IE86859B1

IE86859B1 - Cable trunking device

Info

Publication number: IE86859B1
Application number: IE20130125A
Authority: IE
Inventors: Rahman Habib; Leaver Nigel; Ditchfield Geoffrey; Dalton Arthur; Wilmore Stephen
Original assignee: Legrand Electric Ltd
Priority date: 2010-08-16
Filing date: 2010-09-07
Publication date: 2018-01-10
Also published as: IE86217B1; IE20110360A1; GB2484566B; GB201016044D0; GB2484566A; IE20100551A1; EG26484A; IE20130125A1; IE86777B1; GB2482923A; GB201113826D0

Abstract

A cable trunking device, comprising first and second cable trunking components, wherein the first trunking component has at least an end portion extending in a first direction to a first end thereof and for connecting to an end portion of the second trunking component; wherein the end portion of the first trunking component has two side walls joined by a base wall; wherein said end portion of the first trunking component defines in one or more wails thereof one or more guide channels each extending from said first end and each configured to receive a respective fastening component extending from a corresponding wall of the second trunking component, wherein each guide channel begins in a proximal part extending substantially parallel to the base wall and ends in a distal part extending substantially perpendicular to the proximal part; and wherein the action of sliding the fastening components along the respective guide channels guides the second trunking component to an end position at which relative movement of the two trunking components in said first direction is blocked, and wherein the fastening component is usable to increase the force of contact between the two trunking components in the end position. <Figure 1A>

Description

CABLE TRUNKING DEVICE The present invention relates to devices for routing one or more power and/or communication cables from one location to another.

Cable trunking devices generally come in easily transportable and manageable sections that can be assembled together on site.

Assembling cable trunking typically involves connecting U-shaped base sections each comprising a pair of side walls and a base wall, and then fitting lids opposite to the base walls of the U-shaped base sections so as to fully enclose the cables after they are installed within the connected U-shaped base sections.

According to one conventional technique, the lids are fitted onto the assembled base sections with locking devices in a withdrawn position, and in a subsequent operation the locking devices are thereafter turned relative to the lids using a screwdriver so as to rotate them into a locking position in which a portion of the locking device is forced against a counter portion of the base section to which the lid is fitted.

There has been identified the challenge of better facilitating the quick-fitting of lids to base sections whilst continuing to achieve good retention of the lids on the base sections. ft is an aim of the present invention to meet this challenge.

The present invention provides a cable trunking device, comprising: two structural components, and at least one spring clip device secured on one of the structural components for rotation relative thereto between a clipping position and a release position, wherein in the clipping position the at least one spring clip device enables i clipping of said one structural component to the other structural component, and said one structural component is thereafter releasable from the other structural component by rotating the at least one spring clip device to the release position; wherein the two structural components define the lid and base component of said cable trunking device.

The present invention also provides a method of using the trunking device defined above, the method comprising: pressing the said one structural component onto the said other structural component with the spring clip device in the clipping position so as to clip the first structural component to the other structural component, wherein the spring clip device serves to hold the two structural components forcibly together by virtue of the interaction of the spring clip device with a counter portion of the other structural component.

According to one embodiment, the method further comprises thereafter rotating the spring clip device to the release position so as to bring the spring clip device out of interaction with the counter portion, and removing the said one structural component from the other structural component.

According to one embodiment, the spring clip device includes: a contact face against which an edge of said other structural component acts when pressing the said one structural component onto the said other structural component with the spring clip device in the clipping position; a holding face which acts against said counter portion of said other structural component at the end of the pressing; and wherein the interaction between said contact face and said edge of said other structural component forcibly moves the holding face into a retracted position without any substantial change in the angle of the contact and holding faces relative to said other structural component; and wherein at the end of the pressing, the contact face ceases to interact with said edge of said other structural component, and the holding face moves back from the retracted position under a restoring action of the spring clip device to a position in which the holding face interacts with said counter portion.

According to one embodiment, the spring clip device includes a coil spring arranged substantially perpendicular to the direction of pressing for providing said restoring action.

According to one embodiment, the spring clip device includes: a support body; a block defining said contact and holding faces, and supported by said support body for sliding relative to said support body between a first position in which the holding face is in said retracted position and a second position in which the holding face interacts with said counter portion; and a coil spring extending in the direction of sliding and biased to forcibly move the block from said first position to said second position, According to one embodiment, the spring clip device includes a spring clip component defining: (i) a contact face against which an edge of said other structural component acts when pressing the said one structural component onto the said other structural component with the spring clip device in the clipping position; and (ii) a holding face which acts against said counter portion of said other structural component at the end of the pressing; wherein the interaction between said contact face and said edge of said other structural component forces the spring clip component to bend about a bending point whereby the holding face is moved into a retracted position; and wherein at the end of the pressing, the contact face ceases to interact with said edge of said other structural component, and said spring clip component bends back under the action of the restoring force to a position in which the holding face interacts with said counter portion; and wherein the contact face is located between the bending point and the holding face.

According to one embodiment, the spring clip device further includes a support body supporting said spring clip component;; and wherein said spring clip component also defines one or more resilient tongue portions which serve to retain the spring clip component on said one structural component.

According to one embodiment, the support body comprises a head for abutting against an outer face of said one structural component, and wherein said resilient tongue portions serve to forcibly retain said head of the support body in contact with said outer face of said one structural component.

According to one embodiment, at least one of the one or more resilient tongue portions include scratching edges that are configured to scratch an inner surface of said one structural component.

According to one embodiment, the spring clip device comprises a temporary positioning element which resists against rotation of the spring clip device out of said clipping position, but which is automatically removed by the deliberate action of rotating the spring clip device to the release position.

Hereunder follows a detailed description of embodiments of the invention, by way of example only, with reference to the following drawings; Figure 1 illustrates a technique for fitting lids to cable trunking sections according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Figures 2(a) to 2(d) illustrate in more detail the clip-locking devices used in the technique of Figure 1.

Figure 3 illustrates the separate components from which the clip-locking devices of Figure 1 are assembled; Figure 4 illustrates how the clip-locking devices serve to secure the lids to the trunking sections in the technique of Figure 1; Figures 5(a) to 5(c) illustrates an alternative design of clip-locking device for the technique of Figure 1.

Figures 6(a) to (e) illustrate a further alternative design of clip-locking device for the technique of Figure 1; Figure 7 illustrates the operation of the clip-locking device of Figure 6; and Figures 8(a) to (e) illustrate a further alternative design of clip-locking device for securing a lid to a different design of trunking section in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

With reference to Figure 1, the provision of cable trunking over long distances can be achieved by assembling together a series of modular sections 2 using couplers 4. In the technique illustrated in Figure 1, each coupler 4 has a main body 12 of greater width than the modular sections 2, which main body 12 supports bolts positioned to slide into L-shaped slots defined in the ends of the trunking sections 2. After sliding the bolts at one end of the coupler into the slots defined in the end of the trunking section 2, the bolts are tightly screwed down into pre-fitted nutserts to firmly secure the coupler 4 to the trunking section 2, The same set of operations is repeated for the same coupler 4 and another trunking section 2 to thereby join two trunking sections via the coupler 4. The above-mentioned nutserts are provided as pairs on a common steel plate 14, the steel plate 14 providing a physical link between a nutsert for a bolt at one end of the coupler 4 and a nutsert for a bolt at the opposite end of the coupler. The steel plate 14 is slightly bent about its centre line such that after the coupler 4 is secured to one trunking section 2, the free end of the plate 14 is angled inwards (i.e. away from the wall of the main body 12 of the coupler 4) so as to facilitate sliding each slots defined in the end of the next trunking section 2 onto a portion of the respective bolt between the side wall of the main body 12 of the coupler 4 and the plate 14. The steel plates 14 are also each provided with a pair of projections (darts) on the side thereof facing the side of the coupler to which the steel plate is attached. The sharp projections cut into any paint and/or surface contaminants that may happen to be on the side wail of a respective trunking section, and create a small-area high pressure clamp point between the steel plate 14 and the metal of the trunking sections 2. These sharp projections thereby improve the earth connection between the coupler and the respective trunking section 2. In the assembled state, the coupler 4 is readily visible on the outside of the two trunking sections that it joins, which makes it easy to verify that the two trunking sections are linked by a coupler 4. This technique of coupling two trunking sections is also of use in combination with any technique of fitting lids to base sections, including but not limited to the lid-fitting techniques described below.

After cables are laid in the assembled trunking sections, lids 6 are fitted to the respective trunking sections by means of the clip-locking devices 8 illustrated in detail in Figures 2 to 4.

Each clip-locking device 8 is assembled from 4 components; (i) a die-cast main body component 102; (ii) a die-cast latch component 106, which is designed to slide within a recess 124 defined in the main body component 102 in a direction substantially perpendicular to the turn-axis of the main body component 102; (iii) a steel coil spring 108 designed to apply a restoring force pushing the latch component 106 out of the recess 124 when the latch component is forcibly pushed into the recess 124 of the main body component 102 against the action of the coil spring 108; and (iv) a spring steel retaining clip 110, which is slidable onto an outer surface of the main body component 102 along the turn-axis of the main body component 102 with the latch component 106 forcibly pushed into the main body recess 124, and which, when in place, limits the sliding movement of the latch component 106 within the main body recess 124.

One end of the coil spring 108 fits on a post 122 at the back of the main body recess 124, and the other end is received in a recess 126 defined in the latch component 106.

The retaining clip 110 is of a general C-shape, with the ends defining the mouth of the C being configured to function as retainers 112 for limiting the sliding movement of the latch component 106 in the main body recess 124.

Each of the two ends of the retaining clip 110 defining the mouth of the C are bent inwards to define a respective groove in which a respective ridge 130 of the main body component 102 slides within when the retaining clip is slid into place on the main body component 102. This interaction of grooves and ridges 130 prevents the main body component 102 from being forcibly removed from the retaining clip in a direction substantially perpendicular to the turning axis of the main body component 102.

The retaining clip 110 also defines inwardly extending tongues 120 which point in reverse to the direction in which the retaining clip 110 slides onto the main body component 102. These reverse tongues 120 serve to inhibit inadvertent removal of the retaining clip 110 from the main body component 102 by locating into respective complementary recesses defined in the outer surface of the main body component 102. If required, the retaining clip 110 can be removed from the main body component 102 by first deliberately releasing the locking action of the reverse tongues 120.

In use, the clip-locking devices 8 are mounted in holes 16 defined in the trunking lids with the latch component 106 pointing to a respective side edge of the lid 6.

Mounting of the clips on the lids 6 in this orientation is facilitated by a positioning tab 114 defined by the main body component 102, which tab 114 is designed to be received in a complementary slot at the outer circumference of the lid hole 16 in which the clip is mounted. The interaction of this positioning tab 114 and the complementary slot prevents a user from mounting the clip-locking device 8 on the lid 6 in any orientation other than the correct orientation, and/or also prevents the clip from accidentally moving out of the correct orientation during transport etc., as 8 discussed above. As discussed later, this positioning tab 114 is sufficiently weak that it is sheared off when the clip-locking device 8 is turned in the lid hole 16 in order to release the lid 6 from its respective trunking section 2.

The removal of the clip-locking device 8 out of the lid hole 16 in an axial direction opposite to that in which it was mounted in the hole is inhibited by reverse tongues 118 and 116 defined by the retaining clip 110, These reverse tongues 116,118 point in a direction opposite to that in which the clip-locking device 8 is mounted in the lid hole 16. The action of pushing the clip-locking device 8 into the lid hole 6 forces these resilient reverse tongues 116,118 to bend inwards. This inward bending continues until the top edges of these reverse tongues 116, 118 arrive at a position lower than the under surface of the lid 6, at which time the reverse tongues 116, 118 spring back outwards to a position in which their top edges lie outside of the edge of the lid hole 16, thereby inhibiting withdrawal of the clip-locking device 8 out of the lid hole 16 without some deliberate external action to bend these tongues radially inwards out of the locking position. At least the tip of the reverse tongue 116 is made to be jagged or serrated so as to better scratch the under surface of the lid 6 and create a better earthing connection between the clip-locking device 8 and the lid 6. Retaining clips 110 of differing axial dimensions can be provided to cope with different lid thicknesses.

With clip-locking devices s 8 thus mounted in lid holes 16 at opposite side edges of the lid 6, the lid 6 is pushed down onto the respective trunking section 2. The cliplocking devices 8 and their mounting position on the lid 6 are configured such that the action of pushing the lid 6 down onto the respective trunking section 2 brings the edges of the lips 18 of the mouth of the trunking section 2 into contact with the 9 angled down face 132 of the latch component 106. Further pushing the lid 6 down onto the trunking section causes the lip 18 to continue pushing the latch component 106 further into the main body recess 124, until the outer tip 136 of the latch component 106 contacts the edge of the lip 18. Further pushing the lid 6 down onto the trunking section 2 releases the latch component 106, and the restoring force of the coil spring 108 pushes the latch component outwards, whereby the angled up face 134 of the latch component 106 is pushed against the edge of the lip 18. When the clip-locking device 8 has been fully pushed down into the lid hole 16 to a position in which the under surface of the head of the clip-locking device 8 abuts against the upper surface of the lid 6 and the reverse tongues 116 and 118 are again released, the up face 134 of the latch component continues to be pushed against the edge of the lip 18. The up face 134 of the latch component 106 is angled to cope with variations in the thickness of the lip 18, but the up face 134 is angled to much lesser extent than the down face 132, in order to better inhibit the inadvertent removal of the lid 6 from the trunking section. In one example, the angle X that the down face 132 makes with respect to the horizontal (which equals the angle that the down face 132 makes with respect to the upper surface of the lip 18, when the lid is pressed down onto the trunking section 2) is more than about 45 degrees; and the angle Y that the up face 134 makes with respect to the horizontal (which equals the angle that the up face 134 makes with respect to the under surface of the lip 18 after the lid is clipped into position on the trunking section 2) is less than about 45 degrees.

Any attempt to remove the lid 6 from the trunking section 2 with the clip-locking devices 8 in this orientation is forcibly resisted by the action of the up face 132 of the latch component 106 against the under surface of the lip 18. io There are occasions when it is desired to remove the lid 6, for example, in order to inspect or repair cables housed within the trunking sections 2. Removal of the lid 6 from the trunking section 2 is possible by turning the clip-locking devices 8 about their turning axes 128 to a position in which the latch component 106 no longer lies under the respective lip 18. Such turning of the clip-locking devices 8 is facilitated by configuring the head of the clip-locking devices 8 to receive the blade of a screwdriver. In the embodiment illustrated, the head defines both a full-width slot and a cross-slot for receiving the blades of different types of screwdriver.

Figure 5 illustrates an alternative design for the clip-locking devices 8 of Figure 1.

The clip-locking device of Figure 5 is assembled from two components: (i) a die-cast main body component 502; and (ii) a spring steel clip component 504 securely mounted within a recess defined in the main body component 502. The spring steel clip component 504 fulfils a plurality of the functions of the latch component 106, coil spring 108 and retaining clip 110 of the clip illustrated in Figures 2 to 4.

In more detail, the spring steel clip component has a base section 516 and front and rear leaves 518, 522 extending away from respective opposite ends of the base section and at an angle to the plane of the base section 516. The spring steel clip component 504 is forcibly slidable from the rear (i.e. front leaf 518 first) into a recess defined in the main body component 502 until the leading edges of the rear wings 512 abut against rearward facing inner faces of the main body component 502. A frictional fit between the spring steel clip component 504 and the main body component 502, particularly between the rear wings 512 and the corresponding inner-facing walls of the main body component 502, resists the removal of the clip component 504 from the main body component in a direction opposite to that in 11 which it was inserted. The front wings 510 extend backwards and outwards from the lateral edges of the front leaf 518, and the rear wings 512 extend upwards and outwards from the base section 516. The front wings 510 limit the extent to which the front leaf 518 can extend out of the main body component 502.

When the spring clip 504 is fitted into the main body component 502, the rear leaf 522 is in a position whereby it is forcibly bent inwards about bending line 514b by the action of pressing the clip-locking device 8 into the lid hole 16. This bending of the rear leaf 522 continues until the clip-locking device 8 is completely pushed into the hole and the under surface of the head 526 abuts against the upper surface of the lid 6, whereupon the rear leaf 522 is no longer in contact with the edge of the lid hole 16 and is free to return under the restoring force of the spring clip component 504 to a position where the tip 508 of the rear leaf 522 extends beyond the edge of the lid hole 16 and inhibits withdrawal of the clip 8 from the hole 16. The tip 508 of the rear leaf 522 is made to be jagged or serrated so as to better scratch the under surface of the lid 6 and create a better earthing connection between the clip-locking device 8 and the lid 6.

With the clip-locking devices 8 thus securely mounted on the lid 6, the lid 6 is pressed down onto a respective trunking section 2. The front leaf 518 is positioned such that the edge of the lip 18 of the trunking section 2 forcibly bends the front leaf 518 inwards about the bending line 514a. This bending of the front leaf 518 continues as the lid 6 is pushed down onto the trunking section, until the front leaf 518 clears the edge of the lip 18 and is free to return under the restoring force of the spring clip component 504 to a position where the tip 524 of the front leaf 518 extends beyond the edge of the lip 18 and the tip 524 and/or the upper edge 528 of the wings 510 inhibits withdrawal of the lid 6 from the trunking section 2.

The upper edge 528 of the wings 510 is angled to cope with small variations in the thickness of the lip 18, but the upper edge 528 is angled to much lesser extent than the front leaf 518, in order to better inhibit the inadvertent removal of the lid 6 from the trunking section 2. In one example, the angle X that the front leaf 518 makes with respect to the horizontal (which equals the angle that the front leaf 518 makes with respect to the upper surface of the lip 18, when the lid is pressed down onto the trunking section 2) is more than about 45 degrees; and the angle Y that the upper edge 528 makes with respect to the horizontal (which equals the angle that the upper edge makes with respect to the under surface of the lip 18 after the lid 6 is clipped into position on the trunking section 2) is less than about 45 degrees.

Although not shown in Figure 5, the clip-locking device 8 also includes a positioning tab of the kind designated by 114 in the clip-locking device of Figures 2 to 4, to prevent a user from mounting the clip-locking device 8 on the lid 6 in any orientation other than the correct orientation, and/or also preventing the clip-locking device from accidentally moving out of the correct orientation during transport etc.. When it is desired to remove the lid 6 from the trunking section 2, for example, in order to inspect or repair cables housed within the trunking section 2, the clip-locking devices 8 are turned about their turning axes to a position in which the tip 524 of the front leaf 518 no longer extends beyond the edge of the respective lip 18. Such turning of the clip-locking devices 8 is facilitated by configuring the head of the clip-locking devices 8 to receive the blade of a screwdriver. In the embodiment illustrated, the head defines both a full-width slot and a cross-slot for receiving the blades of different types of screwdriver.

Figures 6 and 7 illustrate a further alternative design for the clip-locking devices 8 of Figure 1. As will be apparent from Figures 5 to 7, the clip-locking device of Figures 6 and 7 is similar in many respects to that of Figure 5, but has additional features, as described below.

The base section 618 of the spring steel clip component 604 includes further leafs 630 extending upwards and outwards from the base section 616, which fulfil the same function as rear leaf 622, and thereby provide a plurality of restraints against withdrawal of the clip-locking device 8 from the lid hole 16 at a plurality of locations around the circumference of the clip-locking device 8 in the same kind of way as the clip illustrated in Figures 2 to 4.

Also, the clip-locking device of Figures 6 and 7 is designed such that the spring steel clip component is more securely retained within the main body component 602. In more detail, the base section of the 616 defines a bottom tongue projecting below the general surface of the base section 616 in a direction towards the front wing 618. The steel spring clip component 604 is forcibly slid into the main body component 602 from the front of the main body component (i.e. rear leaf 622 first), and this action pushes the bottom tongue upwards. When the spring steel clip component is fully inserted into the main body component 602 and the leading edges of the side leaves 640 abut against forward-facing faces of the main body component 602, the bottom tongue becomes located above a recess 640 defined in the bottom of the main body component 602, and spring-releases into that recess 640. The action of the tip of the bottom tongue against the vertical wall of the recess 640 securely resists the removal of the spring steel component 604 from the main body component in a direction opposite to that in which it was inserted.

In the clip-locking device of Figure 5, the forward movement of the front leaf 518 is limited by the action of the outwardly-extending front wings 510 against corresponding opposing faces of the main body component 502. In the clip-locking device illustrated in Figures 6 and 7, the forward movement of the front leaf 618 is not limited by the main body component 602, but is limited by the action of (i) vertical struts 610 extending upwards from the upper edge 628 of the front leaf 618 against (ii) the side edge of the lip 18 of the trunking section 2.

Figure 8 illustrates another design of clip-locking device 700 for use with trunking sections that define lips of a different configuration. As with the clip-locking devices illustrated in Figures 2 to 7, the clip-locking device 700 illustrated in Figure 8 is preclipped into a lid hole defined in a lid section for rotation relative to the lid into and out of a clipping position in which a clipping element is oriented for interaction with the lips provided at the upper portions of the side walls trunking sections.

The clip-locking device 700 comprises two parts: a base part defining a head 701 and a shaft 702; and a spring section 703 defining said clipping element 709. The two parts are designed such that they can be clipped together into the through hole in the lid 712. The spring section 703 comprises parts 704 that are automatically forced into a stressed position upon initial insertion of the assembled clip 700 into the through hole defined by the lid 712 and which, upon further insertion of the cliplocking device 700 into the through hole, then automatically spring-release into a position in which they forcibly sandwich the lid 712 in combination with the under surface of the head 701, In the clipping position, the residual clipping element 709 allows the lid to be clipped onto the above-described cable trunking body 716 by a simple one-step press action. The clipping element 709 is initially automatically forced into a stressed position by its interaction with the lip at the upper portion of the side walls of the trunking section, and then automatically spring-releases into a position at which the reverse face of the clipping element 709 forcibly pushes up against a holding face of the lip. The head 701 is adapted so that the entire spring clip 700 is rotatable by application of a turning force via a variety of different screwdrivers into a position where the clipping element 709 no longer resists the removal of the lid 712 from the trunking section.

All of the clip-locking devices described above are characterised by the following features: (a) the clip-locking devices are automatically retained in their respective lid holes by the action of pressing the clip-locking devices into the lid holes; (b) the lids are automatically retained on the respective trunking sections by the single action of pressing the lids down onto their respective trunking sections without requiring any rotation of the clip-locking devices; and (c) the lids are readily releaseable from their respective trunking sections by simply turning the clip-locking devices in their respective lid holes.

The applicant draws attention to the fact that the present invention may include any feature or combination of features disclosed herein either implicitly or explicitly or any generalisation thereof, without limitation to the scope of any definitions set out above. In view of the foregoing description it will be evident to a person skilled in the art that various modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments within the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A cable trunking device, comprising: first and second cable trunking components, wherein the first trunking component has at least an end portion extending in a first direction to a first end thereof and for connecting to an end portion of the second trunking component; wherein the end portion of the first trunking component has two side walls joined by a base wall; wherein said end portion of the first trunking component defines in one or more walls thereof one or more guide channels each extending from said first end and each configured to receive a respective fastening component extending from a corresponding wall of the second trunking component, wherein each guide channel begins in a proximal part extending substantially parallel to the base wall and ends in a distal part extending substantially perpendicular to the proximal part; and wherein the action of sliding the fastening components along the respective guide channels guides the second trunking component to an end position at which relative movement of the two trunking components in said first direction is blocked, and wherein the fastening component is usable to increase the force of contact between the two trunking components in the end position.

2. A device according to claim 1, wherein said one or more fastening components are detachable from the second trunking component.

3. A device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said one or more fastening components are one or more male screw-thread components, and wherein the device further comprises one or more complementary female screw-thread components that are used together with the fastening components to increase the force of contact between the two trunking components in the end position.

4. A device according to any preceding claim, wherein said distal part extends substantially perpendicular to the first direction and towards the base wall; and wherein the height of the side walls of the end portion of the second trunking component are less than the height of the side walls of the end portion of the first trunking component so as to enable sliding of the fastening components along the proximal and distal parts of the respective guide channels to guide the second trunking component to said end position.

5. A method of using a cable trunking device according to claim 3, comprising: screwing said one or more female screw-thread components onto a proximal end of a respective one of said fastening components; thereafter sliding the fastening components along the respective guide channels to guide the second trunking component to said end position; and thereafter further screwing said one or more female screw-thread components further along the fastening component to increase the force of contact between the two trunking components in the end position.

6. A cable trunking device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings.

7. A method substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings.