Importance

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Abstract

A cable tie includes an elongate generally planar strap and a head. The head includes a tapering entrance into a passageway therethrough for inserting the strap and a flexibly hinged locking pawl adjacent the passageway. The head also includes a fixed locking tooth adjacent the entry end of the passageway for engaging the strap after full securing an article or articles to be bundled. The fixed locking tooth of the present invention is desirably positioned to allow unobstructed insertion of the tail through the head. The present invention is able to minimize the stretching of the strap body when adjacent to the locking pawl by providing an edge which frictionally engages the strap body as the strap body egresses from the passageway of the head. Furthermore, the present invention may include a pair of counter-rotatable locking elements positioned to one side of the passageway through the head. One of the counter-rotatable locking elements may deflect into engagement with a surface of an article being bundled so as to provide greater slip resistance of the cable tie with respect to the article and to further allow an even smaller bundling radius for the cable tie. Additionally, the present invention provides a cable tie having a tamper-resistant locking pawl. Furthermore, the cable tie of the present invention may include a deflectable locking element which may be integrally formed with the head or separately provided within the head.

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First Claim