FASTENER HEAD, FASTENER KIT AND METHOD OF ASSEMBLING A FASTENER

FIELD

The present application generally relates to fasteners and, in particular, to cable fasteners, dispensers and methods of assembling fasteners.

BACKGROUND

Cable ties are typically used to fasten objects together. Unfortunately, they are often longer than necessary. As a result, a user may cut off the excess length of the cable tie once the objects are fastened together. The trimmed off portion may then be discarded, resulting in a waste of valuable resources.

It would be advantageous to provide a fastener that is more environmentally friendly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments will be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying figures wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side perspective view of an example fastener head, according to one embodiment;

FIG. 2 shows a front view of the example fastener head of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the example fastener head of FIG. 2 taken generally along line A-A of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a side perspective view of an example fastener head, according to another embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a side perspective view of a locking member, according to another embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a side perspective view of an example fastener head body, according to another embodiment;

FIG. 7 shows a side perspective view of an example fastener including a cable secured to the example fastener head of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 shows a side perspective view of an example fastener kit including an example dispenser, an example cable and the example fastener head of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 shows an exploded side perspective view of the dispenser of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 shows a front view of the dispenser of FIG. 8; and

FIG. 11 shows a flowchart of an example method of assembling a fastener.

Similar reference numerals may have been used in different figures to denote similar components.

DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

In one aspect, the present application describes a fastener head. The fastener head may include a body having a cavity for receiving a first end of a cable and a through hole for receiving a second end of the cable; a first locking mechanism for securing the first end of the cable in the cavity; and a second locking mechanism for securing the cable in the through hole.

In some implementations, the first locking mechanism may include a barb.

In some implementations, the first locking mechanism may be disposed in the cavity.

In some implementations, the fastener head may further include a unitary locking member including the first locking mechanism and the second locking mechanism.

In some implementations, the cavity may have a substantially rectangular cuboid shape.

In some implementations, an axis of the cavity may be perpendicular to an axis of the through hole.

In some implementations, an axis of the cavity may be oblique to an axis of the through hole.

In some implementations, the cavity may be disposed proximate to a first opening of the through hole and distal from a second opening of the through hole and the first locking mechanism may facilitate movement of the cable in a direction of the first opening to the second opening and may prevent movement of the cable in a reverse direction.

In some implementations, the cable may be a ribbon.

In some implementations, the cable may be toothless.

In another aspect, the present application describes a kit including the fastener head and a dispenser for dispensing the fastener head and a cable.

In some implementations, the kit may further include the cable.

In some implementations, the dispenser may include an aperture for dispensing the cable from the dispenser and a tooth for hindering the cable from receding into the dispenser through the aperture.

In another aspect, the present application describes a method of assembling a fastener. The method may include feeding a first end of a cable into a cavity in a fastener head including a first locking mechanism and a second locking mechanism; securing the first end of the cable in a cavity in the fastener head using the first locking mechanism; feeding a second end of the cable into a through hole in the fastener head; and securing the cable in the through hole in the fastener head using the second locking mechanism.

In some implementations, the method may further include, butting the first end of the cable against an end wall of the cavity.

In some implementations, securing the first end of the cable in the fastener head using the first locking mechanism may include retaining the cable against a barb.

In some implementations, securing the cable in the through hole in the fastener head using the second locking mechanism may include retaining the cable against a barb.

In some implementations, the method may further include severing the cable from a spool of cable.

Other example embodiments of the present disclosure will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from a review of the following detailed descriptions in conjunction with the drawings.

In the present application, the term “and/or” is intended to cover all possible combinations and sub-combinations of the listed elements, including any one of the listed elements alone, any sub-combination, or all of the elements, and without necessarily excluding additional elements.

In the present application, the phrase “at least one of . . . and . . . ” is intended to cover any one or more of the listed elements, including any one of the listed elements alone, any sub-combination, or all of the elements, without necessarily excluding any additional elements, and without necessarily requiring all of the elements.

Reference is now made to FIG. 1, which shows a side perspective view of an example fastener head. The fastener head 100 has a body 102 that includes a cavity 104 for receiving an end of a cable (not shown) into the body 102 and a through hole 106 through which an opposite end of the cable may pass. The cable may be secured in both the cavity 104 and the through hole 106.

Reference is now made to FIG. 2, which shows a front view of the example fastener head 100 of FIG. 1. Reference is also made to FIG. 3, shows a cross-sectional view of the example fastener head 100 of FIG. 2 taken generally along line A-A of FIG. 2.

The fastener head 100 includes a body 102, a cavity 104 and a through hole 106. The cavity 104 may sometimes be referred to as a slot or blind hole.

The cavity 104 may have a cavity opening 310 and an end wall 312. The cavity opening 310 may be for receiving the end of a cable into the cavity. The cavity 104 may not break through the end wall 312. The end wall 312 may serve to block the forward travel of the end of the cable and prevent the end of the cable from exiting the cavity 104.

The through hole 106 may include two openings on opposite ends through which the cable or a portion of the cable may be moved. For example, the through hole may include a first through hole opening 320 for receiving a cable or a portion of the cable and a second through hole opening 322 from which the cable or portion of the cable may exit from the fastener head 100. In other words, the cable may move from the first through hole opening 320 and in the direction of the second through hole opening 322.

The cavity 104 and through hole 106 of the example fastener head 100 are each in the shape of a rectangular cuboid and the cavity opening 310, first through hole opening 320 and second through hole opening 322 in this example are each rectangular. It will be appreciated that the cavity 104 and through hole 106 can have one of any number of suitable shapes, including a substantially rectangular cuboid or cylindrical shape. It will also be appreciated that the cavity opening 310, first through hole opening 320 and second through hole opening 322 can have one of any number of suitable shapes, including a substantially rectangular or circular shape.

The cavity 104, through hole 106, cavity opening 310, first through hole opening 320 and second through hole opening 322 may be sized and shaped according to the size and shape of the cable to be secured by the fastener head 100. For example, the fastener head 100 may correspond to and be used to secure a cable that is an elongated strip or ribbon. In embodiments where the cavity and through hole 106 are cylindrical, the cable may be a wire.

The example the cavity 104 and through hole 106 are rectangular cuboids and, accordingly, the cavity 104 may have four respective sidewalls, including a sidewall surface 314 and opposing sidewall surface 316, and the through hole 106 may also have four respective sidewalls, including a sidewall surface 324 and an opposing sidewall surface 326. It will be appreciated that in embodiments where the cavity 104 and through hole 106 are cylindrical, then the cavity 104 and through hole 106 may each include a single respective sidewall.

The example fastener head 100 may also include a first locking mechanism for securing a first end of the cable in the cavity 104 and a second locking mechanism for securing the second end of the cable in the through hole 106.

In some embodiments, the example fastener head 100 may include a locking member 300 for securing a cable in the fastener head 100. The locking member 300 may be unitary and include a first end portion 302 for locking a cable in the cavity 104 and a second end portion 304 for locking a cable in the through hole 106. The first locking mechanism may be or include the first end portion 302 and the second locking mechanism may be or include the second end portion 304. The first locking mechanism may be disposed in the cavity 104 and the second locking mechanism may be disposed in the through hole 106.

The first end portion 302 may be formed as a barb and may include a first edge 330, a first front surface 332, and a first rear surface 334. The barb may be sometimes referred to as a blade and the first front surface 332 may sometimes be referred to as a bevel. The barb may project from the sidewall surface 314 and protrude into the cavity 104 and point towards the opposing sidewall surface 316. The first front surface 332 and the first rear surface 334 may meet to form the first edge 330. The first front surface 332 may extend at an oblique angle from the sidewall surface 314 to the first edge 330. The first rear surface 334 may extend from the sidewall surface 314 at a perpendicular angle. The first front surface 332 may generally face towards the cavity opening 310 and away from the end wall 312 and the first rear surface 334 may generally face away from the cavity opening 310 and towards the end wall 312. The first rear surface 334 may be parallel to the end wall 312. In this way, the first end portion 302 may be a directional barb that bites into a cable as it is fed into the cavity 104 and retains the cable against and between the barb and the opposing sidewall surface 316.

The second end portion 304 may be formed as a barb and may include a second edge 340, a second front surface 342, and a second rear surface 344. The barb may be sometimes referred to as a blade and the second front surface 342 may sometimes be referred to as a bevel. The barb may project from the sidewall surface 326 and protrude into the through hole 106 and point towards the opposing sidewall surface 324. The second front surface 342 and the second rear surface 344 may meet to form the second edge 340. The second front surface 342 may extend oblique angle from the sidewall surface 326 to the second edge 340. The second rear surface 344 may extend from the sidewall surface 326 at a perpendicular angle. The second front surface 342 may generally face towards the first through hole opening 320 and away from the second through hole opening 322 and the second rear surface 344 may generally face away from the first through hole opening 320 and towards the second through hole opening 322. In this way, the second end portion 304 may be a directional barb that bites into a cable as it is fed into the first through hole opening 320 and retains the cable against and between the barb and the opposing sidewall surface 324.

The cavity 104 defines an axis of the cavity 104, which is sometimes referred to as the cavity axis. The cavity axis may be a longitudinal axis of the cavity 104 and may coincide with and extend through the centroids of the cavity opening 310 and the end wall 312. In other words, the cavity axis may be the line segment containing the centers of the two ends of the cavity 104. Put another way, the cavity axis may extend in the direction of the cavity 104. The normal of the first rear surface 334 may extend substantially parallel to the cavity axis.

The through hole 106 defines an axis of the through hole 106, which is sometimes referred to as the through hole axis. The through hole axis may be a longitudinal axis of the through hole and may coincide with and extend through the centroids of the first through hole opening 320 and the second through hole opening 322. In other words, the through hole axis may be the line segment containing the centers of the two ends of the through hole 106. Put another way, the through hole axis may extend in the direction of the through hole 106. The normal of the second rear surface 344 may extend substantially parallel to the through hole axis. The through hole axis may intersect the cavity axis.

The fastener head 100 may be formed to facilitate use of the fastener head 100 with objects that have a straight or flat surface as opposed to a curved surface. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the cavity axis and the through hole axis may be perpendicular or orthogonal to one another. The fastener head 100 may also include an external cavity sidewall surface 350 that is planar and extends parallel to the cavity axis and perpendicular to the through hole axis. The normal of the external cavity sidewall surface 350 may also be parallel to the through hole axis. The external cavity sidewall surface 350 may be flush with, parallel to, or form a continuous plane or unbroken surface with a face 352 of the first through hole opening 320. The face 352 of the first through hole opening 320 may be planar and may include an external surface surrounding, adjacent to, or defining the first through hole opening 320. In this way, when the fastener head 100 is used to secure a cable, a flat surface of secured object may abut against both the external cavity sidewall surface 350 and the face 352 of the first through hole opening 320.

Reference is now made to FIG. 4, which shows a side perspective view of another example fastener head 400. The fastener head 400 is a variation of the fastener head 100 of FIG. 1. The fastener head 400 shown in FIG. 4 includes a bend 402 between the external cavity sidewall surface 350 and the face 352 of the first through hole opening 320. In this example, the cavity axis and the through hole axis may be non-perpendicular to one another. In other words, the angle between the cavity axis and the through hole axis may be oblique. The normal of the external cavity sidewall surface 350 is may be non-parallel to the through hole axis and may intersect with the through hole axis. The external cavity sidewall surface 350 may formed such that the external cavity sidewall surface 350 does is not lie in the same plane as the face 352 of the first through hole opening 320. In this way, the external cavity sidewall surface 350 and the face 352 may facilitate use of the fastener head 400 with objects that have a curved surface or round shape.

Put another way, the cavity axis and the cavity opening 310 may be angled towards the first through hole opening 320 for receiving the cable and may be angled away from the second through hole opening 322 and the distance between the cavity opening 310 and the first through hole opening 320 may be shorter than the distance between the cavity opening 310 and the second through hole opening 322.

Reference is now made to FIG. 5, which shows a perspective view of an example locking member 500 and FIG. 6, which shows side perspective view of a fastener head body 600 that may be used together with the example locking member 500 to form an example fastener head according to another embodiment. The locking member 500 is a variation of the locking member 300 of FIG. 3. The locking member 500 shown in FIG. 5 includes a bend 502 between the end portions of the locking member 500. When the locking member 500 and the fastener head body 600 are combined, a surface 504 of the locking member 500 may form an exterior surface of the resulting fastener head.

Reference is now made to FIG. 7, which shows a side perspective view of the example fastener 700 including the fastener head 100 of FIG. 1 engaging an example cable. The example cable 702 may be an elongated, flexible strip. The cable 702 may be toothless. In other words, the cable 702 may be smooth on all sides and may not have grooves that are intended to engage the barbs or locking mechanisms of the fastener head 100.

Reference is now made to FIG. 8, which shows a perspective view of a kit 800 including a dispenser 802, a cable 804 and the example fastener head 100 of FIG. 1.

Reference is now made to FIG. 9, which shows an exploded perspective view of the example dispenser 802 of FIG. 8. The dispenser 802 may include a top cover 900 and a dispenser body 902.

The dispenser body 902 may include a cable storage area 904 for storing or housing a spool 908 of cable 804. The cable 804 may be dispensed from the spool 908 by pulling the cable 804 through an aperture 906 formed in the dispenser body 902.

The top cover 900 may be removably attached to the dispenser body 902 for providing access to the cable storage area 904 and refilling the cable storage area 904 with a fresh spool 908 of cable 804. In some embodiments, the top cover 900 may be removed from the dispenser body 902 by squeezing a tab 910 extending from the top cover 900 that can releasably hook into the dispenser body 902.

The dispenser body 902 may include a tooth (not shown) disposed proximate to, adjacent to, or in the aperture 906 to prevent or hinder the cable 804 from receding back into the dispenser 802. In some embodiments, the tooth may be a barb that can bite into the cable 804.

Reference is now made to FIG. 10, which shows a front view of the example dispenser 802 of FIG. 8. The dispenser 802 may include a bottom cover 1000 and a fastener head storage area 1002 for storing fastener heads to be dispensed by the dispenser 802.

The bottom cover 1000 may be removably attached to the dispenser body 902 for providing access to the fastener head storage area 1002 and refilling the fastener head storage area 1002 with fastener heads. In some embodiments, the bottom cover 1000 may be removed by twisting the bottom cover 1000 to unscrew the bottom cover 1000 from the dispenser body 902.

The dispenser 802 may also include an aperture 1004 from which fastener heads located in the fastener head storage area 1002 may be dispensed from. In other words, the aperture 1004 may provide access to the fastener head storage area 1002.

The dispenser 802 may also include a closure 1006 used to close or seal the aperture 1004. The closure 1006 may include a sliding door, cap, cover, lid, or plug. The closure 1006 may include any suitable devices and techniques used to close or seal container such as a bottle, jug, jar, tube, or can.

Reference is now made to FIG. 11, which shows a flowchart of an example method 1100 of using a fastener. Aspects of the described operations of the method 1100 may be carried out with the fastener kit 800 illustrated in FIG. 8.

The method 1100 starts with an operation 1102. In operation 1102, a fastener head is dispensed from a dispenser. In one embodiment, the fastener may be dispensed through an access door of the dispenser. In another embodiment, the fastener may be dispensed by removing a cover from the dispenser.

In operation 1104, a portion of a spool of cable is dispensed from the dispenser.

In operation 1106, a cable is severed from the dispensed portion of the spool of cable. The cable may be severed according to a desired or predetermined length. The desired length may be predetermined by wrapping the dispensed portion around one or more objects to be fastened together to determine a location at which the dispensed portion should be severed. The cable may be severed using any suitable means, which may include a knife or cable cutters.

In operation 1108, a first end of the cable may be fed into a cavity of the fastener head until the first end of the cable abuts against an end wall of the cavity.

In operation 1110, the first end of the cable is secured in the fastener head. A locking mechanism may retain the cable against a blade that allows for directional movement of the cable into the cavity and not out of the cavity. For example, a steel barb disposed in the cavity may bite onto the cable as the cable is fed into the cavity and may prevent the cable from being pulled out of the cavity or reversing its direction of movement in the cavity.

In operation 1112, a second end of the cable is fed into a through hole of the fastener head. In this way, the second end of the cable may transverse the body of the fastener from one end to another, passing through the entire length of the through hole. In some embodiments, the second end of the cable may be fed into the through hole without exiting from the through hole.

In operation 1114, the second end of the cable is secured in the fastener head. A locking mechanism may retain the cable against a blade that allows for directional movement of the cable in the through hole. In other words, the cable may move in one direction along a longitudinal axis of the through hole but not in the reverse direction. Put another way, the cable may be fed into the through hole and the locking mechanism may prevent the cable from being pulled out of the through hole from the opening of the through hole from which the cable is fed into. For example, a steel barb disposed in the through hole may bite onto the cable as the cable is fed into the through hole and may prevent the cable from reversing its direction of movement in the through hole.

It will be appreciated that it may be that some or all of the above-described operations of the various above-described example methods may be performed in orders other than those illustrated and/or may be performed concurrently and/or sequentially without varying the overall operation of those methods.

Various components of the fastener head, the cable and the dispenser, may be made of plastic, steel or any other suitable material. For instance, the fastener body and cable may be made of nylon plastic, the top cover and bottom cover of the dispenser may be made of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastic, the spool may be made of polyethylene or polypropylene, and the chassis may be made of polycarbonate plastic. The locking mechanisms may be made of stainless steel. The fastener head may be formed by over molding a steel locking member.

It will be understood that the components implementing the dispenser may be attached or secured to each other using standard techniques. The present application is not limited to particular connectors, hinges, glues, or other such implementation details.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that the described components may be implemented as separate components. In some implementations, the one or more components are formed of a unitary piece of material. For example, the body of the fastener head may be formed of a unitary plastic material by molding a polymer compound. As another example, the cable may be constructed as a single piece.

Certain adaptations and modifications of the described embodiments can be made. Therefore, the above discussed embodiments are considered to be illustrative and not restrictive.

FASTENER HEAD, FASTENER KIT AND METHOD OF ASSEMBLING A FASTENER

Information

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Date Filed

Date Published

Inventors

CPC

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Abstract

Description

Claims