Interlocking strap clamp

Abstract

A clamp for holding a looped strap as required for a passenger assist strap on a railing in a public transit vehicle, comprising a first piece and a second piece with interlocking sides to hold the strap loop together and also prevent the first and second pieces from twisting out of alignment.

Claims

1. An interlocking strap clamp and a strap to be secured by the interlocking strap clamp, the interlocking strap clamp comprising a screw, a first piece with a body and p-shaped sides, and a second piece with a body and d-shaped sides interlocking relative to the first piece, wherein the first piece and second piece are capable of clamping onto the strap through a securing means comprised of an opening with a diameter sized for the screw in the first piece and an internally threaded insert for the screw in the second piece, the screw being configured to pass through the strap.

2. The interlocking strap clamp of claim 1, which additionally comprises one or more teeth on the first piece and one or more teeth on the second piece, said teeth capable of digging into a strap when the first piece and second piece are clamped onto a strap.

3. The interlocking strap clamp of claim 1, wherein the internally threaded insert is configured to pass through the strap.

4. The interlocking strap clamp of claim 1, wherein the opening on the first piece is defined on an external surface, and the opening is disposed substantially at the geometric center of the external surface.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) These and other aspects of the present invention will be apparent from the brief description of the drawings and the following detailed description in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a prior art strap clamp;

(3) FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an interlocking strap clamp of the present invention on a strap;

(4) FIG. 3 is a side plan view of an interlocking strap clamp of FIG. 2;

(5) FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a first piece and a second piece of an interlocking strap clamp of the present invention;

(6) FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the interlocking strap clamp of FIG. 4; and

(7) FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a first piece and a second piece of an interlocking strap clamp of a second embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

(8) FIG. 1 shows a prior art strap clamp 10 with a twisted strap 20, in which the two pieces of the strap clamp 10 are out of alignment.

(9) FIGS. 2 and 3 show an interlocking strap clamp 50 of the present invention comprising a first piece 70 and a second piece 60 fixed on a strap 20 by a screw 80. In this embodiment the strap 20 is one piece of strapping, the ends of which overlap under the clamp to create three layers. Although not shown, the screw 80 passes through holes in the three layers of the strap 20. The second piece 60 partially covers an outer layer and a middle layer of the overlapping strap 20, and the first piece 70 partially covers an outer layer and a middle layer of the strap. The strap is shown with the overlapping ends adjacent to the first piece 70, but could also be adjacent to the overlapping ends of the second piece 60.

(10) FIGS. 4 and 5 show the interlocking strap clamp 50 without the strap 20 and screw 80. The first piece 70 has L shaped first piece sides 130 on a first main body 140 with an opening 100. The second piece 60 has L shaped second piece sides 110 on a second main body 120 with an internally threaded blind insert 90 on the inner aspect of the second main body 120. When affixed to the three layers of the strap 20, the first piece sides 130 interlock with the second piece sides 110. A machine screw is inserted into opening 100, through holes in the strap 20 (not shown) and threaded into insert 90 until secured.

(11) FIG. 6 is a second embodiment of the interlocking strap clamp 50 in which teeth 150 are added to the first piece and second piece in order to provide further grip on the strap 20 (not shown).

(12) The extending arms, namely the lower arms of the L shapes, of the first piece sides and the second piece sides prevent the clamp pieces from twisting out of alignment. After the interlocking strap clamp is installed onto a strap, the extending arms of the side pieces will extend so as to enclose not only the front and back layers of the sides of the strap material, but the third middle layer as well. With all three layers of the strap enclosed by the interlocking strap clamp, the two pieces of the clamp are not able to twist freely should the machine screw become loose.

(13) The extending arms of the first piece sides and the extending arms of the second piece sides will abut if the two sides begin to twist and misalign. Once the extending arms meet, the pieces will be prevented from twisting or misaligning any further.

(14) As will be understood, the shapes of the sides may vary provided that they are interlocking. For example, instead of interlocking L shaped sides, there could be interlocking P shaped sides etc. As well, instead of the first piece sides being matching bookends of upside down Ls, they could comprise a mismatched upside down L side with an L side, provided that the second piece sides are likewise mismatched in order to interlock with the first piece sides.

(15) The present invention will prevent or lessen strap clamp twisting and misalignment. This will prevent or lessen damage and premature wear to the strap and will also maintain the aesthetic of the properly aligned clamp. The present invention will also tend to prevent the machine screw from loosening through the continued twisting of the clamp, and thereby decrease the potential for passenger injury.

(16) The interlocking strap clamp of the present invention can be made of metals, such as zinc, or plastics, such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS).

(17) While embodiments of the invention have been described in the detailed description, the scope of the claims should not be limited by the preferred embodiments set forth in the examples, but should be given the broadest interpretation consistent with the description as a whole.