Background of the Invention

The present invention relates to a device for securing and fastening a tarpaulin to a support structure.

Known securing devices for tarpaulins comprise e.g. anchors that can be passed through an eyelet provided in the tarpaulin or grippers that pinch some of the material of the tarpaulin. However, these known devices have the disadvantage that they either can only be used in positions where eyelets have already been provided in the tarpaulin, or that they do not provide a secure fastening for a tarpaulin, since a gripper pinching the tarpaulin material may come unstuck during use.

Further, for very light weight tarpaulins, known fasteners may tear the tarpaulin material since there may only be a small contact surface between the fastener and the tarpaulin for transferring the force/power from wind and other impact. If a fastener is passed through a hole in the tarpaulin material, it may cut into the edges of the hole.

German utility model DE 29719330 Ul describes a device for securing a tarpaulin. A disc is placed on one side of the tarpaulin and an associated ring can be placed on the other side of the tarpaulin and brought to encircle the disc such that the tarpaulin material is tightly held between the disc and the ring. The ring includes a hook which can be used to attach the fastening device, and thereby the tarpaulin, to a strap or some other means to which the tarpaulin should be fastened.

Consequently there is a need for devices that can secure diverse types of tarpaulin, even many types that have not been provided with eyelets, and that provide secure and durable attachment of tarpaulins to support structures. Such devices should be able to hold even relatively light-weight tarpaulins without subjecting them to forces that may tear their fabric.

Summary

The present invention is designed to meet at least some of the needs described above by providing a device for securing a tarpaulin, comprising a pin and a strap, wherein a first end of the strap is attached to a middle section of the pin, wherein the middle section refers to the lengthwise direction of the pin. The device further comprises a disc attached to a second end of the strap, wherein the disc has a hole and wherein the pin is adapted to pass through the hole in the disc. Thus, the disk may rest against the tarpaulin with the hole in the disk aligned with a hole in the tarpaulin, while the pin may be used to pass the strap through the holes in the disc and in the tarpaulin and then to a structure to which the tarpaulin is to be fastened. Hence, the device secures the tarpaulin by first perforating the tarpaulin and then attaching a strap to the tarpaulin by means of a disc which is attached to the strap.

Further, the pin may be returned through the hole in the disk. The attachment of the strap in a middle section of the pin ensures that the pin can be supported on a surface of the disc while the strap pulls the middle section of the pin in alignment with the hole.

The disc provides a relatively large surface for transferring forces from the device to the tarpaulin so that tearing of the tarpaulin material can be prevented. Hence, the device may e.g. be used to secure a light-weight tarpaulin in windy conditions, wherein the large disc surface resting against the tarpaulin material distributes the load from wind forces onto a larger area and thus prevents damage to the tarpaulin.

Those with skill in the art will understand that there is a functional relationship between the size of the area over which forces can be distributed, the magnitude of those forces, and the relative strength of the tarpaulin fabric, such that with increasing forces and/or decreasing tarpaulin strength, the area over which the forces should be distributed must increase.

The pin may have a tip that is adapted to perforate the tarpaulin. Thus, the tip of the pin may be used to perforate the tarpaulin and the attached strap may then be passed through the hole in the tarpaulin created by the pin.

According to embodiments, a surface of the disc that is adapted to contact the tarpaulin may have a protruding edge or collar around the hole. Thus, the protruding edge or collar may be passed through the hole in the tarpaulin and may prevent the strap from cutting into the tarpaulin material when the tarpaulin and/or the strap are subjected to forces in a direction parallel to a plane of the tarpaulin. The collar may have a generally conical shape.

According to embodiments, the collar may have at least one cutout portion at the edge of the collar that faces away from the disc. The cutout portion may be adapted to receive the strap. Thus, the strap may be held in the cutout portion so that any relative movement between the collar and the strap and thus the wear and tear on the strap caused by rubbing against the edge of the collar is minimized.

Therein, the collar may have at least two cutout portions which divide the edge of the collar into at least two separate sections. These sections can be flexibly deformed during insertion of the collar into the hole formed in the tarpaulin, even if the diameter of the hole in the tarpaulin is slightly smaller than the diameter of the edge of the collar.

The wall surrounding the hole may comprise at least one indentation for guiding at least one portion of the strap as it extends through the hole. Therein, the at least one indentation may be aligned with the at least one cutout portion so that the strap can engage the indentation and the cutout portion as it is passed through the hole in the disc. Thus, the strap can be guided by the indentation and the cutout portion through the hole and along the collar, which further minimizes any damage to the strap that might be caused by the strap rubbing against any surfaces or edges of the disc.

According to embodiments, the disc may have a pin-receiving groove which is shaped such that a portion of the pin engages the pin-receiving groove when the pin is resting on a surface of the disc. When the pin is passed back through the hole in the disc after perforating the tarpaulin and being looped around a support structure, the pin can then be accommodated in the pin-receiving groove. Thus, the strap can form a closed loop around the support structure while the respective ends of the strap may be securely held on the opposite side of the tarpaulin by the disc and by the pin resting in the pin-receiving groove of the disc.

According to embodiments, the disc may have a strap-receiving groove wherein a portion of the strap may be positioned in the strap-receiving groove. Thus, the strap is held in a predefined position relative to the disc when the device is used for fastening the tarpaulin, so that any relative motion of the strap against the sides or the edges of the disc can be minimized. This serves to reduce wear and tear on the strap. If at least one indentation is provided in the wall surrounding the hole, the indentation may be aligned with the position of the strap-receiving groove in order to guide the strap from the surface of the disc through the hole. According to embodiments, the pin may have a first groove for guiding a first portion of the strap while the pin is passed through the hole in the disc. Therein, the first portion of the strap may be received in the first groove of the pin so that the diameter of the combination of the pin and the strap that is attached to the pin is reduced. According to embodiments, the first groove may run along the length of the pin from the position where the strap is attached to the end of the pin.

Additionally, the pin may have a second groove for guiding a second portion of the strap while the pin is passed through the hole in the disc. According to embodiments, the second groove may extend along the entire length of the pin. Thus, even when the pin is passed back through the hole in the tarpaulin after having been looped around a support structure, the diameter of the combination of the pin, the first portion of the strap attached to the pin and the second portion of the strap that runs from the disk through the hole in the disk and the hole in the tarpaulin is minimized.

According to embodiments, the pin may have a strap attachment channel which is adapted to receive the first end of the strap. Thus, the first end of the strap can be held securely inside the strap attachment channel. If the strap attachment channel is aligned with the first groove in the pin, the strap attached to the pin can be guided to run alongside the length of the pin.

According to embodiments, the pin may have a hook. Thus, instead of passing the pin and the attached strap back through the hole in the tarpaulin and the hole in the disk, the hook may be used in an alternative fastening configuration to hook the pin to the strap after looping the strap around the support structure. The hook may be provided at the same end of the pin as the tip for perforating the tarpaulin.

According to embodiments, the strap may be manufactured from an elastic material, e.g. from synthetic rubber such as EPDM rubber. The strap may further have a textile cover.

According to a further aspect, a disc for securing a tarpaulin is provided, the disc being adapted to receive the first end of a strap to be attached to a surface facing away from the tarpaulin, and the disc comprising a hole through which a pin attached to the second end of the strap can pass through, and a protruding collar around the hole on the surface of the disc that is adapted to contact the tarpaulin. Thus, the disc may be used in conjunction with a strap and a pin in order to secure a tarpaulin, wherein the relatively large surface area of the disc ensures that forces acting on the tarpaulin and/or the strap are distributed over a relatively large surface area of the tarpaulin. According to embodiments, the protruding collar may have a conical shape.

Brief description of the Drawings

Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the drawings, in which like reference numerals denote the same or corresponding elements, and in which:

Fig. 1 shows a three-dimensional view of an embodiment of the device as it secures a

tarpaulin;

Fig. 2 shows the device of Fig. 1 as viewed from a different direction;

Fig. 3a and 3b show a side-on view of the device of Fig. 1 during fastening, wherein the strap has been looped around a support structure and the pin is being passed back through the hole in the disk;

Fig. 4a and 4b show the device of Fig. 3a and 3b as viewed from the top and the bottom, respectively;

Fig. 5 shows a side view of the pin as shown in Fig. 1 to 4;

Fig. 6 shows the pin of Fig. 5 as viewed from an opposite side;

Fig. 7 shows the pin of Fig. 5 as viewed from a different direction;

Fig. 8 shows the pin of Fig. 5 as viewed from a different direction;

Fig. 9 shows a three-dimensional view of the disc as shown in Fig. 1 to 4;

Fig. 10 shows a first side view of the disc of Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 shows a second side view of the disc of Fig. 9;

Fig. 12 shows a top view of the disc of Fig. 9; and

Fig. 13 shows a bottom view of the disc of Fig. 9.

Detailed description

In the following description of various embodiments, reference will be made to the drawings, in which like reference numerals denote the same or corresponding elements. The drawings are not necessarily to scale. Instead, certain features may be shown exaggerated in scale or in a somewhat simplified or schematic manner, wherein certain conventional elements may have been left out in the interest of exemplifying the principles of the invention rather than cluttering the drawings with details that do not contribute to the understanding of these principles.

It should be noted that, unless otherwise stated, different features or elements may be combined with each other whether or not they have been described together as part of the same embodiment below. The combination of features or elements in the exemplary embodiments are done in order to facilitate understanding of the invention rather than limit its scope to a limited set of embodiments, and to the extent that alternative elements with substantially the same functionality are shown in respective embodiments, they are intended to be interchangeable, but for the sake of brevity, no attempt has been made to disclose a complete description of all possible permutations of features.

Furthermore, those with skill in the art will understand that the invention may be practiced without many of the details included in this detailed description. Conversely, some well-known structures or functions may not be shown or described in detail, in order to avoid

unnecessarily obscuring the relevant description of the various implementations. The terminology used in the description presented below is intended to be interpreted in its broadest reasonable manner, even though it is being used in conjunction with a detailed description of certain specific implementations of the invention.

Reference is first made to Fig. 1 which shows a device 1 for securing a tarpaulin 2 to a support structure 3, such as e.g. a beam or a strut. The device 1 comprises a pin 4, a strap 5 and a disc 6. A first end of a strap 5 is attached to the pin 4, and a second end of the strap 5 is attached to the disc 6. The strap 5 may be attached to the disc 6 and to the pin 4 by stapling, by stitching or by any other suitable method. The pin 4 and the disc 6 may be manufactured from a polyolefin material, such as e.g. polyethylene or polypropylene. The strap 5 may be manufactured from a synthetic rubber, such as EPDM rubber, and may be covered with a textile layer.

As shown in Fig. 1, one possible fastening configuration for the device 1 comprises the pin 4 lying flat across a top surface of the disc 6, wherein the strap 5 forms a loop around the support structure 3. In this configuration, the surface of the disc 6 that rests against the tarpaulin 2 serves to distribute the load on the tarpaulin material from external forces, such as e.g. wind. Thus, the disc 6 functions to prevent damage to the tarpaulin material. Depending on the material properties of the tarpaulin 2, such as e.g. the thickness and weight of the tarpaulin material, the diameter of the disc 6 may be varied in order to achieve a desired level of protection of the tarpaulin material.

The strap passes through a hole 7 in the disc 6 and through a hole in the tarpaulin 2. The pin 4 has a spiked tip 8 for penetrating the tarpaulin 2, so that the device 1 can be positioned anywhere on the tarpaulin 2, wherein the tip 8 of the pin 4 can be used to create a hole in the tarpaulin material for passing the strap 5 therethrough.

As shown in Fig. 2, the side of the disc 6 that rests against the tarpaulin 2, which will be referred to as the underside 9 of the disc 6 in the following description, is provided with a collar 10. The collar 10 extends through the hole in the tarpaulin 2, so that the edges of the tarpaulin material are in contact with the collar 10. The strap 5 passes through the collar 10. Thus, if a force acts on the tarpaulin 2 and/or on the device 1, wherein the force has a component that is parallel to the plane of tarpaulin 2, the collar 10 protects the edges of the tarpaulin material and prevents the strap 5 from cutting into the material of the tarpaulin 2.

Fig. 3 and 4 illustrate the operation of the device 1 for fastening the tarpaulin 2 to the support structure 3. In the situation shown in Fig. 3a and 3b, the tip 8 of the pin 4 is used to penetrate the tarpaulin 2 and the pin 4 with the strap 5 attached thereto is passed through the hole 7 in the disc 6 and through the newly-created hole in the tarpaulin 2. As a next step, the pin 4 and the strap 5 may be looped around a support structure (not shown in Fig. 3a, 3b), and may be passed again through the hole in the tarpaulin 2 and through the hole 7 in the disc 6. As shown in Fig. 3a and 3b, the pin 4 has a strap attachment channel 11, which extends parallel to the length direction of the pin. The first end of the strap 5 is attached to the pin 4 inside the strap attachment channel 11, and the strap attachment channel 11 protects the first end of the strap 5 as the pin 4 is passed through the hole 7 in the disc 6. As shown in Fig. 4a, a pin- receiving groove 12 is provided on a surface of the disc 6 that faces away from the tarpaulin 2, which will be referred to as the top surface 13 of the disc 6 in the present description.

According to an embodiment, the disc 6 has a diameter of about 55 mm, and the hole 7 has a diameter of about 12mm. The pin 4 has a diameter of 10 mm and a length of 85 mm, while the strap 5 has a length of about 150-200 mm. In general, the disk 6 and pin may be sized and shaped such that the tarpaulin strap device 1 can be operated even if the user is wearing gloves. As shown in Fig. 5, the pin 4 has a first groove 14 which extends along the length of the pin 4 and which is adapted to receive a first portion of the strap 5 as the pin 4 is passed through the hole 7 in the disc 6. As shown in Fig. 6, the pin 4 additionally has a second groove 15 which extends along the length of the pin 4 and which is adapted to receive a second portion of the strap 5 as the pin 4 is returned through the hole 7 in the disc 6. Thus, as illustrated in Fig. 4a and 4b, the overall diameter of the assembly comprising the pin 4 and the strap 5 can be reduced while the pin 4 is passed through the hole 7 in the disc 6. Therein, the first portion of the strap 5 which runs from the strap attachment channel 11 along one side of the pin 4, and the second portion of the strap 5 which runs along an opposite side of the pin 4 to the top surface 13 of the disc 6, are both received in the respective grooves 14, 15.

Fig. 5-8 show an embodiment of the pin 4. Therein, the tip 8 may be formed integral with the pin 4. Alternatively, the tip 8 may be attached to the pin 4, so that the tip 8 may e.g. be formed from a different material such as a metal, wherein the pin 4 may be made from a plastics material. The pin 4 may further comprise a hook 16, which may be provided at the end of the pin 4 that is adjacent to the tip 8. The hook 16 may be used for an alternative fastening configuration, wherein, unlike in the situation shown in Fig. 1 and 2, the pin 4 is not returned through the hole 7 in the disk 6 after having been looped around the support structure 3. Instead, in the alternative fastening configuration the hook 16 may be used to hook the pin 4 to the strap 5 after the strap 5 has been looped around a suitable support structure.

Alternatively, the hook 16 may also be used to hook the pin 4 directly to a support structure. Thus, the depicted embodiment of the pin 4 enables several alternative fastening

configurations of the device 1 for securing the tarpaulin 2.

The strap attachment channel 11 extends parallel to a length of the pin 4 and has an open end at a position that is substantially half way along the length of the pin 4. Hence, the strap 5 is guided inside the strap attachment channel 11 up to the position substantially half way along the length of the pin 4. When the device 1 is used in the fastening configuration as shown in Fig. 1, the strap 5 pulls the open end of the strap attachment channel 11 and thus the centre of the pin 4 to lie over the hole 7 in the disc 6. Thus, the strap attachment channel 11 serves to centre the pin 4 on the top surface 13 of the disc 6 in order to prevent the pin 4 accidentally slipping through the hole 7. Additionally, the strap attachment channel 11 is aligned with the first groove 14 so that the strap 5 is guided from the open end of the strap attachment channel 11 along the groove 14 to the end of the pin 4. Thus, the strap 5 can be received in the first groove 14 while the pin 4 is passed through the hole 7 in the disc 6 or is looped around the support structure 3. The overall diameter of the assembly of the pin 4 and the strap 5 attached thereto is thus reduced in order to facilitate the passage of the pin 4 and the strap 5 through the hole 7 and/or through any hole or narrow gaps of the support structure 3.

As shown in Fig. 8, the two grooves 14, 15 are provided on opposite sides of the pin 4. Thus, if respective portions of the strap 5 are received in both grooves 14, 15 of the pin 4, the overall cross-sectional shape of the assembly of pin 4 and strap 5 is nearly circular, as shown in Fig. 4a and 4b. This facilitates the passage of the pin 4 and strap portions 5 through the hole 7 in the disc 6.

As shown in Fig. 5 and 6, the grooves 14, 15 extend along the whole length of the pin 4, from the tip 8 to the opposite end of the pin 4. Thus, if the pin 4 is returned through the hole 7, the groove 15 allows the pin 4 to clear the portion of the strap 5 which runs from the top surface 13 of the disc 6 through the hole 7.

According to the embodiment of the disc 6 shown in Fig. 9, the top surface 13 of the disc 6 is provided with a pin-receiving groove 12 which extends along a diameter of the substantially circular top surface 13 of the disc 6. The pin-receiving groove 12 is shaped and dimensioned such that a surface of the pin 4 can engage the pin-receiving groove 12 when the pin lies flat on the top surface 13 of the disc 6, i.e. in the configuration as shown in Fig. 1. According to the present embodiment, a strap-receiving groove 17 is provided which extends from an edge of the top surface 13 of the disc 6 to the hole 7 and which is positioned substantially at a right angle relative to the pin-receiving groove 12. The strap-receiving groove 17 is adapted to engage the end portion of the strap 5 that is attached to the disc 6 and to minimize any relative movement between the strap 5 and the disc 6. As shown in Fig. 1, this achieves the effect that the strap 5 is guided along the top surface 13 of the disc 6 and into the hole 7 in a defined position relative to the disc 6 and relative to the pin 4 which rests in the pin-receiving groove 12. Thus, any rubbing of the strap 5 on edges of the disc 6 and/or on the pin 4 can be minimized, reducing the wear and tear of the strap 5.

As illustrated in the side views of the disc 6 shown in Fig. 10 and 11, the collar 10 is provided with cutout portions 18 that divide the edge of the collar 10 that faces away from the underside 9 of the disc 6 into a number of separate sections. During insertion of the collar 10 into the hole in the tarpaulin, the edge of the collar 10 can be compressed by bending the sections. Thus, the collar 10 can pass through the hole in the tarpaulin 2 that has been created by the tip 8 of the pin 4, even though the pin 4 has a smaller diameter than the collar 10. As shown in Fig, 10 and 11, the collar 10 has a generally conical shape, which facilitates the insertion of the edge of the collar 10 into the hole in the tarpaulin 2. The elasticity of the sections can be adjusted by changing the number and size of the cutout portions 18 and by adjusting the wall thickness of the collar 10.

The cutout portions 18 may be shaped and dimensioned so that they can receive the strap 5. Thus, when the device 1 is used for securing the tarpaulin 2 in the configuration as shown in Fig. 1 and 2, the strap 5 that extends through the collar 10 can be received in the cutout portions 18. Thus, the strap 5 is held securely in place relative to the collar 10 and any rubbing of the strap 5 along the edges of the collar 10 can be minimized. The collar 10 is provided as a substantially conical shape, wherein a portion of the collar 10 that faces away from the underside 9 of the disc 6 may be flexible.

Additionally, the cutout portions 18 divide the edge of the collar that faces away from the disc 6 into a number of separate sections. During insertion of the collar into the hole in the tarpaulin, these sections can be

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 10 and 11, the cutout portions 18 are provided only in the region of the collar 10 which is not in contact with the edges of the hole in the tarpaulin 2. Hence, the region of the collar 10 which is directly adjacent the underside 9 of the disc 6 does not have any cutouts so that a smooth outer surface of the collar 10 is in contact with the edges of the tarpaulin material in order to prevent any direct contact between the strap 5 and the tarpaulin 2.

As illustrated in the top view of Fig. 12, the wall surrounding the hole 7 in the disc 6 may be shaped such that at least one indentation 19 may be provided for guiding the strap 5 as it passes through the hole. Therein, an indentation 19 may be lined up with the strap-receiving groove 17 for guiding the strap from its attachment position on the top surface 13 of the disc 6 along the strap-receiving groove 17 and the indentation 19 into the hole 7. Additionally or alternatively, indentations 19 may be aligned with the respective ends of the pin-receiving groove 12 so that a portion of the strap 5 which passes from the support structure 3 back through the hole 7 and extends to the pin 4 (see Fig. 1) is guided in a respective indentation 19. In between the positions of the indentations 19, the hole 7 may have a substantially conical shape.

In the embodiment of the disc 6 shown in the bottom view of Fig. 13, reinforcement ribs 20 are provided which extend in radial directions along the underside 9 of the disc 6. The outer rim of the disc 6 may also be reinforced.

As shown in Fig. 9, the indentations 19 in the cross-sectional shape of the hole 7 may be lined up with the cutout portions 18 in the collar 10 so that a portion of the strap 5 that is received in a cutout portion 18 of the collar 10 can be guided along a corresponding indentation 19 to the top surface 13 of the disc 6. Thus, the respective portions of the strap 5 that pass through the hole 7 to form the closed strap loop shown in Fig. 1 are securely held in the cutout portions 18 of the collar and the indentations 19 in order to minimize the relative motion between the strap 5 and the disc 6.