U.S. patent number 3,913,179 [Application Number 05/468,682] was granted by the patent office on 1975-10-21 for tie straps.
Invention is credited to Jhoon Goo Rhee.
United States Patent |
3,913,179 |
Rhee |
October 21, 1975 |
Tie straps
Abstract
Adjustable, pliable tie straps are provided comprising a series
of longitudinal slot means at one end of the strap and a tongue
portion at the opposite end containing notch means, whereby the
tongue portion can be inserted in any of the said slots for tying
or securing an object.
Inventors: |
Rhee; Jhoon Goo (Arlington,
VA) |
Family
ID: |
23860804 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/468,682 |
Filed: |
May 10, 1974 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
24/16PB |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D
63/1027 (20130101); Y10T 24/1498 (20150115) |
Current International
Class: |
B65D
63/10 (20060101); B65D 063/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;248/68,71,73,74PB
;24/73PB,26A,16PB,3.5P,17AP |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1,278,571 |
|
Oct 1961 |
|
FR |
|
753,420 |
|
Oct 1951 |
|
DT |
|
883,856 |
|
Jul 1953 |
|
DT |
|
346,341 |
|
Mar 1931 |
|
GB |
|
Primary Examiner: Griffin; Donald A.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Millen, Raptes & White
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An adjustable tie strap comprising a strip of pliable material
having a series of T-slots at one end thereof, the other end
provided with a tongue portion adapted to be inserted into one of
said T-slots, said tongue end portion including a pair of right
angled notches adapted to engage said T-slots, an additional T-slot
adjacent said notches, said tongue portion having a generally
pointed free end and longitudinal, angular, marginal edges which
increase in width to the same width as the strap, said notches and
T-slots being suitably spaced along the strap so that the free end
of the strap may be passed through a T-shaped slot other than the
end slot to lock a pair of notches other than the end most notches
therein and then passed through the end most T-shaped slot to lock
the end most pair of notches therein and through the said
additional T-shaped slot and bent so as to position the said
pointed free end in abutting contact with the under surface of the
tie strap.
2. The strap of claim 1 wherein said pliable material is a
reinforced plastic material.
3. The strap of claim 1 wherein said pliable material is nylon mesh
impregnated with polyvinylchloride.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an adjustable tie strap adapted to be
secured together at its ends. Many types of adjustable tie straps
made of a pliable material such as plastic, leather, etc. employing
metal buckles, clasps and the like, are generally available adapted
to secure or tie materials together, such as bundles of electrical
wires, etc. Although the prior art adjustable tie straps are
generally suitable, some are objectionable in that one end of the
strap is loose on adjustment or the use of metal tongue buckles and
metallic clasps are required for adjustment. In accordance with
this invention improved adjustable tie straps are provided.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
An object of this invention is to provide an inexpensive adjustable
tie strap made from a pliable material such as a plastic material
and requiring no metallic buckles, clasps, or the like, and which
can be easily secured around an object.
A further object of the invention is to provide an inexpensive
adjustable tie strap of any suitable length, which is easily
constructed.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The novel adjustable tie straps of this invention comprise a
pliable material, particularly a plastic body which can also be
reinforced with glass fibers, or a nylon mesh impregnated with a
suitable plastic material such as a polyvinylchloride. The tie
strap comprises a series of longitudinal slot means at one end and
a tongue at the opposite end adapted to be inserted in said slots.
Two embodiments are provided.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The above objects and advantages of the adjustable tie straps will
be better understood by reference to the accompanying drawing
depicting the two embodiments of the invention wherein:
FIG. 1 is a plan view of one embodiment of the tie strap of the
invention with an intermediate portion broken away;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of the strap shown in
FIG. 1 depicting the two ends of the strap as adapted to be engaged
in a fastened relationship;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of the strap shown in
FIG. 1 in a fastened relationship;
FIG. 4 is a view taken along line 4--4 of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a plan view of a second embodiment of the tie strap of
the invention with an intermediate portion broken away;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a portion of the strap shown in
FIG. 5 depicting the two ends of the strap as adapted to be engaged
in a fastened relationship;
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a portion of the strap shown in
FIG. 5 in a fastened relationship; and
FIG. 8 is a view taken along line 8--8 of FIG. 7.
Referring to FIGS. 1-4 of the drawings, the numeral 10 denoted the
body of one embodiment of the tie strap constructed of a desired
width and longitudinal length and made of a suitable pliable
material as will be more fully described hereinafter. One end
generally designated by the numeral 12 is provided with a series of
longitudinally, aligned slots, preferably rectangular slots, such
as 14, 16 and 18. The other end generally designated by the numeral
20, comprises a pair of opposingly aligned transverse notches 22
and 24 in conjunction with a connecting portion 28 for a tongue
portion 26.
The ends 12 and 20 of the novel strap 10 are adapted to be secured
together and adjusted to a desired degree by inserting tongue 26
into any one of the slots 14, 16 and 18 as shown in FIG. 2, tongue
26 is folded on itself to permit easy insertion into the slot. As
shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, tongue 26 has been inserted in slot 18
thereby securing the strap ends together. Thus, when the two ends
of the strap are secured, the connecting portion 28 is within slot
18 and abuts end 18a thereof. Similarly the length of the strap can
be adjusted by using slots 14 or 16.
When the ends are engaged as described above, tongue 26 and the end
12 are on the same side of the strap. Thus, the strap, when secured
around an object can be turned so that the ends project inwardly
and bear against the object, thereby providing a smooth outer
surface to the strap. In this manner, the ends are not subject to
snagging, wear and tear.
Referring to FIGS. 5-8 of the drawings, the numeral 40 denotes the
body of a second embodiment of the tie strap again constructed of a
desired width and longitudinal length and made of suitable pliable
materials as will be more fully described hereinafter. One end,
generally designated by the numeral 42 is provided with a series of
longitudinally aligned T-slots, such as 44, 46, and 48, etc. Each
T-slot such as 46, comprises, with respect to end 42, a trailing
longitudinal part 45 and a leading transverse part 47. The other
end, generally designated by the numeral 50, comprises a tongue 52
having a generally pointed end 54 and longitudinal, angular,
marginal edges 56 and 58 which increase in width to the same width
as the strap edges 72 and 74. Further along the end 50 of the strap
beyond the tongue 52, the strap comprises one pair of transversely
disposed, opposed, right-angled notches 60 and 62 and a second pair
64 and 66. Each notch, such as 66, comprises, with respect to end
50 a leading transverse part 68 and a trailing angled part 70 which
form a right angle inwardly from the outer edges 72 and 74 of the
strap. Beyond the pairs of notches is a T-slot 75. The pairs of
notches and T-slot 75 are each disposed an equal distance along end
50 from each other. The T-slots are designed to have a length along
dimension A (see slot 48) which is about the same dimension as the
width of the strap.
The ends 42 and 50 of novel strap 40 are adapted to be secured
together and adjusted to a desired degree. As shown in FIG. 6,
tongue 52 is turned 90.degree. and is inserted into slot 46 through
part 45. The end 54 of the tongue is pushed through or is pulled
from the opposite side of the strap whereby angular edges 56 and 58
pass easily through the slot 46. End 50 is further pulled through
slot 46 until notches 64 and 66 are within slot 46. The end 50 is
then turned 90.degree. and edges 68 of notches 64 and 66 are firmly
engaged in part 47 of slot 46. Tongue 52 and notches 60 and 62 are
free on the opposite side of the strap. The free end 50 can then be
inserted inwardly into T-slot 48 similarly as it was inserted into
T-slot 46 thereby providing a more secure tying of the strap ends.
It will be apparent that end 50 can be engaged with any desired
pair of adjacent T-slots at end 42, thereby providing any desired
adjustment of the strap.
A variation of the securing of the strap ends 42 and 50 is shown in
FIGS. 7 and 8. End 50 is folded backward toward end 42 and tongue
52 is inserted into T-slot 75 at end 50 similarly as it was
inserted in T-slot 46, whereby edges 68 of notches 60 and 62 are
firmly engaged in part 47 of T-slot 44. The ends 42 and 50
completely and firmly engaged are shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. In this
variation of the securing of strap ends 42 and 50 of strap 40, only
the two end T-slots are used. This variation of the securing of
strap 40 is usable when a strap is desired to be used in the
securing of series of a bundle of elements wherein all have the
same circumferential dimension.
The adjustable tie straps are adapted for a variety of uses. Thus,
the strap can be used for adjustably securing or tying various
objects or elements such as a watch on a wrist, a bundle of
elements, and the like. The strap is particularly suitable for
securing protective gloves or shoes on a hand or foot. Thus in U.S.
Pat. No. 3,769,722, straps are required for adjustably securing a
protective shoe on the foot of the wearer. Since these shoes are
used in sports such as karate, the straps are particularly
adaptable for use therein, because no loose ends or metallic
buckles are present which could cause injury to a combatant during
use of the shoe in the sport.
Generally pliable plastic materials or leather are suitable for use
in the tie straps. However, it was found that a reinforced plastic
material was more suitable for the strap. Thus, a plastic material
reinforced with glass fibers and the like is very suitable for use
in making the strap. Particularly suitable is a nylon mesh
impregnated with polyvinylchloride. The straps can also be made of
a material as above having a desired degree of stretchability to
aid in securing the strap around objects.
The straps can be made of any desired length and width. The number
of slots such as 14 or T-slots such as 46 can be varied as desired.
The size of the slots are made to be in conformance with the width
of the tongue 26 or 52.
From the foregoing description, one skilled in the art can easily
ascertain the essential characteristices of this invention, and
without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, can make
various changes and modifications of the invention to adapt it to
various usages and conditions.
* * * * *