CA1092317A - Interlocking attachment device - Google Patents

Abstract

INTERLOCKING ATTACHMENT DEVICE

ABSTRACT

A method of producing an attachment device comprising a filament having a laterally oriented bar at one end and a hollow body member at its other end, a wall of the hollow body member having an opening therethrough large enough to receive the filament and the bar when they are in parallel orientation but of a width smaller than the length of the bar so as to prevent the withdrawal of the bar from the hollow interior subsequent to insertion, a self-contained, interlocked attachment thereby being obtained. In one embodiment the body member has a heat-sealed end wall and an outwardly projecting flange which serves as a heat sink. The method comprises the steps of connecting the hollow body member to one end of the filamentary member which contains a head for insertion into one end of the hollow body member.
Then the outer opposing open end of the hollow body member is heat sealed.

Description

: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to attachments c~ a type designed to be inserted through an object usually with a view to attaching two objects together, and widely used to fasten tags or labels to garments or the like, with a very high degree of security, and to ways of using them. It also relates to an assembly of such attachments which greatly facilitates khe application of such attachments to the objects with which they are to be associated.
Attachments of the general type here involved have been previously disclosed in sone U.S. Patent 3,444,597, issued on May 20, 1969, and in Kirk, U.S. 3,380,122, issued April 30, 1968, these patents being owned by the assignee of the instant application.
Such prior art attachments comprise an object-penètrating part at one end thereof, an elongated filament-like section extending therefrom, and a part at the other end o~ said filament-like section which is enlarged relative to the thickness or diameter of said section. The object-penetrating part is designed to be passed~
through a hole (existing or made as part of the attaching operation) in the object with which it is to be associated, that part then remaining on the far side of said object, the elongated section passing through the hole, and the enlarged part remaining on the near side of the object. The object-penetratlng part is capable of !

passing end-wise through said hole, but after it has passed therethrough it will assume its normal position substantially ' perpendicular to the elongated section and thereby prevent the .
~` attachment from escaping in one direc~ion from the-object in question. Escapement of the attachment in the other direction is prevented by the enlarged portion.
:, . -- 1 --; IL~S~;;~3:~7 As is disclosed in -the cited patents, attachments of the type in question are ~nerally provided in the form of an assembly or "clip" of a plur~lity of such attachmen-ts - a typical clip includes 20 attachments. An attaching device or "gun" such as is disclosed in Bone Patent 3,103,666, issued September 16, 1963, and owned by the assignee of this application, may be employed to form the hole through the object with which the attachment is to be associated, sever a single attachment from the assembly of attachments, and force its object-penetrating part through the hole which it forms in the object in question and to the far side of that object.
Attachments of the type in question used in conjunction with attaching devices such as those shown in the Bone '666 patent have become extremely widely used in industry, not only for the attachment of tags and labels to articles to be sold on the retail market, where the attachments are particularly effective in pre-venting unscrupulous shoppers from switching tags - removing a tag from a low-priced article, attaching it to a high priced article, and then paying only the lower price for the article -but also for securing any group of objects to one another. The attachments in question, particularly when used in connection with attaching devices of the type described, may be operatively applied at an extremely rapid rate even by relatively unskilled personnel, thus greatly reducing the cost of tagging, labelingl and securing objects to one another in general. Indeed, in many commercial areas attachments of the type in question have virtually supplanted ;, all other attaching methods.

While such attachments have been widely used and,indeed, . .
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have been exceedingly effective in preventing tag switching, the fact that both ends of the attachment are exposed raises the ; possibility that a new scheme might be deviced ~or switching tags from a low-priced article to a higher-priced article. For example, ~ an unscrupulous shopper ~iven sufficient time might be able to ',t, place the cross bar adjacent the filament and then thread the two ~ back through the opening in the garment initially formed by the ;~ ~ needle and through the tag and thereafter make any desired substitution. Accordingly, the need exists for a self-contained 10 attachment whereby the ends of the filament are interlocked. In i~ this manner, the only way the attachment could be removed from an object would be by actual breaking of the filament section, thereby preventlng ltS subsequent use and providing a clear ` indication of tampering.
Furthermore, the basic filament type attachments have f.` not provided multifunctional use as, for example, by being able to :`
simultaneously function as hanging means for articles which are to be displayed in a hanging position, such as scarves, handker-3 chiefs and the like, it being necessary to resort to attachments ft~ ' 20 of the filament and socket type or of the split filament type for this characteristic. Accordingly, it would be beneficial to provide attachments of the basic filament type which exhibit a t ` more versatile functionality~.
t~'...................... It is the prime object of this invention to modify the ;~ construction of a filament type attachment so as to permit the interlocking of the respective ends thereof.
It is a further object to replace the enlarged end of the ~ attachment with a hollow body member having an opening therein ':

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:10~31~7 adapted to receive -tile object-penetrating part.
I~ is still a further object to provide the opening with a plurali-ty of projections to facilitate retention of the object penetrating part in the hollow body member.
It is another object to combine -the individual attachments so as to facilitate their use with automated attaching devices.
It is still another object to provide an attachment which can be manufactured and assembled by means of simple, inexpensive machinery operations.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To these ends, the present invention provides an attachment comprising a filament having a laterally oriented bar - at one end and a hollow body member at its other end. The body member has an opening in at least one wall thereof, the opening having dimensions relative to those of the bar such that the bar - and the filament when oriented in a generally parallel relation-ship are passable through the opening info the interior of the-hollow member. Furthermore, the hollow interior has a greater width than that of the opening,thereby defining an abutment, which serves to retain the bar in the hollow interior when it is no longer in parallel orientation relative to the filament.
- Optionally, a plurality of projections extending into the opening may be provided in order to aid in stripping the bar from the .. . . .
insertion mechanism and thereafter to further facilitate -retention of the bar in the hollow body member. The ability to insert the bar end of the filament into the body end thereof thus provides a self-contained, interlocking device wherein both ends .. . .
. -- 4 --,,.~,, 31~7 of the Ellament are no lon~er exposed and thus not available to be -tampered with.
he at-tachments may be combined into an integral assembly ~ by conventional techniques, thus permitting their insertion by t means of automatic a-ttaching devices. For example, when using the device of the aforementioned Bone '666 patent, the assembly of attachments are fed therethrough such that the cross bars of ~ adjacent attachments are brought successively into register with ¦ the base of a hollow needle. The thus positioned attachment is 10 then severed from the assembly and a plunger is effective to drive the cross bar through the needle with the filament projecting laterally through the slot. By inserting the needle through an object and a tag and then through the opening in the body member into the interior thereof, the cross bar likewise is inserted therethrough with the filament being bent over the trailing portion of the bar. Upon removal of the needle, the cross bar is effèctively retained in the body member while the object and tag are maintained on the filament.
~- As a further advantage, the resulting looped configuration i 20 of the interlocked construction may be utilized for a variety of applications such as mounting loops for articles to be displayed in a hanging position, as hanger loops for skirts, and for other , uses which will be apparent to the practitioner. The attachments are thus provided with greater application versatility.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
To the accomplishment of the above, and to such other objects as may hereinafter appear, the present invention relates to ~ an attachment and assembly of attachments as defined in the - ~ appended claims and as described in this specification, taken ~ - 5 -~ 109~31~
~, toge-ther with the accompanying enlarged drawin~s, in which:
IG. 1 is a perspective view showing a tag and the `' ~ interlocked attachment of the p:resent invention secured to an t~; object;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the attachment assembly ~ of this invention showing the component parts of the individual ,t . attachments thereof;
, ~ FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2 depicting an embodiment of a hollow body member;
: 10 FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3 showing one embodiment of a bar-retaining projection;
FIG. 5 is a cross sectional. view of the body member of FIG. 3 depicting the retention of the cross bar therein;
: FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a body member of this invention showing, in addition, means for ~,. securing adjacent body members of an attachment assembly;
EIG. 7 is a cross sectional view taken along line 7-7 of , FIG. 6;
, FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view taken along line 8-8 of, ~- 20 FIG. 7;
FIG. 9 is a'perspective view of a third embodiment of a body member of this invention; and FIG. 10 is a fragmentary view in elevation of'the wall of ~: .
: the member of FIG. 9 showing the bar-receiving opening, the '' projections and the abutment wall.

~ DETAILED DESCRIPTION

-~; As is shown in FIG. 1, a tag generally designated A is , adapted to be secured to an article of merchandise,generally :~ '^' designated B by means of an attaching device generally ~' - 6 - ~

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)9Z3~7 designated C`, the attachiny device C being reliably secured to ~ tag A and being engageable with the article of merchandise B by `~ having a filament portion generally desiynated D which is adapted to be passed through an appropriate part of -the merchandise B, either through a pre-existing hole in article s ( as shown) or ~, through a self-made hole. The end of the filament D is provided with a laterally oriented bar generally designated E which is adapted to be passed into and permanently received in a hollow body member generally designated F at the other end of filament D, thus making permanent and interlocking the filament loop D which passes through and supports tag A and article B.
In the specific embodiment depicted in Figs. 2-5, the attachment C comprises an elongated filament D, a normally lateral-ly oriented bar E at one end thereof and a hollow body member F at the other`end thereof. Cross bar E is illustrated as a relatively thin cylinder connected at its midpoint to filament D and extending 1 generally at right angles to said filament D to form therewith a generally T-shaped configuration. (see FIG. 2) The cross bar E is ~- shown as having a clrcular cross section but varlous other shapes may be suitable. In operation, as will be described in more detail hereinafter, the cross bar E is inserted through a tag A
and/or an object B and into body member F along its axial direction, the retention of cross bar E in body member F thereby forming ~ filament loop D which serves to retain tag A and/or object B.
- Accordingly, cross bar E must have asufficient maximum length to width ratio to effectively prevent its extrication from body member F, for if bar E did come out from body member F tag A and/
or object B would slip off filament D. In addition, cross bar E
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~09~31t7 ', m~lit have a sufficiently small effec-tive cross section to allow it to be threaded through object E3 without producing a sizeable or . noticeable hole therein.
Body member F, which is situated at the end of filament D opposite to said cross bar E, is seen to have a hollow interior ~i 12. It is also seen that at least one wall 14 of said body member F has an opening 16 therethrough, leading into hollow interior 12.
In all cases, hollow interior 12 has a greater width than opening i 16 thereby permitting the remainder of the wall 14 to function as 10 an abutment 18 between said interior 12 and said opening 16.
Furthermore, the maximum width of said opening 16 is less than the length of cross bar E. With these dimensional relationships, cross bar E is passable through said opening 16 when said bar E is . oriented in a direction generally parallel to the axis of opening 16, but when said bar E is in another direction while in said r hollow interior 12 it engages with said abutment 18, thereby ~ preventing its extrication from hollow interior 12. (FIG. 5) : The configuration of body member F and opening 16 may : vary in accordance with the practitioner's requirements. Thus, a ~ 20 wide variety of geometrical shapes are applicable, while, the : opening may appear in any wall of the body member and preferably .
i in an end wall. For example, FIG. 2 illustrates a cylindrical body ~:. member F having an opening 16 in one of its end walls 14. It is .~ further seen in FIGS. 3 and 4 that a plurality of projections 20, !, .
. 22 extend generally laterally into said opening 16 from the wall ~. 14 surrounding said.opening 16. Projections 20, 22 serve to ~. facilitate the ejection of cross bar E and filament D from the i penetrating needle into said hollow interior 12 and thereafter aid ~ ^ in the retention of bar E in that i.nterior 12. Thus, as seen in s~
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3~7 FIG. 5, when bar E is inserted into hollow interior 12 o~ body member F, the sli~htest pOSitiO11 change of bar E away from a generally parallel conformation causes bar E to engage projections 20, 22 thereby aiding in its removal from the needle and providing an abutment 18 engageable by bar E and preventing the extrication of bar E from hollow interior 12.
A second embocliment of a body member of -this invention is illustrated in FIGS. 6-8. In this instance body member 24 is again in cylindrical configuration having an opening 26 in one of its 10 end walls 28. However, as distinguished from the embodiment in FIG. 2, opening 26 does not exhibit any projections (See FIG. 8).
Accordingly, abutment 30a is formed by the remainder of end wall : . .
28, this relationship being established by providing hollow . interior 32 with a greater width than said opening 26. Any move :~ ment of bar E from its generally parallel position, subsequent to insertion into hollow interior 32, results in bar E engaging abutment 3Oa,thereby preventing the extrication of bar E.
The body member 24 further includes a flange 60 disposed on and projecting outwardly from the sidewall 30 and forming the :: 20 connection between filament D and the sidewall 30. Referring now in partlcular to FIG. 7, the outward configuration of the flange ;~ 60 resembles an elongated and slightly oval rectangel, the -: elongated flange ends extending outwardly from sidewall 30 -. substantially further than the flange sides. The flange 60, of ~-~ course, extends outwardly from the exterior surface of the sidewall 30 to conduct heat away from the sidewall 30 and maintain the length of sidewall 30 beyond the flange below deforming temperatures~
The flange 60 is disposed on the sidewall 30 closer to the sealed ~: '` . .
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end wall 34 than to the apertured end wall 28 so that protection is afforded during heat sealiny to the portion of the body member 20 between the flange 60 and the apertured end wall 28 which will receive and engage the crossbar 18. To provide comple-te protection with a slnsfle flange, the flange 60 extencls around a peripheral . section of the body member sidewall 30; i.e., about a circumferential slice of the circular sidewall 30. The degree or level to which the portions of the flange 60 project outwardly ~rom ; the sidewall 30 varies, not only with the location of -the portion f 10 of the flange along the periphery of the cricumferential slice, but also with the location of the portion of the flange along the axis of the sidewall 30.
It is important that the flange 60 be configured and ~- dimensioned to dispose an appreciable fraction of its mass and .` exposed surface area substantially outwardly of the sidewall 30 in order to function effectively as a heat sink. The mass interposed .. between the heat source and the vital portions of the body member . 24 adapted to receive the crossbar 18 serves to absorb and distribute the heat, while the exposed surface area permits rapid 1 20 dissipation from the flange 60 of the absorbed and distributed .- heat. Such a flange 60 permits heat sealing of the end wall 34 . . without accompanying heat deformation of the apertured end wall 28and the protion of the sidewall 30 adjacent thereto which receives the crossbar E. In the absence of such a heat sink during the heat ~ sealing operation, the opposite end wall 28 defining the aperture:. 26 and/or the segment of the sidewall 30 adjacent thereto defining .~ the front section of hollow interior 32 may deform i.n such a degree . as to interfere subsequently with the free reception of the cross-"
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: bar E -throu~h aperture 26 and into hollow interior 32. Another I disadvantage of hea-t sealing in the absence of such a heat sink . is that a direct physical connection of the body member 24 and ~:
.: the filament D may be weakened to such a degree as to result in ~'r accidental separation thereof or facilitate intentional breakage :~ of the connection to enable the removal of tags. Yet another :i disadvantage of heat sealing in the absence of such a heat sink i5 .. . that the exterior surface of sidewall 30 deforms to present an unsightly appearance.

'.~r.: 10 Obviously any particular combination of shape, length, ~ thickness, mass and the like may be selected for configurations ~-: and dimensions of the flange 60, whether based on aesthetic or practical considerations,as long as the flange is configured and ~' ri dimensioned to operate as an effective heat sink; that is, an integrally formed heat sink whichi essentially precludes harmful . deformation of the body member 24 and the filament D during the r~ heat treatment effecting closure of the end wall 34 of the body member 24. As the presence of flange 60 permits heat sealing, .~ it simplifies manufacturing procedures and reduces manufacturing cost as the entire attachment comprising filament D, crossbar E, '. and body member 24 may -thus be unitarily formed in a single ! ~
molding operation and finished with a single heat sealing j operation.
, , .. Prior to heat sealing, the body member 24 may be formed by a molding operation to provide a cylindrical extension of the j sidewall 30, rather than a sealed end wall 34. The sidewall extenslon or similar flap is subsequently heat-sealed to provide a closed end wall 34 for the body member 20 proximate to the ,~
r. ~ . _ 9}) Z3~l7 flang~ 60 as shown in FIG. 7. As part of the conventional heat ` sealing operation, mechanical means may be used to urge the molten -thermoplastic mater;al to~ards the des.ired ~reas of permit use of lower heat sealin~ tempera-tures.
. ~ third embodiment of a body member of this invention is depicted in FIGS. 9 and 10. In this instance body member 34 is seen to exhibit a rectangular configuration having an opening 36 in one of its end walls 38. As seen in FIG. 10, opening 36 contains projections 40, 42, 44 extending laterally into said opening 36 10 from wall 38 surrounding said opening 36. In this instance, a ~ slight position change in bar E will enable it to engage projections ~ 40, 42, 44 and thereby be prevented from slipping through opening : 36.
As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of attachments C are . integrally molded together in an assembly strung along mounting rod - 4& by means of necks 48. Thus, the laterally oriented bar E on each attachment C is secured to the rod 46 by means of a frangible ! ` neck 48 which can be readily severed during insertion of the attachment C. This construction is particularly well suited for ~- 20 use with attaching devices of the Bone '666 variety~ inasmuch as a . single actuation of the device can rapidly sever attachment C, . insert the filament D and cross bar E into the interior of hollow body member F.
~: The attachments may be molded as a two-piece construction .: wherein the cross bar, the filament.and one hollow section of the body member are integrally connected while the second hollow .. . .
. section of the body member is separately molded. The two sections of the body member may be manufactured in two separate molds and .~ ~ thereafter combined by ultrasonic welding, solvent treatment or .,~ .

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cementing. Alterna-tively, the two sections could be prepared in ~ a single mold connec-ted by a "living" hincJe, i.e. a hinye that will '~ not split under constant flexing, and then combined as above. The .~ open outer end of one of the sec-tions is sealed, as by hea-t sealing or by providing a flap construction which can be closed over the open end in order to provide an enclosed receptacle for the cross bar, the sealing being conducted either prior or sub-sequent to combination of the individual sections. Reference - may be made to FIG. 2 for an illustration of the combined body ~ 10 member. Thus, section 50, which was integrally molded with c filament D and cross bar E, and section 52, which was separately r ~ molded are combined at 54 to provide a one piece, hollow body member F, the juncture line 54 being generally perpendicular to the ,- axis of opening 16. In order to provide a totally enclosed body ,,,~ .
member F, the open outer end of section 52 was heat sealed to form wall 56 (See FIG. 3).
, The attachments are preferably molded of a thermoplastic t material such as Nylon and the like. In a typical embodiment the filament D extends approximately six inches in length, the bar E
is approximately 13/32 inch in length and 0.045 inch in diameter, and body member F has an interior width of approximately 1/8 inch while the width of the opening is approximately 0.063 inch. It should be noted, however, that these dimensions may be varied ' considerably, depending upon the particular attaahment and its specific end use application.
The manner of use and functioning of the attachments described herein will now be apparent. The assembly of FIG. 2 is inserted into an automatic tag attachment mechanism of the type . !
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;' , described in the aforementioned Bone patent and the cross bars E
are successively aligned with the hollow needle at its base. The - needle passes through tag A, passes through an opening in object B or through the object B itself if no pre~existing opening is , '~ found therein, and is then lnserted through openlng 16 into the . interior 12 of body member F. As the a-ttaching device is actuated, the thus positioned attachment C is severed from the assembly at:
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'r .' its neck portion 48 and the cross bar E is forced through the needle and consequently through tag A, object B and into interior 12 of body member F by a plunger, the filament D projecting later-ally outwardly through the axial extending slot in the needle. As cross bar E moves past tag A, object B and opening 16, the filament D is pùlled inwardly toward the needle and is bent substantially 90 onto the trailing portion of cross bar E. As cross bar E leaves the needle, it tends to spring back to the T-` configuration in relation to the filament D. Cross bar E, having ~ moved from its generally parallel configuration, will thus engage ~- abutment 18 and/or projections 20, 22 and thus will be retained in : -~- hollow interior 12 of body member F. It should be noted that in - 20 view of the generally small dimensions of hollow interior 12, cross bar E may occasionally remain in the needle and thereEore be withdrawn from interior 12 as the needle is withdrawn. In such an instance, projections 20, 22 are particularly useful as means for aiding in the~extrication of cross bar E from the needle. Thus, projections 20, 22 will engage even the slightest portion of cross -- bar E that extends from the needle, thereby exposing additional ~surface of cross bar E with which it may engage abutment 18 and retained in interior 12. Likewise, either of projections 20, 22 .

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may actually penetrate the axial extending slot in -the needle, ,~ thereby enqagin~ cross bar E therein and forcibly retaining it in interior 12 while the needle is withdrawn -thereErom. The loop configuration which is thus formed may be of any circumferential length, depending upon the ini-tial length of filament D. The loop thus functions to hold tag A and article B thereon. Further-more, cross bar E is now completely concealed with body member F
~ thereby removing the possibility of tampering or tag switching r ~ by manipulation of cross bar E.
, ; lO As an optional feature, securing means may be interposed between and connected to adjacent body members in order to avoid tangling of individual attachments as by having the filaments intertwine with other filaments in a given assembly of attach-ments or in an adjacent assembly when a number of clips are ~' ` packed or stored together. Reference may be made to U.5. Patent ~ 3,733,657 issued May 22nd, 1973 and assigned to the assignee of ,` the instance application for a detailed description of the use of such securing means. In general, the securing means are sufficiently strong to maintain the attachments in proper orientation under normal conditions of storage and manipulation, - but are readily frangible so that a given attachment, when used - for its designated purpose, can be separated from the assembly at the body member end while leaving the other attachments well secured to one another. While the attachments remain secured at both ends they tend to remain substantially paralled to one ; another. However, when a particular attachment has been separated at the cross bar it is free to be moved relative to the othex - attachments remaining in the clip. Accordingly, it has been .. ,: `. . . , . , . , :' ' :

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found advanta~eous to use securing means which resist tension forces relatively strongly but resist torsion forces relatively weakly so as to remain secured during manipulation of the attachment but being readily separable thereafter merely by a ,~ twisting movement. A thin and short filamentary connection has this characteristic~ So does a layer of relatively weak adhevise.
The use of such securing means is depicted in FIG. 6.
In this instance, a short, thin filamentary connection 50 secures facing surfaces 52, 54 of the body members 24, 56, respectively.
Connection 50 can be integrally molded with other pQrtions of ~ .
~` ~ the attachment assembly, it merely being required to provide .j cavities in the mold for these additional components. The connection 50 is formed of material sufficiently tough to withstand tension or such bending as it may be subjected to. By reason of the shortness of that filament, however, it can be broken relatively readily when twisted. Alternately, assemblies may be made in the fashion of the prior art with the body members ` being moved into engagement with one another and there secured by means of a weak adhesiveO
. By means of the construction of the present invention :, :
~,~ attachments may be formed with substantially the same facility as is the case with comparable attachments now on the market.
The instant attachments will have the advantage, however, of - containing a hollow body member having an opening therethrough adapted to receive the cross bar component of the attachment, thereby providing a self-contained, interlocked system having no exposed ends available for tampering or manipulation.

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:' ' ' ~' ,.` . `. . ', ` ` ''-' ~' ' ' " ' ' 3~7 , .~While the invention has been described in terms of the specific embodiments herein, i-t should be apparen-t that variations may be developed withou-t departing from the spirit or scope o~ the invention as defined by the following claims.

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Claims (7)

The embodiments of the present invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:-

1. A method of producing an attachment device com-prising:
(a) Providing a hollow body member with two opposing open ends;
(b) Connecting said body member to one end of a filamentary member having at the other end thereof, a head for insertion into one of said opposing ends; and (c) Forming a heat sink as a flange on the hollow body member for permitting the heat sealing of said other end thereof without deformation of said one end; and (d) Heat sealing the other of said opposing ends of said hollow body member.

2. The method of Claim 1 including the step of forming said flange on the hollow body member closer to said other end than to said one end.

3. The method of Claim 1 including the step of forming said flange over an entire peripheral section of said hollow body member.

4. The method of Claim 1 including the step of forming said flange with outward projections from said hollow body member.

5. The method of Claim 1 including the step of connection of said filamentary member to said hollow body member by said flange.

6. The method of Claim 1 including the step of forming a plurality of attachment devices with their heads connected to a runner bar.

7. The method of Claim 6 wherein hollow body members of adjoining attachment devices are connected.