Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Title of the Invention:
Belt connector
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention:
This invention relates to a belt connector used
mainly as part of a baby holder for carrying a baby in
front of the user, more particularly to a belt connector
wherein a male member and a female member of a buckle are
attached to the opposite ends of a belt passed over a
shoulder or around the neck or waist of the user for
enabling one end of the belt to be releasably connected
with the other by engaging the male and female members.
Description of the Prior Art:
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a baby
holder in use. The baby holder comprises a belt 1 passed
over a shoulder of the user, a belt connector 2 connecting
the opposite ends of the belt 1, a seat 3 and a shoulder
pad 4 provided on the belt 1, and a back support 5 provided
a little above the seat 3 in the manner of a tie.
For comfortable seating of the baby, the seat 3
provided on the belt 1 is preferably made wider than the
belt 1. The seat 3 is constituted as a bag closed by a
fastener 6 and can also be used as a waist bag. The bag is
constituted to have a broad upper surface and the ends of
the belt 1 are attached thereto, by sewing for example. If
the ends of the belt 1 are sewn to the bag, it is
preferable to make the belt wide at the portions sewn to
the bag and to sew these portions to opposite edge portions
of the bag. The seating surface of the bag can be made
more comfortable by padding it with a cushioning material.
In this case, the fastness of the attachment between the
belt 1 and the bag can be increased by sewing the belt 1 to
the interior of the bag, namely at portions inward of the
seating surface.
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The belt 1 is formed into a closed loop by
connecting its opposite ends la, lb through the belt
connector 2. The connector 2 comprises two
connectable/disconnectable buckle members, namely a male
member and a female member. A cover or sheet protector is
provided over the connector 2 for preventing the buckle
from being unintentionally released.
However, the provision of such a protector does
not completely eliminate the possibility of accidental
buckle release. Since recent buckles have plastic male and
female members designed to be released by a one-touch
operation, there is a risk of buckle release owing to
breakage or fatigue of the engaging portions. When such an
unexpected buckle release occurs, the baby is likely to
fall and be injured.
This invention was accomplished in light of the
foregoing circumstances and aims at providing a belt
connector capable of maintaining the connection even if an
engaging portion should release contrary to the intention
of the user.
SU~IMARY OF THE INVENTION
For achieving this object, the invention provides
a belt connector comprising
a buckle having a male member for fastening to a
first end of a belt and a female member for fastening to a
second end of the belt,
a first auxiliary belt having a first end
fastened to the first end of said belt and overlying the
buckle when the buckle is engaged, and
a releasable security clasp having one end
fastened to a second end of the first auxiliary belt and
another end fastened to the second end of said belt.
The security clasp can be a buckle member having
engageable male and female members. The member of the
buckle fastened to the first end of the belt is preferably
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provided with belt length adjustment means and with a slot
for fastening the first auxiliary belt so that the first
auxiliary belt can be fastened to the one end of the belt
through the member of the buckle by attachment at the slot.
Since the belt connector connects a belt into a
closed loop by the engagement of the male and female
members of the buckle and also by the engagement of the
security clasp, even if the buckle, for instance, should
release, the closed loop can still be maintained by the
security clasp fastened to the auxiliary belt, which
r~m~; n.~ engaged. When the belt connector is applied to the
belt of a baby holder, therefore, falling of the baby can
be reliably prevented.
When the belt connector according to the
invention is applied to the belt of a baby holder, the
provision of the belt length adjustment means on the buckle
male or female member fastened to one end of the belt, the
effective length of the belt can be adjusted to the body of
the user and so as to position the seat at the level that
is least tiring. Since one end of the first auxiliary belt
is fastened to the slot in the male or female member of the
buckle, moreover, the security clasp or the male and female
members constituting the security clasp can be engaged
while the length of the first auxiliary belt is maintained
the same even after the effective length of the belt has
been adjusted.
The above and other objects and features of the
present invention will become apparent from the following
description made with reference to the drawings.
BRIEF EXPLANATION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a plan view of the belt connector
according to the invention showing its buckle and its
security clasp in the released state.
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FIG. 2 is a side view, partially in section,
showing the engaged state of the buckle and the security
clasp of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the engaged
state of another embodiment of the buckle usable in the
belt connector according to the invention.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the buckle
of FIG. 3 in the released state.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the belt
connector applied to a baby holder.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a belt connector 2 which
is a first embodiment of the invention showing its buckle
11 and its security clasp 21 in the released state and FIG.
2 is a side view, partially in section, showing the engaged
state of the buckle 11 and the security clasp 21.
Similarly to in the conventional example shown in FIG. 5, a
male member 12 of the buckle 11 is fastened to one end la
of the belt 1 and a female member 13 of the buckle 11 is
attached to the other end lb of the belt 1. The male member
12 has a base 16, a pair of flexible arms 17, 17 projecting
from the base 16 at its opposite sides, and a guide arm 18
projecting from the base 16 between the flexible arms 17,
17. The tip of each flexible arm 17 is formed with a
sloped portion 17a which narrows the flexible arm 17 inward
toward its distal end and, at an outer portion midway of
its length, with a catch 17b. The tip of the guide arm 18
has a generally sagittal shape. The base 16 of the male
member 12 is formed with lateral slots 16a, 16b for
attachment of the one end la of the belt 1 in a manner
enabling adjustment of the effective length of the belt 1
and, outward of the slots 16a, 16b (on the side opposite
from the flexible arms 17, 17 etc.), with a belt fastening
slot 16c for a first auxiliary belt 14.
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As shown in FIG. 2, the male member 12 can be
fastened to the one end la of the belt 1 by passing the tip
of the belt 1 through the slot 16a from the rear to the
front and then turning it back and passing it through the
slot 16b from the front to the rear. When the male member
12 is fastened to the belt in this manner, the point at
which the belt 1 turns back is the fastening point of the
male member 12. Since the position of the fastening point
can be moved by sliding the portion of the belt 1 passing
through the slots 16a, 16b, the effective length of the
belt 1 can be varied as desired. The one end la of the
belt 1 is fixed to the belt 1 by a retaining buckle 51.
The first auxiliary belt 14 is fastened to the
male member 12 by passing one end (the proximal end) of the
first auxiliary belt 14 from the front of the base 16 to
the rear thereof by wrapping it around the proximal end of
the base 16 ~the lower end in FIG. 1), passing it through
the belt fastening slot 16c from the rear to the front and
sewing it to the rear of the first auxiliary belt 14 at the
portion thereof overlying the male member 12. The
fastening of the belt to itself can also be done with
rivets or other fastening means rather than by sewing.
A male member 22 of the security clasp 21 is
fastened to the distal end of the first auxiliary belt 14.
The male member 22 is configured similarly to the male
member 12. It has a base 24, a pair of flexible arms 25,
25 projecting from the base 24 at its opposite sides, and a
guide arm 26 projecting from the base 24 between the
flexible arms 25, 25. The tip of each flexible arm 25 is
formed with a sloped portion 25a which narrows the flexible
arm 25 inward toward its distal end and, at an outer
portion midway of its length, with a catch 25b. The tip of
the guide arm 26 has a generally sagittal shape. The base
24 of the male member 22 is formed with a lateral slot 24a
for attachment of the distal end portion of the first
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auxiliary belt 14. The end portion of the first auxiliary
belt 14 can be fastened to the male member 22 by passing it
through the slot 24a from the front to the rear, turning it
back, and sewing the turned back portion to the rear of the
first auxiliary belt 14.
The female member 13 is a flattened cylinder
having an opening 31 at its forward end for insertion of
the flexible arms 17, 17 and the guide arm 18 of the male
member 12. It is cut away at the opposite sides to form
slots 32, 32, formed internally with guide walls 33, 33,
and formed at its rearward end portion (top portion in FIG.
1) with a slot 34 for attachment of the belt 1. The so-
constituted female member 13 can be fastened to the other
end lb of the belt 1 (opposite end from the male member 12)
by, as shown in FIG. 2, passing the other end lb through
the slot 34 from the front to the rear, turning it back to
wrap around the rear end of the base 35, and sewing it to
the back of the belt 1. The point at which the belt 1
turns back is the fastening point of the female member 13.
The female member 13 does not require belt length
adjustment means since the male member 12 has belt
adjustment capability, but it can be provided with such
means if desired.
The proximal end of a second auxiliary belt 15 is
sewn to the front of the belt 1 at an appropriate distance
from the fastening point of the female member 13 thereon,
so as to extend toward the female member 13. A female
member 23 of the security clasp 21 is fastened to the
distal end of the second auxiliary belt 15. The proximal
end of the second auxiliary belt 15 is preferably sewn to
the belt 1 far enough back to ensure that the female member
23 attached to the distal end of the second auxiliary belt
15 does not overlap the female member 13.
The female member 23 is configured similarly to
the female member 13. It is a flattened cylinder having an
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opening 41 at its forward end for insertion of the flexible
arms 25, 25 and the guide arm 26 of the male member 22. It
is cut away at the opposite sides to form slots 42, 42,
formed internally with guide walls 43, 43, and formed at
its rearward end portion (top portion in FIG. 1) with a
slot 44 for attachment of the second auxiliary belt 15. The
so-constituted female member 23 can be fastened to the
second auxiliary belt 15 by passing the distal end of the
second auxiliary belt 15 through the slot 44 from the front
to the rear, turning it back to wrap around the rear end of
the base 45, and sewing it to the back of the auxiliary
belt 15.
In order to form the belt 1 into a closed loop
using the belt connector 2 constituted with the buckle 11
and the security clasp 21 in the foregoing manner, the
flexible arms 17, 17 of the male member 12 are first
inserted into the opening 31 of the female member 13. This
causes the sloped portions 17a, 17a of the flexible arms
17, 17 to contact with side wall end portions 3la, 3la of
the female member 13. With further insertion, the flexible
arms 17, 17 advance while flexing inward and the guide arm
18 enters the space between the guide walls 33, 33, which
guide the direction of advance. When the penetration has
proceeded sufficiently, namely to the point that the
catches 17b, 17b of the flexible arms 17, 17 have passed by
forward edges 32a, 32a of the slots 32, 32 of the female
member 13, the flexible arms 17, 17 spring outward to bring
the catches 17b, 17b into engagement with the forward edges
32a, 32a. Since the force of the engagement between the
catches 17b, 17b and the forward edges 32a, 32a of the
slots 32, 32 of the female member 13 prevents extraction of
the male member 12, the male member 12 and the female
member 13 are maintained in engagement. The belt 1 is
therefore formed into a closed loop by the engagement
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between the male member 12 and the female member 13 at its
opposite ends.
Next, the flexible arms 25, 25 of the male member
22 are inserted into the female member 23 through the
opening 41, thereby joining the male member 22 and the
female member 23 and connecting the first auxiliary belt 14
and the second auxiliary belt 15.
When the belt connector 2 is applied to the belt
of a baby holder and the buckle 11 and the security clasp
21 are both connected to form the belt 1 into a closed
loop, the user can wear the belt 1 in the manner of a
sling, with the pad 4 resting on the shoulder, as shown in
FIG. 5. The user can then adjust the effective length of
the belt 1 to position the seat 3 just above and forward of
one hip. Since one end of the first auxiliary belt 14 is
fastened to the male member 12, the adjustment of the
effective length of the belt 1 does not affect the
positional relationship of the male members 12 and 22 or
the female members 13 and 23. As a result, the adjustment
neither prevents engagement between the male member 22 and
the female member 23 nor necessitates other troublesome
operations such as adjustment of the lengths of the
auxiliary belts 14 and 15.
As shown in FIG. 5, the child (baby) is carried
seated on the seat 3 facing the user with its legs
straddling the user's waist. The back support 5 is
adjusted to support the child's lower back. When the baby
is carried using the baby holder in this manner, most of
the child's weight is borne by the user's shoulder. The
burden on the user is therefore much lighter than in the
case of carrying the child in the arms only. In addition,
one of the user's arms is freed and can be used for
carrying a bag or the like.
When a child is carried in this manner, the
child's weight produces tension in the belt 1 which acts in
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the direction of separating the buckle 11 and security
clasp 21. The buckle 11 and the security clasp 21 are
prevented from separating, however, by the engagement
between the catches 17b, 17b of the male member 12 and the
forward edges 32a, 32a of the female member 13 and the
engagement between the catches 25b, 25b of the male member
22 and the forward edges 42a, 42a of the female member 23.
Even if the engagement between the male member 12
and the female member 13 of the buckle 11 should release
owing to breakage of one or both of the flexible arms 17,
17, the engaged state of the security clasp 21 will be
maintained to keep the belt 1 in its looped condition and
protect the child from injury by falling or the like. On
the other hand, if the security clasp 21 should break, the
continuing engagement of the buckle 11 will keep the child
from falling. Thus, if one or the other of the buckle 11
and the security clasp 21 should separate, the other will
remain connected and keep the child safe from falling. If
the engagement of the buckle 11 should release, the male
member 12 will flip over and the belt end la will be
subject to a strong force tending to separate it from the
male member 12. Since the end la is fixed to the belt 1 by
the retaining buckle 51, however, this danger does not
arise. The means for fixing the belt end la to the belt
is not limited to the retaining buckle 51 and can instead
be any of other variously configured fasteners.
To facilitate the engagement of the female member
23 and the male member 22 of the security clasp 21 after
the buckle 11 has been engaged, the lengths of the first
and second auxiliary belts 14 and 15 are preferably made
slightly longer than the minimum required. Giving them a
little extra length not only makes the security clasp 21
easy to connect and disconnect but also reduces the tension
in the auxiliary belts 14 and 15 by causing most of the
child~s weight to be borne by the thick belt 1. Since this
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has the effect of reducing the fatigue of the auxiliary
belts 14 and 15, particularly at their sewn portions, it
enhances the safety of the belt connector by ensuring that
the auxiliary belts 14, 15 connected by the security clasp
21 will be in optimum condition for reliably supporting the
child should something go wrong with the buckle 11.
When the child is to be taken out of the baby
holder, its weight is first transferred to another surface.
The user then presses inward with the fingers on the
portions of the flexible arms 25, 25 located in the slots
42, 42 of the female member 23 so as to release the catches
25b, 25b from the forward edges 42a, 42a of the slots 42,
42. The male member 22 can then be easily pulled out of
the female member 23 to release the security clasp 21.
The buckle 11 can then be easily released by a
similar operation.
In the embodiment described in the foregoing, the
male member 12 of the buckle 11 is fastened to the one end
la of the belt 1, the male member 22 of the security clasp
21 is fastened to the male member 12 by a first auxiliary
belt 14, the female member 13 of the buckle 11 is fastened
to the other end lb of the belt 1, and the female member 23
of the security clasp 21 is fastened to the other end of
the belt 1 by the second auxiliary belt 15. Instead,
however, it is possible to fasten the female member 23 to
the male member 12 by the first auxiliary belt 14 and to
fasten the male member 22 to the other belt end lb by the
second auxiliary belt 15. It is also possible to fasten
the male member 12 having the slots 16a, 16b constituting
the belt length adjustment means and the belt fastening
slot 16c for the first auxiliary belt to the one belt end
la, fasten the first auxiliary belt 14 to the male member
12 and fasten the female member 23 or the male member 22 to
the end of the first auxiliary belt 14.
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11
As shown in FIG.s 3 and 4, for example, the male
and female members of one or both of the buckle 11 and the
security clasp 21 can be constituted by integrally forming
one half of the male member 12 and the other half of the
female member 23 side by side on a first common base 61 and
integrally forming one half of the female member 13 and the
other half of the male member 22 side by side on a second
common base 62. With the buckle member of this
configuration, the first common base 61 is held in one hand
and the second common base 62 in the other, whereafter the
one half of the male member 12 is inserted into the one
half of the female member 13 and the other half of the male
member 22 is inserted to the other half of the female
member 23. As a result, the catches 17b, 25b engage with
the forward edges 32a, 42a. The configuration thus enables
simple connection of the buckle 11 and the security clasp
21.
While in the embodiment of the invention
described in the foregoing the security clasp 21 is
described as being a buckle comprising the male member 22
and female member 23, the security clasp 21 does not have
to be a buckle but can instead be any of various types of
connecting means such as a tear-drop fastener, hook
fastener, or a D-shaped or polygonal ring fastener or the
like.
As explained in the foregoing, the belt connector
according to the present invention connects a belt into a
closed loop by connecting the opposite ends of the belt
through the engagement of a buckle and a security clasp.
Thus, if one of the buckle and the security clasp should
accidentally disengage, the other will remain engaged to
maintain the belt in a closed loop. When the belt
connector is used to connect the ends of a belt of a baby
holder, therefore, the baby is reliably prevented from
falling even if one of the buckle members should be
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12
released by mistake or should disengage due to breakage.
Owing to this feature, the user can employ the baby holder
without anxiety.
Since the belt connector according to the
invention is provided with a belt length adjustment means
on the buckle to which the proximal end of the first
auxiliary belt is fastened, the effective length of the
belt can be adjusted as desired by use of this belt length
adjustment means. The effective length of the belt can
therefore be adjusted according to the height and girth of
the user, and so as to position the seat at the level that
is least tiring. Since one end of the first auxiliary belt
is fastened to a member of the buckle, moreover, this
adjustment of the effective belt length does not change the
positional relationship of the two male members or that of
the two female members. As a result, the adjustment
neither prevents engagement of the security clasp nor
necessitates other troublesome operations such as
adjustment of the lengths of the auxiliary belts.
