Article Fastening Device

Abstract

The disclosure is directed to a device for fastening two or more articles together and which does not require threading apertures. The device is constructed of a generally elongated flexible body portion terminating at a first end in a head member having a transverse aperture therein to permit passage of the body portion therethrough. The opposite end of the body portion terminates in a substantially rigid tail end portion having thereon a cutting edge such as a point. The tail end portion is generally formed in an arcuate manner to facilitate its being returned through the article once it has been inserted therein. The tail end portion may be provided in one of three ways; (1) a preformed metallic member is joined to the end of the body portion; (2) the end of the body portion is cold worked or otherwise treated in order to increase its physical strength and rigidity; or (3) the cold worked, or treated, tail end portion is plated with a metallic plating. Additionally the plated tail end portion may be cold worked to further increase its strength and rigidity.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention is directed to the field of fastening together two or more articles which articles do not have preformed therein apertures for receipt of a fastening device. For example, if it is desired to suture together portions of the human body the device employed must generally be provided with means for cutting the body members to permit insertion of the fastening device. Similarly, in the fastening together of a plurality of garment portions, or other material sections, it is essential that the article fastening device be able to create its own passage for the device to pass therethrough.

2. Description of the Prior Art

In typical prior art fastening devices for general use it was required that the device either pass about the articles themselves or pass through preformed apertures in order that the parts be fastened. With special fastening devices, such as sutures, certain additional problems were created. The suture generally consisted of a length of thread of suitable material terminating in a needle. No provision was made to lock the suture after the same had been passed through the required body portions. The usual procedure was to tie the suture thread after insertion through the body parts. Thus there was absent from the prior art a fastening device which had general utility and which could be used as a suture, and which provided both a locking means and the ability to provide its own passages through the articles to be fastened.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention overcomes the difficulties noted above by providing a single device which can be used either for the fastening of a plurality of individual articles together or as a suture for body portions which provides both a cutting edge, tail end portion and a locking head end portion. This is achieved by providing a fastening device having an elongated, flexible body portion terminating at one end in a locking head member having a passage for receiving therethrough the body portion of the fastening means. At the opposite end from that of the head end member is a substantially rigid tail end portion preformed in a generally arcuate configuration terminating in a cutting edge such as a point. In this manner the tail end portion of the strap may be inserted through articles or human body parts to be joined and the entire mechanism then locked in a loop-type relationship without the requirement for additional tying of the device or the use of special tools. The tail end portion is generally formed in an arcuate manner to facilitate its being returned through the article once it has been inserted therein. The tail end portion may be provided in one of three ways; (1) a preformed metallic member is joined to the end of the body portion; (2) the end of the body portion is cold worked or otherwise treated in order to increase its physical strength and rigidity; or (3) the cold worked, or treated, tail end portion is plated with a metallic plating. Additionally the plated tail end portion may be cold worked to further increase its strength and rigidity. It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an improved form of article fastening device.

It is still another object of this invention to provide an improved article fastening device constructed of a flexible body portion and terminating at a first end in a locking head member and at a second end in a substantially rigid tail end portion having a cutting edge thereon.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide an improved suture for joining together human body portions having a flexible body portion terminating in a locking head end member at a first end and terminating at the second end in a substantially rigid tail end portion having a needle point which facilitates its passage through such human body parts and which permits closure of the suture without the requirement for tying.

It is still another object of this invention to provide an improved article fastening device having a substantially rigid tail end portion which may be fabricated by the addition of a metallic substantially rigid tail end portion to a flexible body portion.

It is still another object of this invention to provide an improved article fastening device wherein a substantially rigid tail end portion may be formed from a flexible body portion by means of cold working or similar mechanical operations.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide an improved article fastening device having a substantially rigid tail end portion formed by the mechanical working of a portion of the flexible body portion and plating such tail end portion with a metallic plating.

Other objects and features of the invention may be pointed out in the following description and claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which disclose, by way of example, the principles of the invention, and the best modes which have been contemplated for carrying them out.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings in which similar elements are given similar reference characters:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of an article fastening device, foreshortened, constructed in accordance with the concepts of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the article fastening device of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the tail end portion of the article fastening device of FIG. 1 and illustrating a modification thereto.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the article fastening device taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the tail end portion of an article fastening device taken along the lines 5-5 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a side elevation, in section, of an alternative construction of the tail end portion of the article fastening device constructed in accordance with the concepts of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Turning now to FIGS. 1 and 2 there is shown an article fastening device 10 constructed in accordance with the concepts of the invention. Article fastening device 10 consists of an elongated body portion 12 terminating in a head end portion 14 having a transverse aperture 16 therethrough. Extending into the transverse aperture 16 is a locking member 18 to engage with and lock in position the elongated body portion 12 passed through the transverse aperture 16. A tab 20 extends from the head end portion 14 to permit the unlocking of the locking mechanism 18 when the tab 20 is twisted. Details of the head end member 14 and the locking mechanism 18 are more fully described and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,339,247, issued Sept. 5, 1967, to George Geisinger, entitled Self-Clinching Bundling Strap and assigned to the assignee of the instant invention, which patent is incorporated herein by reference. Elongated strap body portion 12 terminates in a tail end portion 22, the most remote end thereof formed as a cutting edge 24. The strap body portion 12 is constructed of a flexible, resilient material so that it may readily be bent about articles when such articles are to be fastened. Tail end portion 22, on the other hand, is fabricated or formed of a substantially rigid material such that the same will not readily bend. As is better seen in FIG. 2 tail end portion 22 is formed in a generally arcuate manner along its length as at 26, and has a cross section as is better seen in FIG. 4 which is generally triangular. Tail end portion 22 has a plurality of individual ribs 28 thereon for additional strength and rigidity. Tail end portion 22 may be constructed by cold working the end portion of the strap body 12 to the shape shown in FIG. 4 and thus adding the desired strength and rigidity. The cutting edge 24 will be formed in such a manner as to provide a sharp point at the extreme end thereof and a generally chisel shape for the remainder thereof.

In use the tail end portion 22 will be employed more or less as an upholstery needle in that it will be grasped at the jointure between the tail end portion 22 and the strap body portion 12. Cutting edge 24 will then be employed to cut through either the articles to be fastened or the body portions and will be gently turned in order that the cutting edge 24 return to the original surface through which the tail end portion was inserted. Then by grasping the tail end portion 22 the body portion 12 may be properly positioned or tightened within the articles to be fastened and a portion of the body portion 12 will then be inserted into the transverse aperture 16 and locked into position by means of the locking means 18.

To further improve rigidity of the tail end portion 22 a metallic plating 30 may be placed atop the tail end portion 22 as shown in FIG. 3. The plating will be thin enough to conform to the general contours of the tail end portion 22 and will increase the overall strength and rigidity of the tail end portion. As is shown in FIG. 5, the overall configuration of the tail end portion of the strap remains the same, with the addition of a metallic plating 30 thereon.

Turning now to FIG. 6 there is shown a further alternative arrangement of an article fastening device constructed in accordance with the concepts of the invention. A separate metallic tail end portion 32 is joined to the end of a body portion 12' which has a straight end as at 34. The end 36 of the metallic tail end portion 32 is then clamped to the end 34 forming a unitary member.

While there have been shown and described and pointed out the fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to the preferred embodiments, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes of the form and details of the devices illustrated and in their operation may be made by those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

Claims

I claim:

1. A loop-type strap for joining two or more articles comprising an elongated flexible strap body portion; a head member coupled to one end of said elongated strap body portion; said head member having a transverse aperture therein to receive said elongated strap body portion therethrough; a metallic tongue in said head member extending into said transverse aperture for locking engagement with said strap body portion; the second end of said elongated strap body portion terminating in a substantially rigid tail end portion having a cutting edge thereon whereby said tail end portion may be passed through an article having no aperture to receive said strap therethrough.

2. A loop-type strap, as defined in claim 1, wherein said rigid tail end portion comprises: a metallic member attached to said second end of said elongated strap body portion.

3. A loop-type strap, as defined in claim 2, wherein said rigid tail end portion is arcuate along its length.

4. A loop-type strap, as defined in claim 1, wherein said rigid tail end portion comprises: a metallic member attached to said second end of said elongated body portion and said cutting edge is a point.

5. A loop-type strap, as defined in claim 1, wherein said rigid tail end portion comprises: a hardened portion of said elongated strap body portion.

6. A loop-type strap, as defined in claim 5, wherein said rigid tail end portion is arcuate along its length.

7. A loop-type strap, as defined in claim 1, wherein said rigid tail end portion comprises: a hardened portion of said elongated strap body portion and a metallic layer thereover.

8. A loop-type strap, as defined in claim 7, wherein said rigid tail end portion is arcuate along its length.

9. A loop-type strap, as defined in claim 1, wherein said rigid tail end portion comprises: a hardened portion of said elongated strap body portion and a metallic layer thereover and said cutting edge is a point.

10. A loop-type strap, as defined in claim 1, wherein said rigid tail end portion is arcuate along its length.

11. A loop-type strap for joining two or more articles comprising an elongated flexible strap body portion; a head member coupled to one end of said elongated strap body portion; said head member having a transverse aperture therein to receive said elongated strap body portion therethrough; the second end of said elongated strap body portion terminating in a substantially rigid tail end portion comprising a hardened portion of said elongated strap body portion and having a plurality of ribs thereabout and a cutting edge which is a point thereon whereby said tail end portion may be passed through an article having no aperture to receive said strap therethrough.