RELEASABLE IN-LINE CABLE TIE
A cable tie includes a strap having a first end and a second end opposite the first end and a head secured to the first end of the strap. The head has a first side wall, a second side wall, an end wall and a top wall defining therebetween a strap accepting channel. The top wall extends from the first side wall toward the second side wall and covers only a portion of the channel.
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This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/707,595, filed on Aug. 12, 2005, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention is directed to a cable tie having a locking head at a first end that secures a second end of a strap to form a loop fastener and, more particularly, an in-line cable tie having a releasable locking mechanism that allows removal of the second end of the strap from the locking head without destroying the locking mechanism such that a cable tie can be removed and reused.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,250, also owned by the Assignee of the present application, discloses a releasable cable tie. However, this cable tie is not an in-line cable tie and, thus, cannot be easily released by hand by applying upward force to the cable tie.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIt would be desirable to provide a releasable cable tie that may be applied with a hand tool without automatically releasing.
It would also be desirable to provide a releasable cable tie that acts as a tension-limiting device.
It would further be desirable to provide a releasable cable tie that is easily releasable by hand by applying upward force to the cable tie.
It would also be desirable to provide a releasable cable tie having a low profile locking head.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
As shown in
As best seen in
As shown in
As shown in
In operation, strap 36 is secured within head 34 using a hand or hand tool 56, as shown in
The releasable in-line cable tie may be applied with a hand tool without automatically releasing. Alternatively, the releasable in-line cable tie may act as a tension-limiting device. It should be noted that the above-described illustrated embodiments and preferred embodiments of the invention are not an exhaustive listing of the form such a releasable in-line cable tie in accordance with the invention might take; rather, they serve as exemplary and illustrative of embodiments of the invention as presently understood.
Claims
1. A cable tie comprising:
- a strap having a first end and a second end opposite the first end; and
- a head secured to the first end of the strap, the head having a first side wall, a second side wall, an end wall and a top wall defining therebetween a strap accepting channel, wherein the top wall extends from the first side wall toward the second side wall and covers only a portion of the channel.
2. The cable tie of claim 1, wherein the top wall covers approximately half of the channel.
3. The cable tie of claim 1, wherein the strap is released from the head by twisting the strap in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction.
4. The cable tie of claim 3, wherein upon twisting the strap in the clockwise or counterclockwise direction, the first side wall deflects away from the second side wall allowing the strap to be released from the head.
5. A cable tie comprising:
- a strap having a first end and a second end opposite the first end; and
- a head secured to the first end of the strap, the head having a first side wall, a second side wall and an end wall defining therebetween a strap accepting channel,
- wherein the strap is released from the head by pulling the strap away from the end wall.
6. The cable tie of claim 5, wherein upon pulling the strap away from the end wall, the first side wall deflects away from the second side wall allowing the strap to be released from the head.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 9, 2006
Publication Date: Feb 15, 2007
Applicant: PANDUIT CORP. (Tinley Park, IL)
Inventors: James Brownlee (Minooka, IL), Robert Krisel (Manhattan, IL)
Application Number: 11/463,459
International Classification: B65D 63/00 (20060101);