US3964138A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Locking means for releasable strap connectors
Assignee: Individual
•
Filing: 1975-09-29
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Granted: 1976-06-22
•
Expires: 1995-09-29
Abstract
Abstract In a releasable strap connector wherein the male connecting member has at least one prong insertable into a socket in the female connecting member, which socket is intersected by a transverse rocking bar, the latter being cut away at the intersection so as to leave the socket unobstructed for the insertion of the prong and being resiliently urged into an obstructing position into engagement with a pocket in the prong to hold the prong connected, and a lever being employed for rocking the bar from an obstructing to a non-obstructing position for the release of the prong; the improvement of lever locking device for locking the bar against accidental oscillation which includes a pair of hollow legs of said lever telescoping on registering arms of the rocking bar and springs in the hollow legs urging the legs and the locking lever upwardly away from said bar; the connecting top of the locking lever has a pin extending laterally from each side thereof, each pin riding in an adjacent guide in the frame of the female member, each guide including a first arcuate groove having a locking end and a releasing end and being concentric with the axis of the rocking bar, a second arcuate groove spaced from the locking end of the first groove and being concentric therewith, and a radial connecting groove between the locking end of the first groove and the middle of the second groove so as to form said second groove into a pair of opposite locking pockets for said pin, and a radial outward pocket at the releasing end of said first groove to be engaged by said pin in the releasing position of the lever.
Inventors
- 👤 Jack A. Gaylord
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-04 10:02
CPC Classifications
B; B64; B64D; B64D17/00; B64D17/22; B64D17/30; B64D17/32; Y; Y10; Y10T; Y10T24/00; Y10T24/45; Y10T24/45225; Y10T24/45602; Y10T24/45675; Y10T24/45686
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 22
Claim 1
Independent Claim
210 words
In a releasable strap connector, a female member having a socket therein, and a male member having at least one prong fitting into said socket, said prong having a pocket therein, a rocking bar journalled in said female member intersecting said socket, means to position said prong so that said pocket faces said rocking bar at the intersection thereof, a portion of said rocking bar at the intersection being cutaway so as to leave said socket and said pocket unobstructed in one position of said rocking bar thereby to permit insertion and withdrawal of said prong, and in another position to project into said pocket thereby to interlock with said prong, and means for turning said rocking bar from interlocking position to unobstructing position at will, the improvement of manipulatable means for rocking said rocking bar into and out of the interlocking position and means for locking said rocking bar, comprising a handle lever connected to the rocking bar for rocking the same, coacting guide elements between said female member and said handle lever guiding said handle lever between locking and releasing positions, locking means related to said coacting guide elements to lock said handle lever in interlocking position, and resilient means to urge said coacting elements toward locking position.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
210 words
In a releasable strap connector, a female member having a socket therein, and a male member having at least one prong fitting into said socket, said prong having a pocket therein, a rocking bar journalled in said female member intersecting said socket, means to position said prong so that said pocket faces said rocking bar at the intersection thereof, a portion of said rocking bar at the intersection being cutaway so as to leave said socket and said pocket unobstructed in one position of said rocking bar thereby to permit insertion and withdrawal of said prong, and in another position to project into said pocket thereby to interlock with said prong, and means for turning said rocking bar from interlocking position to unobstructing position at will, the improvement of manipulatable means for rocking said rocking bar into and out of the interlocking position and means for locking said rocking bar, comprising a handle lever connected to the rocking bar for rocking the same, coacting guide elements between said female member and said handle lever guiding said handle lever between locking and releasing positions, locking means related to said coacting guide elements to lock said handle lever in interlocking position, and resilient means to urge said coacting elements toward locking position.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
55 words
The releasable strap connector specified in claim 1, and a telescoping member on said handle lever substantially radial relatively to said rocking bar, said resilient means including a spring biased for turning said rocking bar to said interlocking position, and for urging said telescoping members relatively to said coacting guide elements toward said locking position.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
72 words
The releasable strap connector specified in claim 1, and said coacting guide elements including at least one projection extending from said handle lever, a guide on said female member engageable by said projection, said locking means being spaced parts of said guide offset at an angle to hold said projection against movement relatively to said guide, and said resilient means being biased to urge said projection into engagement with said spaced parts.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
84 words
The releasable strap connector specified in claim 1, and said coacting guide elements including at least one projection extended laterally from said handle lever, a guiding path on said female member in which said projection is moved, said locking means being locking pockets formed in said guiding path at angles corresponding to the interlocking position of said rocking bar, and said resilient means being on said handle lever and urging said handle lever toward a position to interlock said projection with said locking pockets.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
119 words
The releasable strap connector specified in claim 4, and said coacting means including a lateral projection from said handle lever, a recessed guiding path on said female member adjacent said handle lever in which said projection is movably confined, a first arcuate portion of said path being concentric with said rocking bar, a second arcuate portion being concentric with and being spaced outwardly from the first arcuate portion with respect to said rocking bar, a connecting portion extending from said first arcuate portion to the second arcuate portion between the ends of the latter whereby the opposite ends of said second arcuate portion being formed into spaced locking pockets for confining said projection in either of spaced locking positions.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
52 words
The releasable strap connector, specified in claim 5, and the length of said second arcuate portion being less than the arc of rocking required to withdraw said rocking bar from said prong pocket thereby to permit limited rocking of said handle lever under momentary shocks without releasing said prong from said socket.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
47 words
The releasable strap connector specified in claim 6, and a pocket formed in said first arcuate portion spaced from said connecting portion to confine said projection when said handle lever withdrew said projection from said section arcuate portion and rocked said rocking bar into prong releasing position.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
34 words
The releasable strap connector specified in claim 6, and a middle pocket formed in said first arcuate portion of said connecting portion to confine said projection in radial displacement relatively to said rocking bar.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
71 words
The releasable strap connector specified in claim 1, and said handle lever including, a handle, at least one telescopic leg extended from the handle, and means to connect the leg to said rocking bar whereby said rocking bar is rocked by manipulating said handle, and said resilient means including spring means urging said telescopic leg away from said connecting means so as to urge said handle away from said rocking bar.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
160 words
The releasable strap connector specified in claim 9, and said coacting guide elements being tracking projection means extended laterally from said handle, a recessed guide confining said tracking projection means, said recessed guide including a first arcuate portion of a length between a locking end and a releasing end guiding said tracking projection means throughout its path during the movement of the handle when turning said rocking bar from interlocking position to prong releasing position, a second arcuate portion at the locking end of and spaced radially outwardly from said first arcuate portion being of a length to limit the movement of said tracking projection means therein corresponding to the turning of said rocking bar only within the range of the interlocking position of the rocking bar, and a connecting portion from said first arcuate portion to between the ends of said second arcuate portion, said arcuate portions being substantially concentric with the axis of rocking of said rocking bar.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
21 words
The releasable strap connector specified in claim 10, and said connecting portion being substantially radial with respect to said arcuate portions.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
38 words
The releasable strap connector specified in claim 11, and a releasing pocket extending radially outward from the releasing end of said first arcuate portion for confining said tracking projection means in the releasing position of said rocking bar.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
49 words
The releasable strap connector specified in claim 12, and a locking pocket extending radially toward the rocking bar from the locking end of said first arcuate portion to confine said tracking projection means in locking position when thrown radially toward said rocking bar by momentary shock compressing said spring.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
111 words
The releasable strap connector specified in claim 11, and said cutaway portion of said bar being at such angle to require a turn of the bar of about 55° from fully interlocking position to fully releasing position, and to permit a turning of the bar at about 10° within the range of its interlocking position, and said first arcuate portion confining said tracking projection means throughout 55° between the locking end and the releasing end, and said second arcuate portion confining said tracking projection means over a path limited to 10°, and said connecting portion being radial at an angle corresponding to about the 45° locking position of said rocking bar.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
75 words
The releasable strap connector specified in claim 14, and said handle lever including, a handle, a pair of spaced hollow legs extended from said handle, a pair of arms connected to said rocking bar and being spaced to telescope into said hollow legs, said resilient means being a coil spring nested in each rocking arm and extending into the adjacent leg so as to urge said leg and the handle away from said rocking bar.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
25 words
The releasable strap connector specified in claim 9, and a guard on the female member above said handle to prevent accidental depressing of said handle.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
31 words
The releasable strap connector specified in claim 9, and spring means anchored in said rocking bar and in said female member being biased to urge said rocking bar into interlocking position.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
75 words
The releasable strap connector specified in claim 1, and said handle lever including, a handle, a pair of spaced hollow legs extended from said handle, a pair of arms connected to said rocking bar and being spaced to telescope into said hollow legs, said resilient means being a coil spring nested in each rocking arm and extending into the adjacent leg so as to urge said leg and the handle away from said rocking bar.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
162 words
The releaseable strap connector specified in claim 18, and said coacting guide elements being, a tracking projection extended laterally outward from each leg, said female member having guiding recesses therein adjacent each leg guiding the respective projections therein, a first arcuate recess being concentric with the axis of rocking of said rocking bar, and having a locking end corresponding to the position of the projection in the interlocking position of the rocking bar, and a releasing end corresponding to the projection position in the releasing position of the rocking bar, a second arcuate recess being concentric with said first recess and spaced at said locking end radially outward therefrom with respect to said rocking bar, and a radial connecting recess extending from said locking end to said second recess between the ends of the latter, said second recess being of a length to limit the travel of said projection to a degree of rocking within the interlocking range of said rocking bar.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
42 words
The releasable strap connector specified in claim 19, and a shoulder formed by said cutaway portion at such an angle relatively to said socket to permit said limited back and forth rocking of said rocking bar within said pocket of the prong.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
52 words
The releasable strap connector specified in claim 1, and said means to position said prong in said pocket including, a positioning element projecting from said prong, and said socket having a guide to confine the positioning element to locate said prong pocket in registry with said cutaway portion of the rocking bar.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1979-06-22 | 1979-12-22 | 1980-06-22 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1983-06-22 | 1983-12-22 | 1984-06-22 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1987-06-22 | 1987-12-22 | 1988-06-22 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |