CA1112030A - Interlocking attachment device - Google Patents

Abstract

INTERLOCKING ATTACHMENT DEVICE

Abstract At attachment device comprising a filament having a lateral-ly oriented bar at one end and a hollow body member at its other end, a wall of said 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.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This lnvention relates to attachments of a type designed to be inserted through an obllect usually with a view to attachlng two ob~ects together, and widely used to fasten tags or labels to garments or the like, with a very high degree of security, and to ways Or using them. It also relates to an assembly Or such attachments whlch greatly facllitates the appllcation of such attachments to the ob,~ects with which they are to be associated.
Attachments Or the general type here involved have been previously disclosed ln Bone U.S. Patent 3,444,597, issued 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-penetrating part at one end thereof, an elongated filament-like section extending therefrom, and a part at the other end of sald filament-like section which is enlarged relative to the thickness or diameter of said section. The ob~ect-penetrating part is designed to be passed through a hole texisting or made as part Or the attaching operation) in the ob,~ect with which it is to be associated,,that part then remaining on the far side of said ob~ect, the elongated sectlon passin~ through the hole, and the enlarged part remaining on the near side Or the ob~ect. The ob,~ect-penetrating part is capable Or passing end-wise through said hole, but after it has passed therethrough it will assume its normal position substan-tially perpendlcular to the elongated section and thereby prevent the attachment from escaping in one direction from the object in question. Escapement Or the attachment in the other direc-tion is prevented by the enlarged portion.
As is disclosed in the cited patents, attachments of the type in question are ~enerally provided in the form of an assembly , or "clip" of a plurality of such attachments - a typical clip in-cludes 20 attachments. An attachlng device or "gun" such as ls disclosed in Bone Patent 3,103,666, issued September 16, 1963,and owned by the assignee Or this application, may be employed to form the hole through the ob~ect with which the attachment is to be associated, sever a single attachment from the assembly of attachments, and force lts ob~ect-penetrating part through the hole whlch it forms in the ob~ect in question and to the far side of that ob~ect.
Attachments of the type in question used in con~unction with attachlng devlces such as those shown in the Bone '666 patent have become extremely widely used in lndustry, not only for the attachment of tags and labelS to artlcles to be sold on the retall market, where the attachments are particularly effective in pre-ventine un3crupul0us shoppers from swltching tags - removing a tag from a low-priced article, attaching it to a hlgh-priced artlcle, 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 applled at an extremely rapid rate even by relatively unskilled per~onne~, thu.~ ~reat]y reducin~ the ~ost Or tag~ing, labelinF~, and securing ob~ects to one another in general. Indeed, in many commerclal areas attachments of the type in question have virtually supplanted all other attaching methods.
While such attachments have been widely used and, indeed, have been exceedingly effective in preventing tag switching, the fact that both ends of the attachment are exposed raises the posslblllty that a new scheme might be devised for switching tags from a low-priced article to a higher-priced article. ~or example, 3~
an unscrupulous shopper given sufficient time might be able to 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 attachment whereby the ends of the filament are interlocked. In this manner, the only way the attachment could be removed from an object would be by actual breaking of the filament section, thereby preventing its subsequent use and providing a clear indication of tampering.
Furthermore, the basic filament type attachments have 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-chiefs and the like, it being necessary to resort to attachments 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 more versatile functionality.
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.
According to one broad aspect, therefore, the present invention relates to an attachment device comprising a filamentary member, a flexible and laterally oriented bar connected at one end of said filamentary member and a body member connected at the other end of said filamentary member, said body member including an opening having a width and leading into an integral hollow interior having a width greater than said opening, said filamentary member being passable through said opening and said bar having a length greater than the maximum width of said opening and a thick-ness less than said width such that said bar is passable through said opening into said hollow interior when oriented in a direction generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of said filamentary member and engagable within said body member when oriented in a direction such that said bar is not generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of said filamentary member.
According to another broad aspect, the present invention relates to an attaching device comprising a filamentary member, a head connected at one end of said filamentary member, said head being foldable against said filamentary member to form an insertion member having a thickness greater than that of said filamentary member alone, and an apertured body member connected at the other end of said filamentary member, said insertion member being insertable into said body member to be received therein by the unfolding of said head.
According to a yet further broad aspect, the present invention relates to a method of attaching a fastener which is formed by a filament with a head connected at one end and an apertured body member connected at the other end, comprising the steps of (1) inserting the head through an object to be fastened;

(2) folding the head against the filament to form an insertion member having a thickness greater than that of the filament alone;
and (3) inserting the insertion member into said body member, followed by the unfolding of said head to secure said filament in said body member.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To these ends, the present invention provides an attach-ment 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 into 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 in-sertion 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 of the filament are no longer exposed and thus not available to be tampered with.

,~ - 3a -

3~) The attachments may be combined into an integral assembly by conventional techniques, thus permitting their insertion by means of automatic attaching 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

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~IL$1;Z~3~) then severed from the assembly and a plunger is efrectlve to drive the cross bar through the needle with the fllament pro~ectlng laterally through the slot. By inserting the needle through an ob~ect and a tag and then through the opening in the body member into the interior thereof, the cross bar likewise is in-serted therethrough with the filament being bent over the trailing portion Or the bar. Upon removal of the needle, the cross bar is efrectlvely retained ln the body member while the ob1ect and tag are malntained on the filament.
As a further advantage, the resulting looped configuration of the interlocked construction may be utilized for a variety of ;
applicatlons such as mountlng loops for artlcles to be dlsplayed , in a hanglng position, as hanger loops for skirts, and for other uses whlch wlll be apparent to the practitloner. The attachments are thus provided wlth greater applicatlon versatlllty.
D~SCRIPTI~N OF THE nRA~1INGS
To the accomplishment of the above, and to such other oh1ects as may hereinafter appear, the present invention relates to an attachment and assembly of attachments as defined ln the appended clalms and as described in this speclfication, taken to~ether uith the accompanying enlarged drawin~s, in which FIG. l is a perspective view showing a ta~ and the interlocked attachment Or the present lnvention secured to an obJe~
FIG. 2 ls a perspectlve view of the attachment assembly of this inventlon showin~ the componen1; parts of the individual attachments thereof;
FIG. 3 ls a cross sectlonal view taken alon~ line 3-3 Or FIG. 2 deplctin~ an embodiment of a hollow body member;
FIG. 4 ls a cross sectlonal view taken alon~ llne 4-4 of FI~. 3 showing one emhodiment Or a bar-retalnin~ pro1ection:

3~) FIG. 5 is a cross sectional vlew of the body member of plr,. 3 depictinF the retention of the cross bar therein;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view Or a second embodiment of a body member of this invention showing, in addition, means for securing ad~acent body members of an attachment assembly;
FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view taken along line 7-7 of ~I~. 6;
FIG. 8 is a cross sectional vlew taken along line 8-8 of FIG. 7;
~IG. 9 ls a perspective view of a third embodiment of a body member of this invention; and FI~. 10 is a fragmentary view in elevation of the wall of the ~ember of FI~. 9 showing the bar-receiving opening, the pro-ections and the abutment wall.
~` DETAILED DESCRIPTION
As is shown in Fl~. 1, a tag generally designated A is adapted to be secured to an article Or merchandise generally designated B by means Or an attaching device generally designated C, the attaching device C being reliably secured to tag A and being engageable with the article of merchandise B by having a filament portion ~enerally desi.gnated D which is adapted to be passed through an appropriate part of the mercha~dise B, either through a pre-existlng hole ln article B (as shown) or through a self-made hole. The end of the fllament D is provided with a laterally oriented bar ~enerally designated E which is adapted to be passed into and permanently received in a hollow body me~ber ~enerally desi~nated F at the other end of filament D, :.
thus making perma.nent and interlocking the filament loop D
which passes throu~h and supports tag A and article B.

3~) In the speciflc embodiment depicted in Figs. 2-5, t-he at-tach~ent C comprises an elongated filament D, a norma].ly lateral-ly oriented bar E at one en~ 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 generally at right angles to said filament D to ...
form therewith a generally T-shaped configuration. ,(see FIG. 2) ...
The cross bar R is shown as having a circular cross section but varlous other shapes may be suitable. In operation, as will be 3escrlbed ln more detail hereinafter, the cross bar E is inserted through a tag A and/or a.n ob~ect B ~nd into body member F along its axial directlon, the retention of cross bar E.in body member thereby forming filament loop D which serves to retain tag A
and/or ob3ect B. Accordingly, cross bar E must have a suffi-cient maximum Iength to width ratio to effectively prevent its e~trication from body member 3~, for if bar E did come out from body member F tag A an~3/or ob3ect B would slip Orr rilament D.
In addition, cross bar E must have a sufficiently small effec-t~e cross section to allow lt to be threaded through ob~ect B
without produclng a sizeable or noticeable hole therein.
Body member F, whi.ch is si.tuated at the end of filament D
o~osite to sai.d cro.ss har E, i.s seen to have a hol.low interior 12.
It is also seen that at least one wall 14 of said body member F
has an opening ]~ therethrou~h, leading into hollow interior 12.
In all cases, hollow interlor 12 has a ~reater width than open-ing 16 thereby permitting the remainder of the wall 14 to func-tion as an abutment 18 between said interior 12 and said openlng 16. Furthermore, the ma~imum wi.dth of said opening 16 is less than the length of cross bar E. ~ith these dimensional rela-tlonshlps, cross bar E is passable throu~h said opening 16 when said bar E is orlented i.n a direction ~enerally parallel to the P3~

axis of openlng 16, but when sald bar E ls in another direction whlle in said hollow interior 12 it engages with said abutment 18, thereby preventing its extrication from hollow lnterior 12.
(FIG. 5) The configuratlon of body member F and openln~ 16 may vary in accordance with the practltloner's requirements. Thus, a wide variety of geometrical shapes are applicable, while,the opening may appear in any wall of the body member and preferably in an end wall. For example, FIG. 2 illustrates a cylindrical body r member F havlng an opening 16 in one of its end walls 14. It is further seen in FIGS. 3 and 4 that a plurality of pro~ections 20, 22 extend generally laterally into said opening 16 from the wall 14 surrounding said opening 16. ProJections 20, 22 serve to facilitate the e~ection Or cross bar E and filament D
from the penetrating needle into said hollow interior ]2 and thereafter ald ln the retentlon of bar R ln that interior 12.
Thus, as seen ln FIG. 5, when bar E is i-nserted into hollow interior 12 of body member F, the slightest position change of bar E away from a generally parallel conformation causes bar E
to engage pro~ectlons 20, 22 thereby aiding in its removal from the needle and provlding an abutment 18 engageable by bar E
and preventln~ the extrication of bar E from hollow interior 12.
A second emhodiment of a body member Or this invention is illustrated ln FIGS. 6-8. In this instance body member 24 is ag~in ln cyllnr3rical conrl~llration h~vln~ an opening 26 in one Or lts end walls 28. However, as distinguished from the embodiment in FIG. 2, opening 26 does not exhibit any pro~ections (See FIG. 8). Accordlngly, abutment 30~is formed by the remainder ol end wall 28, this relationship being established by providing 3i) hollow lnterior 32 with a greater uidth than said opening 26. Any mo~e-ment Or bar E from its generslly parallel position, subsequent to insertion into holl~w lnterior 32, results in bar E engaging abutment 30~ thereby pre~entlng thc extricatlon of bar E.
m e body member 24 ~urther lncludes a flange 60 dispo~ed on snd proJecting outwardly from the siaewall 30 snd forming the connection bet~een rilsment 16 and the sidewall 30. Referrlng now in psrticular to FIG. 7, the out~ard configuratlon Or the flange 60 resemble~ sn elongsted snd ~llghtly oval rectangle, the elongated flange ends extending out~ardly from sideuall 30 ~ubstantially further than the flange sides. me flange 60, Or cour~e, extenas outwardly from the exterior surrsce of the side~ll 30 to conduct hest a~By from the 6iae~all 30 and maintsin the length Or ~ide~all 30 beyond the flange below deforming temperstures. The flsnge 60 1~ di~po~e~ on the sidewall 30 closer to the nealea end wall 34 than to the aperturea end wall 28 ~o that protection 18 afrordea auring heat sesling to the portion Or the body member 20 between the flsnge 60 and the apertured end ~all 28 whlch ~ill recelve sna engsge the crossbsr 18. To pro~ide complete protectlon ~lth a single rlsnge, the rlsnge 60 e~tend~ completely around a peripheral ~ection Or the body member slae~all 30; l.e., abcut a clrcumrerentisl slice Or the circular sidewall 30. The degree or le~el to ~hich portlons Or the rlange 60 pro~ect out-~ardly from the slaewall 30 varie~, not only with the locatlon of the portlon Or the flsnge along the periphery Or the circumferential slice, but ~l~o ~ith the location Or the portlon of the flange slong the axls o~ the d de~all 30.
It 18 important that the flange 60 be configured and dimensloned to di~po~e an appreciable rraction Or it6 mass and expo~ed surface flrea ~ubstantially out~ardly Or the sidewall 30 in order to function effec-ti~ely a~ a heat sink. The msss interposed between the heat source and the vital portlon~ Or the body member 24 adapted to recei~e the crossbar 18 ~er~es to absorb and dlstribute the heat, while the exposed surface 3~

area permits rapid din~ipatlon from the flange 60 Or ~he ab~orbed and di~tributed heat. ~uch a flange 60 permlts heat seallng Or the end w~
34 without acccmpanying heat derormation Or the apertured end wall 28 and the portion Or the sldewall 30 ad~ncent thereto which recei~e~ the cros~bar E. In the absence Or such ~ heat sink during the heat oealing operation, the opposite end wall 2~ defining the aperture 26 and/or the segment Or the nide~all 30 ad~acent thereto defining the rront section Or hollo~ interior 32 may deform to such a degree an to lnterfere sub-~equently ~ith the free reception Or the crossbar E through aperture 26 and lnto hollc~ lnterior 32 Another dlsad~antage Or heat sealing in the ab~ence Or such a heat sink 18 that a direct physlcal connection Or the body member 24 and the filnment D may be weakened to such a degree as to re~ult in accidental separation thereof or facilitate in-tentlonal breakage Or the connection to enable the removal of tags.
Yet another dlsad~antage of heat oealing ln the absence of such a heat olnk 1~ that the exterlor surrace Or sldewall 30 deforms to present an unolghtly appearance.
Ob~iously any partlcular combinatlon of shape, length, thickness, ~ass and the like may be selected for conrigùrations and dimensions of the n ange 60, uhether based on aesthetic or practical considerations, as long as the n ange is configured and dimensioned to operate as an erfectl~e heat sink; that is, an lntegrally formed heat sink which essen-tlally precludes harmful deformation Or the body member 24 and the fila-ment D during the heat treatment effecting closure Or the end wall 34 Or the body member 24. As the presence Or flange 60 permits heat sealing, it simplirieo manuracturing procedures and reduces manufacturing cost as the entlre attachment camprising filament D, crossbar E, and body member 24 may thus be unitarily formed in a single molding operation and finished uith a single heat ~ealing operatlon.

3i) .

Prior to heat seQling, the body member 24 may be formed by a molding operatlon to proviae Q cyllndrical extenslon of the sidewall 30, rather than a ~ealed end wall 34. The siaewall extension or similar flap is ~ub~equently heat-sealed to pro~ide a closed end ~all 34 for the body member 2~ proximate to the rlange 60 as shown in FIG. 7. A3 part of :~ the con~entlonnl heat sealing operation, mechanical means may be used to urgc the molten thermoplastic material towards the desired aress or per-nit use Or louer heat ~ealing temperatures.
; A thlrd embodiment Or a body member of thio invention is depicted ln FIGB. 9 and 10. In this instance body member 34 is seen to exhibit a rectangular configuration ha~ing an opening 36 in one of its end walls 38. As ~een in FIG. 10, opening 36 contains pro~ections 40, 42, 44 exten~ng later~lly into said opening 36 from wall 38 ~urrounding said ; opening 36. In this instance, a slight position change in bar E uill .
enable lt to eng~ge proJection~ 40, 42, 44 and thereby be prevented from ~lipplng through opening 3~.
A~ shown ln ~IG. 2, a plurality Or attachment~ C are integrally :
: molded together in an assembly strung al~ng mounting rod 46 by means Or necks 48. Thus, the laterally oriented bar E on each attachment C is secured to the rod 46 by means Or a frangible neck 48 ~hich can be readily severed during insertion Or the attachment C. This construction 1~ particularly well suited for use with attaching devices Or the ~one ~666 ~arlety, lnasmuch ns a si.ngle actuation of the device can rapidly ~ever attachment C, insert the filament D and cross bar E into the in-terior o~ hollo~ body member F.
The attachments may be molded as a two-piece construction wherein the cro~ bar, the rilament and one hollow section Or the body member are integrally connected ~hile the ~econd hollow section Or the body mcmber 1~ separately molded. The two sections Or the body member ma~ be m~nufactured in tUD separate mold~ and thereafter combined by ultra~onlc weldlng, sol~ent ~L$1;2~3i~

treatment, or cementing. ~lternatlvely, the two sections could be prepared ln a slngle mold connected by a "living" hinge, i.e.
a hinge that will not split under constant flexin~, and then combined as above. The open outer end Or one Or the sections is sealed, as by heat sealing or by providing a flap construc-tlon which can be closed over the open end in order to provide an enclosed receptacle for the cross bar, the sealing being con-ducted elther prlor or subsequent to combination Or the indivi-dual sections. Reference may be made to FIG. 2 for an illus-tration Or the combined body member. Thus, section 50, which was lntegrally molded with filament D and cross bar E, and section 52, which was separately molded are comblned at 54 to provlde a one piece, hollow body member F, the ~uncture 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 sectlon 52 was heat sealed to form wall 56 (See FIG. 3).
The attachments are preferably molded of a thermoplastic materlal 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 len~th and 0.045 inch in diameter, and body member F has an interlor width of approximately 1/8 inch whlle the wldth Or the openlng ls approximately o/o63 inch.
It should be noted, however, that these dimensions may be varied considerably, depending upon the particular attachment and its speciflc end use application.
The manner Or use and functioning Or the attachments described herein will now be apparent. The assembly Or FIG. 2 ls lnserted lnto an automatic ta~ attachment mechanlsm Or the type described in the aforementioned Bone patent and the cross 31) 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 ob~ect B ltself if no pre-existing open-lng ls found therein, and is then inserted through opening 16 into the lnterior 12 of body member F. As the attaching device i8 actuated, the thus posltioned attachment C ls severed from the assembly at its neck portion 48 and the cross bar E is forced through the needle and consequently through tag A~
obJect B and lnto lnterior 12 of body member F by a plunger, the rllament D proJecting laterally outwardly through the axlal extending slot in the needle. As cross bar E moves past tag A, obJect B and opening 16, the filament D is pulled inwardly ~:
toward the needle and is bent substantially 90 onto the trail-ing 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 wlll be retained in hollow interior 12 of body member F. It should be noted that ln view of the .
generally small dlmensions Or hollow interior 12, cross bar E
may occasionally remain in the needle and therefore be withdrawn .
from lnterlor 12 as the needle is withdrawn. In such an ln-stance, proJections 20, 22 are particularly useful as means for aidin~ ln 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 addltlonal surface of cross bar E with which it may engage abutment 18 and retained in interior 12. Likewise, either Or proJections 20, 22 may actually penetrate the axial extend-ing slot in the needle, thereby engaging cross bar E therein and .. . . ~ . ., 3~) forclbly retaining it in interior 12 while the needle is withdrawn therefrom. The loop configuration which is thus formed may be Or any circumferential length, depending upon the initial length of filament D. The loop thus functions to hold tag A and article B thereon. Furthermore, cross bar E is now completely concealed with body member F thereby removing the nossibility of tampering or tag switching by mani~ulation of cross bar E.
As an optional feature, securlng means may be interposed between and connected to ad~acent 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 ad~acent assembly when a number of clips are packed or stored together. Reference may be made to U.S. Patent 3,733,657 issued May ?2, 1973 and assigned to the assignee of the lnstant application for a detailed description of the use of such securing means. In general, the securlng means are suffi-ciently strong to maintain the attachments in proper orienta-tion under normal conditions of storage and manipulation, but are readily frangible so that a given attachment, when used for its desi~nated purpose, can be separated from the assembly at the body member end while leaving the other attachments well secured to one another. ~lhile the attachments remain secured at both ends they tend to remain substantially parallel to one another. Hcwever, when a particular attachment has been separated at the cross bar it is free to be moved relative to the other attachments remaining in the clip. Accordingly, it has been found advantageous to use securing means which resist tension forces relatively strongly but resist torsion forces relativel~

2q3 3~ 1 weakly 50 as to remain secured during manipulation of the attach-ment but being readily separable thereafter merely by a twisting movement. A thln and short filamentary connection has this charac-teristic. So does a layer of relatively weak adhesive.
The use Or such securing means is depicted in FIG. 6. In thls instance, a short, thin filamentary connection 50 secures racln~ surfaces 52, 54 of body members 24, 56, respectively. Con-nection 50 can be lntegrally molde~ wlth other portions Or the attachment assembly, it merely being required to provide cavities .
ln the mold for these additlonal components. The connection 50 is formed Or material sufflciently tough to withstand tension or such bending as it may be sub~ected to. By reason Or the short-ness 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 engaF,ement wlth one another and there secured by means of a weak adhesive.
By means Or the construction Or thé present inventi~n attachments may be formed with substantially the same facility as is the case with comparable attachments now on the market.
The lnstant 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.
While the invention has been described in terms of the specific embodiments herein, it should be apparent that varia-tlons may be developed without departing from the spirit or scope of the inventlon as defined by the following claims:

Claims (12)

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

1. An attachement device comprising a filamentary member, a flexible and laterally oriented bar connected at one end of said filamentary member and a body member connected at the other end of said filamentary member, said body member including an opening having a width and leading into an integral hollow interior having a width greater than said opening, said filamentary member being passable through said opening and said bar having a length greater than the maximum width of said opening and a thickness less than said width such that said bar is passable through said opening into said hollow interior when oriented in a direction generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of said filamentary member and engagable within said body member when oriented in a direction such that said bar is not generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of said filamentary member.

2. An attachment device according to Claim 1 having an abut-ment between said opening and said hollow interior and said bar is engagable with said abutment when passed through said opening into said hollow interior.

3. The attachment of Claim 1, wherein said laterally oriented bar extends substantially at right angles to said filament.

4. The attachment of Claim 1, wherein a plurality of pro-jections extend laterally into said opening from the wall surrounding said opening to facilitate retention of said bar in said hollow interior.

5. The attachment of Claim 1, wherein said body member comprises a two-piece assembly wherein said pieces are secured to one another with one of said pieces being integrally connected to said filament.

6. The attachment device of Claim 1, which is constituted by a molded plastic assembly.

7. An assembly of a plurality of attachment devices according to Claim 1, said assembly further including a mounting element and severable connecting members between said mounting element and said bar, whereby each bar is connected to said mounting element.

8. The assembly of Claim 7, wherein each bar comprises a normally laterally oriented member which is engageably receivable in said hollow interior.

9. The assembly of Claim 7, wherein a plurality of projections extend laterally into said opening from the wall surrounding said opening to facilitate retention of said bar in said hollow interior.

10. The assembly of Claim 7, wherein a securing member is interposed between adjoining body members.

11. An attaching device comprising a filamentary member, a head connected at one end of said filamentary member, said head being foldable against said filamentary member to form an insertion member having a thickness greater than that of said filamentary member alone, and an apertured body member connected at the other end of said filamentary member, said insertion member being insertable into said body member to be received therein by the unfolding of said head.

12. The method of attaching a fastener which is formed by a filament with a head connected at one end and an apertured body member connected at the other end, comprising the steps of (1) inserting the head through an object to be fastened; (2) folding the head against the filament to form an insertion member having a thickness greater than that of the filament alone; and (3) inserting the insertion member into said body member, followed by the unfolding of said head to secure said filament in said body member.