Releasable cable tie

A method of tying and securing electrical cables, comprising:

• providing a molded one-piece plastic elongate planar strap having a plurality of strap teeth formed on one side of said strap and a locking head formed on one end of said strap;
• inserting an opposite end of said strap into an opening in said locking head in a locking direction and forming a loop to receive cables to be bound, wherein the plurality of strap teeth are positioned external to the loop and away from the cables to be bound and said locking head extends substantially perpendicular to said strap in a direction away from the loop;
• locking said strap in said locking head by engaging at least one lock tooth formed in a releasable latch of said locking head complementary to said strap teeth and extending into said opening with at least one strap tooth for preventing movement of said strap in a release direction;
• releasing said locked strap by activating the releasable latch on said locking head by depressing with a first finger a pad extending from said releasable latch away from the opening that is readily accessible by the user, said releasable latch extending away from said strap when said strap is in said opening, said latch being deflected about a pivot line on the locking head to release the lock tooth from engagement with the at least one strap tooth to permit the strap to be moved in a release direction;
• and
• removing said strap from said locking head by placing a second finger on a back plate positioned below the pad while the pad is being depressed by the first finger so as to secure the releasable between the first and the second finger and pulling the releasable latch in a direction away from the loop, wherein said back plate has a width and a length at least as wide and long as said pad.

A releasable cable tie, comprising:

• an elongated planar strap having a plurality of teeth formed on a first side thereof;
• and
• a locking head formed on a first end of the strap, the locking head including
• an opening formed therethrough on a first end of the locking head that is adjacent the first end of the strap, wherein the opening is formed transverse to an axis of the strap, wherein the opening is for receiving a second end of said strap in a configuration where the plurality of teeth face a first side of the opening, wherein after the strap is inserted into the opening a loop is formed to receive cables to be bound, wherein the plurality of teeth are external to the loop;
• a releasable latch having at least one locking tooth extending into the first side of the opening, wherein the at least one locking tooth is complementary to the plurality of teeth on the strap so as to engage with at least one strap tooth, wherein the engagement of the at least one locking tooth with the at least one strap tooth enables the strap to move in a first direction to shrink a circumference of the loop while preventing the strap from moving in a second direction to expand or eliminate the loop;
• a pad extending from the releasable latch toward a second end of the locking head, wherein the pad is configured to have a width at least 95% of width of the strap and to have a ripple strip at a far end thereof;
• a back plate extending from the opening toward the second end of the locking head, wherein the back plate is configured to be positioned below the pad and to have a width and a length at least as large as the width and a length of the pad;
• a fulcrum positioned below the releasable latch to support the releasable latch and provide a pivot line for the releasable latch;
• and
• side walls reinforcing the releasable latch and defining the fulcrum and the pivot line for the latch, wherein
• the pad and the backplate of the locking head extend substantially perpendicular to the strap in a direction away from the loop when the strap is in the opening;
• the pad and the backplate are readily accessible to a user;
• the pad is configured to be depressed by a first finger of the user;
• the backplate is configured to be supported by a second finger of the user;
• the at least one latch lock tooth is directly actuated by movement of the pad such that a sufficient downward movement moves the at least one latch lock tooth from locking engagement with the at least one strap tooth to enable movement of the strap in the second direction.