Supports – Pipe or cable – Brackets
Reexamination Certificate
2000-09-11
2002-09-03
Ramirez, Ramon O. (Department: 3632)
Supports
Pipe or cable
Brackets
C024S0160PB, C248S068100, C248S074300
Reexamination Certificate
active
06443403
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
There are a wide variety of fasteners and mounts in use today to secure a bundle of cables or other generally elongated members to a mounting surface, such as a wall or a panel. As it is not uncommon that one installing such mounts has access to only one side of the mounting surface, it is preferable to employ a mount that can be completely installed from the accessible side of the mounting surface, such as by insertion into a preformed or predrilled hole therein. Because such mounts are typically loaded on only one side of the mounting surface, and since bundles of cables may be heavy or subjected to pulling forces, it is important that the mounting be sufficiently strong to resist tear-away stresses induced in this manner. Specifically, if unilateral stresses exceed acceptable levels for a particular clamp, the mounting can become stripped, resulting in cables falling or swinging into undesired positions and creating potentially hazardous conditions.
“P-clamp” type routing clamps are known in the industry, and an example of such clamps is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,758,060. Generally, such clamps include a strap or other retaining means for bundling cables or other elongated members, a support piece at one end of the strap for being inserted into a preformed or predrilled hole in the mounting surface, and an insert piece at the opposite end of the strap for being inserted into and being retained in the support piece. Typically, there is some sort of retention mechanism, such as a barb, on the insert piece to retain it within the support piece once the support piece has been adequately penetrated. In bringing together opposite ends of the strap in this manner, a loop is formed by the strap, and the loop is used to retain and bundle the cables. The loop combines with other clamp structure to form a “P” shape.
Among the important considerations in P-clamp design are the resistance of the mount to tear-away stripping under various loading or stress conditions, the cost of manufacture, and the ease of application of the mount. In particular, many past designs have inadequately protected against mount stripping under heavy loading conditions. As such, a need has arisen for designing a clamp with a stronger mount while avoiding the complexity of application and cost of manufacture associated with having multiple piece mounting mechanisms.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To address the above-mentioned considerations and shortcomings in previous P-clamp designs, there is provided a new routing clamp for routing a bundle of cables or the like along a mounting surface having an aperture therein. The instant clamp includes a bundling portion for bundling the cables, a first receiving portion including a first receiving aperture therethrough, and a second receiving portion including a second receiving aperture therethrough. The first and second receiving portions are alignable. The clamp further includes a rivet portion configured to be received in the mounting surface aperture and retained therein such that the second receiving portion is generally flush with the mounting surface. The rivet portion includes a rivet aperture aligned with the second receiving aperture. Additionally, the clamp includes a retention portion having a resiliently deformable resistance member. The clamp is mountable along the mounting surface by inserting part of the resistance member through the alignable first, second and rivet apertures, the deformable resistance member compressibly deforming as it travels through the apertures before resiliently expanding upon exiting the rivet aperture. With this structure, the new routing clamp has improved resistance to mount stripping while being inexpensive to manufacture and easy to apply in most situations.
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Nelson Kevin L.
Page Barry O.
Potter Victor D.
Clancy Christopher S.
McCann Robert A.
Panduit Corp.
Ramirez Ramon O.
Saltzman Jay A.
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