Tethered fastener
AssigneeMRM HK Limited
InventorLuke Ritchie
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A fastener for securing together articles, such as pull-tabs of a zipper, includes a gate arranged to slide in a channel in a body between a closed position, in which the gate closes the mouth of a recess in the body, and an open position, in which the mouth is open. A fixture at one end of the gate is provided for connecting a tether. A latch member prevents the gate from sliding from the closed position when in the locked position and is resiliently urged to the locked position and configured so that, in use, the latch member is pressed and moved to the unlocked position when a user grasps the body and, in the unlocked position with a tether connected to the fixture, tension in the tether tends to slide the gate to the open position.
Claims19
A fastener for securing articles, the fastener comprising:
- a body including a base portion and a leg portion, the leg portion having a leg end, where a recess between the base portion and the leg portion defines a mouth extending between the leg end and the base portion;
- a channel in the body, the channel having an axis;
- a gate having an opening end and a guide end received in the channel and configured to slide between a closed position, in which the gate closes the mouth, and an open position, in which the mouth is open;
- a fixture at one longitudinal end of the gate for connecting a tether;
- a resilient member biasing the gate to the closed position;
- a latch member connected to the body and moveable between an unlocked position and a locked position, wherein the gate and the latch member are configured so that the latch member prevents the gate from sliding from the closed position when the latch member is in the locked position, and wherein
- the latch member is resiliently urged to the locked position and configured so that, in use, the latch member is pressed and moved to the unlocked position when a user grasps the body and, in the unlocked position with a tether connected to the fixture, tension in the tether tends to act against the resilient member to slide the gate to the open position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.