Quick release buckle assembly

Abstract

A quick release buckle assembly has a male portion and a female portion. The male portion is inserted into the female portion to lock the buckle assembly together. The male buckle portion is connected to a cable. Pulling the cable with sufficient force causes the male portion to release from the female portion. Several buckle assemblies can be simultaneously released if the cables are connected to a single handle. Pulling on the handle then releases all of the male portions at once.

1 . A quick-release buckle assembly, comprising:
 a female portion comprising a hollow body with a front wall, a back wall, a cavity between the front and back walls, an open top communicating with the cavity, and at least one locking slot extending through the hollow body and communicating with the cavity;   a male portion comprising a base, and at least one locking leg, such that inserting the male portion into the cavity through the open top of the female portion causes the at least one locking leg to engage the at least one locking slot to lock the male portion to the female portion;   a cable connected to the male portion; and   means for moving the at least one locking leg out of the at least one locking slot, said means being actuated by pulling the cable, to release the male portion from the female portion.   
     
     
         2 . The buckle assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein each male portion has two locking legs and each female portion has two locking slots. 
     
     
         3 . The buckle assembly according to  claim 2 , wherein the male buckle portion has a central leg, and wherein the means for moving the locking legs out of the locking slots comprises a pulling assembly slidably mounted within the central leg and connected to the cable, and two arms connected one to each of the locking legs and to the pulling assembly, such that pulling on the cable causes the pulling assembly to slide away from ends of the locking legs and central leg and pull the locking legs toward the central leg to release the male portion from the female portion. 
     
     
         4 . The buckle assembly according to  claim 3 , wherein the pulling assembly is mounted within a channel in the central leg. 
     
     
         5 . The buckle assembly according to  claim 4 , wherein the pulling assembly is a Y-shaped body, and wherein the arms are integrally formed with the cable and connected to the locking legs through an aperture in each of the locking legs. 
     
     
         6 . The buckle assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein there are two locking legs, said locking legs being connected to each other by an integrally formed strap, and wherein the means for moving the locking legs is a pulling assembly that is connected to the strap and to the cable, such that pulling on the cable moves the pulling assembly and strap downward, and forces the locking legs to move toward each other. 
     
     
         7 . The buckle assembly according to  claim 6 , wherein the strap has a hollow receptacle, and wherein the pulling assembly is disposed within the hollow receptacle and connected to the cable. 
     
     
         8 . The buckle assembly according to claim  1 , further comprising a cable sleeve surrounding the cable, said cable sleeve being attached to the male buckle portion, wherein the cable is slidable within the cable sleeve. 
     
     
         9 . A buckle system comprising:
 at least two buckle assemblies, each buckle assembly comprising:
 (a) a female portion comprising a hollow body with a front wall, a back wall, a cavity between the front and back walls, an open top communicating with the cavity, and at least one locking slot extending through the hollow body and communicating with the cavity; 
 (b) a male portion comprising a base, and at least one locking leg, such that inserting the male portion into the cavity through the open top of the female portion causes the at least one locking leg to engage the at least one locking slot to lock the male portion to the female portion; 
 (c) a cable connected to the male portion; and 
 (d) means for moving the at least one locking leg out of the at least one locking slot, said means being actuated by pulling the cable; and 
   a single handle connected to ends of all of the cables,   wherein pulling the handle actuates the means for moving the at least one locking leg of all of the buckle assemblies to simultaneously to release the male portions from the female portions.   
     
     
         10 . The buckle system according to  claim 9 , wherein each cable is slidably disposed inside a cable sheath. 
     
     
         11 . The buckle system according to  claim 9 , wherein there are four buckle assemblies. 
     
     
         12 . The buckle system according to  claim 9 , wherein each male portion has a central leg, and wherein the means for moving the at least one locking leg is disposed within the central leg, and moves the at least one locking leg toward the central leg when the cable is pulled.