GB2296389A

GB2296389A - Retaining bar for keeping cables in a duct in place

Info

Publication number: GB2296389A
Application number: GB9525971A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Robert Fohrler; Marcel Hess
Original assignee: ALSACIENNES TECH MODERNES
Current assignee: ALSACIENNES TECH MODERNES
Priority date: 1994-12-20
Filing date: 1995-12-19
Publication date: 1996-06-26
Also published as: DE19547443A1; FR2728401A1; ITMI952677A0; FR2728401B1; GB9525971D0; IT1277110B1; ITMI952677A1

Description

1 RETAINING BAR FOR KEEPING CABLES IN A DUCT IN PLACE is 2296389 The

present invention relates to a retaining bar designed to be fixed across a cable duct with a view to keeping cables laid in this duct in place, the latter being Ushaped, the side walls of which are each provided with an edge, these edges being equipped with pairs of orifices designed to receive pairs of fixing pins provided at the free end of flexible lugs firmly secured to the ends of a retaining bar.

Known retaining bars are designed to cooperate with long ducts which have a continuous longitudinal opening and a cover designed to close said opening. These ducts are comprised of a bottom and side walls which each have a free edge provided with hooking means for the cover along said opening. The duct's longitudinal opening is delimited by two more or less parallel edges at the bottom of the duct which extend in the vicinity of the free edge of the side walls. These edges are generally provided at regular intervals with pairs of coupling orifices for said retaining bar which extends between the two edges. The retaining bars are C-shaped at both their ends defining a pair of flexible fixing lugs which are elastic enough to be able to be brought closer to each other, these lugs being provided at their free end with pins designed to be inserted into the edges' corresponding orifices when the lugs are brought together and engage at the rear of these orifices when the lugs are released.

Said ducts are standardised and used when installing conducting wires or electrical or optical cables. Their design allows them to be fixed to walls or ceilings in industrial and domestic buildings. They are generally extruded pieces of the kind illustrated in Figure 1, in rigid and insulating synthetic material.

The opening is relatively wide to allow a relatively thick bundle of wires or cables to be inserted. The result is that the bundle could easily come out of the duct when being put in place if the opening is in a vertical plane or, even more so, in a horizontal plane with the opening pointing downwards. Under these circumstances, it is common to use retaining bars which are fixed in the duct as cables are being laid and which then remain in place. The duct is then closed with a cover which is hooked onto its free edges so as to isolate the bundle of cables from the outside environment. The method 2 used to fix the cover by engaging it does not make it possible to retain the bundle of cables, particularly if the duct is fixed to the ceiling. This is why the retaining bars are left in place under the cover.

In order to put the above-mentioned retaining bars in place on the duct, manual pressure has to be exerted on either end to bring the flexible fixing lugs towards each other in order to engage the pair of pins in the corresponding pair of orifices provided in the edges of the duct, and then released so that the lugs draw apart and return to their initial position due to their elasticity, blocking the pins at the rear of the edge.

To remove the bar, the fixing lugs have to be drawn in again manually at either end of the bar to release the pins and remove them from the corresponding orifices. This type of bar presents the drawback of being able to be easily removed from the duct, particularly under the effect of the weight of the cable bundle when the duct is fixed to the ceiling. The force applied in the centre of the bar outwards from inside the duct creates a force in the opposite direction exerted by the pins at the rear of the edges, which tends to bring the fixing lugs closer to each other, thus causing these pins to unhook and the bundle of cables to be released.

The aim of this invention is to overcome this drawback by providing a retaining bar which remains fixed to the duct whatever its position and whatever the weight of the bundle of cables to be supported.

This aim is achieved by a bar such as the one defined in the introduction and characterised in that it is provided with means for locking said pins in position, these means being designed to maintain said pins in said orifices in the edges of the cable duct's side walls.

orifices.

In a preferred form of embodiment, the locking means are movable and designed to keep the gap existing between the two pins constant when they are placed in said Suitably, they comprise at least one lock designed to engage forcibly between the flexible lugs at the same end of the bar.

3 The lock can be laterally hook-shaped and the inside edge of the flexible lugs can have a complementary shape.

In the preferred form of embodiment, the lock is firmly secured to the bar by means a tongue bearing said lock at one of its ends, which is connected to its other end at an outer edge of the bar by a joint designed to open or close the locking means.

The joint may comprise one thin area connecting the tongue to an outer edge of the bar.

Suitably, the tongue is designed to engage in a corresponding recess provided on said bar, when the locking means are closed.

The features and advantages of the present invention shall be disclosed in the following description of an example of embodiment with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a retaining bar according to the invention mounted on a duct, Figure 2 is bottom view of the retaining bar with the locking means open, Figures 3 is a side view of Figure 2, and Figure 5 is a view from the end of the retaining bar with the locking means closed.

With reference to Figure 1, the retaining bar 1 is designed to be fitted across a duct to hold cables (not shown) placed in this duct in place. This duct 20, which is U shaped, commonly has two free edges 21 designed to receive a cover 22 which is locked on and held by corresponding hooks 23, 24. Two inside edges 25 are provided with pairs of orifices 26 located at regular intervals and designed to receive pairs of fixing pins provided at the ends of said bars 1.

4 Figures 2 to 4 illustrate in further detail the retaining bar 1 according to the invention which is generally made of moulded synthetic material. It comprises a body 2 the general shape of which is rectangular and it has two C-shaped ends 3 both of which define a pair of flexible lugs 4. When unused, these lugs are more or less parallel to each other. Their flexibility, which is primarily due to the gap between them, allows them to be brought closer together by exerting manual pressure on the outside of these lugs. If the pressure is released, the lugs return to their initial position. At the free end of each lug 4 a fixing pin 5 is provided pointing perpedicular to the longitudinal axis of the bar and presenting a projecting part on the outside of each lug. To insert each pair of pins 5 in a corresponding pair of orifices provided on the edges 25 of the duct 20, the respective lugs have to be brought together given the fact that the centre distance of the orifices 26 is smaller than the centre distance of the pins 5. Once released, the lugs 4 tend to part to return to their initial position placing the projecting part of the pins 5 at the rear of the edges 25, thus blocking the bar 1 on the duct 20.

The retaining bar 1 according to the invention also comprises locking means 10 associated with each of its ends and designed to prevent the pins 5 from coming out of the orifices 26. These means 10 comprise a lock 11 provided at each end with a tongue 12 connected pivotingly by its other end to one edge of the bar 1. The lock 11 is in the shape of a flat square peg and is designed to fit forcibly in the space 6 defined between the lugs 4 on the same end, when the bar is mounted on the duct.

This lock 11 makes it possible to keep the gap between the two lugs 4 constant and therefore the centre distance between the corresponding pins 5. It is kept in the locked position by a movable coupling in the shape of a dovetail 13 provided at its lower end cooperating with corresponding recesses 7 provided under the inside edges of the lugs.

The tongue 12 comprises, at the end which is firmly secured to the bar 1, a thin area designed to act as a joint for said tongue 12 and enable the locking means to be opened and closed as required. When the locking means 10 are closed and the lock 11 is engaged between the lugs 4 at the ends of the bar, the lug 4 is partially covered by the tongue 12. To avoid excessive thicknesses which may make it difficult to put the cover in place on the duct, a recess 15 is provided at this spot in the lug 4 corresponding to the tongue 12.

When using the bars 1 according to the invention, they are put in place on the duct 20 in a well known manner by inserting the pins 5 in the corresponding orifices 26 provided on the edges 25 of the duct. Once in place, each tongue 12 is folded down above one of the ends of the bars 1 and the lock 11 is engaged between the corresponding Jugs 4 by applying manual pressure perpendicular to the bar's plane. When the bar is locked, it is impossible to remove it from the duct, even when pulling on it strongly. In order to remove it, the lock simply has to be opened by using the angle 12 of the tongue as a gripping element to lift up the tongue and release the lock 11 of the lugs 4, i.e. remove the dovetail shape 13 from the recesses 7. As the locking means 10 described are movable, the bars 1 can be mounted and dismounted many times on the ducts 20 with getting damaged.

The present invention is not limited to the example of embodiment described above and can be extended to include any modification or alternative which is obvious to the expert.

6

Claims

1. Retaining bar designed to be fitted across a cable duct with a view to keeping cables laid in this duct in place, the latter being U-shaped, the side walls of which are each provided with an edge, these edges being equipped with pairs of orifices designed to receive pairs of fixing pins provided at the free end of flexible lugs firmly secured to the ends of a retaining.bar, characterised in that it is provided with locking means (10) in the position of said pins (5), these means being designed to maintain said pins (5) in said orifices (26) in the edges (25) of said walls of the cable duct (20).

2. Bar as claimed in claim 1, wherein the locking means (10) are movable.

3. Bar as claimed in claim 1, wherein the locking means (10) are designed to keep the is existing gap between the two pins (5) constant when they are engaged in said orifices (26).

4. Bar as claimed in claim 3, wherein the locking means comprise at least one lock (11) designed to fit forcibly between the flexible lugs (4) at the same end of the bar (1) -

5. Bar as claimed in claim 4, wherein the lock (11) is laterally hook- shaped (13) and the inside edge of the flexible lugs (4) has a complementary shape (7).

6. Bar as claimed in claim 4, wherein the lock (11) is firmly secured to the bar (1) at a tongue (12) bearing said lock (11) at one of its ends, which is connected to its other end at an outer edge of the bar (1) by a joint (14) designed to open or close the locking means (10).

7. Bar as claimed in claim 6, wherein the joint comprises a thin area (14) connecting the tongue (12) to said outer edge of the bar (I).

7

8. Bar as claimed in claim 6, wherein the tongue (12) is designed to engage in a corresponding recess (15) provided on said bar (1), when the locking means (10) are closed

9. A retaining bar substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.