Breakaway buckle

A breakaway buckle for providing a releasable connection between a first strap and a second strap extending along an axis disposed laterally with respect to the first strap, said buckle comprising:

• a keeper attachable to the first of said straps, said keeper having a bottom wall cooperating with side walls to define a receiving channel alignable with said axis and extending from an open front end to a rear end closed by a back wall, a lever integrally joined to and projecting from said back wall to overlie said channel, said lever having a first locking surface and being resiliently deflectable between a normally closed lowered position and a raised position with respect to said bottom wall;
• a secure attachable to said second strap, said secure having a tongue with a second locking surface, said tongue being configured and dimensioned for insertion into said receiving channel through the open front end thereof and into a seated position against said back wall and beneath said lever, said lever being deflectable from said lowered to said raised position in response to entry of said tongue into said channel, and, in response to arrival of said tongue at its' seated position, being resiliently returnable to said lowered position with said first locking surface coacting in an interlocked abutting relationship at an area of overlap with said second locking surface to thereby resist withdrawal of said tongue from said channel;
• first and second cam surfaces located respectively on said keeper and said secure, said cam surfaces being arranged to coact in decreasing said area of overlap in response to lateral and/or twisting movement of said secure relative to said keeper, thereby facilitating axial withdrawal of said tongue from said channel;
• and
• means for manually deflecting said lever from said lowered to said raised positions.