Buckle which is releasable by depression of a hinged member and having improved locking capability

Claim 1

A buckle comprising: a socket member having an obverse face and a pair of longitudinally disposed sides, wherein the obverse face and the sides define a socket therebetween, the socket member having an open end; a flap belonging to the socket member, the flap being resiliently flexible and pivotable about a region of attachment of the flap to the socket member, and the flap being depressible to a location in which it projects inside the socket; a pair of stop members projecting from an inner surface of the obverse face toward the interior of the socket; and a plug member having a base portion and a resilient tongue projecting from the base portion in the longitudinal direction, the tongue having a means for locking the plug member to the stop members of the socket member, the means for locking consisting of a pair of laterally projecting wings, each wing defining a shoulder thereon, wherein the socket member is adapted to slidably receive the tongue, along the longitudinal direction, through the open end of the socket member, so as to couple the socket member and the plug member, and wherein the stop members are adapted to engage the shoulders defined by the wings for locking the plug member to the socket member when the plug member is coupled to the socket member, and wherein the plug member may be unlocked from the socket member by depressing the flap toward the interior of the socket to force the resilient tongue into the socket and disengage the shoulders from the stop members thereby permitting decoupling of the plug member and the socket member.