Patent Abstract:
Disclosed is a buckle attached to a belt or a strap which is connected to a rucksack, a bag, clothing, and a helmet, etc. so as to connect the belt or the strap. The buckle includes: a male member including a body and first latching means; and a female member which includes a body and second latching means rotatably coupled to the body so as to latch on the first latching means, for removably engaging with the male member. The buckle constructed as described above has a simple structure. Thus, it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost of the buckle. Furthermore, there is an advantage in that the second latching means of the female member may be softly pushed, so as to easily release the male member from the female member.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to a buckle, and more particularly to a buckle which has male and female members respectively attached to a terminal end of each belt or strap for a rucksack, a bag, clothing, and the like, and releasably coupled to each other so as to connect the belts or the straps to each other, while easily adjusting the length of the belt or the strap.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Prior Art  
         [0004]     Generally, “buckles” refer to coupling members which have a pair of male and female members attached to an end of a belt or a strap for a rucksack or a bag so as to connect the belt or the strap to another one as described above, which are integrally formed of a synthetic resin material and elastically coupled to each other.  
         [0005]     The buckles can be classified into an open type buckle in which a female member has slots, and a non-open type buckle in which a female member has no slot, according to their use, with respect to products such as rucksacks, bags, and clothes, etc. In the open type buckle  300 , both engaging legs  312  of a male member  310  are inserted into a chamber  322  of a female member  320  and coupled to slots  324  opened at both sides of the female member  320 , as shown in  FIG. 1 . On the other hand, in order to release the male member  310  from the female member  320 , the engaging legs  312  coupled to the slots  324  are pressed, so that the male member  310  is removed from the female member  320 .  
         [0006]     On the other hand, in the non-open type buckle  200 , an engaging portion at a leading end of a male member is inserted into a body of a female member and then coupled to an engaging portion formed in the female member. In order to release the male member from the female member, pressed means formed on an exterior of the female member is pressed, so that the male member is removed from the female member.  
         [0007]     Specifically, in the open type buckle, the engaging legs of the male member coupled to the slots  324  of the female member are pressed so that the male member is released from the female member. On the other hand, in the non-open type buckle  200 , since the female member has no open slot, a certain portion of the exterior of the female member is pressed so that the male member is removed from the female member, in order to release the male member from the female member.  
         [0008]     These buckles classified as described above have different functions respectively, according to their use and user&#39;s necessity. Among the non-open type buckles  200 , a conventional buckle having the most general shape will be described with reference to accompanying drawings.  FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the non-open type buckle  200  according to the conventional art,  15   FIG. 3A  is a sectional view of the buckle, taken along a line A-A′ in  FIG. 2 , and  FIG. 3B  is a sectional view of the buckle, taken along a line B-B′ in  FIG. 2 . This buckle includes the female member  220  and the male member  250  as described above.  
         [0009]     As shown in FIGS.  2  to  3 B, the female member  220  has the chamber  221  of which a leading end is opened, and a pressing portion  223  formed on an upper plate  222  thereof. The pressing portion  223  has three surfaces separated from the upper plate  222 , of which one remaining surface is integrally formed with the upper plate  222  and has a groove  224 . A guide element  225  for an engaging legs is formed below the pressing portion  223  at a desired distance from the pressing portion  223 , of which leading end has a latching jaw  226  of the female member  220  in order to latch a latching portion  253  of the male member  250 .  
         [0010]     The male member  250  has engaging legs  251  protruding from a side of a body of the male member  250 , of which a leading end  252  has a rotated letter L shape. The lower end of the rotated letter L shaped leading end  252  is engaged with and coupled to the latching jaw  226  of the female member  220 . An elastic plate  254  for releasing the male member  250  is formed between the engaging legs  251  of the male member  250 , and is located over the guide element  225  of the female member  220  when the male member  250  is coupled to the female member  220 .  
         [0011]     With the coupling of the conventional non-open type buckle formed as described above, when the pair of engaging legs  251  formed on a side of the male member  250  is inserted into the chamber  221  through the leading end of the female member  220 , the latching portion  253  formed at the lower surface of the leading end of the engaging legs  251  in the female member  220  slides along the surface of the guide element  225  of the female member  220  for the latching legs and is inserted into the female member  220 , so as to face and engage with the latching jaw  226  formed at the leading end of the guide element  225  of the female member  220 .  
         [0012]     Then, in order to release the buckle, while the pressing portion  223  which is formed at an upper portion of the female member  220 , is pressed, the elastic plate  254  for releasing the male member  250  causes the latching jaw  226  of the female member  220  to become detached from the latching portion  253  of the male member  250 , so that the male and female members  250  and  220  can be separated from each other.  
         [0013]     However, the non-open type buckle  200  according to the conventional art as described above, has a structure in which latching elements formed on the male and female members respectively, i.e. the latching jaw  226  of the female member  220  an the latching portion  253  of the male member  250  are coupled at a deep inside of the female member  220 , thereby making it difficult to couple the engaging legs  251  to the chamber  221  of the female member  220 . In addition, the coupling strength thereof may be low, thereby causing an accident. Further, because the pressing portion  223  formed on the upper plate  222  of the female member  220  has the three surfaces separated from the upper plate  222  while the male member  250  is also divided into the engaging legs  251  and the elastic plate  254 , the total strength of the buckle is extremely low, which may cause the buckle to be easily damaged or broken while it is used for long time.  
         [0014]     Further, in the non-open type buckle  200  described above, when a user presses the pressing portion  223  of the female member  220 , the elastic plate  254  of the male member  250  located below the pressing portion  223  secondarily presses the elastic plate  254  of the female member  250  so as to release the respective members. As described above, since the buckle  200  has the complicated structure, it is difficult to couple and released the male member to and from the female member, and it is possible that the manufacturing cost of the buckle increases.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0015]     Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a buckle which includes male and female members having a simple structure, thereby making it possible to reduce the manufacturing cost of the buckle.  
         [0016]     Another object of the present invention is to provide a buckle in which an elastic member is provided to the female member so that the male member is rigidly coupled to and easily released from the female member using the elastic force of the elastic member.  
         [0017]     Still another object of the present invention is to provide a buckle having a beautiful appearance.  
         [0018]     Still another object of the present invention is to provide a buckle which has a reduced space between the male and female members, thereby preventing foreign substance from being introduced into the reduced space.  
         [0019]     In order to accomplish the object of the present invention, there is provided a buckle which comprises: a male member including a body and first latching means; and a female member which includes a body and second latching means rotatably coupled to the body so as to latch on the first latching means, for removably engaging with the male member.  
         [0020]     The first latching means includes a guide plate which extends at a predetermined distance from the body of the male member and has at least one engaging leg formed on the guide plate. The guide plate is integrated with the body of the male member so as to extend between the sidewalls forming the body of the male member at the other end of the sidewalls. A reinforcing rib formed on a lower surface of the guide plate so as to provide rigidity to the guide plate and receive a part of the female member.  
         [0021]     The body of the male member includes two sidewalls, a first traverse bar extending between the sidewalls at an intermediate portion of the sidewalls, and a second traverse bar extending between the sidewalls at one end of the sidewalls.  
         [0022]     The guide plate extends at a predetermined distance from the other end of the body of the male member, and has first step portions engaging with step portions formed in the body of the female member respectively and second step portions engaging with step portions formed at one end of sidewalls of a latching plate.  
         [0023]     The engaging legs have a generally triangular section, each of which has an engaging face engaging with a latching wall of the latching plate and an incline surface for lifting the latching wall during an insertion of the male member into the female member.  
         [0024]     The engaging legs are spaced a desired distance from the first traverse bar of the body of the male member so that the latching wall is located between the body of the male member and the engaging legs when the male member is coupled to the female member.  
         [0025]     The second latching means includes a latching plate which receives the first latching means of the male member along with the body of the female member, and a latching wall formed at one end of the latching plate on a lower surface of the latching plate so as to engage with the engaging legs of the first latching means.  
         [0026]     The body of the female member includes a bottom plate for guiding and receiving the guide plate of the male member, sidewalls integrated with the bottom plate at side edges of the bottom plate respectively, and a belt connection bar spaced a desired distance from a rear portion of the bottom plate so as to extend between the sidewalls.  
         [0027]     The bottom plate has a lip portion formed at a front end of the bottom plate and engages with the reinforcing rib of the male member when the male member is coupled to the female member.  
         [0028]     The bottom plate further includes an elastic member for elastically supporting the latching plate pivotally coupled to the body of the female member.  
         [0029]     The elastic member is an oblong plate, which may be formed by cutting a part of the bottom plate by a desired length so as to extend to a rear end of the bottom plate, or formed integrally with the bottom plate using a injection molding method when the female member is injection-molded.  
         [0030]     The sidewalls have both ends extending a desired distance from a front end and the rear end of the bottom plate so as to form extension portions which have a leading end identical with a terminal end of the lip portion formed at the front end of the bottom plate, respectively. The extension portions of the sidewalls have the step portions which are formed in the extension portions so as to engage with the first step portions of the guide plate when the male member is coupled to the female member.  
         [0031]     Each sidewall has a hinge guide groove for guiding a hinge of the latching plate and a hinge hole in which the hinge of the latching plate is rotatably inserted, all of which are formed at an intermediate portion on an inner surface of each sidewall. The hinge guide groove is slantingly formed from an upper end of each sidewall to the hinge hole and has a width corresponding to a diameter of the hinge hole.  
         [0032]     The latching plate is a flat plate, which has a length equal to that of the bottom plate of the body including the lip portion and a width equal to or less than that between the sidewalls of the body. Further, the latching plate has sidewalls formed at both side edges of the latching plate and a latching wall extending downward at a predetermined distance. On the other hand, a groove is formed on an inner surface of the latching plate, in order to receive a free end of the elastic member.  
         [0033]     The sidewalls of the latching plate have hinges extending outward by a desired distance from an intermediate portion of the sidewalls, and the step portions at a position spaced a desired distance from the front end of the sidewalls, respectively. The step portions of the latching plate come into contact with the second step portions formed on the guide plate of the male member, respectively, when the male member is inserted into the female member.  
         [0034]     In the buckle according to the present invention as described above, it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost of the buckle since the male and female members have a simple structure. Further, the male member can be rigidly coupled to the female member by the elastic force of the elastic member. Furthermore, the latching plate of the female member is softly pushed, thereby easily releasing the male member from the female member. In addition, there exists only a very small gap between the male and female members, so as to make it possible to prevent foreign substance from being introduced into the space during the coupling of the male and female members. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0035]     The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0036]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing an open type buckle according to the conventional art;  
         [0037]      FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view showing a non-open type buckle according to the conventional art;  
         [0038]      FIG. 3   a  is a sectional view showing the non-open type buckle according to the conventional art, taken along a line A-A′, in which male and female members are assembled;  
         [0039]      FIG. 3   b  is a sectional view showing the non-open type buckle according to the conventional art, taken along a line B-B′, in which the male and female members are assembled;  
         [0040]      FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view showing a buckle according to an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0041]      FIG. 5  is an exploded perspective view showing the buckle according to the embodiment of the present invention, which is viewed from another direction;  
         [0042]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view showing the buckle according to the embodiment of the present invention, in which male and female members are assembled;  
         [0043]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view showing the buckle according to the embodiment of the present invention, in which the male and female members are separated;  
         [0044]      FIG. 8  is a plan view of the buckle shown in  FIG. 7 ;  
         [0045]      FIG. 9  is a side view of the buckle shown in  FIG. 7 ;  
         [0046]      FIG. 10  is a side view of the buckle shown in  FIG. 6 ;  
         [0047]      FIG. 11  is a sectional view showing the buckle according to the embodiment of the present invention, in which an operation of the female member is shown when the male member is assembled with the female member;  
         [0048]      FIG. 12  is a perspective view showing the buckle according to the embodiment of the present invention, in which an operation of the female member is shown when the male member is released from the female member; and  
         [0049]      FIG. 13  is a sectional view showing the buckle according to the embodiment of the present invention, in which an operation of the female member is shown when the male member is released from the female member. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0050]     Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.  
         [0051]      FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view showing a buckle according to an embodiment of the present invention,  FIG. 5  is an exploded perspective view showing the buckle according to the embodiment of the present invention, which is viewed from another direction,  FIG. 6  is a perspective view showing the buckle according to the embodiment of the present invention, in which male and female members are assembled,  FIG. 7  is a perspective view showing the buckle according to the embodiment of the present invention, in which the male and female members are separated,  FIG. 8  is a plan view of the buckle shown in  FIG. 7 ,  FIG. 9  is a side view of the buckle shown in  FIG. 7 , and  FIG. 10  is a side view of the buckle shown in  FIG. 6 .  
         [0052]     Referring to FIGS.  4  to  10 , the buckle according to the present invention includes male and female members  10  and  30  which are separably assembled with each other. The male and female members  10  and  30  are generally made of synthetic resin material, each of which is connected to a free end of belts  71  and  72 , or straps.  
         [0053]     The male member  10  includes a body  11  and a first latching member  14 . The first latching member  14  is a guide plate  14  which extends a predetermined distance from the body  11  and has at least one engaging leg  15  formed on an upper surface thereof.  
         [0054]     The body  11  of the male member  10  includes two sidewalls  18 , a first traverse bar  12  extending between the sidewalls  18  at an intermediate portion of the sidewalls  18 , and a second traverse bar  13  extending between the sidewalls  18  at one end of the sidewalls  18 . The free ends of the belts are connected to the first and second traverse bar  12  and  13  extending between the sidewalls  18 , respectively, so that a user can adjust the length of the belts. Further, the first and second traverse bars  12  and  13  have a triangular cross-section or a trapezoidal cross-section.  
         [0055]     Meanwhile, the guide plate  14  is integrated with the body  11  of the male member  10  so as to extend between the other ends of the sidewalls  18  forming the body  11  of the male member  10 . A reinforcing rib  19  is formed on a lower surface of the guide plate  14  so as to provide rigidity to the guide plate  14  and receive a lip portion  42  of the female member  30  described below.  
         [0056]     The guide plate  14  extends a predetermined distance from the other end of the body  11  of the male member  10 , which has first step portions  20  engaging with step portions  44  formed in the body  40  of the female member  30  respectively and second step portions engaging with step portions formed at one end of sidewalls  66  of a latching plate  60 .  
         [0057]     The guide plate  14  has at least one engaging leg  15  on an upper surface thereof, which is integrated with the guide plate  14 . The engaging legs  15  have a generally triangular section, each of which has an engaging face  16  engaging with a latching wall  63  of the latching plate  60  and an incline surface  21  for lifting the latching wall  63  during the insertion of the male member  10  into the female member  30 .  
         [0058]     The engaging legs  15  are spaced a desired distance from the first traverse bar  12  of the body  11  of the male member  10  so that the latching wall  63  is located between the body  11  of the male member  10  and the engaging legs  15  when the male member  10  is coupled to the female member  30 .  
         [0059]     On the other hand, the male member  10  has a belt receiving space  17  defined by the sidewalls  18  forming the body  11 , the first traverse bar  12 , the second traverse bar  13 , and the reinforcing rib  19  supporting the guide plate  14 . The belt receiving space  17  can stably received the belt  71  when the belt  71  is connected to the male member  10 .  
         [0060]     The female member  30  includes the body  40  and second latching member rotatably coupled to the body  40 . The second latching member has the latching plate  60  for receiving the first latching member  14  of the male member  10 , i.e. the guide plate  14 , along with the body  40 , and the latching wall  63  which is formed at one end on a lower surface of the latching plate  60  so as to engage with the engaging legs  15  of the first latching member  14 .  
         [0061]     The body  40  of the female member  30  includes a bottom plate  46  for guiding and receiving the guide plate  14  of the male member  10 , sidewalls  43  integrated with the bottom plate  46  at side edges of the bottom plate  46  respectively, and a belt connection bar  51  spaced a desired distance from a rear portion of the bottom plate  46  so as to extend between the sidewalls  43 .  
         [0062]     The bottom plate  46  has a lip portion  42  formed at a front end thereof, as described above. The lip portion  42  engages with the reinforcing rib  17  of the male member  10  when the male member  10  is coupled to the female member  30 .  
         [0063]     The bottom plate  46  may include an elastic member  47  for elastically supporting the latching plate  60  pivotally coupled to the body  40  of the female member  30 . The elastic member  47  is an oblong plate, which is formed by cutting a part of the bottom plate  46  by a desired length so as to extend to a rear end of the bottom plate  46 , or integrated with the bottom plate  46  in a manner of injection molding when the female member  30  is injection-molded.  
         [0064]     The sidewalls  43  have both ends extending a desired distance from a front end and the rear end of the bottom plate so as to form extension portions that have a leading end which is identical with a terminal end of the lip portion  42  formed at the front end of the bottom plate  46 , respectively. Further, the extension portions  45  of the sidewalls  43  have the step portions  44  formed therein, as shown in  FIGS. 4, 5 ,  6 ,  7  and  9 , so as to engage with the first step portions  20  of the guide plate  14  when the male member  10  is coupled to the female member  30 .  
         [0065]     Further, each sidewall  43  has a hinge guide groove  49  for guiding a hinge  61  of the latching plate  60  and a hinge hole  41  in which the hinge  61  of the latching plate  60  is rotatably inserted, which are formed at an intermediate portion on an inner surface of each sidewall  43 , as shown in  FIG. 3 . The hinge guide groove  49  is slantingly formed from an upper end of each sidewall  43  to the hinge hole  41  and has a width corresponding to the diameter of the hinge hole  41 .  
         [0066]     The latching plate  60  is a flat plate, which has a length equal to that of the bottom plate  46  of the body  40  including the lip portion  40 , and a width equal to or less than that between the sidewalls  43  of the body  40 . The latching plate  60  has sidewalls  66  formed at both side edges thereof. Further, the latching plate  60  has a latching wall  63  extending downward a predetermined distance from the front end thereof.  
         [0067]     The sidewalls  66  of the latching plate  60  have hinges  61  extending outward at a desired distance from an intermediate portion of the sidewalls  66 , and the step portions at a position spaced at a desired distance from the front end of the sidewalls  66 , respectively. The step portions of the latching plate  60  come into contact with the second step portions formed on the guide plate  14  of the male member  10 , respectively, when the male member  10  is inserted into the female member  30 .  
         [0068]     Meanwhile, each sidewall  66  has an inclined surface  67  formed to have a smooth curvature from an intermediate portion to the rear end thereof. Thus, when the rear end of the latching plate  60  is pressed in order to release the male member  10  form the female member  30 , the latching plate  60  rotates clockwise, as shown in  FIG. 11 . At this time, the inclined surface  67  of each sidewall  66  having a desired curvature causes the latching plate  60  to rotate smoothly.  
         [0069]     The latching wall  63  formed at the front end of the latching plate  60  has a thickness identical with or less than a distance between the other end of the body  11  and the engaging legs  15  of the male member  10 . Further, the latching wall  63  has an inner surface perpendicular to the latching plate  60  so that the inner surface rigidly engages with the engaging faces  16  of the engaging legs  15 .  
         [0070]     On the other hand, the latching plate  60  has a groove formed on an inner surface thereof, in order to receive a free end of the elastic member  47 . Therefore, the latching plate  60  is urged by elastic force of the elastic member  47  so that the front end of the latching plate  60  is pressed downwardly while the rear end of the latching plate  60  is pressed upwardly. At this time, the latching plate  60  is supported by one end of the sidewalls  66  thereof against the bottom plate  46  of the body  40 , so as to become horizontal.  
         [0071]     Hereinafter, the operation of the buckle according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.  
         [0072]     First, the male member  10  is made using the injection molding method, so that the guide plate  14  is integrated with the body  11  of the male member  10 . On the other hand, relating to the female member  30 , the bottom plate  46 , the sidewalls  43  and the elastic member  47  are integrally injection-molded so as to make the body  40  of the female member  30 . Alternatively, after the bottom plate  46  and the sidewalls  43  are injection-molded, a part of the bottom plate  46  is cut in order to form the elastic member  47 , thereby making the body  40  of the female member  30 . On the other hand, the latching plate  60  of the female member  30  is also made using the injection molding method.  
         [0073]     Next, the hinges  61  of the latching plate  60  are located at an entrance of the hinge guiding grooves  49  formed in an inner surface of the sidewalls  43  of the body  40 . Then, the latching plate  60  is pressed so that the hinges  61  move downward along the hinge guiding grooves  49  and are inserted into the hinge holes formed on the sidewalls of the body  40 , respectively. Thus, the latching plate  60  is assembled with the body  40  of the female member  30  so as to rotate clockwise and counterclockwise about the hinge  61 .  
         [0074]     The male and female members  10  and  30  made and assembled as described above are connected to both ends of the strap or the belt, respectively, or to the straps respectively. First, the male member  10  is connected to one end of the strap or the belt in such a manner that a terminal end of the strap or one end of the belt extends through a gap between the first traverse bar  12  and the guide plate  14  from the belt receiving space  17  of the male member  10 , is wound on the first traverse bar  12 , and finally extends through a gap between the first traverse bar  12  and the second traverse bar  13 .  
         [0075]     As the terminal end of the strap or the one end of the belt is connected to the male member  10  as described above, a user can suitably adjust the length of the strap or the belt connected to the male member  10 . Further, when the user couples the male member  10  to the female member  30  after adjusting the length of the strap or the belt, the second traverse bar  13  of the male member  10  makes the terminal end of the strap or the one end of the belt come into contact with another portion of the strap or belt, thereby preventing an involuntary change of the length of the strap or the belt.  
         [0076]     On the other hand, the female member  30  is connected to a terminal end of another strap or the other end of the belt. Specifically, the terminal end of another strap or the other end of the belt extends at a desired distance through a gap between the bottom plate  46  of the body  40  and the belt connection bar  51  so as to be wound on the belt connection bar  51 . Then, the terminal end of another strap or the other end of the belt is made to be in close contact with another portion of another strap or another portion of the belt and the facing straps or belts are sewn, so that the female member  30  is fixedly connected to the terminal end of another strap or the other end of the belt.  
         [0077]     When the male and female members  10  and  30 , which are connected to the different straps or both ends of the belt respectively as described above, are coupled to each other, the length of the connected strap or belt can be suitably adjusted.  
         [0078]     Meanwhile, in order to couple the male member  10  to the female member  30 , the leading end of the guide plate  14  of the male member  10  is located at an opening of the chamber  35  defined by the body  40  of the female member  30  and the latching plate  60 . Next, the body  11  of the male member  10  is pushed and inserted into the chamber  35  defined in the female member  30 .  
         [0079]     At this time, the guide plate  14  of the male member  10  slides along the bottom plate  46  of the female member  30 , while the engaging legs  15  formed on the upper surface of the guide plate  14  slowly lifts the latching wall  63  formed on the latching plate  60  of the female member  30 . When the guide plate  14  continuously slides along the bottom plate  46  so that the reinforcing rib  19  of the male member  10  faces the lip portion  42  of the bottom plate  46 , the latching plate  60  is simultaneously rotated counterclockwise by the elastic force of the elastic member  47 , so that the latching wall  63  of the latching plate  60  engages with the engaging legs  15 . Since the latching wall  63  engages with the engaging legs  15  as described above, the male member  10  is rigidly coupled to the female member  30 .  
         [0080]     However, the male member  10  may be coupled to the female member  30  in a manner different from that described above. Specifically, the leading end of the guide plate  14  of the male member  10  is located at the opening of the chamber  35  defined by the body  40  of the female member  30  and the latching plate  60 . Then, after the rear end of the latching plate  60  of the female member  30  is pushed downward in order to rotate the latching plate  60  clockwise, so as to expand the opening of the chamber  35  defined in the female member  30 , the guide plate  14  of the male member  10  is pushed and inserted into the chamber  35  of the female  30 . Next, the latching plate  60  is rotated counterclockwise by using the elastic force of the elastic member  47 , so that the latching wall  63  of the latching plate  60  engages with the engaging legs  15  of the guide plate  14 . Thus, the male member  10  can be coupled to the female member  30 .  
         [0081]     On the other hand, in order to release the coupling of the male and female members  10  and  30  which are coupled to each other, the rear end of the latching plate  60  is pushed downward and rotated clockwise around the hinge  61 . As a result, the engagement of the latching wall  63  of the latching plate  60  and the engaging legs  15  of the guide plate  14  is released. Then, the guide plate  14  of the male member  10  is removed from the chamber  35  of the female member  30 , thereby releasing the coupling of the male and female members  10  and  30 .  
         [0082]     In the buckle according to the present invention as described above, it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost of the buckle since the male and female members have a simple structure. Further, while the male member is couple to the female member, the inner structure of the female member has a lower resistance.  
         [0083]     On the other hand, in the buckle according to the present invention, since the elastic member is provided to the female member, the male member can be rigidly coupled to the female member by using the elastic force of the elastic member. Furthermore, in the state that the male member is coupled to the female member, the latching plate of the female member is softly pushed, thereby easily releasing the male member from the female member.  
         [0084]     Furthermore, the buckle according to the present invention has a beautiful appearance, and also has only a very small gap between the male and female members, thereby preventing foreign substance from being introduced into the female member during the coupling of the male and female members.  
         [0085]     Although a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 8