초록 ▼

A buckle assembly has male and female portions with magnets embedded in each portion. The male portion has a locking leg with a pawl at its end that seats within a corresponding locking groove having an insertion portion and a locking portion having a flange on the female portion when the male and f

A buckle assembly has male and female portions with magnets embedded in each portion. The male portion has a locking leg with a pawl at its end that seats within a corresponding locking groove having an insertion portion and a locking portion having a flange on the female portion when the male and female portions are placed together. When the male part is placed adjacent the female part, the magnets attract each other to force the locking leg through the insertion portion of the locking groove. The magnets are disposed laterally offset from each other when the locking leg extends through the insertion portion, so that the magnets to pull the male and female portions in opposing lateral directions to force the locking leg into the locking portion of the groove, causing the locking pawl to engage the flange and lock the male portion to the female portion.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A buckle assembly comprising: a male portion comprising: an outer surface,an inner surface,two side edges and two ends, the side edges extending in a longitudinal direction and the ends extending in a lateral direction,a strap retaining bar disposed on one of the ends of the male portion,four loc

1. A buckle assembly comprising: a male portion comprising: an outer surface,an inner surface,two side edges and two ends, the side edges extending in a longitudinal direction and the ends extending in a lateral direction,a strap retaining bar disposed on one of the ends of the male portion,four locking legs projecting from the inner surface, each locking leg having a locking pawl extending from a distal end thereof, anda magnet disposed between the outer surface and the inner surface and being completely covered by the outer surface and inner surface,a female portion comprising: an outer surface,an inner surface,two side edges and two ends, the side edges extending in a longitudinal direction and the ends extending in a lateral direction,a strap retaining bar disposed on one of the ends of the female portion,four locking grooves, each locking groove having an insertion portion extending through the inner surface, and a locking portion having a flange extending from the inner surface, the locking portion being disposed laterally adjacent the insertion portion, anda second magnet disposed between the inner and outer surfaces of the female portion and being completely covered by the inner and outer surfaces of the female portion,wherein placing the male portion adjacent the female portion causes the magnets to attract to each other to press the male portion to the female portion and force the locking legs through the insertion portion of the locking grooves,wherein the magnets are disposed laterally offset from each other when the locking leg extends through the insertion portion, so that the magnets to pull the male and female portions in opposing lateral directions to force the locking legs into the locking portions of the grooves, causing the locking pawls to engage the flanges and lock the male portion to the female portion. 2. The buckle assembly according to claim 1, wherein each of the magnets is disposed inside a retaining element and wherein the male and female portions are molded around the respective retaining elements. 3. The buckle assembly according to claim 2, wherein the retaining elements are made of metal. 4. The buckle assembly according to claim 1, wherein the strap retaining bars are disposed on opposite ends of the buckle assembly when the male and female portions are locked together. 5. The buckle assembly according to claim 4, wherein the ends of the male portion extend beyond the ends of the female portion when the male and female portions are locked together. 6. The buckle assembly according to claim 1, wherein one of the side edges of the male portion extends beyond the corresponding side edge of the female portion when the male and female portions are locked together. 7. The buckle assembly according to claim 6, wherein the corresponding side edge of the female portion is indented. 8. The buckle assembly according to claim 1, wherein when the male and female buckles are locked together, the magnets are disposed still offset from one another so as to apply constant lateral pressure on the male and female portions. 9. A buckle assembly comprising: a male portion comprising: an outer surface,an inner surface,two side edges and two ends, the side edges extending in a longitudinal direction and the ends extending in a lateral direction,a strap retaining bar disposed on one of the ends of the male portion,two locking legs, each locking leg extending laterally across the male portion at opposite longitudinal ends of the male portion, each locking leg having two locking pawls extending from a distal end thereof, anda magnet disposed between the outer surface and the inner surface and being completely covered by the outer surface and inner surface,a female portion comprising: an outer surface,an inner surface,two side edges and two ends, the side edges extending in a longitudinal direction and the ends extending in a lateral direction,a strap retaining bar disposed on one of the ends of the female portion,two locking grooves, each locking groove extending laterally across the female portion and having two insertion portions extending through the inner surface, and two locking portions, each locking portion having a flange extending from the inner surface and being disposed laterally adjacent a respective one of the insertion portions, anda second magnet disposed between the inner and outer surfaces of the female portion and being completely covered by the inner and outer surfaces of the female portion,wherein placing the male portion adjacent the female portion causes the magnets to attract to each other to press the male portion to the female portion and force the locking legs through the insertion portions of the locking grooves,wherein the magnets are disposed laterally offset from each other when the locking legs extend through the insertion portions, so that the magnets to pull the male and female portions in opposing lateral directions to force the locking legs into the locking portions of the grooves, causing the locking pawls to engage the flanges and lock the male portion to the female portion.