GB1600605A

GB1600605A - Clips

Info

Publication number: GB1600605A
Application number: GB1508977A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: ANTOROY Ltd
Current assignee: ANTOROY Ltd
Priority date: 1978-05-24
Filing date: 1978-05-24
Publication date: 1981-10-21

Description

(54) IMPROVEMENTS IN CLIPS (71) We, ANTOROY LIMITED a British Company of 389 Uttoxeter Road, Blythe Bridge, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement:- The present invention relates to clips for use in attaching pipes, rods, tubes and the like to supporting surfaces, referred to hereinafter simply as pipe clips.

Existing pipe clips have a base for attachment to a wall or other supporting structure and a pair of arcuate arms intended to embrace the pipe around an arc subtended by an angle of in excess of 180O, the clip being completed by the separate cap member engageable with the free end of the arms by a snap action.

This arrangement suffers from a number of disadvantages, for example, the cap member, being separate from the remainder of the clip, is liable to be mislaid or to become detached after fixing due to relative movement between the cap and clip along the direction of the longitudinal axis of the pipe being held. This displacement results in disengagement from the clip.

One solution to this problem which has been proposed in the past is to provide a clip in which the cap member is hingedly connected to one arm of the clip and engageable with the other arm by snap action.

Such clips suffer from the disadvantage that the hinge connection is liable to break in use and when this occurs the clip springs open to release the pipe.

It is an object of the present invention to obviate or mitigate these disadvantages.

According to the present invention there is provided a pipe clip having a base adapted for attachment to a supporting surface and an arcuate seating designed to accommodate a pipe and extend in an arc in excess of 1800, a cap member being attached to the base at one side by a flexible web, being adapted for snap action engagement and/or removable positive engagement with the base at one side thereof and snap action and/or removable positive engagement with the base at the other side thereof.

Preferably the cap is adapted for snap action engagement at one side and removable positive engagement at the other side.

Preferably said removable positive engagement is attained by providing an inverted T-shaped member at one end of said cap and a cavity in said base capable of accommodating the cross-piece of said T and allowing limited movement of the crosspiece therein and a slot leading from the side of the base to said cavity and having a width which is less than the length of the cross-piece of the T, whereby the cross-piece of the T may be inserted into the cavity by arranging the cap still attached to the base by the flexible web such that the axis of the cross-piece of the T coincides with the axis of the slot, inserting the crosspiece into the cavity by way of the slot and thereafter turning the cap such that the axis of the cross-piece lies transversely of the slot and accommodated in the cavity, one end of the cavity being positioned such that with the cross-piece of the T abutting said end said cap may assume its operational position with its other end in snap engagement with the seating.

Alternative means of providing positive removable engagement of the cap and seating may be provided, for example, a bulbous protrusion may be formed on the end of a stalk attached to said end of the cap and accommodated in a keyhole slot in the seating, or "poppit" ball and socket type arrangement may be employed.

Preferably at least one inwardly directed protrusion is provided from the cap adapted to engage a pipe held by the pipe clip; Preferably the said one end of the cap and the corresponding portion of the seating are arcuate to permit relative pivotting movement between the cap and the seating.

Preferably the base is provided with a single arm which, in conjunction therewith defines an arcuate seating for the pipe of more than 1800.

Preferably said cap and seating are pro vided with a transverse raised rib, said flexible web forming part of said rib.

Preferably the pipe clip is formed from a synthetic plastics material by injection moulding.

Preferably the snap action engagement between said other end of the cap and said base is obtained by means of corresponding hook-like formations on the seating and said cap.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 shows an end elevation of a pipe clip; Fig. 2 shows a partial perspective view of the pipe clip of Fig. 1 with the cap removed; and Figs. 3 and 4 and Figs. 5 and 6 show end elevations and partial perspective views respectively of modified pipe clips.

A pipe clip comprises a base 5 the under surface of which is flat for engagement with a wall or other supporting surface and the upper surface 6 of which is of arcuate shape to form, in conjunction with an upwardly extending arm 7, an arcuate seating subtended by an angle in excess of 1800.

An opening 8 extends through the base between its upper and lower surfaces to receive a screw or other fastener by means of which the clip may be secured in its desired position of use. Recesses 9 are formed in opposed side faces of the base in order to reduce the material used in construction. The arm 7 extends upwardly from one end of the base and is provided adjacent its outer free end with a recess 10 having a hook formation IOsr for engagement with a cap member.

It should be noted that the arm 7 terminates at a point less than 1800 from the centre of the base so that it does not extend over the opening 8 when viewed from above. This enables a screwdriver or the like to be inserted for screwing or otherwise attaching a clip to a supporting structure.

The cap member 12 is of arcuate form subtending an angle of less than 1800 and is connected to the base 5 at one end by means of a flexible web 13 forming an integral hinge. A hook formation 14 is formed at one end of the inner surface of the cap member for engagement with the hook formation 10a of the recess 10 of the arm 7. A projection 16 is formed in the inner surface of the cap member between its ends and serves in the closed position to press against the pipe and hold same firmly in the seating.

Means are provided at the other end of the cap 12 to positively but removably engage the cap in the base 5. Said means are best seen in Fig. 2 and comprise an inverted T-shaped member having a substantially rectangular cross-section stalk 20 and a cylindrical section cross-piece 21 attached to the end of the stalk remote from the cap 12. The base is provided with a slot 22 extending downwardly from the upper end face 23 thereof the lower part of the slot leading to a cavity 25 (Fig. 1) formed in a web 24 of the base, the cavity extending substantially parallel to the side of the base, being of a length greater than the length of the cross-piece 21, a width slightly greater than the diameter of the cross-piece 21 and terminating in an upper end face which is spaced from the outer end surface 23 of the base by an amount which is just slightly greater than the spacing between said other end of the cap 12 and the part of the crosspiece 21 closest thereto.

It should be reailsed that the flexible web 13 is of sufficient length to enable the cap when otherwise separated from the base to be rotated such that the longitudinal axis of cross-piece 21 coincides with the longitudinal axis of the slot 22 whereby the cross-piece can be inserted through the slot into the cavity 25 at which stage it is rotated through 90" thereby preventing detachment of the cap member 12 from the base without further rotation of the cap member.

It will be realised that owing to the relative positioning of the upper end of the cavity and the length of the stalk 20 it is possible, with the cross-piece abutting the upper end of the cavity, to pivot the cap member relative to the base such that the hook formation on the cap 12 engages the hook formation 10a of the recess in the arm 7. To facilitate this pivotal movement the said other end of the cap 12 is concavely radiused while the outer end surface of the base is correspondingly convexly radiused.

In the engaged position of the cap the stalk 20 occupies the upper portion of slot 22.

With the arrangement described above there is no possibility of relative transverse movement between the cap and the base and this eliminates the possibility of accidental separation of the cap from the base.

It is difficult with certain injection moulding techniques to avoid the formation of moulding cavities in flat surfaces and for this reason and for strengthening purposes a radiused transverse strengthening rib 28 is provided around the cap midway between the faces thereof. Conveniently said rib 28 is separated from the base over that area occupied by the slot such that it forms the flexible web 13.

It should be further realised that since the cap 12 is provided with inwardly directed pipe engaging projections 16, over those areas where there are no projections 16 there is a space between the outer sur face of a pipe held in the clip and the inner surface of the cap 12. This means that those unsupported portions of the cap 12 need not conform to the original arcuate shape thereof and may "flatten out" to facilitate the accommodation of larger diameter pipes. Thus the clip will readily accommodate thermal expansion of the pipe.

This facility can be used to manufacture a range of clips each of which can accommodate pipes of varying diameters, the projections 16 being increased for smaller diameter pipes. This means that only one mould may be required and those parts of the mould which are used to form the projections 16 may be replaceable such that different depths of projection may be moulded.

Various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention, for example, the means for positively removably engaging the cap to the base may comprise a spherical protrusion on the end of a stalk the slot being of a keyhole shape.

Any other alternative arrangement which permits the removal of the cap from the base only after a change in the relative orientations of the cap and base may be employed.

Alternatively other means, for example a strengthened web, may be utilised to prevent relative axial movement between the cap and clip, snap fitting engagement between the cap and clip being utilised at each side.

Figs. 4 and 5 show a modified clip in which the removable positive engagement is provided by a push-fit resilient projection 30 on the cap, and a receiving recess 32 having a retaining lip 33, in the base 5. In the modification the web 13 has a breadth equal to the breadth of the clip and relative axial movement between the fitted cap and the base is prevented by a key and keyway arrangement 34, 35 on the cap and base respectively.

The projection 30 may be of any suitable configuration so long as it provides a push fitted snap engagement with the recess 32 and conveniently it comprises an outwardly directed hook arrangement which can be deformed on fitment into the recess by virtue of its convex outer face and can return to its original undeformed condition when accommodated in the recess whereby the free end abuts the lip 33 to prevent removal of the projection from the recess.

Figs. 5 and 6 show a modified clip which has been injection moulded from one end.

In this clip the base 5 has several recesses which serve not only to save material but also to provide the recess 25 for the crosspiece 21. In all other respects this modified clip resembles the clip illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2.

In a further modification, applicable to all the pipe clips described above with reference to Figs. 1 to 6, the web 13 is utilised as an additional or alternative means for retaining the cap in its fitted position. In this modification a portion of the length of the web is formed separate from the cap 12, and is moulded in a cranked condition. It will be appreciated by careful design of the clip and especially the positioning of the fixing points of the web ends in relation to the cross-piece 21 of the T, for example, the web can be utilised as an over-centre or toggle device which in operation will retain the cap in its closed position.

In operation with the cap unfitted the modified web will serve a simple attachment function. However, in use, as the cap is moved to its closed position due to relative dispositions of the cross-piece 21, and the web end fixings at a point just approaching the finally fitted position of the cap there will be an in-line or centre condition in which the tendency for the web, due to its resilience to pull the cap back to its starting position will be eliminated. Further movement of the cap towards its fitted position will result in this centre condition to be passed such that the resilience of the web will urge the cap to its closed position.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A pipe clip having a base adapted for attachment to a supporting surface, and an arcuate seating designed to accommodate a pipe and extend in an arc in excess of 180 , a cap member being attached to the base at one side by a flexible web and being adapted for snap action engagement and/or removable positive engagement with the base at one side thereof and snap action and/or removable positive engagement with the base at the other side thereof.

2. A pipe clip as claimed in claim 1, in which the cap is adapted for snap action engagement at one side and removable positive engagement at the other side.

3. A pipe clip as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which said removable positive engagement is attained by providing an inverted T-shaped member at one end of said cap and a cavity in said base capable of accommodating the cross-piece of said T and allowing limited movement of the crosspiece therein and a slot leading from the side of the base to said cavity and having a width which is less than the length of the cross-piece of the T, whereby the crosspiece of the T may be inserted into the cavity by arranging the cap still attached to the base by the flexible web that the axis of the cross-piece of the T coincides with the axis of the slot, inserting the cross

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. face of a pipe held in the clip and the inner surface of the cap 12. This means that those unsupported portions of the cap 12 need not conform to the original arcuate shape thereof and may "flatten out" to facilitate the accommodation of larger diameter pipes. Thus the clip will readily accommodate thermal expansion of the pipe. This facility can be used to manufacture a range of clips each of which can accommodate pipes of varying diameters, the projections 16 being increased for smaller diameter pipes. This means that only one mould may be required and those parts of the mould which are used to form the projections 16 may be replaceable such that different depths of projection may be moulded. Various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention, for example, the means for positively removably engaging the cap to the base may comprise a spherical protrusion on the end of a stalk the slot being of a keyhole shape. Any other alternative arrangement which permits the removal of the cap from the base only after a change in the relative orientations of the cap and base may be employed. Alternatively other means, for example a strengthened web, may be utilised to prevent relative axial movement between the cap and clip, snap fitting engagement between the cap and clip being utilised at each side. Figs. 4 and 5 show a modified clip in which the removable positive engagement is provided by a push-fit resilient projection 30 on the cap, and a receiving recess 32 having a retaining lip 33, in the base 5. In the modification the web 13 has a breadth equal to the breadth of the clip and relative axial movement between the fitted cap and the base is prevented by a key and keyway arrangement 34, 35 on the cap and base respectively. The projection 30 may be of any suitable configuration so long as it provides a push fitted snap engagement with the recess 32 and conveniently it comprises an outwardly directed hook arrangement which can be deformed on fitment into the recess by virtue of its convex outer face and can return to its original undeformed condition when accommodated in the recess whereby the free end abuts the lip 33 to prevent removal of the projection from the recess. Figs. 5 and 6 show a modified clip which has been injection moulded from one end. In this clip the base 5 has several recesses which serve not only to save material but also to provide the recess 25 for the crosspiece 21. In all other respects this modified clip resembles the clip illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. In a further modification, applicable to all the pipe clips described above with reference to Figs. 1 to 6, the web 13 is utilised as an additional or alternative means for retaining the cap in its fitted position. In this modification a portion of the length of the web is formed separate from the cap 12, and is moulded in a cranked condition. It will be appreciated by careful design of the clip and especially the positioning of the fixing points of the web ends in relation to the cross-piece 21 of the T, for example, the web can be utilised as an over-centre or toggle device which in operation will retain the cap in its closed position. In operation with the cap unfitted the modified web will serve a simple attachment function. However, in use, as the cap is moved to its closed position due to relative dispositions of the cross-piece 21, and the web end fixings at a point just approaching the finally fitted position of the cap there will be an in-line or centre condition in which the tendency for the web, due to its resilience to pull the cap back to its starting position will be eliminated. Further movement of the cap towards its fitted position will result in this centre condition to be passed such that the resilience of the web will urge the cap to its closed position. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A pipe clip having a base adapted for attachment to a supporting surface, and an arcuate seating designed to accommodate a pipe and extend in an arc in excess of 180 , a cap member being attached to the base at one side by a flexible web and being adapted for snap action engagement and/or removable positive engagement with the base at one side thereof and snap action and/or removable positive engagement with the base at the other side thereof.

piece into the cavity by way of the slot and thereafter turning the cap such that the axis of the cross-piece lies transversely of the slot and accommodated in the cavity, one end of the cavity being positioned such that with the cross-piece of the T abutting said end said cap may assume its operational position with its other end in snap engagement with the seating.

4. A pipe clip as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which positive removable engagement of the cap and seating is provided by a bulbous protrusion formed on the end of a stalk attached to said end of the cap and accommodated in a keyhole slot in the seating.

5. A pipe clip as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 in which positive removable engagement of the cap and seating is provided by a "poppit" ball and socket type arrangement.

6. A pipe clip as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which positive removable engagement of the cap and seating is provided by a hook like formation formed on the internal surface of the cap and snap engageable with a lip projecting from a recess formed in the base.

7. A pipe clip as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which at least one inwardly directed protrusion is provided from the cap adapted to engage a pipe held by the pipe clip.

8. A pipe clip as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the said one end of the cap and the corresponding portion of the seating are arcuate to permit relative pivotting movement between the cap and the seating.

9. A pipe clip as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the base is provided with a single arm which, in conjunction therewith defines an arcuate seating for the pipe of more than 1800.

10. A pipe clip as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which said cap and seating are provided with a transverse raised rib, said flexible web forming part of said rib.

11. A pipe clip as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the pipe clip is formed from a synthetic plastics material by injection moulding.

12. A pipe clip as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the snap action engagement between said other end of the cap and said base is obtained by means of corresponding hook-like formations on the seating and said cap.

13. A pipe clip as claimed in claim 6, in which the web extends across the width of the cap and base.

14. A pipe clip as claimed in claim 6 or claim 13, in which a key and keyway arrangement are provided on the cap and base to prevent relative lateral movements between the cap and base.

15. A pipe clip as claimed in any one of the preceding claims injection moulded from one end.

16. A pipe clip as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the web ends are fixed to the base and cap respectively at points so spaced from said positive removable engagement means that the web, in use, serves as an over centre or toggle arrangement to assist in the holding of the cap in position.

17. A pipe clip as claimed in claim 16, in which the web is cranked in a direction away from the base.

18. A pipe clip substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2 or Figs. 3 and 4 or Figs. 5 and 6 of the accompanying drawings.