MXPA97010320A - Mangu clamp - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a clamp having a lower U-shaped housing having a bottom and side walls forming the legs of the lower U-shaped housing, the side walls have recesses, a tightening band having two sections at the end, an end section is secured to the bottom of the lower housing, an upper housing having one piece mounting tabs capable of coupling from the interior of the lower housing with the recesses of the side walls of the lower housing and also having front edges forming the lateral edges of the upper housing: a screw driver held in the upper housing to allow its rotation, but without substantial axial movement, the upper housing is fully supported in the lower housing for coupling or uncoupling the screw driver with the other section of the housing. end of the tightening band, the front edges are extended at least approximately parallel to the longitudinal direction of the screw driver, wherein the upper housing forms an outline that at least partially encloses the screw driver and furthermore where the mounting tabs originate from the front edges of the upper housing.

Description

HOSE CLAMP DESCRI PTION OF THE I NVENTION The present invention relates to a hose clamp with a lower U-shaped upper case housing, wherein an end section of a tension strip is secured to the bottom of the lower housing, and with an upper housing, which is pivotally supported on the lower housing. the lower housing for coupling or uncoupling a worm drive, with the other end region of the tension strip, wherein the worm drive is supported in the upper housing so as to allow rotation, but not the substantial axial movement, and wherein the upper housing comprises mounting tabs formed as a piece, which engage or are capable of engaging, respectively, from the bottom of the lower housing with depressions in the side walls forming the projections of the lower housing in the form U. A hose clamp of this type is described in European Patent 0 167 116, in where the upper housing with the worm drive can be opened by oscillation when the hose clamp is installed. The end of the tension strip can then be inserted into the lower housing in a simple manner and to the desired length. The upper housing is subsequently and completely turned towards the lower housing and locked in an extreme position. The rotation, as well as the closing is aided by the mounting tabs, which are constructed as a single piece with the upper housing. To close the end position, the mounting tabs are pivotally supported on or can be engaged in respective depressions in the projections of the lower U-shaped housing. If a hose clamp1 has to be removed after it has already been installed and tensioned, then the tension strip is first released by turning the transmission by screw; then, the upper housing is rotated relative to the lower housing causing the helical gears of the worm drive to release the respective gear slots from the associated tension strip, so that the tension strip can be pulled out of the lower housing and the hose clamp can be removed. Although the known hose clamp is of a proven design, it is desirable to further improve the tensile strength of the known hose clamp. Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide a hose clamp of the above type, which is designed, as previously described, to swing open the simple installation and removal and which is capable of generating high tensile forces. This object is achieved through the invention since the upper housing, when viewed in the cross section of the worm drive, partially encloses the worm drive and the mounting tabs emanate from the front edges of the contour of partial enclosure formed. The front edges form lateral edges of the upper housing and extend at least approximately in the longitudinal direction of the worm drive. This design provides a superior housing, which is simple to manufacture due to its one-piece construction. In addition, the housing is extremely rigid, since the partial enclosure contour of the upper housing overlaps the worm drive, with the overlap depending on the selected partial enclosure angle. Finally, the mounting tabs emerge from the front edges of the partial enclosure contour, as a single piece. The front edges run parallel to the worm drive, while the mounting tabs extend from the front edges transversely, preferably perpendicular to the length of the worm drive, in order to be able to engage with respective depressions in the lower housing. When viewed along the worm drive, the mounting tabs are oriented in such a way that their side faces come into contact with respective side surfaces of the openings described above in the lower housing, when a force is applied. to the tension strip to tighten the clamp. The side faces have the same thickness as the metal sheet of the upper housing. Consequently, the upper housing together with the worm drive to which the tension force is applied, are not supported in the direction of the normal surface of the metal sheet, as is the case for conventional clamps (EP 0 1 76 116), but rather perpendicular to a normal surface; in this way, extremely large forces can be sustained, while the affected components suffer only elastic deformation and in a few degrees plastic deformation. With the design of the invention, the mounting tabs are more advantageously located in relatively close proximity to the bottom of the lower housing, since the upper housing partially encloses the worm drive, while an end region of the tension strip It is secured to the bottom. The other end region of the tension strip engages with the transmission gear and allows the force through the upper housing towards the mounting tabs, which in turn transmit the force towards the lower housing. As a result of the small distance and, therefore, the small lever arm between the mounting tabs and the lower housing, the resulting torque is relatively small. This aspect also significantly improves the ability of the hose clamp of the invention to absorb large tensile forces. Although the design has an oscillating housing, the hose clamp is simple in construction with a low contact point for strength and cost effective. The upper housing and the lower housing are preferably made of metal sheet through perforation, bending and / or stamping. In a further improvement of the invention, the partial enclosure contour is configured to coincide at least approximately with the peripheral contour of the cross section of the worm drive. Matching the shape of the worm drive, particularly its circular circumference, results in relatively compact designs, which effectively resist the torque and bending forces and thus improve the capacity of the hose clamp to absorb large forces. The mounting tabs can also be located at approximately the same height as the rotational axis of the worm drive. As mentioned above, the torque exerted on the hose clamp housing by the two ends of the tension strip is reduced by the relatively low position of the mounting tabs. According to the previous design, the mounting tabs can be located "approximately" at the same height as the rotational axis, thus providing flexibility as their exact position. Its position can be a bit above or slightly below the rotational axis about half the diameter of the worm drive. The aforementioned torque becomes smaller when the spatial separation between the mounting tabs and lower housing is reduced. The height of the mounting tabs with respect to the worm drive defines the enclosure angle, wherein a greater enclosure angle of the upper housing relative to the worm drive is possible when the mounting tabs are located rather down. According to a further improvement of the invention, each of the two mounting tabs facing each other through the rotational axis engages a respective depression formed as an angular slot. Through the angular grooves, the upper housing can initially be displaced parallel to the axis of the worm drive relative to the lower housing. The receiving tongues here are displaced within first groove sections of the angular grooves, wherein the first groove sections are oriented approximately parallel to the bottom of the lower housing. In order to open the hose clamp, the mounting tabs are then moved towards the second slot sections of the angular grooves, allowing the upper housing to be inclined relative to the lower housing. The second slot sections extend transversely, preferably perpendicularly to the first groove section in the direction of the free ends of the projections of the U-shaped lower housing. Advantageously, two additional mounting tabs facing each other through the rotational axis engage with a respective one of the depressions, which have the lateral openings. The opening design of the depressions allows the respective mounting tabs to be separated from the depressions, when the hose clamp is open, and re-inserted into the depressions when the hose clamp is to be closed. These depressions with lateral openings are preferably located near the front face of the projections of the U-shaped lower housing.

Advantageously, the end region of the tension strip, which can be fastened to the bottom of the housing, can also comprise an opening for running the worm drive. With this opening for the worm drive to run, the threads of the worm drive are able to engage at a considerable depth with the gear slots at the other end of the strip disposed above. This design again allows the hose clamp of the invention to absorb large forces. In addition, the running aperture of the worm drive allows a rather low position of the worm drive, that is, very close to the lower part of the lower housing. The drawings illustrate the invention with reference to one embodiment. In the drawings, it is shown in: Fig. 1 is a side view of a hose clamp with the upper housing open by oscillation, Fig. 2 is a side view of the hose clamp with the upper housing locked in the position Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the hose clamp of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV of Fig. 3 .

Referring to Fig. 1, there is shown a hose clamp 1 composed of a lower housing 3, an upper housing 5, an infinite screw transmission 7, and a tension strip 9. The lower housing 3 has a part lower housing 1 1 with side walls 1 3 extending from the same at right angles, thus forming a lower housing 3 with a U-shape (see in particular Fig. 4). The lower housing 3 in this way is thus formed as an individual unit. The lower part of the housing 1 1 is penetrated by a transverse groove 14 forming an opening for receiving the tension strip 9. As used in FIG. 4, the transverse groove 1 4 extends across the entire width b within the U of the lower part of the housing 1 1. The width of the groove c (Fig. 1) is selected to accept a portion of the tension strip 9 provided with a right angle flex 15. The upper side 16 of the tension strip 9 abuts the bottom part 1 7 of the lower part of the housing 1 1 and the lower part 1 8 is supported within the lower housing 3 through the inner surface 19 of the lower part of the housing 1 1. Consequently, an end region 20 of the tension strip 9 is joined to the lower housing 3. On the end of the lower part of the housing 11 opposite the transverse groove 14, a single piece of a locking tab 21 is formed (Fig. 3), which overlaps its free end 22 from the lateral edge of an opening 24 for running in the worm drive. The opening 24 for running by the worm drive is formed in the portion of the tension strip 9, which is located inside the lower housing 3. The locking tab 21 is preferably located in the plane of the lower part of the housing. accommodation 11. The aforementioned overlap is then created by flexing the tension strip 9 down near the side edge 23 (reference number 25 in Fig. 1). Following the tension strip 9 at one of its ends, the tension strip 9 first extends through the interior of the lower housing 3, then continues with the right angle bending 1 5 through the transverse slot 14, further proceeding, in the direction of arrow 27 (Fig. 1), around an object (not shown). Finally, the other end region 28 is superimposed with the first end region 20 in the region of the hose clamp 1. The end region 28 is provided with gear slots 29 for the worm drive 30 of the screw drive without end 7. The role of the side walls 13 forming the projections of the U-shaped lower housing 3 will be discussed later in greater detail. The two side walls 13 are formed inverted to the mirror with respect to an imaginary longitudinal central plane 31 normal to the surface I I 16 of the strip 9. For this reason, the design of only one of the two side walls 1 3 will be discussed. The side wall 13 includes, as illustrated in Figure 1, a front edge 32 at that end of the lower housing 3, wherein the joined end section 20 of the tension strip 9 begins. An anterior edge 33 facing away from the front edge 32 is disposed at the other end of the lower housing 3. An upper edge 34 of the side wall 1 3 extends parallel to the lower part 1 7 of the lower part of the lower part. accommodation 1 1. Three depressions 35, 36 and 37 extend through the side wall 13, with the depression 35 formed as an angular slot 38, the depression 36 forming a longitudinal slot 39 and the depression 37 formed as a depression 40 with a side opening. The lateral opening in the depression 37 is created by a groove 41 arising with a depression 37, with the groove 41 starting at the front edge 32 of the side wall 13. The depression 37 is essentially constructed in the form of a longitudinal groove 42, whereby an indicator rib 43 is created between the two depressions 36 and 37 to indicate the tension force. The indicator rib 43 extends approximately normal to the plane of the lower part of the housing 11, with the upper end of the indicator rib 43 preferable and slightly inclined towards the leading edge 33.

The angular groove 38 has a first groove section 44 extending approximately parallel to the bottom of the housing 1 1 and a second groove section 45 extending transversely to the first groove section 44. The first groove section 44 points, when viewed from the corner region of the angular slot 38, towards the leading edge 33; correspondingly, the second section of groove 45 points towards the upper edge 34 of the side wall 1 3. The upper housing 5 is, when seen in cross-section of the screw transmission if n fi n, formed as an arc, that is, the upper housing 3 partially encloses the screw transmission if n fi n 7. This can be clearly seen in Figure 4. Due to the sinl screw transmission 7 it is partially enclosed, a partial enclosure contour 46 by the upper housing 5. The partial enclosure contour 46, when viewed longitudinally along the endless screw transmission 7, has front edges 47, which form side edges 48 of the upper housing 5 The upper housing 5 further includes a first front face 49 and a second front face 50. The front faces 49 and 50 are provided with bearing openings 51, which open to the side, to support the rear end. bearing ions 52 of the worm drive 7 for rotation. Sep provides a small clearance area 54 (Fig. 4) between the bottom portion 53 of the upper housing 5 and the transmission gear 30 of the worm drive 7. According to another embodiment (not shown), the transmission Transmission 30 can also be supported on the bottom 53 of the housing 5. The mounting tabs 55 and 56 extend from the side edges 48 of the upper housing 5 near the front walls 49 and 50, with the two mounting tabs 55 located opposite one from the other with respect to imaginary longitudinal central plane 31. The two mounting tabs 56 are arranged in a similar manner. The mounting tabs 55 are associated with the front wall 50, while the mounting tabs 56 are associated with the front wall 49. The mounting tabs 55 and 56 extend radially relative to the cylindrical worm drive 7, with the planes of the mounting tabs oriented approximately parallel with the lower part of the housing 1 1. The two mounting tabs 56 penetrate the angular tongues 38; the two mounting tabs 55 can be inserted into the slots 41 and thus also into the depressions 37 when the upper housing 5 is in an appropriate position. This will be discussed later in more detail. It is apparent from Figure 4 that the mounting tabs 55 and 56 have angled end regions 57 pointing towards the bottom of the housing 11 and extending, forming a gap therebetween, toward the exterior 58 of the side walls 1 3. Leaning on one of the bearing sections 52 of the worm drive 7, a drive head 59 is provided. The drive head 59 consequently supports the front wall 50 of the upper housing 5 and includes means for inserting a tool, such as a slot for a screwdriver and / or a polygonal design to receive a cube key or the like. In the following, the reinforcement components introduced into the side wall 1 3 will be described in greater detail. Referring again to Fig. 1, each side wall 13 includes an embossed section 63, which is formed as a projection 64 and is compressed from the inside, i.e., the respective exterior portion 67 of the side wall 13 is raised . The projection 64 extends essentially along an imaginary line between the leading edge 33 and the upper edge 34. Alternatively, the projection 64 may also extend parallel or approximately parallel to the upper edge 34 or to the leading edge 33. In addition, the edge upper marginal 65 of the first slot section 44 of the angular slot 38 is provided with an embossed reinforcing edge 66. An enhanced reinforcing edge 66 is also formed on the upper terminal edge 68 of the slot 41. The cross section of the raised reinforcing edge 66 is clearly seen in the left side wall 1 3 in Figure 4. The reinforced reinforcing edge 66 is formed by stressing the material from the outside 67, which reduces the thickness of the metal sheet . It should be noted that, for simplicity, two reinforcement embodiments are presented in Figure 4. As mentioned above, the raised reinforcing edge 66 is formed in the left side wall. In the first embodiment, both side walls 13 include reinforcing edges 66. In the second embodiment, each side wall 1 3 is provided with a bevel 69, as illustrated in Figure 4, on the right side wall 13. The same reasoning it is applied to Figure 3. The bevel 69 is formed through an excess of material 70 flexed towards the side wall 13. The excess material 70 is obtained, both in the region of the angular groove 38 and in the region of the slot 41, through a free perforation during the stamping of the angular groove 38. The free punched tongue is then flexed outwards, preferably at 90 °, thereby creating excess material 70. Excess material 70 in groove 41 is created by flexing the upper edge of the slot 41 outwardly, preferably also at 90 °.

In the first embodiment of the reinforcing components presented in the Figures, the mounting tabs 56 of the upper hose clamp housing 5 are supported by the raised reinforcing edge 66 of the angular slot 38, while the mounting tabs 55 in the upper housing 5 are supported by an additional raised reinforcing edge 66 of the slot 41. Since the enhanced reinforcing edges 66 improve the mechanical strength of the material, large forces can be transmitted through the mounting tabs 55 and 56 without causing deformation of the side walls 1 3. If the material is reinforced through the bevels 69, then the surface pressure between the mounting tabs 55 and 56 and the excess material 70 is reduced as a result of the increased contact area between the individual components. The presence of the projection 64 on the side walls 1 3 allows a reduction in the thickness of the metal sheet of the lower housing 3 of the hose clamp 1, resulting in savings in the material and also a reduced cost. The same reasoning applies to the embodiment incorporating the enhanced reinforcing edge 66 or the bevel 69. The device operates as follows: It is assumed that the hose clamp 1 is initially in the open position, ie the upper housing 5 is oscillated relative to the lower housing 3 towards the position shown in Fig. 1, wherein the worm drive 7 does not engage the tension strip 9. The tension strip 9 is placed around an object (not shown) and subsequently the end region 28 is inserted into the lower housing 3 in the manner illustrated in Fig. 1. From the position shown in Fig. 1, the upper housing 5 is then rotated downwardly to engage with the lower housing 3. During this rotation, the mounting tabs 56 slide out of the second slot sections 45 of the two angled grooves 38 and entering the first slot sections 44. The two mounting tabs 55 move with their side edges 60 beyond the front edge 32 and enter the slots 41. The upper housing 5 moves towards the leading edges 33 of the lower housing 3, until the two lateral edges 60 come into contact with the tension force indicating rib 43. During the manipulation of the tension strip 9, the upper housing it can move slightly relative to the lower housing, since the hose clamp 1 is not yet securely fastened. After the above installation step is completed, the individual components of the hose clamp 1 are in the position shown in Fig. 2. In this position, the transmission gear 30 engages the gear slots 29, possibly at a considerable depth, since the opening 24 for running in the worm drive can be adapted rather to a low position of the worm drive, ie, a small spacing between the longitudinal center axis 61 and the screw drive endless 7 and the lower part of the housing 11. In subsequent installation steps, the worm drive 7 is rotated in a clockwise fashion with a tool, whereby the tension strip 9 is tensioned and tightly encircles the object. The tension force is transmitted to the lower part of the housing 11 of the lower housing 3, where the end region 20 of the tension strip is joined, as described above. The other end region 28 of the tension strip 9 cooperates with the worm drive 7 through gear slots 29, ie, at that respective point, the tension force is transmitted to the worm drive 7. and subsequently to the mounting tabs 55. The side edges 60 of the mounting tabs 55 are supported on the tension force indicating ribs 43. Since the tension force indicating ribs 43 deform plastically when the hose clamp 11 is tensed, this deformation is a measure for the tension force, that is, the tension force indicating ribs 43 indicate the tensioning force applied by the hose clamp 1. The deformation can be so great that the tension force indicating ribs 43 contact the opposite lateral edges 62 of the depressions 36. More particularly, the Figures. 2 and 3 show the mounting tabs 55 and also the mounting tabs 56 are located rather close to the lower part of the housing 1 1. This arises from the fact that the mounting lugs 55 and 56 are located approximately at the height of the longitudinal central axis 61 of the endless screw transmission 7. It is evident that, depending on the enclosure angle formed by the upper housing 5. along the screw or endless transmission 7, the position of the mounting tabs 55 and 56 is a little lower or higher. When the position of the mounting tabs 55 and 56 is low, the spatial separation between the force contact points and the lower part of the housing 1 1 is reduced, resulting in a reduction in the applied torsion torque. When the hose clamp 1 is tensioned. Consequently, the hose clamp 1 of the invention is capable of generating extremely large tensile forces. According to a further improvement of the invention, the mounting tabs 55 are not only able to contact the respective parts of the lower housing when the hose clamp 1 is fully tensioned, but rather the lower housing 3 furthermore it supports the mounting tabs 56 on the respective side edges, thus making the connection much stronger; in this situation, however, the tension force indicating ribs 43 will indicate inaccurate readings. For the removal of the hose clamp of the invention after its installation, the worm drive 7 only has to be rotated in the direction of release. As soon as the tension strip 9 is sufficiently loosened, the mounting tabs 55 are pulled out of the slots 41 and the unit can be opened, thus again allowing the position illustrated in Fig. 1. In this position, the end region 28 of the tension strip 9 can then simply be pulled out of the lower housing 3, since the worm drive 7 is no longer engaged.

Claims (10)

RETIREMENT NDI CATION

1 . A hose clamp with a lower U-shaped housing, wherein an end section of a tension strip is secured to the bottom of the lower housing, and with an upper housing, which is pivotally supported by the lower housing for coupling or uncoupling of a worm drive with the other end region of the tension strip, wherein the worm drive is supported in the upper housing in order to allow rotation, but not substantial axial movement, and where the upper housing comprises mounting tabs formed as a piece which engage or are capable of engaging, respectively, from the interior of the lower housing with depressions in side walls forming the projections of the lower U-shaped housing, characterized in that the upper housing , when seen in the cross section of the worm drive, partially encloses the worm drive, and the mounting tabs originate from the front edges of the formed part enclosure contour, with the front edges forming side edges of the top housing and extending at least approximately parallax to the longitudinal direction of the endless screw transmission.

2. The hose clamp according to claim 1, further characterized in that the partial recirculation contour 46 is configured to coordinate with at least approximately the peripheral contour of the transverse section of the worm drive.

3. The hose clamp according to one of the foregoing claims, further characterized in that the mounting tabs are located at approximately the same height as the rotational axis of the screw drive if n fi n.

4. The hose clamp according to one of the preceding claims, further characterized in that each of the two mounting tabs, which are located opposite each other with respect to the rotational axis, is coupled with a respective depression formed with an angular groove.

5. The hose clamp according to claim 4, further characterized in that each angular groove has a first groove section extending approximately parallel to the lower part of the housing and a second groove section extending transversely to the first groove section. 2. 1

6. The hose clamp according to one of the preceding claims, further characterized in that each of the two additional mounting tabs, which are located opposite each other with respect to the rotational axis, are coupled with a respective depression, which is a depression with a lateral opening.

7. The hose clamp according to one of the preceding claims, further characterized in that the depressions with the side opening are formed at the front edges of the U-shaped lower housing.

8. The hose clamp according to any of the preceding claims, further characterized in that the end region of the tension strip capable of being attached to the lower part of the housing comprises an opening for running in the worm drive.

9. The hose clamp according to one or more of the preceding claims, further characterized in that the side walls of the lower housing are provided with reinforcement projections.

10. The hose clamp according to one or more of the preceding claims, further characterized in that the mounting tabs are supported by raised edges or by edges on the angular grooves and grooves, respectively. SUMMARY OF THE NONDION The invention relates to a hose clamp with a lower U-shaped housing, wherein an end section of a tension strip is secured to the bottom of the lower housing, and with an upper housing, which is pivotally supported in the lower housing for coupling or decoupling of a worm drive with the other region end of the tension strip, wherein the worm drive is supported in the upper housing, in order to allow rotation, but not substantial axial movement, and wherein the upper housing comprises mounting tabs formed as a piece, which couple or are capable of coupling, respectively, from the interior of the endless housing with depressions in the side walls forming the projections of the U-shaped lower housing. It is provided that the upper housing 5, when viewed in a cross section of the worm drive, partially encloses (partial enclosure contour 46) the transmission Worm screw 7, and that the mounting tabs 55, 56 originate from the front edges 47 of the formed partial enclosure contour 46, with the front edges 47 forming side edges 48 of the upper housing 5 and extending at least approximately in the longitudinal direction of the worm drive.