Systems and methods for holding flat straps

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9622547-B2
Application number	US-201313789328-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 7, 2013
Priority date	Mar 7, 2012
Publication date	Apr 18, 2017
Grant date	Apr 18, 2017

Abstract

A flat strap holding apparatus includes a body and a rotating hub that rotates in an interior of the body. A gripping surface of the rotating hub is proximate to a gripping area in the interior of the body. The rotating hub is configured to rotate towards and away from the gripping area. The body has an attachment area, the attachment area having a plurality of apertures and a plurality of bars. The attachment area is located on a first side of the body and the rotating hub, and the interior is located on a second side of the body.

First claim

What is claimed:

1. A system for holding flat straps, the system comprising:
a device body, the device body having an attachment area for attaching a strap and a cam area for adjustably attaching the strap; and
a hub, the hub constrained within the cam area by a pivot pin and oriented in the cam area such that the hub may rotate to capture the strap between the hub and the device body; wherein the hub includes an arm that is nearly tangential to the hub, the arm having a gripping surface and the body includes a gripping portion and the cam area is a cavity in the device body wherein the cavity has an entrance, a top part of the entrance having the gripping portion of the body and the gripping surface of the arm has a bottom portion of the arm that is nearly tangential to the hub, and the top part of the entrance having a side opposite the gripping surface of the arm and a surface of the body has a bottom portion, and wherein the strap may be fed through a bottom part of the entrance around a rotation point of the hub and over the arm and out of the top part of the entrance and where the hub is positioned to rotate; and the gripping surface extends from the arm that is nearly tangential to the hub, the arm having a plurality of raised protrusions which extend substantially perpendicularly from the arm toward the gripping area, the gripping surface positioned such that it opposes the gripping portion of the body such that as the strap that is fed through the bottom part of the entrance around the rotation point of the hub and out of the top part of the entrance is pulled out of the bottom part of the entrance, the strap causes the hub to rotate towards the gripping portion of the body and the gripping portion and gripping surface holds the strap, the hub may rotate around the rotation point and, during rotation, moves closer to the gripping portion when applying a tensioning force to said flat strap and farther away from the gripping portion when the tensioning force is removed from said flat strap.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the strap is attached to the attachment area by sewing the strap to itself and passing it around a bar of the device body.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the attachment area includes a plurality of bars and apertures, the plurality of bars oriented parallel to each other, such that the strap may be wrapped around them to hold the strap.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein a pin holds the hub in the device body.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the hub includes a capture ring, the capture ring located radially away from the rotation point of the hub such that it is not located in the cavity, the capture ring shaped to receive the strap that is fed through the bottom part of the entrance around the rotation point of the hub.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the attachment area includes at least one bar and two apertures such that the strap may be wrapped around the attachment area.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of raised protrusions which extend substantially perpendicularly from the arm are shaped to have a side perpendicular to the gripping surface of the hub on a first side and an obtuse angle to the gripping surface on a second side, the first side positioned to oppose the removal of the strap.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein the hub is spring loaded to stay proximate to the gripping area of the body.

Assignees

• Nite Ize Inc

Inventors

• Seader Rex

Classifications

• A44B11/12 Primary

  turnable clamp · CPC title

• B60P7/0823

  Straps; Tighteners · CPC title

• Y10T24/4077

  Looped strap · CPC title