Patent ID: 8096027

Claim:
A buckle assembly for accepting and ejecting dual tongue plates, each of the tongue plates including an aperture, the buckle assembly comprising: a base having a lower surface and upstanding side edges, an ejection spring positioned within the base; a cover pivotally connected to the base by way of a pivot pin and cover spring, the pivot pin having an axis, the cover spring functioning to bias the cover to a closed orientation; a pivotal latch including opposing first and second male portions, the latch being pivotally connected to the pivot pin by way of a latch pin, the latch pin having an axis that is perpendicular to the axis of the pivot pin, a pair of springs secured to the base and urging the first and second male portions of the latch into the apertures of the tongue plates; a finger projection secured to the cover, the finger projection contacting and rotating the pivotal latch when the cover is rotated by 45 degrees or more, whereby rotation of the pivotal latch overcomes the bias of the associated spring such that the first male portion is removed from the aperture of the tongue plate, and whereby both the first and second male portions are removed from the apertures of the tongue plates when the cover is rotated by 90 degrees or more.