US3182940A - Binding or mounting clips - Google Patents

Description

May 11, 1965 E. F. EMERY ETAL BINDING OR MOUNTING CLIPS Filed Aug. 23, 1962 United States Patent 3,182,940 BINDING 0R MOUNTING CLIPS Edgar F. Emery, Prestbury, England, and Frank Down Emery, deceased, late of Cheadle Hulme, England, by Robert Chester Haworth, Manchester, Marjorie A. Fawkes, Davenport, and Edgar F. Emery, personal representatives, Prestbury, England, assignors to Insuloid Manufacturing Co. Limited, a company of Great Britain, Northern Ireland and Isle of Man Filed Aug. 23, 1962, Ser. No. 219,347 2 Claims. (Cl. 248--74) port or for securing them to a supporting base or bracket.

There have been several forms of mounting clips in comrnon use, the simplest and most popular consisting merely of a strip of insulating material, such as pollyvinyl chloride, formed with holes in its ends, adapted to embrace the bundle of wires and to be secured to a base by a screw or to a frame or chassis by fitting the holes in the ends of the strip over a frame stud extension and securing by nut and washer. Intermediate of such mounting clips any grouping or bundling of the wiring is effected by binding, which though eifective and neat, is a relatively slow operation even when done by a skilled operative.

Accordingly, it is among the objects of the present invention to provide an improved clip which is simple in construction, which is cheap to produce, which may quickly be applied, and which is both neat and eifective.

It is also among the objects of the invention to provide a combination of an elastic member and a relatively stiff member which is adapted to hold a bundle of wires, for example, securely while preventing shifting of individual wires.

It is further among the objects of the invention to provide an elastic member which has a central supporting portion and readily extensible end portions to permit ready application without undue stresses being set up in the elements thereof.

It is still further among the objects of the invention to provide means whereby the bundle may be readily attached to a support and be adapted for easy removal from said support.

According to the invention, a binding or mounting means for a bundle of articles comprises an elongated ring-like member of resiliently extensible or elastic material and hook-ended connecting means adapted to be engaged by the ring so that the said ring and connecting means ocollectively embrace the articles. The binding and mounting means aforesaid is further characterized in that there is a transverse relatively wide Web-like mem ber connecting the sides of the ring intermediate of its ends, thereby to securely hold the bundle together.

In its preferred form the ring is rectangular in outline and the central web has an area about equal to that of the hook member and, when mounted on a bundle of wires, the web is opposite the hook'member. The ends of the ring are relatively thin and of a diameter. about equal to the thickness of the web, and said ends are readily stretchable.

The invention will be described further with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters indicate like parts, and in which- FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing one preferred form of binding or mounting means in position on a bundle of wires;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a modified form of binding or mounting clip, showing how it can be inserted into a saddle, and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the elastic member shown in flat condition and separated from the U-shaped strip.

Referring now to FIG. 1, the example of the invention illustrated shows a binding or mounting clip 4 suitable for use in the building of electronic apparatus and this comprises connecting means consistingof a strip 10 of stiff plastic or other suitable substance, about three-quarters of an inch square having two opposite edges rolled outwardly to form open hook ends 11 and 12, the diameter of each roll being about three thirty-seconds of an inch. One hook end 12 is open for its full diameter but the other hook end 11 may be rolled over a little further to close the entrance to about three SiXtY-mfOlJIths of an inch. Complementary to such connecting means is an endless extensible molded ring 13 preferably of polyvinyl chloride having a cross-sectional diameter of about onesix-teenth of an inch. The ring consists of a central flat web 14, of rectangular shape, having approximately equal sized loops 15 and 16 at opposite ends thereof forming openings 17 and 18, respectively. The web is relatively wide to provide a substantial area of contact with the bundle of articles. The area A of web 14 is about equal to or somewhat less than area A of clip 4, and width B is sufficient to permit ends 15" and 16" to readily fit over hooks 1'1 and 12. The distance C is slightly less than distance D but may be about equal thereto, so that the area of web 14 is not over the area of loops 17 and 18.

Sets of such clips may be made up in groups with rings of varying sizes and lengths from which they may be selected according to the size of the particular bundle to be bound thereby.

In use, one loop 15 is engaged with hook 12 of cradle 10. The operator engages a finger or fingers with the bridge to stretch the loop until it is possible to engage the other loop 16 with the other hook 11 of the cradle norm-ally without having to stretch loop 16 or overstretch loop 15. Upon release, the tensioned parts resile and both loops become stressed, with or without a little assistance by manipulative pressure on the bridge. This operation, done by a skilled operative, can be effected quickly and the resultant binding is effective and relatively permanent, as it would be necessary to have a suitably designed removing tool to disengage the ring 13 from the hook 1 2.

The first loop 15 will be initially stressed at 15 beyond that part 15 under the hook, lbEGEtllSOf frictional resistance at the ends of the hook. Equally, when allowed to resile, friction at the same ends will delay release of tension in the part under the book. The stresses at sides 16 of loop 16 will ultimately be substantially the same as at the sides 15' of loop 15 and approximately the same as in the part 15" of loop 15 under hook 12. The part 16" of loop 16 under hook 11 will be slightly less be cause of the friction at the ends of book 11 unless manually adjusted by pushing the bridge or web back towards hook 12.

Normally, therefore, the tensional stres is mainly distributed over the whole of loop 15 and the sides 16 of loop 16, which is about of the stretchable part of the band, and it will be substantially the same at one side as at the other.

Means are provided for mounting the clip on a suitable support. It consists of a boss 25 at the base of the U,

and preferably formed integrally therewith. 'It has, a threaded opening 26 which is adapted to be threaded on 1.3 the free threaded end of a bolt or screw fixed onto the support.

Referring now to FIG. 2, this figure illustrates how the clip shown in FIG. 1 can be mounted securely, but releasably, for example upon a base board. Complementary to the connecting means is a channel-sectioned saddle 20, the flanges 21, 22 of the channel of the saddle converging slightly. This saddle has a spacer or distance piece 23 molded integrally therewith, which distance piece is bored for the reception of a fixing bolt 24, whereby the saddle may be secured, for example, upon a base board (not shown).

Once the saddle 20 has been secured by its bolt, the binding clip or cradle strip 10 can he slid into engagement therewith, to be held firmly by the converging flanges 21, 22.

In practice, it is found that bundles of wires, for example, in electronic equipment, frequently require to be unbound, and the mounting clips according to the present invention provide a very simple means for doing this. The operator engages a finger under one of the loops and pulls it towards one hook until the loop falls therefrom and is easily lifted clear.

With an ordinary band having no bridge, it would be almost inevitable that one side will be stretched more than the other and also the end portion placed over the last hook will be and will remain over-stretched by the manipulation of applying the band. This distribution of residual stress is very important to the life of the band as the rate of degradation is known to be a function of the residual stress and rises rapidly therewith.

What is claimed is:

1. A binding clip for holding a bundle of elongated articles together comprising a substantially rectangular strip of stiff material of substantial width, the ends of said strip being rolled to provide a pair of hooks, said hooks being substantially parallel tosaid articles, an elastic ring of elongated substantially rectangular form, a transverse rectangular -web across the central area of said ring, the end portions of said ring being rectangular loops of approximately equal size, the area of said web being approximately equal to the area of the openings in said loops, the width of said loops being sufiicient so that the ends of said loops fit over said hooks, the ends of said strip being rolled inwardly so that the open ends of said hooks face each other, and a channel-shaped saddle having depending lateral flanges fits over said hooks, the width of said saddle being equal to the width of said strip, whereby said flanges grip the sides of said strip.

2. A binding clip according to claim 1 characterized in that said saddle has a substantially flat body and said depending flanges at the sides thereof converging inwardly to grip the sides of said hooks.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. A BINDING CLIP FOR HOLDING A BUNDLE OF ELONGATED ARTICLES TOGETHER COMPRISING A SUBSTANTIALLY RECTANGULAR STRIP OF STIFF MATERIAL OF SUBSTANTIAL WIDTH, THE ENDS OF SAID STRIP BEING ROLLED TO PROVIDE A PAIR OF HOOKS, SAID HOOKS BEING SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO SAID ARTICLES, AN ELASTIC RING OF ELONGATED SUBSTANTIALLY RECTANGULAR FORM, A TRANSVERSE RECTANGULAR WEB ACROSS THE CENTRAL AREA OF SAID RING, THE END PORTIONS OF SAID RING BEING RECTANGULAR LOOPS OF APPROXIMATELY EQUAL SIZE, THE AREA OF SAID WEB BEING APPROXIMATELY EQUAL TO THE AREA OF THE OPENINGS IN SAID LOOPS, THE WIDTH OF SAID LOOPS BEING SUFFICIENT SO THAT THE ENDS OF SAID LOOPS FIT OVER SAID HOOKS, THE ENDS OF SAID STRIP BEING ROLLED INWARDLY SO THAT THE OPEN ENDS OF SAID HOOKS FACE EACH OTHER, AND A CHANNEL-SHAPED SADDLE HAVING DEPENDING LATERAL FLANGES FITS OVER SAID HOOKS, THE WIDTH OF SAID SADDLE BEING EQUAL TO THE WIDTH OF SAID STRIP, WHEREBY SAID FLANGES GRIP THE SIDES OF SAID STRIP.

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