Patent ID: 8246095

Claim:
A cable clasp for supporting an article, comprising: a tail forming part of a loop and including a free proximal end having an engagement face, and the tail including a distal hinge end opposite the free proximal end; a head forming another part of the loop, the head including: a handle including a distal hinge end pivotally connected to the distal hinge end of the tail, the handle defining a proximal mouth opening and distal mouth opening together providing a passageway into which the tail is movable to permit the clasp to move from an open-loop position to a closed-loop position and vice versa, in the open-loop position the free proximal end of the tail being spaced from the passageway, in the closed-loop position at least a portion of the free proximal end being disposed within the passageway, and the free proximal end of the tail passing through the proximal mouth opening to enter the passageway when moving from the open-loop position to the closed-loop position, the handle including: a neck; a grip connected to the neck opposite the distal hinge end of the handle, the grip including a first grip arm extending generally perpendicularly relative to a loop plane in which the tail moves relative to the handle and a second grip arm extending generally perpendicularly relative to the loop plane, and the first and second grip arms being disposed on opposite sides of the neck; and a lock connected to the handle and protruding from the proximal mouth opening, the lock including a catch engageable with the engagement face of the tail, the catch and the engagement face being engageable in a lock position to: 1) prevent motion of the tail relative to the head in a first direction, and 2) permit motion of the tail relative to the head in a second direction opposite the first direction by sliding the catch over the engagement face, and the lock and the engagement face being disengageable in a release position to permit motion of the tail relative to the head in both the first and second directions.