GB1564242A

GB1564242A - Cord holder

Info

Publication number: GB1564242A
Application number: GB4817177A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: COLTON HOUGH W
Current assignee: COLTON HOUGH W
Priority date: 1977-11-18
Filing date: 1977-11-18
Publication date: 1980-04-02
Also published as: HK18084A

Description

(54) CORD HOLDER (71) I, W. COLTON HOUGH, a citizen of the United States of America, of 18 Meadow Lane, East Williston, New York 11596, United States of America, do hereby declare the invention, for which I pray that a patent may be granted to me and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: This invention relates to holders for relatively long pieces of cord or ropes as, for example, an electrical extension cord.

Heretofore, there has been a recognized problem in maintaining extension cords or items similar thereto in a secure and compact fashion. As a result of the length of the cord, it is of course difficult to maintain it neatly and yet available for the purposes intended. There have been many proposals to provide equipment for maintaining such cords or lines in position around holding means.

U.S. Patent No. 605,607 provides a clothes line holder comprising parallel side bars united together by stretchers with a panel intermediate the stretchers. U.S. Patent No. 622,855 shows a clothes line reel consisting of two side strips of flattened wire or metal bars having four holes formed therein. A single piece of wire is passed through these holes bent to form curved sections lying between the side stretchers with a handle portion being provided exteriorly of one of the side strips. U.S. Patent No. 1,035,825 provides a single strand of wire bent upon itself into a form for maintaining wash lines. U.S. Patent No.

1,540,244 also shows a single piece of metal set forth as preferably formed from a single length of stout wire for a clothes line reel.

The wire is bent upon itself to form recessed portions at both ends and provided with a handle portion. U.S. Patent No. 3,817,471 provides a line holder having U-shaped portions at both ends with indentations in one of the end edges for holding the line wrapped endwise around the holder. U.S.

Patent No. 3,924,819 shows an extension cord holder with a central tubular main body portion around which the cord is to be wrapped between two diagrammatically opposed flanges.

Thus it may be seen that because of the nature of the art, various modifications of certain basic structure have been provided and each in turn has been deemed significant enough to be patentable despite the apparent simplicity thereof. None of the foregoing, however, provide a single unitary structure which can be cheaply moulded of relatively light material such as plastics and which is nevertheless sufficiently strong to prevent breaking or buckling of the unit under the pressures which may be exerted.

A full and complete cord or line holder has not been provided heretofore in an economical fashion with suitable means to prevent breakage; to maintain the holder in position; and to secure the ends of the extension cord when the holder is stored.

According to the invention there is provided a cord holder of moulded plastics material comprising first and second parallel elongate members connected inwardly of their ends by first and second parallel struts so as to define a ladder-like structure comprising a central elongate opening and a U-shaped recess at each end, the structure further comprising a reinforcing fillet at the junction of each elongate member and strut, a handle on the first elongate member extending oppositely to the struts and spaced inwardly from each end of the member and a pair of clips extending from the first elongate member on the same side as the handle and each spaced from the handle and from the corresponding end of the elongate member.

Preferably the fillets are within the central opening.

Preferably the holder includes a keyway in the second elongate member adjacent to one end.

Preferably the handle comprises an elongate portion parallel to the elongate members and a connecting portion at each end.

Preferably also the handle includes a reinforcing fillet at the junction of each handle connecting portion and the first elongate member.

In the preferred embodiment, the elongate members, struts and handle are each of generally rectangular cross-section with a larger cross-sectional dimension extending normal to the plane of the ladder-like structure, each reinforcing fillet being generally central of said larger-cross-sectional dimension.

Preferably the handle is situated generally between the struts and closer to one strut than the other.

Preferably the clips are generally hook shaped with open regions facing the end of the holder to which the handle is closest.

By the foregoing structure, a relatively economic one piece unit has been provided having reinforcment means in those areas where the unit is susceptible to damage and provided with means for the accommodation of the ends of the extension cord or the like in one integral piece.

The unit will be described in some detail in connection with embodiments thereof described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a cord holder of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the cord holder of Figure 1, showing the means for retaining the holder in storage.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the cord holder of Figure 1 with an extension cord wrapped there around with the male and female ends of the extension in position within the clips provided in the holder.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a modified form of the cord holder of Figure 1.

There is shown in the drawings, a generally ladder-shaped cord holder 10, made of a molded unitary piece of plastics material.

While the invention may be utilized in connection with the storage of other cord as, for example. cord for flying kites, and cord for clothes lines, the following description will involve extension cords 110 for which this embodiment is particularly suited. The component portions making up the laddershaped structure are of similar rectangular cross-section, with the larger cross-sectional dimension extending normal to the plane of the structure as a whole.

As illustrated, the cord holder comprises first and second elongate members 12 and 13 which are substantially parallel to each other. The members 12 and 13 are connected near to but spaced from their respective ends by struts 14 and 15 which may also be designated as bridges. As shown, these struts are also substantially parallel to each other and define a central opening and a U-shaped recess at each end for accommodating the cord, which is wrapped around the struts. As a result of the construction, it is possible for the side walls to bend and flex and they would, under certain circumstances, be subject to breakage. In accordance with the present invention, however, means are provided to prevent or substantially inhibit any such breakage. These means are in the form of reinforcing fillets 16 and 17 at the juncture of the elongate members with strut 14, within the central opening. In addition, there are similar reinforcing fillets 18 and 19 at the juncture of the elongate members with the strut 15.

While the reinforcing ribs have been illustrated in rounded form, which is preferred, they are not limited to this form for any shape achieving the desired result may be utilized.

The holder 10 of the present invention, as illustrated in Figure 2, is also provided with slots or keyways 20 and 21 disposed adjacent the ends of the second elongate member 13. This structure, it has been found, provides a simple and easy manner in which to mount and store the cord holder as a unit when it is not in use. The key-ways obviously are constructed so as to accommodate in each slot, the heat of a nail, screw or tack (not shown) which is maintained on the wall of a storerom or on the door or walls of a closet or the like.

Also as illustrated, the cord holder 10 is provided with an integral handle portion 11 outwardly disposed from the first elongate member 12. The handle is located in this position in order that it does not interfere with the mounting of the device accomplished by the keyways 20 and 21. The handle, as illustrated, can surround part of the hand of the user enabling the hand to be maintained in position without slippage from the handle while the device is being manipulated. It has an elongate portion parallel to the elongate member and connecting portions at each end. The handle is provided with reinforcing fillets 22 and 23 at the junction of the connecting portions of the handle and the first elongate member 12. These fillets function to prevent breakage of the holder during handling at this location.

Thus a unitary structure has been provided with completely satisfactory reinforcement to prevent or at least inhibit structural damage to the portions of the unit most susceptible to damage during use and extensive handling. The fillets 22 and 23 are also illustrated as being curved in shape but, of course, any shape may be utilized which can accomplish the aforesaid desired result.

There are also provided two hook-shaped clips 24 and 25 integral with and extending outwardly from the first elongate member 12. These clips are also so positioned as to not interfere with the keyways 20 and 21 on the second elongate member 13. As illustrated in Figure 3, the male member 26 of the cord 110 which bears the prongs is maintained within the confines of the clip 24 while the female member 27 of the cord 11 which has the recesses is maintained within the confines of the clip 25. As a consequence, it is possible to store the entire extension cord including the enlarged ends which are the male and female members of the cord in an extremely neat and tidy manner. Figure 4 shows a modified version of the cord holder of the present invention.

In this embodiment, the second elongate member 13 is provided with flared end portions 28 and 9. These flared ends make it possible to unwind the cord from the holder in an efficient and rapid manner with the cord easily being removed from the holder over one of the flared ends. This structure is especially useful when the device is being utilized as the holder for the cord used in flying kites.

In this modified version, it is to be noted that the handle 30 is somewhat larger in relation to the entire unit than the size of the handle in the unit illustrated in Figures 1 - 3.

This is provided to enable greater manipulation of the device under the conditions of letting out cord for kite flying or for similar purposes.

The present invention therefore provides a unique and novel cord holder with reinforcing means for preventing or inhibiting breakage at appropriate points and for reinforcing the junction of the handle with the remainder of the holder. The holder also has simple means for mounting and storage of the unit and the accommodation of the enlarged portions of an extension cord for similar line.

WHAT I CLAIM IS: 1. A cord holder of moulded plastics material comprising first and second parallel elongate members connected inwardly of their ends by first and second parallel struts so as to define a ladder-shaped structure comprising a central elongate opening and a U-shaped recess at each end, the structure further comprising a reinforcing fillet at the junction of each elongate member and strut, a handle on the first elongate member extending oppositely to the struts and spaced inwardly from each end of the member and a pair of clips extending from the first elongate member on the same side as the handle and each spaced from the handle and from the corresponding end of the elongate member.

2. A cord holder as claimed in claim 1 wherein the fillets are within the central opening.

3. A cord holder as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 including a keyway in the second elongate member adjacent to one end.

4. A cord holder as claimed in claim 3 including a second keyway at the opposite end of the second elongate member.

5. A cord holder as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the handle comprises an elongate portion parallel to the elongate members and a connecting portion at each end.

6. A cord holder as claimed in claim 5 including a reinforcing fillet at the junction of each handle connecting portion and the first elongate member.

7. A cord holder as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the elongate members, struts and handle are each of generally rectangular cross-section with a larger crosssectional dimension extending normal to the plane of the ladder-like structure, each reinforcing fillet being generally central of said larger cross-sectional dimension.

8. A cord holder as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the handle is situated generally between the struts and closer to one strut than the other.

9. A cord holder as claimed in claim 8 wherein the clips are generally hook shaped with open regions facing the end of the holder to which the handle is closest.

10. A cord holder as claimed in claim 1 and substantially as described herein with reference to Figures 1 to 3 of the accompanying drawings.

11. A cord holder as claimed in claim 1 and substantially as described herein with reference to Figure 4 of the accompanying drawings.

12. A cord holder as claimed in any preceding claim holding an electrical extension cord.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. illustrated as being curved in shape but, of course, any shape may be utilized which can accomplish the aforesaid desired result. There are also provided two hook-shaped clips 24 and 25 integral with and extending outwardly from the first elongate member 12. These clips are also so positioned as to not interfere with the keyways 20 and 21 on the second elongate member 13. As illustrated in Figure 3, the male member 26 of the cord 110 which bears the prongs is maintained within the confines of the clip 24 while the female member 27 of the cord 11 which has the recesses is maintained within the confines of the clip 25. As a consequence, it is possible to store the entire extension cord including the enlarged ends which are the male and female members of the cord in an extremely neat and tidy manner. Figure 4 shows a modified version of the cord holder of the present invention. In this embodiment, the second elongate member 13 is provided with flared end portions 28 and 9. These flared ends make it possible to unwind the cord from the holder in an efficient and rapid manner with the cord easily being removed from the holder over one of the flared ends. This structure is especially useful when the device is being utilized as the holder for the cord used in flying kites. In this modified version, it is to be noted that the handle 30 is somewhat larger in relation to the entire unit than the size of the handle in the unit illustrated in Figures 1 - 3. This is provided to enable greater manipulation of the device under the conditions of letting out cord for kite flying or for similar purposes. The present invention therefore provides a unique and novel cord holder with reinforcing means for preventing or inhibiting breakage at appropriate points and for reinforcing the junction of the handle with the remainder of the holder. The holder also has simple means for mounting and storage of the unit and the accommodation of the enlarged portions of an extension cord for similar line. WHAT I CLAIM IS:

1. A cord holder of moulded plastics material comprising first and second parallel elongate members connected inwardly of their ends by first and second parallel struts so as to define a ladder-shaped structure comprising a central elongate opening and a U-shaped recess at each end, the structure further comprising a reinforcing fillet at the junction of each elongate member and strut, a handle on the first elongate member extending oppositely to the struts and spaced inwardly from each end of the member and a pair of clips extending from the first elongate member on the same side as the handle and each spaced from the handle and from the corresponding end of the elongate member.