Patent attributes
A method and apparatus for reducing friction in a cam buckle for tightening a strap. The cam buckle includes a frame, a brake member, a roller member, a biasing element and a webbed strap. The brake member includes a serrated surface and is rotatably coupled to the frame and pivotal about a first axis. The roller member is rotatably coupled to the frame about a second axis, wherein the first axis and the second axis are substantially parallel to each other. The biasing element is operable to bias the serrated surface of the brake member toward the roller member. The webbed strap is formed from a polymeric material and is operable to be biased between the serrated surface and the roller member so that the brake member biases the webbed strap against the roller member. With this arrangement, when the webbed strap is placed in tension, such tension is maintained by preventing movement of the webbed strap in one direction and allowing movement in a second direction to increase the tension. The roller member is operable to rotate with movement of the webbed strap in the second direction to increase the tension in the webbed strap.
