MXPA06005413A - Two-piece cable tie suitable for use in an automated cable tie installation tool - Google Patents

Abstract

A two-piece cable tie is provided that is capable of usage with an automated cable tie installation tool. The two-piece cable tie accommodatesimproved gripping of large or small bundles. By including a cored-out region near the neck, the cable tie can secure a near zero bundle size. By including a transverse pad on the bottom side of the cable tie strap near the cable tie head, the cable tie can be prevented from rotation relative to the bundle to which is it secured. A preferred cable tie strap has a wide recessed center section and high side rails that increase lateral clamping force. To resist barb inversion, the cable tie preferably includes a reinforcement area underneath the metal locking device when used with a strap having a recessed area. By maintaining relatively high side rails and a thin web section in the tip, the cable tie can achieve zero insertion force while maintaining sufficient strap rigidity and size to enable feeding of the strap through an automated cable tie installation tool.

Description

TWO-PIECE STRAP SUITABLE FOR USE IN AUTOMATIC INSTALLATION TOOL OF THE SAME BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a two-piece barbed strap that has improved binding capabilities. The brace is suitable for use in an automatic installation tool thereof and can accommodate an improved grip of big or small bunches. Plastic ties or ties are well known in the art. There are two main types: one-piece plastic straps that have an integral plastic immobilization device; and the two-part suspenders that incorporate a metallic device attachment or immobilization insert. Examples of one-piece struts include U.S. Design Patent No. D389, 051 of Caveney et al. , and U.S. Patent No. 4,632,247 to Moody et al. Although most one-piece struts are manually assembled and tightened, certain versions may be used in an automatic sling installation tool, such as that described in U.S. Patent No. 4,632,247. The two-piece suspenders are mainly applied manually. Examples include U.S. Patent No. 5, 517,727 to Bernard et al. , U.S. Patent No. 3, REF. 173029 457,598, U.S. Patent No. 3, 186,047 to Schwester et al. , U.S. Patent No. 6,560,822 to Caveney et al. , and U.S. Patent No. 3, 457,598 to Mari ni. A conventional representative low thread tensioning strap 10 of the two-piece type is shown in Figure 1. The tie rod 10 is usually molded of thermoplastic material to include a head 12 and a strip 14, as well as a number of features. standard. The head 12 includes a strip acceptance channel 18 defined by the inner and outer walls. A metallic immobilization device 22 is partially embedded at an angle within a beard receiving channel 20 of the strut head. The metallic locking device 22 is positioned at an angle so as to allow the rear end of the strip 14 to be inserted through the strip acceptance channel 18, except that it engages the strip as it is pulled in the direction of Removal to avoid removal of the strip. On some occasions, a receptacle 24 is formed below the metallic clamping device 22 allowing the mounted end of the immobilization metal member to rotate slightly 'in a direction towards the strip acceptance channel 18. This construction allows the strut 10 to be secured around a bundle or large bundle of wires as shown. Commonly, the strip 14 has a generally solid cross section in order to improve the strength of the strip. However, due to the specific configuration, this type of tie is not preferable for the secure attachment of a very small bundle or bundle of cables. It is also not preferable for use in an automatic installation tool. Another conventional two-piece tie rod 10 is shown in Figures 2A and 2B. This differs from the brace in Figure 1 because it has a low profile head 12 with a strip acceptance channel 18 oriented in line with the narrow-head dimension -12. In addition, the strip 14 is provided with a preformed and folded strip collar 13 at the transition between the head 12 and the strip 14 which, when relaxed, orients the strip approximately 90 degrees relative to the head 12 and perpendicular to the head. strip acceptance channel 18. Although the neck 13 has a widened and reduced cross-section 15 in the middle part of the neck width, the peripheral side edges remain with substantial thicknesses, providing a considerable remaining strength to the flexing of the strip in the neck. neck 13. Also, the strip acceptance channel 18 is open to the inlet end 25, so that the end of the strip can be received within the profile of the head 12 as shown. With this construction, an almost small bundle of wires or cables can be securely tied. However, due to the previous bending, the remaining substantial stiffness of the shoulder at the neck 13, and the geometry of the strip acceptance channel 18, there is a limit of how small a area can be pressed under a fully tightened tie as it is shown in Figure 2A. This configuration is also not preferable for use with an automatic installation tool. Conventional two-piece ties or tie rods could have some disadvantages. In many two-part tie rods, the metal immobilization device (beard) could be reversed if a sufficiently large removal force is applied to the strip. This inversion causes the tie to fail and this is undesirable. In addition, it is often difficult to tighten the two-piece tie tightly around a bundle without twisting the strap relative to the bundle or without sliding in the axial direction along the bundle. Although automatic tools for the installation of tie rods are known, these automatic tools have used one-piece braces that are specially designed, such as those shown in Figures 3A and 3B. An example of this automatic tool is described in U.S. Patent No. 4,623,247 to Moody et al. In Figure 3A, a slat 38 of the one-piece struts 40 is shown. Each struts 40 is mounted on its head 42 in the strip portions 44 through a tongue 46. The struts 40 are spaced the same distance apart. each median longitudinal axis of the strut which is in parallel and each strut forms a right angle with the strip portion 44. The one-piece struts 40 include the head 42, the strip 48 and an integrally molded locking device 43 which engages with the wedge-shaped teeth 45 provided along a substantial portion of the underside of the strip 48 as shown in Figure 3B. .The .. Figure_ 4 shows one-. known automatic tool 30 including a dispensing mechanism 32, a transport mechanism 34 and a remote tool 36. The dispensing mechanism 32 accepts the slat 38 shown in Figure 3A and supplies, sequentially, the individual struts 40 to the mechanism 34. The transport mechanism 34 supplies individual tie rods to the remote tool 36. Then, the remote tool 36 positions each tie 40 around a bundle or bundle of wire, then tightens the tie 40 to a predetermined tension and cuts the tail or rear part of the strap SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION There are many problems with conventional one-piece plastic ties or braces that are used in automatic tools. One problem is that wedge-shaped teeth often break during automatic clamping through the tool. This is particularly problematic when the straps are used in dry weather, which makes the straps brittle. The problem can be caused by the extremely fast clamping action through the automatic tool and by the associated high tension force applied to the strut by the tool. Another source of the problem is the abrupt stoppage of the brace after traveling at high speeds through the transport mechanism. Another problem, in particular, when using an automatic installation tool, is to ensure a sufficiently low insertion force at the tip to allow the strap to be fed through the tool and to have a threaded end of strip through the tool. Automatic strip acceptance channel without excessive resistance or bending. Another problem, with or without the use of an automatic installation tool, is that traditional one-piece braces have limited ring tensile strength due to the use of a plastic immobilization device and wedge-shaped teeth that are integrally formed , which reduce the thickness of the cross section of the strip and cause an inherent weakness in the design. Similar problems exist in many two-piece tie rods, which in some cases find the inversion of the beard immobilization device during the application of high extraction forces. There is a need for a stronger tie rod that could allow a higher voltage to be applied or maintained, either manually by hand operated tools or by an automatic installation tool. Another problem in general with many conventional one-piece or two-piece ties is the inability of the strap to engage a bundle, such as loose wires, without slippage. This is particularly problematic because the lower part of the strip is able to rotate around the bundle even when it is reasonably tight. The straps can also slide in the lateral direction. In this way, there is a need for a tie that can be secured more quickly in a bundle without sliding and without requiring excessive tightening of the tie. Yet another problem with many conventional one-piece or two-piece tie rods is the inability to accommodate a diverse bunch size, in particular, a very small bundle size. There is a need for a tie structure that allows smaller bundles to be securely fastened by the tie. According to several aspects, a tie or tie of two pieces is provided, which is capable of being used with an automatic tool of installation of tie. According to other aspects, a brace is provided which can accommodate an improved grip of large or small bunches. According to several other aspects, a strut with a recessed region is provided next to the neck to allow the stringer to secure a bundle size of almost zero because the strip is capable of being bent to be shaped substantially in the manner of the head of the brace. According to further aspects, a strap is provided with a projecting transverse pad, preferably, a single pad placed in a transverse position on the strip next to the head of the strap that increases the grip and that resists the rotation of the strap around a bundle. . In preferred embodiments, the transverse pad has a low height and width so that it is capable of being placed between the adjacent loose wires in a bundle to prevent rotation. In addition, when making the transverse pad with a low height, the pad will not interfere with the feeding of the strut through the automatic tool of installation of the strut. In accordance with still further aspects, a two-part tie-rod with a substantially wide recess is provided on the underside of the strip, which defines lateral longitudinal rails, preferably with edge edges. Based on the tightening of the tie strip, the strip undergoes a slight curvature of the recessed portion of the strip and a straightening of the longitudinal rails within the bundle. This increases the clamping force of the strut to resist lateral movement of the strut relative to the bundle. According to additional aspects, a two-piece tie rod with a reinforcement is provided under a metal beard area that resists the inversion of the beard. When performing the reinforcement in coincidence with the recessed portion of the strip, the strip acceptance channel need not be increased in its dimension to accommodate the reinforcement. According to additional aspects, a two-piece tie rod achieves a zero insertion force at the tip while maintaining a sufficient stiffness and size of the strip allowing the strip to be fed through the automatic strap installation tool by providing a thin central thickness of the strip. pull along the end of it and side rails high enough to maintain the height and profile of the strap that can be engaged by the tool.

Brief Description of the Figures The preceding and additional objects, features and advantages will be apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying figures, wherein: Figure 1 is a partial sectional view of a conventional strut of two pieces in which a strap strip is wound around a bundle and is secured in a brace locking head; Figure 2A is a sectional view of another conventional two-piece tie in which the tie strip is wrapped around a very small bundle and secured in a brace locking head; Figure 2B is a partial perspective view of the stringer of Figure 2A in an original position having a previously bent strip; Figures 3A and 3B are top and bottom views, respectively, of a conventional one-piece tie rod having an integral locking member and strip teeth; Figure 4 is a perspective view of an automatic example installation system of the strut for use with a tie rod; Figure 5 is a partial top view of an example two-piece tie rod; Figure 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of the two-piece tie rod of Figure 5 taken along lines 6-6; Figure 7 is a partial bottom view of the example two-piece tie rod of Figure 5; Figure 8 is a top view of a flat strip of the straps, in which only a single strap is shown for purposes of illustration; Figure 9 is a side view of the batten of the struts of Figure 8; Figure 10 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the strut of Figure 8 taken along lines 10-10; Figure 11 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the strut of Figure 8 taken along lines 11-11; Figure 12 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the strut of Figure 8 taken along lines 12-12; Figure 13 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the strut of Figure 8 taken along lines 13-13; Figure 14 is a partial cross-sectional view of the tie of Figure 8 taken along lines 14-14 showing a strip thickness ramp from one end of tie strip to the main body; Figure 15 is a view. bottom part of a back end portion of a shoulder strap of example example showing a tapered end profile; - Figures 16-17 are partial-sectional views of an example two-piece tie that has a recessed neck region in which a tie strip is wrapped around a very large bundle and a very small bundle, of respective way, and is secured in a brace immobilization head; Figures 18-19 are views in partial section of an alternative two-piece example stringer having a protruding pad in which the stringer strip is wound around a very large bundle and a very small bundle, respectively, and it is secured in a brace immobilization head; Figure 20 is a partial side view of the region of the pad on the underside of the strut of Figure 18; Figure 21 is a partial perspective view of the region of the pad on the underside of the strut of Figure 18; Figure 22 is a partial perspective view of the brace of Figure 8 showing the cross-sectional detail of the strip; Figure 23 is a cross-sectional view of the tie strip of Figure 22 according to a first embodiment; Figure 24 is a cross-sectional view of the tie strip of Figure 22 according to a second embodiment; Figure 25 is a partial cross-sectional view of the tie strip of Figure 22 pressed into a bundle; Figure 26 is a partial cross-sectional view of a conventional two-piece tie rod when a removal force exceeds the strength of the metal beard; Figure 27 shows a cross-sectional view of the tie strip in a main body portion; Figure 28 shows a top view of the strut head of Figure 27 with the stringer strip superimposed to represent the placement relationship between the strip acceptance channel and the tension strip. - Figure 29 is a partial sectional view. cross section of an improved two-piece tie head in which a beard support portion is provided below the metallic locking device; and Figure 30 is a partial bottom view of the strut head of Figure 29 showing the beard support portion.

Detailed Description of Modalities An example embodiment of a two-piece tie rod for use in an automatic tie rod installation tool will be described with reference to Figures 5-15. Figures 5-7 show the upper and lower cross-sectional views, respectively, of an example brace 100 having a head 112, a strip 114, a strip acceptance channel 118 and a fixed metallic immobilization device 122 in a locking device channel 120, so that one end of the metallic locking device 122 protrudes lightly in the strip acceptance channel 118. A reinforcing area 126 (best seen in Figure 7) is provided immediately below the metallic locking device 122. The reinforcing area 126 extends radially inwardly from the periphery of the strip acceptance channel 118 to support a further portion of the metallic locking device and resist full deformation or inversion of the metallic immobilization device from the excessive forces of retraction applied in a tie rod. More than the common substantially square edge profile of the strip acceptance channel 118 (as in Figure 1), the example strip acceptance channel 118 includes a • immobilization device support region 124 at an entrance to the channel that It has a long radius. The purpose of the radius will be further described with reference to Figures 16-17. In a neck region 113 between the tie head 112 and the strip 114 is a recessed region 130 provided in the lower part of the tie. This recessed region 130 is provided in close proximity to the tie head 112 and allows the tie strip 114 to be accurately positioned or bent in this position when a small bundle is being squeezed. Additional details of the recessed region 130 will be described below with reference to Figures 16-17. A thin pad 140 protrudes from the lower surface of the strip 114 at a position close to the tie head 112, preferably, in a position not beyond the width of the cable head. The pad 140 is oriented transverse to the length of the strip 114 and protrudes just a small distance outwardly from the surface. The pad 140 provides improved fastening when the strap is tied around a bundle, particularly when a loose bundle of wires is being associated. Because the pad 140 is able to be placed between the adjacent wires in the bundle, the strap can be held in place to prevent rotation of the tie relative to the bundle. In addition, by placing the pad next to the head of the brace 112, only a single pad is necessary to hold a large bunch or a very small bundle. Additional details of the pad 140 will be described with reference to Figures 18-21. Although the strut 100 can be used manually as a conventional strut, the strut 100 is also preferred to be configured to operate on an automatic strut installation tool, such as the one illustrated in Figure 4. The additional details of a tool Suitable automatic for the installation of struts can be found in U.S. Patent No. 4,623,247 to Moody et al. , the description of which is incorporated in this document as a reference in its entirety. In this use, the straps 100 are molded on a batten 200 as shown in Figures 8-9. In particular, each strut 100 is mounted on its head 112 in strip portions by means of a tongue 210. The struts 100 are spaced the same distance from the median longitudinal axis of each strut which is in parallel and each strut or tie forms a right angle with the strip portion of the batten 200. The batten 100 and the batten 200 differ in many respects from the batten and stringer assembly of Figure 3A. The big difference is the use of a two-piece tie rod with a metallic immobilization device 122. At least three key advantages are achieved by this. First, because the metal beard immobilization device 122 can be fixed on the tie strip at any position when straightening on the surface of the strip 114, there is no need for wedge-shaped teeth as in a conventional one-piece tie rod. The problem of loose bunches due to unwanted movement of the plastic wedge is eliminated. Secondly, because there is no thin articulated plastic wedge (the steel beard is held firmly) there is no breakage of the wedge. Third, because the need for the strip teeth is eliminated, the effective cross section of the strip can be maintained or increased. That is, in the automatic struts a prior art piece such as that shown in Figure 3B, the teeth 45 have notches from the center section of the strip, reducing the effective cross-sectional area of the strip. However, the cross section of strip 114 through most of its length has a cross section as shown in Figure 10, only with a low recess area 150 and side rails 160. This provides an increase in section area Transverse, which provides a higher tensile strength of the ring and allows the automatic installation tool to be adjusted with a higher tension of the tool. In addition, because the metal immobilization device 122 (beard) also has a higher holding force, the example two-piece shank can provide an increase in the fixing strength if it is compared with a one-piece tie rod. Figures 10-15 show the conical contour of the strip starting almost from the neck towards the rear end 116 of the strip 114. The contour is provided to produce a zero force of insertion into the tip of the metal immobilization device. When the insertion force is too high in an automatic application tool, the tool could not apply the tie rod properly, therefore, it is desirable to provide a low force. However, the profile of the tie strip must also have a sufficiently consistent size to allow for n Proper feeding of the strip inside and through the tool. In addition, the strip must maintain sufficient rigidity. In order to achieve these desirable characteristics, an example cross section is provided. Figure 14 shows that the recessed area 155 increases along the ramp 170 and subsequently decreases slightly along the taper toward the tip 116. As also shown from the different views in cross section, the total height of the strip 114 remains substantially constant up to the conicity, where the total thickness decreases. This constant height allows the tie strip 112 to be reliably held by an automatic tie rod installation tool. In a preferred embodiment, the flat (central) recess portion 150 of the strip at the rear end of strip 114 (Figure 13) has a web thickness of approximately 0.381 mm (0.015 inches) that is smaller than the distance between the web. end of the metal locking device 122 and the support wall of the strip acceptance channel 118. This ensures that there is a zero thread force when the tip of the strip 114 is inserted through the head 112. This low insertion force it is desirable, in particular, when the brace is used in an automatic tool because if the insertion force is too high, the tool could not properly apply the brace. By making the end of the strip 114 very thin at the tip, the part of the strip channel is easily screwed through the metallic locking device 122 without it being captured at the tip and without increasing the force of the strip. insertion of strip. However, the rails 160 are sufficiently high so that the total thickness of the tip (the combined thickness of the flat core portion and the rails) is approximately 0.711 mm (0.028 inches) at the smallest point next to the end of the rail. tip of strip 116 (Figures 13-14). Then, the rails 160 are preferably made conical through a distance of 12.7 mm (0.5 inches) until they reach a maximum height of 0.635 mm (0.025 inches) by themselves, making a total thickness of approximately 1.016 mm (0.040 inches). ) (Figure 12). Preferably, this total thickness is the thickness of the main body of strip 114 in sections 10-10 and 11-11 (Figures 10-11). The rails 160 serve several purposes. First, they maintain a thickness in the strip next to the outer end for a holding gear in an automatic clutch tool. Secondly, the rails 160 maintain a cross-sectional area of tensile strength at the tip of the strip 114. Third, the rails 160 with a thin central section 150 (Figures 12-13) allow the tip of the rails 160. the strip is easily fed through the strip acceptance channel 118 and the metallic clamping device 122 with a minimum tapping force. Finally, the rails 160 maintain rigidity at the tip, so that the tip does not lock as it moves on the transport mechanism 34 and the remote tool 36 of the automatic installation tool. As shown in Figure 14 and as best shown in Figure 15, the flattest part 155 of the recessed area begins to thin out or to form a ramp-at a defined point around a distance Y from the tip. An inclination or ramp increase 170 inclines over a small distance from the thin tip thickness to a thicker strip body thickness (i.e., the thickness in Figure 13 to the thickness in Figure 12). In a preferred embodiment, Y is approximately 19.05 mm (0.75 inches) from the end of the strip. By Therefore, when the tip 116 is fed through the head 112 during installation through an automatic strap installation tool, the tip 116 will protrude from the top of the head at a predefined distance, preferably , at least 15.74 mm (0.62 in.), So that the clamping gear on the automatic tool can engage with the tip and pull it until the strip tightens around the bundle. Although a preferred strip core thickness at the tip end is approximately 0.381 mm (0.015 inches), this thickness may vary depending on the design of the tie head. As best seen in Figure 14, the end of the tip 116 of the strip 114 is rounded. This guarantees that the tie can move through the automatic tool without problems. and without damaging the tool. In a preferred embodiment, the upper radius of the tip (Figure 14) is approximately 0.254 mm (0.010 inches) while the lower radius of the core portion and the rails is approximately 0.127 mm (0.005 inches) (Figures 13 and 14). Miniature size braces are purchased by customers to be pulled around small sizes of bundle. Some customers would like to be able to tie a tie rod with a single wire with a diameter of approximately 0.254 mm (0.010 inch) without the strap sliding after the application. The previous straps were not capable of being tightened in a small diameter. Rather, the above straps such as those shown in Figures 1-2 maintained a substantially free space or gap between a fully tightened strip and the head of the tie. An example stringer shown in Figures 16-17 addresses this problem by providing a recessed region 130 adjacent the neck 113 that allows the stringer to secure a bundle size of almost zero. In addition, the recessed region allows a predictable bending location which allows the tie strip to bend and collapse substantially against the lower surface of the tie head leaving little or no separation to resist movement of the small bundle secured. The .cuello region is the area of the strip 114 - adjacent to the head-tie 11-2 not engaging with the locking device in a minimum diameter of bundle. A zero-size bundle is achieved by forcing the strut to be bent at a specific location and designing the bending profile and strut head to eliminate all or substantially all of the clearance between strip 114 and the underside of strut head 112. The strap strip will bend at the point of least resistance. By hollowing the neck region very close to the tie head 112, the tie strip 114 can be made to bend at the lowest moment of the point of inertia. This condition alone can not be sufficient to ensure a capacity of zero or almost zero bunch. Many tie designs have a substantially square corner profile for strip acceptance channel 118. A strip can not flow freely around this profile and could not be able to completely bend around this corner edge. However, by providing an immobilization device support region 124 in the bore of the strip acceptance channel 118 with a large radius, it is possible for the tight strip 114 to flow more naturally into the channel 118 and to bend around of this radius so as to leave minimal clearances as shown in Figure 17. The radius increase in region 124 also allows the tie strip to be pulled-with a higher tension without cutting the corner in or without stretching the body of the strap. strip. This improves or maintains the tensile strength of the ring. In this way, the combination of a recessed region 130 that controls a flexure of the stringer strip so that it is closely adjacent to the neck and the provision of a large radius strip acceptance channel region 124 allows for tightening of the stringer strip for ensure bundle diameters approximately 0.254 mm (0.010 inches). Another problem with braces is that they often rotate around a bundle once installed. This problem can occur with both large bunches and small bunches and is particularly a problem with loose bunches, such as wires, which can change shape slightly. Previous attempts to solve this problem involved increasing the tightening of the tie. Figures 18-21 provide a salient cushion feature 140 that addresses this problem. A small, thin and slightly protruding support is located at the bottom of the strip 114 next to the neck. In preferred embodiments, the pad is located no more than the distance from the neck to the entrance of the strip acceptance channel 118. This guarantees that regardless of whether the bundle is large or very small, the pad will be in contact with the pad. Bundle and will not be pulled -to- a clutch with the metallic locking device 122. As shown in Figure 18, the boss pad 140 is dimensioned so as to extend between the adjacent wires in a bundle. This could be achieved by causing the pad to extend in the direction transverse to the length of the strip 114 as shown in Figure 21 and making the pad 140 sufficiently narrow. When the strip 114 is tightened enough, the pad 140 is tightened as a wedge between the adjacent wires in the bundle to prevent rotation of the tie relative to the bundle, as shown. In addition, pad 140 will also increase bunch tightening in even very small bunches as shown in Figure 19.

The pad 140 applies pressure on a wire when the brace is applied to the wire and acts to minimize the remaining free space, preventing the movement of the brace relative to the bundle. When the two-piece tie rod is assembled and hand-tightened, the pad 140 can have various heights. However, if the brace were to be used in an automatic installation tool, the pad would need to be dimensioned to avoid bending or other problems with feeding the brace into the tool. In an example mode, this is achieved by making the height in the order of 0.889 to 1.016 mm (0.035 to 0.040 inches), which corresponds to the maximum dimension of the tie rod 112, as shown in Figure 20. This allows the strap to move smoothly through the automatic strap installation tool without problems . The additional tightening of the bundle to resist the rotation of the tie, to increase the lateral force and to prevent lateral movement, is achieved by making the strip profile have lateral edges that straighten or hold the bundle. This is best shown with reference to Figures 22-25. Many conventional two-piece tie rods have a substantially flat lower strip surface to maximize the cross-sectional area and the tensile strength of the ring. However, by causing the rails 160 to extend along the side edges of the strip 114 and by providing a slightly recessed center section, these rails 160 can improve the holding strength by straightening them in the bundle when tightened. With a tighter strap in the bunch, the resistance to lateral movement will be higher. By reducing the cross-section of the middle section of the strip in a light shape (recess width 150), when the tie is tightened around specific bundle sizes, the middle part of the tie strip is curved towards the bundle as shown in Figure 25 and the rails 160 are lightly pressed against the hand. Two different modalities are contemplated. When the bundle could be excessively soft or brittle (or for other reasons), the edges of the rails 160 could be rounded as shown in Figure 23 to minimize abrasion of the bundle or cutting of the critical insulation of the cable. However, for maximum tightening it may be desirable to provide the rails with edge edges, at least on the inner edges, as shown in Figure 24. This will allow the rails 160 to straighten within the bundle surface. It is important that the recess be sufficiently wide and that the strip be thin enough, so that the strip 114 is able to undergo a curl when tightened under load as shown in Figure 25. It is also important that the recess does not either a deep or too low overlap. It is preferred that the recess be dimensioned so that under load, the center of the curve maintains a small space between the bend and the bundle, so that the rails remain in contact with the bundle to straighten them within the bundle surface and provide resistance to lateral movement. Conventional two-piece struts often exhibit a failure due to excessive pulling or pulling forces that are being applied to the tie strip. As shown in Figure 26, this excessive force could cause the metallic locking device (beard) 122 to reverse backward, causing the tie to fail and loosening the extension of the strip. In order to maximize the tensile strength, there must be as much support under the metal immobilization device as possible without compromising other characteristics of the tie design. When a strip of solid cross-section is provided, this problem is not prevalent because the metallic immobilization device can be supported. Nevertheless, when a strip 114 having a recessed portion 150 is used as shown in Figure 27, there is an additional space between the supported part of the metal immobilization device and the strip. By defining the window dimensions in the strip acceptance channel which substantially correspond to the profile of the strip, an additional support material can be provided in an area immediately below the metallic locking device 122. In particular, as shown in Figures 27-28, the strip 114 has a minimum thickness D in the middle section and a maximum thickness C in the lateral extremities due to the rails 160. Rather than providing a square profile for the strip acceptance channel 118 that is sized with a thickness A that is slightly larger than the maximum thickness C, it is possible to provide a reinforcement area 126 below the metallic motion device. 122 of a width that corresponds to or is slightly less than the width of the rebate 150 that protrudes radially inwardly to define a central portion of the strip acceptance channel 118 with a thickness of B that be slightly larger than the thickness of strip D although smaller than thickness A. The additional support of the reinforcement area 126 under the metallic immobilization device 122 helps to prevent inversion of the beard. In addition, because the support is only located in portions corresponding to the recess 150, the localized support does not affect the threading force. A preferred support has a width that extends at least the width of the metal locking device 122, and preferably, slightly wider as shown in Figure 28. Additional details of the reinforcement area 126 are shown in Figures 29730. Any of the above example braces could be used, either manually or could be used in conjunction with an automatic brace installation tool, such as the tool illustrated in Figure 4. It will be appreciated that several of the features and functions described above and others, or alternatives thereof, could be combined in a desirable manner in many other systems or different applications. Also, various alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements currently not foreseen or not anticipated in this document, could be made subsequently by those skilled in the art, and are also intended to be included by the following claims.

It is noted that in relation to this date, the best method known to the applicant to carry out the aforementioned invention, is that which is clear from the present description of the invention.

Claims (10)

1. CLAIMS Having described the invention as above, the content of the following claims is claimed as property: 1. A stay for use with an automatic strut installation tool, characterized in that it comprises: a strip that includes a first end that forms an ' neck region and a free end opposite the first 10- 'extrem; and a tie-head secured in the neck region of the strip at the first end thereof, the head includes a strip acceptance channel containing an immobilization device, the strip acceptance channel 15 is dimensioned to receive the free end of the strip, wherein the neck region includes a recessed region.
2. 2. The strut according to claim 1, characterized in that the recessed region is located 0 adjacent to the head.
3. 3. The strut according to claim 1, characterized in that the recessed region is located on one side of the strip that makes contact with a bundle when the strut is applied.
4. 4. The stay according to claim 1, characterized in that the strip acceptance channel includes an immobilization device support region located in a channel orifice defining a curved profile for the channel.
5. 5. A strut for use with an automatic strut installation tool, characterized in that it comprises: a strip including a first end forming a neck region and a free end opposite the first end; and a tie head secured in the neck region of the strip at the first end thereof, the head includes a strip acceptance channel containing an immobilization device, the strip acceptance channel 15 is dimensioned to receive the free end of the strip, wherein the strip includes a projecting member extending therefrom, the projecting member is located adjacent to the neck region.
6. The strut according to claim 0 5, characterized in that the protruding member is located on one side of the strip that makes contact with a bundle when the strut is applied.
7. The stay according to claim 5, characterized in that the projecting member is located within a width of the head of the head.
8. 8. The stay according to claim 5, characterized in that the projecting member is oriented transverse to the length of the strip. The stay according to claim 5, characterized in that the projecting member is dimensioned to be placed between the adjacent wires in a bundle to minimize the rotation of the tie in relation to the bundle. The strut according to claim 5, characterized in that the protruding member extends from the strip approximately between 0.889 to 1.016 mm (0.035 to 0.040 inches).