Gripping slider type buckle with fastener member on slider

Oct. 28, 1952

R. E. ROSS

GRIPPING SLIDER TYPE BUCKLE WITH FASTENER MEMBER ON SLIDER Filed Jan. 13, 1950

2,615,218

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Inventor: Robert E. Ross, By

Attorney.

Patented Oct. 28, 1952

2,615,218

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ' 2,615,218 ^; ’ . .

GRIPPING SIIDER TYPE BUCKLE WITH FASTENER MEMBER ON SLIDER

Robert E. Ross, Lowell, Mass., assignor to UnitedOarr Fastener Corporation, Cambridge, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts

Application January 13,1950, Serial No. 138,421

Claim.

This invention relates generally to buckles, and has particular reference to a buckle assembly of the type having a slidable strap-gripper element with means thereon for attaching the assembly to a supporting member. :.....

The object of the invention iis to provide an improved buckle assembly comprising a minimum number of parts which are capable of production ahd assembly on automatic machines.

A further object of the invention is t.o provide a buckle assembly in..tvhiph,a buckle frame has means thereon for preventing interference between an assembled strap and the means for attaching a strap-gripper element to the irame.

A further object of the invention is to provide a buckle assembly in which a strap support means is provided for separating an assembled strap from slider support rails carrying a strap-gripper element.

Other objects of the invention will, in part, be obvious, and will, in part, appear hereinafter. For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a buckle assembly embodying the features of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the buckle assembly of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view in elevation, partly in section, of the buckle assembly of Fig. 1 and an assembled strap in which the buckle assembly is attached to a supporting member; and

Fig. 4 is a view in section taken on line 4—4 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing, there is illustrated a buckle assembly 10, which is adapted to receive a strap 12, and to be attached to a supporting member 14. The assembly 10 comprises a buckle frame 16 and a slider member 18 which are assembled so as to allow relative movement therebetween in a direction lonigtudinally of an assembled strap. The frame 16 comprises end portions 20 and 2f which have transverse strapreceiving openings 22 and 23, and a medial portion 24 connecting the ends. In the preferred embodiment the medial portion 24 is narrower than the end portions, thereby forming a pair of shoulders 26 and 27 at the junction of each end of the medial portion with the end portions.

The medial portion 24 comprises a central strap support portion 28, and a pair of slider support rails 30 disposed alongside of the strap support portion and extending directly between the end (Cl. 24—77) &gt;

portions 20 and 21. The strap support portion 28 is spaced upwardly out of the plane of the rails 3 $ for a purpose to be hereinafter described, and in the preferred form is embossed upwardly 5 into a relatively smooth arch extending longitudinally between the strap-receiving openings 22 and 23.

The slider member 18 comprises a strap-gripper element 32, which may be provided with serrated 10 ends 34 and 35, a support-engaging member 36 disposed centrally therein, and a pair of frameengaging tabs 38 which extend upwardly from the sides of the gripper element and then inwardly over the .rails 30 to retain the slider in 15 assembly with the frame. In the’illustrated embodiment the attaching member 36 is in the form of a snap fastener socket 40 disposed on the supporting member 14.

The slider i8 is freely movable on the frame longitudinally of an assembled strap, and the movement thereon is limited by the pairs of shoulders 26 and 27 at either end of the medial portion. The gripper element 32, at the extreme limits of the movement of the slider, is capable of at least partially obstructing the strap-receiving openings 22 and 23 to engage a strap disposed therethrough as will be hereinafter described.

In the preferred embodiment of the device, the slider 18 is formed of a single piece of sheet metal, _n with the support-engaging member 36 formed ³⁰ integrally thereon by a drawing operation which may be accomplished during the forming of the slider in an automatic machine from a continuous strip of sheet metal. With this construction it is possible to both form and assemble the com⁰ ponent parts of the buckle by means of automatic machinery, which greatly increases the speed of manufacture and reduces the cost of the completed device.

₄₀ The operation of the buckle is illustrated in Fig. 3. The strap 12 is assembled oil the buckle frame through the openings 22 and 23 and across the arched strap support portion 28. The attaching member 36 is then snapped into engage₄₅ ment with the socket 40 on the supporting member. When tension is applied to the device as indicated by the arrows, the pull of the strap i2 tends to move the frame (6 to the right. However, the slider 18, being attached to the sup50 porting member, cannot move, and consequently relative movement of the slider and the frame causes the gripper element to engage the strap 12 at the opening 22 and prevent slippage of the strap through the buckle frame. Since the grip55 ping force applied to the strap is only as great

2,616,218 as the frictional pull imparted to the frame by the strap, the provision of the arched strap support portion not only increases the friction of the strap against the buckle, by providing contact therebetween throughout the entire length of the medial portion, but also lifts the strap sufficiently to prevent interference between the strap and the frame-engaging tabs 38, so that all frictional force from the strap is applied to the frame and none to the slider.

Since certain obvious modifications may be made in the device without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained herein be interpreted in an illustrative, and not in a limiting sense.