Abstract:
A belt buckle which has an indentation on the front surface accommodating a removable cap element held by magnetic attraction. The indentation has a stepwise bottom surface for easy removal of the cap element. In an alternative embodiment, the indentation accommodates a removable carrier member capable of integrating various functions such as electronic clock or remote control. The carrier member in turn has an indentation for removably holding a cap element by magnetic attraction. The carrier member&#39;s indentation has a stepwise bottom surface for easy removal of the cap element.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE 
       [0001]    This is a continuation in part of the co-pending patent application Ser. No. 11/755,745, filed May 31, 2007. 
     
    
     (a) TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention generally relates to belt buckles, and more particularly to a belt buckle having a removable cap element. 
       (b) DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 
       [0003]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , a conventional belt  1  has a belt buckle  12  fixedly attached to an end of a belt member  11 . The other end of the belt member  11  is then locked to the belt buckle  12  for fastening the belt  1  around the waist. The basic structure of the belt just described has not been changed for a very long time. Variations are usually centered around the material used for the belt member  11 , how the belt buckle  12  locks the tip of the belt member  11 , or the ornamental design of the belt buckle  12 . 
         [0004]    Park (U.S. Pat. No. 6,142,348) discloses a buckle which comprises: a decoration part having a belt clamp used for clamping the buckle to a belt; a hooking post formed on a position opposite to the clamp and used for selectively fastening two ends of the belt together; a first through-opening formed on the decoration part; a marker seat formed by a rib horizontally extending across the first through-opening while leaving upper and lower through-openings inside the first through-opening of the seat relative to the rib, the rib also carrying a first magnet and acting as a point of application during a levering motion for detaching the marker from the seat; and a golf ball marker provided with a second magnet having a magnetic polarity opposite to that of the first magnet, the marker being magnetically and detachably seatable on the marker seat of the decoration part. However, it is very difficult to remove the marker from the buckle. 
         [0005]    Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a multi-function belt buckle which can obviate and mitigate the above-mentioned drawbacks. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    A major objective of the present invention is to provide a novel belt buckle which has an indentation on the front surface accommodating a removable cap element held by magnetic attraction. The indentation has a stepwise bottom surface for easy removal of the cap element. 
         [0007]    Another major objective of the present invention is to provide a novel belt buckle which has an indentation on the front surface accommodating a removable carrier member capable of integrating various function such as electronic clock and remote control. The carrier member in turn has an indentation for removably holding a cap element by magnetic attraction. The carrier member&#39;s indentation has a stepwise bottom surface for easy removal of the cap element. 
         [0008]    The foregoing objectives and summary provide only a brief introduction to the present invention. To fully appreciate these and other objects of the present invention as well as the invention itself, all of which will become apparent to those skilled in the art, the following detailed description of the invention and the claims should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Throughout the specification and drawings identical reference numerals refer to identical or similar parts. 
         [0009]    Many other advantages and features of the present invention will become manifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to the detailed description and the accompanying sheets of drawings in which a preferred structural embodiment incorporating the principles of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative example. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is a perspective diagram showing a conventional belt buckle. 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is a perspective diagram showing a belt buckle according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is a perspective exploded diagram showing the various components of the belt buckle of  FIG. 2 . 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  is a sectional diagram showing the belt buckle of  FIG. 2 . 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  is a sectional diagram showing how the cap element of the belt buckle of  FIG. 2  is removed. 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  is a perspective exploded diagram showing the various components of a belt buckle according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0016]      FIG. 6A  illustrates the structure of the indentation; 
           [0017]      FIG. 7  is a sectional diagram showing the belt buckle of  FIG. 6 . 
           [0018]      FIG. 8  is a sectional diagram showing how the cap element of the belt buckle of  FIG. 6  is removed. 
           [0019]      FIG. 9  is a perspective exploded diagram showing the various components of a belt buckle according to a third embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0020]      FIG. 10  is a sectional diagram showing the belt buckle of  FIG. 9 . fourth embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0021]      FIG. 12  is a perspective exploded diagram showing the various components of the belt buckle of  FIG. 11 . 
           [0022]      FIG. 13  is a sectional diagram showing the belt buckle of  FIG. 11 . 
           [0023]      FIG. 14  is a perspective diagram showing an electronic clock is provided in the belt buckle of  FIG. 11 . 
           [0024]      FIG. 15  is a perspective diagram showing a remote control is provided in the belt buckle of  FIG. 11 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0025]    The following descriptions are exemplary embodiments only, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the following description provides a convenient illustration for implementing exemplary embodiments of the invention. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made in the function and arrangement of the elements described without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. 
         [0026]    As shown in  FIGS. 2 ,  3 , and  4 , a belt buckle  2  according to an embodiment of the present invention has an indentation  21  on the front surface of the body of the belt buckle  2 . The bottom surface of the indentation  21  is divided into two parts of substantially equal sizes, a first bottom  22  having a greater depth and a second bottom  23  having a smaller depth. A magnet  3  is fixedly positioned in the center of the indentation  21  at where the first and second bottoms  22  and  23  interface with each other. 
         [0027]    The indentation  21  allows the accommodation of a cap element  4 . Another magnet  41  is fixedly embedded on the bottom surface of the cap element  4 . The magnet  41  has a polarity opposite to that of the magnet  3  and is positioned such that, when the cap element  4  is placed inside the indentation  21 , the magnets  3  and  41  are next to each other. The magnetic attraction between the magnets  3  and  41  therefore removably holds the cap element  4  inside the indentation  21 . The front surface of the cap element  4  can have an ornamental pattern  42  such as a company, club, or team logo or even a picture for enhanced appearance. 
         [0028]    As shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , when the cap element  4  is placed inside the indentation  21 , a gap is reserved between the bottom surface of the cap element  4  and the first bottom  22 . As such, by pressing the part of the cap element  4  above the gap, the other part of the cap element  4  will be raised out of the indentation  21 . The cap element  4  therefore can be easily removed from the indentation  21 . In the present embodiment, the cap element  4  is very much like a coin and therefore can be used in various occasions as a substitute. For example, on the golf course, it can be used by a golfer to mark the position of the golf ball. For another example, in the supermarket, it can be used as a substitute for a coin to retrieve a chained shopping cart. 
         [0029]    As shown in  FIGS. 6 ,  6 A and  7 , in another embodiment of the present invention, the indentation  21  is formed of two intersecting circles and dimensioned to receive the cap element  4 . The bottom surface of the indentation  21  again contains a deeper first bottom  22  and a shallower second bottom  23 . In addition, the bottom surface of the indentation  21  further contains a narrow third bottom  24  between the first bottom  22  and the circumference of the indentation  21 . The third bottom  24  is as high as the second bottom  23 . The magnet  3  is configured slightly close to the third bottom  23 , i.e. the magnet  3  is not mounted at the center of the indentation  21 . As such, when the cap element  4  is placed inside the indentation  21 , the magnetic attraction would automatically draw the cap element  4  to rest on the second and third bottoms  23  and  24 . In this way, the cap element  4  will not be accidentally removed from the indentation  21  as its edge is supported by the third bottom  24 . To remove the cap element  4  in the present embodiment, the user slides the cap element  4  away from the third bottom  24  so that a part of the cap element  4  is entirely above the first bottom  22 . Then, by pressing the part of the cap element  4  above the first bottom  22 , as shown in  FIG. 8 , the other part of the cap element  4  is raised out of the indentation  21  for easy removal of the cap element  4 . 
         [0030]    In another embodiment of the present invention as shown in  FIGS. 9 and 10 , the indentation  21  has a flat bottom surface, instead of a stepwise bottom surface as in the previous embodiments. A rod  28  having an embedded magnet (not shown) is provided in the center of the indentation  21 . As such, the cap element  4  can be held on top of the rod  28 . A user can press any part of the cap element  4  other than the center to raise an opposite part of the cap element  4  for easy removal. 
         [0031]    In yet another embodiment of the present invention as shown in  FIGS. 11 and 12 , the belt buckle  2  has an indentation  25  on the front surface of the body. The indentation  25  is extended to two opposing sides of the belt buckle  2  via two aligned troughs  26 , respectively. On the flat bottom surface of the indentation  25 , at least a magnet  27  is provided so as to attract and hold a carrier member  5  inside the indentation  25 . The carrier member  5  can also be held inside the indentation  25  by other means such as clamping in alternative embodiments. The carrier member  5  has an indentation  51  on the front surface. The bottom surface of the indentation  51  is, like the previous embodiments, divided into two parts of substantially equal sizes, a first bottom  52  having a greater depth and a second bottom  53  having a smaller depth. A magnet  6  is fixedly positioned in the center of the indentation  51  at where the first and second bottoms  52  and  53  interface with each other. The indentation  51  allows the accommodation of a cap element  7 . Another magnet  71  is fixedly embedded on the bottom surface of the cap element  7 . The magnet  71  has a polarity opposite to that of the magnet  6  and is positioned such that, as shown in  FIG. 13 , when the cap element  7  is placed inside the indentation  51 , the magnets  6  and  71  are next to each other. The magnetic attraction between the magnets  6  and  71  therefore removably holds the cap element  7  inside the indentation  51 . The front surface of the cap element  7  can have an ornamental pattern  72 . 
         [0032]    The removal of the cap element  7  from the carrier member  5  can be conducted in the same way described earlier. To remove the carrier member  5  out of the indentation  25 , a user could use the finger to reach the rim of the carrier member  5  through the trough  26  and lift the carrier member  5  out of the indentation  25 . 
         [0033]    The carrier member  5  itself can have other integrated functions. For example, the carrier member  5  can contain an electronic clock  53  with the readings shown on the back surface. As shown in  FIG. 14 , when the cap element  7  is removed, the carrier member  5  can be flipped with its back surface facing outwards. A user therefore can enjoy the various timing functions of the electronic clock  54 . For another example, as shown in  FIG. 15 , a remote control  55  (e.g., for the garage door) is integrated to the carrier member  5  with its control buttons on the back surface so that the user will never forget to bring remote control or where the remote control is placed. These are only two examples and various other utility functions can be integrated to the carrier member  5 . 
         [0034]    It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together may also find a useful application in other types of methods differing from the type described above. 
         [0035]    While certain novel features of this invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claim, it is not intended to be limited to the details above, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.