Tying tool

Abstract

A tool to assist with hand-tying of knots in balloons, cords, and the like. The tool has a head consisting of a hollow tube with an opening running the length of the tube. The tube is typically tapered with a flange toward the larger end, and the opening is incorporated at an angle nonparallel to the center line of the tube, forming a notch feature that passively retains material on the head until removed by the user. The head is connected to a handle with two or more functionally independent finger loops. The tool may be retained on the hand without unduly impeding dexterity and provides for greater control of the tool when in use.

Claims

1. A tool for tying knots comprising: a hollow tube having a wall and a first and a second end; and a length extending from the first end to the second end; and an opening in the wall extending at least part of the length of the tube, said opening formed by a first substantially straight edge and a second substantially straight edge, wherein the first substantially straight edge and the second substantially straight edge: each extend as a continuous, substantially straight line from the first end to the second end; are each non-parallel with a center axis of the tube and are non-parallel or skew to one another; and are angled with respect to one another so that they have different slopes with respect to the center axis of the tube.

2. The tool of claim 1 wherein said tube is attached to a handle comprising a first loop connected to the tube at a first attachment point and a second loop connected to the first loop at a second attachment point substantially opposite the first attachment point thereby permitting the tool to be held by two or more fingers.

3. The tool of claim 1 wherein said opening comprises a gap of approximately constant width extending an entire length of the tube.

4. The tool of claim 3 wherein the tube is attached to a handle, said handle comprising a first loop connected to the tube at a first attachment point and a second loop connected to the first loop at a second attachment point substantially opposite the first attachment point thereby permitting the tool to be held by two or more fingers.

5. A tool for tying knots comprising: a tapered tube having a wall and a first and a second end; a length extending from the first end to the second end; an opening in the wall extending the length of the tube, said opening having a first substantially straight edge and a second substantially straight edge, wherein the first substantially straight edge and the second substantially straight edge: each extend as a continuous, substantially straight line from the first end to the second end; are each non-parallel with a center axis of the tube and are non-parallel or skew to one another; and are angled with respect to one another so that they have different slopes with respect to the center axis of the tube; and a handle comprising a first loop connected to the tube at a first attachment point and a second loop connected to the first loop at a second attachment point substantially opposite the first attachment point thereby permitting said tool to be held by two or more fingers.

Description

DRAWINGS — FIGURES

(1) In the drawings, closely related figures have the same number but different alphabetic suffixes.

(2) FIGS. 1A and 1B shows isometric views of an embodiment of the tying tool.

(3) FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate how an opening formed at an angle nonparallel to the tool’s axis creates a notch to help retain material on the tool.

(4) FIG. 3 shows how the tool is typically held when tying a balloon.

(5) FIGS. 4A to 4C illustrate the process of tying a balloon with the tool.

(6) FIG. 5 shows an optional thumb rest.

(7) FIGS. 6A to 6C show alternate handle configurations.

(8) FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate the front and side views, respectively, of an alternate opening shape in which the left and right edges of the opening are not parallel with each other.

(9) FIG. 8 shows how the handle design can be adapted to other head configurations.

(10) TABLE-US-00002 Drawings — Reference Numerals 10 tool head 11 junction of the handle rings 12 opening in the tube wall 14 flange 16 support posts 18 handle 20 tool head centerline 22 axis of cut of the opening 24 edges of the opening 26 notch 30 body 32 neck 34 lip 36 body-neck transition 50 thumb rest 52 curved corner 60 spacer 62 handle narrowing 64 joined finger loops 66 triple finger loops 70 alternate opening edge 72 alternate notch 80 alternate head 82 alternate head post

DETAILED DESCRIPTION–FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2A, AND 2B–FIRST EMBODIMENT

(11) One embodiment of the tool is illustrated in FIG. 1A (left isometric view) and FIG. 1B (right isometric view). The tool has a head consisting of a hollow tube 10 with an cut, gap, or opening 12 running the length of the tube. The tube typically has a minimum interior diameter of 0.7 to 1.0 inches and is 0.9 to 1.0 inches in length, with a wall thickness of around 0.075 to 0.125 inches. The opening can be as wide as the interior diameter but is typically about 0.6 to 0.9 inches. In one embodiment, a flange, rim, or lip 14 is formed along one end of the tube, adding mechanical stiffness to the structure. If the tube is tapered, the lip will typically be on the end of the tube with the largest diameter. Corners and edges on the head are typically beveled or rounded to avoid snagging or cutting the material being tied (cf. FIG. 5, curved corner 52). The head is connected to a double-ring finger grip or handle 18 via a pair of support posts or braces 16, which are typically 0.3 to 0.4 inches long but can be dimensioned to provide more or less space between the tool head and the handle. Each of the rings is typically 1.00 to 1.25 inches in diameter and 0.4 to 0.6 in width, though these dimensions as well as the others previously described can be adjusted to accommodate different hand sizes, as an example. In one embodiment, the tool is a stiff plastic, such as nylon, polyethylene, or polypropylene. However, the tool can consist of any other material that can be repeatedly stressed without fracturing. Additionally, all or part of the tool may be coated with a compliant material such as silicone rubber or foam.

(12) The tube is typically tapered from the flange side toward the opposite end to facilitate manufacture using injection molding, where the angle of this taper or draft is normally 0.5 to 2 degrees. FIG. 2A shows a front view of the opening 12 in the tube. In this figure, a dashed line 20 represents the center axis of the tube and a dotted line 22 illustrates the cut line of the opening relative to the center axis. Here, the opening is described as being cut from a solid tube to illustrate the feature; although it could be manufactured in this way, other manufacturing techniques could be used such as incorporating the feature into the design of an injection mold. Typically, the angle of the cut line to the center axis is between 20 and 30 degrees. In this embodiment, both the left 24L and right 24R edges of the opening are parallel to the cut line. FIG. 2B shows the profile view of the tube. As material is stretched around the tube, it spans the gap formed between the left and right edges. Due to both the curvature of the tube and the angle of the cut path 22 being nonparallel to the axis of the tube, the left edge tends to push the material away from the flange 14 and the right edge tends to push the material toward the flange. The material thus tends to rest close to the shallow valley or notch 26 formed by the combination of the left and right edges. Though these edges are separated by the width of the opening, so that the sides of the notch are in different geometric planes, still the effect is to help retain the wound material on the tool as it is being worked. This feature is present with or without a taper to the tube, and the depth of the notch generally increases with an increase in the angle of the cut path.

Operation-FIGS. 3 and 4

(13) To operate the tool, an inflated but untied balloon is held closed at the lip 34, typically by the user’s dominant hand, to prevent the escape of gasses. The operation of the tool first begins by holding it by the handle 18, typically using the index and middle fingers of the nondominant hand, with the tool resting on the intermediate phalanges of those fingers. The independent loops for the two fingers allow greater control of the tool, making it easier to both hold it while not in use and to apply leverage when the elastic balloon material is stretched over it. Instead of curling the fingers to grip the handle, the tool can be lightly held by letting it simply rest on the two fingers, by laterally squeezing the two fingers against the junction of the rings 11 (FIG. 1B), or by splaying those fingers away from the junction and against the opposite walls of the rings. Using the thumb of the tool hand, the balloon body 30 is then pressed against the handle close to the body-neck transition 36. The neck of the balloon 32 is then stretched over the left 24L and right 24R edges of the tool, where the notch (24, FIG. 2B) formed by those two features helps to retain the balloon neck on the tool.

(14) The completion of the tying operation is shown in FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C, where the operator’s hands have been hidden and the balloon body cropped to clarify the steps. Once the balloon neck 32 is stretched across the top of the tool as in FIG. 4A, the lip end 34 is then wrapped around the bottom of the tool head 10 and up by the left edge 24L. With a finger of the non-tool hand, the lip end is then wrapped through the opening and around the neck and as in FIG. 4C to form a simple knot, at which point the lip end is pulled forward to remove the balloon neck from the tool and complete the tying process. The tool can then be used to tie other balloons.

FIGS. 5-8 — Additional Embodiments

(15) Additional embodiments are shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. In FIG. 5, a thumb rest 50 is added. The operation is the same as with the first embodiment, except that the thumb rest helps to retain the balloon body and provide a more defined location to grip the body-neck transition.

(16) FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C illustrate additional embodiments of the handle. In FIG. 6A, a spacer 60 has been added to increase the distance between the finger rings. In FIG. 6B., the two joined finger loops, 64A and 64B, are not independent closed loops, but the narrowing 62 is small enough to retain the index and middle fingers in their respective loops. As such, it preserves the functional benefits of the independent loops 18 (FIG. 1A) though geometrically it is a single aperture. FIG. 6C illustrates that more than two finger loops can be incorporated, as shown by the three loops 66L, 66M, and 66R.

(17) FIGS. 7A and 7B show an alternative embodiment of the opening. Here, the left edge 70L is cut at the negative or opposite angle as the right edge 70R relative to the tool centerline 20, so that the common slope of both edges in the profile view both tend to push the wound material toward the flange 14, acting to help retain it on the tool via a new notch location 72. Generally, the angle of the left and ridge edges need not be identical, nor do the edges need to be linear, so long as their geometry results in the formation of a notch. Additionally, the opening need not run the full length of the tool.

(18) The handle design provides a number of benefits to the user and could be adapted to tying tool designs other than the open tube described in the first embodiment. FIG. 8 shows an alternative embodiment in which a different head 80 is affixed to the handle 18. This illustration is representative of the multi-post type, in which two raised posts 82L and 82R are affixed to the head 80 and form the features used to tie the balloon, but other tying tool head designs could be similarly incorporated.

Advantages

(19) From the description above, a number of advantages of some embodiments of this tying tool become evident: (a) The tool can be easily retained on one hand without the need to grip the tool by curling the fingers around it, freeing the fingers to perform other tasks. (b) The independent finger rings on the handle allow better control of the tool than a single large loop. (c) The tool head location toward the dorsal or back side of the hand frees the palm of the hand to assist with holding the balloon being tied. (d) The walls of the opening in the tube head create a notch to help retain material on the head even if the tube is tapered. (e) The design of the tool as a single piece reduces complexity and lowers manufacturing cost.

Conclusion, Ramifications, and Scope

(20) Accordingly, the reader will see that at least one of the embodiments provides a tying tool that can be used to tie inflated balloons simply and easily, that allows simultaneous use of the hands with little encumbrance, and that can be manufactured inexpensively. Furthermore, the tying tool has the additional advantages that: it can be manufactured with a simple injection mold; its multi-loop handle provides better control and leverage while tying; it passively helps retain wound material on the head until purposefully pulled off by the user; the dimensions of the design can be easily tailored to different hand sizes.

(21) Although the description above contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments but as merely providing illustrations of some of several embodiments. For example, the cross-section of the tube can have other shapes, such as oval, elliptical, rectangular, etc.; the opening can extend less than the full length of the tube; the flange can be omitted; the support posts can be omitted so that the handle attaches directly to the head; etc.

(22) Thus the scope of the embodiments should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given.