The present invention relates to an economical and light-weight buckle for locking straps used for fastening goods.
Conventionally, goods are bound with a rope made out of jute or the like. A first end of the rope is attached to a hook on a right (or a left) side of a truck or the like. The rope is then wound around the goods and wrapped around a hook on a left (or a right) side of the truck. The rope is finally tied into a knot on a proper hook of the truck. The goods are thus fastened. The trouble with using a rope is that it is a waste of time to wind the rope around and around the goods; it is not always easy to tie a firm knot to secure the goods; and the roughness of the rope can easily damage the goods.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,118,833 discloses a buckle assembly with strap tightening mechanism wherein a padlock is needed to fix a handle member and a main frame in a firm position. Disadvantageously, the cost thereof is high and the weight thereof is substantial that serious damage may occur.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,185,360 discloses a ratchet buckle for tightening and tensioning strap wherein ratchet wheels and two spring-biased latching plates are employed to tighten the strap. It is very difficult to disengage the two latching plates from the ratchet wheels simultaneously, thus, it is very difficult to loosen the strap.