Safety belt buckle for race car

• US 9,867,432 B1
• Filed: 08/26/2016
• Issued: 01/16/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/26/2016
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Taiwan Racing Products Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Taiwan Racing Products Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Wu, Wen-Yuan
• Primary Examiner(s): SANDY, ROBERT JOHN
• Application Number:
  US15/248,009
• Time in Patent Office: 508 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A44B 11/2542 actuated by a rotatable element, e.g. combined with other actuating means
• CPC Class Codes: A44B 11/2549 Fastening of other buckle elements to the main buckle buckles with several tongues released by the same mechanism A44B11/2507 - A44B11/2542
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 24/45618 and interlocking with independently associated or dissociated projection members

Abstract

A safety belt buckle includes a base unit, a driving unit mounted on the base unit, and a torque device mounted on the driving unit. The base unit is provided with a plurality of insertion slots, a rotation shaft, and a positioning portion. The driving unit includes a circular cap and a driving handle. The torque device includes a ring, two balls, two compression springs and a fixed plate. In practice, when the driving handle is driven by a user, the circular cap is rotated to operate the two compression springs which press the two balls to increase a resistance to the circular cap, and to obstruct rotation of the driving unit, thereby preventing the driving unit from being driven freely by an external force.

Claims

1. A safety belt buckle comprising:

a base unit;

a driving unit mounted on the base unit; and

a torque device mounted on the driving unit;

wherein;

the base unit is provided with a plurality of insertion slots, a rotation shaft, and a positioning portion;

the rotation shaft has a top provided with a drive portion;

the positioning portion has an annular wall surrounding the rotation shaft;

the annular wall of the positioning portion has a height greater than that of the drive portion of the rotation shaft and has a periphery provided with a first protrusion and a second protrusion;

the driving unit includes;

a circular cap; and

a driving handle extending from the circular cap;

the circular cap of the driving unit has a bottom provided with a receiving chamber;

the receiving chamber of the circular cap is provided with a receiving recess corresponding to the annular wall of the positioning portion;

the receiving recess of the circular cap has a periphery provided with a first channel and a second channel and has a center provided with a fixing portion;

the torque device includes;

a ring mounted in the receiving recess of the circular cap and having a periphery provided with a first depression, a second depression, a first ball groove and a second ball groove;

two balls respectively mounted in the first channel and the second channel of the circular cap and partially received in the first ball groove and the second ball groove of the ring respectively;

two compression springs respectively mounted in the first channel and the second channel of the circular cap and biased between the circular cap of the driving unit and the two balls respectively; and

a fixed plate secured in the receiving chamber of the circular cap and provided with a connecting hole corresponding to the annular wall of the positioning portion; and

when the driving handle of the driving unit is driven by a user, the circular cap of the driving unit is rotated to operate the two compression springs which press the two balls of the torque device to increase a resistance to the circular cap of the driving unit, and to obstruct rotation of the driving unit, thereby preventing the driving unit from being driven freely by an external force.

2. The safety belt buckle of claim 1, wherein the receiving chamber of the circular cap is provided with a plurality of locking holes, the fixed plate of the torque device is provided with a plurality of through holes, and the torque device further includes a plurality of fastening members extending through the through holes of the fixed plate and locked into the locking holes of the circular cap.

3. The safety belt buckle of claim 1, wherein the first depression and the second depression of the ring are mounted on the first protrusion and the second protrusion of the positioning portion, to secure the ring of the torque device to the positioning portion of the base unit.

4. The safety belt buckle of claim 1, wherein each of the first ball groove and the second ball groove has a semi-circular shape.

5. The safety belt buckle of claim 1, wherein the receiving recess and the first channel of the circular cap have an intersection which is provided with a first arcuate groove for receiving a first one of the two balls in the first ball groove of the ring.

6. The safety belt buckle of claim 5, wherein the receiving recess and the second channel of the circular cap have an intersection which is provided with a second arcuate groove for receiving a second one of the two balls in the second ball groove of the ring.

7. The safety belt buckle of claim 1, wherein the fixing portion of the circular cap has a center provided with a locking recess locked onto the drive portion of the rotation shaft.

8. The safety belt buckle of claim 7, wherein the circular cap of the driving unit has a top provided with a through hole connected to the locking recess of the circular cap, the drive portion of the rotation shaft has a top provided with a screw hole, and the driving unit further includes a fastening element extending through the through hole of the circular cap and screwed into the screw hole of the drive portion.

9. The safety belt buckle of claim 1, wherein the base unit has a bottom provided with an annular groove for mounting an annular block.