LOCATING MECHANISM

The present invention relates to a locating mechanism which can be used as a retaining mechanism or a fastener for connecting or tethering items. Such items could include airbags, fire extinguishers, spare wheels and first aid kits in automotive applications, and many other items in other applications.

Known fasteners suitable for tethering items typically comprise a length of webbing material in the form of a strap attached at one end to a buckle. The strap can be stitched to or wrapped around the item to be tethered. The buckle is typically riveted or bolted to a bulkhead or load bearing part and the other end of the strap is threaded through the buckle through a hole or slot in the buckle and is fixed by stitching, welding or riveting layers of the webbing to fix the webbing in a loop attached through the slot, to secure the item.

The step of fixing the webbing into such a loop is time consuming and thus expensive on a production line. Stitching, welding and riveting also weakens the webbing and reduces the load which it can retain. To compensate, manufacturers tend to over-engineer the webbing more than would otherwise be necessary and this increases the weight of the fastener as well as its cost . Such known fixing methods also reduce the flexibility of the webbing at the join.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a locating mechanism comprising: a strap formed from two layers of webbing interwoven with each other at intervals along their length to take the

form of a series of integrally connected loops; and a fastener in the general form for example of a hook or clip having an arm adapted to slide through at least one of the loops, and an arm adapted to abut the outside of the webbing, so that the fastener can be removably connected to the webbing in a manner such that the fastener resists disconnection from the webbing by relative movement between the fastener and the webbing in the longitudinal line of the webbing.

The fastener could be flexible but for most applications is preferably rigid. It comprises the arm which is adapted to be threaded through one of the loops in the strap so that part of the fastener extends out of one open side of the loop and part extends out of the opposite open side of the loop so as to resist dislodgement of the fastener from the strap, at least against forces in the longitudinal line of the strap.

In one embodiment the fastener comprises a generally planar part which has a hole formed in it and an interconnecting slot joining the hole to the edge of the planar part .

This hole and slot formation allows one layer of a webbing loop to be threaded through the slot into the hole, and an inside edge of the hole can be positioned abutting the interwoven boundary of the loop to prevent movement of the buckle along the strap in that direction.

A second part of the fastener may have a second hole by which the buckle attachment can be bolted or riveted to another item such as a load bearing part of an automobile, or a marine vessel, so that the strap can be

used for restraining movement of items or goods. The second hole is separate from the first hole. The second hole may be positioned in-line with the first hole and in-line with the strap, or may be set to one side of the first hole and thus of the strap, depending upon the required application, i.e. whether the intended fastening point is in-line with where the strap is to be deployed or not .

More than one fastener could be attached to the same strap. For example, a fastener could be attached to each end of the strap so that the strap can be fixed in two places, such as across an item to be restrained, or connected to other items .

The invention provides a versatile fastening means which can easily and quickly be adapted to a plurality of uses and does not suffer the disadvantage of having its structural integrity compromised by an area of stitching, so for the same weight, it will be stronger than a conventional fastening means. The fasteners can be removed and exchanged and their position on the strap can easily and quickly be adjusted so as to adjust the free length of strap depending upon the size or position of the item to be restrained.

According to a preferred embodiment the fastener has a third part arranged to extend in the line of the strap and to overly the webbing .

This embodiment is particularly useful when the buckle is attached to an item at a position offset from the line of the strap because it serves to resist

detachment of the buckle from the strap in the event of twisting forces .

One specific embodiment of the buckle has two arms arranged to extend across the width of the strap.

Another embodiment has three arms extending across the width of the strap: a central arm adapted to pass through a loop between the two layers of webbing, and two arms spaced from and on opposite sides of the central arm, and arranged so that they both overly one side of the strap. Preferably the three arms are joined at one end by a connecting shoulder and the central arm has a wider head at the other end, sized and shaped so that it relatively easily passes through the loop, but resists movement which would tend to pull the head back through the loop to disengage the buckle from the loop.

The buckle is preferably formed of metal by stamping or casting.

A buckle according to a second aspect of the invention comprises a generally planar section with a single continuous edge which forms a recess within the planar section to receive a loop of webbing, and means for attaching the fastener to another item. The attachment means may comprise a hole through which a rivet, bolt or rope may be inserted, or a hook or clip.

According to a third aspect there is provided a fastener comprising at least two rigid arms rigidly connected together by a shoulder at one end, so that one arm can pass through a loop in a flexible strap and the other passes on one side of the loop.

The two arms may be elongate and parallel to each other or they may be curved or any one of many shapes . According to one embodiment there is provided a first section with a hole connected to the outside of the first section by a relatively narrow passage, and a second section comprising means to attach the fastener to another item.

Preferably, at the opposite end to that at which the arms are connected together by the shoulder, they are separated by a distance less than that separating the arms along the area between the connected sides.

A suitable form of strap for this fastening means is described in corresponding UK application number GB0602939.1 filed 14 February 2006.

For a better understanding of the present invention, and to show how the same may be carried into effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic plan view representation of a fastening means according to one embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 is a schematic plan view representation of a fastening means according to a second embodiment of the invention;

Figure 3 is a cross-section through the line III-III of the fastening means of figure 2.

Figure 4 is a schematic plan view of the fastener of figure 1 attached to a strap;

Figure 5 is a schematic plan view of the fastener of figure 2 attached to a strap; and

Figure 6 is a cross-section through the line VI-VI in figure 5.

In figure 1 the fastening means of the first embodiment is shown as a planar item comprising a first central arm 1, a second arm 2, and a third arm 3, all integrally connected at one end by a connecting shoulder 8. The two arms 1 and 2 are separated along a major part of their length by a distance x to form a passageway 4. At the end opposite to the connecting part 8 the two arms 1 and 2 are separated by a distance y which is smaller than x, forming a narrower passageway 5 which is angled to the passageway 4. The same configuration applies to the relationship between the third arm 3 and the central arm 1 in mirror image.

The narrow passageway 5 is created by a bulbous head 6 on the central arm 1. This bulbous head is made to be just smaller than the width of a loop in the strap to which the fastener will be attached. In this way it can be inserted through the loop so that central arm 1 is enclosed by the loop, but so that it will not easily slip out of the loop again. It is this bulbous head, making the passageway 5 narrow, which further assists in retaining the fastener on the strap.

The bulbous head has a hole 7 formed in it through which a bolt or rivet may pass to attach the fastener to another item, such as a load bearing part of an automobile or a marine vehicle. This hole 7 may alternatively be formed as a hook or clip.

Another embodiment of the buckle is shown in plan view in figure 2 and in cross section in figure 3.

This second embodiment can be considered to have only two arms 1 and 2, joined by shoulder 8 and the arms 1 and 2 are curved on the inside so that the buckle presents a generally rectangular or oval shape, with the curved inside edges of the arms 1 and 2 and the shoulder 8 forming a circular hole which can be likened to the broad passageway 4 in the first embodiment. This circular hole is connected to the outside edge of the buckle by the narrow passageway 5. The broad passageway 4 has a maximum diameter of x (the diameter of the hole) , and the narrow passageway has a width y, which is less than x. In use a loop of a strap is threaded through the narrow passageway 5, into the passageway 4, so that this time arm 2 is enclosed by the loop with arm 1 resting on the outside of the webbing.

In this embodiment the bulbous head 6 with the fastening hole 7 is offset from the plane of arms 1 and 2 so as to provide clearance for movement of the strap when the head 6 is rigidly fastened. This is shown more clearly in figure 3. However the fastener could alternatively be constructed flat. Alternatively the fastener of figure 1 can be constructed with an offset head .

Figures 4 to 6 show fasteners connected to webbing straps to form fasteners. The strap is shown at 10 and takes the form of two parallel layers 11 and 12 of webbing formed into a series of loops 13 by interweaving the webbing of the two layers in the regions 14. The loops are seen most clearly in figure 6.

In figure 4 the buckle of figure 1 is shown connected to the strap 10 by having the head 6 of arm 1 pushed through one of the loops 13 so that the arm 1 is located within the loop 13 abutting the interwoven region 14. The head 6 extends from one side of the strap 10 and the shoulder 8 connecting the arms extends from the other side of the strap. The two arms 2 and 3 extend across the width of the strap and serve to stabilise the buckle and resist its detachment from the strap.

In figure 5 the buckle of figure 2 is shown. One of the interwoven regions 14 rests against the inside curved surface of the recess or wide passageway 4, so that part of arm 2 and shoulder 8 is enclosed in the corresponding loop 13. Part of the arm 2 extends out of one side of the loop and the arm 1 extends outside the loop on the other side to stabilise the attachment and prevent disconnection of the buckle from the loop. The narrowness of passageway 5 makes it difficult for the strap to become dislodged from the fastener.

Either design of fastening means can be mounted at the end of a strap to provide a trailing length of webbing for attaching to the end of an object such as for retaining an item such as an automotive airbag to a vehicle bulkhead. Alternatively it can be mounted in the centre of the webbing strap to allow the strap to be wrapped around an object. The two free ends of the strap can then be fastened together by a secondary attachment such as a slider ring. This is for example useful for attaching a fire extinguisher to a bulkhead.

It can be seen that a fastener as described can be easily and quickly put together without compromising the strength of the webbing used. It is versatile and strong.