DE29719563U1 - Hinged clamp - Google Patents

Description

J ·

Applicant: Paul Jordan Elektrotechnische Fabrik GmbH & Co.

Our file: 46814 Al/Gr

Folding clamp I. Area of application

&iacgr;&ogr; The invention relates to a clamp insert as used at the cable inlet of an electrical junction box etc. for sealing between the outer circumference of the cable on the one hand and the junction box on the other hand and if necessary additionally for mechanical fixation and thus strain relief of the cable.

II. Technical background

Such a clamp insert usually consists of a lower part and an upper part, the contact plane of which runs through the middle of the usually two adjacent cable passages, so that each cable is tightly enclosed by a semicircular recess on the one hand in the upper part and on the other hand in the lower part, which lie against each other.

In order to ensure a tight fit, the clamp upper part and the clamp lower part are enclosed in a clamp housing, which is also usually made of two parts, and pressed together by locking or screwing the housing halves. The housing is open in the middle in the direction of the cable passage in a sufficiently large area to allow the cable to pass through and to reliably prevent direct contact between the clamp housing, which is usually made of a harder material, and the cables.

When using clamps, there is often the problem that cables of different thicknesses should be reliably sealed with one and the same clamp insert, if possible. This is achieved by using elastically deformable materials in the area of the contact surface between the clamp insert and the outer circumference of the cable. Depending on the cable diameter, these elastic materials are pressed together to a greater or lesser extent. However, this only allows for limited diameter differences to be compensated.

For larger diameter differences, it is known to use clamp inserts that are designed in radial or axial layers in order to increase the diameter to the desired size by cutting out the corresponding layers.

However, it is not always easy to achieve the exact desired result in practice, since either the cut has to be made in an arc shape or, in the case of an axial clamp constructed in layers, the axial sealing length is relatively small for each of the different sealing diameters, and thus the sealing effect of the clamp insert as a whole can be too low.

In addition, it is generally disadvantageous to have to handle a knife in the confined space at the site of operation.

Another possibility is to use extremely elastic and compressible materials such as foam rubber for the clamp insert.

Although this makes it possible to bridge large diameter differences, the contact pressure of the clamp material when sealing against smaller cable diameters is so low that the sealing effect is also unsatisfactory.

Another problem may be the number of existing cable outlets. Since the cable outlets are only along the contact surface of

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If the clamp bottom and clamp top are usually on the same level, there is usually only room for two cable passages. If a third cable is to be inserted, the existing clamp insert must be improvised by manually enlarging the passage, creating an additional seal with elastic bandages, etc. The sealing result is not very satisfactory in the long term and the time required is also very high.

&iacgr;&ogr; III. Description of the invention

a) Technical task

It is therefore the object of the present invention to create a clamp insert which, despite simple and cost-effective production, enables optimal diameter adaptation to the cable through simple and quick material removal, and is also variable in the number of cable passages.

In addition, there should also be sufficient so-called poke protection, which means preventing the wire of about 1 mm diameter from being pushed in in the direction of the cable passage between the cable and the clamp.

b) Solution to the task

This object is achieved by the characterizing features of claims 1 and 4. Advantageous embodiments emerge from the subclaims.

The clamp insert is conventionally composed of two half shells, each with semicircular bulges, which together form a cable passage opening.

A diameter adjustment is achieved in a simple manner by removing a reducing part from the curved bulge, which is otherwise arranged radially between the cable and the upper or lower part of the clamp, in particular in an arc shape itself. Theoretically, this reducing part can also be a straight part, only deformed in an arc shape by the cable circumference and the curved bulge of the lower or upper part.

&iacgr;&ogr; The removal of such a reducing bend is particularly easy if on the one hand it is connected in one piece to the lower or upper part, but on the other hand it can be removed very easily from the normal sealing position, for example by pushing it out in the direction of the cable passage, swinging it out or folding it out around an axis parallel or transverse to the direction of the cable passage etc.

Corresponding reducing parts or reducing bends are present in particular on the complementary bulges of the lower and upper parts of the clamp insert.

The connection between the reducing bend and the lower part or upper part is made, for example, by a thin strip of material between one of the ends of the reducing bend and the lower part or upper part at one end of the curved bulge. This will preferably be the outer end of the bulge so that the reducing bend can be pivoted in the main plane of the clamp insert so that it reaches its deactivated position outside the cable passage area.

It is then also easy to separate the thin connection between the reducing bend and the main part of the clamp insert, even without tools.

It is also possible to pivot the reducing bend about an axis parallel to the main plane, namely at the axial front or rear edge of the bulge, in which case the connection between the reducing bend and the main part is preferred only over a narrow angle segment, for example in the middle area of the bend contour, viewed in the cable passage direction.

In both cases, handling is made easier by the fact that the one-piece connection between the reducing bend and the lower part or upper part is made by an over-dead-center hinge, as is used in many different ways in containers for everyday use, e.g. the lids of containers for personal care products, etc., and can be manufactured in one piece, e.g. using an injection molding process.

This ensures that the reducing arch is reliably held in the selected and desired position, i.e. in the folded-in activated position or in the unfolded deactivated position.

In addition, it is possible - regardless of whether the swivel axis is parallel or at a right angle to the main plane - to fold a reducing bend into the recess from two opposite sides, whereby the two reducing bends then complement each other in their diameter, i.e. the outer circumference of one reducing bend comes to lie in the inner circumference of the other reducing bend, so that three diameter levels can be achieved by working without a reducing bend, with only one inserted reducing bend or with two inserted reducing bends per bulge.

The interlocking ends of the corresponding reducing arches overlap each other when viewed in the developed view by means of a corresponding arrangement of a projection and recess, which is present in reverse in the complementary reducing arch of the opposite part, whereby the poking safety is achieved.

Smaller diameter differences and sufficient sealing force are achieved by a U-shaped, V-shaped or grooved profile of the reducing bend, which is also supported in the axial direction against excessively wide pressing on corresponding counter surfaces of the main part of the clamp.

In order to facilitate the arrangement of the housing around the clamp insert, the upper part and lower part of the clamp insert can have interlocking parts that interact with one another, which enables pre-locking of the lower part and the upper part of the clamp insert.

Furthermore, one half of the clamp, preferably the upper part, has a further bulge that is open upwards, i.e. pointing away from the contact surface, for inserting a cable. This is tightly sealed by a one-piece molded bulkhead, but can be easily separated and removed at two desired diameters due to an arc-shaped predetermined breaking point.

c) Examples of implementation

An embodiment according to the invention is described in more detail below using the figures as an example. They show:

Fig. 1: the lower part of the clamp, viewed in the cable passage direction,

Fig. 2: a plan view of the lower part according to Fig. 1,

Fig. 3-5: Sectional views across the main plane,

Fig. 6: a section parallel to the main plane,

Fig. 7: a view of the upper part viewed in the cable passage direction,

Fig. 8: a plan view of the upper part according to Fig. 7,

Fig. 9-11: Sectional views across the main plane,

Fig. 12: a sectional view in the main plane,
Fig. 13: another sectional view, and
&iacgr;&ogr; Fig. 14: the assembled clamp insert, with upper part.

Fig. 14 shows the assembled clamp insert consisting of clamp upper part 1 and clamp lower part 2 in the assembled state viewed in the cable passage direction and accommodated in the clamp housing shown in section, which in turn consists of a housing upper part and a housing lower part.

The clamp base 1 is shown separately in Figures 1-6.

In the view of Fig. 1, the upward-facing side 3 is the contact plane 16 to the upper part 2.

Towards this side 3, two semicircular bulges 5a, 6a are arranged next to each other, which are stiffened downwards by central webs 17 and 17' respectively.

In the left recess 5a of Fig. 1, the reducing bend 8 is folded into the bulge 5a, so that in this bulge 5a a smaller free cross section is open for a cable to be led through than in the right bulge 6a, in which the reducing bend 8 is folded out around the over-dead-center hinge 11, so that the right reducing bend 8 is now essentially above the contact point in the illustration in Fig. 1.

level with the upper part 3 and also laterally outside the area of the bulges 5a, 6a.

The bulges 5a, 6a have a trough-shaped cross-section that is lowered in the middle area, as shown in the sectional view of Fig. 4. The reducing bend 8 can be inserted within the trough-shaped depression, which is thereby held on both sides in the axial direction, i.e. in the cable passage direction.

&iacgr;&ogr; The reducing bend 8 itself consists of a channel-shaped profile in the form of a V that is flattened at the bottom, and its free-ending legs rest on the edge areas within the trough of the recess 5a or 5b when inserted. The middle, connecting leg thus rests on the cable that is to be led through the bulges 5a, 6a. Minor deviations in the cable diameters are compensated by radially deforming this reducing bend.

By forming the lower part in one piece, including the over-dead-center hinges 11 and the reducing bends 8 in the unfolded state, e.g. by means of injection molding, a very cost-effective production of the lower part of the clamp, and analogously also of the upper part of the clamp, is possible.

The lower part 1 also comprises a cover plate 18 which is positioned in front of the right-hand bulge 6a in the direction of view in Fig. 1 and which is connected in one piece to the front edge of the bulge 6a with a small material cross-section. This circular cover plate 18 can be torn off at a predetermined breaking point without tools if more than one cable is to be led through the clamp.

The over-dead-center hinge 11 connects one end region of a reducing arch 8 with the outer end region of a bulge 6a or 6b in the longitudinal center, i.e. in the main plane 10, so that the reducing arch 8 is also pivoted in the main plane 10.

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In order to prevent a thin object from being pushed through between the clamp and the cable in the cable passage direction when the clamp is assembled, the opposite, free end region 9 of each of the reducing bends 8 is designed to overlap the end region of the corresponding reducing bend 8' of the upper part 2 when viewed in the cable passage direction.

This is achieved, for example - as can be seen in Fig. 5 - by the end region 9 having a projection 12a on one side of the main plane 10 and an analogously shaped recess 12b on the other side.

The same shape is present in reverse analogue form in the reducing bend 8 ¹ of the upper part which engages with this reducing bend 8, whereby the positive interlocking along the circumference is achieved.

The clamp upper part 2 is shown separately in Figures 7-13.

With regard to the bulges 5b, 6b corresponding to the bulges 5a, 6a of the lower part 1, the upper part 2 - including the associated reducing bends 8 ¹ and the over-dead-center hinges 11 - is designed as a mirror image of the contact plane 16, i.e. side 3 of the lower part 1 or side 4 of the upper part 2.

The upper part 2 differs from the lower part 1 only in the areas facing away from this contact plane 16, in that there a further bulge 7 is arranged in a U-shape at the apex between the bulges 5b and 6b so that the bulge 7 is open towards the side facing away from the contact plane 16.

If required, an additional third cable can be inserted into this recess 7. This recess 7 is also closed in the initial state and is only opened when required.

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The closure is in the form of two cover disks 19, 20, which close this bulge 7 at both of its front ends and which are formed in one piece with the upper part 2. At the transition between the cover disks 19, 20 and the main body of the clamp upper part, predetermined breaking points 21ä, 21b are provided by thinning the material, which correspond to the different sizes and thus cable diameters in the bulge 7.

The web 17' stabilizing the upper part 2 on the main plane 10 extends from the outer ends of the lower bulges 5b, 6b to the outer ends of the bulge 7, with quarter-circle-shaped bulges open to the outside in the upper right and left corners of the web 17', which are intended to enable the insertion of additional cables in a suitably shaped clamp housing.

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LIST OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS

1 Clamp bottom part 2 Clamp top 3 Page 4 Page 5a, 5b bulge 6a, 6b bulge 7 bulge 8.8' Reducing bend 9 free end area 10 Main level 11 Over-dead-center hinge 12a, 12b Forward/Backward Jump 13 edge 14 middle thighs 15a, 15b Stop surface 16 Touch level 17 web 18 Cover plate 19 Cover plate 20 Cover plate

21a, 21b predetermined breaking point

Claims (19)

• t ·♦ PROTECTION CLAIMS 1. Clamp insert with a clamp lower part (1) and a clamp upper part (2), for accommodation in a housing, whereby the clamp lower part (1) and clamp upper part (2) have corresponding arched bulges (5a, 5b, 6a, 6b) on the opposing sides to form Î have cable passage openings when the upper part (2) and lower part (1) are placed together, characterized in that the upper part (2) and/or the lower part (1) has at least one reducing part which can be removed from the curved contour of the bulges (5a, 5b, 6a, 6b) and which is movably connected to the upper part or lower part. 2. Clamp insert according to claim 1,
characterized in that the reducing part is a reducing bend (8, 8') adapted to the bend contour. 3. Clamp insert according to one of the preceding claims,
characterized in that the lower part (1) or the upper part (2) is formed in one piece together with the respective reducing part. 4. Clamp insert with a clamp lower part (1) and a clamp upper part (2), for receiving in a housing, wherein the clamp lower part (1) and the clamp upper part (2) have on the opposite sides corresponding arcuate bulges (5a, 5b, 6a, 6b) for forming cable passage openings when the upper part (2) and the lower part (1) are placed against one another, in particular according to one of the preceding claims,
characterized in that -j If ··»* the clamp lower part (1) and/or the clamp upper part (2) has at least one further arcuate bulge (7) which is open towards a side which is not the side directed towards the other part. 5. Clamp insert according to claim 4, characterized in that the additional bulge (7) is formed in the upper part, is arranged in the middle between the two bulges (5b) and (6b) and is as close as possible to the bulges (5b, 6b) from the opposite side &iacgr;&ogr; comes close to. 6. Clamp insert according to one of the preceding claims,
characterized in that the reducing part can be pushed out, swung out or folded out from the area of the cable passage openings relative to the upper part (2) or lower part (1). 7. Clamp insert according to one of the preceding claims,
characterized in that the reducing part can be easily separated from the upper part (2) or lower part (1), especially without tools. 8. Clamp insert according to one of the preceding claims,
characterized in that the reducing bend is only firmly connected in one of its end areas to the upper part or lower part and the reducing bend (8, 8') can be swung out of the bulge (5a) or (5b) or (6a) or (6b) in the main plane (10) of the clamp insert. 9. Clamp insert according to one of the preceding claims,
characterized in that the reducing arch (8, 8') extends only in one of its edge areas over only a part of the arch contour, in particular the central area of the arch, is firmly connected to the upper part (2) or lower part (1) and can be pivoted out of the recess (5a) or (5b) or (6a) or (6b) about an axis parallel to the main plane (10). 10. Clamp insert according to one of the preceding claims,
characterized in that the reducing part is folded into the interior of the junction box to be sealed and it can be folded away at such an angle that the reducing part remains connected to the lower part or upper part despite the cables &iacgr;&ogr; can. 11. Clamp insert according to one of the preceding claims,
characterized in that the reducing part is connected in one piece to the rest of the lower part (1) or upper part (2) by means of a strip of very thin material. 12. Clamp insert according to one of the preceding claims,
characterized in that the reducing part is connected to the lower part (1) or upper part (2) by means of an over-dead-center hinge (11). 13. Clamp insert according to one of the preceding claims,
characterized in that the reducing part, in particular the reducing bend (8, 8"), has a cranked, in particular U-shaped, V-shaped or groove-shaped cross-sectional profile in a section transverse to the main plane. 14. Clamp insert according to claim 13,
characterized in that the freely ending legs of the cross-sectional profile are prevented from bending apart transversely to the main plane (10) by corresponding stop surfaces (15a, 15b) within the bulge (5a) or (5b) or (6a) or (6b). 15. Clamp insert according to one of the preceding claims,
characterized in that the free ends of the reducing parts or reducing arches of the lower part (1) and upper part (2) when viewed in the developed state have complementary projections (12a) on one side of the main plane (10) and a corresponding recess (12b) on the other side of the central plane and vice versa, which, when the lower part (1) and upper part (2) are placed against one another, lie closely against one another in a complementary manner. &iacgr;&ogr; 16. Clamp insert according to one of the preceding claims,
characterized in that a bulge (5a, 5b, 6a, 6b) has two reducing parts, in particular reducing arches, that can be removed from the arch contour of the bulge and that gradually reduce the size of the bulge, e.g. (5a), when covered. 17. Clamp insert according to one of the preceding claims,
characterized in that the nestable reducing arches (8, 8 ¹ ) are hinged to the lower part or upper part at two opposite points of the bulge, e.g. (5a) with respect to either their main plane (10) or their central axis running perpendicular to the main plane. 18. Clamp insert according to one of the preceding claims,
characterized in that at least the reducing part, in particular the entire lower part or upper part, is made of an elastic material, in particular rubber or polyethylene. 19. Clamp insert according to one of the preceding claims,
characterized in that The lower part (1) and the upper part (2) have cooperating locking devices for a lockable connection to one another.