Abstract:
A strap attachment device has a frame with a releasable strap clamp located on each end. When combined with one or two straps the strap attachment device can be used to quickly secure loads in a flexible manner.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]    Cam straps are commonly used to secure items, and in river rafting are considered crucial equipment. A rafter will typically carry multiple cam straps having different lengths in order to secure different size objects. The current cam straps have a buckle which has one end of an elongate flat strap permanently attached to one of its ends. The other end of the buckle contains a strap clamp into which the other end of the strap can be inserted. The strap clamp allows a strap end to be pulled through it but prevents the strap from being pulled back out of the strap clamp without the strap clamp intentionally being released. 
         [0002]    While cam straps are very effective as a way to easily secure a load quickly they have several shortcomings. Because one end of the strap is permanently attached to the buckle, if the strap breaks the buckle must be discarded along with the strap, even though the buckle is still operable and is more expensive than the strap. In addition, because each buckle is permanently attached to a strap if the strap is too short a completely new cam strap must be used. Also, because the straps and buckles are permanently joined, when several cam straps are stored in a single bag they can become tangled together. Finally, because cam straps often must be installed quickly under stressful conditions it is common to install them with the strap twisted or in a manner that they must be tightened by pulling the end of the strap away from the user&#39;s body, which makes it difficult to fully tighten the cam strap. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]    The subject invention provides a strap attachment device which comprises a frame having a releasable strap clamp located at each end. The strap attachment device is combined with straps to provide a load securing device in which strap attachment devices and straps can be combined in a far more flexible manner than is possible with the prior art cam straps. 
         [0004]    The foregoing and other objectives, features, and advantages of the invention will be more readily understood upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL DRAWINGS  
         [0005]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a strap attachment device of the subject invention; 
           [0006]      FIG. 2  is a cross sectional view, at an enlarged scale, taken along the line  2 - 2  of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0007]      FIG. 3  shows how the strap attachment device is used with two straps; 
           [0008]      FIG. 4  shows how the strap attachment device is used with one strap. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0009]    Referring now to  FIGS. 1 and 2  of the drawings, a strap attachment device  10  has an elongate frame  12  with a strap clamp  14  located at each end. In the embodiment shown in the drawings the strap clamps are cam buckles. In the embodiment shown in the drawings the frame  10  has a pair of parallel side by side plates  16  which are joined at each end by spacer bars  18 . The sides of the spacer bars facing inwardly toward one another contain a plurality of teeth  20 . The strap clamps  14  include the spacer bars  18  along with clamps  24  which rotate about axels  26  which extend between the frame plates  16  inwardly of the spacer bars. The clamps  24  include clamping heads  28  which have teeth  30  that intermesh with the teeth  20  on the spreader bars  18 . Handles  31 , which are attached to the clamping heads, extends inwardly and upwardly from the axels  26 . The handles allow the clamps  24  to be rotated between a closed position, shown in the left hand clamp in  FIG. 1 , where the teeth  30  on the clamping head  28  mesh with the teeth  20  on the spreader bar  18 , and an open position, shown in the right hand clamp in  FIG. 1 , where the teeth  30  are separated from the teeth  20 . Springs  33  urges the clamps towards their closed position to grip a strap  32  which extends through them. One of the strap attachment devices  10  in conjunction with one or two thin elongate straps  32  creates a load securing device. The straps are typically flat nylon or polypropylene webbing and are one half inch to two inches or even three inches wide, and 0.040 to 0.080 inches thick. However, larger straps could be used to secure larger loads. The width of the straps is preferably slightly less than the length of the spacer bar  18 . 
         [0010]    Unlike single cam straps of the prior art, the straps are not permanently attached to the strap attachment device  10 . When the strap attachment device  10  is used with a single strap  32 ,  FIG. 4 , one end of the strap is inserted into the strap clamp  14  at one end of the strap attachment device  10 , and the other end of the strap is wrapped around the load being secured (not shown) and is inserted into the strap clamp  14  at the opposite end of the strap attachment device. Either or both ends of the strap can then be pulled through the strap clamp to tighten the strap against the load being secured. 
         [0011]    When the strap attachment device  10  is used with two straps,  FIG. 3 , one end of one of the straps is inserted into the strap clamp at one end of the strap attachment device  10  and one end of the other strap is inserted into the strap clamp  14  at the opposite end of the strap attachment device. The other ends of the straps can be inserted into another strap attachment device  10  or otherwise attached to one another or to another structure. 
         [0012]    In either case the teeth  20  and  30  engage the strap and prevent it from being pulled back through the respective strap clamps. When it is desired to release the device one or both of the handles can be pushed to rotate the clamps to their open positions to release the straps. 
         [0013]    Not having the strap attachment device  10  permanently attached to a strap provides much more flexibility than with the prior art strap clamps where one of the strap clamps is permanently attached to the clamping device. For example, a strap attachment device can be used with straps of different lengths rather than only being used with the strap attached to it. In addition, it is much easier to fix a twisted strap with the strap attachment device of the subject invention than it is with the prior art strap clamps. Likewise with the subject strap attachment device one end of the strap will always be passed through the device toward the user rather than away from the user and that end can be pulled by the user to tighten the strap. Finally, with the strap attachment device  10  of the subject invention a broken strap does not necessitate discarding the entire clamping device, which is the case with the prior art cam straps. 
         [0014]    The terms and expressions which have been employed in the foregoing specification are used therein as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention in the use of such terms and expressions of excluding equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, it being recognized that the scope of the invention is defined and limited only by the claims which follow.