Abstract:
A belt adjuster including a base having a bottom with two guides on two opposing sides; an adjustable support located on the base and having a support body with stops; slippers are provided within the support body; a spring is located between said two slippers, and at least one press piece controlling said slippers is provided at opposing sides and above the support body; a top cover is located above the adjustable support; and two belts pass separately through holes in the base, the adjustable support and the top. The slippers selectively are movable between locked and released positions.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to a belt adjuster, more specifically a device used for loosening or fastening the belts of a belt adjuster by pressing a press piece, which is attached to a head-wearing device, such as diving frog goggles.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     There are many kinds of common head-wearing devices, such as headbands, helmets, frog goggles, goggles, etc. The primary requirements for these head-wearing devices are that they must be comfortable and be adjustable to meet varying head girths. The degree of comfort could be improved by being able to properly adjust a size of the head-wearing device.  
         [0003]     For example, in frog goggles a belt adjuster is absolutely necessary. In the prior art, the belt adjuster is located on both sides of the frog goggles, where the user can adjust the tightness of the belt from at least one side. However, such belts must be respectively adjusted from both sides according to the art. Therefore, it is not convenient, and the belt adjuster on both sides requires some components which impact the design of both sides of the head-wearing device. At the same time, when the belt adjuster is located in both sides, the volume of diving frog goggles is thus enlarged, making them inconvenient.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0004]     The object of the present invention is to provide a belt adjuster that is adjustable at one location.  
         [0005]     The objective of the present invention is to resolve the problems discussed above. The present invention includes a belt adjuster having a base with a bottom with two on both sides; an adjustable support located on the base and having a support body with holes are located on both sides of the support body; two slippers are located between the holes; a spring is located between the two slippers, and at least one press piece controlling the slippers is provided at a side of the support body; a top covers the adjustable support, holes are located on both sides of the top; and two belts pass separately through the holes on the base, the adjustable support and the top.  
         [0006]     The main object is that the adjustable support, two corresponding press pieces and the top are provided in order to easily adjust the belt length. By controlling the press pieces of two sides with one hand, the belt can be loosened and tightened as desired, and locked in the predetermined position when the two press pieces are released. The motion for adjusting the tightness of the belt thus is finished when the belt is fastened by the slippers inside of the adjustable support.  
         [0007]     A first end of the belt is passes through the belt adjuster of the present invention and a second end is located on the belted article, such as frog goggles. The belt adjuster does not have to be located on a side of the article, which allows for more design variation.  
         [0008]     The belt adjuster of the present invention can be positioned on a back of an article and adjusters located on both sides according to the prior art can be eliminated. Also the size of the design can be reduced and the operation for adjusting the belt can be performed by a simple pressing action. The present invention can be applied to, but not limited to, diving frog goggles, goggles, flippers and headlights.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0009]      FIG. 1  is an exploded view of the belted adjuster for the present invention;  
         [0010]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the belted adjuster for the present invention;  
         [0011]      FIG. 3  is a cross sectional view of the belted adjuster for the present invention;  
         [0012]      FIG. 4  is a longitudinal cross sectional view of the belted adjuster for the present invention;  
         [0013]      FIG. 5  is a longitudinal sectional view of the belted adjuster for the present invention; and,  
         [0014]      FIG. 6  is an exploded view of another embodiment of the belted adjuster of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0015]     The present invention includes a base  10 , an adjustable support  20 , two press pieces  30 , a top  40  and two belts  50 , as shown in  FIGS. 1, 2  and  3 .  
         [0016]     Generally, the belt adjuster is not limited to the use of a head-wearing device, such as frog goggles, but can be widely used with a variety of articles that use a belt. The base  10  can be a plate-like body or it can be contoured. Frog goggles, for example, have a bottom that presses against a user&#39;s head, more specifically, contact a back of a head. For some applications a cambered bottom surface, i.e., a surface pressing against the user&#39;s head when worn is preferable. Further, the material can be made of soft and tough materials. A structure used for locating the adjustable support is provided on the upper surface.  
         [0017]     The base  10  has a bottom  11 , two parallel projections  12  that are spaced apart and extend above the bottom  11 , two guides  13  located on opposing ends of the bottom  11 , two related curved grooves  14  located on opposing sides of the bottom  11  at a middle of the two projections  12 , and a base bolt  15  passing through a hole  12   a  in each of the two projections  12 .  
         [0018]     The adjustable support  20  includes a support body  21 , two slippers  22 , a spring  23 , and two press pieces  30 , all of which are connected with the top  40  and form an integrated structure.  
         [0019]     The support body  21  is a box-like structure, which includes two wings  211  extending downwardly, two stops  214 , two belt holes  212  and a plurality of guide holes  213 . Each of the two wings  211  has a wing hole  211   a  corresponding to and aligning with the holes  12   a  of the projections  12 . The two wings  211  are located in the curved grooves  14 , and the support body  21  is connected to the base  10  by the base bolt  15  which is inserted through holes  12   a  and wing holes  211   a.    
         [0020]     The two holes  212  are located on the support body  21  for the belt  50  to pass through. One of the two stops  214  is located above and adjacent to one of the two belt holes  212 . The guide holes  213  located in both sides of the support body  21  are used to locate the press pieces  30 .  
         [0021]     The slippers  22  are located within the support body  21 . The belts  50  are passed through the holes  212  and respectively controlled by the slippers  22  pressing the belts  50  against the support body. Each slipper  22  has a slope  221 , seizing angles  222  and projections  223 ; a spring is located on the projections  223  between two slippers  22 , and the spring  23  pushes the slippers  22  outwardly to a locked position. The belt  50  is inserted into the seizing angle  222  of each slipper  22 . The slippers  22  can be pressed inwardly against the spring  23  to move from the locked position to a released position.  
         [0022]     Each press piece  30  includes a platen  31  for pressing, two strips  32  located through the two guide holes  213  on one side of the support body  21 . A controlling plate  33  located above the slippers  22  is used for suppressing the slippers  22 . Inclined walls  321  of the two strips are located at the interactive position with the slope  221  of the slippers  22 .  
         [0023]     The top  40  is connected to the adjustable support  20 , and two holes  41  exist through the top  40 , corresponding with the holes  212 , and the belts  50  can be passed through the two holes  41 .  
         [0024]     Each of the belts  50  is inserted through one of the guide holes  13 , passes upwardly through one of the holes  212  of the adjustable support  20 , between one of the two stops  214  and the seizing angles  222  of one of the two slippers  22 , and through one hole  41  of the top  40 . The belt can be pulled when the slippers  20  are moved from the locked position to the released position.  
         [0025]     Referring to  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5 , the press piece  30  can be two parts which are oppositely located on the support body  21  and can be respectively pressed by two fingers at the same time. When pressing the platen  31 , the strips  32  move in the guide holes  213 , the inclined walls  321  are forced against the slope  221 , the controlling plates  33  push against a top of the slipper  22 , and the two slippers  22  are forced to move inwardly. At the same time the spring  23  is compressed, and the belt  50  is in a released position and can be adjusted. When the pressure on the platen  31  is released, the spring presses the two slippers outwardly and the belts  50  are positioned between the stops  214  and the seizing angles  222  of the slippers  22 .  
         [0026]     In use when the belt  50  is fastened to a head, one can press the two press pieces  30  with two fingers in opposite directions, and pull or release the two belts  50  to select a desired tightness with another hand. Once the position is selected, the two press pieces  30  are released and the compressed spring  23  pushes against the slipper  22  via its restoring force, which makes the seizing angle  222  forced on the belt  50 , and then the belt  50  is fastened in its tightening state.  
         [0027]     Another embodiment is shown in  FIG. 6 , wherein the essential function and structure of the following parts, such as a base  10 ′, an adjustable support  20 ′, a press piece  30 ′, and a top  40 ′ are the same as the above-mentioned belted adjuster. In addition, the slipper  22 ′ and the spring  23 ′ have also similar functions and constitution as the slipper  22  and the spring  23 .  
         [0028]     However, the belt  60  is provided with unilateral ratchet-shaped projections  61 , and a flange  22 ′ a  is located on the slipper  22 ′, which engages selected projections  61 . When the press piece  30 ′ is pressed, the flanges  22 ′ a  of slipper  22 ′ exit from engagement with the projections  61 , and the belt  60  can be adjusted. When the belt is in a desired location and no force is supplied on the press piece  30 ′, the projections  61  of belt  60  engage the flanges  22 ′ a  thereby locking the belt  60  in place.  
         [0029]     The press pieces  30 ,  30 ′ shown in above-mentioned embodiments can also be designed as a single structure with similar function, i.e., which is not limited to the said embodiment.  
         [0030]     The adjustable support  20  is a structure located on the base  10  and it is not limited to the aforesaid structure. The base  10  could have a shape meeting a variety of heads, but the adjustable support  20  and the base  10  can be formed as a single component.  
         [0031]     The disclosed embodiments of the present invention are only the preferred embodiments. Any minor changes or modifications partially or wholly to the present invention conducted by other professional and made publicly known or familiar shall be deemed to be derived from the present inventive concept and will be within the scope of the claims of the present invention.