Clothes-peg

[57] ABSTRACT

A clothes-peg made of a closed looped strip of synthetic material extending along the geometrical outline of a standard peg, wherein the elasticity of the peg is no longer obtained by a spring, but by the mere straining of the peg produced by the interengagement of the points joining two clothes engaging jaws on one hand and the two finger gripping ends on the other, the stress arising through the drawing together of said points stressing and deforming the structure, the jaws of which are thus normally urged into cooperation.

Claims, 5 Drawing Figures

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PATENTED MAY 22 1973

3>733,656

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3,733,656 a cylindrical surface, with a gap J between the ends of the projections. The parts D and E on the gripping end with a rounded cylindrical member K whose outer diameter registers substantially with the diameter of the 5 cylinder defined by the projections H and 1. To set the peg in a tensioned condition, urging the clothes engaging jaws against each other, the rounded part K is pushed into the gap J between the projections H and I, which requires a transient elastic deformation of said ₁₀ projections. The latter clamp between them the rounded part K, whereby the peg assumes the shape illustrated in FIG. 2. The tensile stress thus applied to the peg acts throughout the latter and urges the clothes engaging jaws against each other with a force which is sufficient for securely holding a piece of linen, for instance, between them.

As illustrated more particularly in FIGS. 3 and 4, the parts C and F of the strip 1 are provided with inner ribs 2 and 3 respectively, which increase the rigidity of the outer surfaces of the peg arms.

²⁰ When the finger gripping ends 4 and 5 of the peg are urged towards each other, this leads to a spacing apart of the clothes engaging jaws 6 and 7. It should be remarked that during this passage from a closed to an open position, the entire body of the peg is strained and 25 cooperates in an elastic action urging the jaws back into engagement. It is found in particular that, during the opening and closing movements of the peg, the parts D and E at the gripping ends are deformed at the points joining them to the outer parts C and F. Simi30 larly, the parts B and G on the inside of the jaws 6 and 7 are flexed and are strained at the points connecting them with the outer surfaces C and F of the peg arms. Further elastic deformations appear at A between the two arm-and-jaw sections and also in the rounded part

K.

Obviously, numerous modifications may be brought to the clothes-peg described. In particular, it is obvious that the means interengaging the rounded part K with the two projections H and I may be executed in various ₄θ manners and include, for instance, anchoring outlines engaging the correspondingly shaped cooperating parts.