Patent ID: 8522728
Filing Date: 2013-09-03
Classification: A01K,A44B,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A collar, comprising: (a) an elongated belt and a thickened knob disposed at one end thereof, the belt and the knob forming integral parts of a single piece fabricated from a rubber material; (b) a connector having a frame which defines an open end and includes a slotted wall, a pair of opposing sides and a base, each of said sides extending longitudinally between the frame's open end and the slotted wall; (c) means, including the thickened knob and the slotted wall, for anchoring the belt to the frame; and (d) an arm, including an elongated mid-section and a foot which curves away therefrom, pivotally connected to the frame at points thereon disposed proximate with the frame's open end, the arm so connected being rotatable into a position in which both the arm's mid-section and the foot are nested between the opposing sides, spacing between the arm's axis of rotation and the frame's base being such that the foot, when it is disposed in closest proximity to the base, clears the base by a distance which is slightly less than the belt's thickness, so that once a section of the belt distal from the thickened knob has been inserted through the frame's open end and pushed into the frame between its base and the arm, the foot can be brought into contact with the belt and, in the process, clamp a short portion of the belt against the frame, wherein the means for anchoring the belt to the frame further includes a “D”-shaped ring, and wherein the slotted wall and the thickened knob define a narrow, elongated slot and a hole, respectively; spacing between the slot's elongated edges being sufficiently narrow that the thickened knob abuts both of the elongated edges when the knob is held contiguous with the slot; the hole, which is disposed perpendicularly to the belt's longitudinal centerline, receiving opposing ends of the “D”-shaped ring when it is connected to the thickened knob in assembled relation, the knob's hole being sized in such a way that when the ring's ends are pressed into it, the knob expands, becoming thicker in the process and making the knob more resistant to being pulled through the slot.