Buckle

The present invention relates generally to a safety device; and more particularly to a buckle for use in a safety harness.

It is known that full-body safety harnesses in the market are used to prevent users from falling from heights while participating in activities such as rock climbing or working at heights, thereby ensuring the stability of the users during aerial movement.

A typical full-body safety harness includes two shoulder straps, two abdominal straps, and a buckle. The buckle is connected to the two abdominal straps and is fastened at the chest of a user. A D-ring is usually provided between each shoulder strap and each abdominal strap, and the D-ring serves as a chest suspension point for the full- body safety harness. The D-ring is for connecting an ascender, a descender, or a lanyard.

Currently, the shoulder straps and the abdominal straps are typically sewn to the respective D-rings. However, sewing the D-rings to the full-body safety harness not only increases the manufacturing steps but also weaken the ability of both of the shoulder straps and the abdominal straps to support the body of the user. Additionally, when the user falls, a shock force generated by braking is directly transmitted to the chest and the spine through the D-rings fastened by sewing to simultaneously compress the muscles of the chest and the back, making self-rescue difficult for the fallen user. Therefore, developing a buckle that integrates a D-ring and enhances safety and comfort during wearing a safety harness is an urgent problem to be solved.

In view of the above, the primary objective of the present invention is to provide a buckle for connecting a safety harness, which could enhance safety and comfort when wearing the safety harness.

The present invention provides a buckle including a first buckle part, a second buckle part, a connecting section, and a receiving section. The first buckle part has a first body and a ring body, wherein the ring body is pivotally connected to the first body and is rotatable around a rod body. The second buckle part is for releasably connecting to the first buckle part and has a second body. The connecting section extends along an insertion direction. The receiving section is for accommodating the connecting section. The receiving section is disposed on either the first body or the second body, and the connecting section is disposed on the other of the second body and the first body. An angle between the rod body of the first buckle part and the insertion direction is less than 90 degrees.

The advantage of the present invention lies in the design where the ring body is pivotally connected to the first body. When the ring body serves as a suspension point for the safety harness, the ring body could rotate around the rod body in response to external forces from different directions. This ensures that a user maintains body stability while moving at heights, thereby enhancing the safety and comfort during wearing the safety harness.

A buckle of the present invention is used for connecting to a safety harness. A buckleaccording to an embodiment of the present invention is illustrated intoand includes a first buckle partand a second buckle part, wherein the first buckle partcould releasably connect to the second buckle part. The first buckle parthas a first bodyand a ring body. The first bodyhas a first peripheryand a connecting peripherythat are adjacent to each other. The ring bodyis pivotally connected to the first bodyand is located near the first peripheryof the first body. A first fastening sectionis disposed on the first bodyand is located near a periphery opposite to the connecting periphery, wherein the first fastening sectionis adapted to connect to a webbing (not shown). A connecting sectionis disposed on the connecting peripheryof the first body, wherein the connecting sectionextends from the connecting peripheryalong an insertion direction D. The second buckle parthas a second body, wherein the second bodyhas a receiving periphery. A receiving sectionis disposed on the receiving peripheryof the second bodyand is for accommodating the connecting section. A second fastening sectionis disposed on the second bodyand is located near a periphery opposite to the receiving periphery, wherein the second fastening sectionis adapted to connect to another webbing (not shown). When the connecting sectionis accommodated in the receiving section, the connecting peripheryof the first bodyabuts against the receiving peripheryof the second body.

In the current embodiment, the connecting sectionis disposed on the first bodyand the receiving sectionis disposed on the second body. In other embodiments, the connecting sectioncould also be disposed on the second bodyand the receiving sectioncould also be disposed on the first body.

Referring toand, the first bodyhas an axial holepenetrating the first bodyalong the insertion direction D. The axial holeis located near the first peripheryof the first body. The first buckle parthas a rod body. The rod bodyhas a body sectionand two head sectionsconnected to two ends of the body section, wherein an outer diameter of each of the head sectionsis greater than an outer diameter of the body section. The body sectionpasses through the axial holeof the first bodyand two through holesat two free ends of the ring body. A surface of each of the head sectionsclose to the body sectionabuts against an outer surface of each of the free ends of the ring body. Therefore, as shown in, the ring bodycould rotate along a rotation direction R around the rod body. Thus, when the ring bodyserves as a suspension point and is connected to an ascender, a descender, or a lanyard, the ring bodycould rotate in response to external forces at different directions, ensuring that a user maintains the stability while moving at heights.

As shown in, an angle between the rod bodyof the first buckle partand the insertion direction D is equal to 0 degrees. In other words, the rod bodyis parallel to the insertion direction D. Therefore, when the ring bodyis pivotally connected to the first bodythrough the rod bodyand serves as the suspension point for a safety harness, the bucklecould ensure the safety of the user.

In the current embodiment, the ring bodyis C-shaped. In other embodiments, the ring bodymight also be arc-shaped or polygonal.

In the current embodiment, the angle between the rod bodyof the first buckle partand the insertion direction D is equal to 0 degrees. In another embodiment, the angle between the rod bodyand the insertion direction D could be less than 90 degrees. In still another embodiment, the angle between the rod bodyand the insertion direction D could be less than or equal to 30 degrees. In this way, when the ring bodyis pivotally connected to the first bodythrough the rod bodyand serves as the suspension point for the safety harness, the design of the angle between the rod bodyand the insertion direction D avoids uneven distribution of an upward pulling force applied to the ring body, thereby ensuring that the user maintains stability while moving at heights.

Referring to, the connecting sectionhas a first tongueand a second tonguethat partially overlap each other. The second tongueis sheet-shaped, and an end of the second tongueis connected to the connecting peripheryof the first body. The second tongueextends along the insertion direction D. A surface of the second tongueis connected to a first top surfaceof the first body. Another surface of the second tongueopposite to the first top surfaceoverlaps with the first tongue. The first tongueis sheet-shaped, and an end of the first tongueis connected to the connecting peripheryof the first body. The first tongueextends along the insertion direction D. The first tonguehas, in sequence from the first bodyto the second bodyalong the insertion direction D, a connecting memberand an abutting member. The connecting memberof the first tongueoverlaps with the another surface of the second tongue. The abutting memberof the first tongueprotrudes from the second tongue.

In other words, the first tongueof the connecting sectionhas a first tongue length Lalong the insertion direction D, and the second tongueof the connecting sectionhas a second tongue length Lalong the insertion direction D. The first tongue length Lis greater than the second tongue length L. Moreover, the abutting memberof the first tonguehas a width in a direction perpendicular to the insertion direction D, and the connecting memberof the first tonguehas a width in the direction perpendicular to the insertion direction D. The width of the abutting memberis greater than the width of the connecting member.

Referring toto, the receiving sectionhas a first accommodating grooveand a second accommodating groove. The second accommodating grooveis disposed on the receiving peripheryof the second bodyand penetrates a second top surfaceof the second body. A side wall of the second accommodating grooveis connected to the second top surface. The second accommodating grooveforms a second space Sfor accommodating the second tongueof the connecting section, and an outer contour of the second tonguematches a contour of the second accommodating groove. The first accommodating grooveis disposed between the second top surfaceand a second bottom surfaceof the second body. The first accommodating grooveforms a first space Sfor accommodating the first tongueof the connecting section. The first space Sof the first accommodating groovecommunicates with the second space Sof the second accommodating groove. When the connecting sectionis accommodated in the receiving sectionalong the insertion direction D, a periphery of the abutting memberof the first tongueabuts against an arcuate sidewall of the first accommodating grooveas shown inand. Moreover, the design where the outer contour of the second tonguematches the contour of the second accommodating grooveensures that a periphery of the second tonguefits against a sidewall of the second accommodating groove. Therefore, the first tongueand the second tongueof the connecting sectionare securely accommodated in the first accommodating grooveand the second accommodating grooveof the receiving section, respectively.

Referring to,, and, the receiving sectionfurther includes a positioning module. The positioning modulecould move between a first position Pand a second position P. As shown in, when the positioning moduleis located at the first position P, the first tongueand the second tongueof the connecting sectioncould be respectively inserted into the first accommodating grooveand the second accommodating grooveof the receiving section. As shown inand, when the connecting sectionis accommodated in the receiving sectionand the positioning moduleis located at the second position P, the first tongueand the second tongueof the connecting sectionare respectively fixed in the first accommodating grooveand the second accommodating grooveof the receiving section; therefore, the connecting sectioncould not be detached from the receiving section. When the connecting sectionis accommodated in the receiving sectionand the positioning modulemoves from the second position Pto the first position P, the first tongueand the second tongueof the connecting sectioncould be respectively detached from the first accommodating grooveand the second accommodating grooveof the receiving section.

Additionally, as shown inand, the positioning modulehas two fastenersand two elastic members. The two fastenersare respectively located on two sides of the first accommodating groovein the first space S. Each of the fastenersis sheet-shaped and has a limiting end, an operation end, and a middle sectionconnected to both of the limiting endand the operation end, wherein the middle sectionis pivotally connected to the first accommodating groove, so that each of the fastenerscould move between the first position Pand the second position P. Each of the limiting endsis accommodated in the first space Sof the first accommodating groove. Each of the operation endsprotrudes from the first space Sto an exterior of the second bodyto allow an external force to be applied. The first accommodating grooveforms two accommodating holescorresponding to positions of the fasteners. The elastic membersare located between the second top surfaceand the second bottom surfaceof the second bodyand are respectively disposed in the two accommodating holes. Each of the elastic membersis a spring. A sidewall of each of the accommodating holesis connected to the arcuate sidewall of the first accommodating groove. An end of each of the elastic membersis fixed in the each of the accommodating holes. The other end of each of the elastic membersprotrudes into the first space Sof the first accommodating groove.

As shown in, when the connecting sectionis accommodated in the receiving sectionand the positioning moduleis located at the second position P, the limiting endsof the fastenersrespectively clamp two opposite peripheries of the first tongueof the connecting section. In other words, the limiting endof each of the fastenersclamps a junction of the connecting memberand the abutting memberof the first tongue. Simultaneously, the other end of each of the elastic membersprotruding into the first space Sof the first accommodating grooveabuts against a periphery of the limiting endof each of the fasteners. Therefore, the first tongueand the second tongueof the connecting sectioncould be respectively fixed in the first accommodating grooveand the second accommodating grooveof the receiving section, thereby ensuring that the connecting sectioncould not be detached from the receiving section. As shown inand, when the connecting sectionis accommodated in the receiving section, applying the external force in a direction away from the second body(towards the first body) to the operation endof each fastenerresults in the movement of the positioning modulefrom the second position Pto the first position P. Simultaneously, the limiting endof each of the fastenersmoves from the junction of the connecting memberand the abutting membertoward each of the accommodating holes, so that the periphery of the limiting endof each of the fastenerscompresses each of the elastic member. Therefore, the first tongueand the second tongueof the connecting sectioncould be respectively detached from the first accommodating grooveand the second accommodating grooveof the receiving section.

Referring to, when the buckleis used with a safety harness W, the first top surfaceof the first bodyand the second top surfaceof the second bodyface toward the user, and the buckleis located at the chest of the user. A webbing K of the safety harness W is threaded through the first fastening sectionof the first buckle part, and another webbing K of the safety harness W is threaded through the second fastening sectionof the second buckle part. Therefore, the buckleis securely connected to the safety harness W.

It must be pointed out that the embodiments described above are only some preferred embodiments of the present invention. All equivalent structures which employ the concepts disclosed in this specification and the appended claims should fall within the scope of the present invention.