Claims
- 1. A flexible fastener, comprising:
- (a) a body formed form a flexible material, the body having a spacer section;
- (b) means for bending the body in response to finger pressure, the bending means being operable to flexibly bend the spacer section when pressure is applied thereto; and
- (c) at least a pair of spaced apart outwardly extending pins, the pins being normally disposed in a non-parallel converging configuration so as to define an angle therebetween;
- wherein the body is deformable to temporarily align the pins in a substantially parallel configuration.
- 2. The fastener of claim 1, wherein the body is formed of nylon.
- 3. The fastener of claim 1, further comprising a piece of spring steel disposed in the spacer section of the body.
- 4. The fastener of claim 1, wherein the means for bending comprises a pair of finger grips extending outwardly away from the spacer section for grasping by a user.
- 5. The fastener of claim 4, wherein the finger grips are textured to facilitate grasping thereof.
- 6. The fastener of claim 4, wherein the finger grips are integrally formed as part of the body.
- 7. A flexible fastener, comprising:
- (a) a body formed from a flexible material, the body having a spacer section;
- (b) a pair of finger grips for bending the body in response to finger pressure, the finger grips extending outwardly away from the spacer section;
- (c) at least a pair of spaced apart outwardly extending pins, the pins being normally disposed in a non-parallel converging configuration so as to define an angle therebetween; and,
- (d) a pair of stops which extend toward one another medially on the finger grips for limiting the travel of the finger grips toward one another;
- wherein the body is deformable to temporarily align the pins in a substantially parallel configuration.
- 8. A flexible fastener, comprising:
- (a) a body formed from a flexible material, the body having a spacer section;
- (b) a pair of finger grips for bending the body in response to finger pressure, the finger grips extending outwardly from the spacer section; and
- (c) at least a pair of spaced apart outwardly extending pins, the pins being normally disposed in a non-parallel converging configuration so as to define an angle therebetween;
- wherein the body is deformable in response to movement of the finger grips toward one another to temporarily align the pins in a substantially parallel configuration.
- 9. The fastener of claim 8, further comprising a pair of stops which extend toward one another medially on the finger grips for limiting the travel of the finger grips toward one another.
- 10. A flexible fastener, comprising:
- (a) a body formed from a flexible material, the body having a spacer section;
- (b) a pair of finger grips for bending the body in response to finger pressure, the finger grips extending outwardly from the spacer section; and
- (c) at least a pair of spaced apart outwardly extending pins, the pins being substantially straight and disposed in a non-parallel converging configuration so as to define an angle therebetween, the pins extending outwardly from the body in a direction substantially away from the finger grips;
- wherein the body is deformable in response to movement of the finger grips toward one another to align the pins in a substantially parallel configuration.
- 11. The fastener of claim 10, further comprising a pair of stops which extend toward one another medially on the finger grips for limiting the travel of the finger grips toward one another.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present application is a continuation-in-part of copending U.S. application Ser. No. 07/479,156, filed Feb. 13, 1990, which has been granted U.S. Pat. No. 5,015,135. The disclosure of the above-identified application is hereby incorporated by reference.
US Referenced Citations (21)
Foreign Referenced Citations (5)
Number |
Date |
Country |
725562 |
May 1932 |
FRX |
1008863 |
May 1952 |
FRX |
2508990 |
Jan 1983 |
FRX |
108166 |
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2184187 |
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GBX |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
479156 |
Feb 1990 |
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