The invention relates to a clip for hanging decorative lights and other things from a railing or banister.
During the holidays people often place Christmas lights on railings or banisters outside or inside their houses. Some will intertwine decorative strings of lights around the railing. Others will use string, tape or wire ties to attach the string of decorative lights to the railing. Although there have been U-shaped plastic clips designed for holding strings of lights to the eaves of a house, such as the clip disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,883,926 to Reynolds, these clips generally do not work on most banisters. Some railings or banisters have a simple rectangular cross section. A U-shaped clip can be used on these. Other rails are round. U-shaped clips do not work well on round railings. Many other railings have more complex cross sectional shapes involving multiple curves along the perimeter of the rail. Banisters and railings do not come in a single standard width. They can range from having a width of about ½ inch to as much as 3 to 4 inches. Because of these variations U-shaped clips are not suitable for hanging objects on most banisters.
Another type of clip for holding strings of decorative lights on branches is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,656 to Protz. This clip forms a keyhole shape in which the larger opening receives a branch and the lower opening holds the cord of a string of decorative lights. A slot is provided near the intersection of the upper portion which defines the larger opening and the lower portion which defines the smaller opening. The upper portion is sufficiently flexible so that pulling on the upper portion near the slot widens the opening allowing the clip to slip over a branch or be removed from a branch. Such pulling tends to concentrate the stress in a single location or region on the upper portion. If pulled too far the upper portion will break at that stress region. While the hanger disclosed by Protz could be used on some banisters, its use is limited to banisters whose width is not larger than the diameter of the opening defined by the upper portion of the clip.
Yet, another type of clip for displaying ornamental objects is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,848,660 to Jackson. This clip has a hook portion and a holding portion. The holding portion forms an arc that extends over about 165°. The hook is attached to one end of that arc. Like the branch clip, one pulls the free end of the holding portion while holding the hook so that the holding portion can be opened and slipped over a banister. Pulling the end of the holding portion tends to concentrate stress at a single location or region on the holding portion. Breakage will occur at that location if the end is pulled too far. This clip can only fit on a limited range of banisters whose width is not much greater than the diameter of the holding portion.
S-shaped hooks and hooks having spiral ends have also been used for hanging holiday decorations. An example of a hook with a spiral end can be found in my U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,192 for an Apparatus for Hanging Cords From a Gutter or the Like. These hooks have not been sold for use on banisters. Although one could make a hook having a spiral end which is large enough to be unraveled to fit on a banister, I have found that such a hook will not hold on some banister shapes. Unraveling, or attempting to unravel, a spiral hook concentrates stress at certain regions along the path of the spiral which can result in breakage. The shape of the spiral causes more bending to occur in those high stress regions as one pulls on the ends of the spiral.
Because of the wide variety of widths and shapes of railings and banisters, no single clip known in the art could be used on the wide range of the banisters and railings which can be found in houses today. Consequently, there is a need for a banister clip which can be attached to and will hold on the wide variety of railings and banisters in use today.
I provide a banister clip which has a single elongated plastic or metal flexible body. This body has two arc portions each of which correspond to a circle of different diameters of the larger arc. The smaller arc extends from the center of the larger arc over about 180°. Then the smaller arc is attached to one end of the larger arc which extends over a path of 270° to 320°. A hook is attached to the opposite end of the first arc. The body is sufficiently flexible to enable that portion to be unraveled and fit over a banister. The hook preferably also has a spiral-like shape. However, a J-hook or even an eye hook could be used. To place the clip over a banister the body is unraveled such that the gap between the hook and the opposite end of the banister clip is wide enough to enable the body to fit over the banister. When the clip is released the body tends to flex toward its original position holding the banister clip securely on the banister.
Other objects advantages of the banister clip of the present invention will become apparent from certain preferred embodiments shown in the figures.
The present preferred embodiment of my banister clip 1 is shown in a relaxed position in
A spiral is defined as a curve on a plane that winds around a fixed center at a continuously increasing or decreasing distance from the point. An arc is a segment of a circle. The elongated body 3 may appear to some to be a spiral but it is not. The path defined by the elongated body 3 moves away from a fixed point 6, but is not continuously increasing or decreasing in a distance from that point as a spiral would. Basically, the elongated body 3 is formed by two arcs or two arc-like shapes.
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The banister clip is preferably made of polypropylene, but could be made of other plastics such as acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) plastic or polycarbonate. Even metals having a memory could be used. I prefer that the clip have a width of ⅜ inch. However, a narrower or wider width could be selected. The width and depth, or cross-section of the body may vary according to the material from which the elongated body is made.
It is well-known that plastic shrinks as it cools. This shrinkage may result in the endpoint of the smaller arc not being in the precise mathematical center of the larger arc. Consequently, the center of the larger arc, as the phrase is used herein, should be understood to encompass a region about the mathematical center of that arc. The size of that region corresponds to the shrinkage of the plastic being used. If for the size clip being made, shrinkage could cause the end of the second arc to move 0.025 inches, then the center would encompass a circle having a radius of 0.025 inches. Such shrinkage could result in some change of shape in the arc portions of the body such that there is not a perfect arc in the finished product. One may also choose to provide a flat portion, bumps, notches, or other surface irregularities on the inside surface or outside surface of the elongated body to improve gripping, or for decorative or other purposes. If these features are added the portion of the elongated body to which the feature or features have been added may not look like a true arc. Nevertheless, the elongated body will still have two distinct portions. Thus, by accident or design changes appropriate to specific uses, the two portions of the elongated body may intentionally or unintentionally be arc-like, rather than true arcs in accordance with the mathematical definition. Accordingly, the term arc-like portion as used to describe the clip here disclosed should be understood to encompass all such variations in the shapes of the two portions of the elongated body 3.
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It should be apparent from
The unraveling of the arcs generates both stretching and compression along the length of the body. Because the first arc has a greater radius than the second arc, the portion of the body 3 defined by the first arc is more flexible than the portion of the body defined by the second arc. This larger diameter provides maximum flex of the larger arc portion of the body distributing the stress along the length of that portion as the clip is opened for placement on a banister. The stresses are not concentrated in one region or point as occurs in the clips of the prior art. The smaller diameter in the second arc portion makes that section of the body stiffer providing a tighter grip at the end of the body. As a result the clip body can be opened to fit on nearly every banister shape that can be found in most houses today. The body will also open to fit over a 2″ by 6″ railing. Depending on the resin used, the thickness of the plastic is such that it allows for even, easy bending all along the surface of the elongated body. This helps the entire length of the body to act as a spring. In polypropylene, I prefer to use a thickness between 0.10 and 0.125 inches, though other thicknesses will work, depending on the width of the part. If desired the thickness of the smaller arc portion can be greater than the thickness of the larger arc portion to provided greater stiffness in the smaller arc portion. If one chooses to make the elongated body such that the smaller arc portion is thicker than the larger arc portion, then a transition region, rather than an abrupt change in thickness, should be provided between the two thicknesses.
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The clip here disclosed was developed for use on banisters. However, the clip could be used on other structures. For example, one could size the clip to fit on grave markers to hold a flag or flowers. The clip could be attached over the edge of a wall, shutter, or any other planar structure having a width greater than the opening defined by the body of the clip. That opening is expanded by unraveling the body to place the clip over the selected structure. The length of the body in the clip must be long enough to span the width of the edge over which the clip is placed. That length should be at least six inches.
Although I have described and shown certain present preferred embodiments of my banister clip it should be distinctly understood that the invention is not limited thereto, but may be variously embodied within the scope of the following claims.