AU734274B2

AU734274B2 - A support

Info

Publication number: AU734274B2
Application number: AU78955/98A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Lance Leonard Evans
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1997-08-12
Filing date: 1998-08-11
Publication date: 2001-06-07
Anticipated expiration: 2018-08-11
Also published as: AU7895598A

Description

i 1

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

*S*

*r Name of Applicant: Actual Inventor: Address for Service: Invention Title: Lance Leonard EVANS As above CULLEN

CO.,

Patent Trade Mark Attorneys, 240 Queen Street, Brisbane, QIld. 4000, Australia.

A SUPPORT Details of Associated Provisional Application: No. PO8561 filed 12 August 1997 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: 2

TITLE

A SUPPORT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION THIS INVENTION relates to a support. In particular, the invention concerns a cable support.

The invention will be described by way of example in relation to a support for cables such as electrical cables. It should be appreciated that this is by way of example only, and that the support may also be used for supporting and retaining rope, chain, electrical cables, conduit and other elongate members in an elevated position.

For health and safety reasons wherever cables are positioned on a site either on a permanent or temporary basis, it is desirable that they be held in an orderly state and elevated above the ground. On building sites, a practice has developed where electrical cables are temporarily supported on cable supports consisting of a metal vehicle tyre rim having a post with hooked projections. The cable was supported by the projections and strung between a plurality of such supports.

•:°These supports were unwieldy and required considerable space both when in use and for storage purposes and did not positively hold the cable.

United States design patent D326999 discloses a cable stacking device having a foot or base and a plurality of spaced locations defined by opposed arms for receiving cables. Adjacent arms have a reduced width entry into the location for receiving the cable. When the foot rests upon a horizontal surface, the locations are spaced vertically from one another. Once the cable progresses past the necked entry between adjacent arms, it is not tightly held by the device.

United States patent 5425578 discloses a cord/wire holder for supporting a single string of lights. The holder has a base for attachment to a support and a body having an entry slot leading into a support slot for receiving a cable or wire.

Once again, the cable is free to move about within the support slot.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the invention to provide a support for cables or the like which at least minimises the disadvantages referred to above.

3 According to one aspect, the invention provides a support for cables or the like, the support having a body with at least one attachment portion for allowing the support to be anchored in position for use, a plurality of receiving zones each for receiving cables or the like, each said zone comprising a slot having an entry and terminating in a reduced width inner portion spaced from the entry with the entry of each said slot been located higher than the reduced width inner portion when the support is anchored in its use position.

The body may be solid or tubular in construction. In one embodiment, the body is convex when viewed from the front. Preferably, the body is substantially 10 semicircular in transverse cross section.

The cable receiving slots, in use, are arranged at spaced intervals along •the body. These slots may be evenly or unevenly spaced. In use, the entry into each slot is located higher than the reduced width inner portion and thus, each slot is downwardly inclined in use. The slots may be gradually and progressively 15 narrower in width between the entry and the inner portion. The cables may be wedged into the slot and held under the influence of gravity when the slots are constructed in this way.

**An attachment portion may be located at one end of the body or alternatively, a respective attachment portion is located at each end of the body.

:i 20 In a further embodiment, an attachment potion may be located at or along one or both sides of the body.

The attachment portions may be provided by attachment apertures formed in the support. Flanges may be present on the body and the apertures may be formed in these flanges.

A particular preferred embodiment will now be described by way for example with reference to the drawings in which: BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a perspective view of a support according to one embodiment of the invention; and, DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The support 10 of Figure 1 has a body 11 with a convex front 12 and an opening 13 in its rear face. This allows a plurality of supports 10 to be nested 4 relative to one another. Attachment portions 14, 15 are located at ends of the body and have apertures 16, 17, 18 which allow the support to be anchored in position for use with portion 14 being uppermost. Further attachment portions are provided by flanges 20 (only one of which is visible in this view) on opposite edges of the body. These flanges have fixing apertures 21.

The body 11 has a plurality of receiving slots 25 arranged at spaced locations along its length. These slots are downwardly inclined and have a relatively wide entry width and progressively taper in width terminating at a narrow inner portion.

With the embodiment of Figure 1, four cables may be supported and each cable may be wedged into its slot to thereby be securely held by the support.

The cables may easily be removed from the slots.

The support 30 has attachment portions 33, 34 with apertures through which a tie 35 may pass to anchor the support 30 to a support post 36.

15 The cable support of the invention may easily be anchored in position and cables may be supported by and between a plurality of spaced supports.

Although the receiving slots may be used to wedge the cables relative to the support, the slots are such that the cables may still be easily removed if desired.

ooo oi •ooo•

Claims

1. A support for cables or the like, the support having a body with at least one attachment portion for allowing the support to be anchored in position for use, a plurality of receiving zones each for receiving cables or the like, each said zone comprising a slot having an entry and terminating in a reduced width inner portion spaced from the entry with the entry of each said slot being located higher than the reduced width inner portion when the support is anchored in its use position.

2. The support of claim 1 wherein the body is convex in shape when viewed from the front. The support of claim 1 or 2 wherein the body is substantially semi circular in transverse cross section. The support of any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the receiving slots are arranged at spaced intervals along the body.

5. The support of claim 4 wherein the receiving slots are evenly spaced along the body.

6. The support of any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein the slots are gradually and progressively narrower in width from the entry to terminating inner portion.

7. The support of any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein the attachment portion is 20 located at one end of the body.

8. The support of any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein a respective said attachment portion is located at each end of the body.

9. The support of claims 7 or 8 wherein the or each said attachment portion includes an aperture formed in the body.

10. The support of any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein the attachment portions consist of flanges extending along sides of the body and the flanges have attachment apertures.

11. A support substantially as herein described with reference to the drawing. DATED this 1 1 th day of August 1998 Lance Leonard EVANS By his Patent Attorneys CULLEN CO.