GB2233508A

GB2233508A - "Cable retaining device for a conduit"

Info

Publication number: GB2233508A
Application number: GB9009036A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Murray Henderson Reid
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1989-06-23
Filing date: 1990-04-23
Publication date: 1991-01-09
Anticipated expiration: 2010-04-23
Also published as: GB2233508B; GB9009036D0; GB8914441D0

Abstract

A retaining device (6) for use with a conduit (10) which has an opening (11) to be closed by a side wall, has at least two longitudinal members (1,2,3,4 Fig 1). The ends of the members are rigidly connected to each other such that the device (6) may be located within the conduit (10) to prevent articles (12) e.g. cables, placed within the conduit (10) from exiting the conduit (10) through the opening (11) before the side wall is fitted. The device (6) remains in position in the conduit (6) by means of the resilience of the longitudinal members (1,2,3,4). <IMAGE>

Description

"A Retaining Device" The invention relates to retaining devices and, in particular, a retaining device for use with a conduit holding items such as electrical cables.

Conventionally, retaining devices for retaining cables in conduits have been fabricated from a metal strip which is formed into a spring shape so that the shape of the retaining device provides enough resilience for the retaining device to remain in position in the conduit.

However, forming the retaining device into these types of shapes is relatively expensive for the use which the retaining devices are to be put and also means that one size of retaining device is required for each size of conduit. In addition, these conventional retaining devices cannot be easily modified to accommodate other sizes of conduit if necessary.

In accordance with the present invention a retaining device for use with a conduit having an opening to be closed by a closing side wall, comprises at least two resilient longitudinal members one end of one member being rigidly connected to one end of the other member such that the retaining device may be located within the conduit to prevent articles placed within the conduit from exiting the conduit through the opening to be closed by the closing side wall before the closing side wall is fitted and wherein the retaining device is located and remains in position in the conduit by means of the resilience of the longitudinal members.

The invention overcomes the disadvantages of conventional retaining devices by using the inherent resilience of the material from which the retaining device is formed to provide the means to locate and retain the retaining device in position in the conduit.

By using the inherent resilience of the longitudinal members it is possible to manufacture a retaining device which has a very simple shape and does not need to be formed into a complicated spring shape.

In the preferred embodiment, the retaining device comprises four resilient longitudinal members and one end of each member is rigidly connected to one end of the other three members so that the four members form a cross. Typically, the cross is a diagonal cross with one pair of opposite angles defined by the intersection of the members being substantially 600 and the other pair of opposite angles being substantially 1200.

Preferably, the members are manufactured from plastic, such as polyethylene.

In the preferred embodiment, the retaining device is manufactured by a moulding process which is preferably an injection moulding process. Typically, the moulding process results in all the members being formed into the retaining device simultaneously so that the retaining device is of a one piece construction.

An example of a retaining device in accordance with the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 shows a plan view of a retaining device; Fig. 2 shows a side view of the retaining device shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a cross-section through a conduit containing the retaining device shown in Figs 1 and 2; and, Fig. 4 is a side view of the conduit shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 1 shows a retaining device 6 which comprises four members 1, 2, 3, 4. Each of the members 1-4 are joined at one end to each of the other members so that the members form a shape of a cross with a centre 5 which joins the four members 1-4.

In this example, each member has a length of approximately 4.5 cm and the members are arranged so that the angle 9 between the member 1 and the member 2 is 1200 z 100 and this is equal to the angle between the member 4 and the member 3. The angle between the members 1 and 4 and the members 2 and 3 is 600+ 100 By designing the retaining device 6 with these angles the dimension A in Fig. 1 is approximately 1.5 times the length of dimension B. In the example shown the dimension A is 3.1 inches and the dimension B is 2.1 inches. The thickness of the retaining device 6 is shown as dimension C in Fig. 2 and this is approximately 0.25 of an inch.

In this example the retaining device 6 is manufactured from polyethylene by an injection moulding process so that the retaining device 6 has a one piece construction. However, the retaining device could be manufactured using any suitable material.

In use, the retaining device 6 is inserted into a conduit 10, as shown in Figs 3 and 4. The conduit 10 comprises three side walls 7, 8, 9 and opposite the side wall 8 is an aperture 11 which enables cables 12 to be inserted into the conduit before the retaining device 6 is inserted into the conduit 10. After all the cables 12 have been inserted into the conduit 10, the retaining device 6 is inserted so that the ends of the members 1-4 are retained by the flanges 13, 14 on the conduit.

In this example the internal height H of the conduit is 3 inches. Hence, when the retaining device 6 is inserted in the position as shown the resilience of the polyethylene from which the retaining device 6 is manufactured allows the members 1-4 to flex and the reaction force exerted by the flexed members on the inside of the side walls 7, 9 retains the retaining device 6 in position. This prevents the cables 12 from coming out of the conduit 10 through the aperture 11.

As shown in Fig. 4 a number of retaining devices 6 are inserted at intervals along the entire length of the conduit 10.

When all the retaining devices 6 have been located inside the conduit 10, a closing wall (not shown) is permanently attached to the flanges 13, 14 in order to close the conduit.

One of the advantages of this type of retaining device over conventional retaining devices is that by rotating the retaining device 6 by 900 so that both members 3, 4 are against a side wall 9 of a conduit the retaining device 6 can also be used with conduits having an internal height H of 2 inches. This means that one size of retaining device is capable of fitting two sizes of conduit.

In addition, if only retaining devices larger than the size required are available and if the retaining device 6 is manufactured from a suitable material such as polyethylene then the larger retaining device may be cut down in size in order to fit a smaller conduit.

This overcomes problems of the conventional retaining devices where a large size of retaining device could not be used in a small conduit.

Modifications and improvements may be incorporated without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A retaining device for use with a conduit having an opening to be closed by a closing side wall, comprising at least two resilient longitudinal members one end of one member being rigidly connected to one end of the other member such that the retaining device may be located within the conduit to prevent articles placed within the conduit from exiting the conduit through the opening to be closed by the closing side wall before the closing side wall is fitted and wherein the retaining device is located and remains in position in the conduit by means of the resilience of the longitudinal members.

2. A retaining device according to Claim 1, wherein one end of each member is connected to an end of each of the other members.

3. A retaining device according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein there are four resilient longitudinal members.

4. A retaining device according to Claim 3, wherein the members form a cross.

5. A retaining device according to Claim 4, wherein the cross formed by the members is a diagonal cross.

6. A retaining device according to Claim 5, wherein one pair of opposite angles defined by the intersection of the members is substantially 600 and the other pair of opposite angles is substantially 1200.

7. A retaining device according to any of the preceding Claims, wherein the device is of a plastics material.

8. A method of manufacturing a retaining device in accordance with any of the preceding Claims, the method comprising moulding the device to form the members so that the retaining device is of a one piece construction.

9. A retaining device for use with a conduit having an opening to be closed by a closing side wall, the retaining device being substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any of the accompanying drawings.