US2232505A - Electric wire mounting device - Google Patents

Description

1941- c. F. ABBOTT ELECTRIC WIRE MOUNTING DEVICE Filed Dec. 27, 1939 INVENTO m0 BY W TORNEY Patented Feb. 18, 1941 .UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

This invention relates in general to a device for connecting electric wires to or suspending them from supports, a specific object of the invention being to provide a novel and improved,

5 simple and inexpensive means for mounting upon Christmas trees the wires and lamp sockets of electric lighting sets.

Another object of the invention is to provide means of this character which shall include a 0 mounting device frictionally slidable longitudinally of an electric wire and embodying novel and improved features of construction so that the device can be positively attached to a tree branch or other support at any of a plurality of points in the length of the wire and against movement lengthwise of the branch to enable, for example, the lamp sockets of a tree lighting set to be suspended from the branches of a tree in the most convenient or desirable manner, such as between '20 branches or directly upon the branches.

A further object is to provide a mounting device of the character described which shall include a novel and improved runner that can be easily and quickly mounted on a wire at any desired point, and a clip of novel and improved construction mounted on said runner for attachment to a'tree branch or other support.

Other objects are to provide such a mounting device wherein said clip and runner are constructed and combined in a novel and improved simple and inexpensive manner; and to obtain other results and advantages as will be brought out by the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which 3 5 Figure l is a fragmentary perspective view of Figure 4 is a transverse vertical sectional View on the line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary vertical longitudinal sectional view on the line 5-5 of Figure 4. 59 Figure 6 is a detached side elevational view of the runner of my mounting device, and

Figure '7 is a detached end elevational view of the clip of my mounting device.

Specifically describing the invention, the ref- 65 erence character A designates the lamp socket body preferably formed of electrical insulating material such as wood, fiber, porcelain, glass, rubber, or other known suitable compositions, and may be decorated and of any suitable color. The runner is provided with an axial opening 2 extending therethrough and of a diameter to receive and frictionally engage a wire B. To facilitate attachment of the runner to the wire, the runner is formed with a longitudinal slot 3 extending inwardly from the outer periphery of I the runner and intersecting the opening 2, the :0 slot being of a width less than the diameter of the opening. With this construction, the wire may be forced through the slot 3 into the opening 2, laterally of the runner, the wire being sufiiciently compressible and the material of the 25 runner preferably being sufficiently resilient to permit this operation. l

A clip 4 is mounted on the runner and preferably includes a strip of spring metal folded upon itself to form a loop 5 and a pair of opposed spring $0 arms 6. The loop 5 encircles the runner coaxially with the opening and the arms 6 project laterally from the runner. The loop is slit circumferentialy at 1 to provide an annular spring tongue 8 approximately coaxial with the loop. B5

The runner has a circumferential groove 9 in which the loop 5 of the clip is seated, and at the base of the groove 9 is a secondary groove II] in which the spring tongue 8 is seated.

As above stated, the material of which the run- 40 ner is formed is preferably resilient, and preferably the resiliency of the spring tongue is such as to cause the tongue to snugly encircle the runner and constantly exert pressure thereon so as to force the walls of the runner at opposite 5 sides of the slot 3 into frictional contact with the wire B, whereby the runner will be frictionally held in any adjusted position against accidental movement longitudinally of the wire.

It will be observed that the loop 5 may be expanded and the arms 6 may be spread apart without afiecting the tongue 8. Therefore, the spring tongue 8 firmly holds the runner against lateral displacement from the clip. This is important because in some instances theloop 5 might be expanded, and the arms 6 might be spread apart when attached to a large branch, sufficiently to allow the runner to slip out between the arms if the tongue 8 were not present. The tongue 8 also has the effect of a closure for the opening of the loop to prevent slipping of the runner laterally out of the loop.

With this construction, it will be observed that the runner I may be slid longitudinally of the wire B to any desired point in the length of the wire, whereupon the arms 6 of the clip 4 may be slipped over a branch D of a tree or other support so that said branch or support is positively gripped between the arms as shown in Figures 1 and 4. If desired, the arms 6 of the clip may be serrated or formed with inwardly directed prongs or teeth H to prevent slipping of the clip from the branch. Accordingly, the lamp socket A may be suspended between widely spaced branches, as shown in Figure 1, or by sliding a mounting device C into a position close to the socket, the socket may be directly connected to a branch.

The arms of the spring clip permit the clip to be positively attached and held against movement longitudinally of a branch, and also permit the clip to be attached to the branches of different diameters and with a simple lengthwise sliding movement of the arms laterally of the branch instead of with a hook action which is most common in mounting devices of this general character.

The loop 5 of the clip at all times closes the slot in the runner, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, so as to positively prevent disconnection of the runner from the wire; and movement of the clip longitudinally of the runner is prevented by the grooves 9 and It]. If desired, the groove 9 may be omitted, in which case the groove l0 and the spring tongue 8 alone would prevent movement of the clip longitudinally of the runner.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art, that instead of providing the slot 3 for insertion of the wire into the opening 2 of the runner, the slot may be omitted and the Wire may be threaded endwise through the opening 2,

While I have shown and described the now preferred embodiment of my invention, the details of structure of the mounting device may be modified and changed by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A device of the character described comprising a body member having an opening therethrough toreceive another part, and a clip including an open loop embracing said body member and having a pair of opposed integral spring arms at its ends to grip a support between them, said loop being circumferentially slit to form an integral tongue which encircles the body member and extends across the opening of the loop to prevent lateral displacement of the body member out of the loop between said arms when the latter are spread apart.

2. A device of the character described comprising a body member having an opening therethrough to receive another part, and a clip including an open loop embracing said body member and having a pair of opposed integral spring arms at its ends to grip a support between them, said loop being circumferentially slit to form an integral tongue which encircles the body member and extends across the opening of the loop to prevent lateral displacement of the body member out of the loop between said arms when the latter are spread apart, said body member also having a circumferential groove in which said tongue is seated to hold said body member against displacement longitudinally from the loop.

3. A device of the character described comprising a block of material having inherent resiliency and provided with an opening therethrough from end to end to receive frictionally a wire or the like, there being a slot extending inwardly from the periphery of said block to said opening throughout the length of the latter, and .a clip for supporting said block including means to engage a support and a spring loo-p encircling the block, said loop normally compressing the block at opposite sides of said slot to force the walls of said opening into tight frictional contact with said wire or the like.

4. A device of the character described comprising a block of material having inherent resiliency and provided with an opening therethrough from end to end to receive frictionally a wire or the like, there being a slot extending inwardly from the periphery of said block to said opening throughout the length of the latter, and a clip for supporting said block including a spring loop encircling said block and having a pair of opposed integral spring arms to grip a support between them, said block also having an exterior circumferential groove and said loop being circumferentially slit to form an annular spring tongue that is coaxial with said loop and is seated in said groove both to hold said block against movement longitudinally out of said loop and to compress the block at opposite sides of said slot to force the walls of said opening into tight frictional contact with said Wire or the like.

CHARLES F. ABBOTT.

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