Buckle construction

Claim 2

Buckle construction for securing the ends of flexible strapping about an object, including a. a rectangular base having a pair of opposite side members and a pair of opposite end members forming a single rectangular aperture therebetween; b. first and second individual posts formed integrally with the base, each of said posts projecting upwardly from the midpoint of a respective one of the base end members; c. a pair of spaced fingers movable between open and closed positions, each of said fingers having a straight bar-like portion terminating in end portions, with said end portions each having an inner surface; d. individual strips of flexible material hingedly connecting the fingers to one of the end members; e. the fingers extending in spaced parallel relationship outwardly from the said one base end member when in open position with the inner surfaces of opposite finger end portions forming spaces therebetween, and with the width of said spaces being predetermined and generally equal to the width of the posts; f. the fingers being foldable individually toward the base in a direction generally transverse to the end members and parallel with the side members when moving from open to closed position; g. the posts being located each in a respective space between the finger end portions when the fingers are in closed strap engaging position; and h. the finger inner end surfaces engaging the respective interposed post during tensioning of the strapping to equally distribute the tensioning force on the fingers and posts.

Claim 3

The buckle construction defined in claim 1 in which the end portions of the fingers each have a greater width than the straight bar-like portions and extend inwardly toward the end portions of the other finger; and in which the post means are similar and are cylindrically shaped and have a diameter approximately equal to the width of the spaces between the finger end surfaces.

Claim 4

The buckle construction defined in claim 2 in which groove means is formed on the post means; in which the inner surfaces of the end portions are formed with groove means; and in which the groove means of the finger ends engage the groove means of the post means when tension is applied to the strapping.

Claim 5

The buckle construction defined in claim 1 in which the post means each have an oval cross-sectional configuration; in which the end portions of the fingers each have a width equal to the width of the fingers; and in which the major axes of the post means are approximately equal to the spaces between the finger end portions.

Claim 6

The buckle construction defined in claim 4 in which groove means are formed in the post means and in the inner surfaces of the finger end portions; and in which the groove means of the post means engage the groove means of the finger end portions when tension is applied to the strapping.

Claim 7

The buckle construction defined in claim 1 in which the height of the post means are equal to or greater than the height of the finger end portions.

Claim 8

An improved buckle construction for securing the ends of flexible strapping about an object, the buckle being of the type which includes a generally rectangular base having a pair of opposite side members and a pair of opposite end members which form a rectangular aperture therebetween, and in which a pair of spaced fingers is hingedly connected to one of the end members by individual strips of flexible material whereby said fingers can be folded into superimposed relationship with the base side members to hold the ends of the strapping when the strapping is looped about the fingers and under the corresponding side member; wherein the improvement includes: a pair of similar cylindrically-shaped post means formed integrally with the base end members, each of said post means projecting upwardly from the midpoint of one of said end members; groove means formed on the post means; the fingers each having a straight bar-like portion terminating in end portions, with the end portions each having an inner surface; said inner end surfaces of each finger being spaced at both ends of the finger from the inner end surfaces of the other finger to form spaces therebetween; the finger end portions having greater widths than the bar-like portions and extend inwardly toward the end portions of the other finger; groove means formed on the inner surfaces of the finger end portions; the post means each having a diameter approximately equal to the width of the respective space between the finger inner end surfaces into which space the post means extend when in strap engaging position; and the groove means of the finger inner end surfaces engaging the groove means of the post means during tensioning of the strapping to equally distribute the tensioning force on the fingers and post means.

Claim 9

An improved buckle construction for securing the ends of flexible strapping about an object, the buckle being of the type which includes a generally rectangular base having a pair of opposite side members and a pair of opposite end members which form a rectangular aperture therebetween, and in which a pair of spaced fingers is hingedly connected to one of the end members by individual strips of flexible material whereby said fingers can be folded into superimposed relationship with the base side members to hold the ends of the strapping when the strapping is looped about the fingers and under the corresponding side member; wherein the improvement includes: a pair of similar cylindrically-shaped post means formed integrally with the base end members, each of said post means projecting upwardly from the midpoint of one of said end members; groove means formed on the post means; the fingers each having a straight bar-like portion terminating in end portions, with the end portions each having an inner surface; said inner end surfaces of each finger being spaced at both ends of the finger from the inner end surfaces of the other finger to form spaces therebetween; the finger end portions having greater widths than the bar-like portions and extend inwardly toward the end portions of the other finger; groove means formed on the inner surfaces of the finger end portions; the post means each having a diameter approximately equal to the width of the respective space between the finger inner end surfaces into which space the post means extend when in strap engaging position; and the groove means of the finger inner end surfaces engaging the groove means of the post means during tensioning of the strapping to equally distribute the tensioning force on the fingers and post means.

Claim 10

An improved buckle construction for securing the ends of flexible strapping about an object, the buckle being of the type which includes a generally rectangular base having a pair of opposite side members and a pair of opposite end members which form a rectangular aperture therebetween, and in which a pair of spaced fingers is hingedly connected to one of the end members by individual strips of flexible material whereby said fingers can be folded into superimposed relationship with the base side members to hold the ends of the strapping when the strapping is looped about the fingers and under the corresponding side member; wherein the improvement includes: a pair of post means formed integrally with the base end members, each of said post means projecting upwardly from the midpoint of one of said end members; said post means each having an oval cross-sectional configuration; groove means formed in the post means; the fingers each having a straight bar-like portion terminating in end portions; said end portions each having a width equal to the width of the bar-like portion; the end portions each having an inner surface; groove means formed in the inner surfaces of the finger end portions; the inner end surfaces of each finger being spaced at both ends of the finger from the end surfaces of the other finger to form spaces therebetween; the major axis of each of the post means being approximately equal to the space between the finger end portions with the post means extending into the spaces between the finger end surfaces when the fingers are in strap holding position; and the groove means of the finger inner end surfaces engaging the groove means of the post means during tensioning of the strapping to equally distribute the tensioning force on the fingers and post means.

Claim 11

An improved buckle construction for securing the ends of flexible strapping about an object, the buckle being of the type which includes a generally rectangular base having a pair of opposite side members and a pair of opposite end members which form a rectangular aperture therebetween, and in which a pair of spaced fingers is hingedly connected to one of the end members by individual strips of flexible material whereby said fingers can be folded into superimposed relationship with the base side members to hold the ends of the strapping when the strapping is looped about the fingers and under the corresponding side member; wherein the improvement includes: a pair of post means formed integrally with the base end members, each of said post means projecting upwardly from the midpoint of one of said end members; said post means each having an oval cross-sectional configuration; groove means formed in the post means; the fingers each having a straight bar-like portion terminating in end portions; said end portions each having a width equal to the width of the bar-like portion; the end portions each having an inner surface; groove means formed in the inner surfaces of the finger end portions; the inner end surfaces of each finger being spaced at both ends of the finger from the end surfaces of the other finger to form spaces therebetween; the major axis of each of the post means being approximately equal to the space between the finger end portions with the post means extending into the spaces between the finger end surfaces when the fingers are in strap holding position; and the groove means of the finger inner end surfaces engaging the groove means of the post means during tensioning of the strapping to equally distribute the tensioning force on the fingers and post means.