GB2103277A - Adjustable tie strap - Google Patents

SPECIFICATION Adjustable tie strap BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Adjustable tie strip for various purposes have been developed over a substantial period of time. The type of strap to which the present invention pertains comprises a flexible plastic strap of uniform width and thickness having an elongated opening adjacent opposite ends and rows of similar notches along opposite edges of the strip for purposes of engagement of.a selective pair of opposed notches with the opposite sides of one of the slots, after inserting the opposite end of the strap through said slot after twisting it, and then untwisting it after.arranging a suitable encircling loop by said strap around a bundle of objects or the neck of a bag, for example.

Tie straps of many kinds are very popular at present, one common use thereof being to secure the necks of plastic trash or garbage bags. One very common form of strap to accomplish this comprises a strap of plastic having an elongated opening in one end and V-shaped notches being formed along opposite edges of the strap for engagement of a shoulder of one notch or more in the opposite edges of the slot through which the strap is inserted. Examples of straps of this type are illustrated in prior U.S. Patents Nos. 3,102, 311 to Martinet al, issued Sept. 3, 1963, and 3,438,095, to Evans, issued April 15, 1 969. There also in a French Patent No.

1,309,873 to Laguerre, dated Oct. 15, 1962, having another form of the abovedescribed type of strap.

A further form of strap is shown in another French Patent No. 1,438,115 to Robert, dated March 28, 1966, in which a series of elongated openings are formed in the strip between which a limited number of pairs of opposed notches also are formed and thereby provide a somewhat elaborate type of adjustable means for forming presumably an encircling band although no such band is illustrated.

Still other forms of adjustable tie strips have been developed in which, for example, a series of what appear to be circular knobs, are formed on an elongated member having on one end a modified key hole type of opening or slot through which the knobs extend for locking purposes, as shown in U.S. Patent No. 3,072,986, to Lefnaer, dated Jan. 15, 1963.

One other form of tying strap having opposed notches in opposite edges is illustrated in U.S. Patent No. 3,486,200 to Orenick, dated Dec. 30, 1969, in which a rather sophisticated type of buckle is formed on one of the strap for purposes of engaging a pair of opposed notches to secure the strap in encircling form.

The adjustable tie strap of the present invention is for similar purposes as, but of a different nature than, the strap comprising the subject matter of applicant's co-pending application, Serial No. 241 /698, filed March 9, 1981, entitled Adjustable Tie Strap.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is the principal object of the present invention to provide a simple type of tie strap formed preferably from a strip of flexible plastic material with substantial tensile strength and formed inexpensively from a strip of uniform width and thickness by stamping into a strip of indeterminate length of such plastic stock material, intermediately between the opposite edges thereof, a series of longitudinally spaced substantially rectangular openings with the longest dimension thereof extending longitudinally of said strap and such dimension being substantially equal to the width of the strip from which the strap is formed, and also stamping or otherwise stamping or cutting or forming into said strip a series of equally spaced notches extending transversely from opposite edges into the strip, said notches in opposite sides of the strip being opposite each other and of uniform depth to provide between the inner ends of said notches a portion of the material which is substantially equal to the shorter dimension of the rectangular opening and an opposing pair of said notches being formed equally between each successive pair of openings, whereby a predetermined length of said stock strip, after formation of the openings and notches therein, is cut from said strip to sever the material between a pair of opposed notches to form a tie strap of desired length, whereby one of said strap may be twisted subtantially ninety degrees and said end then is inserted through one of the rectangular openings and pulled therethrough until an encircling loop of the material is formed of desired size around an object, such as a reefed sail, neck of a closed bag or bundle of objects to secure the same in desired configuration, and then the portion of the strap extending through the selected opening is reversely twisted ninety degrees to dispose the opposite edges of said opening respectively in the pair of notches adjacent the same at that time.

Another object of the invention is to sever a predetermined length of the strip of material, after formation of the openings and notches therein, transversely across the portion of the material between a pair of opposed notches, whereby opposite ends of the severed strip comprising a strap have a somewhat bevelled corner useful to facilitate guiding a selected end of the strap through a selected opening without further requiring any finishing of the ends of the strip constituting a strap of desired length.

A further object of the invention is to form the width of the strip of material between the inner ends of opposite pairs of notches to be substantially equal to the summation of the widths of the strip of material along opposite side edges of said openings, thereby providing said strap with substantially uniform strength throughout the length thereof, notwithstanding the formation of aid notches and rectangular openings therein.

Details of the foregoing objects and of the invention, as well as other objects thereof, are set forth in the following specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, comprising a part thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a plan view of a foreshortened strap consisting of a strip of material formed with longitudinally spaced rectangular openings and intervening pairs of transverse notches formed therein in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a view partly in plan, showing the manner of inserting one end of the strap through a selected opening by twisting the same substantially ninety degrees to its otherwise normal position.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing the strap after the twisted end thereof has been twisted reversely to dispose the portion of the strap between opposed notches within a selected opening.

Figure 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing a modified arrangement in which a pair of loops are formed by the strap shown in the preceding figures.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional view, as seen on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary sectional view, showing details of the strap in operation, as seen on the line 6-6 of Fig. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRE FERRED EMBODIMENT Rteferring to Fig. 1 of the drawing, there is illustrated therein a foreshortened plan view of a strap 10 of indeterminate length and of uniform thickness and width, said strap being formed from flexible plastic material, such as the type sold under the trademark "Mylar", and any appropriate polyethylene compound of suitable strength to enable the strap to encircle bundles of articles, furled bundles of sail, tie the contracted neck of sacks and bags, such as trash bags and the like, and many other similar uses of a tying nature, such as bundles of elongated objects, etc.

Without restriction thereto, one suitable width of such material which has been found to be very useful is approximately three-fourth inch in width and a suitable thickness is .060 inches, it being understood that said exemplary dimensions are merely for illustrative and not restrictive purposes.

It is preferred in accordance with the principles of the invention that length of stock plastic strip material of suitable uniform width and thickness be stamped with a series of rectangular openings 1 2 arranged in spaced longitudinal relationship as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2, equal distances apart and the longest dimension of the openings being arranged longitudinally in the strip and midway between opposite edges thereof. Intermediately between successive openings 1 2 is a pair of notches 1 4 extending inward from opposite edges of the strip, in opposition to each other in order to provide a neck portion 1 6 therebetween which is substantially equal to the transverse or narrow dimension of the openings 1 2.

In the preferred form of the invention, as shown in Fig. 1, the neck portion 1 6 has a transverse dimension or length designated x which is equal to the summation of the width of the portions of the strip at opposite sides of the openings 12, designated y in Fig. 1, whereby even though the strip, and strap formed therefrom, are perforated with a number of notches and openings, the finished item will have a substantially uniform tensile strength.

To utilize the strap 10 for tying purposes, to secure a bundle of objects together or necked end of a filled bag of sack in closed condition, as well as other similar purposes, one end of the strap is twisted substantially ninety degrees, as shown in Fig. 2, for purposes of permitting insertion of the selected end through any of the openings 14, and then pulls through said opening to form the loop 18, shown in Fig. 3, for example.After the loop has been formed around an object to a desired degree of tightness, such as a reefed sail around a spar, for example, or any of the other aforementioned uses, the end of the strap which has been pulled through the opening 12, when disposed somewhat as illustrated in exemplary manner in Fig. 5, the previously twisted end of the strap is reversely twisted so as to dispose the neck 1 6 transversely within the opening 12, as shown in Fig. 6, and particularly when said neck is disposed adjacent the far end of the opening 12, considered in respect to the tension placed thereon by the loop 18, said loop will be secured around an object or group of objects.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that such attachment of the strap 10 around an object or group of objects may be accom polished with minimum ease, requiring no tools, simply by making an initial ninety degree twist, inserting an end of the strap through a selected opening 12, pulling the strap into a tight loop 1 8 around the object and then reversely twisting the strap to dis posed the neck 1 6 transversely across the opening 1 2 adjacent the same when disposed in loop configuration, shown in Fig. 3.

Another advantage of the present invention is illustrated in Fig. 4 in which it will be seen that a double loop arrangement comprising aforementioned loop 1 8 and additional loop 20 may be formed by the same strap, such, for example, to tie two objects together, as well as securing the same in closed or tight condition.This is accomplished by first forming the loop 18, for example, and then extending the projecting end 22 of the strap through the selected opening which already accommodates a portion of the strap 10 to form the loop 18, and then pulling the strap through the opening while both portions of the strap therein are twisted substantially to the position shown in Fig. 5, after which the straps are restored to the transverse position illustrated, for example, in Fig. 6 with respect to a single strap, following the tightening of the loop 20 around a second object.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the present invention provides an adjustable tie strap of tough, preferably plastic strip material of uniform width and thickness, certain exemplary dimensions of which are set above, without restriction thereto, and by providing strap-receiving openings 1 2 at regularly spaced intervals therealong, interspersed with intermediate pairs of notches, either one or a pair of loops readily may be provided for tying purposes. Further, by selecting a predetermined length of strip material to form the strap 10 and severing the selected length from stock material by cutting one of the necks 1 6 evenly midway between the opposite side walls of the notches 14, the ends of the strap 10 will be formed with somewhat bevelled corners 24, which at least to a limited extent will serve to facilitate the insertion of a selected end of the strap 10 through a selected opening 12, such as in the manner shown in Fig. 2.

The foregoing description illustrates preferred embodiments of the invention. However, concepts employed may, based upon such description, be employed in other embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the following claims are intended to protect the invention broadly, as well as in the specific forms shown herein.