Cable tie for transporting articles
Cable ties having a handle for transporting articles secured by the cable tie are described. A typical cable tie may include a shackle and a shackle lock, wherein the shackle is inserted into the shackle lock where it may be engaged thereby and held fixed reversibly or releasably, thereby holding an article encircled by the shackle. The plane of the handle can be perpendicular or parallel to the plane formed by the shackle when engaged by the shackle lock, or somewhere in between, depending on the desired use; a swivel may be employed to provide an infinite variation of angles. Handles can be formed in many shapes, and may have finger indentations for ease of carrying, and means for attaching the handle are varied. Identification flags can be formed onto the handles or elsewhere on a cable tie for providing a location to identify the user, the article, etc.
The present invention relates generally to cable ties and, more particularly, to cable ties adapted for carrying articles.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONCable ties for binding cables, wires and the like are well known in the art. Such ties can be purchased in many materials and designs. Some cable tie configurations include screw mounts for supporting the cables on walls, cabinets, and the like. It would be of value to enable an article bound by a cable tie to be readily carried in order that the article can be transported.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a cable tie adapted for carrying or transporting articles bound thereby.
Additional objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth, in part, in the description that follows, and, in part, will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONTo achieve the foregoing and other objects, and in accordance with its purposes of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the cable tie carrier hereof includes an elongated shackle; a locking socket located at one end of the shackle and adapted to receive and lock the shackle at selected positions along the length thereof, thereby forming a loop capable of binding a chosen article; and a handle attached to the locking socket adapted for carrying the cable tie carrier and the chosen article bound thereby.
In another aspect of the invention and in accordance with its objects and purposes, the cable tie carrier hereof includes: an elongated shackle; a locking socket located at one end of the shackle and adapted to receive and lock the shackle at selected positions along the length thereof forming a loop capable of binding a chosen article; handle attachment means; and a handle for carrying the cable tie and the chosen article bound thereby attached to said handle attachment means.
Benefits and advantages of the present invention include, but are not limited to, the use of cable tie technology for transporting items enclosed by the shackle of the cable tie.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSThe accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:
Briefly, the present invention includes cable ties having handles for carrying articles secured by the cable tie. A typical cable tie includes a shackle and a shackle lock, wherein the shackle is inserted into the shackle lock where it may be engaged thereby and held fixed reversibly or releasably, thereby being capable of holding an article encircled by the shackle. The plane of the handle can be perpendicular or parallel to the plane formed by the shackle when engaged by the shackle lock, or somewhere in between, depending on the desired use. Means for attaching the handle are varied. The cable ties and handles may be molded or assembled from parts, or a combination thereof, and can be made from a multitude of materials depending on the purpose. The handles can be formed in many shapes, including circular, rectangular and triangular, and may have finger indentations for ease of carrying. Identification flags can be formed onto the handles or elsewhere on the cable ties for providing a location to identify the user, the article, etc. Cooperation between the shackle lock and the shackle to achieve a useful grasp on an article to be transported, may be achieve in several ways known in the art; this may be a one time use or releasable for repeated usage.
More than one locking socket and shackle may be attached or molded onto a single handle, and more than one handle may be attached to or molded onto a single locking socket.
Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the invention examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In what follows, identical callouts will be used for similar or identical structure. Turning now to
The foregoing description of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching.
The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto.
Claims
1. A cable tie carrier comprising in combination:
- an elongated shackle;
- a locking socket located at one end of said shackle and adapted to receive and lock said shackle at selected positions along the length thereof, thereby forming a loop capable of binding a chosen article; and
- a handle attached to said locking socket adapted for carrying said cable tie and the chosen article bound thereby.
2. The cable tie carrier of claim 1, wherein said shackle is substantially flat with teeth on one side thereof, and said locking socket comprises locking tangs for engaging at least one of said teeth on said shackle.
3. The cable tie carrier of claim 1, wherein said shackle is cylindrical in shape with a plurality of substantially spherical balls fixed at chosen distances along the length thereof, and wherein said locking socket comprises means for engaging at least one of said plurality of balls.
4. The cable tie carrier of claim 1, wherein said shackle is cylindrical in shape with a plurality of substantially conical units fixed at chosen distances along the length thereof, each of said plurality of substantially conical units having its axis of rotation collinear with said shackle, and wherein said locking socket comprises means for engaging at least one of said plurality of conical units.
5. The cable tie carrier of claim 1, wherein said locking socket comprises a releasable locking socket.
6. The cable tie carrier of claim 1, further comprising at least one flag.
7. The cable tie carrier of claim 1, wherein said flag is attached to said shackle.
8. The cable tie carrier of claim 1, wherein said cable tie is molded.
9. The cable tie carrier of claim 8, wherein said cable tie is molded from thermoplastic materials.
10. The cable tie carrier of claim 8, wherein said cable tie is molded from chemical resistant materials.
11. The cable tie carrier of claim 1, wherein said cable tie is fabricated from materials selected from the group consisting of Nylon 6/6, Tefzel, Nylon 12, Deltec, Halar, polypropylene, and metals.
12. The cable tie carrier of claim 11, wherein said metals comprise stainless steel.
13. The cable tie carrier of claim 1, wherein said handle is fabricated from materials selected from the group consisting of polyethylene, polypropylene and Tygon.
14. The cable tie carrier of claim 1, wherein said handle is substantially planar, and wherein the plane of said handle is parallel to the plane of the loop.
15. The cable tie carrier of claim 14, wherein said handle is circular.
16. The cable tie carrier of claim 14, wherein said handle is rectangular.
17. The cable tie carrier of claim 16, wherein said handle further comprises finger indentations.
18. The cable tie carrier of claim 14, wherein said handle is triangular.
19. The cable tie carrier of claim 18, wherein said handle further comprises finger indentations.
20. The cable tie carrier of claim 1, wherein said handle is substantially planar, and wherein the plane of said handle is perpendicular to the plane of the loop.
21. The cable tie carrier of claim 20, wherein said handle is circular.
22. The cable tie carrier of claim 20, wherein said handle is rectangular.
23. The cable tie carrier of claim 22, wherein said handle further comprises finger indentations.
24. The cable tie carrier of claim 20, wherein said handle is triangular.
25. The cable tie carrier of claim 24, wherein said handle further comprises finger indentations.
26. The cable tie carrier of claim 1, further comprising at least one second handle attached to said locking socket.
27. The cable tie carrier of claim 1, further comprising at least one second locking socket attached to said handle and at least one second shackle attached to said second locking socket.
28. The cable tie carrier of claim 1, further comprising a swivel disposed between said locking socket and said handle.
29. A cable tie carrier comprising in combination:
- an elongated shackle;
- a locking socket located at one end of said shackle and adapted to receive and lock said shackle at selected positions along the length thereof forming a loop capable of binding a chosen article;
- handle attachment means; and
- a handle for carrying said cable tie and the chosen article bound thereby attached to said handle attachment means.
30. The cable tie carrier of claim 29, wherein said locking socket has a hole therethrough, wherein said handle attachment means comprises a rod having a first end and a second end capable of being inserted into the hole in said locking socket, the first end and the second end of said rod extending a chosen distance outside of the hole, and wherein said handle comprises flexible tubing having a first end and a second end adapted for fitting onto the first end and the second end of said rod, respectively.
31. The cable tie carrier of claim 29, wherein said locking socket further comprises a first projection and a second projection, each of said first projection and said second projection having a chosen length and a chosen diameter, said locking socket and said first projection and said second projection together forming said handle attachment means, and wherein said handle comprises flexible tubing having a first end and a second end adapted for fitting onto said first projection and said second projection of said locking, respectively.
32. The cable tie carrier of claim 29, wherein said shackle is substantially flat with teeth on one side thereof, and said locking socket comprises locking tangs for engaging at least one of said teeth on said shackle.
33. The cable tie carrier of claim 29, wherein said shackle is cylindrical in shape with a plurality of substantially spherical balls fixed at chosen distances along the length thereof, and said locking socket comprises means for engaging at least one of said plurality of balls.
34. The cable tie carrier of claim 29, wherein said shackle is cylindrical in shape with a plurality of substantially conical units fixed at chosen distances along the length thereof, each of said plurality of substantially conical units having its axis of rotation collinear with said shackle, and wherein said locking socket comprises means for engaging at least one of said plurality of conical units.
35. The cable tie carrier of claim 29, wherein said locking socket comprises a releasable locking socket.
36. The cable tie carrier of claim 29, further comprising at least one flag.
37. The cable tie carrier of claim 36, wherein said flag is attached to said shackle.
38. The cable tie carrier of claim 36, wherein said flag is attached to said handle.
39. The cable tie carrier of claim 29, wherein said cable tie is molded.
40. The cable tie carrier of claim 39, wherein said cable tie is molded from thermoplastic materials.
41. The cable tie carrier of claim 39, wherein said cable tie is molded from chemical resistant materials.
42. The cable tie carrier of claim 29, wherein said cable tie is fabricated from materials selected from the group consisting of Nylon 6/6, Tefzel, Nylon 12, Deltec, Halar, polypropylene, and metals.
43. The cable tie carrier of claim 42, wherein said metals comprise stainless steel.
44. The cable tie carrier of claim 29, wherein said handle is fabricated from materials selected from the group consisting of polyethylene, polypropylene and Tygon.
45. The cable tie carrier of claim 29, wherein said handle is substantially planar, and wherein the plane of said handle is parallel to the plane of the loop.
46. The cable tie carrier of claim 45, wherein said handle is circular.
47. The cable tie carrier of claim 45, wherein said handle is rectangular.
48. The cable tie carrier of claim 47, wherein said handle further comprises finger indentations.
49. The cable tie carrier of claim 45, wherein said handle is triangular.
50. The cable tie carrier of claim 49, wherein said handle further comprises finger indentations.
51. The cable tie carrier of claim 44, wherein said handle is T-shaped.
52. The cable tie carrier of claim 51, wherein said T-shaped handle further comprises finger indentations.
53. The cable tie carrier of claim 29, wherein said handle is substantially planar, and wherein the plane of said handle is perpendicular to the plane of the loop.
54. The cable tie carrier of claim 53, wherein said handle is circular.
55. The cable tie carrier of claim 53, wherein said handle is rectangular.
56. The cable tie carrier of claim 55, wherein said handle further comprises finger indentations.
57. The cable tie carrier of claim 53, wherein said handle is triangular.
58. The cable tie carrier of claim 57, wherein said handle further comprises finger indentations.
59. The cable tie carrier of claim 53, wherein said handle is T-shaped.
60. The cable tie carrier of claim 59, wherein said T-shaped handle further comprises finger indentations.
61. The cable tie carrier of claim 29, further comprising at least one second handle attached to said locking socket.
62. The cable tie carrier of claim 29, further comprising at least one second locking socket attached to said handle and at least one second shackle attached to said second locking socket.
63. The cable tie carrier of claim 29, further comprising swivel means disposed between said locking socket and said handle.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 16, 2004
Publication Date: Jan 19, 2006
Inventor: Adam Slank (Fort Collins, CO)
Application Number: 10/893,197
International Classification: A45F 5/10 (20060101);