AU714699B3 - A fastener for sheet material - Google Patents

Description

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AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A PETTY PATENT Name of Applicant: Actual Inventor: Address for Service: Invention Title: MASS ELECTRONICS PTY LTD STEPHEN MIRANDA CULLEN CO., Patent Trade Mark Attorneys, 240 Queen Street, Brisbane, QId. 4000, Australia.

A FASTENER FOR SHEET MATERIAL The following statement is a full description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to us: THE PRESENT INVENTION relates to a fastener for securing a sheet of flexible material such as a tarp.

The present invention will be described with reference to securing a tarp, however it will be appreciated that the fastener may be used to secure any suitable material and no limitation is intended thereby.

Typically, tarps and other such materials are provided with a plurality of holes along each edge. These holes are generally reinforced with metal or plastic eyes. Tarps are secured by inserting ropes or poles through the holes and applying tension. Such tension introduces stress about the holes and they are subject to tearing or fraying. Also, the metal or plastic inserts often come loose. When these holes have become torn, the tarp is rendered virtually useless. A further disadvantage with the holes is that it often happens that the location of the holes along the tarp edge are not at desired securing points.

Accordingly, it is desirable to be able to secure a tarp without relying on preformed holes. There have been a number of earlier proposals designed to address this problem. These earlier proposals operate on the principal of sandwiching a section of tarp between a base member and a ball or disc. However, under the stress upon which a tarp is placed when in use, the balls or disc are subject to dislodgement.

It is therefor an object of the present invention to provide a device for securing a tarp or other material which may at least partially overcome the above disadvantages or provide the public with a useful choice.

According to a first broad form of the invention, there is provided a fastener for a sheet material, the fastener having a body, the body having a cavity, a front entry slot to the cavity through which an edge of a sheet material can be inserted, the cavity being defined by opposing walls which are angled towards the entry slot, the cavity also having a side entry; and a lock member dimensioned to be able to be inserted into the cavity through the side entry and which can be wedged between the opposing walls to trap any sheet material located between the lock member and said walls.

The fastener can be made from any suitable material and is typically made from material which can withstand high stresses. Typical materials include a plastic composites material and a preferred plastics material is glass filler nylon polycarbonate.

The body of the fastener has a cavity defined by two opposed walls angled towards an entry slot.

Typically, the body has opposing jaws. One or both of the inner walls may have a textured surface such as ribs or be provided with other means of frictionally engaging a tarp inserted therein.

The body has a side entry for receiving the locking member.

Generally, the body will have two opposed side entries to allow a locking member to be inserted from either side of the body and/or to extend from both sides of the cavity when in use.

The locking member is typically an elongate member. Typically, the locking member is of substantially constant cross section, the cross section being circular. However, the locking member need not have a circular cross section and can be wedge shaped or any other suitable shape.

The locking member is typically an extruded plastics material.

Preferably, the material is at least partially resilient such that it can be partially deformed when wedged against the opposing walls. Suitable materials are elastomeric materials including polyurethanes and silicones.

When the locking member is resilient the inner walls may be provided with recess, holes, dimples or the like. When the locking member is wedged between the walls, the external face of member is deformed into the recesses, holes or dimples to improve grip between the walls and locking member.

Typically, the fastener is provided with attachment means for attaching a rope or other holding device to the fastener. Generally, the body has one or more apertures through which a rope or cord may pass.

Alternatively, or in addition to, the body may have means for attaching the fastener to a rigid structure such as a pole or edge of a structure such as a caravan, trailer or utility tray.

In order to secure a sheet material, a section of material (which can be an edge or intermediate section) is inserted into the entry slot.

Typically, the material is folded over before insertion, into the entry slot, although this need not be necessary as will be described below. The locking member is inserted through a side entry so as to trap opposing sides of the sheet material against the opposing inner walls. The material may then be pulled away from the body so as to wedge the locking member securely between the angled walls. An alternative method of placing the material and locking member into the body is to insert an edge of the material into the slot without folding the material. In this case, it is preferable that the locking member has a circular cross section. The locking member is inserted into the side entry and rotated. This rotation wraps the material around the member such that the material is in contact with both inner walls and can be secured by pulling the fabric away from the body as described above.

To disengage the material from the body, it is simply a matter of pushing the locking member towards the rear portion of the body.

Typically, the body further includes reinforcing means for reinforcing the body against stresses and loads incurred during use. For example, in a preferred embodiment in which the body has two opposing jaws, the location and direction of the loads which may be experienced by the fastener is to force open the jaws. This loading can typically be offset by providing a reinforcing section about the rear portion of the jaws. Typically, the reinforcing means includes one or more ribs extending about the body.

By way of example only, the present invention will now be defined with reference to the accompanying figures in which:- Figure 1 is an isometric view of a preferred fastener with the lock member installed; Figure 2 is a front view of the fastener of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a top plan view of the fastener of Figure 1; Figure 4 is an end view of the fastener of Figure 1; Figure 5 is an isometric view of a further preferred fastener of the present invention; and, Figures 6a, b and c are schematic views of the fastener of Figure 1 securing a tarp.

Figure 1 illustrates a fastener 11. The fastener has opposing jaws 12, 13 which are angled towards each other. The fastener has a body 11, narrow front entry slot 14 into cavity 10 and opposing side entries 15, 16.

The rear portion of the body has an aperture 17 through which a rope or cord may be passed in a horizontal direction. The body 11 also includes two vertical apertures 18, 19 as shown in Figure 2 through which a rope or cord can be passed in a vertical direction. These apertures are defined by rib members 20, 21, 22.

The body 11 has a locking member 23. The locking member 23 is attached to the body 24 of the body by cord 25. The cord prevents loss of the locking member when the fastener is not in use.

The body 24 has a series of ribs including two outer ribs 26, 27 and three inner ribs 20, 21, 22. The three inner ribs extend about the body and form the rear portion 10 thereof. The inner ribs 20, 21, 22 have a thickened portion 28 about the rear of the cavity and are tapered towards the entry slot 14. In this way the ribs reinforce the body about the rear of the cavity 10 where it is believed the body experiences a major part of the stress in use.

Figures 6a, b and c illustrate schematically how a tarp can be secured by using the fastener of Figure 1. A section of tarp 31 is folded over and inserted through entry slot 14. The locking member 23 is then inserted through a side entry 15 such that a section of the tarp 31 is sandwiched between the locking member 23 and the inner walls of the jaws 12, 13. The inner walls have a ribbed section (not shown). When the tarp material is pulled tight in the direction of arrow A as illustrated in Figure 4c, the locking member 23 is pulled towards the narrower portion of the cavity and is wedged between the opposing jaw members. It can be seen that the more tension applied to the tarp, the more tightly the tarp is gripped between the locking member and the jaws.

Figure 4 illustrates the angle c towards which the inner walls are angled towards each other. This angle is typically between about 8 to about 130. The inventor has surprisingly discovered that such an angle provides an optimum locking action with the locking member. The angle illustrated in Figure 4 is 10.70.

Figure 3 also illustrates a method by which the body 24 can be secured by a rope 27 without having to tie a knot in the rope. The rope is inserted up through aperture 18 and then back up through aperture 19 whilst leaving a small loop of rope. The end of the rope after it passes through aperture 19 is then inserted through this loop and pulled tight.

Figure 5 illustrates a further fastener 35 of the present invention.

This fastener would typically be used under conditions of less load than that for the fastener of Figure 1. The fastener 35 has an entry slot 14, opposing angled jaws 12, 13 defining a cavity 10, similar to the fastener of Figure 1.

The fastener 35 is of narrower width and has a single reinforcing side 36.

It can be seen that the fastener of the present invention provides a rapid and reliable method for securing a tarp or other material.

This fastener does not rely on the use of holes and because the section of tarp which is gripped by the fastener is spread uniformly along the width of the jaws, there is less tendency of the tarp to rip when compared with securing a tarp by tying a rope through the conventional holes. By using the fastener of the invention, a tarp can be secured at any desired interval along a tarp edge and is not limited to securing points corresponding to the location of the holes. The fastener can also be used to join adjacent tarps. Still further, the fastener can be used to secure the tarp at locations other than the edge. For example, a tarp may be secured about its centre position and suspended from above to provide an A frame type shelter.

The fastener of the present invention may find particular application in securing tarps or emergency covers over damaged roofs or the like. The fastener allows the cover to be securely held and does not require the cover to have eyelets. This can be an advantage as it allows a cover to be cut to size on site.

It should be appreciated that various other changes and modifications may be made to the embodiment described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims (3)

1. A fastener for a sheet material, the fastener having a body, the body having a cavity, a front entry slot to the cavity through which an edge of a sheet material can be inserted, the cavity being defined by opposing walls which are angled towards the entry slot, the cavity also having a side entry; and a lock member dimensioned to be able to be inserted into the cavity through the side entry and which can be wedged between the opposing walls to trap any sheet material located between the lock member and said walls.

2. The fastener of claim 1, wherein the body has opposing jaws defining the cavity and which are angled towards the entry slot and at least one rib extends along each jaw member transverse to the entry slot.

3. The fastener of claim 1 or 2 substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the drawings.