GB2463770A

GB2463770A - Label for cable with integral cable tidy storage clamp

Info

Publication number: GB2463770A
Application number: GB0916255A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Amanda Fisher
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2008-09-24
Filing date: 2009-09-16
Publication date: 2010-03-31
Also published as: GB0817478D0; GB0821590D0; WO2010035020A1; GB0900957D0; GB0916255D0

Abstract

A labelling tag for a cable, comprises a label portion for identifying the function of the cable, means for attaching the label portion to a run of the cable to remain on the cable while the cable is in use and means for retaining coils of the conductor in a coiled condition when the cable is in storage. The tag therefore provides a dual function of labeling the wire and acting as a cable tidy to store the cable neatly coiled when not in use. The tag preferably comprises a frame for receiving a label, a groove for receiving the run of cable and a strap for capturing coiled cable.

Description

Labelling Tag For A Flexible Electrical Conductor

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to a labelling tag for a flexible electrical conductor, which may be a wire or a cable.

Background of the invention

Many electrical and electronic appliances are currently supplied with dedicated leads. These leads may for example be for connecting items such audio equipment, still and video cameras and telephones to devices such as computers, television sets and battery chargers. A typical user may have a wide variety of such leads all stored in the same place and sorting through the leads when a particular one is needed can prove to be a time consuming task, especially if all the leads have become entangled with one another.

Also there are times when several items of electrical equipment need to be plugged into the same mains socket. For example, in a typical desktop computer, the base unit, the monitor and the printer will all have separate mains leads.

These leads tend to become entangled with one another and one often has to resort to trial and error to discover the mains cable supplying power to the printer.

Summary of the invention

According to the present invention, there is provided a labelling tag for a flexible electrical conductor, comprising a label portion for identifying the function of the cable, means for attaching the label portion to a run of the cable to remain on the cable while the cable is in use and means for retaining coils of the conductor in a coiled condition when the cable is in storage.

The invention provides a labelling tag that mitigates the disadvantages discussed above by addressing both the problem of identification of the individual conductors and that of the conductors becoming entangled with one another.

The label portion can carry an inscription which identifies the function of the lead to which it is attached while the tag also acts as a cable tidy to keep the conductor neatly coiled and thereby reduce the risk of its becoming entangled with other conductors.

In one embodiment of the invention, the labelling tag comprises a frame which incorporates the label portion for supporting a label or an inscription indicating the function of the conductor and a strap permanently connected at its one end to the frame and releasably connected to the frame at its other end, the frame and the strap serving as a tie for capturing coils of the conductor therebetween.

Preferably, the frame is formed or a back plate and a bezel connected to one another by a hinge and designed to snap fit with one another in a close position of the frame.

The back plate and the bezel conveniently form part of a single injection rnoulded component, the component also defining a live hinge connecting the back plate to the bezel.

The strap may be formed of the same material as the frame and moulded integrally with the frame. Alternatively, however, the strap may formed of a different material from the frame in which case it may be made of an elastomeric or silicone material that is joined to the frame during the moulding of the frame or the strap by in situ moulding or over moulding.

Advantageously, a groove is defined between the mating surfaces of the back plate and the bezel in the closed position of the frame for gripping a length of the electrical conductor located within the groove. In this way, the labelling tag may remain in position about the conductor even then the strap is released from the frame to allow the conductor to be uncoiled.

An elastomeric or silicone material may suitably be arranged within the groove to enable the length of conductor to be firmly gripped between the bezel and the back plate of the frame without a risk of damage to the conductor.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the labelling tag comprises a card of a flexible material that is divided by slots into strips connected to one another at opposite edges of the sheet, the card being constructed in such a manner that when a force is applied to move the opposite edges towards one another, the strips are deflected into arcs facing opposite directions to define a resilient collar for receiving and retaining coils of the cable therebetween.

In this embodiment, one or more of strips may serve as the label portion. The tag may be retained on a cable by passing a single run of the cable through the resilient collar defined by the oppositely arced strips.

Alternatively, a resilient clip may be moulded onto one side of the sheet to grip a single run of the cable.

Brief description of the drawings

The invention will now be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view from above of a labelling tag of a first embodiment of the invention in its fully open position, Figure 2 is a perspective view of the labelling tag of Figure 1 showing the manner in which the tag is close, Figure 3 is a perspective view from above of the labelling tag in the fully closed position, Figure 4 is a perspective view from below of the labelling tag in the fully closed position, Figure 5 is a perspective view from above of a labelling tag of a second embodiment of the invention when used to store a cable, Figure 6 is a perspective view from below of the labelling tag of Figure 5 when used to store a cable, Figure 7 is a perspective view from above of the labelling tag of Figures 5 and 6 when attached to a cable that is in use, Figure 8 is a view showing the manner in which the labelling tag of Figures 5 to 7 is fitted over a cable, and Figure 9 is a perspective view, similar to that of Figure 7, showing a third embodiment of the invention.

Detailed description of the preferred embodiment(s) The labelling tag 10 in Figures 1 to 4 comprises a frame 12 of a plastics material and a strap 14 of an elastomeric or silicone material. The frame 12 is composed of a back plate 12a and a bezel 12b which are connected to one another by a hinge 12c. The three part 12a, 12b and 12c of the frame 12 may be formed as a single injection moulded component and the strap is joined 14 to the frame 12 during the moulding of the strap or the frame.

The bezel 12b, which defines a window 12f, is formed with a tongue 12d that snaps into a recess 12e in the base plate 12a to retain the bezel 12b in a closed position. In the closed position, a paper or card label 16 which is held between the bezel 21b and the back plate 12a can be viewed through the window ?2f. The label 16 carries a written or printed indication of the function of the conductor to which the tag is attached, for example!vCharging lead for Video Camera!!. Instead of using a printed label 16, an inscription may be hand written on the back plate 12a.

A groove 18 is formed by two channels 18a and 18b in the back plate 12a and the bezel 12b, respectively. The channels 18a and 18b is lined with an elastomeric or silicone material 20. The purpose of the groove 18 is to allow the tag 10 to be attached to the conductor to be labelled. A length of the conductor is laid in the lined grooved and the frame 12 is closed to trap the conductor.

The lining of the groove 18 helps to grip the conductor without causing it any damage.

The strap 14 is permanently attached to one edge of the frame 12 and it is releasably attachable to the hinge side of the frame. The purpose of the strap 14 is to act as a cable tie or tidy. Any spare length of the conductor to which the labelling tag is fitted can be coiled an retained in the gap between the strap 14 and the frame 12, best seen in Figure 4. The strap 14 is preferably stretchable so that it may accommodate conductors of different size and also different numbers of coils of any one conductor.

It will be clear to the person skilled in the art that various modifications may be made to the illustrated labelling tag without departing from the scope of the invention as set out in the appended claims. For example, the strap may be formed in one piece with the frame and connected to it by one or more live hinges. Furthermore, instead of lining the groove 18 with an elastomeric or silicone material, a separate tape may be provided for wrapping around the conductor or fine radial webs may for formed in the channels 18a and 18b to grip the conductor without damaging it.

The embodiment of the invention shown in Figures 5 to 8 has the advantage of achieving the same objectives while being less expensive to manufacture. The labelling tag 50 of this embodiment is constructed as a card of plastics material that is divided by slots 52 into three strips 54, 56 and 58, connected to one another at their ends by two lateral edges 60 and 62. The strip 56 is intended to act as a label portion and has an area for accepting a label or an inscription.

While the card could be flat when not in use, it is preferred for the card to be moulded such that the strips 54 and 58 to lie in a slightly offset plane from that of the strip 56. It is also preferred for the three strips to be slightly curved out of the plane containing the two edges 60 and 62, with alternating strips curved in opposite directions. In this way, as shown in Figure 8, when the edges 60 and 62 are pressed towards one another in the direction of the arrows 64, the strips arc to form a resilient collar that can be slipped over the coiled cable to retain the coils in a neat condition for storage. The resilience of the plastics material suffices to ensure that the cable is sufficiently gripped.

The offsetting of the planes of the strips serves also to ensure that the edges of the strips 54, 56 and 58 do not cut into the cable insulation. Widening of the slots 52 and rounding the edges of the strips also protects the cable insulation against damage.

The resilient collar can be used to grip a single run of the cable, when the cable is in use, but it may have a tendency to slide or skew. For this reason, it is preferred to provide two clips 66 on one side of the card to grip the cable when it is in use, as best shown in Figure 6.

Moulding of clips, such as the clips 66, requires a more complicated mould design and the clips 66 risk be broken. The third embodiment of the invention, shown in Figure 9, dispenses with the need for the clips 66 resulting in a less costly and more robust construction.

As with the second embodiment, the labelling tag 150 in Figure 9 is constructed as flexible a card that has two transverse slots 152 defining three strips 154, 156 and 158.

However, instead of being deflectable into arcs, each of the strips 154, 156 and 158 is generally S-shaped having a shorter section 154a, 156a, and 158a curved in one direction and a longer section 154b, 156b and 158b curved in the opposite direction. Between them, the shorter sections 154a, 156a and 158a define a short resilient collar for gripping a single run of the cable, while the longer sections 154b, 156b and 158b define a larger resilient collar for gripping multiple coils of the cable when it is to be stored.

In use, the labelling tag of Figure 9 is attached to the cable by deflecting the longer section 156b downwards and the longer sections 154b and 158 upwards, as viewed, then threading the end of the cable through the opening thus created and sliding the single run of the cable to one side 50 that it is gripped between the shorter sections 154a, 156a and 158a when the strips are released. When the cable is to be stored, it is coiled and slid into the larger collar defined between the sections 154b, 156b and 158b when the sides of the card area squeezed towards one another in the same manner as shown in Figure 8.

The plastics material used to produce the labelling tags of the second and third embodiments of the invention needs to offer the necessary resilience and to have a surface texture to grip the cable and to receive an inscription. A polyester elastomeric material, such as Dupont Hytrel G5544, has been found to be most suitable.

It will be appreciated by the person skilled in the art that the two described embodiments are given only by way of example and that various modifications can be made and alternative designs devised, within the scope of the invention as set out in the appended claims.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A labelling tag for a flexible electrical conductor, comprising a label portion for identifying the function of the cable, means for attaching the label portion to a run of the cable to remain on the cable while the cable is in use and means for retaining coils of the conductor in a coiled condition when the cable is in storage.
2. A labelling tag as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tag comprises a frame which incorporates the label portion for supportinq a label or an inscription indicatinq the function of the conductor and a strap permanently connected at its one end to the frame and releasably connected to the frame at its other end, the frame and the strap serving as a tie for capturing coils of the conductor therebetween.
3. A labelling tag as claimed in claim 2, wherein the frame is formed or a back plate and a bezel connected to one another by a hinge and designed to snap fit with one another in a close position of the frame.
4. A labelling tag as claimed in claim 3, wherein the back plate and the bezel form part of a single injection moulded component, the component also defining a live hinge connecting the back plate to the bezel.
5. A labelling tag as claimed in claim 3 or 4, wherein the strap is formed of the same material as the frame and is moulded integrally with the frame.
6. A labelling tag as claimed in claim 3 or 4, wherein the strap is formed of a different material from the frame.
7. A labelling tag as claimed in claims 4 and 6, wherein the strap is formed of an elastomeric or silicone -10 -material that is joined to the frame during the moulding of the frame or the strap by in situ moulding or over moulding.
8. A labelling tag as claimed in any of claims 3 to 7, wherein a groove is defined between the mating surfaces of the back plate and the bezel in the closed position of the frame for gripping a length of the electrical conductor located within the groove.
9. A labelling tag as claimed in claim 8, wherein an elastomeric or silicone material, is arranged within the groove to enable a length of the conductor to be firmly gripped between the bezel and the back plate of the frame without a risk of damage to the conductor.
10. A labelling tag as claimed in claim 1, wherein tag comprises a card of a flexible material that is divided by slots into strips connected to one another at opposite edges of the sheet, the card being constructed in such a manner that when a force is applied to move the opposite edges towards one another, the strips are deflected into arcs facing opposite directions to define a resilient collar for receiving and retaining coils of the cable therebetween.
11. A labelling tag as claimed in claim 10, wherein alternate strips are moulded in planes that are offset from one another.
12. A labelling tag as claimed in claim 11, wherein the strips are moulded arced with alternate strips facing opposite directions.
13. A labelling tag as claimed in claim 12, wherein a resilient clip is moulded onto one side of the sheet to grip a single run of the cable.

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14. A labelling tag as claimed in claim 11, in which the strips are generally S-shaped and have a shorter section for gripping a single run of the cable and a larger section for retaining coils of the cable.
15. A labelling tag as claimed in any one of claims 10 to 14, wherein the card is moulded of a polyester elastomer plastics material.