with second embodiment of the present invention; and 
     FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a fixing piece in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention will now be described with reference to accompanying drawings. 
     FIG. 2 is a disassembled perspective view showing a structure of a belt buckle in accordance with first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a cut-out portion after the belt buckle is assembled in accordance with first embodiment of the present invention, in which reference numeral  100  denotes a buckle body. 
     The buckle body  100  includes a lower plate  110  having a rectangular cut-out portion  111  at its central portion, side walls  120  formed bent at the lengthy direction of the lower plate  110 , having a predetermined height, and a front plate  130  tightly fixed at the upper marginal portion of the side walls  120 , forming a belt passage ‘P’ therebetween. 
     The lower plate  110  is divided into the front-side plate  112  and the rear-side plate  114  on the basis of the cut-out portion  111  formed at the central portion thereof. At a portion of the lower plate  110  meeting the side walls  120 , support marginal portions  116  having the almost same thickness as that of the side walls are formed at the both sides of the cut-out portion  111  at the same time when the cut-out portion  111  is formed. 
     A belt position fixing hook  113  is protrusively formed at the front-side plate  112  of the lower plate  110 , and a fixing hole  115  is formed at the rear-side plate  114  of the lower plate  110 . 
     One end of the fixture  200  for fixing the front end portion of the belt ‘B’ to the buckle body  100  is bent roughly perpendicularly, and a serrated portion  210  is formed at the end of the bent portion, so that when the belt ‘B’ is fixed, the front end portion of the belt ‘B’ is tightly fixed to the bottom of the front plate  130 . The serrated portion  210  includes a hinge pin  212 , having a predetermined length, protrusively formed at both ends portion thereof 
     A slanted portion  214  is formed at the other end portion of the fixture  200 , which is bent to have a slope angle to the bottom of the front plate  130 , so that the rear end portion of the belt ‘B’ is smoothly induced into the cut-out portion  111  of the lower plate  110  after the belt is introduced into the belt passage ‘P’ formed between the lower plate  110  and the front plate  130  of the buckle body  100 . 
     The fixing piece  300  for fixing the fixture  200  to the buckle body  100  includes a bottom plate  310  having almost the same size and shape as the rear plate  114  of the lower plate  110  of the buckle body  100 , and a side wall  312  formed bent upwardly at both sides of the bottom plate  310 . 
     At a predetermined portion of the bottom plate  310 , a fixing hole  311  is formed corresponding to the fixing hole  115  formed at the rear-side plate  114  of the lower plate  110  of the buckle body  100 , through which they can be coupled by using a rivet ‘R’. 
     The side wall  312  has an extended portion  314  extended outwardly of the bottom plate  310  and a fixing hole  313  is formed at the lower part of the extended end portion  314 , to which the hinge pins  212  of the fixture are inserted. 
     The belt buckle in accordance with the present invention constructed as described above is fabricated as follows. 
     After the buckle body  100  and the lower plate  110  is cut in a predetermined size, the marginal portions in the lengthy direction are bent to form the side walls  120 . And then, the front plate  130  having a predetermined size is fixedly attached to the upper side of the side wall  120  by welding. 
     Or, a member in a rectangular tube body shape may be integrally formed, of which portions are cut or ground as necessary, thereby fabricating a buckle body. 
     In order to couple the fixture  200  to the buckle body  100 , the serrated portion  210  of the fixture  200  is directed upwardly, that is, toward the lower surface of the front plate  130  of the buckle body  100 , and in this state, when the hinge pins  212  are inserted into the fixing grooves  313  formed at the extended end portions  314  of the side wall  312  of the fixing piece  300  and inserted through the belt passage ‘P’ at the rear side of the buckle body  100 . 
     Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the side walls  312  of the fixing piece  300  are tightly adhered within the side walls  120  of the buckle body  100  and the bottom plate  310  of the fixing piece  300  is tightly adhered on the upper surface of the rear-side plate  114  of the lower plate  110 . 
     At this time, as shown in FIG. 5, the hinge pins  212  of the fixture  200  are shut between the fixing grooves  313  formed at the extended end portion of the side walls  312  of the fixing piece  300  and the support marginal portions  116  formed at the outer side of the cut-out portion  111  of the lower plate  110 , so that, as shown in FIG. 4, the fixture  200  is rotatable downwardly through the cut-out portion  111  on the basis of the hinge pins  212 . 
     In this state, the fixing piece  300  and the lower plate  110  are fixed by the rivet ‘R’ through the fixing holes  311  and  115  formed at the bottom plate  310  of the fixing piece  300  and the rear-side plate  114  of the lower plate  110 , thereby completing assembling of the buckle. 
     In order to fix the belt ‘B’ to the thusly completed buckle, as shown in the virtual line of FIG. 4, the fixture  200  is rotated downwardly through the cut-out portion  111  of the lower plate  110 , so that an opening is formed between the serrated portion  200  of the fixture  200  and the lower surface of the front plate  130 , into which the front end portion of the belt ‘B’ is inserted, and in this state, the fixture  200  is rotated in the opposite direction, that is, toward the front plate  130 . Then, as shown in a solid line of FIG. 4, the front end portion of the belt ‘B’ is fixed into the belt buckle. 
     In this state, when the rear end portion of the belt ‘B’ is inserted through the belt passage ‘P’ of the belt buckle, the rear end portion of the belt ‘B’ is guided to the cut-out portion  111  owing to the slant portion  214  of the fixture  200 . The rear end portion of the belt ‘B’ passing through the cut-out portion  111  is positioned between the fixing end portion of the belt ‘B’, that is, the inner side of the front end portion and the clothes of a user, and the position fixing hole ‘H’ formed at the lower surface of the belt ‘B’ is caught by the hook  113  of the lower plate  110 , so that the belt is stably fixed. 
     FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a cut-out portion of a belt buckle in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention. 
     In this embodiment, extended end portions  420  of a side walls  410  of a fixing piece  400  (only one side is illustrated) is bent inwardly protrusive, forming fixing protrusions  422 , and fixing holes  421  are formed at the fixing protrusions  422 , into which the hinge pins  212  of the fixture  200  are inserted. 
     In order to fix the fixture  200  to the buckle body  100  by using the fixing piece  400 , first, the hinge pin  212  of the fixture  200  is inserted into the fixing hole  421  of the fixing protrusion  422 , and then, likewise in the first embodiment, the fixing piece  400  is inserted through the belt passage ‘P’ of the buckle body  100  and fixed by means of the rivet ‘R’ for coupling. 
     FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a fixing piece in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a fixing hole  315  is formed instead of the fixing groove  313  formed at the extended end portion  314  of the side wall  312  of the fixing piece  300  in the first embodiment. 
     INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY 
     As so far described, according to the belt buckle of the present invention, the hinge pin of the fixture for fixing the belt is not exposed outwardly, so that it won&#39;t damage the body of the user or his or her clothes, as well as improving the outer appearance.