Background Art Buckles for locking toothed bands are known which are used in various fields, for example to close the straps of protective helmets or to close ski boots.

These buckles generally comprise a supporting element, which forms a passage for the band to be locked and supports a locking lever. The supporting element generally has a cross-section, taken transversely to the band insertion direction, which is substantially U-shaped, with a base wall and a pair of mutually opposite shoulders that rise from the base wall and delimit laterally the passage for the band to be locked. The locking lever is arranged between the two shoulders and is pivoted, with an end portion, to the shoulders about a pivoting axis that is substantially perpendicular to said shoulders. The locking lever has, on its side that faces the base wall, a toothed portion that can engage the teeth of the toothed band. The locking lever can rotate about the pivoting axis with respect to the shoulders in order to move from a locking position, in which it engages, by means of its toothed portion, the band inserted between the base wall and the locking lever, to a release position, in which it is disengaged from the band, and vice versa.

To prevent the locking lever from being able to disengage accidentally from the band as a consequence of accidental impacts, these buckles are provided so that the locking lever, in the locking position, is contained substantially completely within the dimensions of the supporting element. In particular, in these kinds of buckles, when the locking lever is in the locking position, the outer face of said lever, which is directed away

from the base wall, is substantially flush with the upper edge of the shoulders, i. e. , the side of the shoulders that lies opposite the base wall. In this position, the only portion of the locking lever that can be gripped in order to move the locking lever into the release position is constituted by the end of said lever that lies opposite with respect to the end of said lever that is pivoted to the shoulders. Generally, this end, or grip end, of the locking lever is curved slightly away from the base wall for the very purpose of facilitating its grip by the user. However, again with the aim of avoiding as much as possible the accidental movement of the locking lever from the locking position to the release position as a consequence of accidental impacts, the region available to the user to grip the locking lever is extremely small.

Because of this fact, if the user is wearing gloves, as often occurs when the buckle is used as a closure element for chin-straps of motorcycle helmets or as a closure element for ski boots, it can be difficult to grip the locking lever in order to release the band.

On the other hand, an increase in the length of the end of the locking lever that is designed to be gripped by the user or an increase in its dimensions in the opposite direction with respect to the base wall might increase the danger of accidental contacts of the locking lever that might cause the release of the lever, for example in case of accidental falls.

Disclosure of the Invention The aim of the present invention is to solve the problems noted above by providing a buckle, particularly for locking toothed bands, in which the locking lever can be easily gripped by the user to move it from the locking position to the release position without increasing the danger of an unwanted movement of the locking lever from the locking position to the release position following accidental impacts.

Within this aim, an object of the invention is to provide a buckle in which the locking lever can be gripped and maneuvered easily even by a

user who is wearing gloves.

Another object of the invention is to provide a buckle that is structurally simple and can be manufactured at competitive costs.

This aim and these and other objects that will become better apparent hereinafter are achieved by a buckle particularly for locking toothed bands, comprising a supporting element that forms a passage for the band to be locked and supports a locking lever; said supporting element having a base wall and two mutually opposite shoulders, which rise from said base wall and delimit said passage laterally; said locking lever being arranged between said two shoulders and being pivoted, with a portion, to said shoulders about a pivoting axis that is substantially perpendicular to said shoulders; said locking lever being able to rotate about said pivoting axis with respect to said shoulders in order to pass from a locking position, in which it engages, with one of its portions, the band inserted between said base wall and said locking lever, to a release position, in which it is disengaged from said band, and vice versa, characterized in that said shoulders are peripherally provided with recesses for accessing two opposite lateral regions of said lever that are spaced from said pivoting axis.

Brief Description of the Drawings Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of the buckle according to the invention, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a partially cutout perspective view of the buckle according to the invention, with the locking lever in the locking position; Figure 2 is a top plan view of the buckle according to the invention, with the locking lever in the locking position; Figure 3 is a side elevation view of the buckle according to the invention, with the locking lever in the locking position; Figure 4 is a sectional view of Figure 2, taken along the line IV-IV;

Figure 5 is a sectional view, similar to Figure 4, with the locking lever in the release position.

Ways of Carrying out the Invention With reference to the figures, the buckle according to the invention, generally designated by the reference numeral 1, comprises a supporting element 2, which is designed to be fixed to an element designed to be connected, by means of said buckle, to another element, to which a band 3 is fixed. Merely by way of example, when used in protective helmets, the supporting element 2 can be fixed directly to the body of the protective helmet or to a strap that is fixed to the body of the helmet, while the toothed band 3 can be fixed to the end of another strap, which in turn is connected to the protective helmet, for example the chin-strap, to be connected to the supporting element 2.

The supporting element 2 has a base wall 4 and two shoulders 5a and 5b, which are mutually opposite and rise, preferably substantially at right angles, from the base wall 4 so that a passage for the band 3, delimited laterally by the shoulders 5a and 5b, is formed in the supporting element 2.

The supporting element 2 supports a locking lever 6, which is arranged between the shoulders Sa and 5b and is pivoted with one of its portions, preferably proximate to one of its ends, to the shoulders 5a and 5b about a pivoting axis 7 that is substantially perpendicular to the shoulders 5a and 5b. The locking lever 6 can rotate about the pivoting axis 7, with respect to the shoulders Sa and Sb, in order to move from a locking position, shown in Figures 1 to 4, in which it engages, with one of its portions, the band 3 inserted between the base wall 4 and the locking lever 6, to a release position, shown in Figure 5, in which it is disengaged from the band 3 so as to allow the free extraction of the band 3 from the supporting element 2, and vice versa.

According to the invention, the shoulders 5a and 5b are provided peripherally with recesses 8a and 8b, which allow access to two opposite

lateral regions 9a and 9b of the locking lever 6 that are spaced from the pivoting axis 7, so as to facilitate the user's grip of the locking lever 6, as will become better apparent hereinafter.

Preferably, the recesses 9a and 9b are located on the upper side of the shoulders 5a and Sb, i. e. , the side of the shoulders 5a and 5b that lies opposite with respect to the base wall 4, proximate to the end of the locking lever 6 that lies opposite with respect to the end that is pivoted to the shoulders Sa and 5b.

The lever 6 has lateral dimensions that are smaller than, or substantially equal to, the distance between the mutually facing internal faces of the shoulders 5a and Sb, except for the lateral regions 9a and 9b, which protrude laterally from the remaining part of the locking lever 6 so that when the locking lever 6 is in the locking position they are at least flush with the outer faces of the shoulders 5a and 5b at the recesses 8a and 8b.

Preferably, the lateral regions 9a and 9b of the locking lever 6, when the locking lever 6 is in the locking position, protrude from the outer faces of the shoulders 5a and 5b so as to further facilitate the grip of the lateral regions 9a and 9b by the user.

Conveniently, the locking lever 6, when it is arranged in the locking position, is contained substantially completely within the dimensions of the shoulders 5a and 5b except for the lateral regions 9a and 9b.

The locking lever 6 can rotate about the pivoting axis 7, with respect to the shoulders Sa and Sb, in order to pass from the locking position to the release position in contrast with elastic means, which keep the locking lever 6 in the locking position if no other forces are applied to the lever 6.

The locking lever 6 is pivoted to the shoulders Sa and 5b by means of a pivot 10, the axis of which forms the pivoting axis 7, which is fixed with its ends to the shoulders Sa and 5b and passes through a hole formed in the locking lever 6 so as to support the lever 6 so that it can rotate about the pivoting axis 7.

The elastic means, which in the absence of other forces keep the locking lever 6 in the locking position, comprise a spring 11, which is wound partially around the pivot 10 and is connected by its ends to the shoulders 5a and 5b. The spring 11 engages, with an intermediate portion that is parallel and spaced with respect to the pivoting axis 7, a region of the locking lever 6 at the end of the lever 6 that is pivoted to the shoulders Sa andSb.

Preferably, the band 3 is a band of the toothed type, which is inserted between the locking lever 6 and the base wall 4 so that its toothed side is directed toward the locking lever 6.

The locking lever 6 has a portion 12 that is directed toward the base wall 4 and engages, when the locking lever 6 is in the locking position, the set of teeth 3 a of the band 3.

The breadth of the rotation angle of the locking lever 6 about the axis 7 with respect to the shoulders Sa and 5b toward the release position is delimited by the presence of teeth 17a and 17b, of the shoulders 5a and Sb, which protrude from the internal faces of the mutually facing shoulders 5a and 5b and engage within guiding slots 18a and 18b, which are delimited by shoulders 19 and are provided on the sides of the locking lever 6.

Advantageously, the locking lever 6 has, proximate to its end that lies opposite with respect to the end that is pivoted to the shoulders Sa and Sb, extension means that form an auxiliary grip region for the locking lever 6.

Preferably, said extension means comprise a ribbon element 15, which is associated with the locking lever 6 by providing, at the end of the locking lever 6 that lies opposite the end that is pivoted to the shoulders Sa and 5b, a slot 16 through which the ribbon element 15, folded in a loop and then closed back onto itself, for example by stitching or adhesive bonding, is passed.

It should be noted that in the buckle according to the invention, the locking lever 6 practically has no parts that protrude with respect to the

profile of the supporting element 2 on its side that is most exposed to accidental impacts when said locking lever is in the locking position. In particular, the fact is stressed that the face of the locking lever 6 that is directed away from the base wall 4 has no protrusions that might facilitate the movement of the locking lever 6 from the locking position to the release position as a consequence of accidental impacts.

Although the locking lever 6 in the buckle according to the invention has no protrusions on said side, its grip by the user, when the user wishes to move the locking lever 6 from the locking position to the release position, is facilitated thanks to the presence of the recesses 8a and 8b and of the lateral regions 9a and 9b. Thanks to the presence of the recesses 8a and 8b, he can in fact easily grip the locking lever 6, for example between the thumb and index, at the lateral regions 9a and 9b.

Moreover, grip of the locking lever 6 is further facilitated by the presence of the ribbon element 15.

In this manner, the locking lever 6 can be operated easily by the user even if the user is wearing gloves.

In practice it has been observed that the buckle according to the invention fully achieves the intended aim, since it can be operated easily by the user even if said user is wearing gloves without increasing the danger of an unwanted movement of the locking lever from the locking position to the release position following accidental impacts.

Although the concept on which the invention is based has been described with particular reference to a buckle for toothed bands, it can in any case be used also with other types of bands.

The buckle thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims; all the details may further be replaced with other technically equivalent elements.

In practice, the materials used, as well as the dimensions, may be any according to requirements and to the state of the art.

The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. MI2004A000295 from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference.