Buckle

A buckle comprising:

• a fastener and a latch displaceable relative to one another between engaging and disengaging positions, the buckle operating in a locking state, wherein relative displacement between the latch and the fastener is prevented in the engaging position, and a release state, wherein the latch and the fastener are displaceable from the engaging position to the disengaging position;
• a resilient element mounted to the fastener and having
• a pair of leaf springs converging toward a stop front surface of the fastener, and
• opposite outer sides each extending backwards from a respective leaf spring and juxtaposed with a respective inner surface of the latch in the engaging position to prevent displacement of the latch and the fastener to the disengaging position;
• and
• a cam mounted to the fastener and operative to displace the resilient element so that the opposite outer sides thereof are spaced from the inner sides of the latch at a distance allowing the latch to deflect inwards in response to an external force applied thereto to the disengaging position.

A buckle comprising:

• a fastener defining an interior;
• a latch sized and shaped to linearly slide into the interior of the fastener to assume an engaging position, the latch and fastener being automatically locked against relative displacement in response to an external force applied to the latch simultaneously with reaching the engaging position, thereby defining a locking state of the buckle, wherein
• the fastener has a housing extending along a longitudinal axis and provided with a front stop surface,
• two spaced recesses bridged by the front stop surface and each having a respective support surface spaced axially rearwards from the front stop surface,
• the latch having a pair of flexible arms deflectable laterally inwards in response to an external force to allow the latch to slide through the housing toward the front stop surface, and
• the flexible arms being provided with front-end tabs and displaceable laterally outwards after the engaging surfaces move past and engage the support surfaces of the housing to define the engaging position of the latch.

A lockable buckle comprising:

• a fastener defining an interior;
• a latch sized and shaped to linearly slide into the interior of the fastener to assume an engaging position,
• the latch and fastener being automatically locked in a locking state of the buckle, wherein
• relative displacement of the latch and the fastener in response to an external force applied to the latch is prevented simultaneously with establishing the engaging position, and
• the fastener has a housing extending along a longitudinal axis and provided with a front stop surface, two spaced recesses bridged by the front stop surface and each having a respective support surface spaced axially rearwards from the front stop surface,
• the latch having a pair of flexible arms deflectable laterally inwards in response to an external force to allow the latch to slide through the housing toward the front stop surface, and
• the flexible arms being provided with front-end tabs and displaceable laterally outwards after the engaging surfaces move past and engage the support surface to define the engaging position of the latch.

A method of operating a buckle, comprising the steps of:

• (a) linearly advancing a latch forward into a fastener;
• (b) simultaneously with step (a) engaging a locking element, resiliently biased rearwards in the fastener, by the latch, thereby displacing the locking element forward so that opposite tabs of the latch are engaged in respective recesses provided in the fastener,
• (c) engaging the latch and fastener, thereby preventing further linear displacement thereof relative to one another;
• and
• (d) simultaneously with the engagement between the latch and fastener displacing the locking element rearwards so that the locking element is juxtaposed with the tabs of the latch to prevent inward displacement of the tabs, thereby establishing a locked state of the buckle.