Patent Publication Number: US-4581791-A

Title: Buckle

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to buckles for belts or other straps, and more particularly to ornamental buckles which carry a badge or motif. 
     Such buckles can be used for purely decorative or ornamental purposes, or, alternatively, for advertising or identity purposes, in the latter case the buckle having a badge or insignia, for example of a particular association, team, company etc. It may be desirable to change the ornament, or insignia (hereinafter referred to as &#34;badge&#34;) selectively. For example, a company badge might also be personalized to the user to enable him or her to select between for example the company emblem or name and his own personal initials. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with the present invention a buckle has a badge-holder therein, the badge-holder having opposite display faces and being rotatable about an axis lying substantially in the plane of the buckle to enable either of the faces of the badge-holder to be displayed. 
     The axis around which the badge-holder may be rotatable can be substantially aligned with what is in use the longitudinal axis of the belt, or can be inclined to it or even perpendicular to that longitudinal axis. 
     Preferably, the buckle itself is of a rotatable type such as may be used on reversible belts. A rotatable buckle may, for example, comprise an attachment part for fixing to the belt and a connecting part for attaching to the other end of the belt in use, the connecting part being rotatable 180° between two operative positions so that the belt can be reversed to show either of its sides. 
     Preferably, the buckle is formed with a display opening in its face, the badge holder being located and rotatable within the opening. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Buckles constructed in accordance with the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like numerals indicate like elements. 
     FIG. 1 is a front elevation, partly in section on the line I--I in FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 2 is a vertical cross section on the line II--II in FIG. 1 and 
     FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the buckle. 
     FIG. 4 is similar to FIG. 1 but illustrates an alternate embodiment of the invention in which the axis of the badge holder lies transverse to the belt in use. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The buckle comprises an attachment part 1 for attaching to a belt by means of grub-screws through threaded apertures 2, the attachment part being hollow to receive the end of the belt to which it is permanently attached in use. Attached to the attachment part 1 is a connecting, buckle part 3 which has, on one face, a conventional bar 4 and pin 5. In use the free end of the belt is provided with apertures passing between the body of the connecting part 3 and the bar 4, the pin 5 engaging in one of the holes in the belt. 
     The connecting part 3 has a central aperture 6 across which is rotatably mounted a badge holder 7 about an axis 8 extending in line with the longitudinal axis of the belt in use, and centrally of the aperture. The badge holder 7 has opposite display faces 9 and 10 and is mounted on a hollow shaft 11 extending through the badge holder and into either end of the connecting part 3. Different badges, i.e. motifs etc. may be incorporated in the opposite faces 9 and 10 of the badge holder 7 as desired and as represented by the letter M in the drawings. 
     To enable the buckle to be used on reversible belts, that is to say belts which have two display sides, the connecting part 3 is rotatable about the central longitudinal axis 8 of the buckle between two positions 180° apart. This in effect enables the belt to be rotated relative to the connecting part 3 when it is desired to display a different side of the belt. To enable this rotation between the connecting part 3 and the attachment part 1 a screw-threaded bolt 12 extends through one side of the attachment part 1 into the adjacent side of the connecting part 3 and a helical coil spring 13 is interposed underneath the head of the bolt 12 to bias the two parts towards one another. In order to define the opposite relative positions of the connecting part and attachment part the connecting part is provided with an elongate rib 14 and the attachment part with a complementary groove 15 into which the rib locates in use. 
     Although the buckle may have plain faces on the connecting part, opposite sides of the connecting part can have different patterns or ornamentation, represented by the letter P so that the buckle can display four different combinations of badge and surrounding face if desired. It will be appreciated that the type of buckle to which the invention is applied is not limited to that shown in the drawings, but can be of any suitable type.