US20080155792A1

US20080155792A1 - Strap fastening assembly

Info

Publication number: US20080155792A1
Application number: US12/003,091
Authority: US
Inventors: Tzong In Yeh
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-12-29
Filing date: 2007-12-20
Publication date: 2008-07-03
Also published as: TWI316394B; TW200826866A

Abstract

A strap fastening assembly comprises a strap and at least one fastener for fastening the strap to tie an article. The fastener comprises a fastening portion and an adjustable portion. The fastening portion is configured to secure a section of the strap thereon in case the strap is loosened by pulling the strap in one direction. The adjustable portion is configured to connect, adjust and tighten another section of the strap to tie the article.

Description

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

1. Field of Invention
The present invention is broadly concerned with a strap fastening assembly and in particular to the strap fastening assembly including a strap and at least one fastener for tying an article.
2. Related Prior Art
TW Design Patent No. 19201 discloses a book fastener. According to the design patent, at least one book can be tied via the book fastener with a strap in a crisscross manner.
However, the book fastener is elaborate but to a limited extent, only for tying books in the crisscross manner. The complex configuration and the tying method of the book fastener can easily confuse a user. After tying, the user may further wonder if the books have been tightly secured.
Compared with books, there are many other types of articles, such as a yoga mat, which has a longer and huge volume and may need a different way to be packed. The yoga mat is usually backpacked and carried by a user. It is not easy to pack the huge yoga mat into a space-limit backpack.
What is desired, therefore, is a simple, convenient and variegated fastening assembly, which can clasp various types of articles.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The primary object of this invention is therefore to provide a fastening assembly capable of easy tying an article securely.
According to the present invention, a strap fastening assembly comprises a strap and at least one fastener for fastening the strap to tie an article. The at least one fastener comprises a fastening portion and an adjustable portion. The fastening portion is configured to secure a section of the strap thereon in case the strap is loosened by pulling the strap in one direction. The adjustable portion is configured to connect, adjust and tighten another section of the strap to tie the article.
Preferably, the fastener is formed in one-piece from plastic.
Preferably, the fastening portion of the fastener defines three apertures therein and the adjustable portion defines a slot and a breach.
More preferably, one strap and two fasteners are assembled to define two loops for clasping the article tight in a perfect appearance.
Further benefits and advantages of the present invention will become clear as the description proceeds.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The invention will now be elucidated with reference to the following description and accompanying drawings where:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a fastener according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a first embodiment of a strap fastening assembly including one fastener of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is another perspective view of the upright fastener of FIG. 1, showing a bottom plane with depressions therein for housing a strap.

FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of a strap fastening assembly including two fasteners of FIG. 1 for tying a yoga mat (phantom line);

FIG. 5 illustrates another example of the present invention, including one fastener and two straps.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

A strap fastening assembly in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 to include a strap 1 and a fastener 2 for tying an article (not shown).
Referring to FIG. 1, the fastener 2 is flat and made of any solid material, such as metal or plastic. In the present embodiment, the fastener 2 is formed in one piece by plastic injection molding and exhibits advantages of easy production and a low cost. The fastener 2 comprises a fastening portion 21 and an adjustable portion 22.
As can be seen in FIG. 2, the fastening portion 21 is configured to be joined with a section 11 of the strap 1. The fastening portion 21 defines three elongated apertures 211, 212 and 213 served as an inlet 211 (side), an outlet 213 (side) and a shift 212 (hypotenuse), which are arranged in right triangle for the strap 1 passing through. In such a fashion, the strap 1 can be easy to be joined to the fastening portion 21. In use, first, let an end of the strap 1 pass through the inlet 211, and then make a turn passing into the shift 212, and finally passing through the outlet 213. Since the three apertures 211, 212, 213 are arranged in different positions to form a multiple binding that the section 11 of the strap 1 can not be loosened from the fastening portion 21 by pulling the strap 1 in one direction. Thus, the fastening portion 21 of the fastener 2 can secure the strap 1 tightly without needs to suture, rivet or the like. Moreover, the fastening portion 21 of the fastener 2 can be positioned in any desired section of the strap 1 for flexible use.
The adjustable portion 22 of the fastener 2 defines a slot 221 and a breach 222 in parallel with the slot 221 so as to secure another section 12 of the strap 1 which comes out from the outlet 213 of the fastening portion 21. In use, the section 12 of the strap 1 is fed into the slot 221 and then is adjusted to a suitable position so as to define a loop 13 in a suitable size. When the loop 13 of the strap 1 clasps the article tight, the section 12 of the strap 1 is then turned round and into the breach 222 to be secured. Furthermore, the adjustable portion 22 is formed with a plurality of teeth 223 on inner walls of the breach 222. Preferably, the teeth 223 on one inner wall and the teeth 223 on the opposite inner wall are staggered. In such a manner, once entering and being confined in the breach 222, the strap 1 is not easily loosened from the teeth 223.
To tight the article harmlessly, the strap fastener 2 defines depressions in a bottom surface, which is supposed to contact with the article, to house the sections of the strap 1. More specifically, referring to FIG. 3, the strap fastener 2 has a first surface 210 on the fastening portion 21, and a second surface 220 which is coplanar with the first surface 210 and on the adjustable portion 22. The first and second surfaces 210, 220 have areas where the strap 1 may passes and lies. Hence, the fastening portion 21 defines two depressions 214, 215 in the areas of the first surface 210, and the adjustable portion 22 defines a depression 224 in the area of the second surface 220 for receiving the strap 1. Since the strap 1 secured on the fastener 1 has exposed portions received in the depressions 214, 215, 224, the strap 1 and the fastener 2 define a co-plane to safely contact with surfaces of the article without impressions left in the surfaces of the article.
As noted above, the fastener 2 secures the two sections 11, 12 of the strap 1 by the fastening portion 21 and the adjustable portion 22 respectively so as to define the loop 13 which encircles and ties an article. Besides, the strap 1 further has a free section 14 which doesn't pass through the inlet 211. The free section 14 can be extended perpendicular to a plane defined by the loop 13. Thus, for some other applications, the strap fastening assembly may be used as a dog chain. The loop 13, as a collar, receives a dog's neck. The free section 14 of the strap 1, as a chain, is provided for pulling by a dog's master. Since the force exerting on the free section 14 won't change the size of the loop 13 that it is safer from strangling even if the master yanks on the dog's neck suddenly.
FIG. 4 shows another strap fastening assembly according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Compared with the first embodiment, the second embodiment comprises one more fastener 2, that is, two in total. With two fasteners 2 and one strap 1, the strap fastening assembly of the second embodiment defines two loops 13 for tying a longer article, such as a roll of a yoga mat, or two separate articles.
In particular, the two loops 13 of FIG. 4 are joined together by the free end 14 of the strap 1 in a perfect manner because the three apertures 211, 212, 213 of each of the fasteners are arranged in a right triangle. In this manner, the strap fastening assembly acts as a shoulder bag and is easy to carry.
Furthermore, the length of the free end 14 is adjustable according to one's desire. Once the length of the free end 14 is determined and the strap 1 has been secured on the fastening portions 21 of the two fasteners 2, each adjustable portion 22 is then adjusted flexibly to define the loop 13 for clasping the article.
Alternatively, more than two fasters 2 can be linked together for tying many articles in a series for further purposes.
From the foregoing embodiments, the fastener 2 of the present invention is provided to fasten the strap 1 to define the loop 13 so as to tie an article. In another embodiment, as depicted in FIG. 5, the single fastener 2 can also be used to joined “two” straps, namely a first strap I a and a second strap 1 b. In this case, the fastening portion 21 of the fastener 2 is used to securing an end of the first strap 1 a. The adjustable portion 22 connects an end of the second strap 1 b and allows the same to be adjusted and secured. Therefore, the fastener 2 served as a linkage between two straps 1 a, 1 b.
Numerous characteristics and advantages of the invention have been set forth in the foregoing description. The disclosure, however, is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail within the principle of the invention, to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.

Claims

1. A strap fastener for tying an article comprising:

a fastening portion configured to secure a section of a strap from being loosened by pulling the strap in one direction; and

an adjustable portion configured to connect, adjust and tighten another section of the strap so as to tie the article.

2. The strap fastener of claim 1 being formed in one-piece.

3. The strap fastener of claim 2 wherein the fastening portion defines three apertures therein.

4. The strap fastener of claim 3 wherein the three apertures are elongated and arranged in right triangle.

5. The strap fastener of claim 3 wherein the adjustable portion defines a slot therein and a breach.

6. The strap fastener of claim 5 wherein the breach is elongated and arranged in parallel with the slot.

7. The strap fastener of claim 5 wherein the adjustable portion is formed with a plurality of teeth on opposite inner walls of the breach.

8. The strap fastener of claim 7 wherein the teeth on one inner wall and the teeth on the opposite inner wall are staggered.

9. The strap fastener of claim 7, wherein the fastening portion has a first surface coplanar with a second surface of the adjustable portion, the fastening portion defines at least one depression in an area of the first surface where the strap lies, and the adjustable portion defines at least one depression in an area of the second surface where the strap lies.

10. A strap fastening assembly comprising:

a strap; and

at least one fastener for fastening the strap to tie an article, comprising:

a fastening portion configured to secure a section of the strap from being loosened by pulling the strap in one direction; and

11. The strap fastening assembly of claim 10 wherein the fastener is formed in one-piece.

12. The strap fastening assembly of claim 11 wherein the adjustable portion defines a slot therein and a breach.

13. The strap fastening assembly of claim 12 wherein the fastening portion defines three apertures therein.

14. The strap fastening assembly of claim 13 wherein the three apertures are elongated and arranged in right triangle.

15. The strap fastening assembly of claim 13 wherein the adjustable portion defines a slot therein and a breach.

16. The strap fastening assembly of claim 15 wherein the breach is elongated and arranged in parallel with the slot.

17. The strap fastening assembly of claim 15 wherein the adjustable portion is formed with a plurality of teeth on inner walls of the breach.

18. The strap fastening assembly of claim 17 wherein the teeth on one inner wall and the teeth on the opposite inner wall are staggered.

19. The strap fastener of claim 17, wherein the fastening portion has a first surface coplanar with a second surface of the adjustable portion, the fastening portion defines at least one depression in an area of the first surface where the strap lies, and the adjustable portion defines at least one depression in an area of the second surface where the strap lies.

20. The strap fastener of claim 15, wherein the fastening portion has a first surface coplanar with a second surface of the adjustable portion, the fastening portion defines at least one depression in an area of the first surface where the strap lies, and the adjustable portion defines at least one depression in an area of the second surface where the strap lies.