STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE

Not Applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present ligature attachment device for hooks and eyelets relates generally to the attachment of ligatures to hardware and equipment used for lifting, pulling, and securing, and more particularly to the simple removable tel ruination of these ligatures without the need to tie or untie them by the incorporation of a cinch configuration.

Description of Related Art

Standard hardware such as hooks, carabiners, and pulleys require one to be knowledgeable in tying proper knots in order to securely terminate a ligature such as rope, or cord, directly to them in order to make use of these tools without the ligature termination failing.

The Figure 9 Carabiner™, patent pending, from Nite Ize Inc. of 5660 Central Ave. Boulder Colo., is comprised of a pear shaped wire gate carabiner having a set of hooks depending outwardly in opposite directions from the bottom of a vertical member protruding downward from the opposite side of the carabiner as the wire gate, with all these features formed along the same plane. The hook pointing towards the wire gate of the of the pear shaped carabiner has smooth contours, while the hook facing the opposite direction in contrast, is made up of sharp steep angles to bite into any ligature wedged between these two opposing surfaces. The Figure 9 Carabiner's™ carabiner portion is first latched onto an anchor point, where a ligature that has been secured at another location is hooked around the smoother of the two opposing hooks and pulled tight, then wrapped around the bottom of the two opposing hooks and then up around and through the second wedge shaped hook and pulled tight so that the ligature is wedged deep into the “V” shaped mouth of the second hook. The ligature will stay taught and in place until pulled out from the “V” shaped wedge first, provided there is a constant static load on the ligature. This device is an open loop termination, unlike an eyelet or quick link that are stronger closed loop terminations, whereas the wire gate only serves to prevent unintended decoupling rather than to enhance structural integrity.

The Fish Bone knotless Rope Tie, from Fish Bone knotless Rope Tie, P.O. Box 34595, Las Vegas Nev., is a flat device resembling a fish skeleton which provides a number of channels to wrap and cinch a ligature around at the mid-section and tail, while an eyelet and more channels at the head allow the same ligature, or another ligature, to be fastened there as well. This device is an open loop termination, unlike an eyelet or quick link that are stronger closed loop terminations.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The following summary is included only to introduce some concepts discussed in the Detailed Description below. This summary is not comprehensive and is not intended to delineate the scope of protectable subject matter, which is set forth by the claims presented at the end.

The ligature attachment device overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art by providing a simple and secure means for removably cinch terminating a ligature, while also having the ability to removably fasten to almost any type of hardware or tool designed to incorporate a ligature in its function. The ligature attachment device also provides a simple and easy removal of the ligature as well.

Because the cinch aperture is a closed loop, no matter what the shape, it is a far stronger ligature termination than any open loop configuration of the same size, shape, and material, for the simple reason that an open loop is like a link in a chain being cut on one side, where when enough tensile force is applied to that chain, the cut link will bend open at its maximum yield strength, and fail long before the uncut links will break at their maximum and much greater tensile strength.

One example embodiment of the ligature attachment device for hooks and eyelets, also called a ligature attachment device, generally comprises three sections being: (1) a first ligature spool section with a cinch aperture to frictionally hold a ligature in place, (2) a loop retainer to prevent a looped section of the ligature from slipping off of the spool section and (3) a tool section to function as a tool or to couple the ligature attachment device and ligature to a tool. The first section is the centrally located ligature spool section, also known as the ligature spool, which a ligature can be wrapped around, while having at least one centrally located cinch aperture for frictionally holding and cinch binding a ligature in place. The second section located at the proximal end of the ligature spool section is the loop retainer section, also known as the loop retainer, which prevents a looped section of ligature, which is wrapped around the ligature spool and frictionally engaged, from slipping off the end of the ligature spool which would otherwise cause the ligature cinch termination to fail. The loop retainer section may contain at least one ligature aperture which keeps the cinch termination taught and helps the ligature attachment device hang in a more vertical position. The loop retainer section may also contain at least one ligature guide channel formed onto the loop retainer and adjacent ligature spool which keeps the cinch termination taught and ligatures together and helps the ligature attachment device hang in a more vertical position. The loop retainer section may also contain an alignment pin and socket in order to keep two mating ligature attachment devices aligned with each other and may contain at least one chamfer cut across the proximal end of the loop retainer in order to aid in separating the distal portions of the ligature attachment device. The third section being the tool section, also known as the tool, which may be any one of a variety of linking devices such as but not limited to a hook, or an eyelet.

In some embodiments, two ligature attachment devices may be used together as a multi-piece ligature attachment device when configured to do so, and where the tool section is in the form of a hook or eyelet. Where, when the two ligature attachment device's tool sections are a hook, they are paired together to form an eyelet and increase strength, and where the tool section is an eyelet, they are paired together to increase strength. Any ligature attachment device designed to be paired with another, is equipped with a means for aligning the two, or a means for hinging them, or both.

In some embodiments, the ligature spool section is integrally attached to the loop retainer section and the tool section, the loop retainer section has a loop retainer cross-sectional profile larger than a ligature spool cross-sectional profile whereby the loop retainer section retains a loop of the ligature frictionally engaged with the ligature spool section, the cinch aperture has a cinch aperture shape configured to allow a first section of the ligature to be frictionally engaged with a cinch end of the cinch aperture, the cinch aperture shape further configured to allow a second section of the ligature to overlap and be frictionally engaged with the first section of the ligature whereby a tensile force of the second section of the ligature increases the frictional engagement of the first section of the ligature with the cinch end, and the tool section comprises a tool.

In some embodiments, the ligature attachment device comprises a proximal section comprising a loop retaining means, a distal section comprising a tool section, a central section comprising a ligature spool section having a cinching means, and the ligature spool section is integrally connected to the loop retainer section and the tool section. In some embodiments, the loop retaining means is configured to retain a loop of the ligature frictionally engaged with the central ligature spool section, the cinching means is further configured to allow at least two sections of a ligature to be removably retained in the cinching means, the cinching means is further configured to allow a first section of the ligature to be frictionally engaged with the cinching means, the cinching means is further configured to allow a second section of the ligature to overlap and be frictionally engaged with the first section of the ligature whereby a tensile force on the second section of the ligature increases the frictional engagement of the first section of the ligature with the cinching means, and the tool section comprises a tool.

Where there are a number of ways to use embodiments of ligature attachment devices to removably terminate a ligature, one example method is to first create a loop of a ligature by folding one end of the ligature back on the longer section of ligature. Next take the looped end and thread it through the widest part of the cinch aperture, pull the loop through the cinch aperture, twist the loop ninety degrees so that the ligature sections are aligned along the length of the cinch aperture and bring the loop forward over the tool section and around the spool section. Next, ensure the ligature section leading to the load bearing section of the ligature is overlapping and providing a frictional force to the other ligature section. Then, work out all the slack in the ligature configuration and push the section of the ligature wrapped around the spool section as close to the loop retainer as possible. The ligature is now securely and removably cinch terminated, and removing the ligature is as simple as reversing the steps used to terminate it.

The ligature attachment device can be produced for any size ligature a particular application requires, where the ligature for which a particular ligature attachment device is designed, would be the optimal ligature size for that particular size ligature attachment device, but that same ligature attachment device will also be able to accommodate smaller diameter ligatures as well. Where for example, one size ligature attachment device could be designed for ¾ inch diameter rope that will fit within its cinch aperture, but will also fit smaller diameter ligatures such as but not limited to ½ inch rope, 3/16 inch cord, and ⅛ inch string.

The advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art when the following description is read in conjunction with the attached drawings and the appended claims.

