Patent Publication Number: US-2012042441-A1

Title: Swimming goggles buckle

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a swimming goggles buckle, and more particularly to a swimming goggles buckle that allows users to adjust the length of a goggles head strap by one hand. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Swimming is one of the best forms of exercise, not only shaping up one&#39;s physique, but also giving terrific fun. A pair of swimming goggles is an important accessory for this exercise, and the swimming goggles should have the easy-to-wear and free-of-leakage features, and the head strap of the swimming goggles should be adjustable conveniently. 
     With reference to  FIG. 1  for a pair of conventional swimming goggles, the pair of swimming goggles  1  includes a latch slot  11  formed separately on external ends of two swimming goggles frames, and an elastic head strap  17  having a latch  12  formed separately at both ends of the head strap  17  and latched into the latch slot  11  of the corresponding swimming goggles frame, such that the swimming goggles can be worn on a wearer&#39;s head, wherein the latch  12  has a rectangular external frame body  13 , an arc pawl  14  formed at an end of the external frame body  13 , a first pillar  15  and a second pillar  16  disposed equidistantly on an internal side of the external frame body  13  and provided for dividing the external frame body  13  into three long holes, and an end of the head strap  17  is passed into a distal hole at an end of the external frame body  13  and then passed into another distal hole at another end of the external frame body  13 , and then bent and passed out from a middle hole, and then passed in an opposite direction out from the same side of the original distal hole, such that the elastic head strap  17  is wound on the latch for several times for its fixation. Since the elastic head strap  17  may become loosened or elastically exhausted after a number of repeated uses of wearing on the wearer&#39;s head, it is necessary to adjust and tighten the elastic head strap  17  from time to time. For some other reasons, users may need to loosen the elastic head strap  17 , but the conventional adjusting structure generally comes with an adjusting device disposed separately on both left and right sides of the head strap  17 , and thus users usually cannot operate the adjusting structure by one hand. Users have to keep their head above water first and then remove the swimming goggles  1  to make adjustments on both sides of the head strap  17  by their hands. The users generally cannot make the adjustment to a fixed position at one time, but have to repeat the action of wearing the swimming goggles until an appropriate adjustment is made. Furthermore, the pawl  14  is used for latching, but its clamping force is insufficient, so that the head strap  17  may fall out easily due to improper pulling forces. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Therefore, it is a primary objective of the invention to provide a swimming goggles buckle that allows users to adjust the length of a goggles head strap by one hand. 
     To achieve the foregoing objective, the present invention provides a swimming goggles buckle for latching a head strap and a pair of swimming goggles, and the head strap includes a plurality of protruding strips, and the swimming goggles buckle includes a fastener and a retaining component. The fastener includes a plurality of connecting legs, a pivot portion and an elastic plate. The connecting legs are provided for latching the swimming goggles. The pivot portion is disposed at the middle of the fastener. The elastic plate is installed on a side of the fastener. The retaining component includes a shaft, a latching portion and a press portion. The shaft is pivotally installed in the pivot portion. The latching portion is disposed on a side of the shaft, and the latching portion corresponds to the protruding strips. The press portion is disposed on another side of the shaft, and the press portion corresponds to the elastic plate. 
     The fastener includes a bottom wall, and the elastic plate is bent and extended in a direction from a side of the bottom wall towards the press portion. 
     The elastic plate abuts the press portion, such that the latching portion is latched to the protruding strip. 
     If the press portion is pressed in a direction towards the elastic plate, the latching portion will be separated from the protruding strip. 
     The press portion includes a plurality of grooves. 
     The pivot portion is a shaft hole. 
     The pair of swimming goggles includes a frame body and two lens carriers, and the frame body includes two circular embedding slots, and each of the lens carriers is disposed at a position corresponding to the circular embedding slot, and each of the lens carriers includes a latch portion provided for latching the fastener thereon. 
     The connecting legs are installed at four corners of the fastener respectively, and the latch portion is a rectangular slot, and a protruding member is installed separately on four corners for latching the connecting legs thereon. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic view of a pair of conventional swimming goggles; 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded view of a swimming goggles buckle applied to a pair of swimming goggles in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a swimming goggles buckle applied to a pair of swimming goggles in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a top view of a swimming goggles buckle applied to a pair of swimming goggles in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a swimming goggles buckle in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  is an exploded view of a swimming goggles buckle in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 7  is a schematic view showing a first movement of a swimming goggles buckle in accordance with the present invention; and 
         FIG. 8  is a schematic view showing a second movement of a swimming goggles buckle in accordance with the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     To make it easier for our examiner to understand the technical contents of the present invention, preferred embodiments together with related drawings are used for the detailed description of the present invention as follows. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 2 to 4  for an exploded view, a perspective view and a top view of a swimming goggles buckle applied to a pair of swimming goggles in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention respectively, the pair of swimming goggles  2  comprises a frame body  21 , two lens carriers  22 , two swimming goggles buckles  23  and a head strap  24 . 
     The head strap  24  is made of soft rubber with a high elasticity, and the head strap  24  is a long strap with a specific thickness, and the head strap  24  includes a plurality of protruding strips  241  formed thereon. 
     The frame body  21  is comprised of two frames  211 , wherein the frames  211  are coupled with each other by a connecting portion  212 . The connecting portion  212  is made of rubber with high softness and flexibility and provided for wearing on a user&#39;s nose. Each of the frames  211  includes a circular embedding slot  2111  and an eye cover portion  2112 . The eye cover portion  2112  is extended slantingly in a direction from the external periphery of the circular embedding slot  2111  on a side of the frame towards the lens carrier  22 . The eye cover portion  2112  can be made of a soft material (such as silicone or high-density sponge) and provided for a direct contact with the user&#39;s skin to achieve the effect of isolating water. 
     The lens carrier  22  includes a carrier  221 , a lens  222  and a latch portion  223 . The carrier  221  can be made of a transparent plastic or acrylic material. The lens  222  is protruded outwardly from a side of the carrier  221 , and the lens  222  and the carrier  221  are integrally funned. The latch portion  223  is formed on another side of the carrier  221 , and the latch portion  223  includes a rectangular slot  2231  formed thereon and a protruding member  2232  installed separately at four corners of the latch portion  223 . 
     When the lens carrier  22  is installed on the frame body  21 , the lens  222  is embedded into the circular embedding slot  2111  to combine the lens carriers  22  with the frame body  21 . 
     With reference to  FIGS. 5 and 6  for a perspective view and an exploded view of a swimming goggles buckle in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention respectively, the swimming goggles buckle  23  comprises a fastener  231  and a retaining component  232 . The fastener  231  includes a bottom wall  2311 , a plurality of connecting legs  2312 , a pivot portion  2313  and an elastic plate  2314 . 
     The connecting legs  2312  are bent and extended outwardly from four corners of the bottom wall  311  respectively and each connecting leg  2312  is substantially in the shape of a hook. The pivot portion  2313  is formed at the middle of the bottom wall  2311 . The pivot portion  2313  is a shaft hole. The elastic plate  2314  is installed on a side of the bottom wall  2311  and bent and extended outwardly. 
     The retaining component  232  is installed on a side of the fastener  231 , and the retaining component  232  includes abase wall  2321 , a shaft  2322 , a latching portion  2323  and a press portion  2324 . The shaft  2322  is protruded outwardly from the middle of the base wall  2321  and pivotally installed into the pivot portion  2313 . The latching portion  2323  is formed at an end of the base wall  2321  and disposed on a side of the shaft  2322 , and the latching portion  2323  corresponds to the protruding strips  241  of the strap  24 . The press portion  2324  includes a plurality of grooves  2325  formed thereon for facilitating users to press and operate the press portion  2324 . 
     When the swimming goggles buckle  23  is installed on the swimming goggles  2 , the connecting legs  2312  of the fastener  231  are latched onto the protruding members  2232  corresponding to the latch portion  223  for combining the swimming goggles buckle  23  and the swimming goggles  2 . In addition, the head strap  24  is passed between the fastener  231  and the retaining component  232  to complete the installation of the swimming goggles. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 7 and 8  for schematic views of first and second motions of the swimming goggles buckle in accordance with the present invention respectively, if a user wants to adjust the wearing length of the head strap  24 , the user simply presses the press portion  2324  by one hand, such that the press portion  2324  presses the elastic plate  2314  to displace downward. Now, the latching portion  2323  is rotated by using the shaft  2322  as a fulcrum of a lever movement, and tilted in a direction away from the protruding strip  241  and separated from the protruding strip  241 , so that the user can pull the head strap  24  to adjust the wearing length of the head strap  24 . 
     After the user has completed the adjustment, the user just needs to release the press portion  2324 . Now, the elastic plate  2314  resumes its original position by the elastic resilience and presses the press portion  2324  to displace upward, such that the latching portion  2323  is displaced in a direction towards the protruding strip  241  by the lever principle, and the position of the head strap  24  is limited again to prevent the adjusted head strap  24  from getting loosened or failing to wear on the user&#39;s head. 
     In summation of the description above, the swimming goggles buckle of the present invention facilitates users to adjust the length of the head strap by one hand conveniently. Obviously, the present invention improves over the prior art and complies with the patent application requirements, and thus the invention is duly filed for patent application. While the invention has been described by device of specific embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those generally skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims.