AU730002B3

AU730002B3 - Cable fastener

Info

Publication number: AU730002B3
Application number: AU39430/00A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Teh-Tsung Chiu
Original assignee: AVC Industrial Corp
Current assignee: AVC Industrial Corp
Priority date: 2000-06-01
Filing date: 2000-06-13
Publication date: 2001-02-22
Anticipated expiration: 2006-06-13
Also published as: GB0013395D0; DE20010394U1; GB2363007B; GB2363007A

Description

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A PETTY PATENT

ORIGINAL

Name of Applicant: Actual Inventor: Address of Service: Invention Title: AVC Industrial Corp.

Teh-Tsung Chiu BALDWIN SHELSTON WATERS MARGARET STREET SYDNEY NSW 2000 CABLE FASTENER The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us:la CABLE FASTENER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates a cable fastener, and more particularly to such a cable fastener for fastening a cable to a machine or a support.

A cable fastener is a device adapted for fastening to a board or support means to hold a cable or tubular member. U.S. Patent No.

5,927,892, entitled "DEVICE FOR FASTENING A CABLE TO A BOARD" shows a similar design. This device, as illustrated in FIG.

1A, comprises a casing 10' having two outer threads at its two opposite ends, a lock nut 11' threaded onto one end of the casing to secure the casing 10' to a board 30', a washer 15' mounted on the casing 10' and stopped between the lock nut 10' and a polygonal outward flange of the casing 10', a clamp 12' mounted on the other end of the casing 10', a collar 13' mounted in the clamp 12', and a chuck 14' threaded onto the casing 10' to compress the clamp 12' and the collar 13', causing the collar 13' to hold down a cable 20' in a hole on the board 30'. This cable fastening device is still not satisfactory in function. When fastening up the chuck 14', the pawls 121' of the clamp 12' are radially forced inwards against the periphery of the cable causing the cable 20' to be held down. However, because the pawls 121' are spaced from one another by gaps, the contact between the -2pawls 121 and the periphery of the cable 20' are of "contact of point" that is insufficient to stop the cable 20' from being twisted or pulled axially. When the cable 20' is twisted or pulled axially with force (see FIG. IB), the collar 13' may be forced out of position, and water may leak in through the gap between area A' and area B'.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION To this end, the present invention provides a cable fastener for holding a cable in position on a support, said cable fastener comprising: a casing adapted to be mounted in a hole in said support with said cable extending through said hole and said casing, said casing having an axially extending hole through which said cable passes, a first end with a first outer threaded section, a second end with a second outer threaded section adapted to pass through said hole in said support, and a polygonal outward flange raised between said first and second outer threaded sections; a lock nut for threaded engagement on said second outer threaded section of said casing for securing said casing to a said support; a clamp formed integral with said first end of said casing around the axially extending hole of said casing, said clamp comprising a plurality of axially extending pawls arranged in parallel, each of said pawls comprising a shank axially extending from the first end of said casing and an inwardly extending engagement portion at a distal end of said shank; a flexible collar located within said clamp, said collar having an axially extending hole through which said cable passes, said collar further including an annular groove around the outer periphery thereof adapted to receive said engagement portion of each 2apawl of said clamp, and an inner wall opposite said annular groove on an inner periphery of said collar; a chuck for threaded engagement on said first outer threaded section of said casing, said chuck comprising an axially extending hole through which said cable passes, an inner threaded section for threaded engagement on said first outer threaded section of said casing, and a tapered inner wall portion adapted to press the pawls of said clamp against said flexible collar whereby as the chuck is progressively threaded onto said first outer threaded section, said tapered inner wall portion forces said engagement portions of each of said pawls into engagement with said annular groove and said inner wall of said collar is inwardly compressed to hold said cable.

Preferably, said clamp defines with the first end of said casing an annular step around the axially extending hole of said casing against which one end of said collar is seated.

Preferably, the cable fastener further comprises an annular gasket mounted on said casing and retained between said support and the polygonal outward flange of said casing, said annular gasket having a protruded sealing rib raised from one side thereof and stopped against the polygonal outward flange of said casing.

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words 'comprise', 'comprising', and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of "including, but not limited to".

2b BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: FIG. 1A is a sectional view of a device for fastening a cable to a board according to the prior art.

FIG. 1B shows the cable twisted and pulled relative to the clamp according to the prior art.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a cable fastener according to 3 the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional assembly view of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional plain view of the present invention, showing the positioning of the collar between the clamp and the periphery of the cable within the casing.

FIG. 5A is a sectional view of the present invention before tightening the chuck.

FIG. 5B is a sectional view of the present invention showing the initial stage where the chuck is threaded onto the second outer thread of the casing.

FIG. 5C is a sectional view of the present invention showing the chuck tightened up, the collar compressed against the periphery of the cable.

FIG. 6 is a schematic drawing showing the clamp compressed, the downward engagement portion of each pawl engaged into the annular groove of the collar according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the present invention, showing the contact areas between parts of the cable fastener sealed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, a cable fastener in accordance with the present invention is generally comprised of a casing 10, a 4 lock nut 11, a clamp 12, a collar 13, and a chuck 14. The casing comprises an axial through hole 101 through which a cable 20 is inserted, a first outer thread 103 at a cable input end 105 thereof, a second outer thread 104 at a cable output end 106 thereof, and a polygonal outward flange 102 raised around the periphery in the middle between the first outer thread 103 and the second outer thread 104. The lock nut 11 has a center through hole 111, and an inner thread 112 around the center through hole 111. By means of threading the inner thread 112 of the lock nut 11 onto the second outer thread 104 of the casing 10, the lock nut 11 can be moved axially on the casing 10 through a rotary motion. After the cable output end 106 through a through hole on a board 30, the lock nut 11 is threaded onto the second outer thread 104 to fix the casing to the board 30 (see also FIG. 5A). Further, an annular gasket 15 is mounted on the second outer thread 104 and stopped between the polygonal outward flange 102 of the casing 10 and the board 30 to seal the gap. The annular gasket 15 is preferably made from rubber or plastics, having a protruded sealing rib 151 raised from one side around the center opening thereof. The chuck 14 comprises an axial center hole 141 for the passing of the cable 20, an inner thread 142 for threading onto the first outer thread 103 of the casing 10, and a tapered inside wall portion 61 adapted to compress the clamp 12 inwards. By means of threading the inner thread 142 of the chuck 14 onto the outer thread 103 of the casing 10, the chuck 14 can be moved axially on the casing 10 through a rotary motion. The clamp 12 is axially formed integral with the cable input end 105 of the casing 10, comprising a plurality of axial pawls 121 arranged in parallel. The pawls 121 each comprise a shank 122 axially extended from the cable input end 105 of the casing 10, and a downward engagement portion 123 at the distal end of the shank 122. As shown in FIG. 3, the downward engagement portions 123 of the pawls 121 are tilted in one direction. Further, the pawls 121 define with the cable input end 105 of the casing 10 and annular step 107 around the axial through hole 101 for supporting the collar 13. The collar 13 is a flexible member (made from rubber or flexible plastics) mounted within the clamp 12 and stopped at the annular step 107, having an axial through hole 131 for the passing of the cable 20, and an annular groove 132 around the periphery corresponding to the downward engagement portions 123 of the pawls 121.

Referring to FIGS. from 4 through 7, when fastening up the chuck 14, the tapered inside wall portion 143 of the chuck 14 is moved axially with the chick 14 on the casing 10 against the clamp 12, thereby causing the downward engagement portions 123 of the pawls 121 to be forced into engagement with the annular groove 132 of the collar 13, and therefore the collar 13 is inwardly -6 compressed against the periphery of the cable 20. After installation, the cable 20 is positively held down in the casing 10 against external pulling force, and the contact area A between the periphery of the cable 20 and the collar 13, the contact areas A, B, C, D and E between parts of the cable fastener are well sealed.

Because the collar 13 is stopped at the annular step 107 and maintained in engagement with the downward engagement portions 123 of the pawls 121, the collar 13 is stopped from movement with the cable While only one embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described, it will be understood that various modifications and changes could be made thereunto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention disclosed.

Claims

1. A cable fastener for holding a cable in position on a support, said cable fastener comprising: a casing adapted to be mounted in a hole in said support with said cable extending through said hole and said casing, said casing having an axially extending hole through which said cable passes, a first end with a first outer threaded section, a second end with a second outer threaded section adapted to pass through said hole in said support, and a polygonal outward flange raised between said first and second outer threaded sections; a lock nut for threaded engagement on said second outer threaded section of said casing for securing said casing to a said support; a clamp formed integral with said first end of said casing around the axially extending hole of said casing, said clamp comprising a plurality of axially extending pawls arranged in parallel, each of said pawls comprising a shank axially extending from the first end of said casing and an inwardly extending engagement portion at a distal end of said shank; a flexible collar located within said clamp, said collar having an axially extending hole through which said cable passes, said collar further including an annular groove around the outer periphery thereof adapted to receive said engagement portion of each pawl of said clamp, and an inner wall opposite said annular groove on an inner periphery of said collar; a chuck for threaded engagement on said first outer threaded section of said casing, said chuck comprising an axially extending hole through which said cable passes, an inner threaded section for threaded engagement on said first outer threaded section of -8- said casing, and a tapered inner wall portion adapted to press the pawls of said clamp against said flexible collar whereby as the chuck is progressively threaded onto said first outer threaded section, said tapered inner wall portion forces said engagement portions of each of said pawls into engagement with said annular groove and said inner wall of said collar is inwardly compressed to hold said cable.

2. The cable fastener of claim 1 wherein said clamp defines with the first end of said casing an annular step around the axially extending hole of said casing against which one end of said collar is seated.

3. The cable fastener of claim 1 or 2 further comprising an annular gasket mounted on said casing and retained between said support and the polygonal outward flange of said casing, said annular gasket having a protruded sealing rib raised from one side thereof and stopped against the polygonal outward flange of said casing. DATED this 18th Day of December, 2000 AVC INDUSTRIAL CORP. Attorney: RUSSELL J. DAVIES Fellow Institute of Patent Attorneys of Australia of BALDWIN SHELSTON WATERS