Abstract:
Prior load tie-down strap devices containing Velcro can loosen or peel apart under load. The invention provides an adjustable loop load tie-down strap having a hook and loop (Velcro material) connection within a permanent eye at one end of the strap wherein a standing section of the same strap passes through the eye to form a tie-down loop in the strap that can be adjusted to a larger or smaller size by disconnecting and reconnecting the hook and loop connection within the eye to make the loop the desired size to fit around the article that is to be secured.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]    This invention relates to the stabilization of articles during shipment or transport as well as to providing a secure connection to an article or for connecting the article to a cord, cable, chain, strap or support structure. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]    While various retainers have been previously proposed, most prior devices are not suited for tying down a wide variety of articles that are to be shipped such as metal tubing, rod or pole stock, boards, or even vehicles such as motorcycles, bicycles, snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, and the like. The general objective of the present invention is to provide a retaining device which has wide application for supporting, stabilizing, or tying down articles and can be used both by shipping companies as well as by the consumer for tying down an article, e.g., in the bed of a pick-up truck or trailer that is hauled behind an automobile, SUV, or truck. In commercial use, the invention should be suited for tying down articles that are shipped by truck, train, flatbed, or semi-trailer, etc. Many of the prior connectors used for shipping articles are complicated and hence relatively expensive. To be successful the load tie-down strap should also be strong as well as being adjustable to fit various different size articles. Another requirement is the need to provide a connection that will not slip when adjusted to the right size for fitting the article being shipped. 
         [0003]    U.S. Pat. No. 7,171,731, for example, shows strap material having a Velcro surface but the Velcro surface is only suitable for self-organizing the device itself when it is to be stored. Other devices such as U.S. Publication No. 2009/0241300 provide a Velcro connection between two strap sections that are wrapped in a loop passing around a hardware object. However, when the strap is placed under tension the applied force tends to peel the Velcro connection apart presenting an inherent structural weakness. 
         [0004]    In view of these and other deficiencies of the prior art, it is one object of the present invention to provide an improved tie-down strap for stabilizing a load that is fully adjustable wherein tension on the strap inherently draws connector elements into tighter and more secure engagement. 
         [0005]    Another object is to provide an improved tie-down strap that can be adjusted to form a loop of any selected size which can be cinched down to fit tightly onto various size articles that are to be secured and will remain securely in the position selected without slippage. 
         [0006]    Another object of the invention is to provide a strap in which tension on the strap will tend to form a more secure tie-down for the article that is being shipped. 
         [0007]    Another object of the invention is to provide a tie-down wrap device suited for wide-scale use which is rugged in construction, reliable in operation, can be produced at a low cost, and includes a provision for retaining the device in a selected position without slippage while wrapped around the article that is being shipped or while connected securely to any other article such as a post, overhead beam, structural member, or other object. 
         [0008]    These and other more detailed and specific objects of the present invention will be better understood by reference to the following Figures and detailed description which illustrate by way of example but a few of the various forms of the invention within the scope of the appended claims. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0009]    Prior load tie-down strap devices of the general type with which the invention is concerned have been either difficult to adjust, require metal buckles for adjustment or when Velcro is used the Velcro may tend to peel apart under load so that although the Velcro connection may hold initially, if placed under enough stress the Velcro may begin to peel apart as the hooks start to pull out of the loops that are used to hold them. To overcome these and other deficiencies, the invention provides an adjustable loop load tie-down strap having a hook and loop (Velcro) connection within an eye at the end of the strap and a standing section of the same strap is passed through the eye for forming a tie-down loop in the strap adjacent to the eye that can be adjusted to a larger or smaller size by disconnecting and reconnecting a hook and loop connection within the eye to better fit the loop around the object that is to be secured. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is a top view of one form of the invention. 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is a bottom view similar to  FIG. 1  with a snap hook at its right end rather than a D-ring. 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is a side view of the invention of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view showing a strap according to the invention while connected to an object that is to be secured. 
           [0014]      FIG. 4A  is a greatly enlarged view of the looped portion of the invention shown in  FIG. 4  encircling the object that is to be secured. 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  is a view showing how the invention can be used to secure an article as it is being transported during shipment. 
           [0016]      FIG. 6  is a force diagram showing how forces are applied in a strap structured according to the invention. 
           [0017]      FIG. 7  is a force diagram similar to  FIG. 6  showing how forces are applied in a strap structured according to the prior art. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0018]    Refer to the figures and especially  FIGS. 1-4 .  FIG. 1  shows a top view,  FIG. 2  a bottom view and  FIG. 3  a side view of strap  9  in accordance with the invention having a standing part  10  with a connector such as a D-ring  18  ( FIGS. 1 and 3 ) secured to it at one end or a snap hook  18   a  ( FIG. 2 ) or any other suitable connector formed from strong plastic or metal. The strap is preferably formed from a strong woven material or webbing such as a natural or synthetic fiber with high tensile warp fibers running the length of the strap and having a Velcro coupling material such loops  15  on at least the upper surface and a complementary material, e.g., hooks covering at least a part of the interior of an eye  16  at the opposite end from the D-ring. The eye  16  is a permanent loop formed from the end portion of the strap material in which its tip is stitched or otherwise secured to itself at  22 . The inner surface of the eye  16  is formed from hooks  16   a  of the usual construction found in a Velcro product as best seen in  FIG. 4A . One convenient way to assemble the strap is to provide a single piece of Velcro in which the upper surface and lower surface both comprising loop material  15  exposed on the top and bottom surface. The strap can be made by folding Velcro material back upon itself at a transverse opening  19  around the D-ring  18  or other connector and stitching it together at  20  ( FIGS. 1 ,  3  and  4 ) e.g., around the base of the D-ring or snap hook ( FIG. 2 ). Upper and lower sections of the strap material can be stitched together along its length in superimposed parallel face to face engagement and transversely at its left end  FIGS. 1-3  as shown at  22  to form the permanent eye  16  covered on its entire inner surface with the hook fasteners  16   a  ( FIG. 4A ). If desired the loops  15  and hooks  16   a  can be reversed. 
         [0019]    When placed in use, the strap  9  thus constructed is formed into an adjustable loop  11  around an article such as a bar  14  only a portion of which is shown as shown in  FIGS. 4 and 4A  by passing the D-ring or other connector through the eye  16 . Then by opening the opposed portion of the eye with ones fingers, the eye can be slipped toward the right as seen on the figures on the freestanding portion  10  of the strap  9  as close as desired to the article  14  so as to be securely or held by the strap. It will be seen that no matter how the strap is oriented, if the loop connectors  15  are provided as shown on both upper and lower surfaces of the strap, the loops  15  will be pressed into contact with the hooks  16   a  as tension is applied to the end of the strap by the D-ring  18  or other connector. The tension thus applied has a tendency to force the hooks  16   a  toward the loops  15  thus pressing the hook and loop components into engagement with one another to thereby achieve a strong secure connection. The connection thus achieved by the present invention can be better understood and compared with the prior art by reference to  FIGS. 6 and 7  as will be described below. 
         [0020]    In another embodiment, the inside surface of the eye  16  is provided with the loop material of a hook and loop connector and the upper and lower surfaces of the standing part of the strap  10  comprises the hook component of a hook and loop fastening system. 
         [0021]    Refer now to  FIGS. 6 and 7  which show similar force diagrams for the invention ( FIG. 6 ) and the prior art ( FIG. 7 ) in the case of two straps  10  each having a loop  11  around an article  14  to be secured and each coupled to itself at a connecting point  12 . The invention has a ring or eye  16  through which the standing part of the strap passes. It will be seen that the prior art has a face-to-face hook and loop connection  13  between the standing part  10  and a terminal end portion  17 . In each figure, equal tension forces A and B, for example 100 lbs. is exerted on the standing part of the strap. This 100 lb. force can be resolved into two components consisting of forces A′ and A″ ( FIG. 6 ) on the axis of each strap segment of the invention between the connecting point  12  and the article  14  using the parallelogram method showing that the length of each of the component forces is in this case about 54 lbs.  FIG. 7  illustrating the prior art shows that the same 100 lb. force B is divided into two components B′ and B″ aligned with the strap segments that are of the same length as in  FIG. 6  namely, about 54 lbs. each. In the case of the invention, the diverging forces A′ and A″ drive the hook and loop surfaces toward one another causing them to become more tightly engaged as more tension is applied. However in the case of the prior art ( FIG. 7 ) equal forces B′ and B″ tend to pull apart the hook and loop connection between the free standing section and the terminal end  13  of the strap which can cause a sudden drastic failure by peeling them apart. As a result a tie-down strap structured as in the invention is several times stronger than the prior art of  FIG. 7  exemplified, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,943,963 and U.S. Publication No. 2009/0241300A1. The reason for the greater strength of the invention is due to component forces of the stress applied along the axis of a strap tending to pull prior art hook and loop connections apart while the same forces when applied to the invention make the hook and loop connection of the invention more secure. 
         [0022]    Refer now to  FIG. 5  which illustrates the invention in use for securing an article, in this case an all-terrain vehicle  92  to the bed  94  of a truck  96  or other vehicle. The adjustable loop load tie-down strap  9  as shown in  FIGS. 1-4  is placed around two of the frame elements  14  of the vehicle  92  and held in place by bungee cores  98  on each side of the load at  92 . Lower ends of the bungee cords  98  are secured to the floor of the vehicle by fasteners at  99  of any commercially available kind so as to exert tension on the adjustable loop load tie-down straps  9  thereby holding the load  92  securely in place during transport. The invention has many other applications, for example, to connect articles to the luggage rack on top of a vehicle. The loop  11  that is formed around the article  14  can be easily adjusted into any size by spreading apart the eye  16 , for example, by pressing on its upper and lower ends and pulling the sides apart and then sliding it in either direction on the standing part  10  to the desired point and then allowing the hooks  16   a  to become engaged with the loops  15 . The invention can be easily made from relatively low cost strap material, is readily fabricated and can be therefore be efficiently produced on a mass scale. It is adjustable and will not slip or tend to separate even when a heavy load places a substantial tension on the strap. In fact, as the tension is increased, the hook and loop components will be forced more tightly into engagement with one another thereby strengthening the connection. The invention will also stay in place, i.e., remain attached after tension is released and this way the loop  11  stays tightly engaged on an article and will not loosen or become disconnected. 
         [0023]    In addition to stabilizing articles that are being shipped, the invention can be used whenever a rope or cable, etc., is to be connected to an object, e.g. for connecting a cable to a tree or to an overhead beam in a building. Many other uses will be apparent from the present disclosure. 
         [0024]    Many other variations of the present invention within the scope of the appended claims will be apparent to those skilled in the art once the principles described herein are understood.