Band mounting apparatus for a diving fin

A band mounting for a diving fin is provided to fix a foot on a diving fin body. The construction of the mounting enables one to draw freely on an end of the band in its fastening direction while enabling a user to firmly lock the end of the band in its loosening direction.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention relates to a band mounting means for a diving fin which is 
mounted to fix a foot on a diving fin body. More particularly, the present 
invention makes it possible to draw freely on an end of the band in its 
fastening direction while it is possible to firmly lock the end of the 
band in its loosening direction. In addition, it is easy to dismount and 
assemble the body when exchanging parts. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
It is known that a foot inserting portion of a submarine or diving fin is, 
at its one side and the other side respectively, provided with a band 
mounting member, so that one end and the other end of a band can be locked 
or unlocked by the band mounting members. 
According to a conventional band mounting member when fixing a foot firmly 
on the submarine fin, it is required to pull an end of the band freely in 
a fastening direction, while to lock the band firmly in a loosening 
direction of it. Further, the aforesaid band mounting member has such a 
structure that even during an operation in water a foot cannot be detached 
from the diving fin due to loosening of the band or the band can be 
loosened easily when removing the diving fin. 
More specifically such band mounting member comprises two parallel pins 
disposed between a leftside wall and a rightside wall of a body frame. 
Each pin is fixed, at an external side of both the leftside and rightside 
walls of the body frame, with the body frame by means of an E-clip. One of 
the two pins is provided with a band lock plate having a belt provided 
with a plurality of tapered lugs equally spaced with each other. The lock 
plate includes a pawl to be engaged with the lugs of the belt. When 
drawing the belt in a fastening direction, its pawl and the lug are 
disengaged from each other. It is possible to fasten the band freely. 
Particularly, when detaching the fin from a foot, it is possible to 
disengage the pawl freely from the lug of the belt, thereby drawing the 
belt in its loosening direction. 
As discussed above, the band mounting member of such a conventional diving 
fin enables a firm fixature of the fin with the foot only by drawing an 
end of the band in its fastening direction during a subsea working. Thus, 
loosening of the band is not possible, and it is very easy to dismount the 
fin on the ground. 
The band of such diving fins are mainly fabricated of a rubber material or 
the like. As this band is being repeatedly fastened or loosened, it is apt 
to be fatigued. In addition, it is used in the water. Accordingly, it is 
necessary to replace a worn, used band with a new band prior to the 
fatigue of the used band. Further, there is the possibility that a band 
may be injured or broken, during the subsea working, due to its contact 
with a rock on the sea bed. In that case, it is required to immediately 
replace the broken band with a new band. 
When replaced with a new band, the pins fixed on the frame must be 
dismounted by separating the E-clips by means of a tool. After a new band 
has been mounted, the two pins must be again inserted into the frame and 
fixed by the E-clips by means of such a tool. 
As described above, because the two pins respectively are fixed by a small 
E-clip, it is very cumbersome to mount or dismount such E-clips one after 
another. In addition, it is difficult to replace with a new band without 
using the tool. Therefore, it has been demanded to exchange the band more 
quickly and easier. Further, since the E-clips are disposed outside the 
frame, during the subsea working they may be damaged easily. Thus, there 
may arise the possibility that the fixation of the pins may be unstable or 
the pins may be slipped off due to the damage of the E-clips, thereby the 
band mounting member may be malfunctioned. Thus, a firm fixation of the 
pins has been demanded. 
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a band mounting 
means for diving fins, in which the pins can be dismounted or assembled 
easily and quickly when exchanging the band, and the band can be firmly 
fixed with a main body frame. 
More specifically, the band mounting means of a diving fin comprises a band 
for fixing a foot in a foot inserting portion of the diving fin; said band 
being supported between one side and the other side of the foot inserting 
portion; a first pin for rotating the band within a body frame; and a 
second pin for supporting a locking member for locking or unlocking said 
band in a fastening direction Y or in a loosening direction Z under a 
constantly closed pressure by a spring; so that the first and second pins 
are being fixed with the body frame. 
The band mounting means is characterized in that when inserting the first 
pin and the second pin into the body frame, the first and second pins 
respectively are provided with a first groove and a second groove so as to 
be positioned within a gap between the body frame and the locking member, 
and a single pin stopper plate is removably disposed in the gap. 
Further, one side of the pin stopper plate is provided with a smaller hole 
than the diameter of the second pin and the smaller hole is communicated 
with an edge and a cutaway portion of the pin stopper plate. While the 
other side of the pin stopper plate is provided with a larger hole and a 
smaller hole than the diameter of the first pin, and the larger and 
smaller hole, is communicated with each other through a path, and the 
smaller hole is communicated with the edge. The cutaway portion and the 
cutaway portion and the path are formed contrary relative to a drawing 
direction X of the pin stopper plate, while the cutaway portion is formed 
in a sideward direction. 
Other and further objects and features of this invention will more fully be 
understood from the following description of embodiments with reference to 
the accompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
Preferred embodiments of this invention will now be described with 
reference to FIGS. 1 to 6. 
In FIGS. 1A and 1B. numeral 1 denotes a mounting body which is fixed with 
one side of and the other side of a foot inserting portion 3 formed on a 
rear part of a submarine fin 2. The mounting body 1 is effective to hold a 
foot on the diving fin 2 by means of a band 6. 
In FIG. 2 numeral 9 denotes a body frame consituting the mounting body 1, 
and a horizontal section of the body frame 9 is of a nearly concave shape 
as shown in FIG. 5. 
The frame 9 is, at its left-side and right-side walls, provided with first 
pin holes 12, 12 and second pin holes 13, 13, where the first pin holes 
12, 12 are effective to insert therein a first pin 10 to wind the band 6, 
while the second pin holes 13, 13 are effective to insert therein a second 
pin 11 to lock or unlock the band. 
To introduce the band 8 into the mounting body 1, a rotary member 15 is 
pivoted about the first pin 10 wherein a first band inserting opening 18 
and a second band feeding opening 17 are provided at the first pin for 
winding the band 8. The band 6 is introduced into the mounting body 1 from 
the band inserting opening 16 then bound about the pin 10 and the rotary 
member 15 and fed out through the second band feeding opening 17. 
In order to lock or unlock the band 6 as introduced above, the second pin 
11 is provided with a locking ember 20 pivotted swingingly on the second 
pin 11. The locking member 20 comprises a locking pawl 21 of convex form 
projected inwardly of the frame 9, and the locking pawl 21 is positioned 
in the rear portion of the diving fin 2. The locking pawl 21 is pressed 
downwardly on a bottom surface 8 of the frame 9 by means of a spring which 
is disposed between an end 22 of the locking member 20 and the bottom 
surface of the frame. Further, the band 6 comprises a plurality of tapered 
lugs 6' equally spaced from each other. 
Each of the pins 10, 11 is, as shown in FIG. 2, provided with groove 10a 
and 10b respectively to fix them in the frame 9. As shown in FIG. 4, when 
inserting the pins 10 and 11 into the frame 9, the grooves 10a and 11a are 
formed so that they can be positioned in a gap 30 between the frame 9 and 
the locking member 20. 
As shown in FIG. 5, there is shown a single pin stopper plate 31 which is 
disposed in the gap 30 between the frame 9 and the locking plate 20. The 
pin stopper plate 31 is engaged with the grooves 10a, 11a in order to fix 
the pins 10, 11. 
The structure of the pin stopper plate 31 will now be described with 
reference to FIG. 6. 
The pin stopper plate 31 is, at its one end, provided with a smaller hole 
32 to be fit for the first groove 10a of the first pin 10, as well as with 
a larger hole 33. The diameter of the hole 32 is smaller than that of the 
pin 10. Further, the smaller hole 32 is communicated with the larger hole 
by way of a path 34. The smaller hole 32 is open for a cutaway portion 35 
having an edge 36. The other end of the pin stopper plate 31 is a hole 37 
which is smaller than the diameter of the second pin 11. The hole 37 is 
open for a cutaway portion 38. The path 34 and the cutaway 35 at one end 
of the pin stopper plate 31 are formed in a contrary relative to a drawing 
direction of the pin stopper plate 31 as shown by as arrow X. The cutaway 
portion 38 formed at the other end of the pin stopper plate 31 is formed 
sideways relative to the drawing direction of the pin stopper plate 31. 
The smaller holes 32 and 37 as well as the cutaway portions 35 and 38 are 
formed to be enlarged toward the edge 36. 
As described above, since the pin stopper plate 31 is disposed between the 
frame 9 and the locking member 20, a grip portion 39 is formed to draw out 
the plate 31. When mounting the body 1 having such construction on the 
diving fin 2, both sides 4 and 5 of the diving in 2 must be perforated, 
and a screw receiving member 51 is inserted into two holes inwardly of the 
foot inserting portion 3. On the other hand, there are formed two holes 50 
on a bottom surface 96 of the frame 9. Thus, the screw receiving member 51 
inserted into two holes 50 are firmly screwed and fixed with two screws 
53, 53 by way of a washer. A motion of this embodiment will be described. 
When replacing with a new band or disassembling some mounting members, it 
is required to draw a pin stopper plate 31 to fit in the pins 10 and 11, 
in the gap between the frame 9 and the rocking member 20. On the other 
hand, since the cutaway portion 38 engaged with the second pin 11 is 
formed sideways relative to a drawing direction X, one end of the pin 
stopper plate 31 cannot be separated from the second pin 11. On the other 
hand, since the cutaway portions 34, 35 in which the first pin is inserted 
are disposed contrary relative to a drawing direction X, the other end of 
the pin stopper plate 31 is separated from the first pin 10. 
As shown in FIG. 7, a free end of the pin stopper plate 31 is rotatable 
about the first pin 11. Due to this rotation the cutaway portion 38 is 
positioned contrary relative to the drawing direction, thereby one end of 
the pin stopper plate 31 is separated from the second pin. When the pin 
stopper plate 31 has completely been drawn out, the first pin 10 and 
second pin 11 are not supported by any fixing means, so that they are 
completely separated from the frame 8. Accordingly, it is easy to mount or 
dismount the locking member 20 and the band 6. In this way, only by 
drawing the pin stopper plate 31, it becomes possible to dismount the two 
pins 10, 11 and disassemble the body. 
When assembling the body, the first and second pins 10, 11 are inserted 
into the pin holes 12, 13. Because the two pins are not fixed by any 
means, they have to be supported by hand. After that, one end of the the 
pin stopper plate 31 is to be inserted into the gap between the frame 9 
and the locking member 20, while the cutaway portion 38 is engaged with 
the second pin 11. 
The holes 32 and 38 to be engaged with the first and second pins 10 and 11 
respectively are communicated with the cutaway portions 35 and 38 which 
are diverged gradually in a peripheral direction, so that the first and 
second pins 10 and 11 are engaged with the smaller holes 32, 37. Thus, the 
pin stopper plate 31 is rotatable about the second pin 11 as a fulcrum. 
Therefore, an end of the pin stopper plate 31 can be directed to the first 
pin 10 by the guide of the second pin 11. When pressing the end of the pin 
stopper plate 31, the first pin 32 is firmly inserted into the hole 33 by 
the resilience of the smaller hole 32 and the path 34. The pin stopper 
plate 31 is between the frame 9 and the locking member 20, and in 
addition, the grooves 10a, 11a of the first and second pins 10, 11 
respectively are forcibly engaged with the smaller holes 32, 37. 
Accordingly, the pin stopper plate 31 cannot be separated without drawing 
out it. Further, since the pin stopper plate 31 is positioned inside the 
frame 7, it can never be damaged and support the first and second pins 10, 
11 strongly. 
As described previously the band 6 is provided with a plurality of tapered 
lugs 6' equally spaced with each other. The locking pawl 21 of the locking 
member 20 is always pressed downwardly by the spring 25, so that it is 
engaged with the lug 6' under pressure. Thus, when drawing the band to in 
a fastening direction of the band 6 as shown by arrow Y, the locking pawl 
6' and the tapered lug 6' are disengaged from each other, and the pawl 6' 
is engaged with a pawl lug 6'. Therefore, even when drawing the band 6 in 
a loosening direction as shown by arrow Z, the pawl 21 cannot be 
disengaged from the lug 6', so that the band 6 is firmly locked. Thus, the 
band 6 can be drawn only in a fastening direction Y. 
When a user does not want to loosen the band 6, its pawl 21 cannot be 
pressed by the spring 25 by pressing the end 22 of the locking member 20 
downwardly, thereby the pawl 21 is separated from the band 6. Thus, the 
pawl 21 is disengaged from the tapered lug 6'. 
The function of this invention will now be described. 
When exchanging the band and dismounting parts, it is required to draw the 
pin stopper plate 31 engaged with the first and second pins 10, 11, which 
stopper plate is disposed between the frame 9 and the locking member 20. 
Since the cutaway portion 38 engaged with the second pin 11 is formed 
sideways against a drawing direction X, one end of the pin stopper plate 
31 cannot be separated from the second pin 11. However, since the cut away 
portions 34, 35 engaged with the first pin 10 are formed contrary relative 
to a drawing direction X, the other end of the pin stopper plate 31 is 
separated from the first pin 10. A free end of the pin stopper plate 31 is 
rotated about the second pin 11 as a fulcrum. Due to this rotation, the 
cutaway portion 37 is positioned contrary to a drawing direction X, as a 
result of which the one end of the pin stopper plate 31 is separated from 
the second pin 11. When the pin stopper plate 31 has completely been drawn 
out the first and second pins 10, 11 are not secured by any fixing means, 
so that they are slipped off from the frame 9. Therefore, it is free to 
mount or dismount the band 8 and the locking member 20. In this way 
dismounting of the two pins 10, 11 and disassembling of the body can be 
carried out easily. 
In assembling, the first and second pins 10, 11 must be inserted, 
supporting them by band. One end of the pin stopper plate 31 is inserted 
into the gap 30 between the frame and the locking member 20, and the 
cutaway portion 38 is engaged with the second pin 11. The cutaway portion 
38 is rotated about the second pin 11 as a fulcrum. Therefore, the other 
end of the pin stopper plate 31 reaches the first pin 10 by the guide of 
the second pin 11. When pressing the plate 31, the cutaway portions 34, 35 
are enlarged by the resilience of the holes 32, 33, thereby the first pin 
10 are inserted therein. 
Disassembling is also simple. The pin stopper plate 31 is inserted into the 
gap 30 between the frame 9 and the locking member 20, and in addition, the 
smaller holes 32, 37 are, under pressure, engaged with the grooves 10a, 
11a of the first and second pins 10, 11. Thus, the pin stopper plate 31 
cannot be slipped off. Still further, since it is disposed inside the body 
frame 9, it can never be damaged and can support the two pins 10, 11 
strongly. 
As discussed previously, the band mounting means of a diving fin according 
to this invention provides a very easy dismounting and assembling of the 
body. 
More specifically, it is unnecessary to fix the first pin for winding the 
band and the second pin for supporting the locking member by means of 
respective small E-clips. According to this invention, the above two pins 
can be fixed by means of a single pin stopper plate without using any 
tool. Further, it is very easy to exchange the used band and mount or 
dismount the two pins. 
Further, one end of the pin stopper plate is provided with a smaller hole 
than the diameter of the second pin, and the smaller hole is communicated 
with a cutaway portion. On the other hand, the other end thereof is 
provided with a smaller hole and a larger hole than the diameter of the 
first pin, and both the smaller and larger holes are communicated with two 
cutaway portions as well as an edge of the pin stopper plate. The two 
cutaway portions are formed contrary to a drawing direction of the pin 
stopper plate, while the other cutaway portion is formed in a sidewise 
direction of the pin stopper plate. Thus, when the second pin is engaged 
with the other cutaway portion, a free end of the pin stopper plate is 
rotatable and can firmly be engaged and fixed with the first pin by guide 
of the second pin. The first pin can be engaged with the larger pin by the 
resilience of the smaller hole. Accordingly, the pin stopper plate cannot 
be slipped off. 
Still further, since the pin stopper plate can be disposed between the 
frame body and the locking member, it can never be damaged due to any 
external force and can be secured firmly by means of the two pins. 
Thus, the present invention exhibits various useful effects and practical 
advantages.