CLIP

Abstract: A channel-shaped clip (10) is for receiving articles of various thicknesses. A tongue (15) is resiliently joined to the base of one side wall (14) of the channel and inclines upwardly. An object inserted between its free end (16) and the other side wall (13) is pressed against that wall and held, variation in the upward inclination allowing for different thicknesses of object. Any tendency to downward movement of the object increases the pressure which is applied to it by the tongue.

Description: CLIP The present invention relates to a clip of a type used to hold elongate objects (e.g. kitchen utensils, tools, brooms, toothbrush handles, pencils, pens etc) in a substantially vertical position from a support such as a wall. In this type of clip the object is gripped by friction in the gap between a fixed part and a movable part of the clip which in the prior art has been either a roller mounted in an inclined slot or a pivotally- mounted spring-loaded rigid arm. The movable part is mounted so that downward frictional force exerted on it by the weight of the object tends to close the gap, gripping the object more tightly. The object is removed from or inserted in the clip by moving it or the movable part so as to loosen the frictional grip. These prior art clips have the disadvantage that they comprise many different parts, are mechanically complex leading to enhanced cost, and are not effective over a large range of dimensions of objects to be held. in particular they will not hold very thin and light objects effectively. It is desired to provide a clip of very simple construction that is effective in holding objects of widely varying dimensions. The invention therefore provides a clip in which an elongate object, to be held with its axis of elongation substantially vertical, is to be gripped between a vert¬ ical reaction surface and one end of an elastically flexible tongue, the other end of the strip being held fixed relative to the reaction surface. In the rest position, when the clip is vacant, the tongue preferably slopes upwardly from the fixed end towards its free end. Restoring force urging the free end of the tongue at least initially into contact with the inserted object is provided by the material of the tongue against the reaction of its secured fixed end. In a preferred form the clip is a substantially u-shaped channel, one side of the channel acting as the vertical surface, and the other side acting as the support for the tongue, which extends towards the vertical surface across the channel. In this form the whole clip may be made from a single piece of a suitable metal or plastics material, with the tongue being an integral continuation of the other side of the channel. The tongue may extend completely across the channel in its rest position, so that very thin objects can be held. The end of the tongue is preferably indented or concave, so that objects held in the clip tend to be centred relative to the tongue and therefore not to escape sideways from its embrace. Such one-piece clips may be integrally formed from plastics material in a moulding process or from metal by a stamping and bending process. A less preferred (because more expensive) embodiment has the tongue separate from but rigidly attached to the rest of the clip, in which case it may be of different material from the rest of the clip . An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of a clip according to the present invention; and Figures 2 and 3 show clips according to the present invention, holding a toothbrush and a knife respectively. Figure 2 being partly in section. With reference to Figure 1, a clip embodying the present invention has a generally U-shaped channel 10, to be fixed to a support e.g. a house wall by means of screws through holes 11 in its back wall 12, so that the base 12 of the channel and its parallel side walls 13,14 are substantially vertical. In this embodiment the entire clip is a one-piece integral whole. The bottom of the wall 14 continues at its bottom end into a tongue 15 that extends across the channel generally parallel to its base, towards the opposite wall 13, and in its rest position slopes upwardly from its root. The opposite wall 13 extends further downwardly than the wall 14, at portion 18, so as to lessen the risk that the tongue 15 might pass to below the horizontal. It also allows the tongue to originate in a smooth continuation of the wall 13 and then bend round towards the other wall. The free end 16 of the tongue 15 has a concave indentation 17 in the form of a shallow V. By virtue of its construction and material the tongue tends to restore itself elastic- cally - primarily by flexion near its root to its rest position. In use, an object is pushed into the channel 10 of the clip in a generally upward direction, bending the tongue 15 upwardly away from wall 13 to form a gap. The further the tongue 15 is bent upwardly, the wider the gap between the free end 16 and the wall 13. The elast¬ icity of the tongue 15 urges it back against the object against the reaction of the wall 13, causing friction between them. The weight of the object acts downardly on the tongue, tending to return it towards the hori¬ zontal and thus reduce the gap between the end 16 of the tongue and the wall 13, thereby gripping the object more tightly in the gap. Within limits, the heavier the object, the tighter it is held. Figures 2 and 3 show objects held in clips according to the invention. In Figure 2, the object is a toothbrush 20, of small dimensions. It will be seen that for very light objects such as the elasticity of the tongue 15, tending to close the gap, makes a major contribution to the grip. In Figure 3 a larger, heavier object (a knife 21) is shown held in the clip. In this case the tongue .15 is bent upwardly through a considerable angle, but the knife is held securely against falling. The indentation 17 serves to guide and hold these objects centrally of the tongue, preventing them from falling out forwardly. Clearly the clip according to the invention is suitable for holding objects of widely varying shapes and dimensions - the dimensions of the channel 10 and the length and elasticity of the tongue 15 may of course be varied for different intended uses; also a series of clips can readily be formed side by side, perhaps with common intervening side walls, to give an array of holders for tools, kitchen utensils or toothbrushes, for example. At least when made entirely in one piece and preferably of a plastics material the clip will be extremely simple and cheap. Reinforcing ribs 19 may be formed on the side walls and/or base to give the necessary strength to the structure; and additional rigidity may be given to the base by virtue of being firmly secured, e.g. by screwing, to a planar surface such as a wall.

Claims: CLAIMS ; 1. A clip (10) for suspending an object, the clip having parallel opposed side walls (13,14) and a tongue (15) resiliently joined to one of them (14) and extending towards the other side wall (13) for gripping an object between its free end (16) and the other side wall (13) with an increased inclination of the tongue (15) to the horizontal. 2. A clip according to claim 1 which is an integral one-piece formation of plastics material. 3. A clip according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the free end (16) of the tongue has a central indentation (17). 4. A clip according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the tongue (15) continues from one end of the one side wall (14), the other side wall (13) extending further at that end than the one side wall. 5. A clip according to claim 1 or claim 2 which is one of an array of said clips, the one side wall of one clip being common with the other side wall of a clip adjacent to the one clip.

Inventors: DAVIS RAYMOND CHRISTOPHER, DAVIS, RAYMOND, CHRISTOPHER
Applicants: BROOKLINE DELTA LTD, BROOKLINE DELTA LIMITED
Application year: 1986
Main classification: A47J47
IPC codes: A47G1, A47G21, A47G29, A47L13, B25H3, F16B2