JP2003047138A - Cable tie having improved locking barb - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a bundling tie comprising a head, a strap, and an improved barb to secure the strap in the tie head. SOLUTION: The bundling tie, which is used to bind a plurality of cables, comprises a lock head and a long and narrow strap. A pair of locking barbs is movably supported within the head; each barb has an engaging part that engages with and secures the strap end when the strap end is inserted in the head. Each barb comprises a knife-like element for insertion and engagement with the strap and a blunt barrier adjacent to the knife-like element that limits the depth of insertion of the knife-like element into the strap.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to tie ties used to carry a plurality of electrical wires or similar articles, and more particularly to heads, straps, and improved piercings for securing straps in tie heads. A tie including (barb).

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The use of tie ties for bundling multiple elongated objects such as wires or cables has long been known. An early example of such a tie tie is shown in US Pat. No. 3,102,311. The tie ties typically include a strap that wraps around a bundle of articles and is secured in the head portion.

The locking mechanism used in a binding tie basically takes two forms. One approach is to use pivotable, one-piece locking means attached to the tie head. Such locking means include toothed plastic pawls on the distal portion of the strap that engage corresponding teeth. The advantage of this type of locking means is readily apparent in that the strap can be integrally molded without the need for secondary operations to provide the locking means. An example of such a tie tie is shown and described in US Pat. No. 3,486,201. One obvious drawback of this structure of ties is that complex molding techniques are required to form the ties. Both the pawl and the distal portion must include complementary ratchet teeth thereon for locking. Deformation of the mating plastic teeth can cause the distal end to slip out of the tie head. The teeth and end portions also create stress points that can weaken the tie and cause undesired failure.

A second technique for forming the locking means in the head of a tie tie involves the use of a metal barb embedded in the base of the tie head at an angle to the inserted distal portion. This allows it to engage with the end of the tie and hold the strap securely in the head.
lf-clinching) mechanism is provided. An example of a tie tie with metal barbs is US Pat. No. 3,18.
Shown and described in No. 6,047. The '047 tie metal barbs actually mate with the inserted end pieces. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide complementary teeth on the distal portion as in the '201 patent arrangement. Engagement of the metal barbs on the end portion of the strap provides excellent resistance to withdrawal, resulting in a strong body end portion having a high strength. However, the locking engagement between the head and the distal portion is achieved by the metal barbs actually biting into the strap, which can lead to too deep biting into the strap, thereby tending to weaken the strap at the point of engagement. . It is therefore desirable to provide a piercing for the head of a tie tie that limits the depth of insertion of the piercing into the strap, thereby preventing the strap from breaking there and increasing the tensile and shear strength of the tie.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a self-locking tie tie of the type which includes a locking head and an elongated strap, the head including locking means for securing the strap therein.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a metal barb in the tie tie that engages a strap inserted in the head and secures the strap in the head.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a metal barb for the head of a tie tie which limits the depth of the barb insertion into the tie strap and reduces the tendency of the strap to break there.

To efficiently achieve the above and other objectives, the present invention provides a tie tie for bundling elongated elements. The tie includes an elongated strap and a head having a passage therein for receiving one end of the strap. The lock barb is movably supported in the head. The barb includes an engagement portion extending into the head passage to secure engagement with a strap inserted therein. The engagement portion is a knife-shaped element for engaging the insertion into the strap and a non-sharpening wall adjacent to the knife-shaped element for limiting the depth of insertion of the knife-shaped element into the strap. including.

As shown herein as a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a tie tie that includes an elongated tie strap having an end portion at one end thereof. A head having an opening therein receives the end portion of the strap in an insertable manner. The metal barb is movably supported by the head and includes a strap engaging portion extending into the opening for mating engagement with the strap when the distal portion is inserted into the opening. The strap engaging portion includes a set of spaced piercing protrusions that pierce the strap. The blunt wall placed between a pair of piercing protrusions limits the amount of piercing insertion of the protrusion into the strap.

[0010]

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments Referring to FIG.
The binding tie 10 of the present invention is wound around the plurality of electric wires 12 formed in the bundle 13. Typically, the tie ties 10 are formed of high strength molded plastic such as nylon and are suitable for both indoor and outdoor use. The tie tie 10 includes an elongated strap 14 having opposite ends 16 and 18 designed to be wrapped around a bundle 13 of cables.

The strap 14 is typically rectangular in cross-section, although other shapes can be used. The ends 16 and 18 are fixed within the head 20 of the tie 10. Head 20, as further shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, includes a set of side-by-side passages 22 and 24 extending into head 20 for receiving ends 16 and 18 of strap 14, respectively. To secure the ends 16 and 18 of the strap 14 in the head 20, a set of metal barbs 26 and 28 are carried by the head 20 and extend into the passages 22 and 24.

Since the piercing 26 is the same as the piercing 28, refer to the piercing 26 shown in FIG. Referring now to FIG. 4, the piercing 26 is shown in the passage 24 as shown in FIGS.
It includes a front engaging portion 26a extending therein and a rear mounting portion 26b supported by a flexible support hinge 30 in the head 20 as shown in FIG.

In use, the strap 14 is attached to the cable 1
Wrap around a bundle 13 of 2 (FIG. 1). As shown in FIG. 3, ends 16 and 18 are inserted into passages 22 and 24 in the direction of arrow A, respectively. When the ends 16 and 18 are inserted, the barbs 26 and 28 are flexible hinges 3.
Pushed back against 0 and 32, allowing ends 16 and 18 to be inserted into passageways 22 and 24. The ends 16 and 18 are moderate (snu) until the strap 14 is tightly wrapped around the cable 12 (FIG. 1).
gly) pulled. The removal of ends 16 and 18 from passages 22 and 24 in the opposite direction of arrow A is prevented by the mating contact of engagement portions 26a with ends 16 and 18. The cable engagement portion 26a bites into the strap 14 when attempting to pull the end 16 or 18 out of the passageway 22 or 24.

The strap end 16 of the barbs 26 and 28
And locking engagement with 18
element) is similar to that shown and described in the '047 patent shown above. Thus, the present invention allows the ends 16 and 18 of the strap 14 to be pulled in the head 20 in the direction of arrow A, while at the same time preventing the ends 16 or 18 of the strap from being pulled in the opposite direction.
To prevent the engagement portion 26a of the barb 26 from fully engaging the strap 14 and thereby breaking the strap there, the engagement portion 26a provides a depth of insertion of the engagement portion 26a into the body of the strap 14. Includes a limiting stop mechanism.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, the engaging portion 26a of the pierce 26 includes a pair of knife-like piercing elements 32 and 34 spaced on opposite sides of the pierce 26. End protrusions 32a and 34a, respectively, are provided to allow the protrusion elements 32 and 34 to easily enter the strap 14. The engagement portion 26a further includes the obstruction wall 3 located between the protruding elements 32 and 34.
Including 6. The obstruction wall 36 includes protruding elements 32 and 34.
It is one step lower and has protruding elements 32 and 3
4 includes a surface of a plane perpendicular to the extending direction. The knife-shaped protruding elements 32 and 34 are attached to the strap 1
4 is designed to mate with the engagement with the body. When the ends 16 and 18 are to be pulled out of the head 20 (FIG. 3), the protruding elements 32 and 34 will cause the strap 1
Cut into the body of 4. The depth of insertion of the protruding elements 32 and 34 is limited by the obstruction wall 36. The blunt, planar surface formed thereby limits the amount of insertion of the protruding elements 32 and 34.

As shown in FIG. 5, the engaging portion 2 of the piercing member 26.
6a bites into the body of the strap 14 until the obstruction wall 36 contacts the strap 14. The pointed surface formed by the obstruction wall 36 prevents the engagement portion 26a from being further inserted into the strap 14. By accurately controlling the relative positions of the protruding elements 32 and 34 and the obstruction wall 36, the precise depth at which the protruding element 26a projects into the strap 14 can be controlled. This results in an increase in shear and tensile strength of the tie as the depth of penetration of the barbs into the strap is limited.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, a set of barbs 26 and 28 are mounted in the head 20 for receiving the headless elongated strap 14. However, the present invention may be used with a single barb 26 in the head of a tie tie having an integrally formed strap.

It is also possible to use other forms of obstruction wall of the piercing 26. The obstruction wall may be, for example, in the form of a laterally protruding ear that limits the depth of insertion of the protruding elements 32 and 34 into the strap body 14.

Various other modifications to the structure described and illustrated above will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the scope of the invention as disclosed in detail is set forth in the following claims.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a binding tie of the present invention wound around a bundle of electric wires indicated by a dotted line, as seen from the front.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of a head portion of the binding tie of FIG.

3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the head portion of the tie of FIG. 1 with the straps shown therein.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an improved metal barb used in the head of the tie shown in FIG.

5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the metal stick of FIG. 4 of the strap shown in FIG. 1 is projected.

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Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An elongated tie strap having an end portion at one end thereof and a smooth surface; a tie head having an opening therein for receiving the end portion of the strap in an insertable manner; A tie having a metal barb movably supported by the head having a strap engaging portion extending into the opening for engaging the strap when the end portion is inserted into the tie. A pair of spaced apart protrusions for piercing into the smooth surface of the strap and a limit for the amount of insertion of the protrusion into the strap, A blunt wall provided between the penetrating protrusions, the blunt wall having a front portion when the strap end portion is inserted into the opening. Including flat walls located substantially parallel to said smooth surface of the strap, bundling tie. 2. The tie tie of claim 1, wherein the tie strap is formed of a plastic material. 3. An elongated strap having a first end, an opposite second end, and a flat body; first and second straps for receiving the first strap end and the second strap end, respectively. A head having two passages therein, and first and second locking barbs carried by said head, each of said first and second locks for securing engagement with an end of said strap. A barb each having a protruding portion extending into the passage, the protruding portion limiting a knife-like element for piercing insertion into each strap end and the insertion of the knife-shaped element into each strap end. A blunt wall adjacent the knife-like element for receiving the blunt wall when the strap end is received in the passage of the head; A tie tie comprising including flat walls that lie substantially parallel to the flat body of the strap. 4. The binding tie according to claim 3, wherein the first and second locking barbs are made of metal. 5. The tie of claim 3, wherein the elongate strap is formed of a plastic material.