U.S. patent application number 11/463459 was filed with the patent office on 2007-02-15 for releasable in-line cable tie.
This patent application is currently assigned to PANDUIT CORP.. Invention is credited to James A. Brownlee, Robert J. Krisel.
Application Number | 20070033772 11/463459 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37401373 |
Filed Date | 2007-02-15 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070033772 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Brownlee; James A. ; et
al. |
February 15, 2007 |
RELEASABLE IN-LINE CABLE TIE
Abstract
A cable tie includes a strap having a first end and a second end
opposite the first end and a head secured to the first end of the
strap. The head has a first side wall, a second side wall, an end
wall and a top wall defining therebetween a strap accepting
channel. The top wall extends from the first side wall toward the
second side wall and covers only a portion of the channel.
Inventors: |
Brownlee; James A.;
(Minooka, IL) ; Krisel; Robert J.; (Manhattan,
IL) |
Correspondence
Address: |
PANDUIT CORP.
LEGAL DEPARTMENT - TP12
17301 SOUTH RIDGELAND AVENUE
TINLEY PARK
IL
60477
US
|
Assignee: |
PANDUIT CORP.
17301 South Ridgeland Avenue
Tinley Park
IL
|
Family ID: |
37401373 |
Appl. No.: |
11/463459 |
Filed: |
August 9, 2006 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60707595 |
Aug 12, 2005 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
24/16PB |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 2563/107 20130101;
Y10T 24/1498 20150115; B65D 63/1072 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
024/016.0PB |
International
Class: |
B65D 63/00 20060101
B65D063/00 |
Claims
1. A cable tie comprising: a strap having a first end and a second
end opposite the first end; and a head secured to the first end of
the strap, the head having a first side wall, a second side wall,
an end wall and a top wall defining therebetween a strap accepting
channel, wherein the top wall extends from the first side wall
toward the second side wall and covers only a portion of the
channel.
2. The cable tie of claim 1, wherein the top wall covers
approximately half of the channel.
3. The cable tie of claim 1, wherein the strap is released from the
head by twisting the strap in a clockwise or counterclockwise
direction.
4. The cable tie of claim 3, wherein upon twisting the strap in the
clockwise or counterclockwise direction, the first side wall
deflects away from the second side wall allowing the strap to be
released from the head.
5. A cable tie comprising: a strap having a first end and a second
end opposite the first end; and a head secured to the first end of
the strap, the head having a first side wall, a second side wall
and an end wall defining therebetween a strap accepting channel,
wherein the strap is released from the head by pulling the strap
away from the end wall.
6. The cable tie of claim 5, wherein upon pulling the strap away
from the end wall, the first side wall deflects away from the
second side wall allowing the strap to be released from the head.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional
Application Ser. No. 60/707,595, filed on Aug. 12, 2005, the
entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention is directed to a cable tie having a
locking head at a first end that secures a second end of a strap to
form a loop fastener and, more particularly, an in-line cable tie
having a releasable locking mechanism that allows removal of the
second end of the strap from the locking head without destroying
the locking mechanism such that a cable tie can be removed and
reused.
[0003] FIGS. 1-4 illustrate the in-line cable tie disclosed in U.S.
D444,054, owned by the Assignee of the present application, which
is incorporated herein by reference. However, this in-line cable
tie is not releasable or reusable.
[0004] U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,250, also owned by the Assignee of the
present application, discloses a releasable cable tie. However,
this cable tie is not an in-line cable tie and, thus, cannot be
easily released by hand by applying upward force to the cable
tie.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] It would be desirable to provide a releasable cable tie that
may be applied with a hand tool without automatically
releasing.
[0006] It would also be desirable to provide a releasable cable tie
that acts as a tension-limiting device.
[0007] It would further be desirable to provide a releasable cable
tie that is easily releasable by hand by applying upward force to
the cable tie.
[0008] It would also be desirable to provide a releasable cable tie
having a low profile locking head.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a cable tie according to
the prior art;
[0010] FIG. 2 is a rear view of the cable tie of FIG. 1;
[0011] FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of the cable tie of FIG. 1,
shown surrounding a bundle of wires;
[0012] FIG. 4 is a partial front view of the cable tie of FIG.
3;
[0013] FIG. 5 is a top perspective view of a cable tie according to
a first embodiment of the present invention;
[0014] FIG. 6 is a partial rear perspective view of the cable tie
of FIG. 5;
[0015] FIG. 7 is a partial front view of the cable tie of FIG.
5;
[0016] FIG. 8 is a top perspective view of the cable tie of FIG. 5,
shown surrounding a bundle of wires;
[0017] FIG. 9 is a partial front view of the cable tie of FIG.
8;
[0018] FIG. 10 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along lines
10-10 of FIG. 9;
[0019] FIG. 11 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along lines
11-11 of FIG. 10;
[0020] FIG. 12 is a partial enlarged top perspective view of the
cable tie of FIG. 8;
[0021] FIG. 13 is a front sectional view of the cable tie of FIG.
12, with the strap broken away and showing the cable tie as it is
released;
[0022] FIG. 14 is a partial top perspective view of a cable tie
according to a second embodiment of the present invention;
[0023] FIG. 15 is a partial rear perspective view of the cable tie
of FIG. 14;
[0024] FIG. 16 is a partial front view of the cable tie of FIG.
14;
[0025] FIG. 17 is a top perspective view of the cable tie of FIG.
14, shown surrounding a bundle of wires:
[0026] FIG. 18 is a partial front view of the cable tie of FIG.
17;
[0027] FIG. 19 is a front sectional view of the cable tie of FIG.
17, showing the cable tie as it is released;
[0028] FIG. 20 is a partial top perspective view of the cable tie
of FIG. 8, shown attached to a hand tool;
[0029] FIG. 21 is a partial side view of the hand tool and cable
tie of FIG. 20;
[0030] FIG. 22 is a partial side view of the hand tool and cable
tie of FIG. 20, showing the hand tool prior to cutting the cable
tie; and
[0031] FIG. 23 is a partial top perspective view of the hand tool
and cable tie of FIG. 20, showing the hand tool after cutting the
cable tie.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0032] FIGS. 5-23 illustrate releasable in-line cable ties 30, 130.
Specifically, FIGS. 5-13 and 20-23 are directed to cable tie 30,
and FIGS. 14-19 are directed to cable tie 130. Cable ties 30, 130
are integrally molded from a suitable polymeric thermoplastic
material, such as 6.6 nylon securing a bundle of cables 32, 132. It
is likewise contemplated that cable ties 30, 130 may be molded from
other grades of nylon or non-nylon material.
[0033] As shown in FIG. 5, cable tie 30 includes a head 34 and a
strap 36. Strap 36 is formed in any desired length necessary to
encompass the diameter of the object to be fastened. As best seen
in FIG. 10, strap 36 includes a plurality of teeth 38
longitudinally spaced along an inner surface of strap 36.
[0034] As best seen in FIG. 6, head 34 is formed with first and
second side walls 40 and 42, end wall 44 and top wall 46 that
define therebetween a strap positioning channel 48 (see FIG. 7).
Locking wedge 50 is attached to end wall 44 by pivotal hinge 52,
and wedge 50 has a plurality of teeth 54. As shown in FIG. 10,
teeth 54 engage teeth 38 of strap 36 when strap 36 is inserted into
channel 48.
[0035] As shown in FIGS. 20-23, cable tie 30 can be applied using a
standard cable tie tensioning and strap severing application tool,
such as hand tool 56. Strap 36 can be used for temporary bundling
while a harness or wire bundle is being built, and then cut off at
the end for a clean final assembly with no tail protruding from
head 34, as best seen in FIG. 23.
[0036] As shown in FIG. 7, top wall 46, or partial bridge 46,
extends from first side wall 40 of head 34 and covers approximately
half of channel 48. Thus, strap 36 is supported not only by first
and second side walls 40 and 42, but also partially by bridge 46.
This design allows strap 36 to be lifted by hand or hand tool 56,
without automatically releasing cable tie 30. As shown in FIGS. 12
and 13, cable tie 30 may be released only by twisting strap 36 in a
certain direction.
[0037] In operation, strap 36 is secured within head 34 using a
hand or hand tool 56, as shown in FIG. 20. Hand tool 56 then trims
excess strap 36, leaving the cable tie shown in FIG. 23. Because
strap 36 is supported by first and second end walls 40 and 42, as
well as bridge 46, strap 36 may be lifted by hand or by hand tool
56 without releasing cable tie 30. As best seen in FIG. 12, cable
tie 30 may be released only by twisting strap 36 in a
counterclockwise direction. As shown in FIG. 13, second side wall
42 deflects outward, thus allowing strap 36 to exit channel 48. It
is likewise contemplated that bridge 46 may extend from second side
wall 42. In such an arrangement, cable tie 30 would be released by
twisting strap 36 in a clockwise direction. In either orientation,
cable tie 30 may be applied with hand tool 56 without automatically
releasing.
[0038] FIGS. 14-19 illustrate cable tie 130. Cable tie 130 is
similar to cable tie 30 shown in FIGS. 5-13 and 20-23, except cable
tie 130 lacks a top wall or partial bridge. Thus, cable tie 130 has
an open top, as best seen in FIG. 16. Strap 136 may be released
from head 134 by lifting upwards using a hand or hand tool, as best
seen in FIG. 19. The upward force (in the direction of the arrow)
creates a sideways force component on the first and second side
walls 140 and 142 causing the side walls 140 and 142 to deflect
outward, thus allowing strap 136 to exit strap positioning channel
148. In addition to being releasable and reusable, cable tie 130
acts as a tension-limiting device, preventing an object from being
bundled tightly with a hand tool. This is an important feature for
cable ties used with communication wires, because overtightening
can cause loss of transmission performance.
[0039] The releasable in-line cable tie may be applied with a hand
tool without automatically releasing. Alternatively, the releasable
in-line cable tie may act as a tension-limiting device. It should
be noted that the above-described illustrated embodiments and
preferred embodiments of the invention are not an exhaustive
listing of the form such a releasable in-line cable tie in
accordance with the invention might take; rather, they serve as
exemplary and illustrative of embodiments of the invention as
presently understood.
* * * * *