US 4,099,306 AGranted

Safety buckle

OwnerFrank M. Matthews, Terry O. McClaininventors

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Abstract

A separable buckle (such as a seat belt buckle for occupants of vehicles) adapted to connect two separable belts. A first structural member in the form of a floating link is typically secured permanently to one end of a first belt. A second structural member is adapted to be permanently secured to the end of the other belt. Permanently attached to the second structural member is a lever which is pivotable about a control axis near the distal end of said second structural member. The control axis is preferably elevated above the plane defined by the remote ends of the two structural members. At an intermediate position along the lever is provided an open-face cusp, which is adapted to receive the distal end of the floating link. In latching the buckle, the lever is rotated to an extended position, and the distal end of the floating link is rested against the cusp. By rotating the lever through about 180.degree. to a folded condition alongside the second structural member, the floating link is drawn toward the second structural member. By causing the lever to rotate "over-center", the buckle becomes essentially self-latching. Means are also provided for securing auxilliary straps, such as shoulder straps or leg straps, to the buckle when it is latched.

Claims11

Dependent claims

A separable buckle adapted to connect two separable belts which normally are maintained in tension when they are connected, comprising:

(a) a first structural member constituting a floating link of given length, with the link being connected to and pivoting about a point at one end of a first belt, and the distal end of said floating link being generally cylindrical so as to foster rotative contact with an abutting structure;
(b) a second structural member including a base plate and a lever which is permanently secured to the base plate in a manner that provides for pivotable movement about a control axis on the base plate, with the control axis being transverse to the orientation of the two belts being joined, and the base plate being connected to an end of the second belt, said lever having a length which extends from a remote free end to a second end adjacent the control axis and said lever having a cusp-shaped opening between its free end and said control axis, with said cusp-shaped opening lying on a line that extends generally between the lever's free end and the control axis, and said cusp-shaped opening being oriented and sized to selectively receive and hold the distal end of said floating link in abutting contact, and the control axis being located such that the buckle is not only unlatched but also tends to separate when the two belts are in tension and the plane of the floating link is positioned above the control axis, and such that the buckle remains firmly latched together when the two belts are in tension and the plane of the floating link is positioned below the control axis;
and
(c) means for manually moving the lever above and below the control axis, with said moving of the lever causing shifting of the floating link when the link's distal end is engaged with the lever, whereby manually displacing the lever through a relatively small angle of as little as 3.degree. can cause the floating link to be shifted to and from a secured state, and the buckle can be thereby changed to and from a latched condition.

1 more element

A separable belt buckle which is capable of introducing tension into two longitudinally aligned belts during the latching operation of the buckle, comprising:

(a) a first structural member adapted to be securely connected to the end of one belt;
(b) a second structural member adapted to be securely connected to an end of the second belt;
a lever permanently mounted for rotation at the distal end of said second structural member, with the plane of rotation of said lever being in line with the longitudinal axes of said belts, and said lever having means intermediate its length for engaging the distal end of said first structural member and pulling same toward said second structural member when said lever is rotated from an extended position to a folded position;
and
(d) oppositely facing and complementary elements on the first and second structural members which are adapted to slide together in an axial direction and to interlock upon rotation of said lever to a folded position, and there being a space between said first and second structural members in the region adjacent the interlocked elements, whereby additional belts or straps may be selectively secured to the buckle by engagement with at least one of said interlocked complementary elements when the buckle is latched.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.