GB2058193A - One-piece Spring Clips - Google Patents

Abstract

A clip of plastics material is provided with two shanks or legs forming both finger grips and clamping members 1, 2, 3, 4 which are connected together in one piece by a central part that forms an annular spring 8. The finger grips 1, 2, are formed with abutment members 5, 6 which are aligned to each other and served as a pivot bearing 7. The finger grips 1, 2 are pivotably mounted round the pivot bearing 7 at least while the finger grips 1, 2 are pressed together. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in or Relating to Clips The present invention relates to clips made from plastics material, having two shanks or legs, forming both finger grips and clamping members, which are integrally connected together by a central part that forms a spring.

In known clips the two legs of plastics material are held together by a double-armed steel spring.

To produce such clips, three individual parts and several manufacturing operations are necessary so that the manufacture of this mass-produced article is quite expensive. Furthermore, the steel springs used tend to corrode and easily fall out.

Clips of plastics material and apart from these, several spring clips which are inserted between the finger grips, are already known. Several manufacturing operations are also necessary with these clips, and they wear out very easily due to their construction which disadvantage can not usually be ameliorated by using an expensive elastic plastics material, so that such clips also can only be manufactured relatively expensively, using several operations, and moreover they have only a very short life.

Furthermore simple clips or clamp- and shankshaped plastics clips have become known. These are indeed cheap because they are produced in one piece but usually only have a very weak clamping force and can only be operated completely and with both hands primarily due to faults in the co-operating finger grips so that they do not match and therefore grip only imperfectly.

Due to their unwieldiness they have not been taken up on the market to any great extent.

The problem on which the invention is based is therefore to create a clip which can be produced cheaply and rationally, which can be easily manipulated and also have a good non-wearing clamping force without using steel springs and which for example is usable as a clothes peg for hanging out laundry on a line.

The invention accordingly consists in a clip of plastics material having two legs or shanks, forming both finger grips and clamping members, which are integrally connected together by a central part that forms a spring, wherein the central part is resiliently formed as an annular spring and the finger grips are formed with opposed abutment members to constitute a pivot bearing, said finger grips being formed to pivot round the pivot bearing when they are pressed together.

The construction enables the abutment members to contact each other on opening the clip, i.e. on pressing the finger grips together, and to form a pivot bearing round which the two legs can turn when further pressure is applied and enclosing the spring member.

Thus the annular spring is not squashed or deformed in opening the clip so that no reduction of the spring effect by such deformation can occur. Due to the slight stressing of the annular spring it is also possible to utilise cheap plastics material for manufacturising the device according to the invention. Hard non-flowing plastics are especially suitable for this purpose and thus a long useful life is possible with cost-favourable production.

This one-piece clip can be produced completely automatically right up to finishing.

The elastic annular spring between the two legs bends on opening the legs to give the desired clamping force, which latter naturally depends on the relative stiffness of the spring and thus in simple manner clips can be produced with a larger or smaller tension force as desired.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which show one embodiment thereof by way of example and in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of the device, Figure 2 is a side view thereof, and Figure 3 is an end view.

Referring now to the drawings, the clip shown is in the form of a clothes peg for laundry purposes and comprises a pair of legs or shanks 1, 2, the lower ends of which constitute finger grips that can be pressed together and the upper ends 3, 4 of which constitute clamping members for holding the item of laundry folded around a clothes line. The members 1, 2 are also provided with opposed abutment members 5, 6 which come into contact when the lower ends of legs 1, 2 are pressed together and form a pivot bearing 7.

This area of the members 1, 2 defines a circular opening to accommodate an annular spring 8 which is opened out by pressure on the finger grips at the lower ends of members 1, 2, but due to the abutment members 5, 6 the spring is not squashed or deformed.

The whole clip is made integrally in one piece from any suitable plastics material and due to the construction, any cheap hard non-flowing material is suitable without having recourse to expensive plastics.

Claims

1. A clip of plastics material having two legs or shanks, forming both finger grips and clamping members, which are integrally connected together by a central part that forms a spring, wherein the central part is resiliently formed as an annular spring and the finger grips are formed with opposed abutment members to constitute a pivot bearing, said finger grips being formed to pivot round the pivot bearing when they are pressed together.

2. A clip substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

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

Claims (2)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. SPECIFICATION Improvements in or Relating to Clips The present invention relates to clips made from plastics material, having two shanks or legs, forming both finger grips and clamping members, which are integrally connected together by a central part that forms a spring. In known clips the two legs of plastics material are held together by a double-armed steel spring. To produce such clips, three individual parts and several manufacturing operations are necessary so that the manufacture of this mass-produced article is quite expensive. Furthermore, the steel springs used tend to corrode and easily fall out. Clips of plastics material and apart from these, several spring clips which are inserted between the finger grips, are already known. Several manufacturing operations are also necessary with these clips, and they wear out very easily due to their construction which disadvantage can not usually be ameliorated by using an expensive elastic plastics material, so that such clips also can only be manufactured relatively expensively, using several operations, and moreover they have only a very short life. Furthermore simple clips or clamp- and shankshaped plastics clips have become known. These are indeed cheap because they are produced in one piece but usually only have a very weak clamping force and can only be operated completely and with both hands primarily due to faults in the co-operating finger grips so that they do not match and therefore grip only imperfectly. Due to their unwieldiness they have not been taken up on the market to any great extent. The problem on which the invention is based is therefore to create a clip which can be produced cheaply and rationally, which can be easily manipulated and also have a good non-wearing clamping force without using steel springs and which for example is usable as a clothes peg for hanging out laundry on a line. The invention accordingly consists in a clip of plastics material having two legs or shanks, forming both finger grips and clamping members, which are integrally connected together by a central part that forms a spring, wherein the central part is resiliently formed as an annular spring and the finger grips are formed with opposed abutment members to constitute a pivot bearing, said finger grips being formed to pivot round the pivot bearing when they are pressed together. The construction enables the abutment members to contact each other on opening the clip, i.e. on pressing the finger grips together, and to form a pivot bearing round which the two legs can turn when further pressure is applied and enclosing the spring member. Thus the annular spring is not squashed or deformed in opening the clip so that no reduction of the spring effect by such deformation can occur. Due to the slight stressing of the annular spring it is also possible to utilise cheap plastics material for manufacturising the device according to the invention. Hard non-flowing plastics are especially suitable for this purpose and thus a long useful life is possible with cost-favourable production. This one-piece clip can be produced completely automatically right up to finishing. The elastic annular spring between the two legs bends on opening the legs to give the desired clamping force, which latter naturally depends on the relative stiffness of the spring and thus in simple manner clips can be produced with a larger or smaller tension force as desired. In order that the invention may be more clearly understood, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which show one embodiment thereof by way of example and in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of the device, Figure 2 is a side view thereof, and Figure 3 is an end view. Referring now to the drawings, the clip shown is in the form of a clothes peg for laundry purposes and comprises a pair of legs or shanks 1, 2, the lower ends of which constitute finger grips that can be pressed together and the upper ends 3, 4 of which constitute clamping members for holding the item of laundry folded around a clothes line. The members 1, 2 are also provided with opposed abutment members 5, 6 which come into contact when the lower ends of legs 1, 2 are pressed together and form a pivot bearing 7. This area of the members 1, 2 defines a circular opening to accommodate an annular spring 8 which is opened out by pressure on the finger grips at the lower ends of members 1, 2, but due to the abutment members 5, 6 the spring is not squashed or deformed. The whole clip is made integrally in one piece from any suitable plastics material and due to the construction, any cheap hard non-flowing material is suitable without having recourse to expensive plastics. Claims

1. A clip of plastics material having two legs or shanks, forming both finger grips and clamping members, which are integrally connected together by a central part that forms a spring, wherein the central part is resiliently formed as an annular spring and the finger grips are formed with opposed abutment members to constitute a pivot bearing, said finger grips being formed to pivot round the pivot bearing when they are pressed together.

2. A clip substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.