Abstract:
A cinching and bundling tie consisting of a planar strap having multiple teeth along both edges that engage when the strap is tied around an object or objects. The tie is self engaging, re-usable, simple in design, effective in its performance, easy to use, quick to apply, and adjustable.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED DOCUMENTS 
       [0001]    The present invention is a continuation in part of a U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/704,572, entitled “Cinching and Bundling Strap” filed on Feb. 9, 2007, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. The parent case filed on Feb. 9, 2007 claimed priority to provisional application Ser. No. 60/773,360 filed on Feb. 14, 2005, and incorporates all disclosure of that provisional application. The present application therefore claims priority to both of the applications described above in this paragraph. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Embodiments are generally related a unique re-useable, self locking, cinching and bundling tie. Embodiments are also generally related to a planar tie manufactured using die cutting techniques. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    There are many examples of self locking straps or ties existing in the prior art used for a multitude of purposes such as bundling of wire, cord, tubing as well as bag closure and even the hanging of Christmas lights. One such example is U.S. Pat. No. 6,763,554, issued to Ralph H. Turrey and Lis N. Torrey on Jul. 20, 2004, describes many types of ties or wraps to include those which utilize Velcro®. In addition to the foregoing, U.S. Pat. No. 3,833,972, issued to George Brumlick on Sep. 10,1974, discloses a tie with teeth or slots which open and catch onto the material being bundled. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,914,823 and 3,943607, issued to Kunio Hara on Oct. 28, 2975 and Mar. 16, 1976, respectively, describes a strap which interlocks with teeth. U.S. Pat. No. 3,918,129, issued Nov. 11, 1975, to Kunio Hara, discloses a strap with one side having engaging hooks while the other side contains teeth which are to be engaged with the afore referenced hooks. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,466,159, issued to Robert Burrage on Aug. 21, 1984, 3,486,200, issued to E. H. Orenick on Jul. 23,1968, and 5,799,376, issued Sep. 1, 1998 to Andrew Harvey, each disclose a strap which inserted through a hole. U.S. Pat. No. 3,780,401, issued to William Reimer on Dec. 25, 1973, describes a strap with extending hooks which engage the body of the strap. 
         [0004]    There exists a need for a cinching and bundling tie that can be manufactured from a wide variety of materials utilizing die cutting techniques with minimal waste. There also exists a need for a cinching tie that is easily engaged to provide a secure hold and can be cinched and un-cinched multiple times without loss of effectiveness or structure. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    The following summary is provided to facilitate an understanding of some of the innovative features unique to the disclosed embodiment and is not intended to be a full description. A full appreciation of the various aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein can be gained by taking the entire specification, claims, drawings, and abstract as a whole. 
         [0006]    It is one aspect of the present invention to provide a cinching and bundling tie consisting of a strap having multiple teeth along both edges. The tie is self engaging, reusable, simple in design, effective in its performance, easy to use, quick to apply, and adjustable. Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when viewed in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which set forth certain embodiments of the invention. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]    The accompanying figures, in which like reference numerals refer to identical or functionally-similar elements throughout the separate views and which are incorporated in and form a part of the specification, further illustrate the embodiments and, together with the detailed description, serve to explain the embodiments disclosed herein. 
           [0008]      FIGS. 1-6 , labeled Prior Art, represent illustrations of currently available ties and fasteners. 
           [0009]      FIG. 7  shows a top view of the tie. 
           [0010]      FIG. 8  shows a top view of an alternate embodiment of the tie. 
           [0011]      FIG. 9  shows multiple ties being cut from a single sheet of material and an enlargement showing the angle of taper of the tooth relative to the strap of the tie. 
           [0012]      FIG. 10  illustrates how the tie functions to cinch and hold items. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0013]    It is to be understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art that the following descriptions are provided for purposes of illustration and not for limitation. An artisan understands there are many variations that lie within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims. Unnecessary detail of known functions and operations may be omitted from the current description so as not to obscure the present invention. 
         [0014]    Patrick Rome, the inventor in connection with the invention described herein, owns and Rome Patent Application operates a business which is involved in the manufacture of carrier tape used with surface mount technology (“SMT”). Surface mount technology is a method for constructing electronic circuits in which the components are mounted directly onto the surface of the printed circuit board (“PCB”). Electronic components such as resistors, capacitors, inductors, and semiconductors, utilized in connection with SMT are referred to as surface mount devices (“SMD”). The preferred method of supplying SMD&#39;s today is tape and reel. Tape and reel is a process of loading SMD&#39;s into individual pockets contained on what is known as pocket or carrier tape. The carrier tape typically has holes along one edge which align with the handling requirements of the component delivery system. SMD&#39;s are added to the blank carrier tape and the components sealed with a cover tape. The carrier tape, which now contains the required SMD&#39;s, is wound around a reel for convenient handling and transport. 
         [0015]    Quite unexpectedly, it was discovered that if two pieces of blank carrier tape were twisted around each other, they formed a tight, self locking, re-usable cinch. Unfortunately, the material used for the carrier tape proved to be too weak and the holes along the edges of less than ideal for achieving a tight cinch. Through experimentation, the ideal type of material as well as the design of teeth were determined. The unique strap ultimately proved to be highly adaptive to any use, as well as easy to lock and unlock for repeated use without any loss in effectiveness. 
         [0016]      FIGS. 1-6  represent examples of currently generally available ties.  FIG. 1  depicts the typical tie used with bread bags where the material to be cinched is pulled though the central opening and held tight by the two “teeth” found along the top side of such opening. Different in style but not purpose,  FIG. 2  illustrates a tie where spring action holds the material cinched.  FIGS. 3 ,  4  and  5  disclose typical strap like ties where one end of a strap is inserted through an opening, cinched, and then held in place through some form of an engaging means.  FIG. 6  illustrates the use of Velcro  0  on a strap to maintain closure. There are disadvantages to each of the ties referred to above. Unlike the tie of the present invention, the tie of  FIG. 1  is limited in its application to only those instances where material is of appropriate size to be pulled through the central opening. The tie disclosed in  FIG. 2  differs from the present invention as it is limited in application to instances where material can be pulled through and employs a spring mechanism which over time can become weak and non-resilient. The ties in  FIGS. 3 ,  4 , and  5  require more complexity in manufacture than the present invention in that in each, a strap bearing a strategically placed opening and non-uniform width must be manufactured.  FIG. 6  represents the most complex and expensive of the exemplary ties disclosed herein in that each strap must be covered with a hook and loop type material such as Velcro®. 
         [0017]    The simplicity of the present invention is shown in  FIG. 7 . The tie  10  of the present invention consists of a planar, flat strap  12  having a length (l) and generally uniform width (w) made from any pliable semi-rigid material, such as polyethylene or polypropylene. The strap  12  also includes a first edge and a second edge. The thickness of the strap will vary depending on the material used for manufacture, though a thickness of less than some fraction of the width of the strap  12 . Along most or the entire length of the two opposing edges of the strap are teeth  14  in a repeating and uniform pattern having a width (w′) and a length (l′). The teeth  14  are generally formed during creating of the strap and therefore, are continuous with the strap. In one embodiment, the teeth  14  are separated by troughs  16  being inverse in shape to the teeth  14 . An alternate embodiment lacks teeth  14  at the ends of the strap  12  in order to allow a more ergonomic and comfortable handle.  FIG. 8  shows an alternate embodiment wherein said teeth  14  are formed by angled slits in the planar strap  12 . 
         [0018]    The shape of the teeth  14  allows multiple ties to be manufactured side-by-side from a single sheet of material without waste of material between ties, as illustrated in  FIG. 9 . Also, because the invention can be cut from a variety of smooth materials, as opposed to ridged or textured materials as required for the other tie-types shown in  FIGS. 3-6 , printing of an identifier  18 , such as a part number or code, upon each individual tie can be easily accomplished. Additionally, because the ties can be manufactured without regard to a specific length (l), the end user can determine the desired length for each individual tie  10 .  FIG. 9  also shows an enlargement of a single tooth and an angle of taper from the top of the tooth to the strap  12  of 75 degrees which results in the most secure locking of teeth  14  when the tie  10  is engaged. The degree of taper can range from 70 degrees to 85 degrees. The teeth  14  can be of various shapes and sizes and still accomplish the desired cinching and locking of teeth  14 . It has been determined that the tightest and most secure lock can be achieved if the width (w′) of a tooth, at its widest point, is one fourth the width (w) of the strap, It has further been found that a tooth length (l′) of one half the width (w) of the strap body achieves the most secure cinch. These attributes create a tie  10  that is easily scalable and therefore can be utilized in a wide variety of applications. A variety of manufacturing processes can be employed to produce the tie  10 . One such process utilizes die cutting techniques to cut sheets of material into the ties  10 . The ties can also be formed using molding or similar processes to form the strap  12  having teeth  14  as described above. 
         [0019]      FIG. 10  illustrates how the tie  10  functions to cinch and hold items. The tie  10  functions by interlocking of the teeth  14  when the strap  12  is tied in an overhand knot around an object or objects to be secured. The angle of taper of the teeth serves to prevent the teeth  14  from slipping past each other, thus creating a secure cinch. The tie  10  of the present invention can be cinched and un-cinched repeatedly without any loss in effectiveness. Release of the tie  10  is accomplished by pushing the ends towards each other in order to unlock the teeth  14  and allow for untying of the overhand knot. 
         [0020]    While the preferred embodiments have been shown and described, it will be understood that there is no intent to limit the invention by such disclosure, but rather, is intended to cover all modifications and alternate constructions falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.