Tying and storage ring for a reel of recording tape

A tying and storage ring for a reel of recording tape has a strip of extensible flexible material intended for surrounding a reel. It is equipped with closing means having a buckle made in one piece with a suspension hook and fastened rigidly to one of the ends of the strip, this buckle, when under tension, catching on a boss formed on the other end of the strip. The buckle has an orifice surrounding the boss and its sides have gripping means. The strip can also have a protective boss located very near the end of the buckle or, in an alternative embodiment, the end of the buckle has a sloping front face preventing the buckle from being caught accidentally.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a tying and storage ring for a reel of 
recording tape, intended to be used with a reel comprising a hub and a 
pair of circular parallel webs, this ring comprising a strip of extensible 
flexible material equipped, on one of its faces, with longitudinal ribs, 
intended for engaging on either side of the webs of the reel, and equipped 
with a suspension hook and with closing and tensioning means comprising a 
buckle integral with one of the ends of the strip, and with a boss which 
is integral with the other end of the strip and on which the said buckle 
catches under tension. 
PRIOR ART 
Several rings of this type, all comprising a buckle articulated on the 
strip, are known. Of the rings found on the market, an example which may 
be mentioned is the ring described in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,696,935, 
comprising a buckle articulated on a boss of the strip by means of a link 
made in one piece with the buckle, this buckle catching on a boss made in 
one piece with the suspension hook fastened to the other end of the strip. 
The buckle opens on the same side as the link, and a protective boss is 
located opposite this end of the buckle for the purpose of preventing 
inopportune opening of the buckle as a result of accidental catching 
during the handling of the reel. However, some distance must be left 
between the end of the buckle and the protective boss, to make it possible 
to insert a finger in order to lift the end of the buckle to open the 
latter. In another embodiment described in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,388,991, 
the buckle is equipped with a bar, by means of which it is held and 
articulated on the strip via a piece incorporating the suspension hook. 
Once again, a protective boss is provided opposite the end of the buckle. 
In all these known embodiments, the buckle is articulated, and the 
protective boss is located at a sufficient distance from the buckle to 
allow it to be lifted by means of a finger. Although, in most cases, the 
protective boss prevents the end of the buckle from catching on an 
obstacle, the ring from opening accidentally and consequently the reel 
from falling, nevertheless the risks of accidental catching of the end of 
the buckle are still high because of the space necessary between the end 
of the buckle and the protective boss. 
The object of the invention is to reduce the risk of accidental opening of 
the ring as a result of the catching of the end of the buckle, whilst at 
the same time simplifying the construction of this buckle. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
To achieve this, the tying and storage ring according to the invention is 
defined in that the buckle is made in one piece with the suspension hook, 
in that it is fastened rigidly to the strip, in that it has an orifice 
surrounding the boss on which it is caught, and in that its sides have 
gripping means. 
The buckle surrounds the boss, on which it is caught, without covering it. 
It is thus possible to open the buckle by grasping it at its sides between 
the thumb and second finger and retaining the catching boss with the 
forefinger. 
Because the buckle no longer has to be lifted at its end, this end can 
terminate in a sloping front face, the lower edge of which comes in 
contact with the strip, so that the protective boss becomes superfluous. 
If the protective boss is preserved, it can be arranged very near the end 
of the buckle and even in such a way that the end of the buckle almost 
comes in contact with the protective boss. Catching of the end of the 
buckle is therefore virtually impossible. 
On the other hand, tying rings in which the buckle is made in one piece 
with the strip are known (U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,095,969, 3,227,269 and 
3,939,977). Such a solution would seem to make production simpler, but the 
various requirements regarding elasticity and flexibility where the strip 
and buckle are concerned are difficult to reconcile, even if a stiffening 
rib is provided (U.S. Pat. No. 3,227,269). Moreover, in these embodiments, 
the buckle once again opens at the end, and the presence of a protective 
boss, such as that provided in one of these embodiments (U.S. Pat. No. 
3,939,977), presents the same problems as in the rings with an attached 
buckle. 
The use of a single attached element which simultaneously forms the closing 
buckle and the suspension hook makes it possible to provide a flexible and 
elastic strip and a hook and a rigid buckle allowing effective closing of 
the ring under tension and firm suspension. The attached element is 
preferably fastened in a way described in French Patent No. 2,565,393, 
that is to say at two points, one of the bayonnet type and the other with 
a split dog.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
The tying and storage ring illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 comprises a strip 1 
of slightly elastic flexible material, for example polyethylene, equipped, 
on its inner face, with two pairs of parallel ribs 2, between which the 
webs of the reel engage in a known way. In the closed position shown in 
the drawing, the two ends 1a and 1b of the strip 1 are joined together 
under the effect of the tension of a closing buckle 3 which catches on a 
catching boss 4 formed in the strip 1. 
The buckle 3 is made in one piece with a suspension hook 5 composed of 
relatively rigid material, for example acrylonitrile/butadiene/styrene, so 
as to ensure tension on the strip 1. The body 6 carrying the buckle 3 and 
the hook 5 is fastened to the band 1 by means of a system comprising a 
bayonnet 7 and a split dog 8, as described in French Patent No. 2,565,393. 
As described in this prior patent, the split dog 8 is locked by means of a 
stud 9 inserted into the slot of the split dog. The piece 6 is therefore 
fastened to the strip 1 in a completely rigid manner. 
The buckle 3 has a rectangular cut-out 10 surrounding the catching boss 4 
and two vertical and parallel lateral wings 18 located on each side of the 
boss 4. The buckle 3 is intended to be grasped laterally and for this 
purpose has gripping means which here comprise rims 11 and 12 projecting 
slightly from its upper face. The buckle also has, near its end, a 
transverse wall 13 directed slightly towards the rear of the buckle and 
bearing against the front wall 14 of the catching boss 4, this front wall 
14 sloping in the direction of the end of the buckle 3. On the other side, 
the catching boss 4 has a wall in the form of an inclined plane 15, 
intended to make it easier for the buckle 3 to pass over the catching boss 
4. The end 16 of the catching boss 4 located on the same side as the end 
of the buckle 3 is rounded to make it possible to tension and close the 
ring simply by pressing on the buckle. 
The strip 1 also has a protective boss 17 which is formed by being molded 
in the strip and which is intended for protecting the ring against 
inopportune opening of the buckle 3 as a result of accidental catching of 
its end. Since this end is not normally used to open the buckle 3, the 
protective boss 17 can be located very near the end of the buckle 3. The 
distance between the buckle 3 and the protective boss 17 is preferably 
less than or equal to 2 mm, so that there are virtually no risks of 
accidental catching of the end of the buckle. The upper face of the 
protective boss is at least level with the upper face of the buckle 3. 
To secure the tying ring around a reel, the strip 1 is first placed around 
the reel, without paying attention to the buckle 3. When the ends 1a and 
1b of the strip 1 approach one another, the lower edge of the transverse 
wall 13 of the buckle 3 comes up against the inclined plane 15 of the 
catching boss 4 and slides on this boss, thus reaching the upper portion 
of the rounded part 16. It is then sufficient to exert pressure on the 
buckle 3 to ensure that the lower end of its wall 13 slides on the rounded 
part 16, thereby tensioning the strip 1, and subsequently comes up against 
the sloping face 14 of the catching boss set back relative to the lower 
end of the rounded part 16. 
To open the tying ring, it is sufficient to grasp the buckle 3 laterally 
between the thumb and second finger and lift this buckle, whilst retaining 
the boss 4 with the forefinger. 
A second embodiment is illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. Since many features of 
this second embodiment are identical to those of the first embodiment, the 
identical parts have been designated by the same reference numerals 
bearing the sign ', and there is therefore no need to repeat the detailed 
description of these parts. This second embodiment will more easily be 
described in terms of the differences between it and the first embodiment. 
This second embodiment differs from the first embodiment the absence of 
the protective boss 17. The latter is no longer necessary because the end 
of the buckle 3' has a sloping front face 19 forming an obtuse angle with 
the surface of the strip 1'. The lower end of this sloping front face 19 
comes in contact with the strip 1'. If the par of the strip 1' located in 
front of the buckle 3' or the front face 19 comes up against an obstacle, 
the obstacle will slide on this front face 19 without catching on the 
buckle 3'. Because the side walls 18' of the buckle 3' extend up to the 
end 19, the buckle is also prevented from being accidentally caught 
laterally.