AU2019250105A1 - Improvements in or in relation to keepers or tidies - Google Patents

Abstract

(Figure 1) A keeper device 10 in a form of a generally u-shaped body having legs 11 and 12 and a crown 13 bridging between the legs 11 and 12 each leg 11 and 12 has a prong 14 and a generally circular rail receiver section 15 which has circular surface sections 16, 17, 18 and 19 so that the receiver section 15 may fit around a matching cylindrical bar or rail. There is a relatively narrow mouth 20 and each of the legs 11 and 12 are made resiliently biassed by narrow regions 21 and 22 which are adjacent through holes 23 and 24. In use the through holes 23 and 24 may be utilised to pass cables or the like. A J-shaped hook may be used to loop electric power cords and keep them tidied. fy) ((9 C-~

Description

IMPROVEMENTS IN OR IN RELATION TO KEEPERS OR TIDIES

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] THIS INVENTION relates to improvements in or in relation to insertable keepers or tidies for holding sheets, cords or the like and in particular but not limited to a hand insertable clip or keeper or tidy for use with a rail, bar or the like.

BACKGROUND [0002] The present invention has its main application as a keeper or tidy for use on constructions sites to aid keeping sheets, cables or cords in a desired position. One example is to scaffold pipe. At present it is common practice to use cable ties to retain sheet material in place on scaffold pipe. Cable ties are also used to hold electric leads. Cable ties are inconvenient to use as one must cut holes through sheet material or when they are used to tidy cables, cords and the like they must be cut to release the cable. The cable tie basically follows the cylindrical form of the scaffold pipe. Another common option is to use a C-shaped clip which follows the pipe. There are many devices that clip to pipes. There are in fact a huge number of c-shaped clips of all different sizes and forms. This basic mechanical structure is widely used.

[0003] A search revealed a crowded art of like devices a non-exhaustive selection being set out as follows. US83566778 describes a modular rooftop pipe support having a C-shaped clip section that resiliently deforms to clip onto a pipe. DE4435177 descries U-shaped pipe holders having a narrow entrance into a cylindrical shaped part. AU2012255622 describes a C-shaped clip on to a pipe, the clip has opposed slots to hold respective edges of sheets extending along the pipe. WO2017/093743 describes a C-shaped clip one device to hold a banner to a scaffolding frame. AU 199956040 describes a C-shaped keeper with a slot to clamp a sheet such as a tarp to a rail, the keeper has a hole opposite the slot so a rope may be passed through the hole. Australian Design Registration to Mass Electronics Pty Ltd shows a wire C-shaped scaffolding clip, the clip has opposed legs and a crown, free ends of the legs are

2019250105 14 Oct 2019 spread from respective bends in the legs to define a tapered lead in mouth just inboard of the ends of the legs, the legs then arc to fit around a scaffold pipe while the crown has a medial tight U-bend to form a spring crown, with all of the clip in a single plane. The clip is applied with a tool used to force the clip to puncture though sheet material to secure the sheet material to scaffold pipe . Further examples of other similar clips and tools by the same Mass Electronics are in AU2010100719 and AU201020298.

[0004] The present invention clearly falls in a “crowded art” and this should be the lens through which Applicant’s invention is viewed.

[0005] The above and the other prior are should be referred to in order to demonstrate that in all the circumstances the notional skilled person would be presented with many similar solutions to the present invention. Since the present invention arises in a crowded art it would be prima facie wrong to suggest that there was, or is, a particular problem or motivation extant at the filing date of the present application that would give rise to the non-inventive notional person coming up with the present invention either in idea, concept or practical form. Thus the recognition and the present conception may be considered as whole or part of Applicant’s inventive step.

[0006] With this and the other background factors, including as set out above, in mind, it should be clearly appreciated to the reader, that it is elementary, that exercise of the inventive faculty in all the circumstances, in such a crowded art, is likely to be present in small variations. This is a background observation in hindsight only and is not to say that any of Applicant’s new features whether individually or in combination are in any way slight or small.

[0007] Even though the art has become crowded, according to Applicant’s understanding of the marketplace if there have been many offerings, they have not been widely accepted.

[0008] Consequently, there is a requirement for a fresh look “outside the box” through new eyes in an effort to provide an alternative to the efforts made over the last many years. It would be desirable to have something that is simple and easy to assemble, yet effective, but employing common techniques and methods to arrive at a new and useful combination and result.

Simplicity, is not considered a bar to invention but in a crowded art may indeed be an indicator

2019250105 14 Oct 2019 of invention.

[0009] This means that the present invention does not arise through any deterministic relationship to the prior art but rather is the inventor’s own inspiration in an individualistic way applying the inventor’s mind to the general state of the art and to the inventor’s knowledge and recognition of defects arising during his prototyping and development that might be remedied, this being as an alternative to what is currently available, rather than an effort to deal with any specific generally recognised real extant problem common at the time or any notional problem derived ex post facto from any single item of prior art, selected by hindsight, from a clearly crowded art, since any selection in a crowded art must necessarily be based on Applicant’s disclosure as the starting point. Selection of features from what are otherwise workable solutions must necessarily involve rejection of other features from the combinations disclosed in those solutions.

OUTLINE [0010] In one aspect there is provided a keeper or tidy having spaced legs and a crown extending between the legs, a resiliently expandable relatively narrow mouth between the legs leading to a relatively wide rail receiver so that a rail may forcibly pass through the mouth and be held captive in the receiver to operably position the keeper or tidy in a position on the rail.

[0011] Preferably, the keeper is so dimensioned and arranged that it is hand insertable about a rail. In one embodiment the keeper has divider wall with edge flanges projecting on either side of the wall. The flanges are typically peripheral flanges running around inside and outside. In one example the flanges are endless, in another case they have ends that terminate at ends of the legs.

[0012] Typically, the legs have prongs that may be manually pushed through sheet material. The prongs preferably have one or more ribs for strength and are preferably cruciform in section. Where prongs are employed, prong covers typically clip onto the prongs for safety. In one embodiment the prong protectors may bridge across the mouth to close the mouth about a rail. Typically, the prongs have one or more notches and the protectors lock onto the the

2019250105 14 Oct 2019 notches. The prong cover may be a one piece unit. Where flanges are employed the flanges may terminate inboard of points of the prongs.

[0013] The legs or crown may have holes or recesses used to hold cables, sheets, rods etc. Cables, rods or sheets may be fed through these openings or recesses.

[0014] In one preferred embodiment the legs are made resilient by reason of narrow or wasted sections adjacent the crown. The wasted sections may be part circular or c-shaped and opening into the rail receiver. The rail receiver is preferably defined by parts of a cylindrical surface with gaps defining the mouth and the wasted sections.

[0015] Typically, in use the present invention may clamp material between a rail and the legs or crown or hold material in various recesses in the legs or crown. In another case the legs or crown may have one or more outward openings or projections used to hold items proximal the keeper.

[0016] In another embodiment the keeper or tidy may employ one or more hooks or hangers used to hang cords, sheets, cables etc from the legs or crown. Typically a J-shaped hook is provided adjacent one side of the crown and extending back and along and spaced from the crown and have an entry adjacent the opposite side of the crown. The J-shaped hook may have a relatively narrow mouth and be resiliently biased towards the crown. Thus when the keeper is set in a vertical plane the J-shaped hook is open at the top and cables, cords and the like may be tidied by being simple looped over the hook. Keepers according to the invention may be placed on bars at spaced intervals and cords tidied by being strung between them.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0017] In order that the present improvements may be more readily understood and put into practical effect reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention and wherein:Figures 1-4 are respectively perspective, top, side and front view of a first embodiment;

2019250105 14 Oct 2019

Figures 5-8 are respectively perspective, top, side and front view of a second embodiment; Figures 9-12 are drawings illustrating use of the embodiment of Figures 1-4; and Figure 13 is a drawing illustrating use of the embodiment of Figures 5-8.

METHOD OF PERFORMANCE [0018] Referring to the drawings and initially to Figure 1 through 4 there is illustrated a keeper device 10 in a form of a generally u-shaped body having legs 11 and 12 and a crown 13 bridging between the legs 11 and 12 each leg 11 and 12 has a prong 14 and a generally circular rail receiver section 15 which has circular surface sections 16, 17, 18 and 19 so that the receiver section 15 may fit around a matching cylindrical bar or rail. There is a relatively narrow mouth 20 and each of the legs 11 and 12 are made resiliently biassed by narrow regions 21 and 22 which are adjacent through holes 23 and 24. In use the through holes 23 and 24 may be utilised to pass cables or the like.

[0019] The prongs 14 are cruciform in cross section and are used so that a user may manually punch the prongs through sheeting or the like and then for it to be applied over an adjacent rail or bar clamping the sheet to the bar. This will be illustrated in greater in the drawings which follow.

[0020] Referring now to Figures 5 through 8 there is illustrated a device which is practically the same as device 10 so this numeral has been used but with the addition of a J-shaped cable tidy 25 projecting from one side of the crown 13 at 26 and this tidy is itself resilient having a narrow entry 27 so that cables and the like may be fed into and retained in place using the J-shaped tidy section 25. The J-shaped section terminates at the crown at 26 may be formed integrally with the body 10 or it may be a clip-in or slide in addition added to the body 10. As is appropriate like numerals illustrate like features.

[0021] Prongs 28 have are also cruciform in section but each have four notches 29. These notches lock on to a cover 32 (Figure 10).

[0022] Referring now to Figures 9, 10, 11 and 12 the keeper 10 is shown being handled with a

2019250105 14 Oct 2019 hand 30 grasping the crown 13 so that the prongs 28 are aligned with a horizontal (or vertical) bar 31 which has a sheet of material 32 in front of it. The prongs 28 will penetrate the sheet of material 32 as shown in Figure 10 and the legs 11 and 12 will move apart slightly so that the bar or rail 31 is located in the position as shown in Figure 10. A prong cover 33 is then fitted to the prongs 28 by reason of a prong shaped cavity 33 with the notches 29 coming into register inboard of projections 35 at the entrance to the cavity 34. Thus as can be seen in Figure 12 the cover 33 is locked in position. The projections at 35 are resilient or made from material so that the cover may be released from the prongs using a twisting action. Once the cover 33 is locked in position on the prongs 28 and to further enhance the way in which the sheet material is held in place the keeper 10 may then be rotated 90° to the position illustrated in Figure 11.

[0023] Referring now to Figure 13 the embodiment of Figures 5 through 8 is shown where the keeper 10 with its J-shaped hook 25 is secured through the mesh screen 32 on to a pipe 31 and a cord 35 is looped over and hung from hook 25 in order to tidy the cord 36 and raise it from the ground. The keepers 10 may be located at various locations along for example the pipe or rail 31 which in turn is secured to uprights or it may be located on vertical rails and electric cables or cords 36 may be tidied and strung between the hooks 25.

[0024] There are many variations noting that the body 10 may be used without prongs and in the present example is made with a central planar section 37 with peripheral flanges 38 and 39 on each side but it could be solid or hollow, of varying shape and thickness in parts, therefore while the above has been given by way of illustrative example many variations and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the broad ambit and scope of the invention as set out in the appended claims.

Claims (17)

1. A keeper or tidy having spaced legs and a crown extending between the legs, a resiliently expandable relatively narrow mouth between the legs leading to a relatively wide rail receiver so that a rail may forcibly pass through the mouth and be held captive in the receiver to operably position the keeper or tidy in a position on the rail.

2. The keeper according to claim 1 which is so dimensioned and arranged that it is hand insertable about a rail.

3. The keeper according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the keeper has a divider wall with edge flanges projecting on either side of the wall.

4. The keeper according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the legs have prongs that may be manually pushed through sheet material.

5. The keeper according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the legs have prongs that may be manually pushed through sheet material, the prongs having one or more ribs for strength.

6. The keeper according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the legs have prongs that may be manually pushed through sheet material and are cruciform in section.

7. The keeper according to any one of the preceding claims further including prong covers which clip onto the prongs for safety.

8. The keeper according to any one of the preceding claims further including prong covers which clip onto the prongs for safety and bridge across the mouth to close the mouth about a rail.

9. The keeper according to any one of the preceding claims, the legs having prongs, the prongs having one or more notches.

2019250105 14 Oct 2019

10. The keeper according to any one of the preceding claims, the legs having prongs, the prongs having one or more notches, the notches being used to lock a prong cover in place over a said prong.

11. The keeper according to any one of the preceding claims wherein strengthening flanges are employed and the flanges terminate on the legs just inboard of points or prongs.

12. The keeper according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the legs or crown have holes or recesses used to hold cables, sheets, rods etc.

13. The keeper according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the legs are made resilient by reason of narrow or wasted sections adjacent the crown.

14. The keeper according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the legs are made resilient by reason of narrow or wasted sections adjacent the crown, the wasted sections being part circular or c-shaped and opening into the rail receiver.

15. The keeper according to any one of the preceding claims having one or more hooks or hangers used to hang cords, sheets, cables etc from the keeper.

16. The keeper according to any one of the preceding claims having a J-shaped hook provided adjacent one side of the crown and extending back and along and spaced from the crown and having an entry adjacent the opposite side of the crown.

17. The keeper according to any one of the preceding claims having a J-shaped hook provided adjacent one side of the crown and extending back and along and spaced from the crown and having an entry adjacent the opposite side of the crown, the J-shaped hook having a relatively narrow mouth and being resiliently biased towards the crown.