EP0341378B1 - Device for variably force-fitting to a rod, particularly for the height adjustable fixing of a false ceiling - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a device according to the preamble of claim 1.

Such devices are usually used to hang ceilings in high rooms. Support rails are attached to the devices to be releasably attached to a hanging rod, with ceiling elements, generally ceiling panels, being fastened to the support rails. In order to bring the individual mounting rails to each other in a precise flat position, the devices have to be fastened easily and reliably, but on the other hand also easily adjustable on the respective rod.

The known, generic presupposed devices are designed so that a trough-shaped band made of spring steel is riveted to a base body, holes for the rod being formed in the two projecting holding legs. The holding legs have an angle of approximately 45 ° to the part of the spring steel band riveted to the base body. As a result, the device can be displaced relative to the rod guided through the bores if the resilient holding limbs are pressed against one another in an approximately parallel position by finger pressure, since this removes the clamping effect of the holding limbs. When the resilient holding leg is released, the rod jams due to the resilience of the resilient holding leg. A major disadvantage of this known device is the use of a spring steel band. This must be punched, bent and then hardened during manufacture. The risk of rejects is very high. A necessary corrosion protection surface treatment must be done by mechanical galvanizing, since hot-dip galvanizing would have a negative effect on the spring properties. This mechanical galvanizing is very complex and not very durable. In an aggressive environment, for example in the chlorine-containing atmosphere of swimming pools, the spring steel is subject to corrosion, in particular due to hydrogen embrittlement and intergranular corrosion. As a result, the required durability is not guaranteed over a long period of time. In the case of mechanical shocks, in particular long-lasting vibrations, the device on the rod can come loose. In the event of local heating, in particular in the event of a fire, the spring properties can fundamentally change, so that the holding of the device on the rod can also be seriously impaired in this case. The riveting of the spring steel band on the base body is a manufacturing process that is difficult to integrate into a rational, fully automated production.

From FR-A 20 67 784 a device according to the preamble of claim 1 for fastening vertical cladding panels, e.g. to cover the space between the bottom of a bathtub and the floor, known. In this device, a rod passes through a U-shaped part provided with bores, whereby a spring causes jamming in a set end position.

Such a known arrangement is not suitable for suspending relatively heavy loads, because the required holding forces cannot be applied, and in particular because there is no defined, latched, fixation-producing end state.

The invention has for its object to design a device of the generic type so that a heavy-duty permanent fixation on a rod is possible with inexpensive manufacturability and installation options, the resilience should be maintained for a long time even in corrosive environments.

This object is achieved by the features in the characterizing part of claim 1. The configuration according to the invention enables the entire device to be made up of only two parts, namely the Manufacture base body and the clamping lever, which can all consist of the same material, namely usually sheet steel. The base body and the clamping lever are only produced by punching and bending processes. The clamping lever is only connected to the base body by an insertion process. The non-positive connection between the device and the rod only takes place by pushing the actuating leg and locking it to the base body, as a result of which the rod is held non-positively in the three bores of the two holding legs and the clamping leg but with a high clamping force that can be defined very precisely. By releasing the latching and pivoting away the actuating leg, the non-positive holder is released again, so that settings of the device relative to the rod in its longitudinal direction can be realized in a very simple manner. The three-point clamping of the device on the rod is achieved in a particularly simple and space-saving manner by the development according to claim 2, claim 3 reproducing a simple embodiment in order to bring about or release the clamping by pivoting the actuating leg relative to the base body. Claims 4 to 7 represent particularly simple refinements in terms of production technology.

The development according to claim 8 ensures that, on the one hand, the clamping lever is captive with respect to the base body and that the bore in the clamping leg is essentially flush with the bores of the holding leg.

• Fig. 1 eine Draufsicht auf eine montierte Vorrichtung nach der Erfindung,
• Fig. 2 einen vertikalen Querschnitt durch die Vorrichtung entsprechend der Schnittlinie II-II in Fig. 1,
• Fig. 3 eine Schnittdarstellung der Vorrichtung entsprechend der Schnittlinie III-III in Fig. 2,
• Fig. 4 einen Schnitt durch eine Ausführungsform mit modifizierter Grundplatte,
• Fig. 5 einen Schnitt durch eine Ausführungsform mit einer weiteren Abwandlung der Platte,
• Fig. 6 einen Schnitt durch eine auf die Grundplatte aufsetzbare Kunststoffhülse,
• Fig. 7 eine Seitenansicht einer weiteren grundlegenden Ausführungsform,
• Fig. 8 eine Fig. 1 entsprechende Draufsicht einer weiteren, besonders vorteilhaften Ausführungsform,
• Fig. 9 eine Fig. 2 entsprechende Seitenansicht und
• Fig. 10 eine Fig. 3 entsprechende Draufsicht.

Further features, advantages and details of the invention result from the following description of a preferred embodiment with reference to the drawing. It shows

• 1 is a plan view of an assembled device according to the invention,
• 2 shows a vertical cross section through the device according to section line II-II in FIG. 1,
• 3 is a sectional view of the device according to section line III-III in FIG. 2,
• 4 shows a section through an embodiment with a modified base plate,
• 5 shows a section through an embodiment with a further modification of the plate,
• 6 shows a section through a plastic sleeve which can be placed on the base plate,
• 7 is a side view of another basic embodiment;
• 8 shows a plan view corresponding to FIG. 1 of a further, particularly advantageous embodiment,
• Fig. 9 is a Fig. 2 corresponding side view
• Fig. 10 is a plan view corresponding to Fig. 3.

The device shown in the drawing comprises a base body 1 and a clamping lever 2, which are made of sheet steel. The device thus consists of only two parts.

The base body 1 has a base plate 3 with a substantially rectangular basic shape, which is provided in its lower region with lateral retaining lugs 4 for engaging in corresponding recesses in a substantially U-shaped, not shown and known per se and common in practice rail.

The base plate 3 is provided in the region of its vertical long sides with stiffening webs 6 bent at right angles to its rear side 5. In the upper area - likewise bent towards the rear side 5 of the base plate 3 - two holding legs 7, 8 bent parallel to one another and perpendicular to the base plate 3 are formed. These are each provided with a hole 9,1o, which are aligned with one another and whose diameter D is slightly larger than the diameter d of a rod 11, which is made of wire and is rigid in itself, to which the device is to be fastened, and which the holes 9.1o penetrated the holding leg 7.8. As can be seen in FIG. 1, the rod 11 and thus also the bores 9, 10 run with their axis 12 in the center of the base body 1; 2, the rod 11 runs with its axis 12 parallel to the base plate 3.

The clamping lever 2 is designed as an angle lever, the shorter leg serving as the clamping leg 13 passes through a slot-shaped recess 14 in the base plate 3. It is arranged in the middle area between the two holding legs 7, 8. It also has a bore 15, which is essentially aligned with the bores 9,1o. The other leg of the clamping lever 2 serves as an actuating leg 16, which is located in front of the front 17 of the base plate 3 and extends approximately to its lower end.

In the lower area of the base body 1, a nose-shaped latching projection 18 is partially punched out of the base plate 3 and bent toward the front side 17 at right angles to the base plate 3. Associated with this latching projection 18, the actuating leg 16 has a latching recess 19 which, when the actuating leg 16 is pivoted toward the front 17 of the base plate 3 in the position shown in FIG. 2, receives the latching projection 18, which then engages behind the actuating leg 16. In order to be able to carry out the slight transverse pivoting movement of the actuating leg 16 under the latching projection 18 or under it, a pressure plate 2o extending perpendicularly from the actuating leg 16 and also perpendicular to the front side 17 is formed on the side of the actuating leg 16.

As can be seen in FIG. 2, the clamping leg 13 and the actuating leg 16 are not bent at right angles to one another, but at an angle of, for example, approximately 100 to 110 °. In one in FIG. 2 Position of the clamping lever 2 shown in dashed lines is the clamping leg 13 in a parallel position to the holding legs 7, 8 between them. The actuating arm 16 is pivoted up from the front 17 of the base plate 3, the pivoting movement of the clamping lever 2 taking place about a pivot axis 21 which is formed by the lower edge of the slot-like recess 14 adjacent to the actuating arm 16. In this position, the bore 15 is aligned with the bores 9, 100 so that the entire device can be shifted or adjusted exactly in the longitudinal direction of the thin rod 11. If the device consisting of the base body 1 and the clamping lever 2 is in the correct position relative to the rod 11, then the user presses the actuating leg 16 of the clamping lever 2 relative to the front of the base plate 3 and locks the actuating leg 16 behind the latching recess 19, as already described above. The pivot angle a of the clamping lever 2 is - as is otherwise apparent from the above - 1o to 2o °. The clamping leg 13 comes here in the position shown in solid lines in FIG. 2 and no longer parallel to the holding legs 7, 8. As a result, the rod 11 is clamped in the three bores 9, 15, 15. It is pressed in the bores 9,1o against the regions of the holding legs 7,8 adjacent to the base plate 3 and, on the other hand, rests under the same pressure against the part of the clamping leg 13 in the bore 15 which faces away from the pivot axis 21. This results in a non-positive clamping of the rod 11 in the base body 1 and clamping lever 2 formed device reached. Due to the slight transverse displacement of the actuating leg 16 for establishing the latching connection, a slight transverse displacement of the bore 15 relative to the bores 9,1o may also occur. This improves the clamping effect, but without this being of fundamental importance.

The device on the one hand and the rod 11 on the other hand consist, for example, of normal structural steel. The diameter d of the rod 11 is 3 to 5 mm; the diameter D of the bores 9, 15, 15 is larger by a few tenths of a millimeter than the diameter d, for example by 3 to 6 tenths of a millimeter.

The clear distance b between the two holding legs 7, 8 is approximately 20 mm. It should expediently not be larger or smaller by more than 5 mm.

The width c of the actuating leg 16 is slightly smaller than the width e of the recess 14, while the width f of the clamping leg 13 is somewhat larger than the width c. As a result, at the transition from the clamping leg 13 to the actuating leg 16, a paragraph serving as a stop 22 is created which, on the one hand, forms a captive device for the clamping lever 2 and, on the other hand, ensures that, in the assembly position shown in broken lines in FIG. 2, the base body 1 with the Clamping lever 2 in the aligned position of the bores 9, 15, 15 without difficulty the rod 11 can be pushed on.

The rod 11 is fastened to a ceiling 23 indicated in FIG. 2. If the base body 1 is fastened with the clamping lever 2 at the correct height on the rod 11, the downwardly projecting end of the rod 11 is cut off before a carrier is pushed onto the retaining lugs 4.

Such a carrier is used to support a so-called suspended ceiling, which is attached to it. The design of these blankets and this support are known and not part of the invention.

The thickness s of the sheet metal from which the base body 1 and the clamping lever 2 are formed should be between 1 and 2 mm in order to ensure the necessary rigidity of the device, in particular thus to ensure that the holding limbs 7 are not produced when the clamp connection is made , 8 bend relative to the base plate 3 and the clamping leg 13 relative to the actuating leg 16.

The rod 11 can also be formed by a sufficiently rigid rope, it being crucial that it cannot avoid the pressure through the clamping leg 13 to such an extent that it would no longer be held on the holding legs 7, 8. In addition to mild steel, it can also consist of a sufficiently hard plastic. The bore 15 and accordingly also the bores 9, 1 do not have to have a circular cross section; they can have a non-circular cross section of the rod 11 be adjusted. If, for example, the rod 11 has a square cross section and the bores are made as openings with a corresponding cross section, then the device is simultaneously secured against rotation. In the area of the bores 9, 10 of the holding legs 7, 8 and / or in the area of the bore 15 of the clamping leg 13, materials with a high coefficient of friction with respect to the rod 11, for example made of rubber, can be arranged in order to increase the friction and thus the holding force between the rod 11 and enlarge the device.

The base body 1 does not have to consist of sheet metal, in particular steel sheet, but can also consist of a sufficiently stable plastic or be formed from a multi-layer material consisting of plastic and metal. The same applies to the clamping lever 2. The bore 15 in the clamping leg 13 can be open to the outside, so that the clamping leg 13 becomes a clamping jaw, which the rod 11 relative to the holding legs 7,8 outwards, that is from the base plate 3 against presses the holding legs 7.8.

In the embodiment according to FIG. 4, an extension 20 is provided at the lower end of the base plate 1, which bulges out from the plane of the base plate 1 to describe an open rectangle, ie is U-shaped in cross-section, the lower horizontal U-leg 21 - As indicated in dashed lines in the drawing - can be bent upwards. The bending force required for this can be defined by a punch 22 'so that the bending of Hand can be made. In this way, it is possible to guide the leg 21 through the recess of a mounting rail, which then comes to lie in the interior of the extension 20, and then to bend the leg 21 up to fix the mounting rail.

In Fig. 5, an embodiment is shown in which a punched single or double tip 22 Spitze extends from the base plate 1. This embodiment can be used to pre-fix a wooden slat, the tip 22 being driven into the wood by hammer blows in the direction of arrow 23. A final fixation can then be carried out by nailing or screwing using the bores 24.

6 shows a plastic sleeve 25 which can be snapped onto the upper side of the base plate 1 by means of molded-on locking projections 26 by means of locking projections not shown there. The plastic sleeve 25 has a bore 27, which is dimensioned relative to the wire rope used for hanging or the respective rod in such a way that a frictional connection is created, ie with simultaneous selection of a plastic that is not too hard, it can be achieved in this way that for alignment the height of the sleeve can be adjusted together with this connected device, but then remains in the set end position until a final determination can be made by means of the device.

In Fig. 7 a modified embodiment is shown, in which on a base plate 1 'with holding legs 7' and 8 'a clamping lever 2' is formed so that two perpendicular to the plane of the clamping lever 2 extending cam surfaces 28 are supported on the base plate 1, the cam surfaces 28 receiving the clamping lever 2 'so that they can be pivoted about this about an axis 29. The cam surfaces 28 have in the region of the pivot axis 29 different radii parallel and perpendicular to the base plate 1 ', so that the clamping lever 2' is moved to the left in the drawing when the cam surfaces 28 are supported with their larger radius on the base plate 1 , When loosening the clamping lever 2 'and moving it into an approximately horizontal position, the clamping lever 2' moves to the right. Accordingly, in this position, the bore 15 'in the clamping lever 2' with the bores 9 ', 10', while in the base plate 1 'adjacent position of the clamping lever 2', the bore 15 'is slightly offset, resulting in a clamping effect the wire rope 11 'leads. A particularly preferred embodiment is shown in FIGS. 8 to 10. This has a base body 1˝ with retaining lugs 4˝ similar to the embodiment of FIG. 1. Also extend from this base body 1˝ two holding legs 7˝, 8˝ parallel to each other, which are provided with bores, not shown in detail, through which the rod 11 or a correspondingly stable, slightly flexible wire are guided. A plastic sleeve 25 described in detail in connection with FIG. 6 is placed on the upper holding leg 7esch, whose locking projections 26 encompass the holding leg 7˝, so that the sleeve 25 is connected to the base body 1˝ and allows pre-positioning at the correct height in the manner described.

A special feature of the embodiment according to FIGS. 8 to 10 lies in the design of the clamping lever 2˝, which has a bent projection 30 on its upper side, which engages over the upper edge 31 of the base body 1˝. In Fig. 9 this clamping lever 2˝ is shown in its locked and locked position. The function of the clamping leg 13˝ is the same as set forth in connection with the previously described embodiments.

The approach 30 has an elongated hole 32, so that the rod 11 can be guided through this elongated hole 32 both in the releasing and in the locked position or that the clamping lever 2˝ can be pivoted easily despite the rod 11.

A bulge is provided in the extension 30, which forms a latching recess 33 on the underside of the extension 30, the upper edge 31 of the base body 1˝ forming the latching projection interacting with it in a particularly advantageous manner.

The extension 30 also has an upwardly bent extension 34, which makes it possible, especially with the thumb of one hand - as indicated by the arrow 35 in FIG. 9 - the clamping lever 2˝ easy to bring into the locking position, since with a corresponding movement the extension 30 is slightly raised, which makes it easier to snap into place and, moreover, the force application angle is particularly favorable in this way. The design of the approach 30 ensures that a visible and audible locking occurs in the locking position, so that it is absolutely ensured that an undefined and impermissible intermediate state is not assumed.

Claims (14)

1. Apparatus for the variable attachment by force locking to a rod, a wire rope or the like, in particular for the height-adjustable mounting of false ceilings, with a basic body (1) having two retaining arms (7, 8) arranged at right angles each with a bore (9, 10) approximately corresponding to the diameter (d) of the rod (11) and passed through by the rod (11) and with a device for the releasable locking of the rod (11) in the retaining arms (7,8), which are essentially rigid on the basic body (1), the device being formed by a clamping lever (2) in the form of a bent lever pivotably supported on the basic body (1) and of which the arm serving as a clamping arm (13) has a bore (15) passed through by the rod (11) and corresponding to the latter's diameter (d), characterized in that its other arm serving as a control arm (16) is in releasable locking engagement with the basic body (1) in a clamping position of the clamping arm (13).

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the clamping arm (13) is arranged between the retaining arms (7, 8).

3. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that in its clamping position the clamping arm (13) is in a position not parallel to the retaining arms (7, 8).

4. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the basic body (1) has a base plate (3), from which the retaining arms (7, 8) are bent off in one piece.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the basic body (1) has a base plate (3), from which a locking nose (18) is bent off in one piece.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that a locking recess (19) is formed in the control arm (16) for positive engagement with the locking nose (18).

7. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the clamping lever (2) is pivotably supported in a recess (14) of the basic body (1).

8. Apparatus according to claim 7, characterized in that the width (f) of the clamping arm (13) slightly exceeds the width (e) of the recess (14).

9. Apparatus according to claim 8, characterized in that the width (c) of the control arm (16) is slightly smaller than the width (e) of the recess (14).

10. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the basic body (1) and/or the clamping lever (2) consist of steel sheet.

11. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that a tip (22") punched out and bent off to protrude about perpendicularly from the basic body (1) is arranged at the latter's lower end for being preset in a wood lath.

12. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that a projection (20) at right angles to be bent over in a manner defined by material weakening is arranged at the lower end of the basic body (1).

13. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that a plastic sleeve (25) can be locked into engagement on the surface of the basic body (1) and has a bore (27) for the rod, the wire rope (11) or the like with such a diameter that, on the one hand, the friction permits a displacement of the plastic sleeve (25), the latter being however arrested in a stable end-of-travel position without the action of external forces.

14. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the bent lever (21) bears on the basic body (1) in the way of an eccentric cam by means of lateral cam projections (28) and is pivotably connected with the bent lever (2′) of the clamping arms (13′).

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