BRA

Abstract

A fastener for releasably securing a member comprises a body including a stem and a rebate, the rebate being configured to receive the member. A gate is mounted to slide axially on the stem between a closed position, which closes the mouth of the rebate to retain the member, and an open position. Resilient means engage the gate and stem to drive the gate to the closed position; and latches are mounted on opposite sides of the gate, each latch being self-locking and engaging the body to hold the gate in the closed position, providing self-locking fasteners that, for added security, require three independent actions for release.

Description

BRA Technical field The present invention relates to fasteners, in particular to self-locking protective fasteners that require multiple independent actions to release, thereby providing protection against unintentional release. Background of the invention US Patent 8365365B2 describes a hook fastener with a spring-driven sliding gate to close the hook opening. It can be used to removably fasten elongated flexible members, such as belts, slings, anchors, lines, ropes, chains, or the like. One disadvantage of this fastener is the separate manual action the user must perform—turning the guard—to place the gate in its locked, closed state. It is understood that there is a need to provide a greater degree of safety or protection against unintentional release, thus eliminating the need for this separate manual action. An objective of the present invention is to satisfy the foregoing need or, more generally, to provide improved self-locking protective fasteners. Brief description of the invention According to one aspect of the present invention, a fastener is provided for releasably securing a member, the fastener comprising: a body that includes a stem and a rebate, the rebate being configured to receive the member; a gate mounted to slide axially on the stem between a closed position that closes the mouth of the rebate to retain the member, and an open position; resilient means that couple the door and stem to drive the door into the closed position; and a pair of latches, the latches being mounted on opposite sides of the door, where each latch is self-locking and engages the body to hold the door in the closed position. Preferably, resilient means comprise a resilient member or assembly, such as a spring (e.g., a helical spring, a leaf spring, a cantilever spring, a gas spring), an elastic member (such as an elastomeric block), or the like. Latches can be any known type of latch, such as a sliding latch, a rotating latch, or a sliding and rotating latch, and can be self-locking by providing a resilient means of latch closure, such as a spring (e.g., a coil spring, a leaf spring, a cantilever spring, a gas spring), an elastic member (such as an elastomeric block), or the like. Preferably, the rebate is arranged near a longitudinal end of the body. Ideally, the rebate is defined by a hook-shaped portion of the body. Ideally, the hook-shaped portion has a non-re-entrant shape. cap Lnn / eznz / q / uili Preferably, the latches are similar, each latch comprising a latch lever mounted by a pivot to rotate around a respective essentially transverse rotating axis. Preferably, the latch levers are generally axially elongated and both essentially transverse rotating axes are arranged in a transverse plane. Preferably, the rotating shafts are arranged intermediately, opposite the first and second ends of the latch levers, one of the first and second ends of each latch lever butting against a shoulder of the stem. Preferably, a groove extends through the stem and is axially aligned; the opposite ends of the latch spring are received in the butt groove of the respective latch levers to drive one of the first and second ends inwards. Preferably, the second ends project from a concave circumferential surface of the door, more preferably from a conical concave surface. The axles can be held in respective openings in the body, each axle providing rotational support to one of the latch levers. However, preferably a one-piece retainer extends across each latch lever to define each pivot. Ideally, the channels on the periphery of the door receive sections of the one-piece retainer. Preferably, the one-piece retainer comprises a length of wire first formed into a U-shape with two parallel arms that are inserted through the latch levers before the ends of the arms are bent together to form a loop to permanently retain the latch levers and latch spring. Preferably, the resilient means comprise a helical spring extending around the stem, one end of the helical spring being coupled to the gate and the other end being coupled to a fitting near one end of the stem. Preferably, the accessory is held in an opening that extends essentially transversely across the shaft. Preferably, the accessory comprises one end of an elongated flexible member, such as a wire rope. This invention provides a fastener that is effective and efficient in its use, and by requiring three independent release actions (two separate latches and sliding the door) and an automatic locking mechanism, it offers protection against unintentional release. Brief description of the drawings The preferred forms of the present invention will now be described as examples with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is an exploded view of a first embodiment of a fastener of the invention. Figure 1A is a fragmented section in a longitudinal plane through one end of the body of the fastener in Figure 1. cap i nn / cznz / q / υιλι Figure 2 is a perspective view of the fastener in Figure 1 assembled in the closed position. Figure 3 is a cross-section in a central longitudinal plane through the fastener of Figure 2. Figure 4 is a cross-section through the fastener of Figure 2. Figure 5 is a perspective view of the fastener in Figure 2 in the open position. Figure 6 is a diagram showing the one-handed operation of the fastener in Figure 1. Figure 7 is a perspective view of a second modality of the fastener of the invention. Figure 8 is a perspective view of a third modality of the fastener of the invention. Figures 9 and 10 are plan and side views, respectively, of a fourth modality of the fastener of the invention. Figures 11 and 12 are sections BB and AA respectively of Figures 9 and 10. Figure 13 is Figure 10 modified to include arrows showing the sliding movement of the door to open the fastener. Figures 14 and 15 are top and side views, respectively, of the fastener in Figure 9. Figures 16 to 22 show a fifth modality of the fastener of the invention. Figure 23 shows a sixth modality of the fastener of the invention in longitudinal section. Figure 24 shows a longitudinal section of a seventh embodiment of the fastener of the invention fixed to a complementary coupler received at an axial end of the door; and Figure 25 is the CC section indicated in Figure 24. Detailed description of preferred modalities With reference to Figures 1 to 5, a first embodiment of a fastener 10 according to the invention generally comprises an elongated body 11 with a recess 12 formed near a first longitudinal end 14 and a shank 13 extendable to an opposite longitudinal end 15. The first longitudinal end 14 may consist of a hook-shaped portion of the body 11 defining the recess 12. The body 11 may generally be elongated, with both ends 14, 15 having an equal cross-section. The recess 12 generally extends transversely and may taper to a narrower point in the longitudinal direction from an elongated mouth 16 approximately aligned with the outer surface of the shank 13 to its closed end 17. The closed end 17 may be concave and define a face with a radius.The recess 12 may be relatively shallow in the transverse dimension so as not to extend across an imaginary central longitudinal plane of the body 11 (not shown). A groove 18 may extend across the body 11 and may be longitudinally elongated and cross, at least partially, the recess 12. Near an inner end of the groove 18, the body includes transversely opposed shoulders 36. Flat faces 19 may be provided on the outside of the body 11 and may be longitudinally aligned. An opening 20 may extend transversely across the longitudinal end 15. The hook-shaped portion of the end 14 of the body 11 may have a non-reentrant shape, as can be seen more clearly in Figure 1A. At a tip of the free end 80 of the hook-shaped portion, the surface of the notch 12 defines a tangent 81. The tangent 81 may be approximately parallel to an opposite face 82 of the notch 12 (or open from that angle) to provide a non-reentrant shape, thus avoiding the need for the member received in the notch 12 to pass through a throat section before reaching the closed end 17. This shape is distinguished from a non-reentrant shape (not shown) in which the tangent 81 is closed by rotation in direction 83, so that the free end 80 joins a throat section of the notch 12.The fastener 10 also comprises a gate 21, resilient means in the form of a compression spring 23, a pair of latch levers 24a, 24b, a one-piece retainer 26, and an anchor 27. The gate 21 has a sleeve-like shape with a central opening 22 that accommodates the stem 13, allowing it to slide axially on the stem 13 between a closed position (Figures 2 and 3), where it closes the opening 16 as it extends over it, and an open position (Figure 5), where the gate 21 retracts to expose part of the opening 16 for inserting a member (not shown). In the closed position, the recess 12 engages a transversely extending through-hole. Internal stops 28 in the opening 22 can be provided to engage with the faces 19 to prevent rotation of the gate 21 and to abut against the stop faces 76 (as in the closed position), thus limiting the travel of the gate 21 towards the end 14 of the body 11.The axially aligned grooves 29 can extend through the diametrically opposite sides of the door 21 to receive the respective grooves of the latch levers 24a, 24b. The transversely opposing concavities 50 in the outer axial end of the door 21 can be provided for registration, in the closed position, with the closed end 17, such that a member (not shown) that is received in the rebate 12 and transversely elongated also projects through both concavities 50. To be received in the rebate 12, the member can be another length of wire rope, a bolt, a D-ring, or a chain link, including an elongated section, such as having a cross-section of an essentially constant diameter throughout its length. The opposite longitudinal edges of the elongated section can be arranged adjacent to the closed concave end 17 and the opposite concave ends 77 of the concavities 50.Depending on the transverse dimensions of the elongated section and the limit of the path of the door 21 towards the end 14, the elongated section may be clamped between the ends 17, 77 and effectively loaded in a double shear or it may be free to move transversely with respect to the fastener 10. The one-piece retainer 236 may be formed from wire initially in a U shape, as shown in Figure 1, with two parallel arms 25, 30, where each provides a pivot to support one of the latch levers 24a, 24b. The two parallel arms 25,30 are inserted through their respective openings 31 in the door 21 and through the opening 32 in the latch levers 24a, 24b before the ends 25a, 30a of the arms 25, 30 are bent together to form a loop to permanently retain the latch levers 24a, 24b.Channels 33, 34, 35 on a periphery of door 21 receive the sections of the one-piece retainer 26, so that it is recessed within the periphery of door 21, as can be seen more clearly in Figure 4. In this way, the rotating axes of both levers are arranged essentially in the same transverse plane. Lnn / eznz / q / uili The latch levers 24a and 24b are similar, with the opening 32 defining the pivot axis located midway between the first and second longitudinal ends 42 and 43. The first end 42 of each latch lever may include a projection 40 that receives one end of a spring 41, while the second end 43 is configured to butt against one of the shoulders 36 in the closed position. In this way, the spring 41 acts to pull the ends 42 and 43 inward, making the latch levers 24a and 24b self-locking. Figure 2 better shows the second ends 42 of the latch levers 24a, 24b projecting from a circumferential surface 44 of the door 21, so that a conical concave shape is generated, an ergonomic feature to provide a comfortable location for the user's thumb and fingers over the top of the latch levers 24a, 24b. The helical compression spring 23 extends around the stem 13 and has one end that can be coupled to the gate 21 and another end that can be coupled to the fitting in the form of a wire rope 27 or a flexible elongated member near the longitudinal end 15. In this embodiment, the end of the wire rope 27 is formed into a loop 78 that passes through the opening 20 and is formed by the wire rope 27 twisted about itself and permanently fixed to itself, such as by a crimp 48. The end 15 of the body 11 can be crimped directly onto the wire rope 127 at the end of the loop 78 to prevent any relative movement between the body 11 and the wire rope 127, such as when sliding the wire rope 27 through the opening 20. Because the latch levers 24a and 24b have independent holding action, both must be pressed by the user to release the door 21 for sliding. Their opposing mounting means can be formed by grasping them between the index finger and thumb, as shown in Figure 6. This figure also shows that the loop formed in the wire rope 27 can also be conveniently grasped, securing the body while the door 21 is being removed, thus enabling one-handed operation. Releasing these two latch levers 24a and 24b and sliding the door 21 comprise three independent actions that must be performed to release the fastener 10, mitigating the possibility of unintentional release.Furthermore, because levers 24a, 24b are self-closing, and sliding door 21 is spring-driven into its closed state, fastener 10 locks automatically after release by the user. In other embodiments of the invention, the same numbers are used to refer to similar components from the first embodiment. Figure 7 illustrates a second embodiment of the fastener 110 which is of the same construction as the first embodiment 10 except for the loop in the wire rope 27. One end of the wire rope 127 is inserted fixed to an end 15 by a permanent connection, such as by the end 15 of the body 11 which is crimped directly to an end 51 of the wire rope 127. By using this embodiment to secure the length of the wire rope 127 in the rebate 12, a secure loop 128 is formed which can be opened using the wire rope 127. In the third modality or fastener 210, shown in figure 8, a D-ring 251 is received in the opening 20 and is connected to a textile canvas 55, such as by a loop in the canvas 55 through the ring Lnn / eznz / q / uili in D 251. The fourth embodiment of the fastener 310, shown in Figures 9 to 15, employs identical components to perform the same function, but instead of the gate being closed by the compression spring, it is closed by a tension spring 123. With the tension spring 123 fixed to the end 15 of the body 111 by one hooked end extending around the wire rope loop 27 and to the gate 121 by the other hooked end received in a hole in the gate 121, the gate 121 is driven to the end in its closed position (shown in Figures 9 to 15). The concavity 150 is arranged in a position intermediate between the axial ends of the gate 121 and is U-shaped so that in the closed position, an integrated tongue portion 60 of the gate 121 extends over the mouth of the rebate 112. In another preferred embodiment, shown in Figures 16 to 22, and probably best illustrated in Figure 22, the hook-shaped end 14 of the fastener 410 and the recess 212 defined therein may have substantially larger cross-sectional dimensions than the adjacent shank 213 of the body 211, as required by the application. To accommodate this geometry, instead of the gate lying over the mouth of the recess in the closed position, the gate 221 may have an interface 65 that butts with a complementary interface 65 on the body 221 at the end of the hook-shaped portion. These interfaces 65, 66 may have a stepped shape that provides a degree of interlock in the closed position, whereby the gate 221 contributes to the stability of a hook-shaped end. Figures 16 to 22 show that the body 211 may include a head portion 68 that projects radially outward from the stem 213 to provide support for one end of the compression spring 223, wherein the wire rope receiving opening 220 extends through the head portion 68. Figure 23 shows a sixth embodiment of the fastener 510, wherein the latch levers 524a, 524b remain rotatably mounted on the door 521, but wherein the single impulse spring 41 is replaced by two separate springs (not shown), such as torsion springs, mounted around the respective latch pivots, each driving one of the latch levers 524a, 524b into its secured position. Advantageously, this avoids the need for an extended through-slot 18 in the stem 513. Furthermore, the door 521 can be free to rotate about the longitudinal axis of the stem, since the shoulder 536 defines an annular face 514 that lies in a transverse plane and thus butts with the latch levers 524a and 524b at any angle of relative rotation between the door 121 and the stem 513 about the longitudinal axis. A two-part coupling may comprise a fastener 610 and a complementary coupler 514 that is releasably fixed to an axial end of the gate 21, as shown in Figures 24 and 25. The fastener 610 is like any of the preceding fasteners, 10, 110, 210, 310, 410, 510, except for the shape of the end 614 of the elongated body 611, wherein there is an axially extended channel in the hook-shaped end 614 that extends into the rebate 12, wherein this channel receives the axially extended portion 516 of the coupler 514. The coupler 514 has a complementary hook-shaped end 515 for the gate 21 and for the hook-shaped end crc Lnn / eznz / q / uili 614 and engages with them, so that when the gate 21 is extended (to the position shown), it secures the coupler 514 to protrude from the axial end of the gate 21. Although modified by the axially extended channel, an elongated member received in the recess 12 and extended transversely to form the loop 128 remains engaged and cannot escape from the recess 12 in the axial direction. By providing a coupler 514 on a tool, for example, a fastener of the invention secured to an anchor can be used to anchor the tool. The aspects of the present invention have been described as examples and it should be appreciated that modifications and additions can be made to it, without departing from its scope.

Claims

1. A fastener for releasably securing a member, the fastener comprising: a body including a stem and a recess, the recess being configured to receive the member; a gate mounted to slide axially on the stem between a closed position that closes the mouth of the recess to retain the member, and an open position; resilient means coupling the gate and stem to drive the gate towards the closed position; and a pair of latches, the latches being mounted on opposite sides of the gate, wherein each latch is self-locking and engages the body to hold the gate in the closed position.

2. The fastener according to claim 1, wherein the recess is arranged near a longitudinal end of the body.

3. The bra according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the recess is defined by a hook-shaped portion of the body, the hook-shaped portion optionally having a non-re-entrant shape.

4. The fastener according to any preceding claim, wherein the latches are similar, each latch comprises a latch lever mounted by a pivot to rotate about a respective essentially transverse pivot axis.

5. The fastener according to claim 4, wherein the latch levers are generally axially elongated and both essentially transverse rotating axes are arranged in a transverse plane.

6. The fastener according to claim 4 or claim 5, wherein the rotating shafts are arranged intermediately, opposite the first and second ends of the latch levers, one of the first and second ends of each latch lever being butted against a shoulder of the stem.

7. The fastener according to claim 6, wherein a groove extends through the stem and is axially aligned, the opposite ends of the latch spring are received in the butt groove of the respective latch levers to drive one of the first and second ends inwards.

8. The fastener according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the shafts can be held in respective openings in the body, each shaft providing rotating support to one of the latch levers.

9. The fastener according to any of claims 1 to 7, wherein a one-piece retainer extends across each latch lever to define each pivot of the latch levers.

10. The fastener according to claim 9, wherein the channels on the periphery of the door receive sections of the one-piece retainer.

11. The fastener according to claim 9 or claim 10, wherein the one-piece retainer comprises a length of wire first formed into a U-shape with two parallel arms that are inserted through the latch levers before the ends of the arms are bent together to form a loop for permanently retaining the latch levers and the latch spring.

12. The fastener according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the resilient means comprise a helical spring extending around the stem, one end of the helical spring being coupled to the gate and the other end being coupled to a fitting near one end of the stem.

13. The fastener according to claim 12, wherein the accessory is held in an opening that extends through the shaft, preferably substantially transverse to the shaft.

14. The fastener according to claim 12 or claim 13, wherein the accessory comprises an end of an elongated flexible member, such as a wire rope.

15. The fastener according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising a coupler having a complementary hook-shaped end for the door and a hook-shaped end for the body, wherein the coupler is coupled to the fastener to protrude from the axial end of the door and is secured by sliding to the door in the closed position.

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