Fastening device

Claim 1

A RELEASABLE FASTENER COMPRISING: AN ELONGATED BODY OF RIGID MATERIAL HAVING A PAIR OF ENDS SURFACES, A PAIR OF OPPOSITE SIDE SURFACES AND A PAIR OF SPACED, PARALLEL, LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING BORES THROUGH THE BODY, EACH BORE OPENING ON EACH OF SAID END SURFACES, SAID BODY HAVING A CYLINDRICAL CHAMBER EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY THROUGH THE BODY PERPENDICULAR TO ONE OF THE BORES AND COMMUNICATING THEREWITH, SAID CHAMBER INCLUDING A CYLINDRICAL ENLARGED PORTION ADJACENT ONE END THEREOF AND OPENING ON ONE SIDE SURFACE OF SAID BODY, SAID PORTION BEING CONCENTRIC WITH THE REMAINDER OF THE CHAMBER AND OF GREATER DIAMETER THAN THE LATTER, THE INNER END OF SAID ENLARGED PORTION PRESENTING AN ANNULAT SHOULDER ON THE BODY IN CIRCUMSCRIBING RELATIONSHIP TO SAID REMAINDER OF THE CHAMBER, THE OTHER END OF SAID REMAINDER PORTION INCLUDING A BEVELLED RECESS COMMUNICATING WITH THE OPPOSITE SIDE SURFACE OF THE BODY AND EXTENDING INWARDLY TOWARD SAID ENLARGED PORTION, SAID RECESS PRESENTING AND OUTWARDLY FLARED, BEVELLED SEAT ON THE BODY DISPOSED IN CIRCUMSCRIBING RELATIONSHIP TO SAID CHAMBER; A SHACKLE COMPRISING AN ELONGATED MEMBER RECEIVED IN SAID ONE BORE AND PROTRUDING OUTWARDLY BEYOND SAID END SURFACES, EACH PROTRUDING END OF SAID MEMBER BEING BENT INTO A HOOK WITH THE POINT OF THE HOOK AXIALLY ALIGNED WITH THE OTHER OF SAID BORES, THE MEMBER BEING MANUALLY SHIFTABLE IN SAID ONE BORE LONGITUDINALLY THEREOF FOR SELECTIVELY MOVING THE POINT OF A HOOK INTO SPACED RELATIONSHIP OUTWARDLY FROM A PROXIMAL END SURFACE WITH THE POINT OF THE OTHER HOOK EXTENDING INTO SAID OTHER BORE, THERE BEING AN INTERMEDIATE POSITION OF THE MEMBER WITH THE POINTS OF BOTH HOOKS EXTENDING INTO SAID OTHER BORE TO DEFINE CLOSED LOOPS AT EACH END OF THE BODY BOUNDED BY SAID HOOKS AND CORRESPONDING PROXIMAL END SURFACES; AND A LATCH FOR RELEASABLY HOLDING THE MEMBER IN SAID INTERMEDIATE POSITION, SAID LATCH INCLUDING AN ELONGATED, TRANSVERSELY CIRCULAR ELEMENT SHIFTABLY MOUNTED IN THE CHAMBER FOR RECIPROCABLE MOVEMENT LONGITUDINALLY THEREOF, SAID ELEMENT HAVING A CIRCUMFERENTIALLY EXTENDING GROOVE PROXIMAL ONE END OF THE ELEMENT, THERE BEING A NOTCH IN THE MEMBER ADJACENT THE ELEMENT IN REGISTRY WITH THE CHAMBER WHEN THE MEMBER IS IN SAID INTERMEDIATE POSITION, A CIRCULAR PRESSURE PLATE SECURED TO ONE END OF THE ELEMENT ADJACENT SAID ONE SIDE SURFACE OF THE BODY AND DISPOSED IN THE ENLARGED PORTION OF THE CHAMBER, SAID PLATE BEING OF LESSER THICKNESS THAN THE AXIAL DEPTH OF SAID ENLARGED PORTION WITHIN SAID BODY TO PERMIT SHIFTING OF THE PLATE TOWARD SAID SHOULDER, A DISC SECURED TO THE ELEMENT ADJACENT SAID OPPOSITE SIDE SURFACE OF THE BODY, SAID DISC HAVING AN INNER, ANNULAR, BEVELLED EDGE NORMALLY IN COMPLEMENTAL ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID BEVELLED SEAT FOR HOLDING SAID ELEMENT IN A POSITION WITH THE GROOVE OUT OF ALIGNMENT WITH SAID NOTCH IN THE MEMBER, AND A TAPERED COIL SPRING IN SAID ENLARGED PORTION BETWEEN THE PLATE AND THE SHOULDER NORMALLY BIASING THE ELEMENT TOWARD A POSITION THEREOF WITH THE ELEMENT COMPLEMENTALLY RECEIVED IN THE NOTCH FOR BLOCKING THE MEMBER AGAINST MOVEMENT FROM SAID INTERMEDIATE POSITION, THE ELEMENT BEING MANUALLY SHIFTABLE IN THE CHAMBER RESPONSIVE TO PRESSURE ON SAID PLATE FOR MOVEMENT TO A POSITION OF THE ELEMENT WITH THE GROOVE IN REGISTRY WITH SAID ONE BORE TO PERMIT LONGITUDINAL SHIFTING OF THE MEMBER IN THE BORE.