Quick Release Connector

p-0002This application claims priorities to Taiwan Patent Application No. 098113621 filed on Apr. 24, 2009 and Taiwan Patent Application No. 099112482 filed on Apr. 21, 2010, the disclosure of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

p-0003Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

p-00041. Field of the Invention

p-0005The present invention relates to a quick release connector, and more particularly, to a quick release connector for use in diving activities to join a snorkel and a strap.

p-00062. Descriptions of the Related Art

p-0007Recreational water sports, such as diving and swimming, have gained popularity over the years, especially during the summer months. To breathe under water, snorkels have become indispensable for snorkeling. With the aid of a snorkel, even beginners who are not good at swimming can enjoy snorkeling.

p-0008When using a snorkel in the water, the user usually joins the snorkel to the strap of the diving mask and allows a portion of the snorkel to extend above the water to prevent entry of water into the snorkel and maintain smooth air exchange. Generally, the snorkel is joined to the strap through a standard clip for the user to attach and detach the snorkel more easily.

p-0009As a kind of the standard clip, a side clip structure for a snorkel has been disclosed in Taiwan Patent Publication No. 560504. This side clip structure allows the user to join the snorkel and the strap together quickly during diving and to detach the snorkel from the strap also quickly after diving, thereby providing the user an easier way to join the snorkel and the strap. However, although the side clip structure allows for a quick attachment, the snorkel can be detached only when rotated to a particular orientation. In addition, the side clip structure comprises a large number of elements and requires a complex assembling process, which drives the production cost higher and makes the structure more likely to fail.

p-0010In view of this, it is highly desirable in the art to provide a quick release connector, which has a low cost, low failure rate and high joining strength and can also be assembled and detached easily to allow for the quick joining and detachment of the snorkel from the strap.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

p-0011An objective of the present invention is to provide a quick release connector. By reducing the number of elements of the quick release connector, the production cost is lowered, and by use of an easier assembling process, the failure rate of the quick release connector is decreased, thereby prolonging the service life thereof. Thus, the user may join the snorkel to the strap more easily during diving and detach the snorkel from the strap easily after the diving sport ceases.

p-0012The present invention provides a quick release connector adapted for joining a snorkel and a strap, which comprises a first fixing member and a second fixing member. The first fixing member comprises a fixing ring and an embedded portion. The fixing ring is adapted to encircle the snorkel. The second fixing member comprises a fixation clip, a pressing portion and a buckle portion. The fixation clip is adapted to be clamped to the strap. The pressing portion has a first longitudinal opening, while the buckle portion has a vertical opening, a second longitudinal opening and a flexible pushing element. The pressing portion is disposed in the vertical opening and moves vertically relative to the buckle portion. When the pressing portion is pressed to move vertically to the first position, the first longitudinal opening and the second longitudinal opening are adapted to receive the embedded portion. When the pressing portion is released, the flexible pushing element pushes the pressing portion to a second position vertically to clamp the embedded portion in the first longitudinal opening and the second longitudinal opening.

p-0013The present invention further provides a quick release connector adapted for joining a snorkel and a strap, which also comprises a first fixing member and a second fixing member. The first fixing member comprises a fixing ring and an embedded portion. The fixing ring is adapted to encircle the snorkel. The second fixing member comprises a fixation clip, a pressing portion and a buckle portion. The fixation clip is adapted to be clamped to the strap.

p-0014The pressing portion has a first opening opened along a first direction, while the buckle portion has a second opening opened along a second direction, a third opening opened along the first direction and a flexible pushing element. The pressing portion is disposed in the second opening and moves vertically relative to the buckle portion. When the pressing portion is pressed to move vertically to the first position, the first opening and the third opening are adapted to receive the embedded portion. When the pressing portion is released, the flexible pushing element pushes the pressing portion to a second position vertically to clamp the embedded portion in the first opening and the third opening.

p-0015The detailed technology and preferred embodiments implemented for the subject invention are described in the following paragraphs accompanying the appended drawings for people skilled in this field to well appreciate the features of the claimed invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

p-0016<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref> is a schematic view of a quick release connector of the present invention;

p-0017<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2A</figref> is a schematic view of a pressing portion in a second fixing member of the quick release connector of the present invention;

p-0018<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2B</figref> is a schematic view of a buckle portion in a second fixing member of the quick release connector of the present invention;

p-0019<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3A</figref> is a schematic view of the pressing portion of the quick release connector of the present invention at a first position;

p-0020<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3B</figref> is a cross-sectional view of the pressing portion of the quick release connector of the present invention at the first position;

p-0021<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 4A</figref> is a schematic view of the pressing portion of the quick release connector of the present invention at a second position;

p-0022<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 4B</figref> is a cross-sectional view of the pressing portion of the quick release connector of the present invention at the second position; and

p-0023<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 5</figref> is a schematic view of another embodiment of a quick release connector of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

p-0024An embodiment of the present invention is a quick release connector <b>100</b> adapted for joining a snorkel (not shown) and a strap (not shown), as shown in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>. The quick release connector <b>100</b> comprises a first fixing member <b>200</b> and a second fixing member <b>300</b>.

p-0025The first fixing member <b>200</b> comprises a fixing ring <b>210</b> and an embedded portion <b>220</b>, in which the embedded portion <b>220</b> further comprises a projection <b>221</b>. The fixing ring <b>210</b> is adapted to encircle the snorkel, and in the present invention, the fixing ring <b>210</b> is preferably a flexible C-ring which allows for snorkels of various sizes to be encircled by the C-shaped opening.

p-0026The second fixing member <b>300</b> comprises a fixation clip <b>310</b>, a pressing portion <b>320</b> and a buckle portion <b>330</b>. The fixation clip <b>310</b> is adapted to be clamped to the strap. As shown in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2A</figref>, the pressing portion <b>320</b> has a first opening <b>321</b> along a first direction and a hook <b>324</b>. The first opening <b>321</b> has an upper portion <b>322</b> and a lower portion <b>323</b> that is slightly smaller than the upper portion <b>322</b>, which seems like two partially overlapped circles. Correspondingly, as shown in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2B</figref>, the buckle portion <b>330</b> has a second opening <b>331</b> along a second direction, a third opening <b>332</b> along the first direction, a flexible pushing element <b>333</b>, a recess <b>336</b> and a groove <b>337</b>. The pressing portion <b>320</b> is disposed in the second opening <b>331</b> of the buckle portion <b>330</b> to move vertically relative to the buckle portion <b>330</b> between a first position <b>320</b><i>a </i>and a second position <b>320</b><i>b. </i>

p-0027It is noted that in this embodiment, the first direction is a longitudinal direction and the second direction is a vertical direction, in other embodiments, the first direction and the second direction could be any other direction. Preferably, the first direction and the second direction are perpendicular. For example, the first direction could still be longitudinal and the second direction could be lateral in other aspects, as shown in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 5</figref>. The quick release connector <b>400</b> comprises a first fixing member <b>500</b> and a second fixing member <b>600</b>.

p-0028The first fixing member <b>500</b> comprises a fixing ring <b>510</b> and an embedded portion <b>520</b>, in which the embedded portion <b>520</b> further comprises a projection <b>521</b>. The fixing ring <b>510</b> is adapted to encircle the snorkel, and the fixing ring <b>510</b> is also preferably a flexible C-ring which allows for snorkels of various sizes to be encircled by the C-shaped opening.

p-0029The second fixing member <b>600</b> comprises a fixation clip <b>610</b>, a pressing portion <b>620</b> and a buckle portion <b>630</b>. The fixation clip <b>610</b> is adapted to be clamped to the strap. The pressing portion <b>620</b> has a first opening (not shown) along a longitudinal first direction. The first opening has a first portion (not shown) and a second portion (not shown) that is slightly smaller than the first portion, which seems like two partially overlapped circles. The buckle portion <b>630</b> further has a second opening <b>631</b> along a lateral direction, a third opening <b>632</b> along the longitudinal direction, a flexible pushing element (not shown), a recess <b>636</b> and a groove <b>637</b>. The pressing portion <b>620</b> is disposed in the second opening <b>631</b> of the buckle portion <b>630</b> to move laterally relative to the buckle portion <b>630</b>. The detailed implementation is the same as described above and further description is omitted here.

p-0030In reference to both <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 3A and 3B</figref> as the embodiment of <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>, when the embedded portion <b>220</b> of the first fixing member <b>200</b> is pressed by the user into the second fixing member <b>300</b>, the pressing portion <b>320</b> of the second fixing member <b>300</b> will move downward vertically to the first position <b>320</b><i>a </i>exactly, in which case the upper portion <b>322</b> of the first opening <b>321</b> and the third opening <b>332</b> are adapted to have their axes aligned with each other and to jointly form a receiving space that receives the embedded portion <b>220</b> of the first fixing member <b>200</b>.

p-0031In reference to both <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 4A and 4B</figref>, when the embedded portion <b>220</b> of the first fixing member <b>200</b> is embedded in the receiving space jointly formed by the upper portion <b>322</b> of the first opening <b>321</b> and the third opening <b>332</b>, the flexible pushing element <b>333</b> disposed at both sides of a bottom portion <b>339</b> of the second opening <b>331</b> is adapted to push the pressing portion <b>320</b> upwards vertically to a second position <b>320</b><i>b</i>. At this point, the embedded portion <b>220</b> is also received in the first opening <b>321</b> and the third opening <b>332</b>, but more particularly, is received in a lower portion <b>323</b> of the first opening <b>321</b> and pushed upwards by the flexible pushing element <b>333</b>. Hence, when the pressing portion <b>320</b> is located at the second position <b>320</b><i>b</i>, the lower portion <b>323</b> of the first opening <b>321</b> is adapted to have its axis aligned with the axis of the third opening <b>332</b> such that the embedded portion <b>220</b> of the first fixing member <b>200</b> is snap-fitted in both the first opening <b>321</b> and the third opening <b>332</b> of the second fixing member <b>300</b> to be tightly fixed therein by the misalignment shearing force between the openings. In the preferred example of the present invention, the flexible pushing element <b>333</b> is a flexible foot.

p-0032The recess <b>336</b> in the buckle portion <b>330</b> of the second fixing member <b>300</b> is disposed adjacent to and above the third opening <b>332</b>, and is of a curved shape with a central angle preferably ranging between 50° and 130°. When the embedded portion <b>220</b> is received in the buckle portion <b>330</b>, the projection <b>221</b> is adapted to move in the recess <b>336</b>. That is, when the first fixing member <b>200</b> engages with the second fixing member <b>300</b> with the embedded portion <b>220</b> being received in the buckle portion <b>330</b>, the projection <b>221</b> is adapted to move in the arc-shaped recess <b>336</b> to restrain the rotation angle of the first fixing member <b>200</b> relative to the second fixing member <b>300</b>.

p-0033In this embodiment, the embedded portion <b>220</b> is a column <b>222</b> with a neck portion <b>223</b> that has a smaller diameter, and the third opening <b>332</b> preferably has an inclined surface tapered inwards to guide the embedded portion <b>220</b> into the receiving space. When the embedded portion <b>220</b> is received in the buckle portion <b>330</b> with the pressing portion <b>320</b> located at the first position <b>320</b><i>a</i>, the upper portion <b>322</b> of the first opening <b>321</b> is adapted to have its axis aligned with the axis of the third opening <b>332</b> and is adapted to be securely engaged with at least a portion (e.g., an upper edge) of the neck portion <b>223</b>. On the other hand, when the pressing portion <b>320</b> is located at the second position <b>320</b><i>b</i>, the third opening <b>332</b> is adapted to have its axis aligned with the axis of the lower portion <b>323</b> of the first opening <b>321</b> so that the lower portion <b>323</b> is adapted to be securely engaged with at least a portion (e.g., a lower edge) of the neck portion <b>223</b>. In this way, the first fixing member <b>300</b> can be snap-fitted to and rotate relative to the second fixing member <b>300</b> without being released therefrom.

p-0034Meanwhile, to avoid the detachment of the pressing portion <b>320</b> of the second fixing member <b>300</b> from the buckle portion <b>330</b> due to an excessive vertical movement therein, the hook <b>324</b> of the pressing portion <b>320</b> is adapted to move vertically in the groove <b>337</b> of the buckle portion <b>330</b> when the pressing portion <b>320</b> moves vertically relative to the buckle portion <b>330</b>. The hook <b>324</b> is adapted to be restrained to an upper edge <b>338</b> of the groove <b>337</b> when the pressing portion <b>320</b> is located at the second position <b>320</b><i>b </i>so that the pressing portion <b>320</b> will not detach from the buckle portion <b>330</b> due to an excessive vertical upward movement.

p-0035According to the above descriptions, the quick release connector <b>100</b> of the present invention can be assembled by simply assembling the first fixing member <b>300</b>, the pressing portion <b>320</b> and the buckle portion <b>330</b> together according to the following steps: initially, the pressing portion <b>320</b> is inserted along the second opening <b>331</b> into the buckle portion <b>330</b> to form the second fixing member <b>300</b>, and then the embedded portion <b>220</b> of the first fixing member <b>200</b> is pressed into a receiving space formed by the first opening <b>321</b> and the third opening <b>332</b> of the second fixing member <b>300</b>, thus completing the assembly of the quick release connector <b>100</b> of the present invention.

p-0036After the embedded portion <b>220</b> of the first fixing member <b>200</b> has been pressed into the receiving space formed by the upper portion <b>322</b> of the first opening <b>321</b> and the third opening <b>332</b>, the pressing portion <b>320</b> moves to the second position <b>320</b><i>b </i>due to the vertical upward pushing action of the flexible pushing element <b>333</b>. At this point, the lower portion <b>323</b> of the first opening <b>321</b> is adapted to have its axis aligned with the axis of the third opening <b>332</b> so that the lower portion <b>323</b> of the first opening <b>321</b> is securely engaged with the lower edge of the neck portion <b>223</b> of the embedded portion <b>323</b>. Due to the interaction between the projection <b>221</b> and the recess <b>336</b>, the first fixing member <b>200</b> and the second fixing member <b>300</b> can rotate to a certain angle relative to each other without being released from each other.

p-0037When the pressing portion <b>320</b> is pressed to move vertically downward to the first position <b>320</b><i>a </i>along the second opening <b>331</b>, the upper portion <b>322</b> of the first opening <b>321</b> and the third opening <b>332</b> again form a receiving space to allow for the release of the embedded portion <b>220</b> of the first fixing member <b>200</b> from the second fixing member <b>300</b> and, thus, detachment of the first fixing member <b>200</b> from the second fixing member <b>300</b>. This release also simultaneously detaches the snorkel encircled by the first fixing member <b>200</b> from the strap clamped by the second fixing member <b>300</b>.

p-0038Being different from the standard clip, the quick release connector <b>100</b> of the present invention provides the pushing force necessary for buckling simply by virtue of flexibility of the flexible pushing element without need of various components such as a spring. Furthermore, the first fixing member and the second fixing member are joined together by means of the shearing force resulting from the misalignment of openings. Moreover, rotation within a certain angle range in the openings facilitates the adjustment by the user as compared to the unrestrained rotation within a range of 360°. Accordingly, the quick release connector <b>100</b> of the present invention allows for the quick attachment and detachment of the snorkel and strap by use of a simpler structure, and has advantages, such as a low production and maintenance cost, low failure rate and high joining strength.

p-0039The above disclosure is related to the detailed technical contents and inventive features thereof. People skilled in this field may proceed with a variety of modifications and replacements based on the disclosures and suggestions of the invention as described without departing from the characteristics thereof. Nevertheless, although such modifications and replacements are not fully disclosed in the above descriptions, they have substantially been covered in the following claims as appended.