Patent ID: 8448608

Claim:
A tether device, comprising: a tether assembly disposed between two entities to maintain connection between the two entities; a resilient element integrated with the tether assembly, a shape of the resilient element defining a tube; the tether assembly defining a tether having openings created in the tether, the resilient element being assembled through the openings in the tether; an internal insert inserted inside the resilient element creating a bulge in the tube, the bulge sized to preclude its passage through the openings in the tether; and a geometry of the tether assembly and the resilient element creating at least first and second force-displacement responses of the resilient element and the tether assembly when the resilient element and the tether assembly are together subjected to at least first and second axial displacement forces, the second axial displacement force being greater than the first axial displacement force, the first force-displacement response when subjected to the first axial displacement force is greater than the second force-displacement response when subjected to the second axial displacement force.