Cord retaining and fastening device

A cord retaining and fastening device having a housing with opposed passages through which two cord sections are disposed. A clamping element is removably secured in the housing between at least converging open sections of the passages and is biased towards converging open sections of the passages to clamp one or both of the cord sections when the cord sections are pulled in the biasing direction of the clamping element. When the cords are pulled from the passages, in an opposed direction to the biasing direction, they are free to move out of their respective passages.

TECHNICAL FIELD 
The present invention relates to a cord retaining and fastening device and 
wherein a clamping element is removably secured in a housing to permit the 
placement of two cord-like sections in respective passages in the housing 
and for clamping retention thereof. The clamping element is provided with 
resilient biasing means to urge same in a clamping direction when the cord 
sections are pulled in the said direction and to permit free movement of 
the cords within their respective passages when the cord-like elements are 
pulled in an opposed direction. 
The cord retaining and fastening device of the present invention has a 
multitude of uses and can be used, as for example only, for the retention 
and fastening of shoe laces, or used as a support device for supporting 
various objects, such as wires, or could be used as a tie-down pulley to 
secure ropes to tie down various elements, such as to secure a tent, to 
secure skis, or to secure a boat, etc. 
BACKGROUND ART 
Various cord tightening or fastening devices are known, such as disclosed, 
for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 307,806; 2,164,123; 4,665,590 and 
4,788,755. The devices disclosed in these patents utilize a housing 
wherein passage means are delineated for the passage of rope sections. A 
wedging element is secured to the housing and disposed between the 
passages and displaceable to wedge the rope sections in their passages 
when the ropes are pulled in a predetermined direction. The basic 
principle of the construction of such fastening device is illustrated by 
the sample design of U.S. Pat. No. 307,806 and, as can be seen, the 
wedging element is spring-biased against rope sections passing through a 
housing to grip the rope sections within channels when the ropes are 
pulled in the biasing direction. When the ropes are pulled in the opposite 
direction, the wedging element is displaced against a spring force, 
thereby releasing its engagement with the rope sections. 
The present invention relates to an improved type of such fastening device 
to releasably secure rope-like elements. 
A disadvantage of the prior art devices is that in order to engage the rope 
sections with the fastener, it is necessary to thread the ends of the 
ropes through channels or passages formed in the fastener housing, These 
channels are slightly larger than the cross-section of the ropes and this 
poses difficulty when the ends of the ropes are fibrillated. The threading 
thus becomes very difficult and often impossible without having to cut a 
section of rope. Another disadvantage of such fasteners is that the rope 
wedging element is secured within the housing and causes obstructions to 
the placement of the rope end sections within the channels. Another 
disadvantage is that these fasteners are difficult to separate and repair, 
have limited uses, and some of these are expensive to construct. 
SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
It is therefore a feature of the present invention to provide a cord 
retaining and fastening device which substantially overcomes the above 
disadvantages of the prior art and which constitutes an improvement 
thereover. 
According to the above features, from a broad aspect, the present invention 
provides a cord retaining and fastening device which comprises a housing 
having opposed passage means provided with an inlet and outlet for the 
passage of two cord sections. A clamping element is removably secured in 
the housing between at least converging open sections of the opposed 
passage means. Resilient biasing means is secured to the clamping element 
for urging same in a direction towards the inlet and the converging open 
sections of the passage means. Means is also provided to removably secure 
the resilient biasing means in the housing. One or both of the cord 
sections, when pulled towards the inlet, causes the clamping element to 
wedge the one or both cord sections between a peripheral portion of the 
clamping element and a portion of the passage associated with the one or 
both cord sections. The clamping element permits the one or both cord 
sections to be freely pulled from the outlet of the passages.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 1 to 4, there 
is shown generally at 10, one example of the cord retaining and fastening 
device constructed in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the 
present invention. The device comprises a housing 11 having opposed 
passages 12 and 12', as better seen in FIG. 2, with the passages each 
having an inlet end 13 and outlet 14. These passages accommodate the 
passage of a respective cord-like element section 15 and 15', as better 
seen in FIG. 4. The cord-like element may be a rope, a lace, a wire or 
other elongated flexible element of this type. 
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a clamping element 16 is removably secured in 
the housing between at least converging sections 17 and 17' of the 
channels 12 and 12' respectively. The clamping element 16 is provided with 
a resilient biasing means in the form of an elastic member 18 which is 
provided with a clamp or arresting element 19 which clamps or secures to 
an end wall section 20 of the housing 11 to urge the clamping element 
towards the inlet end 14 of the channels and the converging sections 17 
and 17' of the channels 12. A finger-gripping end portion 21 of the 
elastic element 18 permits the clamping element 16 to be easily installed 
and secured in position, as shown in FIG. 2, with the elastic member 18 
stretched in tension. It also permits ease of removal of the clamp or 
arresting element 19 by simply pulling it out of engagement with the 
engaging cavity or slot 22 provided in the end wall section 20. 
As can be seen in FIG. 1, the housing is a circular disc-like housing 
having an intermediate top wall 23 having a transverse guide slot 24 
therein. The guide slot 24 is disposed mid-way between the passages 12 and 
12' and extends from the inlet end 14 to the outlet end 13. The inlet end 
14 of the passages extends to a transverse opening 25 which opens to the 
rear wall 26 of the housing. The passages 12 and 12' are herein shown as 
formed as an open-ended slot 27 with opposed converging side walls 12 and 
12' and a curved end wall to facilitate the passage of the rope-like 
elements or cord sections 15 and 15', which are usually of circular 
cross-section. These passages are also recessed under the intermediate top 
wall 23. 
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the clamping element 16 is in the form of a disc 
provided with a guide post 28 which extends within the guide slot 24 and 
displaceable therein to maintain the clamping element centrally disposed 
between the passages 12 and 12'. 
The housing 11, as herein shown, is further provided with a circumferential 
ridge 30 extending about the intermediate top wall 23. A hinged cover 29 
has a hinge element 31 secured to the ridge to one side of the transverse 
guide slot 24. A latch 32 extends from the peripheral edge 33 of the cover 
opposite the hinge 31 and engages within a catch 34 provided in the 
circumferential ridge 30 diametrically opposite the hinge 31. 
In the specific application of the cord retaining and fastening device, as 
shown in FIG. 1, and particularly for the retention and fastening of shoe 
laces 15 and 15', the circumferential ridge 30 is also provided with 
opposed openings 35 and 35' which are aligned with one another and 
disposed adjacent the end wall section 20. The opposed openings 35 and 35' 
each permit passage of two lace sections therethrough whereby the ends of 
the laces can be configured in bows 36, as illustrated in FIG. 4. 
As can be seen from FIGS. 1 and 4, the cover 29 may also be provided with a 
lock device 37 having a latch 38 which may be rotated by a key (not shown) 
inserted in the key hole 39 for the latch to be displaced for engagement 
under a cut-out section 40 formed in the intermediate top wall 23 adjacent 
the transverse guide slot 24. Such a fastening device could therefore be 
used to prevent theft of objects, such as skis or other objects to be 
secured by a metal wire which can be secured to an immovable object and 
locked by a key. It is also pointed out that the housing 11 and cover 29 
may be fabricated from plastics or metal parts depending on the intended 
use of the device. The elastic member 18 may be constructed from a variety 
of elastic products readily available on the marketplace. 
The operation of the device will now be described. In order to engage the 
cord sections 15 and 15' within the housing 11, it is firstly necessary to 
remove the clamping element 16 therefrom. This is simply done by pulling 
on the cord end section 21 to disengage the elastic member 18 and 
arresting element 19 and to then pull the clamping element 16 from the 
open-ended slot 27 in the direction of arrow 41 (see FIG. 2). The free 
ends 42 of the pair of cords 15 and 15' (see FIG. 4) are placed through 
the transverse opening 25, into the open slot 24, and exit from the 
outlets 13 of the passages. The cords are then pushed into the undercut 
channels of the open-ended slot 27 under the intermediate top wall to 
locate within their respective passages 12 and 12'. The clamping element 
16 is then reinserted from the end of the open-ended slot 27 and pulled 
therein by the loop 21 of the elastic member 18 with the elastic member 
passing through the engaging slot or cavity 22 in the end wall section 20 
of the housing. The elastic member is then released and the arresting 
element 19 abuts against the outer surface of the end wall 20 with the 
elastic member taut and the clamping element 16 biased forwardly towards 
the inlet end 14 of the passages 12 and 12', in the direction of arrow 43. 
The clamping element is further provided with an abraded or gripping 
circumferential surface 44, as better seen in FIG. 4, to grip the cord 
sections 15 and 15'. The end wall surfaces of the passages 12 and 12' may 
also be provided with an abrading surface 13', as shown in FIG. 6, to 
enhance gripping of the cord sections 15 and 15'. 
Accordingly, when the cord sections 12 and 12' are pulled in the direction 
of arrow 41, either independently or together, they will cause the 
clamping element 16 to move in the direction of arrow 41 opposed to its 
clamping direction and cause free passage of the cords. When the cords are 
released, the clamping element 16 is again urged against the cords to 
wedge them into the passages under the influence of the elastic member 18. 
If the cords are pulled in the opposite directions, as shown by arrow 43, 
they will not be displaced as the clamping element 16 is in wedging 
engagement with the cords and the pulling of the cord would further cause 
the clamping element to exert more pressure against the cord and the side 
wall of the passages 12 and 12'. To remove the cords from the housing, it 
is again necessary to remove the clamping element 16 or simply push it in 
the direction of arrow 41 by exerting a pushing action on the guide post 
28 in the direction of arrow 41 to free it from its clamping position. 
Referring now to FIGS. 5 to 7, there is shown a further example of the cord 
retaining and fastening device constructed in accordance with the present 
invention. As herein shown, the housing 50 has a flat bottom support wall 
51 and wing sections 52 on opposed sides thereof. The wing sections 52 
have undercut side walls 53 and a top wall 54. Undercut channels or 
passages 55 and 55' are thus formed on both sides of the housing 50 and 
have opposed converging sections extending from the open end 56. A guide 
slot 70 is formed between the wing sections 52 and leads to the passages 
55 and 55'. 
A V-shaped wedge element 57 is provided with opposed wedge-shaped side 
edges 58, having an abrading surface, to wedge the cord sections 59 and 
59' in their respective passages 55 and 55' in the manner previously 
described. The wedge element 57 is also urged in the biasing direction as 
indicated by arrow 58' by an elastic member 59 having a clamping post 60 
secured at a free end thereof. The clamping post 60 is provided with an 
engaging cavity 61 which clamps in a locating cavity 62' formed in the 
side edge 62 of the bottom wall 51. The top flat face of the bottom wall 
provides frictional sliding contact with the flat bottom wall 63 of the 
wedging element 57. 
The wedging element 57 is further provided with a finger engageable top 
extension 64 to displace the wedge element against its tension force 
exerted by the elastic member 59 whereby to release the wedge element from 
clamping engagement with the cord sections 59 and 59'. The shoulder 
portions 58 of the wedge element 57 extend within the undercut section 65 
of the passages, as clearly shown in FIG. 7. With the embodiment herein 
shown, it can be seen that the wedge element 57 is very easily removable 
from the open top end housing by simply dislodging the retention post 60 
from the end wall of the housing to remove the wedge element. The cord 
sections are then loaded into the guide slot 70 with each cord 59 and 59' 
placed in their respective undercut passages and the wedge element 57 is 
repositioned. The cords are then pulled from the open end 56 until taut 
and are then prevented from being pulled in the opposite direction, in the 
direction of arrow 58, due to the wedging action of the wedging element 
57. 
It is within the ambit of the present invention to cover any obvious 
modifications of a preferred embodiment, as exemplified herein, provided 
such modifications fall within the scope of the appended claims.