Clip, preferably clothes-peg

Abstract

 The present invention relates to a clip, preferably a clothes-peg, which is easy to put onto wet articles of clothing and still holds the article of clothing firmly in place on a clothes-line. This is achieved with a longitudinal ridge (11) on the inside of the legs (1, 2) on a plastic clip molded in one piece.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to clips, preferably clothes-pegs, for holding clothes on a clothes-line or for closure of bags.

BACKGROUND AND PRIOR ART

[0002] It is known to use clothes-pegs in the form of a molded plastic part with two resilient legs. One example of such a clothes-peg is described in EP 0 059 278. It comprises two resilient legs with transversal ribs creating different areas for holding differently thick clothes-lines. A drawback with such a clothes-peg is that it demands a relatively large force to put the clothes-peg over a wet article of clothing.

SHORT SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0003] A purpose with the present invention is to provide a clip that relatively easy can be put on a wet article of clothing and still hold the clothing securely in position on a clothes-line. Further the clip should be easy to handle and the clip should be rapid to put on or remove.

[0004] The basis of the present invention lies in the insight that the above-mentioned purpose can be achieved by means of a clip with two legs having a longitudinal elevation on the inside of the legs.

[0005] The characteristic of a clip according to the present invention is evident from claim 1.

[0006] An advantage with a clip formed according to the present invention is that it can easily be put on wet clothes for holding on a clothes-line and still hold the clothes securely in place.

[0007] The basis of a preferred embodiment is the insight that the ridge of the inside of the clip could cause crushing damages on the article of clothing. According to this preferred embodiment the clip comprises grooves without the longitudinal ridge, so that the article of clothing bear against the plane surface to avoid crushing damage on the article of clothing.

[0008] According to another preferred embodiment the clip comprises a head, so that it is easy to put the clip on an article of clothing, and wherein the head comprises a grip bead, in order to facilitate removal of the clip from the article of clothing. With the head formed as a plane plate, arranged in a plane defined by two longitudinal ribs on the outside of the legs, attached to the shoulder of the clip an increased rigidity for the clip is achieved.

[0009] Further features and advantages of the present invention will be evident from the following description and appended claims.

[0010] The invention will be more closely described below with reference to the detailed description of embodiments and the appended drawings, which only illustrate and thus not limit the present invention.

SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] 

Figs. 1 and 2 show two different views of a clothes-peg according to the invention;

Fig. 3 shows a cut along the line III-III in Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 shows a cut along the line IV-IV in Fig. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0012] In the following description, for explanatory and not limiting purposes, specific details are set forth, such as specific techniques and applications, to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it is obvious for the skilled person in the art that the present invention can be performed in other embodiments departing from these specific details. In other examples detailed description of the well-known methods and arrangements are omitted to not obscure the description of the present invention with unnecessary details.

[0013] Firstly a first embodiment of a clothes-peg according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0014] The clothes-peg comprises two substantially parallel legs 1 and 2, the ends of which are connected by a shoulder 3. On the other side of the shoulder, opposite the legs 1 and 2, a head 12 formed as a plane grip part is positioned, which is to facilitate fastening and removal of the clothes-peg. To further facilitate removal of the clothes-peg the head 12 comprises a grip bead 15. By the freedom of movement of the shoulder being limited by the head 12 an increased rigidity of the clothes-peg is also achieved, which entail that it could hold clothes even more securely than without the head 12.

[0015] The free ends of the legs 1 and 2 are outwardly angled to facilitate fastening and removal of the clothes-peg. Also the free ends of the legs 1 and 2 comprise grip beads 16 and 17, respectively, to facilitate fastening of the clothes-peg, if the clothes-peg is pulled onto a clothes-line by holding a free end of a leg.

[0016] To strengthen the legs 1 and 2 they comprise on the outside longitudinal ribs 4 and 5, respectively. To further strengthen the holding ability of the clothes-peg the transition between the head 12 and the shoulder 3 also comprises longitudinal ribs 13 and 14, respectively. These are positioned in the same plane as the longitudinal ribs 4 and 5. The ribs on the head 12 and the ribs on the legs 1 and 2 do not meet on the shoulder 3, but there is a certain distance between the ribs 4 and 13 and 5 and 14, respectively. This distance is advantageous, so that there will be enough resilience in the clothes-peg, i.e. it should not be too rigid.

[0017] Further, the legs 1 and 2 comprise on the inside a longitudinal ridge 11. The main contact surface of the ridge against an article of clothing is line shaped. This ridge 11 thus gives a strongly reduced friction during fastening of the clothes-peg on e.g. a wet article of clothing. The ridge has a height suitably being from a few parts a millimeter up to some millimeter, preferably 0.01-1 mm, more preferably 0.1-0.5 mm, and more preferably about 0.2 mm. This can be compared with the width of the legs, which usually is in the order of 0.5-2 cm, preferably about 1 cm. In order for the clothes-peg to thereafter hold an article of clothing securely in position the legs 1 and 2 comprise a plurality of recesses 6-10. In the recesses 6-10 themselves there are no longitudinal ridge. This is illustrated excessively in Figs 3 and 4, which are cuts through the legs over one position with a ridge and one position with a recess without a ridge, respectively. By the ridge 11 not being present in the recesses clothes can be held in position with a strongly reduced risk of being subjected to crushing damages.

[0018] The clothes-peg is mirror-symmetric and manufactured in one piece of plastic. Preferably polypropene (PP) or polyacetate (POM) is used as material choice for the clothes-peg, which gives a good combination of flexibility and rigidity at the same time as the surface is slippery, i.e. the surface exhibit low friction. Alternatively, the clothes-peg can be manufactured with the ridge in a material exhibiting lower friction than the rest of the clothes-peg, by molding with two different plastics. The clothes-peg is a clip which is well suited to be used also for other applications, such as closure of plastic bags.

[0019] A second embodiment of a clothes-peg according to the present invention will next be described. This embodiment is identical with the first embodiment described above, apart from that it lacks the head with longitudinal ribs, and that the legs lack outwardly angled free ends.

[0020] Next a third embodiment of a clothes-peg according to the present invention will be described. This embodiment is identical to the first embodiment or the second embodiment described above, apart from that the legs of the clothes-peg on the inside comprise at least two longitudinal ridges, or one ridge with double tops. Preferably the at least two longitudinal ridges or tops are parallel.

[0021] It is obvious that the present invention can be varied in a plurality of ways. Such variations should not be regarded as a deviation from the scope of the present invention. All such variations being obvious to a skilled person in the art are regarded to be included within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A clip, preferably a clothes-peg, comprising a pair of substantially parallel legs (1, 2) and a shoulder (3) connecting the legs at one of their ends, which clip is formed in one piece of plastic, wherein said legs include a longitudinal strengthening rib (4, 5) arranged on the outside of each respective leg and at least one transversal recess (6-10) arranged on the inside of each respective leg,
characterized in that
said legs comprise a longitudinal ridge (11) arranged on the inside of each respective leg, wherein said ridge is formed such that friction is reduced between the legs of the clip and a material with which the clip is intended to interact with.

2. The clip according to Claim 1, wherein said ridge has a top with a line-shaped contact surface.

3. The clip according to Claims 1 or 2, wherein said ridge protrudes 0.01-1 mm from said leg, preferably 0.1-0.5 mm, and more preferably approximately 0.2 mm.

4. The clip according to any of preceding Claim, wherein said ridge stretches entirely along each respective leg, except at said recess.

5. The clip according to any preceding Claim, wherein said ridges are aligned towards each other and runs in the middle of said legs.

6. The clip according to any preceding Claim, comprising a head (12) formed in one piece with said shoulder and opposite said legs.

7. The clip according to Claim 6, wherein said head includes a plane grip part arranged in a plane defined by the two longitudinal ribs.

8. The clip according to Claim 7, wherein the head is substantially circular, wherein the transition between the head and the shoulder is broadened with in the plane of the head positioned strengthening ribs (13, 14).

9. The clip according to any preceding Claim, wherein the head comprises a grip bead (15).

10. The clip according to any preceding Claim, wherein the free end of each of said legs comprises a grip bead (16, 17).

11. The clip according to any preceding Claim, wherein the free end of each of said legs is outwardly angled.

Drawing