Patent Abstract:
A belt buckle includes a face plate having a front face and an opposing back face with a display opening extending therebetween. An attachment sheet has a front face and an opposing back face, at least a portion of the front face includes or has a connector disposed thereat. A mechanism is provided for securing the attachment sheet to the face plate so that the connector is aligned with the display opening. A display has a front face and an opposing back face. The display is removably secured to the connector so that the display at least partially covers the display opening.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/794,622, filed Mar. 15, 2013, which is incorporated herein by specific reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. The Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to belt buckles and, more specifically, belt buckles having an exchangeable display. 
         [0004]    2. The Relevant Technology 
         [0005]    Although belt buckles have long served a functional purpose of retaining a belt, they are increasingly contributing more to the aesthetic appearance and fashion of the wearer. One common configuration of a belt buckle includes a plate having a front face and an opposing back face. An elongated belt strap is hingedly mounted to the back face at one end thereof while a tongue outwardly projects from the back face at an opposing end. The tongue is configured to catch within one of a plurality of punch holes formed along the belt strap so as to form the belt strap into a continuous loop. 
         [0006]    The front face of the belt buckle typically has a design formed thereon so as to contribute to the aesthetic appearance of the belt buckle. Some belt buckles are formed so that they can be detached from the belt strap. As a result, two or more different belt buckles can be attached to a single belt strap. This permits a user to select a desired belt buckle to wear with a common belt strap and avoids the need for the user to purchase a belt strap with each belt buckle. Although the above system is functional, it still remains expensive for a user to replace an entire belt buckle when seeking to obtain a desired appearance. 
         [0007]    Accordingly, what is needed in the art are belt buckles wherein the appearance can be changed without having to replace the entire belt buckle. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]    Various embodiments of the present invention will now be discussed with reference to the appended drawings. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. 
           [0009]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a belt incorporating an inventive belt buckle; 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a partially exploded perspective view of the belt buckle shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of the body of the belt buckle shown in  FIG. 2 ; and 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is an exploded bottom perspective view of the body of the belt buckle shown in  FIG. 3 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0013]    Depicted in  FIG. 1  is a belt  10  incorporating features of the present invention. Belt  10  comprises an elongated belt strap  12  having a first end  14  and an opposing second end  16 . Belt strap  12  can be made of leather, plastic, or any other desired material. A belt buckle  18  is attached to belt strap  12  at first end  14 . A plurality of spaced apart punch holes  20  extend through belt strap  12  along second end  16 . 
         [0014]    As depicted in  FIG. 2 , belt buckle  18  comprises a body  24 , a display  26  that removably attaches to body  24  and a retaining loop  28  that is pivotally mounted to body  24 . In general, body  24  comprises a front face  30  and an opposing back face  32 . Brackets  34  are mounted on back face  32  and are configured to pivotally secure retaining loop  28 . As depicted in  FIG. 4 , a tongue  36  also outwardly projects from back face  32  and is configured to pass through and engage with a corresponding punch hole  20  ( FIG. 1 ) on belt strap  12 . 
         [0015]    Centrally formed on front face  30  is a display area  38  on which a fastener  40  is disposed for removably connecting display  26 . In one embodiment fastener  40  can comprise a hook and loop material such as is commonly sold under the trademark VELCRO®. In other embodiments, fastener  40  can comprise one half of a snap connection, loop connection, tongue and groove connection, magnet or the like. In the depicted embodiment, fastener  40  is shown as comprising one half of a hook and loop material. 
         [0016]    Returning to  FIG. 2 , display  26  comprises a base  46  having a front face  48  and an opposing back face  50 . Mounted on back face  50  is a fastener  52  which is the corresponding other half of fastener  40 . Examples of fastener  52  are the same as previously discussed above with regard to fastener  40 . In the depicted embodiment, fastener  52  comprises the other half of hook and loop material. Fastener  52  can be secured to base  46  by adhesive, welding, mechanical fastener, or the like. Although not required, in the depicted embodiment indicia  52  is disposed on front face  48 . Indicia  52  can comprise lettering, a design, coloring, three dimensional features, combinations of the foregoing, and other features. Indicia  52  can be integrally molded on front face  48  or attached thereto such as by painting, printing, secured by an adhesive, such as in the form of a sticker, or otherwise secured to front face  46 . Base  46  is typically in the form of a plate, such as a metal or plastic plate. Other materials can also be used. Base  46  can be flat, curved or have other desired contours. 
         [0017]    In one embodiment, display  26  has a configuration complementary to display area  38 . For example, display area  38  and display  36  can both be elliptical, circular, square, rectangular, polygonal, irregular or any other desired configuration. In other embodiments, display  26  can be larger than display area  38  and can be a different configuration than display area  38 . Thus, display  26  may connect with fastener  40  but extend over a larger area of front face  30  of body  24 . In the depicted embodiment, a single fastener is used to secure display  26  to display area  38 . In other embodiments, a plurality of spaced apart fasteners can be mounted on front face  48  that couple with corresponding fasteners on display  26 . 
         [0018]    As depicted in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , in one embodiment body  24  of belt buckle  18  comprises a face plate  58 , a back plate  60 , and an attachment sheet  62  that is secured therebetween. Face plate  58  has a front face  64  which in one embodiment can correspond to front face  30  ( FIG. 2 ) and has an opposing back face  66 . A display opening  68  extends through face plate  58  from front face  64  to back face  66 . A recess  70  is formed on back face  66  and encircles display opening  68 . If desired, a plurality of spaced apart mounting openings  72  can also extend through face plate  58  from front face  64  to back face  66 . 
         [0019]    Back plate  66  also comprises a front face  78  and an opposing back face  80 . Mounted on back face  80  are brackets  34  and tongue  36 . Back plate  60  is configured to be received within recess  70 . A plurality of spaced apart mounting openings  82  can extend through back plate  60  so that mounting openings  82  are aligned with mounting openings  72  when back plate  60  is received within recess  70 . 
         [0020]    Attachment sheet  62  has a front face  86  and an opposing back face  88 . Front face  86  is either comprised of or has mounted thereon fastener  40  as previously discussed. Again, the depicted embodiment shows one half of hook and loop material formed on front face  86 . During assembly, attachment sheet  62  is received within recess  70  of face plate  58  following which back plate  60  is received within recess  70  so that attachment sheet  62  is sandwiched between face plate  58  and back plate  60 . In this configuration, at least a portion of fastener  40  on attachment sheet  62  is disposed within or aligned with display area  68 . By sandwiching attachment sheet  62  between face plate  58  and back plate  60 , attachment sheet  62  is securely retained therebetween. If desired, an adhesive can be used to further secure attachment sheet  62  to front face  78  of back plate  60  and/or back face  66  of front plate  58  within recess  70 . 
         [0021]    In one embodiment of the present invention, means are provided for securing the attachment sheet  62  to face plate  58  so that fastener  40  is aligned with the display opening  68 . By way of example and not by limitation, back plate  60  can be secured to face plate  58  by being press fit within recess  70  so as to secure attachment sheet  62 . In conjunction with or separate from back plate  60  being press fit onto face plate  58 , the plates can be held together by welding, adhesive, or fasteners. For example, a fastener  92  in the form of a screw or bolt can be passed through each mounting hole  72  and threaded into corresponding mounting hole  82  or, alternatively, can be passed through mounting hole  82  and threaded into corresponding mounting hole  72 . In other embodiments, fastener  92  can comprise a rivet that is passed through holes  72  and  82  to securely clamp face plate  58  and back plate  60  together. One additional benefit to this embodiment is that fastener  92  can also be passed through a portion of attachment sheet  62  for further retaining attachment sheet  62  between plates  58  and  60 . In any embodiment, it is generally desired that attachment sheet  62  be compressed between face plate  58  and back plate  60  so as to help maintain attachment sheet  62  secured. Securing attachment sheet  62  between face plate  58  and back plate  60  has the benefit of ensuring that attachment sheet  62  does not pull away from face plate  58  as different displays  26  are repeatedly attached and removed from attachment sheet  62 . 
         [0022]    In other embodiments of the means for securing, back plate  60  can be eliminated and attachment sheet  62  can be secured to back face  66  of face plate  58  by adhesive, welding, fasteners or the like. 
         [0023]    The present invention thus enables a plurality of displays  26 , each having a different indicia  52 , to be selectively and securely attached to body  24  of belt buckle  18 . Because replacing displays  26  is less expensive than replacing an entire belt buckle, the present invention provides an easy an inexpensive way for a person to change the aesthetic appears of the belt buckle. 
         [0024]    The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.

Technology Classification (CPC): 8