US3258040A - Device for applying tension to a member - Google Patents

Description

June 28 1966 J. M. EVANS 3,258,040

DEVICE FOR APPLYING TENSION TO A MEMBER Filed Nov. 15, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

JACK M. E VANS ATTORNEYS June 28, 1966 J. M. EVANS 3,253,040

DEVICE FOR APPLYING TENSION TO A MEMBER Filed Nov. 15, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

JACK M. EVANS ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3 258,040 DEVICE FOR APPLYIB IG TENSION TO A MEMBER Jack M. Evans, Englewood, Colo., assignor to Band-It Company, Denver, 0010., a corporation of Delaware Filed Nov. 15, 1963, Ser. No. 324,062 2 Claims. (Cl. 140-1236) This invention relates generally to a device for applying tension to a member and more particularly to a compact device, simple in design and inexpensive to manufacture, which can be conveniently and safely used by a single person and in conjunction with a variety of different types of buckles, and which can also be used to apply tension to a member in a direction substantially tangential to the point of contact between said member and an adjacent portion thereof in encompassing engagement about an item. Heretofore, conventional devices for applying tension to a member which had a high degree of flexibility in use not only were complex having a large number of parts but also Were generally bulky and expensive. Small, compact and inexpensive devices were found to be disadvantageous due to the limited applications of use, i.e., normally such devices could only be used in conjunction with one type of buckle, thereby requiring that a different tool be used for each different application. In addition, many devices had shearing means incorporated therein which were very difficult to operate and/or involved risk of personal injury during operation thereof. Also, risk of incurring personal injury from the backlash of a highly tensioned member that might be pulled apart during the tensioning operation was ever present with the use of many of the prior art devices. However, the present invention overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art devices by combining the flexibility of use of the larger, more expensive devices with the compactness and simplicity of the inexpensive devices. A device constructed in accordance with the present invention may be conveniently carried in a persons pocket and yet easily and safely used by a single individual in a large number of applications and with a wide variety of buckles. Further, such a devicemay be used to apply tension to a member in a direction substantially tangential to the point between said member and an underlying portion thereof which is in encompassing engagement about an object.

These advantages are obtained through the use of a device having preferably a pair of channel-shaped members pivotally connected together at one end thereof and adapted to receive between the free ends and laterally confine therein a strap or a member to which tension is to be applied, each of said members having sidewalls, a portion of each sidewall being formed convergent toward the free end of said member, one of said members having a bottom wallwith opposed surfaces, a portion of one of said surfaces being formed convergent toward the free end of said member, means for gripping a strap, said means being removably mounted for rotary movement in said channel-shaped members, and means for rotating said gripping means. Base and safety during the shearing or cutting operation is obtained through the incorporation of a shearing surface on at least one side wall of one channel-shaped member in conjunction with means to prevent complete closure of the pivotally connected channel-shaped members following the shearing operation.

Accordingly, one of the principal objects of this invention is to provide a device for applying tension to a member which is compact in size, inexpensive to manufacture and which can be easily and safely used by a single individual in a large number of applications.

Another object of this invention is to provide a device for applying tension toa member, said device having a sharply pointed nose in combination with a member ice having opposed surfaces, said surfaces being formed slightly convergent in a direction toward the end of said sharply pointed nose.

Another object of this invention is to provide a device for applying tension to a strap orband which contains means for severing said strap or band in combination with means for supporting, after the severing operation, the severed portion of said strap or band in the same general plane as said strap or band was disposed during the severing operation.

Additional objects and the novel features of this invention will become apparent from the description which follows, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a persepective view of a device constructed in accordance with the instant invention and shown at tached to a band that is encompassed about a hose;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of two pivotally connected, channel-shaped members comprising a portion of a device constructed in accordance with the instant invention and shown engaging a portion of a strap or band for shearing or cutting thereof;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a device constructed in accordance with the instant invention;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of a device constructed in accordance with the instant invention and shown attached to a band or strap;

FIG-5 is an elevational view in taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is an elevational view in partial cross-section taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 7 is an end elevational view taken along line 7-7 in FIG. 3.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like characters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, in FIG. 1 is shown a device 10 useful for applying tension to a band or strap 12, said device comprising a pair of channel- shaped members 14 and 16, pivotally connected together at one end 14a, 16a thereof partial cross-section by a pin 18, and an elongated handle 20 in one end of tending a considerable distance outwardly from one side of said handle, and the catch or pawl 22b mounted within said handle 20. The catch or pawl 22b may be disposed in either of two positions. A hexagonal surface 26, see FIG. 5, is formed upon a part of the outwardly extending portion 24a of the shaft 24 and adjacent to the handle 20. A pair of snap rings 28 are mounted upon the shaft 24 to prevent translatory movement of the shaft 24 relative to the handle 20. A transverse slot 24b is formed through the extending portion 24a of the shaft 24 to provide an opening through which the band or member 12 may pass. The pair of channel- shaped members 14 and 16 are pivotally connected together at one end 14a, 16a thereof and adapted. to receive between the other ends or free ends 14b, 16b and laterally confine therebetween a band or member 12 to which tension is to be applied. Each of the channel-shaped members has side walls 30, 32 having portions 30a, 32a, thereof formed convergent toward the free end 14b, 16b of said channel-shaped members and which are joined together by a bottom wall 34, 36. One channel-shaped member 16 has a bottom wall 36 which is of greater width than bottom wall 34 and which also has an inner and outer surface 36a and 36b, respectively, see FIG. 6, said inner surface 36a being formed substantially planar and a portion 36c of said outer surface 361) being formed convergent toward the free end 16b of said member 16. Each of the channelshaped members 14 and 16 has an opening 38, 40 formed in each side wall thereof, said openings being formed in aligned relation with each other and in one position of the pivotally connected members 14 and 16, said openings 38 in one of said channel-shaped members 14 are in aligned relation with the corresponding opening 40 of the other said channel-shaped member 16. A locking dog or lug 42 is mounted on the outer surface on one of the side walls by means of a screw 44 for locking engagement with the hexagonal surface 26 formed upon extending shaft portion 24a. In order that no interference occurs between the side wall which swings or moves past the side wall in which is mounted screw 44, a notch 50, see FIG. 2, is formed in the former side wall to enable complete unrestricted closure of the channel- shaped members 14 and 16.

Each bottom wall 34, 36 of each channel- shaped member 14, 16 preferably has a generally rectangular opening 46, 48 formed therein in juxtaposition to the portion of the side walls in which is formed openings 38, 40. The purpose for these openings 46, 48 is to facilitate mounting or threading of the band or member 12 through the transverse slot 24b formed in the extending portion 24a of the shaft 24.

Means operable to sever a band or strap 12 is provided in the device 10 through the formation of shearing or cutting surfaces 52 and 54 in each of two adjacent side walls 30 and 32, respectively, of said channel-shaped members 14 and 16, near pin 18. Shearing surface 54 is formed in a portion 32b of one of the side walls 32 of channel-shaped member 16, said portion 32b being laterally displaced inwardly a slight amount toward the other side wall 32 of member 16. Shearing surface 52 is formed in a portion 30b of one of the side walls 30 of the other channel-shaped member 14 and is laterally displaced outwardly a slight amount from the other side wall 30 of member 14. Such offsetting of the portions 30b and 32b results in the adjacent edges of the respective shearing surfaces 52 and 54 being forced very close to each other thereby ensuring severing of the band or strap 12 with the minimum amount of force since the strap cannot undergo any bending prior to shearing as would be the case if there were any appreciable amount of clearance between said adjacent shearing or cutting surfaces 52 and 54.

Preferably, the device also has incorporated therein means to prevent complete closure of the channel- shaped members 14 and 16 during the shearing operation. One embodiment of such means is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 comprising a rivet pin 56 mounted to project upwardly from the inner surface 36a of the bottom wall 36. The end 56a of said rivet pin 56 supports the severed portion of the band or strap 12 and this support in conjunction with the support derived as a result of one end of said severed band portion resting upon an edge of the side wall which does not have formed therein any shearing or cutting surface. Preferably, the severed band portion is disposed or maintained in substantially the same position after the shearing operation as it was during the shearing operation.

Heretofore, most of the prior art devices were limited as to the amount of tension that could be applied to a member with such devices since theapplication of anything but a modest amount of tension resulted in the end of the device being quickly drawn u against the adjacent surface of the buckle 58 thereby forcing the outer surface of the band or strap 12 against the adjacent surface of the buckle with sufiieient force as to prevent further application of tension without severing or pulling the band apart at its point of contact with the buckle. It has been discovered, however, that a device incorporating therein converging surfaces, such as surfaces 36a and 36c which are formed in the bottom wall 36 of channel-shaped member 16, enables the application of considerably more tension to a member since the tendency of the device to wedge the strap or band 12 between the buckle 58 and the device itself has been greatly minimized. Further, the application of such increased amount of tension maybe accomplished with comparative ease with a handle of conventional length such as a 5 /2-inch handle as is used in one of the models constructed in accordance with the instant invention. It has been found that the included angle between the extension of the two opposed convergent surfaces 36a and 366 should be decreased where the diameter of any object which is to be banded is increased. It has also found that optimum results for objects having widely varying diameters are obtained when the included angle is equal to or less than 9 and preferably between 7 and 7%.. Excellent results have been obtained where the included angle of approximately 7% i.e., 7%i%, was used.

The incorporation of a sharply pointed nose feature into a device to be used for applying tension to a member, said feature being obtained from the use of side walls which are formed convergent towards one end of members 14 and 16, is desirable where the portion of the band 12 adjacent the buckle 58 is to be bent in flush relation with the end 58a of said buckle 58. It is therefore preferred that this particular feature be incorporated into all devices which are to be used for applying tension to a member.

Operation of a device constructed in accordance with the instant invention is as follows. A band or member 12 is encompassed about an item or object to be banded and attached to a suitable buckle such as that described in US. Letters Patent No. 2,746,107 to Mahn. A complete description showing the manner and method of using this particular buckle is'contained within the aforementioned patent to Mahn.

After the band has been encompassed about the item to be banded and attached to the buckle, the excess portion of the band is sheared or cut off. Shearing is effected by opening the channel-shaped members 14 and 16 until both shearing surfaces 52 and 54 are exposed. The band 12 is then positioned between said members 14 and 16, as shown in FIG. 2, with the shearing surfaces 52 and 54 being disposed transverse to the longitudinal axis of said band 12. The free ends 14b and 16b of members 14 and 16 are gripped between one or both hands and are urged toward each other. Movement of the free ends 1411 and 16b towards each other causes the band to be severed. Following the severing of the band, the free ends 1412 and 1612 are prevented from further movement relative to each other due to the severed band portion being supported by the rivet pin 56 and one edge of one of the side walls as has been previously described above. The arresting of further movement of the free ends 14b and 16b towards each other is both desirable and beneficial since it prevents a part of the hand from being caught between the side walls of members 14 and 16 when members 14 and 16 are brought toward and into contact with each other. The loose end or free end of the band is next inserted between the side walls. of one of the channel-shaped members 14, 16. The channelshaped members 14 and 16 are then urged toward each other until th openings 38, 40 formed in the side wall thereof are in aligned relation. The free end of the band confined and contained between said channel-shaped members 14 and 16 is then suitably disposed such that a portion thereof is positioned transversely of the aligned openings 38 and 40. The rotatable shaft or mandrel 24 is then inserted within the aligned openings in such a manner that a portion of the free end of band 12 passes through the slot 24b formed within the extending portion 24a of the shaft 24. The pawl or catch 22]) is preferably positioned to ensure that clockwise movement of a handle 1 20, as viewed in FIG. 1, will result in clockwise movement of the shaft 24. Counterclockwise movement of the handle 20 will not, however, result in any movement of shaft 24. The locking dog or lug 42 is rotated counterclockwise, as viewed in FIG. 1, until it is in firm locking engagement with the hexagonal surface 26. With this arrangement locking dog 42 permits clockwise rotation, as viewed from FIG. 1, of the hexagonal surface 26 and the shaft 24 but does not permit any counterclockwise rotation of said surface 26 and said shaft 24. Tensioning of the band 12 is effected through clockwise rotation of the handle 20. Such tensioning may be easily accomplished by successive pumping or back and forth strokes of handle 20. When a sufficient amount of tension has been applied to the band 12, the handle is moved in a counterclockwise direction until same extends below the pair of channel-shaped members 14 and 16 essentialy as shown in FIG. 1. Next, the locking dog or lug 42 is moved out of engagement with the hexagonal surface 26. The device is held entirely within the right hand, the palm of the right hand overlying the upper surface of the channel-shaped members and the fingers of the right hand curving around the handle 20. In this manner, it is quite an easy thing to maintain the amount of tension that has been applied to the band 12. For buckles of the type described in the aforementioned patent to Mahn, the device is rotated clockwise about the free ends 14b, 16b until a portion of the band 12 is in flushed relation with the edge 53a of the buckle 58. Otherwise, the device is held in this position until a suitable frictional force is applied between the buckle 58 and the band 12. After the clamp and th band have been firmly secured to each other, the pawl or catch 22b is moved to the opposite or a second position and the handle 20 as well as the shaft 24 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction until the tail of the band has been loosened on the shaft 24. The shaft 24 is then removed from the aligned openings of the channel-shaped members 14 and 16 and said members 14 and 16 are then opened and the tail of the band 12 is removed therefrom. Any excess portion of the band is removed through use of the severing means incorporated within the device in the same manner as has previously been described.

It will be readily appreciated that a device for applying tension to a band or member having novel means for permitting application of t nsion to a member in a direction substantially tangent to the point of contact between the member and an underlying portion thereof, which provides a simple, effective severing means, and which is extremely flexible for use under widely varying circumstances but is simple in design, compact in size and inexpensive to manufacture, has been described. As a result, one single, inexpensive device may now be used in lieu of a variety of devices as has previously been the case.

It is to be understood that this invention is not limited to the exact embodiment of the device shown, which is merely by way of illustration and not limitation, as various other forms of modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, a device comprising a single channel-shaped member rather than a pair of channel-shaped members may be effectively used to apply tension to a member. Further, an appropriately shaped member may be mounted upon the pin 18 to provide a support for the severed portion of the band 12 in lieu of using th rivet pin 56.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for developing relatively large tensile stresses within a strap member disposed in encompassing engagement about one or more articles and maintained in such engagement by attachment to a buckle means, said device comprising a pair of channel-shaped members pivotally connected together at one end theerof and adapted to receive between the free ends and laterally confine a strap therebetween, each of of said members having side walls joined by a bottom wall having inner and outer faces, a portion of each side wall being formed convergent toward the free end of each said member, means for gripping and applying tension to a strap, said means being removably and rotatably mounted within the side walls of said channel-shaped members, and means for maintaining during the tensioning operation a portion of said strap substantially tangential to an adjacent portion of the strap disposed in encompassing relation about an item thereby permitting a relatively large tensile load to be applied to the strap without severing same, said last recited means including a seating groove in the outer face of one of said channel-shaped members, said seating groove having its bottom formed convergent toward the free end of said bottom wall of said one of said channel-shaped members, the extension of said groove bottom and said inner face of said one channel-shaped member intersecting to form an included angle of approximately nine degrees or less.

2. The device of claim 1 in which said included angle is 7% References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,208,114 7/1940 Campbell 8l-9.3 2,494,963 1/1950 Ray -l23.5 3,154,114- 10/1964 Bailey 140123.6

CHARLES W. LANHAM, Primary Examm'er.

L. A. LARSON, Assistant Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. A DEVICE FOR DEVELOPING RELATIVELY LARGE TENSILE STRESSES WITHIN A STRAP MEMBER DISPOSED IN ENCOMPASSING ENGAGEMENT ABOUT ONE OR MORE ARTICLES AND MAINTAINED IN SUCH ENGAGEMENT BY ATTACHMENT TO A BUCKLE MEANS, SAID DEVICE COMPRISING A PAIR OF CHANNEL-SHAPED MEMBERS PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TOGETHER AT ONE END THEREOF AND ADAPTED TO RECEIVE BETWEEN THE FREE ENDS AND LATERALLY CONFINE A STRAP THEREBETWEEN, EACH OF OF SAID MEMBERS HAVING SIDE WALLS JOINED BY A BOTTOM WALL HAVING INNER AND OUTER FACES, A PORTION OF EACH SIDE WALL BEING FORMED CONVERGENT TOWARD THE FREE END OF EACH SAID MEMBER, ME ANS FOR GRIPPING AND APPLYING TENSION TO A STRAP, SAID MEANS BEING REMOVABLY AND ROTATABLY MOUNTED WITHIN THE SIDE WALLS OF SAID CHANNEL-SHAPED MEMBERS, AND MEANS FOR MAINTAINING DURING THE TENSIONING OPERATION A PORTION OF SAID STRAP SUBSTANTIALLY TANGENTIAL TO AN ADJACENT PORTION OF THE STRAP DISPOSED IN ENCOMPASSING RELATION ABOUT AN ITEM THEREBY PERMITTING A RELATIVELY LARGE TENSILE LOAD TO BE APPLIED TO THE STRAP WITHOUT SEVERING SAME, SAID LAST RECITED MEANS INCLUDING A SEATING GROOVE IN THE OUTER FACE OF ONE OF SAID CHANNEL-SHAPED MEMBERS, SAID SEATING GROOVE HAVING ITS BOTTOM FORMED CONVERGENT TOWARD THE FREE END OF SAID BOTTOM WALL OF SAID ONE OF SAID CHANNEL-SHAPED MEMBERS, THE EXTENSION OF SAID GROOVE BOTTOM AND SAID INNER FACE OF SAID ONE CHANNEL-SHAPED MEMBER INTERSECTING TO FORM AN INCLUDED ANGLE OF APPROXIMATELY NINE DEGREES OR LESS.

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