GB2191812A

GB2191812A - Cleat

Info

Publication number: GB2191812A
Application number: GB08711151A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Robert Cyril Lyon
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1986-05-28
Filing date: 1987-05-12
Publication date: 1987-12-23
Anticipated expiration: 2007-05-12
Also published as: GB8711151D0; GB2191812B; GB8612971D0

Abstract

A cleat (10) for securing a cable, pipe or the like (11) comprises a relatively flexible strap part (13) and relatively rigid end parts (14,15) at the ends of the strap part (13). Aligned holes (17) in the end parts (14,15) receive a screw member (18) therethrough and cooperating pivot formations (16) are provided on the end parts (14,15) at the side of the screw member (18) remote from the strap part (13). Tightening of a nut (19) on the screw member (18) causes the end parts (14,15) to pivot about the pivot formations (16) to cause the strap part (13) to wrap around the tighten upon the cable or pipe (11) so that a large range of diameters of cable or pipe (11) can be accommodated by one size of cleat (10). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Cleat This invention relates to cleats, such as are used for supporting and securing cables, pipes or other generally cylindrical elongate articles, hereinafter simply referred to as cables, to a wall or other supporting structure.

For many years cables and the like were supported and secured to a wall or other support structure by clamps comprising a base part having a generally semi-circular recess therein, a clamping part also having a generally semi-circular recess therein, and two securing devices, e.g. screws, disposed on opposed sides of the cable to secure the clamping part to the base part and in certain cases to the supporting structure. In other cases the base part was secured to the supporting structure independently of the aforementioned two screws. With such devices two or three screws require tightening, which is a time consuming operation if many clamps are to be installed.To overcome this problem, cleats formed of two separate parts which were shaped so as to provide a generally circular recess therebetween when secured to each other and a supporting structure by means of a single screw, bolt, stud or the like were devised. Such a cleat is described in British patent No. 1468823. However such cleats are of necessity made of a rigid material such as steel or aluminium whereby the jaw portions thereof are able to clamp a cable therebetween without their being deformed. As a consequence deformation of the cable can occur if the bolt is overtightened, and in addition this cleat still comprises two parts which must be separated and reassembled on installation.

In order to overcome these problems onepiece cleats have been devised, comprising a flexible strap having thickened ends through which holes to receive a securing screw or the like are provided. For proper support and securing of cables, a large number of such one-piece cleats of differing dimensions are required in order to accommodate a range of diameter of cables, since a single size of such cleat will only effectively support and secure cables within a very small range of diameters.

An improved one-piece cleat is described in British patent No. 1593392, which cleat comprises cooperating surfaces on the thickened ends of the strap, the surfaces being substantially tangential to the cable, which is held in the cleat, instead of radial as with the previous one-piece cleats. With such a construction relative sliding movement of the surfaces allows the range of diameters of cable which can be accommodated by a cleat of particular dimensions to be greater than with the previously described one-piece cleat. In consequence fewer sizes of cleat are required to accommodate a given range of cable diameters than was previously the case.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved one-piece cleat, wherein a given size of cleat will accommodate a relatively large range of diameters of cable and support and secure effectively any cable within such range of diameters.

The invention provides a cleat for securing a pipe or cable therein comprising a relatively flexible elongate strap part and a relatively rigid end part at each end of said strap part, clamping means operable to clamp said end parts together in face-to-face disposition, and pivot means disposed between said end parts at that side of said clamping means remote from said strap part whereby in use said end parts are caused to pivot relative to each other about an axis substantially parallel with the axis of a cable secured in said cleat as said clamping means is tightened.

Preferably said pivot means comprises a ridge provided on one of said end parts. Alternatively said pivot means may comprise cooperating ridge and groove formations on said end parts.

Preferably said clamping means comprises a screw member and each of said end parts has an aperture therein through which apertures said screw member passes in use. Said apertures may comprise slots which are elongate in a direction longitudinally of said strap portion. Said slots may also be wider than said screw member to allow limited pivotal movement of said end parts in a direction normal to the axis of a cable secured in said cleat.

Said strap part may be of rectangular crosssection and may have a plurality of ridges provided on the inner surface thereof which in use contacts a cable.

The outer surface of each end portion which in use is remote from the other end parts may be of convex form, whereby said outer surface may lie against a support surface or outer surface of a like cleat throughout the range of pivotal movement of said end portions as said clamping means is tightened.

Said end parts preferably have a combined thickness when in contact with each other in use, which thickness is greater than the outer diameter of the loop formed by said strap part.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a side elevation of one embodiment of cleat securing the largest diameter of cable within the range of diameters accommodated by such cleat, and Figs. 2 and 3 are side elevations of a second embodiment of cleat of dimensions corresponding with those of said first embddiment, but securing cables of medium and the smallest diameter respectively within the range of diameters accommodated by such cleat.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a third embodi ment, Fig. 5 is a section on V-V of Fig. 4, Fig. 6 is a side elevation of a fourth embodiment, and Fig. 7 is a plan view showing two alternative versions of the embodiment of Fig. 6.

Referring now to Fig. 1 there is shown a cleat 10 securing a cable 11 to a wall 12 or like support surface. The cleat 10 is preferably moulded of a thermoplastic material such as black polythene, so as to be strong, light weight, resistant to sunlight, weather and chemically corrosive environments, electrically insulating and inexpensive. The cleat 10 comprises an elongate strap part 13 and two end parts 14,15. The strap part 13 is of rectangular cross-section and has a plurality of ribs 26 (see Figs. 2 and 3) on the inner surface thereof which enhance the grip of the strap part 13 on the cable 11. The strap part 13 is relatively flexible compared with the rigid end parts 14,15 so that it may be wrapped around the cable 11 to bring the end parts 14,15 in face to face disposition.Each end part 14,15 has a hole 17 therein through which a clamping bolt, stud or screw 18 passes into the support 12. A nut 19 on the screw 18 may be tightened so as to cause the cleat 10 to securely engage the cable 11.

Provided on the facing surfaces of the end parts 14,15 are cooperating ridge and groove formations 16 which provide a pivot whereby the end parts 14,15 may pivot relative to each other about an axis parallel with the longitudinal axis of the cable 11. The dimensions of the end parts 14,15 are such that their combined thickness T when the formations 16 are in contact with each other is greater than the outer diameter D of the loop formed by the strap part 13. In addition the outer surfaces 21 of each end part 14,15 remote from the other end part is of convex form so that surface 21 may lie against a support surface 12 for all pivotal inclinations of the end parts 14,15 relative to each other.

In addition, since the thickness T is greater than the diameter D, two or more cleats 10 may be secured on a single, sufficiently long screw 18 if desired with the contact between adjacent cleats being at the surfaces 21 and the cleats being properly aligned.

Referring now to Figs. 2 and 3 there is shown a second embodiment of cleat 20 which is identical in most respects to the cleat 10 previously described, and corresponding parts are designated with like numerals. The cleat 20 has dimensions corresponding with those of the cleat 10. In the case of Fig. 1 the cleat 10 is shown as securing the cable 11 which has a diameter which is the largest of the range of diameters for which the cleats 10,20 are intended to accommodate. In the cases of Figs. 2 and 3 the cleat 20 is shown as securing cables 22,23 which have.dia- meters which are intermediate and the smallest respectively of such range of diameters.

The cleat 20 differs from the cleat 10 in that the cooperating pivot providing formations 16 of cleat 10 are replaced by a rib 24 provided on one end part 15 of cleat 20. The rib 24, as the ridge and groove formations 16, extends in a direction parallel with the axis of the cable 22,23 to provide a pivot axis for the end parts 14,15 extending in such direction.

With both embodiments of cleat 10,20, the pivot means 16,24 is disposed to that side of the clamping means 18 remote from the strap part 13 and cable 11,22,23 secured thereby.

Consequently as the nut 19 is tightened the end parts 14,15 are caused to pivot relative to each other about the pivot means 16,24 in such a manner as to cause the strap part 13 to wrap around the cable 11,22,23 to as great an extent as possible. In this embodiment the holes 17 are formed as slots which are wider, in the direction longitudinally of the strap 13, than the screw 18, so as to accommodate the relative pivoting movement of the end parts 14,15. This allows the screw 18 to pass through the slots 17 even when they are misaligned to the extent as shown in Fig. 3 when the smallest diameter cable 23 is secured in the cleat 20. If however the holes 17 are circular as shown in Fig. 1 the screw 18 will simply tend to dig into and/or deform the material of the end parts 14,15 as the nut 19 is tightened.Also, with the outer surfaces 21 of the end parts 14,15, being of convex form and the end parts 13,15 having sufficient thickness so that their combined thickness T' is larger than the diameter D' of the loop formed by the strap part 13 around the small cable 23, the cleat 20 will lie with an outer surface 21 against the supporting surface 12, or an adjacent cleat 10,20 if desired. Alternatively, if the cable 11,22,23, or more particularly in the case of a pipe, is to be suspended from a ceiling the screw 18 may pass through a bracket (not shown) which is secured to the ceiling to depend therefrom.

An embodiment showing such connection to a ceiling bracket is shown in Figs. 4 and 5. In this case a bracket 25 is secured by screws 27 or other conventional means to a ceiling 28. The bracket 25 is of inverted channel shaped cross-section and is shown with one side removed for clarity. A bolt 29 passes through the bracket 25 and supports and secures the cleat 30. The cleat 30 comprises a strip of metal, plastics material or other suitable material which is sufficiently flexible to be bent around a cable or pipe 31 and form a strap part 32. If the material is metal the edges 33 of the strap part 32 may be chamferred or bent outwardly to prevent the cleat 30 from damaging the cable or pipe 31.In the end regions 34 of the cleat 30 there is provided a rib 35, by pressing in the case of a metal cleat or by moulding in the case of a cleat of plastics material, so that such end regions are relatively rigid in comparison with the strap part 32. The free ends 36 of the end regions 34 are formed to receive and curve around the supporting belt 29 whereby that bolt serves as a pivot for the end regions 34 when the nuts 19 are tightened on the screw 18.

Referring now to Figs. 6 and 7 there is shown an alternative embodiment which is particularly suited to the support of pipes in chemical plants and the like, or cables in fire risk locations. In this case a cleat 37 comprises a strip 38 of stainless steel or other suitable chemically resistant material which forms a strap part 39 passing around the pipe 40. The ends of the strip 38 are folded so that each encloses a block 41 of plastics material, hard rubber, wood or any other suitable rigid material. The strip 38 and blocks 41 have aligned holes 17 therein through which the screw 18 passes. The blocks 41 have cooperating formations 16 thereon to provide the pivot for the blocks 41 and the ends of the strap 38.In one variation as shown at the upper part of Fig. 7 the strap 38 has apertures 42 therein through which cooperating parts 16, centrally disposed in plan view, protrude to contact each other. In an alternative variation as shown at the lower part of Fig. 7 the blocks 41 each have two formations 16 thereon laterally spaced with the strip 38 passing between them. In this latter case the two blocks 41 are identical so that only one moulding may be required. With such an embodiment, in the event of a fire the blocks 41 may burn or melt fairly rapidly but the cables or pipe 40 will still be supported at least for a considerable length of time sufficient for electricity to be switched off or chemical flow to be shut down and/or the building to be evacuated.As a further alternative the blocks 41 may be moulded onto the free ends of the strap 38 instead of the latter enclosing the blocks 41 as shown.

By means of the invention a large range of diameters of cable 11,22,23 may be accommodated by a cleat 10,20 of particular dimensions. In consequence only a few cleats of differing diameters are required to accommodate a typical overall range of diameters of cables, pipes or the like. For an overall range of cable diameters of 10 to 51mm, eight of the cleats of the type described in British Patent No. 1539392 are required, whereas with the cleat of the present invention at most only six cleats of differing dimensions are required to accommodate the same overall range of cable diameters.

The cleats of the invention may be moulded in the configuration of the largest size of pipe or the like to be supported therein, whereby the strap part is bent inwardly when the cleat is used with a pipe of smaller diameter. Alternatively the cleat may be moulded in the configuration of the smallest size of pipe or the like to be supported therein, whereby the strap part is bent outwardly when the cleat is used with a pipe of larger diameter. As a further alternative the cleat may be moulded in the configuration of a median size of pipe or the like to be supported therein, whereby the strap part is bent inwardly or outwardly when the cleat is used with pipes of smaller or larger diameter respectively. In this latter case the stresses in the strap part when extreme sizes of pipe are supported will be approximately half of those experienced in the former cases.

Claims

1. A cleat, for securing a cylindrical object such as a cable, pipe or the like therein, comprising a relatively flexible elongate strap part and a relatively rigid end part at each end of said strap part, clamping means operable to clamp said end parts together in face-to-face disposition, and pivot means disposed between said end parts at that side of said clamping means remote from said strap part whereby in use said end parts are caused to pivot relative to each other about an axis substantially parallel with the axis of said cylindrical object secured in said cleat as said clamping means is tightened.

2. A cleat according to claim 1 wherein said pivot means comprises a ridge provided on one of said end parts.

3. A cleat according to claim 2 wherein said pivot means comprises a groove on the other of said end parts.

4. A cleat according to claim 1 wherein said pivot means comprises a cylindrical supporting member and recess formations in each of said end parts adapted to receive said supporting member therein.

5. A cleat according to claim 4 wherein said supporting member is a bolt.

6. A cleat according to claim 4 or claim 5 comprising a support bracket through which said supporting member passes.

7. A cleat according to any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein said clamping means comprises a screw member and each of said end parts has an aperture therein through which apertures said screw member passes.

8. A cleat according to claim 7 wherein said apertures comprise slots which are elongate in a direction longitudinally of said strap portion.

9. A cleat according to claim 6 or claim 7 wherein said apertures are wider than said screw member so as to allow limited pivotal movement of said cleat in a direction normal to the axis of said cylindrical object.

10. A cleat according to any one of claims 1 to 9 wherein said strap part is of rectangular cross-section.

11. A cleat according to any one of claims 1 to 10 wherein said strap part has a plurality of ridges provided on the inner surface thereof.

12. A cleat according to any one of claims 1 to 11 wherein the outer surface of each end part remote from the other end part is of convex form.

13. A cleat according to claim 12 wherein said end parts have a combined thickness when in contact with each other which is greater than the outside diameter of the loop formed by said strap part.

14. A cleat according to any one of claims 1 to 11 comprising an elongate strip of material wherein each end part is formed by a longitudinally ribbed endmost part of said strip.

15. A cleat according to any one of claims 1 to 13 comprising an elongate strip of material and two blocks, each end of said strip of material being connected to one of said blocks.

16. A cleat according to claim 15 wherein said pivot means are provided on at least one of said blocks.

17. A cleat according to claim 15 or claim 16 wherein each end of said strip is folded to enclose one of said blocks.

18. A cleat for securing a cylindrical object substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in Fig. 1, or Figs. 2 and 3 or Figs. 4 and 5 or Figs. 6 and 7 of the accompanying drawings.