Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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A CORD CLAMP
SPECIFICATION
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cord clamp and, more
particularly, to a device which is intended to be applied to a
cord, string, band or strip for limiting the displacement thereof
and which can be adjustably moved along the cord.
Backyround of the Invention
It is known to provide on a drawstring or other cord,
band or strip, an element which is adapted to form a stop
preventing retraction of the cord through a hole, e.g. in a
garment. Such cord clamps also serve to clamp two strands of a
cord together or even a greater number of strands in relative
posltions .
In general cord clamps have been provided in a large
number of configurations and the cord clamp which is of the
greatest interest for the purposes of this application comprises a
sleeve into which a plunger can be forced against a spring
counterforce, to align windows in the sleeve with an opening in
the plunger or to cause registration thereof.
In this inwardly pressed position, a cord or a strand
thereof can be displaced relative to the stop and, upon release of
the pressure, which can be applied by the fingers of a hand of a
user, the tendency for the opening to become disaligned from the
windows results in a clamping action between an edge of the
opening in the shank and an opposite edge of a window to grip the
cord or strands between them. The cord can be threaded through a
device when the windows and opening are aligned or in registry and
simple release of the pressure fixes the cord relative to the
stop.
Cord clamps or stops of this type can be utilized in
sporting articles such as rucksacks and similar receptacles, bags
and the like. They can be utilized in garments to draw in a
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portion o~ a garment which is to fit the wearer snugly but
adjustably.
They have the advantage that they are more easily
handled and even more versatile than buckles or the like and are
characterized by the high degree of force which can be brought to
bsar to prevent undesired shifting of the cord, clamp or stop on a
cord.
Ob~ects of the Invention
It is the principal object of the present invention to
provide an easily operated cord clamp of the type described ~7hich
is more reliable than earlier devices for this purpose, is
inexpensive to manufacture and especially has a longer useful
life.
Another object of the invention is to provide a cord
stop which has less of a tendency to breakage or permanent
deformation tending to impair its operation than earlier devices
which have been proposed for the purpose.
Summary of the Invention
These objects and others which will become apparent
hereinafter are attained, in accordance with the invention, in a
cord clamp or stop which comprises a flattened sleeve open at one
end and closed at an opposite end, and a plunger received in this
sleeve and having a head projecting from the open end, the plunger
being integral with a spring and having an opening in its shank
which can be aligned with windows in opposite sides or walls of
the sleeve to release a cord threaded through the windows of the
opening when the plunger is pressed into the sleeve, the spring
serving to bias the windows and opening out of alignment for the
clamping action previously described.
In order to increase the life of the device, the spring,
which is formed from unitarily interconnected bars ajoining each
other at angles in a zigzag configuration for internal corners
which, according to the invention, are provided with rounded
concavities facilitating bending of the spring adjacent the
conravities. Most advantageously these concavities are of
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circular cross section.
According to another feature of the invention, external
surfaces of the head and the closed end of the sleeve are provided
with outwardly convexly curved and ribbed surfaces which
facilitate greatly the gripping of the device between fingers of
the hand of a user, e.g. between the thumb and an index finger.
Furthermore, the edges of the opening in thP shank and
the windows which grip the cord under the spring force in
accordance with the invention are preferably toothed.
The rounded concavities at the inner corners of the
junctions formed by the bars of the spring have been found to
eliminate material fatigue of the spring or to greatly reduce that
fatigue.
Brief Description of the Drawin~
The above and other objects, features and advantages of
the present invention will become more readily apparent from the
following description, reference being made to the accompanying
drawing in which:
FIG. 1 is an elevational view of the cord clamp of the
invention with the plunger in its outwardmost position in which it
is held by its spring;
FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the plunger removed
from the sleeve;
FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the sleeve with the
plunger removed therefrom;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view through the sleeve showing
the plunger fully depressed so that its opening and the windows of
the sleeve can be aligned;
FIG. 5 is a side-elevational view of the device showing
it clamped to a cord; and
FIG. 6 is a detail-elevational view drawn to a much
larger scale and showing the inner corner between two bars of the
zlgzag spring.
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Specific Description
As can be seen from FIGS. 1-3, the principal elements of
the cord clamp of the invention are a plunger 10 and a sleeve 20.
The plunger 10 comprises a head 11 which has an
outwardly curved and transversely ribbed surface 12 molded
unitarily with a shank 13 which, in turn, is formed unitarily rrith
a zig2ag spring 14 whose bars 15 join at angular junctions 16
(FIG. 6), the internal corners of which are provided with circular
concavities 17.
The flattened end 18 of the spring can come to rest upon
a surfase 21 of the sleeve 20 provided within the latter.
The shank 13 has a throughgoing window 13a which is
elongated in a direction transverse to the direction in which the
plunger is pressed into the sleeve (arrows P in FIG. 4) so as to
have longer sides 13b and 13c, the latter being toothed. Adjacent
the long sides 13c, moreover, a lug 13d projects from the shank
and engages in one of the windows of the sleeve to prevent
withdrawal of the plunger from the sleeve.
The sleeve 20 has an open end 22 and a closed end 23,
the latter being convexly curved and ribbed opposite the ribbed
surface 12 of the head, to permit the device to be readily gripped
between, say, the thumb and the index finger of a hand of the
user.
The sleeve 20, moreover, is formed with two elongated
windows 24 which have long sides 24a and 24b, the former of which
is toothed so that when a cord C is clamped within the windows of
the opening of the plunger, the toothed edges 13c and 24a bear in
opposite directions against the cord. The lug 13_ engages the
upper edge 24 of one of the windows to prevent withdrawal of the
plunger beyond the position shown in FIG. 1.
When the plunger is fully depressed by the application
of pressure as represented by the arrows P in FIG. 4, the lug 13d
can engage in a recess 24c in the long side 24b of a window 24.
The windows are thus aligned with the opening in the shank and the
cord C can be drawn through them to the desired position. Release
of the plunger then locks the cord in place.
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The toothed formations along the opposite edges of the
windows in the sleeve and the opening in the plunger, in
combination with the effect of the spring, ensures a fixing of the
device to the cord and, where several strands of a cord traverse
the openin~ of these windows, the strands relative to one another
even when considerable force is applied, e.g. in the form of
tension to the strand against the clamp.
The outwardly convex or domed configuration of the
ribbed ends of the plunger and sleeve facilitates manipulation
lo and, of course, the circular concavities at the inner corners of
the pairs of the spring counter material fatigue.
