Chord Organizer

• US 20180319619A1
• Filed: 05/05/2017
• Published: 11/08/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/05/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Harvey L. Frierson
• Original Assignee: Harvey L. Frierson
• Inventors: Frierson, Harvey L.
• Granted Patent: US 11,095,104 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2701/34 electric cords or electric power cables
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 75/36 without essentially involving the use of a core or former internal to a stored package of material, e.g. with stored material housed within casing or container, or intermittently engaging a plurality of supports as in sinuous or serpentine fashion
• CPC Class Codes: H02G 11/00 Arrangements of electric cables or lines between relatively-movable parts
• CPC Class Codes: H02G 3/0431 Wall trunking
• CPC Class Codes: H02G 3/30 Installations of cables or lines on walls, floors or ceilings
• CPC Class Codes: H02G 3/305 Mounting by adhesive material
• CPC Class Codes: H02G 3/32 using mounting clamps

Abstract

A cord organizer has a flexural board with a back, a front, a width, a length and a thickness. A frontal surface has rectangular facets separated by open-ended elongate slots, and each open-ended elongate slot is coextensive with an open-ended elongate chamber forming a cord retainer, which is recessed within the thickness. When the flexural board is angularly flexed the rectangular facets fan out and each of the open-ended elongate slots are widened, therein widening access to each of the open-ended elongate chambers; and while widened the cord retainers are individually fitted with a sectional length of a cord. When the flexural board is released it returns to its relaxed state, wherein the cord retainers envelop and restrain each of the cords on the flexural board.

Claims

1. A cord organizer, wherein said cord organizer comprises a flexural board with a back portion, a front portion, a thickness, a width with a top edge and a bottom edge, and a length with a left edge and a right edge;

wherein the back portion is about flat and the front portion has a frontal surface with rectangular facets separated by open-ended elongate slots, wherein each open-ended elongate slot extends the width of the flexural board from the top edge to the bottom edge, and each open-ended elongate slot is coextensive with an open-ended elongate chamber, said open-ended elongate chamber recessed within the thickness, where a combined open-ended elongate slot and coextensive open-ended elongate chamber form a cord retainer;

wherein, when the flexural board is angularly flexed from a relaxed state the left edge and the right edge arc towards the back portion, the rectangular facets fan out and widen the open-ended elongate slot of the cord retainers; and

while fanned out the cord retainers can be fitted with one or more sectional length of a cord, wherein each sectional length is nominally at least as long as a width of the cord retainer; and

wherein, when the flexural board is no longer flexed, the flexural board returns to the relaxed state, wherein the cord retainers envelops and restrains each of the cords fitted on the cord organizer.

2. The cord organizer according to claim 1, wherein the cord retainers are parallel with respect to each other and parallel to the left edge and the right edge.

3. The cord organizer according to claim 1, wherein a cross-sectional shape of the cord retainer is selected from the group consisting of a keyhole, a dovetail, a T-slot and combinations thereof.

4. The cord organizer according to claim 1, wherein the front portion has a lengthwise tensioned elastic band that provides greater flexural resistance to being angularly flexed, and also provides strain relief to a loose cord that has been partially or fully dislodged from one of the cord restrainers.

5. The cord organizer according to claim 1, wherein the back portion of the flexural board is mounted to a support element, which prevents the flexural board from being angularly flexed while attached to the support element.

6. The cord organizer according to claim 5, wherein the support element is selected from the group consisting of a rigid plastic base with a double sided pressure sensitive tape, a rigid plastic base with a hook and loop fastener system, a rigid plastic base with at least one fastening means that can slide into an opening on the back portion of the flexural board interlocking the flexural board to the rigid plastic base with the at least one fastening means, a metal plate with a double sided pressure sensitive tape, a metal plate with a hook and loop fastener system, a metal plate with at least one fastening means that can slide into an opening on the back portion of the flexural board interlocking the flexural board to the metal plate with the at least one fastening means, and a combination thereof.

7. The cord organizer according to claim 3, wherein the cross-sectional shape of the chord retainer for securing a round cord is the dovetail, wherein round cords are commonly used on professional barber clippers and many computer electronics, and a dovetail cord retainer is effective because it applies pressure tangentially at three locations against a round cord, therein securing a number of different sized round chords on the cord organizer.

8. The cord organizer according to claim 3, wherein the cross-sectional shape of the cord retainer for securing a thick ribbon shaped cord is the T-slot, wherein ribbon shaped cords are commonly found on household appliances, less expensive barber clippers and DSL lines, and the T-slot is effective as it utilizes the ribbon shape with a similar shape slot to restrain the ribbon shaped cords from twisting out of the cord retainer.

9. The cord organizer according to claim 3, wherein the cross-sectional shape of the cord retainer for securing heavily twisted round cords and heavily twisted ribbon cords are the dovetail cord retainer and the keyhole cord retainer, as both are useful for restraining heavily twisted round cords and heavily twisted ribbon cords.

10. The cord organizer according to claim 1, wherein the flexural board is comprised of a polyvinyl chloride based material.

11. The cord organizer according to claim 1, wherein the flexural board a flexural strength of about 2900 psi (Test D790) ±

about 500 psi, a tensile percent elongation at break at about 15% ±

about 5% (Test D638), and a Durometer hardness of Hardness of about D55 ±

about 10 (Test D785).

12. The cord organizer according to claim 1, wherein the flexural board has good electrical resistance at even moderately high relative humidity, wherein the volume resistivity at 50% RH is greater than 10̂

16 ohm-cm (Test D257).

13. The cord organizer according to claim 1, wherein two or more cord organizers are used in parallel to organize double or more cords.

14. The cord organizer according to claim 1, wherein a long cord is effectively shortened by looping sections of the long cord through multiple cord retainers on the cord organizer.

15. The cord organizer according to claim 1, wherein the cord organizer having a length of 10 inches has at least about 22±

about 11 cord retainers.

16. The cord organizer according to claim 1, wherein the top edge and the bottom edge of the cord organizer has a closing means to augment closure of the cord retainers, wherein a closing means is selected from the group consisting of staples, clips, cable ties, covers and combinations thereof.

18. The cord organizer according to claim 1, wherein the cord organizer is durable, and resistant to chemicals used by a barber/stylist.

19. The cord organizer according to claim 1, wherein the cord organizer can be combined with another cord organizer, and can be used on the floor, in a cabinet or on a wall, and oriented either horizontally or vertically.

17. A cord organizer, wherein said cord organizer comprises a flexural board with a back portion, a front portion, a thickness of about ¼

inch to ¾

inch, a width of about 2 inches to about 10 inches with a top edge and a bottom edge, and a length of about 3 inches to about 12 inches with a left edge and a right edge;

wherein the back portion is about flat and the front portion has a frontal surface with rectangular facets separated by open-ended elongate slots, wherein each open-ended elongate slot extends the width of the flexural board from the top edge to the bottom edge, and each open-ended elongate slot is coextensive with an open-ended elongate chamber, said open-ended elongate chamber recessed within the thickness, where a combined open-ended elongate slot and coextensive open-ended elongate chamber form a cord retainer;

wherein, when the flexural board is angularly flexed from a relaxed state the left edge and the right edge arc towards the back portion, the rectangular facets fan out and widen the open-ended elongate slot of the cord retainers; and

while fanned out the cord retainers can be fitted with one or more sectional length of a cord, wherein each sectional length is nominally at least as long as a width of the cord retainer; and

wherein, when the flexural board is no longer flexed, the flexural board returns to the relaxed state, wherein the cord retainers envelops and restrains each of the cords fitted on the cord organizer.