GB2263721A

GB2263721A - Safety device;stud and socket;animal tether

Info

Publication number: GB2263721A
Application number: GB9202132A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Gerald Brown
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1992-01-31
Filing date: 1992-01-31
Publication date: 1993-08-04
Also published as: GB9202132D0

Abstract

A safety device, especially for use as an animal tether, comprises a male part (11) and a female part (12), the male part having a head portion (15) behind which resilient fingers (17) of the female part can latch. A circular spring (18) seated in the fingers exerts a radial inward force to maintain the latching engagement until a force in excess of a predetermined force is applied to separate the two pans. <IMAGE>

Description

SAFETY DEVICE This invention relates to safety devices and is particularly suitable for use with reins or other ties for restraining animals, especially horses and ponies.

One such safety device is described in my UK patent 2205353. The safety device described in that patent comprises a first body part having a male portion comprising a shank and a head formation and a second body part having a female portion comprising an aperture which receives the head formation of the male portion, the second body part including a plurality of equi-spaced spring biassed detent members that attach the two parts together, unless a predetermined force sufficient to separate the two parts is applied to the device, the detent members being urged towards and into engagement with the male portion behind the head formation by spring means, the force of the spring means being adjustable and said detent members being received in wells which are generally equi-angularly spaced about and inclined to a longitudinal axis of the aperture.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an alternative safety device which functions equally well but which is simpler to manufacture.

Broadly in accordance with the present invention there is provided a safety device comprising a male part and a female part which are adapted to engage one with the other, wherein the female part has detent means which latch behind a head portion of the male part, with spring means of predetermined force being provided in association with the female part to maintain the latching of the parts until a force in excess of a predetermined force is applied in a manner to separate the two parts.

One presently preferred embodiment of safety device, adapted for use as an animal tether, will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is an external view of the safety device; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view through the safety device; and, Fig. 3 is an end view of the female part of the safety device, viewed from the left-hand end of Fig. 2 with the male part removed.

As shown in the drawings, the safety device which is indicated generally at 10 consists of two parts, a male part 11 and a female part 12. Each part 11, 12 is made of a suitable metal or plastics material. As shown most clearly in Fig. 1, each of the parts 11, 12 includes a pair of parallel flanges with a fastening pin 13 extending therebetween. These pins 13 enable the safety device to be secured by suitable ties or tethers between an animal on the one hand and a fixture on the other hand.

As shown in Fig. 2, the male part 11 includes a shank 14 within a recess in the male portion, the shank 14 ending in an enlarged head 15. The head 15 has a tapering rearward face 16 which is engageable by correspondingly tapered faces on a plurality of detents 17 carried by a generally annular portion of the female part 12 which encircles the shank 14. The detents 17 act in the form of latches and, as shown most clearly in Fig. 3, consist of a plurality (here four) resilient fingers which are upstanding from the base of the female portion and which can thus be spread apart if an appropriate force is applied thereto.Encircling the latching fingers 17 is a circular spring 18 which is seated within a circumferential recess in the fingers 17 in order to provide a radially inward bias to the fingers to maintain them in latching engagement with the shank 14 when the two parts of the safety device are fitted together.

In use, as shown in Fig. 2, the spring 18 causes latching engagement of the two parts of the safety device and unless a sufficient force is exerted at the ends of the safety device to overcome the latching force generated by the fingers 17 and spring 18 the safety device will remain engaged as a tether.

However, if a force in excess of that predetermined force is exerted on the safety device then the spring force will be overcome and the latching engagement will be broken, causing the two parts of the safety device to separate.

It will be appreciated that the safety device can be manufactured with a range of springs 18 of different strengths, so that the safety device can be set up to be releasable under any desired specific separating force. In other words, the individual safety device is not itself adjustable in terms of operating force, but the spring 18 can readily be replaced if one wishes to use the device with a greater or lesser spring force than currently exists.

Although the safety device as shown in the drawings has four equi-spaced latching fingers 17, a greater or lesser number of fingers could be used, as appropriate. The female latching member could even be an annular spigot split radially at one point to permit a sufficient radial movement to accommodate the male part. It is only necessary that there should be a snap fitting of the male portion into the female portion when the two parts of the safety device are pushed together.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A safety device comprising a male part and a female part which are arranged to engage one with the other, wherein the female part has detent means which latch behind a head portion of the male part, with spring means of predetermined force being provided in association with the female part to maintain the latching of the parts until a force in excess of a predetermined force is applied in a manner to separate the two parts.

2. A safety device as claimed in claim 1, in which the head portion of the male part has a tapering rearward face, and the detent means have correspondingly tapering faces for engagement therewith.

3. A safety device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, in which the detent means comprise a plurality of generally radially displaceable fingers fixed at one end and latching with the male part at the other end.

4. A safety device as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the spring means comprises a circular spring which exerts a radially inward bias on the detent means to maintain engagement with the male part.

5. A safety device as claimed in claim 4, in which the spring is seated in a circumferential recess in the detent means.

6. A safety device as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the male part comprises a generally cylindrical block having a pair of axially extending flanges with a pin transversely therebetween at one end and a recess at the other end, the head portion of the male part being carried on a lesser

7. A safety device as claimed in any preceding claim, having means on the male and female parts respectively for the fastening thereto of a tie or tether.

8. A safety device as claimed in claim 1, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawing.

9. An animal tether incorporating a safety device as claimed in any preceding claim.