Webbed harnessing device

Claim 2

A harnessing device comprising a head having an elongated guided channel extending therethrough, a pair of deflectable locking tangs within said head, and a strap formed by a ladder structure with rungs which are sequentially engaged by the locking tang when the strap is inserted into the channel, said ladder structure having a webbed portion substantially constant thickness extending from each rung to reduce the force for insertion of said strap into said channel and to limit the effect of reverse thrust applied to said strap in causing reverse rotation of said locking tang.

Claim 3

A harnessing device as defined in claim 1 wherein said device is molded from a stretch-reorientable material and the webbed portions of said strap is characterized by having permanent molecular reorientation caused by stretching, thereby to realize a relatively thin and strengthened member extending from each rung of said ladder for reducing the force required for insertion of said strap into said channel and limiting failure of said locking tang by rotation due to reverse thrust applied to said strap.

Claim 4

A harnessing device as defined in claim 1 wherein each rung of said ladder strap includes abutments for engagement by said locking tangs.

Claim 5

A harnessing device as defined in claim 1 wherein said webbed portion extends from one rung to another, thereby to permit the load applied to one of said rungs by said locking tang to be distributed among other rungs.

Claim 6

A harnessing device as defined in claim 4 wherein said webbed portion further extends between adjoining rails of said ladder strap, thereby to distribute the load applied by a locking tang in engagement with a rung of said strap among not only adjoining rungs but the associated structure thereof of said strap.

Claim 7

A harnessing device as defined in claim 1 wherein one end of said strap is attached to said head at an angle with respect to the axis of insertion of the other end of said strap to said channel.

Claim 8

A harnessing device as defined in claim 1 wherein each of said locking tangs has a tip that is proportioned to mate with abutments in said rung.

Claim 9

A harnessing device as defined in claim 1 wherein said locking tangs are integrally connected within said head by a neck portion which is narrower than the extension of said locking tangs into said channel, thereby to facilitate the insertion of said strap into said channel, and said extension of said locking tangs form an angle no greater than 30° with respect to the axis of said channel, thereby to increase the resistance of said locking tangs to failure and reverse thrust rotation. .Iadd. 9. A harnessing device comprising a locking head having a channel therethrough, a webbed strap attached to said head and having rungs joined to one another by centrally depressed, stretchable webbing, said strap being stretched with the spacing between rungs controlled by the extent of stretching of said strap and the stretching causing a reduction in the thinness of said webbing by a prescribed amount according to the extent to which the strap is stretched, said rungs having a profile controlled by stretching a plurality of segments, including perpendicular segments that are caused to depart from their initial perpendicularity by an amount that is controlled by the extent to which the strap is stretched, said locking head further including a locking pawl in said head for securing said strap therein. .Iaddend..Iadd. 10. Apparatus as defined in claim 9 wherein said pawl includes a inclined surface that forms an acute angle with the axis of insertion of said strap. .Iaddend..Iadd. 11. Apparatus as defined in claim 9 wherein said locking head includes a channel for the entry of said strap having side ledges therefore therein. .Iaddend.