AU697580B2

AU697580B2 - Wire holder

Info

Publication number: AU697580B2
Application number: AU30246/95A
Authority: AU
Inventors: John Kellett
Original assignee: Gl & Kj Trott Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Gl & Kj Trott Pty Ltd
Priority date: 1994-08-31
Filing date: 1995-08-25
Publication date: 1998-10-08
Anticipated expiration: 2015-08-25
Also published as: AU3024695A

Description

_r MII""M MMrlo- R!m 0. 44226 HKS:PFB P/00/011 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

Name of Appfi nt: JOHN KELLETT Name of inventor: JOHN KELLETT Address for Service: COLLISON CO.,117 King William Street, Adelaide, S.A. 5000 Invention Title: WIRE HOLDER Details of Associated Provisional Applications: PM7773 Dated 31st August 1994 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: 1 T- S*1 2 This invention relates to a wire holder and to a method of holding wires.

The device to which this invention is directed is of a type as described in my Australian Patent 567884 dated 18th August 1983.

Wire holders or wire joiners are conventionally used around the world to hold a wire at its end in a way which will enable the wire to be substantially tensioned and such that the wire will be held firmly over a long period of time by the holder or joiner.

This has hitherto been achieved using among other devices joiners as disclosed in the referred to Australian Patent in which gripping members are housed in a tapering housing so that as gripping members grip the wire and are pulled toward an opening, they are forced together to more tightly engage the wire.

The problem tc: which this invention is directed is the difficulty that the joiner, shown in the referred to Australian Patent, can only be used for any individual joiner, through a very small range of wire diameters. The difficulty has been to know how a much broader range of wire sizes could be accommodated for a single joiner while keeping the design simple and economic. Secondly, it would be useful if less material were needed in the manufacture of a joiner which would assist in reduced cost of joiners.

According to one form of the invention there is proposed a wire joiner including a tapered housing having gripping members slidably supported within a tapering shape of the housing so as to close against a wire if located within and being pulled from between the gripping members the angle of the i taper being greater than ten degrees.

25 In a preferred form of the invention there are three gripping members each being arranged around an axis so as to be arranged one with respect to the other.

C t In a preferred form of the invention the angle of the taper is approximately twenty degrees.'i- I1: 3 In preference, such taper angle is at least greater than ten degrees and less than thirty and in preference, twenty degrees has been found to provide good results.

A surprising discovery is that by increasing this angle there is not only the saving of materials implicit because of the much lesser length of housing that becomes necessary, that it is found that in embodiments using this concept, that they then accept a somewhat broader range of wires than has hitherto been possible.

One of the problems with a larger angle, however, is that the gripping 1 0 members can be somewhat smaller than was hitherto necessary and assembly of an article for manufacture becomes quite difficult.

Accordingly there is proposed an arrangement for holding the gripping members which assist both their initial assembly and their subsequent retentioning position in the housing.

In a preferred form of the invention there is included an arrangement holding the gripping members together adapted to assist both initial assembly of the gripping members and a subsequent retained position in the housing.

*"In a preferred form of the invention the housing has an opening and an inner cavity defined by an inner surface of the wall of the housing the inner cavity having a central axis the inner cavity including a frustro conical part where the •end of lesser diameter coincides with the opening of the frustro conical shape and is defined by an inner surface which is sufficiently smooth so as to allow for sliding reaction movement there along of an assembly under the influence of a helical spring.

I t S:E 25 In a preferred form of the invention the helical spring is positioned to react against a back plate.

In another form of the invention there is proposed A wire joiner including a housing having an opening at at least one end of the housing, and an inner cavity in the housing having a substantially frustro conical shape, the smaller A'QO end of which defines the said opening, characterised in that the angle defined between the central axis of the frustro conical shape and the inner surface of 1Tr 4 the frustro conical shape is greater than ten degrees, three gripping members each symmetrically arranged with respect to the other gripping members about an axis of the frustro conical shape within the inner cavity of the housing and each being slidably supported within the housing to move toward the opening and thereby, by sliding reaction from the frustro conical shape to move against one another, tl a gripping members each having a serrated edge whereby the serrated edges of the gripping members are together supported and adapt to grip a wire when said wire within a selected range of diameters is located through the opening.

In a preferred form of the invention each of the gripping members is of elongate shape and has a substantial portion having a U shape in cross section when viewed across a direction of elongation of each respective elongate member. 4 There is advantage in such an arrangement in so far that the manufacture of each gripping member is then more easily achieved from steel rather than attempting to provide a sufficient width of teeth by having to cast the gripping member from an appropriate metal.

In order to assist in the assembly, it has been found advantageous to provide a support cradle to which each of the gripping fingers can be interlocked with 20 such that support cradle can fit within the frustro conical shape of the inner cavity of the housing, provide a bearing surface for resilient means to apply pressure collectively to the gripping members and yet not interfere with the S.gripping action of the gripping members when appropriate.

6oll *6 US In a preferred form of the invention an outer side of the casing at its rearward part is screw threaded to allow for a collar to be located to this in a back to 0. back relationship so that the joiner is adapted to hold the ends of two wires.

In a preferred form of the invention the assembly is comprised of three gripping members each being arranged around an axis so as to be 2 symmetrically arranged one with respect to the other.

In a preferred form of the invention each of the gripping members is comprised So. of bent mild steel each having outer edge teeth. trfl i ,t T Tr I In a preferred form of the invention each of the gripping members is shaped so as to have a deeper part and a shallower part so that the arrangement of the teeth when the back of the gripping member is aligned with the inner surface of the frustro conical cavity, is that they are substantially parallel to the axis.

In a preferred form of the invention each of the gripping members is comprised of a mild steel sheet bent so as to be in the form of a U shape when viewed in cross section across the direction of elongation and the teeth being at the outer end of each of the legs of the U shape.

In a preferred form of the invention at an inner end of each gripping member there is a tab which includes a first and a second part shaped and positioned so as to extend behind a crossbar of the support cradle with three fingers.

In a preferred form of the invention inwardly extending parts of the support cradle provide location for an helical spring.

In a preferred form of the invention the assembly is located in a forward most position with respect to the casing so that the gripping members are closest together wherein they will grip a wire of smallest diameter.

In another form of the invention there is proposed a method of assembly of a wire joiner as defined above wherein thj assembly with each gripping member includes a tab arranged with its first part and second part to partially 20 encircle the crossbar so that for a first installation step, the gripping member is positioned so that the gripping member is then interlocked in the position and then afterwards twisted around the crossbar so as to assume an interlocking position.

For a better understanding of this invention it will now be described with the 25 assistance of drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a cross section of a wire joiner according to a first embodiment, FIG. 2 is a view from the bottom end of the first embodiment as shown in FIG. 1 with the end cap and spring removed, FIG. 3 is the same view and the same embodiment as in FIGS. 1 and 2 except that the gripping members together with their support cradle is Slocated uppermost, and the back plate and spring have been removed, 4 (7 t t cc t 4rtt p pi

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j, i .i i FIG. 4 is a view looking into the housing as in FIG. 3 from below, FIG. 5 is a view of the gripping members in side elevation showing one of them ;n several positions, FIG. 6 is a view from below of the assembly as shown in FIG. 5 with the gripping members in their conventional gripping position, FIG. 7 shows the joiner gripping a wire passing fully through the joiner where the joiner is of smaller diam'r.ter, FIG. 8 is a view from below with the joiner in this position, FIGS. 9 and 10 are views of the same embodiment where there is a wire of somewhat great diameter being gripped, and FIG 11 is a perspective view of the gripping member and support cradle. i Referring to the drawings and in particular to FIGS 1 and 2, there is shown a housing 1 which has opening 2 and an inner cavity 3 defined by the inner surface 4 of the wall 5 of the housing 1.

The inner cavity 3 has a central axis 6.

The inner cavity 3 includes a frustro conical part 7 where the end of lesser diameter coincides with the opening 2.

The frustro conical shape is defined by the inner surface which is generally 4 20 smooth so as to allow for sliding reaction movement there along of assembly 8 under the influence of resilient member 9 comprised of a helical spring. The helical spring 9 reacts against a back plate too.

C The outer side of the casing at its rearward part is screw threaded at 11 to allow for a collar -r a fitting of equivalent type to be easily located to this first S' 25 in, for instance, a back to back relationship so that the joiner can hold the two Cends of wires in relativity.

The angle between the opposite walls of the cavity defining the frustro conical shape 7 in this embodiment is twenty degrees as shown at 12.

The assembly 8 is comprised of three gripping members namely 13, 14 and 3I, U 15, these each being arranged around the axis at 16 so ,s to be symmetrically arranged one with respect to the other.

-If i Each of the gripping members is comprised of bent mild steel each having a major part such as is shown at 17 to have at its outer edge teeth shaped so as to be effective in cutting into and assisting holding thereby, wire. Each of the gripping members is shaped so as to have a deeper part at 19 typically and a shallower part at 20 typically so that the arrangement of the teeth at 18 when the back of the gripping member is aligned wiih the inner surface of the frustro conical cavity, more or less parallel to the axis 6.

Each of the gripping members is comprised of a mild steel sheet bent around so as to be in the form of a U shape when viewed in cross section across the direction of elongation shown, for instance, at 21, and the teeth are at the outer end of each of the legs of the so called U shape.

At an inner end there is a tab 22 which includes a first part 23 and a second part 24.

The second part 24 is shaped and positioned so as to extend behind the crossbar 25 of the support cradle 26.

The support cradle has three fingers at 27, 28 and 29.

Inwardly extending parts 30, 31 and 32 provide location for the helical spring 9 t From the description thus far given there can be seen to be a frustro conical 20 shape with the included angle of twenty degrees which has been found to provide for significantly improved range of wires that can be held.

a. .9 Now referring to FIGS 3 and 4, this shows the assembly 8 located in a forward most position so that the gripping members 13, 14 and 15 are closest together SX a wherein they will grip a wire of smallest diameter.

FIGS 5 and 6 show the assembly 8 removed from the surrounding casing so that the action and position of the respective gripping members and, in S: particular, gripping member 13 which is shown in three different positions in S' dotted outline and in which it is shown that the tab 22 is arranged with its first part 23 and second part 24 to partially encircle the crossbar 25 so that for a 3 first installation step, the gripping member is positioned as shown in the V1y c" j lowest dotted outline gripping member which is then interlocked in the position as shown by the outline of the gripping member in full outline, and it is then afterwards twisted around the crossbar 25 so as to assume the position as shown in the remaining parts of the drawing.

This arrangement allows for rapid assembly of the assembly 8 by firstly taking the support cradle 26 and interlocking the respective gripping mer,'hers 13, 14 and 15 around the respective crossbars 25 and then simply rotating these around so as to bring them into the fully interlocking position for use inside the housing 1.

FIGS 7 and 8 are the same views as in FIGS 3 and 4 except in this case there is in addition, a wire 33 shown in a held position noting that the helical spring has been removed for the sake of clarity of the illustration which, however, in the functioning system would be included or its equivalent.

FIGS 9 and 10 are the same views as in the previous drawings as in so far that the assembly 8 is gripping a wire 35 which is significantly greater diameter than the wire 33 shown in FIGS 7 and 8.

In this case, of course, the gripping member is shown well back from the opening 2.

Again the resilient member is not shown simply for sake of clarity but it would S 20 be appropriately located similarly to that as shown in FIG 1 and if there is no backing plate such as 10 as shown in FIG 1, the resilient member would n extend through to a reaction place which in an appropriate case would be the same type of assembly as shown at 8 and the same housing shown at 1 wh;ch is held in a back to back relationship with the housing and assembly shown in ;cl €25 FIG9.

I 44 t Finally referring to FIG 11, this is a perspective view o the assembly 8 showing the respective gripping members 13, 14 and 15 supported in an injection moulded plastic cradle 26.

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Claims

1. A wire joiner including a tapered housing having gripping members slidably supported within a tapering shape of the housing so as to close against a wire if located within and being pulled from between the gripping members the angle of the taper being greater than ten degrees.

2. A wire joiner as in the preceding claim further characterised in that there are three gripping members each being arranged around an axis so as to be arranged one with respect to the other.

3. A wire joiner as in either of the preceding claims wherein the angle 1 0 of the taper is approximately twenty degrees.

4. A wire joiner as in any one of the preceding claims further characterised in that there is included an arrangement holding the gripping members together adapted to assist both initial assembly of the gripping members and a subsequent retained position in the housing. 1 5

5. A wire joiner as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein said housing has an opening and an inner cavity defined by an inner surface of the wall of the housing the inner cavity having a central axis the inner cavity including a frustro conical part where the end of lesser diameter coincides ,with the opening of the frustro conical shape and is defined by an inner 20 surface which is sufficiently smooth so as to allow for sliding reaction i ;movement there along of an assembly under the influence of a helical spring.

6. A wire joiner as claimed in claim 5 further characterised in that the Yrt helical spring is positioned to react against a back plate. i t

7. A wire joiner including a housing having an opening at at least one end of the housing, and an inner cavity in the housing having a substantially S" frustro conical shape, the smaller end of which defines the said opening, cc characterised in that the angle defined between the central axis of the frustro conical shape and the inner surface of the frustro conical shape is greater than ten degrees, three gripping members each symmetrically arranged with 1 respect to the other gripping members about an axis of the frustro conical I~I i. 1 shape within the inner iavity of the housing and each being slidably supported within the shape of the housing to move toward the opening and thereby, by sliding reaction from the frustro conical shape to move against one another, the gripping members each having a serrated edge wher' the serrated edges of the gripping members are together supported t to grip a wire when said wire within a selected range of diameter. is :a' thrnugh the opening.

8. A wire joiner as in the immediately preceding claim further characterised in that each of the grippirI members is of elongate shape and has a substantial portion having a U shape in cross section when viewed across a direction of elongation of each respective elongate member.

9. A wire joiner as in either of the last two immediately preceding claims further characterised in that there is a support cradle to which each of the gripping fingers is interlocked with and such that the sdpport cradle fits within the frustro conical shape of the inner cavity of the housing, providing a bearing surface for resilient means to apply pressure collectively to the gripping members and not interfere with the gripping action of the gripping members.

A wire joiner as in any one of the preceding claims further 20 characterised in that an outer side of the casing at its rearward part is screw threaded to allow for a collar to be localted to this in a back to back relationship so that the joiner is adapted to hold the ends of two wires.

11. A wire joiner as in any one of the preceding claims further characterised in that the assembly is comprised of three gripping members each being arranged around an axis so as to be symmetrically arranged one with respect to the other.

12. A wire joiner as in the last preceding claim further characterised in that each of the gripping members is comprised of bent mild steel each having outer edge teeth.

13. A wire joiner as in the last preceding claim further characterised in that each of the gripping members is shaped so as to have a deeper part and a shallower part so that the arrangement of the teeth when the back of the (2 '4 4, 1 44 4 I I *r I 4t 4 S S 4r 4 tr 44 4 4 44t SC S C 4S 'I 4 44 4. i i ,t qI 11 gripping member is aligned with the inner surface of the frustro conical cavity, is that they are substantially parallel to the axis. 1

14. A wire joiner as in the last preceding claim further characterised in that each of the gripping members is comprised of a mild steel sheet bent so as to be in the form of a U shape when viewed in cross section across the direction of elongation and the teeth being at the outer end of each of the legs of the U shape.

A wire joiner as in the last preceding claim further characterised in that at an inner end of each gripping member there is a tab which includes a 1 0 first and a second part shaped and positioned so as to extend behind a crossbar of the support cradle with three fingers.

16. A wire joiner as in the last preceding claim further characterised in that inwardly extending parts of the support cradle provide location for an helical spring.

17. A wire joiner as in the last preceding claim further characterised in that the assembly is located in a forward most position with respect to the casing so that the gripping members are closest together wherein they will grip a wire of smallest diameter.

18. A method of assembly of a wire joiner as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the assembly with each gripping member includes a tab arranged with its first part and second part to partially encircle the crossbar so that for a first installation step, the gripping member is positioned so that the gripping member is then interlocked in the position and then afterwards twisted around the crossbar so as to assume an interlocking position.

19. A wire joiner substantially as described in the specification with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying illustrations. I C f C- c i'll 3 i I r I CI P *Ei- m -I- 12 A method of forming a wire joiner substantially as described in the specification with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying illustrations. Dated this 26th day of August 1998 JOHN KELLETT By his Patent Attorneys, COLLISON CO. Ir 1U14 U t Ut Ut Ut LU U U U L I r ,r ~I I' "ON 0,12 loot dw 104,1. 0- r r~ ABSTRACT A wire joiner including a tapered housing having gripping members slldably supported within a tapering shape of the housing so as to close against a wire if located within and being pulled from between the gripping members the angle of the taper being greater than ten degrees with three gripping members each being arranged around an axis of the housing. tr t I t C~ I II', 1 4. 4 I, I 6* 4 4J_ #1