Patent ID: 7240407

Claim:
A buckle, comprising: a base having side walls; a latch member supported by the side walls so that the latch member can pivot between an unlatching position and a latching position, wherein the latch member includes a latching portion which is configured to engage with a tongue when the tongue is inserted into a predetermined position within the buckle and the latch member pivots to the latching position; a slider that is configured to prevent said latch member from moving in the unlatching direction when the tongue and the latch member are latched; a slider spring which is disposed between the slider and the latch member and is configured to be compressed by the slider and the latch member; an operation member which is attached to said side walls of the base such that the operation member can move in the longitudinal direction of the buckle, and is configured to cause said slider to move in the unlatching direction of said latch member by an unlatching operation; an ejector for releasing said tongue; an ejector spring for biasing said ejector in a direction to release the tongue; and wherein said slider is supported to said latch member so as to allow relative movement, and said ejector includes an unlatching force applying portion that is configured to apply the unlatching force to said slider by directly contacting the slider when said latch member is caused to move in the unlatching direction by the movement of said slider relative to said latch member due to the unlatching operation of said operation member.