CN211928914U - Color-coded cable identification assembly and cable - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a color-coded cable identification assembly and a cable. The cable identification assembly includes: a sleeve configured to be mounted on the cable in such a manner that the cable extends through the sleeve; a plurality of identification rings, each identification ring comprising at least one segment provided with at least one predetermined color such that the plurality of identification rings are capable of forming at least one color code; and a sheath configured to cooperate with the sleeve to retain the plurality of identification rings between the sleeve and the sheath. The jacket has a viewing window into which a color code formed by the plurality of identification rings is exposed to identify the cable when the cable identification assembly is assembled. The cable identification assembly is easy to assemble and disassemble and convenient to adjust, can greatly save the installation and adjustment time of workers, and therefore reduces the labor cost and the error probability of the workers. In addition, the cable identification assembly of the present disclosure has better versatility.

Description

Color-coded cable identification assembly and cable

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to communication systems. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a cable identification assembly for identifying various cables connected to a base station antenna, and a cable having the cable identification assembly mounted thereto.

Background

Cellular communication systems are used to provide wireless communications to fixed and mobile users. A cellular communication system may include a plurality of base stations, each of which provides wireless cellular service for a designated coverage area (commonly referred to as a "cell"). Each base station may include one or more base station antennas that transmit radio frequency ("RF") signals to and receive RF signals from users located within the cell served by the base station.

The base station antenna includes a number of ports for connecting cables (e.g., patch cords), each port corresponding to a different sector and frequency band. In order to properly connect a plurality of cables to corresponding ports of the base station antenna and facilitate subsequent operations (e.g., maintenance, etc.), each cable needs to be identified and distinguished. It is known to place a different color coding on each cable to identify to which port of the base station antenna each cable should be connected. For example, each cable may be provided with a color code including five sections, where a first section may indicate a sector corresponding to the cable by using a selected color, a second section and a third section may indicate a frequency band corresponding to the cable by using a selected color, and a fourth section and a fifth section may indicate a port corresponding to the cable by using a selected color.

Currently, the color code provided on each cable is formed by winding adhesive tapes of different colors on the cable in a predetermined order. There are drawbacks and disadvantages to this approach. First, winding tape on a cable is often a lengthy process and therefore can result in high labor costs. For example, it is often necessary to spend a worker's entire day in order to wrap all of the cables of a base station antenna at one location with different colored tapes to form the corresponding color codes. Thus, if all of the cables of a base station antenna, such as ten thousand sites, need to be color coded, the labor cost would be as high as about four hundred and eighty thousand dollars; in addition, the heavy labor may also increase the likelihood that the worker will place the wrong color-coding on the cable. Second, in current operations, tape is often wrapped around the cables after the cables have been connected to the various ports of the base station antenna to ensure proper connection of the cables in subsequent operations (e.g., after servicing the cables). This causes the operation of winding the tape to be very difficult because the respective cables connected to the base station antenna are very close to each other. Finally, it has also been found that the adhesive tapes currently used to place color codes on cables are susceptible to ultraviolet light, operating temperature, aging, etc., thereby significantly reducing the useful life of the color codes placed on the cables.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a color-coded cable identification assembly that overcomes one or more of the problems of the prior art.

In a first aspect of the present disclosure, a color-coded cable identification assembly is provided. The cable identification assembly includes: a sleeve configured to be mounted on a cable in such a manner that the cable extends through the sleeve; a plurality of identification rings, each identification ring comprising at least one segment provided with at least one predetermined color such that the plurality of identification rings are capable of forming at least one color code; and a sheath configured to cooperate with the sleeve to retain the plurality of identification rings between the sleeve and the sheath. The jacket has a viewing window into which a color code formed by the plurality of identification rings is exposed to identify the cable when the cable identification assembly is assembled.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, each identification ring comprises a plurality of segments distributed along a circumferential direction of the identification ring, each segment being provided with a predetermined color, such that different color codes can be formed by selectively exposing one of the plurality of segments of each identification ring.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the sleeve includes a body for mounting the plurality of identification rings, the body being cylindrical.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the sleeve further includes a first step portion at the first end of the body and a second step portion adjacent to the first step portion, wherein the first step portion is configured to limit movement of the plurality of identification rings toward the first end of the body along the axial direction of the body and the second step portion is configured to limit movement of the sheath toward the first end of the body along the axial direction of the body.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the sleeve further includes a fastening portion at the second end of the body, the fastening portion configured to contract radially inward when the sheath is installed on the sleeve to secure the sleeve and the cable identification assembly on the cable.

According to one embodiment of the disclosure, at least a portion of the fastening portion of the sleeve is frustoconical and is comprised of a plurality of resilient fingers.

According to one embodiment of the disclosure, the sheath comprises a tapered portion configured to contract the fastening portion of the sleeve radially inwards when the sheath is mounted on the sleeve.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the sleeve further comprises a first positioning and indicating element configured to position the plurality of indicator rings and indicate a location where a color-coded correspondence formed by the plurality of indicator rings should be.

According to one embodiment of the disclosure, the sleeve further comprises a second positioning and indicating element configured to position the sheath and indicate where the viewing window of the sheath should be.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first positioning and indicating element is configured as a first key protruding from an outer surface of the body and extending in an axial direction of the body.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, each identification ring includes at least one groove adapted to cooperate with the first key, the groove being disposed on an inner surface of the identification ring.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the first positioning and indicating element is configured as a hole provided on an end face of the first step of the sleeve.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, each identification ring comprises at least one post provided on a front end face of the identification ring and at least one hole provided on a rear end face of the identification ring, the post of each identification ring being adapted to be received in the hole provided on the end face of the first step portion of the sleeve or in the hole provided on the rear end face of another identification ring.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the second positioning and indicating element is configured as a second key protruding from a circumferential surface of the first step of the sleeve and extending in an axial direction of the first step of the sleeve.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the sheath includes a groove adapted to cooperate with the second key, the groove being disposed on an inner surface of the sheath.

According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the second positioning and indicating element is configured as a bayonet arrangement provided on a circumferential surface of the first step of the sleeve, the bayonet arrangement comprising a cut-out extending in an axial direction of the first step and a recess extending in a circumferential direction of the first step.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the sheath comprises a protrusion adapted to cooperate with a recess of the bayonet arrangement, the protrusion being provided on an inner surface of the sheath.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the bayonet arrangement further comprises a stop configured to prevent accidental removal of the sheath from the recess by an interference fit between the stop and the projection of the sheath.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the outer surface of each identification ring includes a slit for separating the plurality of segments.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the viewing window includes a plurality of openings, each opening exposing at least a portion of a respective section of one of the identification rings.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the identification ring is made of plastic or metal, while the sections of the identification ring are made of plastic or silicone rubber.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the sections of the identification ring are secured to the identification ring by any one of overmolding, bonding, welding, friction fit, interference fit, mechanical connection.

In a second aspect of the present disclosure, a cable is provided. The cable is fitted with a color coded cable identification assembly according to the present disclosure.

In a third aspect of the present disclosure, a method of identifying a cable using a color-coded cable identification assembly is provided. The cable identification assembly includes: a sleeve configured to be mounted on a cable in such a manner that the cable extends through the sleeve; a plurality of identification rings, each identification ring comprising at least one segment provided with at least one predetermined color such that the plurality of identification rings are capable of forming at least one color code; and a sheath configured to cooperate with the sleeve to retain the plurality of identification rings between the sleeve and the sheath, the sheath having a viewing window. The method comprises the following steps: step i of sequentially mounting the sleeve, the plurality of identification rings, and the sheath on a cable in such a manner that the cable extends therethrough; step ii, selecting a color of each of the plurality of identification rings for forming a predetermined color code and positioning each identification ring on the sleeve; and step iii, positioning the sheath over the sleeve such that the plurality of identification rings are retained between the sleeve and the sheath and such that the predetermined color coding is exposed in a viewing window of the sheath.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, each identification ring comprises a plurality of segments distributed along a circumferential direction of the identification ring, each segment being provided with a predetermined color, the step ii comprises: rotating each identification ring to select a section of each identification ring having a color for forming a predetermined color code and positioning the selected section of each identification ring in a position where it can be exposed to a viewing window of the sheath.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the method further comprises an adjusting step of adjusting the plurality of identification rings to form a new color code, the adjusting step comprising: removing the sheath from the sleeve; moving each of the plurality of identification rings to an adjustable position; rotating each identification ring to select a section of each identification ring having a color for forming a new color code and positioning the selected section of each identification ring in a position where it can be exposed to a viewing window of the sheath.

It is noted that aspects of the present disclosure described with respect to one embodiment may be incorporated into other different embodiments, although not specifically described with respect to those other different embodiments. In other words, all embodiments and/or features of any embodiment may be combined in any way and/or combination as long as they are not mutually inconsistent.

Drawings

Various aspects of the disclosure will be better understood upon reading the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a color-coded cable identification assembly according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of a sleeve of a color-coded cable identification assembly according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of an identification ring of a color-coded cable identification assembly according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of a jacket of a color-coded cable identification assembly according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of the sheath shown in FIG. 4;

6 a-6 c show schematic views of the assembly of a color coded cable identification assembly according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates a perspective view of a sleeve of a color-coded cable identification assembly according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 8a and 8b show perspective views of an identification ring of a color-coded cable identification assembly according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein fig. 8a shows the structure of the front side of the identification ring and fig. 8b shows the structure of the rear side of the identification ring;

FIG. 9 illustrates a perspective view of a jacket of a color-coded cable identification assembly according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 shows a cross-sectional view of the sheath shown in FIG. 9;

fig. 11a to 11c show schematic views of the assembly of a colour coded cable identification assembly according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure.

It should be understood that like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the several views. In the drawings, the size of some of the features may vary and are not drawn to scale for clarity.

Detailed Description

The present disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate several embodiments of the disclosure. It should be understood, however, that the present disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, the embodiments described below are intended to provide a more complete disclosure of the present disclosure, and to fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. It is also to be understood that the embodiments disclosed herein can be combined in various ways to provide further additional embodiments.

It is to be understood that the terminology used in the description is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. All terms (including technical and scientific terms) used in the specification have the meaning commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art unless otherwise defined. Well-known functions or constructions may not be described in detail for brevity and/or clarity.

As used in this specification, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" include plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. The terms "comprising," "including," and "containing" when used in this specification specify the presence of stated features, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features. The term "and/or" as used in this specification includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

The terms "between X and Y" and "between about X and Y" as used in the specification should be construed to include X and Y. The term "between about X and Y" as used herein means "between about X and about Y" and the term "from about X to Y" as used herein means "from about X to about Y".

In the description, when an element is referred to as being "on," "attached to," connected to, "coupled to," or "contacting" another element, etc., another element, it can be directly on, attached to, connected to, coupled to, or contacting the other element, or intervening elements may be present.

In the description, the terms "first", "second" and "third" are used for convenience of description only and are not intended to be limiting. Any of the technical features denoted by "first", "second" and "third" are interchangeable.

In the description, spatial relationships such as "upper", "lower", "front", "back", "top", "bottom", and the like may be used to describe one feature's relationship to another feature in the drawings. It will be understood that the spatial relationship terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, features originally described as "below" other features may be described as "above" other features when the device in the figures is inverted. The device may also be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the relative spatial relationships may be interpreted accordingly.

The present disclosure provides a color-coded cable identification assembly that can be used to identify cables connected in different ports of an electrical or electronic device. The electrical or electronic device may be a communication device, such as a base station antenna; and the cable may be an electrical cable (e.g., a jumper), an optical cable, etc.

Referring to fig. 1, a perspective view of a color-coded cable identification assembly 10 according to the present disclosure is shown. The cable identification assembly 10 may include: a sleeve 11 configured to be mounted on the cable 1 in such a manner that the cable 1 extends therethrough; a plurality of identification rings 21, each identification ring comprising at least one section provided with at least one predetermined color, such that the plurality of identification rings can be arranged, for example, in a predetermined color to form at least one color code; and a sheath 31 configured to cooperate with the sleeve 11 to retain the plurality of identification rings 21 between the sheath 31 and the sleeve 11. The sheath 31 has a viewing window 32. When assembled into the cable identification assembly 10, the color coding formed by the plurality of identification rings can be exposed in the viewing window 32 to identify the cable 1.

The specific structure of the components of the cable identification assembly 10 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure is described with reference to fig. 2 to 5, wherein fig. 2 shows the specific structure of the sleeve 11 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure; fig. 3 shows a specific structure of the identification ring 21 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure; fig. 4 and 5 show a specific structure of the sheath 31 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in fig. 2, the sleeve 11 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure includes a body 111 for mounting and positioning the identification ring 21. The body 111 has an elongated cylindrical shape so that the cable 1 can extend through the body 111 and the plurality of identification rings 21 can be sequentially mounted on the body 111 along the axial direction of the body 111. The first end of the body 111 may be provided with a first stepped part 112. The first stepped portion may have a cylindrical shape, and a diameter of the first stepped portion is larger than a diameter of the body 111 to restrict movement of the plurality of identification rings 21 toward the first end of the body 111 along the axial direction of the body 111. The first end of the body 111 may also be provided with a second step 113 adjacent to the first step 112. The second stepped portion 113 may have a cylindrical shape, and the diameter of the second stepped portion 113 is larger than the diameter of the first stepped portion 112 to restrict the movement of the sheath 31 toward the first end of the body 111 along the axial direction of the body 111. A second end of the body 111 opposite to the first end may be provided with a fastening portion 114. At least a portion of the fastening portion 114 may be frustoconical and may be formed from a plurality of resilient fingers 115. When the sheath 31 is mounted on the sleeve 11, the plurality of resilient fingers 115 of the fastening portion 114 can contract radially inwardly under the action of the sheath 31, thereby securing the sleeve 11, and thus the entire cable identification assembly 10, on the cable 1. The sleeve 11 may further include an annular protrusion 116 located between the second end of the body 111 and the resilient fingers 115 of the fastening portion 114 and extending in a circumferential direction of the body 111. The annular projection 116 of the sleeve 11 is configured to cooperate with an annular projection 316 provided on the inner surface of the sheath 31 to locate the sheath 31 on the sleeve 11. This will be described in further detail below.

The sleeve 11 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure may comprise a first positioning and indicating element for the plurality of identification rings 21. As shown in fig. 2, the first positioning and indicating member may be configured as a first key 117 protruding from an outer surface of the body 111 and extending in an axial direction of the body 111. The first key 117 may prevent the plurality of identification rings 21 from rotating about the central axis of the body 111 to position the plurality of identification rings 21, and the first key 117 may indicate a position where a color code formed by the plurality of identification rings 21 should be located. The sleeve 11 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure may further comprise a second positioning and indicating element for the sheath 31. As shown in fig. 2, the second positioning and indicating member may be configured as a second key 118 protruding from the circumferential surface of the first stepped portion 112 and extending in the axial direction of the first stepped portion 112. The second key 118 may prevent the sheath 31 from rotating about the central axis of the body 111 to position the sheath 31, and the second key may indicate where the viewing window 32 of the sheath 31 should be. The first key 117 and the second key 118 may be aligned with one another such that the color coding formed by the plurality of identification rings 21 can be exposed in the viewing window 32 of the jacket 31 when the cable identification assembly 10 is assembled. In one embodiment according to the present disclosure, the sleeve 11 may be made of plastic, such as by molding the plastic. In other embodiments according to the present disclosure, the sleeve 11 may be made of metal (e.g., aluminum, etc.) or any other suitable material.

As shown in fig. 3, the identification ring 21 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure includes an inner surface 211 and an outer surface 212. The outer surface 212 of the identification ring 21 may include a predetermined number (six shown in fig. 3) of segments 213 distributed along the circumferential direction of the identification ring 21. Each segment 213 may have a predetermined color, such as any of white, red, blue, green, black, yellow, orange, brown, violet, grayish blue, or other color. The inner surface 211 of the identification ring 21 may include a number of grooves 214 equal to the predetermined number of segments 213. The position of each slot 214 may be substantially aligned with a central position in the circumferential direction of the corresponding section 213 to indicate the position of the corresponding section 213 and adapted to cooperate with the first key 117 of the body 111 of the sleeve 11 to position the corresponding section 213.

Each segment 213 may be made of the same or different material as the identification ring 21 and may be formed on the identification ring 21 in a variety of different ways.

In one embodiment according to the present disclosure, the identification ring 21 may be made of plastic, while each section 213 may be made of plastic, silicone rubber, or other material having a desired color. In this embodiment, the identification ring 21 may be molded first and then the sections 213 may be over molded over the already formed identification ring 21 with a plastic, silicone rubber or other material having the desired color. In order to avoid damage to the already molded identification ring 21 due to high temperatures during the secondary molding of the individual segments 213, it is advantageous if the material of each segment 213 is selected to have a lower melting point than the material of the identification ring 213. In addition, to facilitate overmolding a plurality of segments 213 having various predetermined colors onto the identification ring 21, slits 215 may be provided on the outer surface 212 of the identification ring 21 for separating the individual segments 213 such that each segment 213 is formed between two adjacent slits 215. In addition to facilitating molding of the plurality of segments 213, the slit 215 may also serve as a demarcation line for the plurality of segments 213 to clearly show the individual segments 213.

In another embodiment according to the present disclosure, the identification ring 21 may be made of plastic, while each section 213 may be made of plastic, silicone rubber, or other material having a desired color. In this embodiment, the identification ring 21 and each segment 213 may be first pre-molded separately, and then the pre-molded segments 213 may be secured to the identification ring 21 by various means, for example, the pre-molded segments 213 may be glued to the identification ring 21; recessed regions for receiving each segment 213 may be provided on the outer surface 212 of the identification ring 21, and then the pre-molded individual segments 213 may be embedded and retained (e.g., with a friction or interference fit between the individual segments 213 and the recessed regions, etc.) in the corresponding recessed regions; other suitable means (e.g., mechanical connections, welding, etc.) may also be utilized to secure the pre-molded segments 213 to the identification ring 21. In this embodiment, slits 215 for separating the individual segments 213 may be provided on the outer surface 212 of the identification ring 21, such that each segment 213 is disposed between two adjacent slits 215. The slit 215 may serve as a boundary of the plurality of sections 213 to clearly show the respective sections 213.

In yet another embodiment according to the present disclosure, the identification ring 21 may be made of metal (a light weight metal such as aluminum) and each section 213 may be made of plastic, silicone rubber, or other material having a desired color. In this embodiment, the identification ring 21 may be first formed from a metal material and then the sections 213 may be overmolded onto the identification ring 21 using a plastic, silicone rubber, or other material having the desired color. It is also possible to first make the identification ring 21 from a metal material and to pre-mold the individual segments 213 from a plastic, silicone rubber or other material having the desired color, and then to fix the pre-molded individual segments 213 to the identification ring 21 by various means, for example, by gluing the pre-molded individual segments 213 to the identification ring 21; recessed regions may be provided on the outer surface of the identification ring 21 for receiving each segment 213, and then each segment 213 may be embedded and retained (e.g., with a friction or interference fit between each segment 213 and the recessed region, etc.) in the corresponding recessed region; other suitable means (e.g., mechanical connections, welding, etc.) may also be utilized to secure the pre-molded segments 213 to the identification ring 21. In this embodiment, slits 215 for separating the individual segments 213 may be provided on the outer surface 212 of the identification ring 21, such that each segment 213 is disposed between two adjacent slits 215. The slit 215 may serve as a boundary of the plurality of sections 213 to clearly show the respective sections 213.

In yet another embodiment according to the present disclosure, each segment 213 may be formed by spraying a corresponding color directly on the identification ring 21. In this embodiment, to facilitate spray forming a plurality of sections 213 having various predetermined colors on the identification ring 21, slits 215 for separating the respective sections 213 may be provided on the outer surface 212 of the identification ring 21 such that each section 213 is spray formed between two adjacent slits 215. In addition to facilitating spray forming the plurality of segments 213, the slit 215 may also serve as a demarcation line for the plurality of segments 213 to clearly show the individual segments 213.

As shown in fig. 4 and 5, the sheath 31 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure includes a body 311 having a cylindrical shape, so that the sheath 31 can be mounted on the sleeve 11 and hold the identification ring 21 between the sheath 31 and the sleeve 11. The body 311 of the sheath 31 includes a viewing window 32 for exposing the color coding formed by the plurality of identification rings 21. The viewing window 32 may include a plurality of openings each exposing at least a portion of a respective section 213 of one of the identification rings 21 to display the color of the respective section (as shown in fig. 1). The viewing window 32 may also comprise only one opening capable of exposing the respective sections 213 of all the identification rings 21 to display the color of the respective sections 213 of all the identification rings 21. The inner surface of the first end 312 of the body 311 of the sheath 31 may be provided with a groove 313. The position of the groove 313 may correspond to the central position of the observation window 32 in the circumferential direction to indicate the position of the observation window 32. When the sheath 31 is mounted on the sleeve 11, the groove 313 receives the second key 118 on the first step 112 of the sleeve 11 to prevent the sheath 31 from rotating about the body 111 of the sleeve 11 and to position the viewing window 32 of the sheath 31 in a predetermined position. The second end 314 of the body 311 of the sheath 31 may be provided with a taper 315. The tapered portion 315 may be frusto-conical in shape, for contracting the resilient fingers 115 of the fastening portion 114 of the sleeve 11 radially inwardly when the sheath 31 is mounted on the sleeve 11, thereby securing the sleeve 11, and thus the entire cable identification assembly 10, on the cable 1. The inner surface of the tapered portion 315 of the sheath 31 may be provided with an annular protrusion 316 extending in the circumferential direction. When the sheath 31 is mounted on the sleeve 11, the annular projection 316 of the sheath 31 passes over the annular projection 116 of the sleeve 11, thereby positioning the sheath 31 on the sleeve 11 and preventing the sheath 31 from sliding off the sleeve 11 in the axial direction by means of the interference fit between the annular projection 316 and the annular projection 116. In addition, the outer surface of the body 311 of the sheath 31 may include one or more annular ribs 317 extending in the circumferential direction of the body 311. The annular rib 317 may increase both the strength of the boot 31 and the friction of the outer surface of the boot 31 to facilitate assembly and disassembly of the boot 31. In one embodiment according to the present disclosure, the sheath 31 may be made of plastic, such as by molding from plastic. In other embodiments according to the present disclosure, the sheath 31 may be made of metal (e.g., aluminum, etc.) or any other suitable material.

A method of identifying a cable using the cable identification assembly 10 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure is described with reference to fig. 6a to 6 c. As shown in fig. 6a, in step i, the sleeve 11, the plurality of identification rings 21 (five identification rings 21 are shown in fig. 6a to 6 c), and the sheath 31 of the cable identification assembly 10 may be sequentially mounted on the cable 1 in such a manner that the cable extends therethrough. As shown in fig. 6b, in step ii, first, a color required for forming a predetermined color code of a first identification ring of the plurality of identification rings 21 is selected, a section of the first identification ring having the required color is rotated to a position corresponding to the first key 117 of the sleeve 11, the first key 117 is received into a groove of the first identification ring corresponding to the section having the required color, and the first identification ring is slid along the first key 117 to a position abutting against the first step portion 112 of the sleeve 11; then, selecting a color of a second of the plurality of identification rings 21 required for forming a predetermined color code, rotating a section of the second identification ring having the required color to a position corresponding to the first key 117 of the sleeve 11, receiving the first key 117 into a groove of the second identification ring corresponding to the section having the required color, and sliding the second identification ring along the first key 117 to a position abutting the first identification ring; the above operation is repeated until all of the identification rings 21 are slidably mounted to the sleeve 11 along the first key 117. As shown in fig. 6c, in step iii, the sheath 31 is rotated to a position in which the groove 313 of the sheath 31 is substantially aligned with the second key 118 of the sleeve 11, the second key 118 of the sleeve 11 is received in the groove 313 of the sheath 31, and the sheath 31 is slid along the second key 118 to a position in which it abuts the second step 113, such that the color coding formed by the plurality of identification rings 21 will be exposed in the viewing window 32 of the sheath 31. In addition, when the sheath 31 abuts the second stepped portion 113 of the sleeve 11, the annular projection 316 of the sheath 31 passes over the annular projection 116 of the sleeve 11, thereby positioning the sheath 31 on the sleeve 11; at the same time, the tapered portion 315 of the sheath 31 contracts the resilient fingers 115 of the fastening portion 114 of the sleeve 11 radially inwards, thereby securing the sleeve 11, and thus the entire cable identification assembly 10, on the cable 1.

When it is desired to adjust the plurality of identification rings of the assembled or pre-assembled cable identification assembly 10 to form a new color code, the sheath 31 may first be removed from the sleeve 11 in an axial direction away from the sleeve 11, the plurality of identification rings 21 may be removed from the first key 117 of the sleeve 11 in an axial direction away from the sleeve 11, and then step ii may be repeated to reselect a section of each identification ring 21 having a color required to form another predetermined color code and install the plurality of identification rings 21, and step iii may be repeated to install the sheath 31.

The cable identification assembly 10 according to the present disclosure is easy to assemble and disassemble and convenient to adjust, which can greatly save the installation time of workers and thus reduce the labor cost of the workers and the chance of error. In addition, since the cable identification assembly 10 according to the present disclosure may include a plurality of identification rings 21, each identification ring 21 may include a plurality of sections 213 and thus may have a plurality of different colors, the cable identification assembly 10 according to the present disclosure may form several tens or even hundreds of different color codes by selecting the sections 213 of each identification ring 21, thereby enabling all color codes required by a user to be implemented with a fixed number of identification rings 21, which significantly increases the versatility of the cable identification assembly 10 according to the present disclosure. The cable identification assembly 10 according to the present disclosure may also be pre-assembled on the cable 1 and form a part of the cable 1 in the factory, avoiding the need to separately prepare a tool kit for the cable identification assembly. In addition, compared to the conventional adhesive tape, each component of the cable identification assembly 10 according to the present disclosure may be made of plastic, metal, silicon rubber, or other materials, so as to satisfy the requirements of ultraviolet resistance, aging resistance, etc. and be reusable.

The specific structure of the components of the cable identification assembly 10 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure is described with reference to fig. 7 to 10, wherein fig. 7 shows the specific structure of the sleeve 11 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure; fig. 8a and 8b show a specific structure of the identification ring 21 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure; fig. 9 and 10 show a specific structure of the sheath 31 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure. For brevity, the same structure as that of the first embodiment according to the present disclosure will not be described again, and only the structure different from that of the first embodiment according to the present disclosure will be described.

As shown in fig. 7, the sleeve 11 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a body 111 for mounting the identification ring 21, the body 111 having an elongated cylindrical shape; a first step portion 112 provided at the first end of the body 111 and a second step portion 113 adjacent to the first step portion 112, wherein the first step portion 112 has a diameter larger than that of the body 111 to limit the movement of the identification ring 21 toward the first end of the body 111 along the axial direction of the body 111, and the second step portion 113 has a diameter larger than that of the first step portion 112 to limit the movement of the sheath 31 toward the first end of the body 111 along the axial direction of the body 111; and a fastening portion 114 provided at the second end of the body 111, at least a portion of the fastening portion 114 may be frusto-conical and may be constituted by a plurality of resilient fingers 115, the resilient fingers 115 of the fastening portion 114 being configured to contract inwardly when the sheath 31 is mounted on the sleeve 11, thereby securing the sleeve 11, and thus the entire cable marker assembly 10, on the cable 1.

Unlike the first embodiment according to the present disclosure, the first positioning and indicating element of the sleeve 11 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure is configured as a hole 119 provided on the end face of the first step portion 112. The holes 119 may locate the identification ring 21 and indicate the location of the color-coded response formed by the plurality of identification rings 21 by cooperating with posts provided on the end face of the identification ring 21. Specifically, as shown in fig. 8a and 8b, the identification ring 21 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure includes an inner surface 211, an outer surface 212, a front end surface 216, and a rear end surface 217. The outer surface 212 of the identification ring 21 may include a predetermined number (six shown in fig. 8a and 8 b) of segments 213 distributed along the circumferential direction of the identification ring 21. Each section 213 may have a predetermined color. The front face 216 of the identification ring 21 is provided with a number of posts 218 equal to the predetermined number of segments 213, each post 218 protruding from the front face 216 of the identification ring 21 and the position of each post may be substantially aligned with the central position in the circumferential direction of the corresponding segment 213. The rear face 217 of the identification ring 21 is provided with holes 219 located and numbered one-to-one with the posts 218 of the front face 216 of the identification ring 21 for receiving the posts 218 of another identification ring 21. In assembling the cable identification assembly 10, it is necessary to select the color of a first identification ring of the plurality of identification rings 21 required to form the predetermined color code, rotate the section of the first identification ring having the required color to a position corresponding to the hole 119 on the end face of the first stepped portion 112 of the sleeve 11, and insert the post 218 of the first identification ring corresponding to the section having the required color into the hole 119 of the sleeve 11. In order that the other posts 218 on the front face 216 of the first identification ring do not interfere with the end face of the first stepped portion 112 of the sleeve 11, the end face of the first stepped portion 112 of the sleeve 11 is further provided with an arcuate slot 120 for receiving the other posts 218 on the front face 216 of the first identification ring. Such a design enables the hole 119 on the end face of the first step portion 112 of the sleeve 11 to function better as an indicator, which can remind the worker to insert the post 218 of the first identification ring corresponding to the section having the desired color into the hole 119, thereby enabling the section having the desired color to be exposed in the viewing window 32 of the sheath 31. Of course, in another embodiment according to the present disclosure, holes 119 may be provided on the end surface of the first stepped portion 112 of the sleeve 11 at positions and in numbers corresponding one-to-one to the posts 218 on the front end surface 216 of the identification ring 21.

In addition, unlike the first embodiment according to the present disclosure, the second positioning and indicating element of the sleeve 11 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure is configured as a bayonet arrangement 121 provided on the circumferential surface of the first step 112. The snap-fit arrangement 121 may locate the sheath 31 and indicate where the viewing window of the sheath 31 should be by cooperating with a protrusion provided on the inner surface of the first end 312 of the sheath 31. Specifically, as shown in fig. 7, the bayonet arrangement 121 includes a cut 122 extending along an axial direction of the first step portion 112 and a recess 123 extending along a circumferential direction of the first step portion 112. Correspondingly, as shown in fig. 9 and 10, the inner surface of the first end 312 of the sheath 31 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure is provided with a protrusion 318. In assembling the cable marker assembly 10, the protrusions 318 of the sheath 31 may first be pushed in the axial direction into the cutouts 122 of the sleeve 11, and then the sheath 31 may be rotated in the circumferential direction to rotate and retain the protrusions 318 in the recesses 123 of the sleeve 11. The recess 123 can restrict the movement of the sheath 31 in the axial direction. In addition, in order to prevent the sheath 31 from disengaging from the sleeve 11 due to counter-rotation, a stop 124 is provided in the recess 123 of the snap arrangement 121 of the sleeve 11. When the sheath 31 is rotated in the circumferential direction, the protrusion 318 of the sheath 31 needs to go over the stopper 124 to enter the recess 123 of the sleeve 11. In this way, when the sheath 31 is inadvertently rotated in the reverse direction, the sheath 31 can be prevented from coming out of the recess 123 and thus the sheath 31 from being disengaged from the sleeve 11 by the interference fit between the stopper 124 of the sleeve 11 and the protrusion 318 of the sheath 31.

In order to expose the color coding formed by the plurality of identification rings 21 in the viewing window 32 of the sheath 31, the position of the snap arrangement 121 of the sleeve 11 may substantially correspond to the position of the hole 119. At the same time, the location of the protrusions 318 of the sheath 31 is such that the colour coding formed by the plurality of identification rings 21 can be accurately exposed in the viewing window 32 of the sheath 31 when the protrusions 318 are retained in the recesses 123 of the sleeve 11.

A method of identifying a cable using the cable identification assembly 10 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure is described with reference to fig. 11a to 11 c. As shown in fig. 11a, in step i, the sleeve 11, the plurality of identification rings 21 (five identification rings 21 are shown in fig. 11a to 11 c), and the sheath 31 of the cable identification assembly 10 may be sequentially mounted on the cable 1 in such a manner that the cable extends therethrough. As shown in fig. 11b, in step ii, first, a color required for forming a predetermined color code of a first identification ring of the plurality of identification rings 21 is selected, a section of the first identification ring having the required color is rotated to a position corresponding to the hole 119 of the sleeve 11, and the post 218 of the first identification ring corresponding to the section having the required color is inserted into the hole 119 of the sleeve 11; then, a color of a second identification ring of the plurality of identification rings 21 required for forming a predetermined color code is selected, a section of the second identification ring having the required color is rotated to a position corresponding to the section of the first identification ring having the required color, and the post 218 of the second identification ring is inserted into the hole 219 of the first identification ring; the above operation is repeated until all the identification rings 21 are mounted on the sleeve 11. As shown in fig. 11c, in step iii, the sheath 31 is rotated to a position where the protrusions 318 of the sheath 31 are substantially aligned with the cut-outs 122 of the snap-fit arrangement 121 of the sleeve 11, the protrusions 318 of the sheath 31 are pushed into the cut-outs 122 of the sleeve 11 until the sheath 31 abuts the second step 113 of the sleeve 11, and then the sheath 31 is rotated in the circumferential direction such that the protrusions 318 of the sheath 31 pass over the stops 124 of the sleeve 11 into the recesses 123 of the sleeve 11. At this time, the color-coding formed by the plurality of identification rings 21 will be exposed in the viewing window 32 of the sheath 31; and at this point the sheath 31 is positioned over the sleeve 11 and the tapered portion 315 of the sheath 31 inwardly contracts the resilient fingers 115 of the fastening portion 114 of the sleeve 11, thereby securing the sleeve 11, and hence the entire cable marker assembly 10, on the cable 1.

When it is desired to adjust the plurality of identification rings of the cable identification assembly 10 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure, either assembled or pre-assembled on the cable, to form a new color code, the sheath 31 may first be counter-rotated such that the protrusions 318 of the sheath 31 move out of the recesses 123 of the sleeve 11 past the stops 124, then the sheath 31 may be removed from the sleeve 11 in an axial direction away from the sleeve 11, the plurality of identification rings 21 separated from each other in an axial direction away from the sleeve 11, then step ii is repeated to re-select the section of each identification ring 21 having the color required to form another predetermined color code and install the plurality of identification rings 21, and step iii is repeated to install the sheath 31.

The cable identification assembly according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure is more convenient in disassembling the cable identification assembly and adjusting the color coding thereof than the cable identification assembly according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure because in the second embodiment of the present disclosure, it is only necessary to separate the identification rings 21 from each other, without removing the identification rings 21 from the first key 117 of the sheath 11 as in the first embodiment of the present disclosure.

Although in the embodiment shown in the figures, the cable identification assembly 10 includes five identification rings 21 and each identification ring 21 includes six segments 213, the present disclosure is not so limited. The cable identification assembly 10 may include any other number of identification rings 21, such as two, three, four, six, seven, eight, etc., and each identification ring 21 may also include the same or different number of multiple sections (such as two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, etc.) and thus the same or different number of multiple colors, as desired. In addition, the color types provided on the plurality of segments of each of the identification rings 21 may be different from the color types provided on the plurality of segments of another identification ring 21.

In another embodiment according to the present disclosure, the cable identification assembly 10 may include a plurality of identification rings 21, each identification ring 21 may have only one color. In this embodiment, a predetermined color code may be formed by selecting a plurality of identification rings 21 having different colors to identify the cable.

Exemplary embodiments according to the present disclosure are described above with reference to the drawings. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and changes can be made to the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. All such variations and modifications are intended to be included herein within the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims. The disclosure is defined by the following claims, with equivalents of the claims to be included therein.

Claims (23)

1. A color-coded cable identification assembly, comprising:

a sleeve configured to be mounted on a cable in such a manner that the cable extends through the sleeve;

a plurality of identification rings, each identification ring comprising at least one segment provided with at least one predetermined color such that the plurality of identification rings are capable of forming at least one color code; and

a sheath configured to cooperate with the sleeve to retain the plurality of identification rings between the sleeve and the sheath;

wherein the jacket has a viewing window into which a color code formed by the plurality of identification rings is exposed to identify the cable when the cable identification assembly is assembled.

2. The color-coded cable marker assembly of claim 1, wherein each marker ring comprises a plurality of segments distributed along a circumferential direction of the marker ring, each segment being provided with a predetermined color such that different color-coding can be formed by selectively exposing one of the plurality of segments of each marker ring.

3. The color-coded cable marker assembly of claim 1 or 2, wherein the sleeve comprises a body for mounting the plurality of marker rings, the body being cylindrical.

4. The color-coded cable identification assembly of claim 3 wherein the sleeve further comprises a first step at the first end of the body and a second step adjacent the first step, wherein the first step is configured to limit movement of the plurality of identification rings toward the first end of the body along the axial direction of the body and the second step is configured to limit movement of the jacket toward the first end of the body along the axial direction of the body.

5. The color-coded cable identification assembly of claim 4 wherein the sleeve further comprises a fastening portion at the second end of the body, the fastening portion configured to contract radially inward when the sheath is installed on the sleeve to secure the sleeve and the cable identification assembly on the cable.

6. The color-coded cable identification assembly of claim 5 wherein at least a portion of the fastening portion of the sleeve is frustoconical and is comprised of a plurality of resilient fingers.

7. The color-coded cable identification assembly of claim 5 wherein the sheath includes a taper configured to radially inwardly constrict the fastening portion of the sleeve when the sheath is installed on the sleeve.

8. The color-coded cable marker assembly of claim 4, wherein the sleeve further comprises a first positioning and indicating element configured to position the plurality of marker rings and indicate a location of a color-coded application formed by the plurality of marker rings.

9. The color-coded cable identification assembly of claim 8 wherein the sleeve further comprises a second positioning and indicating element configured to position the sheath and indicate where a viewing window of the sheath should be.

10. The color-coded cable identification assembly of claim 8 wherein said first positioning and indicating element is configured as a first key projecting from an outer surface of said body and extending along an axial direction of said body.

11. The color-coded cable identification assembly of claim 10 wherein each identification ring includes at least one groove adapted to cooperate with the first key, the groove being disposed on an inner surface of the identification ring.

12. The color-coded cable identification assembly of claim 8 wherein said first positioning and indicating element is configured as a hole disposed on an end face of a first stepped portion of said sleeve.

13. The color-coded cable identification assembly of claim 12 wherein each identification ring includes at least one post disposed on a front face of the identification ring and at least one hole disposed on a rear face of the identification ring, the post of each identification ring adapted to be received in a hole disposed on an end face of the first stepped portion of the sleeve or in a hole disposed on a rear face of another identification ring.

14. The color-coded cable identification assembly of claim 9 wherein said second positioning and indicating element is configured as a second key projecting from a circumferential surface of the first step of the sleeve and extending in an axial direction of the first step of the sleeve.

15. The color-coded cable identification assembly of claim 14 wherein the sheath includes a groove adapted to cooperate with the second key, the groove being disposed on an inner surface of the sheath.

16. The color-coded cable identification assembly of claim 9 wherein said second positioning and indicating element is configured as a bayonet arrangement provided on a circumferential surface of said first step of said sleeve, said bayonet arrangement comprising a cut extending along an axial direction of said first step and a recess extending along a circumferential direction of said first step.

17. The color-coded cable identification assembly of claim 16 wherein the sheath includes a protrusion adapted to cooperate with a recess of the bayonet arrangement, the protrusion being disposed on an inner surface of the sheath.

18. The color-coded cable identification assembly of claim 17, wherein the bayonet arrangement further comprises a stop configured to prevent accidental removal of the sheath from the recess by an interference fit between the stop and the projection of the sheath.

19. The color-coded cable identification assembly of claim 2 wherein the outer surface of each identification ring includes a slit for separating the plurality of segments.

20. The color-coded cable identification assembly of claim 1 or 2, wherein the viewing window comprises a plurality of openings, each opening exposing at least a portion of a respective segment of one identification ring.

21. The color-coded cable marker assembly of claim 1 or 2, wherein the marker ring is a marker ring made of plastic or metal and the sections of the marker ring are sections made of plastic or silicone rubber.

22. The color-coded cable marker assembly of claim 21, wherein the segments of the marker ring are secured to the marker ring by any one of overmolding, bonding, welding, friction fit, interference fit, mechanical connection.

23. A cable fitted with a colour coded cable identification assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 22.

Images