Tie down coupling system

Details Tie down coupling system Tie down coupling system

2003-08-13

2004-11-30

Gordon, Stephen (Department: 3612)

Freight accommodation on freight carrier

Load lashing retainer or load lashing adjunct

Anchor

C410S106000, C024S11500R

Reexamination Certificate

active

06824340

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. The Field of the Illustrated Embodiment(s)
The present invention relates generally to a tie down coupling system for ropes or cords. Specifically, there is a system for tying down ropes that utilizes a bight and locking mechanism that may be placed on vehicles or other objects needing ropes.
2. The Background Art
The use of ropes dates back to the earliest known tools ever used by man. Some of the earliest ropes known to exist were made of animal hair and leather. Modern man has developed ropes made out of almost any material, like hemp, nylon, cotton, even many types of metals. The one thing that all ropes, ancient to modern, have in common is that they have two free ends that need to be tied or connected to something to be useful. For example, ropes have been tied to themselves, to logs, to rings, to posts, or even to other ropes, as any First Class Boy Scout can demonstrate. The number of patents teaching of rope holding devices are copious. The following United States patents are offered as examples of those known to the inventor at the time of filing, and are herein incorporated by reference for their supporting teachings:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,100 is a decorative bathroom furnishing to be placed in a bathroom which provides concealed, sanitary storage of bathroom accessories and cleaning supplies, such as a toilet plunger, a toilet brush, a pair of rubber gloves, and a roll of toilet paper.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 310,017 is a tie down device for truck beds.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,836,060 is a truck strap fastener adapted for either hook or flat iron attachment to either a downwardly directed hook or to a flat iron carried by standoffs attached to a trailer's frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,039,520 is a truck bed tie down anchor cleat for pickup utility vehicles that includes a clamp bracket in a u-shape having a pair of outwardly extending arms to which a pivotal latch plate is securely positioned therebetween.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,971,684 is a flush-mounted, spring-activated utility hook assembly designed to be attached to the side rails of a truck or to a vertical wall.
The problem with most of the known prior art tie down devices, for example, is that they often take two hands to attach the rope to the device, or that they are complex in design. Therefore, there is a need for a rope holding device that requires only one hand to operate and has a simple design.
SUMMARY OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT(S)
The present illustrated embodiment relates generally to a tie down coupling system for ropes. Specifically, there is a system for tying down ropes that requires only one hand and is simple in design. Uniquely, the illustrated embodiment utilizes a bight and locking mechanism.
There is also illustrated a device for attaching a rope thereto, having a rope holding device comprising a first and second pinching members, coupled together to form a tapered space that includes a bight section, and a wide section; and a resilient device, coupled to the holding mechanism proximate to the bight section. The resilient device having a securing portion that secures the resilient device to the holding mechanism; and a holding portion that releasably holds the rope to the holding mechanism.
Additionally, another feature of the present invention is to provide a base plate, including: an attachment plate section, and a storage plate section.
Moreover, a feature of the invention may be to provide a rotatable hinge device, mounted between the attachment plate section and the rope holding mechanism, designed to rotate in a clockwise and counterclockwise fashion that is parallel to a surface of the base plate, and to rotate in an angle away from the surface of the base plate.
Another feature may be to have a support plate, coupled to the first and second pinching members, and having the resilient device mounted thereto so that the securing portion is positioned under the support plate, and the holding portion is positioned above the support plate.
Still another feature may be to provide a notch, positioned along the support plate to allow contact with the holding portion, having sufficient width to retain the rope therein. Additionally, there may be a holder, positioned on the storage plate section, and comprising: a first holding groove that is designed to retain the first pinching member, and a second holding groove that is designed to retain the second pinching member; and a support plate holding cavity that is designed to hold the support plate therein.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the detailed description which follows, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which together illustrate by way of example, features of the invention. One skilled in the art of rope attachment devices will easily identify other applications of the essential features of the illustrated embodiment(s) after a review of the presented material, which are to be considered as equivalent devices as defined by the originally filed and resulting claims.


REFERENCES:
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patent: 5416956 (1995-05-01), Rubin
patent: 5836060 (1998-11-01), Profit
patent: 5915900 (1999-06-01), Boltz
patent: 5971684 (1999-10-01), Wang
patent: 5984100 (1999-11-01), Ramsey et al.
patent: 6039520 (2000-03-01), Cheng
patent: 6113328 (2000-09-01), Claucherty
patent: 6464437 (2002-10-01), Elwell
patent: 6533512 (2003-03-01), Lin

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