BAND

Abstract

There is provided a band that is formed by an elastic material, the band including a plug body, and a plurality of receptacle bodies. The plug body and the receptacle bodies are coupled and aligned via a coupling body.

Claims

1. A band that is formed by an elastic material, the band comprising: a plug body; and a plurality of receptacle bodies, wherein the plug body and the receptacle bodies are coupled and aligned via a coupling body.

2. The band according to claim 1, wherein the receptacle bodies each have an opening, and the plug body is elastically transformed between a first shape and a second shape, the first shape being capable of passing through the opening, the second shape being latched by a periphery of the opening.

3. The band according to claim 1, wherein the plug body and the receptacle bodies are alternately coupled and aligned via the coupling body.

4. The band according to claim 1, wherein a first plug body is disposed on one end, a first receptacle body is coupled to the first plug body via a first coupling body, a second plug body is positioned on an extension line of the first coupling body and coupled to the first receptacle body via a second coupling body, a second receptacle body is positioned on an extension line of the first and second coupling bodies and coupled to the second plug body via a third coupling body, and the first plug body, the first receptacle body, the second plug body, and the second receptacle body are coupled and aligned with each other.

5. The band according to claim 4, wherein the first plug body and the second plug body are shaped like a triangle and a letter X, respectively, and the first receptacle body and the second receptacle body are shaped like a circle and a rectangle, respectively, and each internally have an opening.

6. A band that is formed by an elastic material, the band comprising: a first plug body that is shaped like a triangle or a letter X; a first receptacle body that is shaped like a hollow circle or a hollow square; a second plug body that is shaped like a triangle or the letter X; and a second receptacle body that is shaped like a hollow circle or a hollow rectangle, wherein the first plug body, the first receptacle body, the second plug body, and the second receptacle body are aligned via coupling bodies in that order, and the band is transformable between a state in which the first or second plug body is passed through a hollow section of the first or second receptacle body and latched to form a loop and a state in which either one of the first or second receptacle bodies is passed through a hollow section to another one of the first and second receptacle bodies and latched to form a loop.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating an outline of a band according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0008] FIGS. 2A to 2C depict schematic diagrams illustrating examples of use of the band according to the embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0009] FIGS. 3A to 3C depict schematic diagrams illustrating other examples of use of the band according to the embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0010] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating yet another example of use of the band according to the embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0011] FIG. 5 is a plan view illustrating an example of a clip according to the embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0012] FIG. 6 is a plan view illustrating another example of the clip according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0013] An embodiment of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. A band 10 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is formed by nylon, plastic, or other flexible material, and as illustrated in FIG. 1, includes a plug body 11 and a plurality of receptacle bodies 12a and 12b, . . . , which are coupled and aligned with each other via a coupling body 13. In the following description, the size of the band or the like, the ratio between the sizes of individual sections, and the like are merely examples. The sizes of the individual sections and the ratio between the sizes of the individual sections can freely be set without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure.

[0014] In the example of FIG. 1, a plug body (first plug body) 11a is disposed on one end 10a, and one end of a first receptacle body 12a is coupled to the plug body 11a via a first coupling body 13a. Further, one end of a second plug body 11b is coupled to the other end of the first receptacle body 12a via a second coupling body 13b. Furthermore, a second receptacle body 12b is coupled to the other end of the second plug body 11b via a third coupling body 13c. In an example of the present embodiment, the plug bodies 11 and the receptacle bodies 12 are alternately coupled and aligned via the coupling bodies 13 as described above.

[0015] The receptacle bodies 12 each have an opening 122 (corresponding to a hollow section) that is surrounded by an opening periphery 121. The plug bodies 11 each have a portion (latching portion) 111 that is wider in diameter than the opening 122 in a free state (e.g., a state in which the plug body 11 is not folded by the fingers of a user). The shape of the plug bodies 11 in this free state is hereinafter referred to as a first shape. Moreover, the plug bodies 11 may each be formed relatively thin such that they can easily be folded by the fingers of the user.

[0016] When a plug body 11 is pinched by the fingers of the user, the latching portion 111 can be folded and elastically transformed into a second shape in which the outer diameter of the latching portion 111 is smaller than the maximum diameter of the opening 122 in a receptacle body 12. The user can elastically transform the plug body 11 into the second shape and then pass the plug body 11 through the opening 122 in the receptacle body 12. When the user passes the plug body 11 through the opening 122 and then releases the user's fingers from the plug body 11, the plug body 11 returns to the first shape by elastic transformation. As a result, the latching portion 111 becomes larger than the diameter of the opening 122, and engages with the opening periphery 121 of the receptacle body 12 to form a loop.

[0017] Further, in one example of the present embodiment, the receptacle body 12 also has the first shape having a portion wider in diameter than the opening 122 in the other receptacle bodies 12 in a natural state, and for example, the user may pinch the receptacle body 12 with the fingers to cause the receptacle body 12 to be elastically transformed into the second shape that allows the receptacle body 12 to pass through the opening 122 in another receptacle body 12. In this case as well, the user may pinch one of the receptacle bodies 12, for example, with the user's fingers, to transform it into the second shape, pass it through the opening 122 in the other receptacle body 12, and then release the fingers to return it to the first shape having an outer diameter larger than the diameter of the opening 122 in the other receptacle body 12, thereby allowing the receptacle body 12 returned to the first shape to engage with the opening periphery 121 of the other receptacle bodies 12 in order to form a ring.

[0018] In the example of FIG. 1, the first and second plug bodies 11a and 11b are different in shape, namely, shaped like a triangle and the letter X, respectively. Further, it is assumed that the first and second receptacle bodies 12a and 12b are also different in shape, namely, shaped like a circle and a rectangle, respectively, and are each internally have the opening 122 (i.e., a hollow circle or a hollow rectangle). However, the present embodiment is not limited to such shapes. The first and second plug bodies 11a and 11b may have the same shape, and the first and second receptacle bodies 12a and 12b may also have the same shape.

Examples of Use

[0019] When the band 10 according to the present embodiment is used, a relatively small loop L1 can be formed by passing the first plug body 11a through the opening 122 in the first receptacle body 12a as schematically illustrated in FIG. 2A. Such a loop L1 is suitable for bundling a relatively small number of cables and closing the opening in an opened bag. In FIGS. 2A to 2C, the topology of a loop formed by the band 10 is made easily visible by schematically depicting a coupling body 13 through the use of a thin line.

[0020] Further, as schematically illustrated in FIG. 2B, the band 10 is capable of forming a relatively large loop L2 by passing the first plug body 11a through the opening 122 in the second receptacle body 12b. Such a loop L2 is suitable for bundling a relatively large number of cables.

[0021] Furthermore, as schematically illustrated in FIG. 2C, the band 10 is capable of additionally passing the first plug body 11a, which is placed in a state depicted in FIG. 2B, through the first receptacle body 12a. In the resulting state, two loops L3 and L4 are created. In this manner, it is possible to group cables into two different types and bundle each group.

[0022] Moreover, a loop L5 having a size midway between the loop L1 and the loop L2 can also be formed (FIG. 3A) by passing the first receptacle body 12a of the band 10, which is placed in a state depicted in FIG. 2B, through the second receptacle body 12b. Additionally, when the second plug body 11b in the resulting state is passed through the second receptacle body 12b, a loop L6 having substantially the same size as the loop L1 can be obtained (FIG. 3B). However, to untie this loop L6, it is necessary to remove the second plug body 11b, the first receptacle body 12a, and the first plug body 11a in this order from the second receptacle body 12b. It signifies that cables can be bundled more tightly.

[0023] Further, when the first plug body 11a is passed through the first receptacle body 12a in the state depicted in FIG. 3B, two loops L7 and L8 are formed at a distance corresponding to at least the size of the second coupling body 13b, as schematically illustrated in FIG. 3C. In this example, two types of cable bundles carrying signals tending to interfere with each other can be grouped together at a distance from each other.

[0024] Two or more bands 10 may be used. When a first plug body 11a-2 of a second band 10-2 is passed through a second receptacle body 12b-1 of a first band 10-1 as illustrated, for example, in FIG. 4, a longer band 100 can be formed. When such a band 100 obtained by combining two or more bands 10 is used, a wider variety of loops can be created and used for various applications, such as bundling cables and tying up opened bags.

Advantages of Embodiment

[0025] As described above, the band according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of receptacle bodies and can be latched to the receptacle bodies via a plug body or via another receptacle body. Therefore, the band provided by the present embodiment can freely be transformed between various topological forms illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 3C to implement each form and makes it possible to adjust the size of a loop and create two or more loops, thereby providing improved convenience.

Clip

[0026] In a case where relatively thin sheet-like objects are to be bound, a clip 20 illustrated in FIG. 5 may be used. The clip 20 is formed by bending a single metal rod, and has an outer tongue section 21 and an inner tongue section 22. The outer tongue section 21 and the inner tongue section 22 have relatively long extensions 215 and 225, respectively, and are coupled together at their respective base portions 211 and 221. A feature in this example is that a part of the outer tongue section 21 is processed to form wing-like loops 212 and 213, and that the shape of the base portion 221 of the inner tongue section 22 is modified to form a redundant loop 222.

[0027] Even when the above configuration is adopted, the sheet-like objects can be sandwiched and secured between the extensions 215 and 225 of the outer and inner tongue sections 21 and 22. Further, the adopted configuration causes the wing-like loops 212 and 213 to prevent sheets sandwiched between the outer and inner tongue sections 21 and 22 from being folded on the outer and inner peripheral sides of the outer tongue section 21. Furthermore, the redundant loop 222 of the inner tongue section 22 provides a handle for removing the clip 20, and thus makes it easy to remove the clip 20. Moreover, a shape resembling, for example, a corporate logo, a product logo, or text can be created by modifying the shape of the wing-like loops 212 and 213 and the redundant loop 222 (FIG. 6).

[0028] It should be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications, combinations, sub-combinations and alterations may occur depending on design requirements and other factors insofar as they are within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.