Abstract:
The present invention relates to a detachable style buckle which is detachable from a strap end portion. The detachable end of the strap is attached to a member which is detachably mounted to a buckle body and that can be quickly and reliably detached from the buckle body. The buckle is constructed to releasably retain another strap end portion therein.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    This non-provisional application is based on Provisional Application Serial No. 60/353,238, filed Feb. 1, 2002 for A QUICK RELEASE DETACHABLE BUCKLE. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Straps are commonly used to secure one item to another item, apply loads to items, for example, cinch straps, or for carrying items, for example, the strap on a backpack, briefcase, camera bag or the like. Several forms of devices have been constructed to provide for adjustment of the straps in length and to allow a strap to be separated at ends in a selective manner, to facilitate mounting of an item on an object or person.  
           [0003]    One form of such device is called a ladder type lock buckle which has a strap secured to one end of the buckle. The strap is generally attached in a permanent manner, or through the use of additional fastening devices, can be removably attached to one end of a strap. The ladder type buckle is constructed to receive another strap end therein. Typically, the strap is adjustable in the buckle and the buckle is designed to be self locking on the strap to fix the strap at a predetermined length and/or tension. To loosen the strap, one lifts a tab adjacent to the securement member which allows locking teeth to become disengaged from the strap and the person simply moves the strap within the buckle. Such release is difficult though when the user is wearing gloves. Oftentimes, a stop is provided on the strap to prevent the strap from becoming disengaged completely from the buckle. If a stop is used to prevent the free end of the strap from separating from the buckle and a loop is used to attach the other end of the strap to the buckle then the strap could not be readily released by a wearer of the item. Separating one object from another object connected together with such a buckle and strap arrangement is also difficult.  
           [0004]    Another form of such buckle is the military style belt buckle that is semi-permanently secured to a normally fixed end of a belt (strap) by an over center toothed locking member. The locking member has a small lever portion with a free end engaging the belt webbing when locked in place while allowing separation of the fixed end of the belt from the buckle. This is cumbersome and very difficult to do in an emergency situation or if the user is wearing gloves or the like. The free end of the belt is inserted through the buckle and engaged by a cam toothed roller locking the belt in place with tension in the belt. To release such a buckle, the user pulls the free end of the belt with one hand, releases the locking roller with the other hand and by holding the locking roller in a position of disengagement with the belt webbing, the free end of the belt can be released from the buckle.  
           [0005]    Another type of buckle is a side release buckle. The two halves of the buckle are each attached to a respective strap end. Separation of the buckle halves requires moving two release buttons toward one another with one hand and pulling the buckle halves apart with the other. This is also inconvenient under extreme or emergency conditions.  
           [0006]    While effective, in their typical uses, such buckles do not provide for a quick release when the strap ends need to be readily separated particularly with limited motion of a user&#39;s hand while still providing the convenience of an easy to use buckle allowing easy and sure adjustment of the length of the strap or strap portions.  
         SUMMARY OF INVENTION  
         [0007]    The present invention involves the provision of a strap arrangement utilizing a quick release buckle that has means to allow for detachment of at least one end of a strap normally connected to the buckle from the buckle body facilitating quick and positive separation of the strap ends particularly in emergency situations. The buckle is particularly useful in military applications, rescue and in extreme sport applications. It may be utilized in combination with any product or in any environment where quick detachment is desirable and requires only one hand with simple movement to effect separation. The buckle includes means for retaining one strap end portion in a manner that allows for easy adjustment of strap length by a wearer or user. The buckle also includes a removable pin having a shank extending between the two side rails of the buckle body with the pin having means for releasably retaining the pin attached to the buckle body and adapted for extending through a loop or the like in one strap end. A pull cord may be attached to the pin to facilitate separation of the pin from the buckle body. The cord may also be used as a tether attached to the buckle body, strap or the like, to reduce the risk of losing the pin when separated from the buckle body.  
           [0008]    These and other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the detailed description in connection with the drawings and the appended claims. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
       [0009]    [0009]FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a quick release and detachable buckle.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a buckle connected to a strap having an attached pack.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the buckle taken along the line  3 - 3  of FIG. 2 showing the buckle connected to a strap. 
     
    
       [0012]    Corresponding reference numerals designate like or similar parts throughout the various figures of the drawings.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0013]    The referenced numeral  1  designates generally a buckle comprising a buckle body  3  with a detachable pin  5 . One end  6  of a strap portion  7  is attached to the pin  5  for selective release of retention thereby. A strap portion  9  is engageable with the buckle body  3 . The strap portions  7 ,  9  may be part of a continuous strap or may be strap segments secured to an object  11  such as a backpack, fanny pack, pouch or the like.  
         [0014]    The buckle body  3  includes a pair of spaced apart and generally parallel side rails  13 ,  15  that extend between opposite ends  17 ,  19  of the buckle body. The buckle body  3  includes at least two members extending between the side rails and are shown as cross bars  21 ,  23 . The cross bar  21  is adjacent the end  17  and includes a finger tab  25  that in use overlies the strap portion  9 . The cross bar  23  extends between the side rails  13 ,  15  and is spaced from the bar  21  forming a slot  27  therebetween. The bar  23 , as best seen in FIG. 3, is positioned at an elevation, when viewed in the side view, above the bar  21  to provide a serpentine path for the strap portion  9  to at least partially wrap around from the back side  29  over the top  31  and then under the bottom surface  33  of the bar  21 . The free end  35  of strap portion  9  engages the bottom surface  33  of the cross bar  21 . A member  39  is positioned on the bottom surface  33  and is engageable with the free end  35  to releasably retain tension in the strap portion  9 . In the illustrated structure, the member  39  comprises a plurality of teeth  41  extending in a row across the bar  21  each forming a forwardly facing hook, i.e., facing toward the end  17  that allows a user to pull the free end  35  in a direction from the end  19  toward the end  17 . When the teeth  41  are in engagement with the free end  35 , they resist movement of the free end  35  back through the buckle  1  to maintain tension as is well known in the art.  
         [0015]    A pin  5 , as best seen in FIG. 1, is detachably mounted to the buckle body  3  extending between the side rails  13 ,  15 . In the illustrated structure, the buckle body  3  includes a pair of axially aligned through bores  45 ,  47  that have their axes generally parallel with the longitudinal axis of the bar  23  and generally normal to the side rails  13 ,  15 . Thus, when the pin  5  is installed on the buckle body  3 , its longitudinal axis is also generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the cross bar  23 . In a preferred embodiment, the through bores  45 ,  47  open into inwardly recessed and outwardly opening notches  49 ,  51 , respectively, which are recessed in outside surfaces of the respective side rail  13  or  15 . The notches  49 ,  51  are defined by side surfaces  53  and bottom surfaces  55  with the bottom surfaces  55  defining a ledge or shoulder for a purpose later described.  
         [0016]    The pin  5  includes a shank  57  (FIG. 1 ) that is preferably generally round in cross section and has a tapered end  59  for facilitating moving the shank  57  into and through the bores  45 ,  47 . The shank  57  is generally sized and shaped similar to the bores  45 ,  47  and with a round cross section can rotate within the bores eliminating the need for rotationally orienting the pin  5  relative to the bores. The pin  5  is provided with a retainer  61  that will retain the pin  5  in attached relationship to the buckle body but permit its easy removal preferably with a generally straight line movement via a pulling motion. In a preferred embodiment, the retainer  61  is resiliently biased to an outwardly projecting position. The retainer  61  includes a spring biased ball that moves inwardly when inserting the shank  57  through the bores  45 ,  47 . When the pin  5  is mounted on the buckle body  3 , the retainer  61  will be engageable with one of the surfaces  55  to removably attach the pin  5  to the buckle body  3 .  
         [0017]    A grip, designated generally  63 , is secured to the shank  57  to provide a user means to easily pull the pin  5  and detach it from the buckle body  3  by moving the shank  57  longitudinally out through the bores  45 ,  47 . In a preferred embodiment, the grip  63  includes a split ring  65  that extends through a through hole  67  adjacent an end  69  of the shank  57 . A flexible cord  71  is secured to the ring  65 . The cord  71  can be made out of woven fibers similar to shoe string material and can be tied at opposite ends  73 ,  75  thereof to form a loop  76 . The cord  71  can be attached to, for example, the buckle body  3 , strap end  7  or other member, that will not impede pin detachment and will help prevent loss of the pin  5  when it is not attached in the buckle body  3 .  
         [0018]    When the pin  5  is retained in the buckle body  3 , it is preferred that the distance D from the inside edge of the retainer  61  and the free end  59  be less than or approximately equal to the depth D 1  of the notches  49 ,  51 . This will help prevent inadvertently detaching or partially detaching the pin  5  from the buckle body  3  by pushing on the end  59 . Although the end  59  may extend outwardly of the outer sides of the side rails  13  or  15  so long as the projection does not exceed the thickness T of the side rail at the bores  45 ,  47  the risk of accidental detachment is reduced. Axial movement of the shank  57  through the bores  45 ,  47  is limited in one direction by engagement of the ring  65  with one of the surfaces  55 . The use of the ring  65  as a stop would require rotational orientation of the pin  5  to ensure that the ring will go into a notch  49  or  51 . To eliminate this rotational orientation issue, the shank  57  may alternatively be provided with a protuberance (shown in phantom in FIG. 1 as  78 ) projecting radially outwardly from the shank  57  to fit within one of the notches  49  or  51  for engagement with a surface  55 . Such a protuberance could be a C-ring secured in a groove or a pin secured in a hole and projecting generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the shank  57 . Other forms of stops may be provided as are known in the art. Also, only one notch  49  or  51  could be provided but then the pin  5  could only be inserted from one side of the buckle body  3  to shield the end  59 . The distance D 3  from the stop to the free end is such as to accommodate the above described extension of the end  59  through the buckle body to a degree to help prevent accidental detachment of the member from the buckle body. The end  19  is formed by a cross bar  80 . The bar  80  and the bar  23  form a second slot  79 . Slot  79  provides an opening for a strap portion  7  to be fed around and over pin  5  and for the strap portion to exit the rear end of the buckle body. The surface  81  of the cross bar  80  is at an elevation below that of bars  23  to produce a torque or moment about the longitudinal axis of pin  5  to help teeth  41  engage the free end  35  of the strap portion  9 .  
         [0019]    The strap portion  7  includes a loop  83  through which the pin  5  extends to secure the buckle body  3  in a detachable manner. The loop  83  may be formed by overlapping the strap material and sewing, forming a permanent loop. However, it is to be understood that a slide buckle or other fastening device may also be used to form the loop  83 .  
         [0020]    While the foregoing describes a preferred embodiment of the present invention, alternatives of two described embodiments may be provided, for example, a through hole  85  may be provided in the bar  21 . Such a hole  85  may be utilized for the attachment of a cord or strap to help facilitate release of tension in straps when held in tension by the buckle  1 . Also, one of the bores  45  or  47  may be a blind bore having a bottom whereby it does not extend completely through a side rail. A circumferential and radially outwardly extending groove may be provided inside the blind bore to receive retainer  61  therein. The groove would form a shoulder functionally similar to the shoulder formed by the surface  55 . Alternately, the bore could extend through a side rail to facilitate manufacture and still be provided with such a circumferentially and radially outwardly extending groove. A further alternate is to provide a catch  87  on the free end of strap end  9  to prevent separation of the buckle  1  from strap portion  9 . The catch  87 , as shown, is formed by folding the strap onto itself forming two or more layers of material and sewing the overlapped material.  
         [0021]    Thus, there has been shown and described several embodiments of a novel quick release and detachable buckle. As is evident from the foregoing description, certain aspects of the present invention are not limited by the particular details of the examples illustrated herein and it is therefore contemplated that other modifications and applications, or equivalents thereof, will occur to those skilled in the art. Many changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications of the present constructions will, however, become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering the specification and the accompanying drawings. All such changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention are deemed to be covered by the invention which is limited only by the claims which follow.