Knot Untier

Abstract

This discloses a knot untier. The knot untier consists of an arm or pawl which is inserted into the knot to be untied plus, in some embodiments, a base which resembles a credit card. The knot untier in one embodiment is thus small enough to fit in a wallet. The knot untier may also be hung on a keychain. The knot untier does not, as many existing untiers do, damage most lines.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/727,994, filed Nov. 19, 2012, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to hand tools, and more particularly, relating to hand tools for untying knots.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Tying and untying knots is an everyday event for nearly all in the U S and other countries. It can be as simple an event as tying the laces on a pair of shoes, tying a string on a package, or tying a necktie. Most of these knots are easy to untie. However, there are knots that would have challenged Alexander when faced with the mythical Gordion Knot. Few of us can use Alexander's solution of cleaving the knot with his sword. If a child has had the laces on play shoes double-knotted, mothers want to preserve the laces. Anyone who fishes regularly has had to untie the snarl, knot-ball, or “bird's nest” of fishing line, often after a reel backlash. Put speaker wires or computer wires or Christmas tree bulbs in a box and when the box is opened months later, it is as if the wires tied themselves together in order to make a simple job far more difficult. The knots must be undone without damaging the wires.

A common solution to untying such knots, if they will not yield to efforts without tools, is to use a pointed implement, such as, an awl or marlinspike. A number of tools using such pointed elements have been patented. The problem with pointed elements is that they can be improved upon. In untying tight knots, the pointed element is pushed between strands of the knot. Then, the user must push upwards or somehow loosen the knot. Often, that means forcing against a strand that simply tightens the knot-ball at another point or the pointed element damages the strands.

What is needed is a way to both loosen a strand and bring it out of the knot-ball Extensive experimentation has shown that the implement is greatly improved if the inserted element has a hook-like portion. Then, the loosened strand can be pulled as the user finds effective in untying the knot.

Furthermore, the existing inventions cannot be easily carried in the pocket of a user's shirt or pants or in a wallet or purse.

Accordingly, there is a need for a knot untier that contains a hook-like implement as well as one that is small enough to be carried in a wallet, pocket, or purse.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention consists of two main parts. One part is the hook-like part that is used to insert between the strands of the knot-ball. This hook-like part resembles the pawl part of a ratchet-and-pawl mechanism. For convenience only, the hook-like part will be called the pawl in the remainder of this disclosure unless context would make using another term easier to comprehend. At one end, the pawl consists of an arm or straight portion. At the opposite end, the arm has a pointed portion that lies above the line of the upper edge of the arm. The exact angle which the centerline of the point forms with the long axis of the arm varies from fifteen to one hundred thirty five degrees depending on the particular embodiment. The second part is the base part. The pawl in the preferred embodiment is attached to the base part.

In the preferred embodiment the two parts resemble a credit card which has been molded or machined to have one or two pawls along the longer edge of the card. This resemblance to a credit card has the other advantage that the untier can be carried in a wallet, pocket, or purse the same way a credit card can.

The invention is not limited to the credit card base or size. The pawl, as described herein, could be the blade of a jackknife or could be attached to a handle such as is found on a screwdriver. The pawl, if large enough, can be used without any base part. How large that is will depend on the size of the knot being untied.

This discloses two novel elements: a pawl for untying knots and coupling the pawl to a base similar to a credit card so that the untier can easily be carried by a user.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated.

Numerous objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description of presently preferred, but nonetheless illustrative, embodiments of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of descriptions and should not be regarded as limiting.

As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following drawings illustrate by way of example and are included to provide further understanding of the invention for the purpose of illustrative discussion of the embodiments of the invention. No attempt is made to show structural details of the embodiments in more detail than is necessary for a fundamental understanding of the invention, the description taken with the drawings making apparent to those skilled in the art how the several forms of the invention may be embodied in practice. Identical reference numerals do not necessarily indicate an identical structure. Rather, the same reference numeral may be used to indicate a similar feature of a feature with similar functionality. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the Knot Untier constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top or bottom view of the Knot Untier.

FIG. 3 is an end view of the Knot Untier, showing the end with the pawls nearest.

FIG. 4 is an end view of the Knot Untier, showing the end furthest from the pawls.

FIG. 5 is a side view of either side of the Knot Untier.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As a preliminary matter, it should be noted that in this document (including the claims), directional terms, such as, “above”, “below”, “upper”, “lower”, etc., are used for convenience in referring to the accompanying drawings. Additionally, it is to be understood that the various embodiments of the invention describe herein may be utilized in various orientations, such as, inclined, inverted, horizontal, vertical, etc., without departing from the principles of the invention.

In this description, references to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” mean that the feature being referred to is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. Moreover, separate references to “one embodiment” in this description do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Illustrated embodiments are not mutually exclusive, unless so stated, and except as will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Thus, the invention may include any variety of combinations and/or integrations of the embodiments described herein.

In FIG. 1, 110 is the base of the knot untier. As can be seen, in this embodiment, the knot untier is made from a single solid piece, which solid can be metal, plastic, or other similar substance. 120 is the end of the pawl. The ends are pointed to permit the user to insert the pawl between the strands in a knot-ball. The ends of the pawl curve upwards to permit the user to hook a loosened strand and pull the loosened strand from the knot-ball. In this embodiment, the pawl curves inward toward the imaginary center line of the base. In this embodiment, there are two pawls which here are the same. In other embodiments, the pawls may have different curves and/or different points. In other embodiments, the pawls may not curve but may be angular. The point may, in other embodiments, curve back toward the far end of the base in order to allow the pawl to hook a loosened strand. In some embodiments, there may be only one pawl. 130 is an open center section. When using the knot untier, this open center section allows the user to insert one or more fingers in order to get a good grip on the knot untier. The apertures 140 can serve any purpose the user wishes them to serve. If the user decides to attach the knot untier to a key chain, for example, the key chain can pass through one or more of the apertures. In the figure, there are six apertures. The number of apertures may, in alternate embodiments, vary from zero to as many as the manufacturer might wish to include.

In FIG. 2, parts are the same as in FIG. 1.

In FIG. 3, the drawing shows that the knot untier is relatively thin. FIGS. 4 and 5 show the knot untier is relatively thing.

A number of embodiments of the present invention have been described. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A knot untier comprising:

a pawl part and a base part where the pawl part connects to the base part.

2. The knot untier of claim 1, further comprising

a pawl part where the pawl comprises an arm part and a pointed part.

3. The knot untier of claim 2 where the angle the center of the pointed part forms with the centerline of the arm part may range from fifteen degrees to one hundred thirty five degrees.

4. The knot untier of claim 3 comprising one or more pawl parts.

5. The knot untier of claim 4 where the base part is the size and shape of a credit card with the pawl parts along the longer side of the base part.

6. The knot untier of claim 3 where the base part is a jackknife.

7. The knot untier of claim 3 where the base part is the handle of a screwdriver.

8. The knot untier of claim 4 where the base part contains an opening through which a user may insert fingers in order to grip the knot untier in use.