Strap fastening

R. C. COLLYER ETAL

STRAP FASTENING

3,302,913

Feb. 7, 1967

Filed Nov. 29, 1965

Sheets-Sheet 1

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FobeP Char/es GM/er J/fred Fdward Crapes P/jMir * PPo/wey

Feb. 7, 1967

R. C- COLLYER ETAL

3,302,913

STRAP FASTENING

Filed Nov. 29, 1965

Sheets-Sheet 2

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AobeJ Char/es Co//yer A/f/ed Adward Ozar/es P/jper

United States Patent Office

3,302,913

Patented Feb. 7, 1967 ¹

3,302,913 STRAP FASTENING

Robert Charles Collyer, Harefield, and Alfred Edward Piper, Hillingdon, England, assignors to United-Carr Incorporated, Boston, Mass., a corporation of Delaware

Filed Nov. 29, 1965, Ser. No. 510,344 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Dec. 1, 1964, 48,775/64

Claims. (CI. 248—73) : The present invention relates to an improved strap fastening which is suitable for attaching a number of cables or similar articles together or for attaching a number of cables to. a fixed support.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a strap fastening which is quick and easy to latch in position and which can be unlatched without difficulty.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a strap fastening which can be securely attached to a support and which, when in position does not have any internal projections which can damage the cables around which the strap is engaged. In order to achieve the above described objects and in accordance with the invention there is provided a flexible strap fastening comprising an elongate strap having one face formed with a series of recesses which extend transversely of the strap to form a series of transverse ribs in the strap and adjacent one end of the strap, projecting upwardly from the said one face of the strap a latch portion provided with -an opening extending through the said latch portion in the direction of the length of the strap and a resiliently movable lug projecting downwardly into the said opening and towards the said one face of the strap, the other end of the strap being insertable through the said opening from the said one end of the strap and the said ribs being snap-engageable past the resiliently movable lug to lock the strap in any one of a number of positions in the latch portion.

Preferred forms of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevation of a strap fastening according to the invention,

FIGURE 2 is an underplan of the strap fastening of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 is an end elevation of the strap fastening of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional elevation of a detail of the strap fastening of FIGURE 1, and

FIGURE 5 is a sectional elevation showing a number of cables secured to a support with the aid of the strap fastening of FIGURE 1.

In FIGURES 1 to 3 a strap fastening is indicated generally at 10. The strap fastening 10 is formed from a synthetic plastics material, preferably by injection moulding, and comprises a strap 11 -and latch portion 12.

The strap 11 has a series of transversely oriented recesses 13 in one face 14, the recesses 13 forming a series of transverse ribs 15. Each recess has a transversely disposed abutment wall 30 which lies in a plane approximately at right angles to the face 14 and a transversely disposed camming wall 31 which is inclined to the face 14.

The latch portion 12 projects outwardly from the face 14 and is positioned -adjacent one end of the strap 11. The other end of the strap 11 is tapered and roughened to form a finger grip 16.

The latch portion 12 comprises two side walls, 17 and 18, and a web 19 which form a tunnel-like opening 20 extending lengthwise of the strap. A resiliently movable lug 21 projects downwardly from the web 19 towards the strap and a release tag 22 projects upwardly from the web. The lug 21 is provided at one end of the tunnellike opening 20. The side of the lug facing the opposite end of the opening is chamfered to provide an inclined camming surface 23 and the outer surface 32 of the lug 5 21 is oriented approximately at right angles to the face 14 of the strap.

Adjacent the latch portion 12 a projection 24 is formed on the face 14 of the strap and between the latch portion 12 and the recesses 13 the strap is provided with an 10 integral rivet 25. The rivet 25 comprises a shank 26 and break off pin 27, the shank being formed with an internal rib so that the shank is expanded outwardly by the pin when the pin is struck downwardly.

In order to attach a number of cables 28 to an aper15 tured support 29, as shown in FIGURE 5, the strap fastening 10 is first attached to the apertured support 29 by passing the shank 26 of the rivet 25 through the -aperture in the support and striking the pin 27 down into the shank to expand the shank outwardly into tight clamping 20 engagement with the support.

The cables 28 are then laid across the strap 11, the two ends of the strap are raised and wrapped around the bundle of cables and the tapered finger grip 16 at one end of the strap is passed through the opening 20 in the latch 25 portion 12.

As the end of the finger grip 16 passes through the opening 20 it strikes the projection .24 and is thereby lifted away from the face 14 of the strap and can be easily gripped manually. The strap 11 is then pulled through 30 the latch portion 12 until it is tightly clamped around the bundle of cables 28 when it is released.

It will be seen that the gap between the end of the lug 21 and the face 14 of the strap is less th-an the thickness of the strap and consequently the lug 21 is deflected 35 to allow the strap to pass through the latch portion and snaps down into each recess 13 in the strap. The camming surface 23 on the lug 21 andl the inclination of the transverse camming walls 31 of the recesses 13 ensure that the strap will pass relatively easily through the ⁴⁰ latch portion in a direction to tighten the strap around the cables while a positive resistance is provided against -a return movement by the abutment of the outer surface 32 of the lug against the abutment wall 30 of one of the recesses 13.

⁴⁵ In order to release the strap fastening, the release tag 22 is manually tilted so as to lift the lug 21 out of the recess 13 in which it is engaged. The strap 11 can then be drawn back through the latch portion 12 to loosen or untie the fastening.

⁵⁰ When the strap fastening 10 is attached to the support and the strap 11 is tied around the cables, the latch portion 12 projects from the external face 14 of the strap and there are thus no internal projections which can chafe and damage the cables.

⁵⁵ The co-operation between the camming walls 31 of the recesses 13 and the camming surface 23 of the lug 21 ensures that the strap fastening 10 can be easily and quickly tightened and clamped, while the abutment between the outer surface 32 and the abutment walls 30 ⁶⁰ of the recesses ensure that the fastening cannot be accidentally released or forced loose.

A further advantageous feature of the strap fastening 10 is the projection 24, which is in the form of a transversely extending rib and which serves the dual purposes ^b5 of lifting the end of the strap 11 as it passes through the latch portion so that it can be easily grasped and ensuring that the strap 11 is held firmly in engagement against the lug 21.

₇₀ It will be appreciated that the strap 11 need not be provided with means for attaching it to an apertured support, for instance if the strap is intended only to secure

3,302,913 a bundle of cables together, and that where the strap is provided with means for attaching it to a support the means need not take the form of rivet illustrated and described herein.

Further modifications to the form of the embodiments 5 illustrated herein may be made, for instance by the substitution of equivalent technical means without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention which is best described in the following claims: