A securement apparatus for tethering an animal to a structure includes an eyelet sized and a clamp which are coupled together. The eyelet is sized to receive a lead rope therethrough and slide freely along the rope. The clamp is sized and configured to attach to the lead rope distally from the eyelet. The clamp cinches onto the lead rope to inhibit sliding along the lead rope.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

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THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(1) Field of the Invention

The disclosure relates to lead tethers and more particularly pertains to a new lead tether for tethering an animal to a structure.

The prior art describes various devices for tethering an animal to an anchoring structure, including those with quick-release or breakaway couplings which allow a user or the animal to safely disconnect from the anchoring structure without damaging the structure or injuring itself. Some devices of the prior art also couple two distal sections of a lead rope together on one side of the anchoring structure to loop the rope around the anchoring structure and secure the animal to the structure. However, the prior art fails to describe an apparatus which has an eyelet which slides along a lead rope and a clamp which frictionally secures to the lead rope such that the rope may be looped around and secured to such an anchoring structure. The prior art also fails to describe such an apparatus which has a quick-release mechanism that cannot be used by the animal but which can be disengaged by a user to release the animal from the anchoring structure.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising an eyelet sized and a clamp which are coupled together. The eyelet is sized to receive a lead rope therethrough and slide freely along the rope. The clamp is sized and configured to attach to the lead rope distally from the eyelet. The clamp cinches onto the lead rope to inhibit sliding along the lead rope.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 8, the securement apparatus 10 generally comprises an eyelet 12 and a clamp 14 which are coupled together. The eyelet 12 is sized to receive a lead rope 62 therethrough and freely slide along the lead rope 62. The clamp 14 is sized to attach to the lead rope 62 distally from the eyelet 12. The clamp 14 comprises a base member 16 and a pivot member 18. The pivot member 18 is pivotally coupled to the base member 16 and may be positioned in a closed position 22 with respect to the base member 16 to form a closed loop with the base member 16. When closed, the base and pivot members 16, 18 may cinch the lead rope 62 therebetween. The pivot member 18 may be pivoted to move a distal end 20 of the pivot member 18 with respect to the base member 16 away from the base member 16, forming a gap 24 to release the lead rope 62.

The clamp 14 also includes a locking mechanism 26 which is operable to secure the pivot member 18 to the base member 16 in the closed position 22. The locking mechanism 26 is a ratchet which comprises a rack 28 and a pawl 32. The rack 28 is mounted on the pivot member 18, and the pawl 32 is mounted in the base member 16. The pawl 32 is biased to engage teeth of the rack 28 when the pivot member 18 is positioned in the closed position 22 to obstruct the pivot member 18 from moving out of the closed position 22. A release button 34 is mounted on the base member 16 and moveable against the pawl 32 to urge the pawl 32 against bias to disengage the pawl 32 from the rack 28. With the release button 34 depressed, the clamp 14 may be opened to release the lead rope 62. A pawl spring 36 biases the pawl 32, and a button spring 38 biases the button away from the pawl 32. Other biasing means may be used for the pawl 32 and the release button 34 such as elastic bands, magnets, or any other suitable means.

The ratchet also facilitates adjusting a position of the pivot member 18 with respect to the base member 16 to adjust a grip of the clamp 14 on the lead rope 62. The clamp 14 may be adjusted via the ratchet to allow some movement of the lead rope 62 through the clamp 14 given a sufficient force to overcome the friction between the clamp 14 and the lead rope 62. Gripping teeth 40 mounted on an interior side of the base member 16 engage the lead rope 62 to enhance the grip of the clamp 14 on the lead rope 62. Other frictional enhancements may also be used, including a roughened surface, a material selected to have a high coefficient of friction with the material of the lead rope 62, or the like. Other locking mechanism 26s may be used such as locking pins, set screws, latches, or the like.

A connecting rod 42 is coupled to and extends between the eyelet 12 and the clamp 14. A pivot joint 46 such as a knuckle joint, a ball joint, or the like is mounted to the connecting rod 42, breaking the connecting rod 42 into a pair of sections 44 which are pivotable with respect to each other. A quick-release mechanism 48 releasably couples the clamp 14 to the connecting rod 42 and is configured to permit release of the clamp 14 from the connecting rod 42 upon a sufficient pulling force is applied to the clamp 14 away from the connecting rod 42.

The quick-release mechanism 48 comprises an insertion member 50 coupled to the clamp 14 and a receiver 52 coupled to the connecting rod 42. The receiver 52 defines a slot 54 sized to receive the insertion member 50. The insertion member 50 moves in a direction substantially coplanar to an opening formed by the closed loop of the clamp 14 to insert into the receiver 52. The quick-release mechanism 48 also includes a pair of detents 60 which are mounted to the insertion member 50. The detents 60 are biased to engage the receiver 52 by extending into a groove 58 on an inner surface 56 of the slot 54 of the receiver 52. The groove 58 has an annular shape to facilitate rotating the insertion member 50, and thus the clamp 14, with respect to the connecting rod 42.

In use, the securement apparatus 10 may be applied to secure an animal 68 such as a horse to an anchoring member 70, such as a fence post, rail, or other suitable structure. With a first end 64 of the lead rope 62 attached to the animal 68, a second end 66 of the lead rope 62 is threaded through the eyelet 12 and wrapped around the anchoring member 70. Then the clamp 14 is applied to the lead rope 62 to form a closed hitching loop around the anchoring member 70 with the lead rope 62 and the securement apparatus 10. If desired, the clamp 14 may be adjusted to allow some of the lead rope 62 to pass through the clamp 14 when the animal 68 pulls on the first end 64 of the lead rope 62. To prevent any of the lead rope 62 passing through the clamp 14, the clamp 14 may be cinched very tightly, or a knot may be formed in the lead rope 62 next to the clamp 14 so that the knot engages the side of the clamp 14 when the first end 64 of the lead rope 62 is pulled. The pivot joint 46 allows the securement apparatus 10 to bend for added maneuverability when securing the securement apparatus 10 to the lead rope 62.

While the animal 68 may conceivably remove the clamp 14 from the connecting rod 42 by applying the sufficient pulling force to the clamp 14 given the right leverage, disconnection via the quick-release mechanism 48 is made less likely by the manner in which the clamp 14 holds onto the lead rope 62. If the clamp 14 is cinched relatively loosely, the lead rope 62 will slide through the clamp 14 rather than disconnecting the quick-release mechanism 48. If the clamp 14 is cinched relatively tightly, the lead rope 62 will pull the clamp 14 generally perpendicular to the direction the insertion member 50 of the quick-release mechanism 48 would need to travel relative to the receiver 52 to disengage from the receiver 52. In either case, disengagement of the quick-release mechanism 48 by the animal 68 is unlikely.

In some situations, the animal 68 may panic and pull on the lead rope 62, risking damage to the anchoring member 70 and injury to itself. When this occurs, or a user otherwise wishes to quickly disengage the animal 68 from the anchoring member 70, the user applies the sufficient pulling force to the clamp 14 away from the connecting rod 42. If disengaged in this way, the clamp 14 remains on the lead rope 62 via the cinching action, and the clamp 14 retains the eyelet 12 on the rope by stopping the eyelet 12 from sliding past the clamp 14.