SE540820C2

SE540820C2 - Driving device and magazine for single-leg cable clamp

Info

Publication number: SE540820C2
Application number: SE1550698A
Authority: SE
Inventors: Bråtane Torgeir; Drage Thorbjørn; Fidje Tore; Iskow Bach Roger
Original assignee: Letti As
Priority date: 2014-06-11
Filing date: 2015-05-29
Publication date: 2018-11-20
Also published as: NO336912B1; SE1550698A1; FI126962B; NO20140735A1

Abstract

A driving device (1) for driving a single-leg cable clamp (2) into a substructure. The driving device (1) comprises a housing (3) comprising attachments means (4) for attachment of a magazine (5a, 5b) for cable clamps. The housing (3) further comprises an elongate driving slot (6) provided with an entry opening (8) through which a cable clamp is movable to enter the driving slot (6) driving slot (6), and an exit opening (9) through which the cable clamp (2) is movable to exit the driving device (1). The driving device (1) further comprises a drive means (7) guided relative to the housing (3) for movement within the driving slot (6) along a first longitudinal axis (A), back and forth between a lower position in which the drive means (7) at least partially blocks the entry opening (8) of the driving slot (6) such that a cable clamp (2) cannot pass through the entry opening (8) into the driving slot (6), and an upper position in which the drive means (7) is positioned to allow entry of a cable clamp (2) through the entry opening (8) into the driving slot (6). Further, the drive means (7) is provided with cams (10) on opposite sides of the drive means (7) and along at least a portion of the length of the drive means (7). The cams (10) are provided with respective lower portions (12) gradually increasing in width into upper wider portions (13). The housing (2) along its driving slot (6) is provided with first lateral recesses (11) for allowing the cams (10) to travel back and forth along with the drive means (7) without conflicting with the housing (2). The housing (2) is provided, adjacent the entry opening (8), with second recesses (14) respectively extending from the respective first recesses (11) and past the entry opening (8) of the driving slot (6).

Description

Driving device and magazine for single-leg cable clamp Technical field The present invention relates to devices for driving attachment means in the form of cable clamps into an underlying surface for fastening of a cable on for example a wall or a ceiling. The invention relates specifically to such devices comprising a magazine containing multiple cable clamps.

Background Attachment means for attachment of cable to an underlying surface come in several forms, such as single-leg, two-leg, one-piece metal and two-piece metal and plastic. Here it should be understood that single-leg attachment means within the context of this disclosure refers to attachment means which when installed only have a leg on one side of the cable. That leg may in turn be divided into several projections for piercing and gripping the underlying surface. The various attachment means all have their own characteristics and whilst some of them are made to be held by hand and driven directly by a hammer into the underlying surface, others require special tools in order to hold and guide the attachment means whilst driving it.

Wrongly installed attachment means may look less aesthetic and may damage or squeeze the cable, such that it loses its data-transmission capabilities or gets short-circuited.

Some attachment means are surface treated, such as with white paint, in order to protect the attachment means from corrosion and for aesthetic reasons. A problem when installing surface treated clamps is how to drive them without damaging the treated surface.

The devices for driving attachment means can be divided into a magazine devices, and nonmagazine devices. Magazine devices are designed to be loaded with a magazine containing multiple attachment means, and are typically more complex and expensive than non-magazine devices, but enable rapid installation of multiple attachment means. Magazine devices are advantageous especially when working from a ladder or in a confined space, since you do not have to manually reload the device for driving the attachment means for every single attachment means.

Cables come in a few standard dimensions, and hence there are a few standard sizes of cable clamps. Many professionals primarily use the single-leg cable clamps since they allow installation of a cable along inner corners (Fig. 12) due to the fact that the cable can be positioned all the way into the corner without any second leg of the clamp requiring space between adjacent side surface and cable.

A particularly popular clamp is the single-leg clamp with continuous hook surface (Figs. 11a-j and 13. Clamps with non-continuous hook surface (Fig. 14) are sometimes considered less aesthetic than clamps with continuous hook surface, are more prone to collecting dust and dirt over time, and are typically more difficult to keep clean.

A well-known device capable for driving single-leg cable clamp is the Letti Innslagsvertøy (Figs. 15) and 16, which exists in two different sizes, each capable of driving a respective size of cable clamp. A drawback of this device is that several different driving devices are needed in order to be able to drive all common sizes of cable clamps. A further drawback is that the devices cannot be used with a magazine and is thus not very quick to work with if many cable clamps have to be fastened.

Another well-known device is the Letti Batt-Mag 30) (Fig. 17. The device is a battery powered magazine device designed to work with strips of 30) cable clamps connected side by side along a strip. A drawback of this device is that it required battery power to operate. Another drawback is that is large and wide, and thus not always suitable for use in very confined spaces, such as close to walls or in inner corners of less than 90) degrees angle.

A further known device capable of driving single-leg cable clamp is the Castor Klammerpistol (Figs. 18) and 19. The device is driven by hammer and comprises an integrated magazine, which can be refilled by insertion of cable clamps of the type shown in Fig. 14. The clamps for the Castor Klammerpistol comes pre-loaded in the form of a row of clamps stacked front-to-back with a plastic rod running centrally through the cutout in the heads of clamps, as shown in the lower portion of Fig. 19. The plastic rod is used to hold the clamps during insertion into the tool, where after the plastic rod is retracted out of the tool whilst manually holding back the row of clamps within the tool. A drawback of this device is that it cannot be used to drive clamps of the type depicted in Fig. 13) having a continuous hook surface. A further drawback is that the driving impact is applied on a very small surface area of the clamp, in the cutout above the leg, such that, depending of choice of surface treatment, the coating is damaged during driving of the clamp into an underlying surface. In order to reduce the risk of damaging the coating, one may consider applying a higher number of less strong impacts to drive the clamp, but that has the disadvantage of being time consuming.

Summary An objective of the present invention is thus to mitigate or solve at least some of the aboveidentified shortcomings.

A specific objective is to provide an improved magazine type driving device which can operate to drive various sizes of single-leg cable clamps of the type with continuous hook surface, such that only one driving tool is needed for installing cables of varying size on various underlying surface materials.

A further objective is to provide a device capable of driving single-leg cable clamps, which are surface treated without damaging the treated surface.

A further objective is to provide a magazine for such a driving device, which enables quick and easy loading of new clamps into the driving device and allows swift change back and forth between clamp types.

These and other objectives are achieved by a driving device, a magazine and a system respectively according to the invention as defined in the independent claims. Specific embodiments of the invention are defined in the dependent claims.

According to an aspect, the driving device comprises a housing comprising attachments means for attachment of a magazine for cable clamps. The housing further comprises an elongate driving slot provided with an entry opening through which a cable clamp is movable to enter the driving slot, and an exit opening through which the cable clamp is movable to exit the driving device. The driving device further comprises a drive means guided relative to the housing for movement within the driving slot along a first longitudinal axis, back and forth between a lower position and an upper position. In the lower position, the drive means at least partially blocks the entry opening of the driving slot such that a cable clamp cannot pass through the entry opening into the driving slot. In the upper position, the drive means is positioned to allow entry of a cable clamp through the entry opening into the driving slot. The drive means is provided with cams on opposite sides of the drive means and along at least a portion of the length of the drive means. The cams are provided with respective lower portions gradually increasing in width into upper wider portions. The housing is along its driving slot provided with first lateral recesses for allowing the cams to travel back and forth along with the drive means without conflicting with the housing. The housing is provided, adjacent the entry opening, with second recesses extending from the respective first recesses and past the entry opening of the driving slot.

A driving device provided with such a drive means is advantageous, since it enables operation of the drive means back and forth between the upper and lower positions to directly control operation of a locking mechanism provided partially outside the driving slot, since there is room for extended portions of the locking mechanism to extend from outside the driving slot and past the entry opening through the second recesses to the first recesses, in order to be moved by the cams for operation of the locking mechanism. Providing the locking mechanism at least partially outside the driving slot allows the locking mechanism to be integrated in a magazine detachable from the driving device, which in turn makes is possible to make specific magazines for specific clamp designs, and at the same time adapt each locking mechanism to the specific clamp type served by the magazine. Also, the claimed driving device enables a robust design with few moving parts.

In an embodiment, the locking mechanism is operable between an open position and a locking position depending on the position of the drive means along the longitudinal axis of the driving slot of the driving device. Further, the locking mechanism is configured in its locking position to prevent one or more clamps in a magazine from advancing from outside the driving slot towards the entry opening of the driving slot, and in its open position to allow said one or more clamps to advance towards the entry opening of the driving slot.

In an embodiment, the driving slot is forwardly open and provided with a front member extending along the driving slot for forwardly delimiting the driving slot. A lower portion of said front member is movably attached to the housing by means of an excenter mechanism such that the front depth of the driving slot is adjustable by adjustment of the excenter mechanism. The adjustable front depth enables the driving device to be used with cable clamps of varying depth. Thus, the same driving device can be used for installing a larger variety of cables. Making the driving slot forwardly open makes it possible to provide the front member in front of the driving device, such that other portions of the driving device, and especially those adjacent the entrance opening of the magazine, can be made rigid with no requirements of adjustability. This provides for a robust design with few moving parts.

In an embodiment, a magnet, referred to as first magnet, is provided in a back wall of the driving slot close to a lower portion of the entry opening. Such a position of the first magnet enables the driving device to attract the tip of the leg of a foremost cable clamp in a magazine attached to the driving device to thereby at least guide the leg within the driving slot and also assist in moving the cable clamp out of the magazine and into the driving slot.

In an embodiment a plurality of magnets referred to as second magnets, are provided in a back wall of the driving slot and distributed along the length of the driving slot between the entry opening and the exit opening of the driving slot. Such an arrangement of magnets enables the driving device to attract the leg of a cable clamp in the driving slot to guide it sideways in order to keep it correctly positioned within the driving slot during its travel through the driving slot and into the substructure. Incorrect alignment of the cable clamp would lead to excessive wear of the driving device and may lead to wrongly installed cable clamps.

According to an aspect, a magazine for cable clamps comprises an elongate body provided with a longitudinal guide slot for supporting a row of single-leg cable clamps in front-to-back arrangement within the elongate body and for allowing the row of cable clamps to advance along the length of the guide slot towards an exit opening of the magazine provided at a front end of the magazine. The magazine is provided with a locking mechanism comprising at least one pair of arms disposed on opposite longitudinal sides of the guide slot. The arms are movable between a respective inner arm position and a respective outer arm position. The arms are provided with respective gripping means configured to partially block the guide slot in order to engage a cable clamp in the magazine from opposite sides when the arms are in their respective inner arm positions, in order to prevent the clamp from advancing towards the exit opening of the magazine. The respective gripping means are also configured to allow the cable clamp to move past the gripping means towards the exit opening of the magazine when the arms are in their respective outer arm positions. End portions of the arms protrude in front of the exit opening of the magazine. Such a magazine is advantageous, since it has an integrated locking mechanism, thus detachable along with the magazine from the driving device. This makes is possible to tailor specific magazines for specific clamp designs by adapting each locking mechanism to the specific clamp type served by the magazine. Further, since end portions of the arms protrude in front of the exit opening, the end portions are operable by cams swept past the magazine in front of its exit opening, thus enabling operation of the locking mechanism by arrangement of cams on opposite sides of the drive means of a driving device to which the magazine is attachable. Hence, the same drive means and cams can be used independently of clamp type, meaning that only one driving device is needed for delivery of several different types of single-leg clamps of varying shape and size. Further, the claimed magazine is robust with few parts and also enables a robust design of the driving device with few moving parts.

In an embodiment, a front portion of the magazine comprises a recessed portion inside of the exit opening for allowing a front most clamp to move diagonally away from the row of clamps in a first direction substantially along the length of the leg of the front most clamp. This configuration of the magazine enables movement of the clamp in a direction substantially along the leg of the clamp and partially through the exit opening of the magazine. This in turn enables use of a magnet arranged close to the lower portion of the magazine for attracting the tip of the leg of the foremost clamp for moving the clamp out of the magazine and into driving position within the driving slot ready to be forced out of the driving slot by the drive means. Hence, this configuration of the magazine enables use of a simple mechanism for moving the clamp out of the magazine by means of a magnet and without use of extra moving parts. It should be understood that this configuration allows a magnet to attract the tip and the backside of the cable clamp, and not a front portion of the clamp. Attracting the front portion of the cable clamp, at the head of the clamp, would not work well and would require much stronger magnetic field. Further, attracting the backside of the leg of the clamp makes it possible to hold the leg of the cable clamp aligned along the back wall of the driving slot.

In an embodiment, guide ridges referred to as first guide ridges, extend along the guide slot for guiding clamps along the guide slot, wherein said first guide ridges end by the recessed portion a distance from the exit opening of the magazine. Second guide ridges extend from the first guide ridges diagonally substantially in the first direction towards a lower front portion of the magazine. The second guide ridges provide improved stability for the foremost clamp when moving in the first direction through the exit opening of the magazine, by virtue of the second guide ridges giving support to left and right portions of the head of a cable clamp moving along the second ridges.

In an embodiment, a lower front portion of the magazine is provided with one or more third magnets oriented such that its magnetic field is able to attract the tip of the leg of a foremost clamp in the magazine to move the clamp out of the magazine. Such provision of one or more magnets in the magazine enables, as compared to providing magnets only in the driving device, customization of the position of magnets for each type of clamp to be supplied by the magazine, such that the magnetic effect for moving the foremost clamp out of the magazine is tailored to the specific clamp design. Provision of magnets on the magazine does not per se exclude the provision of magnets for the same or similar purpose in a back wall of the driving slot of the driving device close to a lower portion of its entry opening.

In an embodiment, the guide slot is provided with an elongate opening along at least a portion of the length of the magazine. The elongate opening enables access by an external arm to bias clamps towards the exit opening of the magazine. Such arm is typically integrated in the driving device as part of a biasing means for use with the magazine. Thus, the need of internal biasing means of the cable clamp is avoided, effectively lowering cost, complexity and material use of the magazine.

In an embodiment, the magazine is provided with a biasing means for biasing a row of clamps in the magazine towards the exit opening of the magazine. This may be advantageous if the driving device is not provided with a means for biasing clamps in the magazine towards the exit opening of the magazine.

In an embodiment, the magazine is comprises the row of single-leg cable clamps stacked in frontto-back position within the guide slot of the magazine. Magazines comprising cable clamps are preferable, since they allow for quick dispensing of cable clamps without first having to fill up the magazine with clamps.

According to an aspect, a system comprising a driving device and a magazine according to any of the aspects above is provided. Such system can be used to drive various sizes of single-leg cable clamps of the type with continuous hook surface, such that only one driving tool is needed for installing cables of varying size on various underlying surface materials. Surface treated clamps can be driven without damaging the treated surface since the driving slot allows use of clamps with continuous hook surface, which in turn provide a larger impact area for the driving tool to cooperate with, effectively distributing stress over a larger area such that surface treatments, paints etc., does not crack or get damaged. Further, the system enables quick and easy loading of new clamps into the driving device and allows swift change back and forth between clamp types, even with half-full magazines.

In an embodiment of the system, the driving device is provided with left and right resilient members, such as blade springs, configured for biasing the respective left and right arms of the magazine, towards their locking positions when the magazine is attached to the driving device. This enables design of a less rigid magazine with less rigid arms, hence saving material, cost, and the environment, whilst still being able to force the gripping means of the arms into the guide slot with enough force to ensure that clamps are not unintentionally forced past the gripping means.

Brief description of figures Figs. 1-8x show various views of a driving device according to an embodiment of the invention. More specifically, Figs. 3x-8x show a sequence of steps of an initial cycle of operation of the driving device for feeding a clamp from the magazine and driving it out of the driving tool and into an underlying surface (not shown).

Fig. 1 is a perspective view the driving device loaded with a magazine, with the rod in a fully inserted position at the end of a driving stroke, and with a cable clamp driven by the rod.

Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view from above.

Figs. 3a-e show various views of the driving device in a first cycle step with the rod fully retracted and all clamps locked in the magazine by locking means of locking arms of the magazine in a locking position.

Figs. 4a-e show various views of the driving device in a second cycle step with the rod fully inserted into the housing of the driving device. As best shown in Fig. 4e, cams of the rod forces apart opposite arms of the magazine into their respective open position in which the clamps are free to advance in the magazine since the locking means no longer stop the clamps from advancing. A biasing mechanism (spring not shown) forces the row of clamps forward with the foremost clamp stopped by the rod and remaining cable clamps stopped by the first clamp (and not by the locking means of the arms).

Figs. 5a-c show various views of the driving device in a third cycle step with the rod once again withdrawn. As shown, the cams of the rod are now withdrawn from the arms of the magazine, such that the arms are once again in their locking position, preventing the remaining clamps from advancing in the magazine. The tip of the leg of the foremost clamp is attracted by a magnet moving it in the direction D partially through the exit opening of the magazine.

Figs. 6a-c show various views of the driving device in a fourth cycle step with the rod still withdrawn enough to allow the foremost free clamp to continue its movement out of the exit opening of the magazine. As shown, the magnet positioned below the magazine attracts the tip of the clamp enough to rotate it out of the exit opening and make the clamp stay put against the inner wall of the exit slot.

Figs. 7a-c show various views of the driving device in a fifth cycle step with the rod once again inserted further into the driving slot (6, driving the clamp towards the exit opening of the driving slot (6. Note that the rod is not yet inserted enough to move the arms to their respective open position.

Figs. 8a-e show various views of the driving device in a sixth cycle step similar to the fourth cycle step briefly described above with reference to Figs. 4a-e, but this time whilst having driven a clamp out of the exit opening. Similar to Fig. 4e, cams of the rod forces apart opposite arms of the magazine into their respective open position in which the clamps are free to advance in the magazine since the locking means no longer stop the clamps from advancing. The feeding mechanism (spring not shown forces the row of clamps forward with the foremost clamp stopped by the rod and remaining cable clamps stopped by the first clamp (and not by the locking means of the arms.

Figs. 9a-g show different perspective views of a large version of the magazine, suitable for accommodating Letti 8025 cable clamps (longer clamps than Letti 8016).

Figs. 10a-g show different perspective views of a small version of the magazine, suitable for accommodating Letti 8016 cable clamps (shorter clamps than Letti 8025).

The two embodiments of the magazine, are functionally the same but are configured for being used with different clamps of different length.

Image available on "Original document" Detailed description Embodiments of the invention will in the following be described with reference to the appended figures.

It should be understood that terminology such as left and right, upper and lower, are used to designate relative positions useful for understanding the design, and that the driving device according to embodiments of the invention can be used to drive cable clamps in any orientation, such as upwards into a ceiling, sideways into a wall, or downwards into a floor or bench.

As shown in Figs 1 and 2, a driving device 1 according to a first embodiment of the invention comprises a housing 3 formed by a left and a right housing members 3a, 3b. The housing 3 is preferably made from injection molded plastics, although other suitable materials and manufacturing methods are possible within the scope of the invention. The left housing member 3a is attachable to the right housing member 3b by means of four screws shown in Fig. 2 as positioned in the left housing member 3a. When mounted together, the housing members 3a, 3b together form an elongate driving slot 6 provided with an entry opening 8 (see Figs. 3c and 4c) through which a cable clamp 2 is movable to enter the driving slot 6, and an exit opening 9 through which the cable clamp 2 is movable to exit the driving device 1 for being driven into a substructure, such as a ceiling, wall or floor.

The housing 3 is provided with a portion (extending to the right in Fig 2) comprising means 4 for attaching the magazine 5a to the housing 3 in the form of a slot into which the magazine 5a, 5b can easily be inserted. In this embodiment, the slot into which the magazine 5a is insertable is provided with two sets of left and right recesses 34, 35 extending along a portion of the length of the slot for receiving the different size magazines 5a, 5b respectively in different positions.

The larger magazine shown together with the driving device 1 in Figs. 1-8c is provided on its outside with left and right ridges extending along a portion of the length of the magazine 5a for guiding the magazine 5a in the upper left and right recesses 34 of the slot 4 into which the magazine 5a is insertable. A smaller embodiment of the magazine 5b, for use with shorter clamps, is shown in Figs. 10a-g. The smaller magazine 5b is likewise insertable into the lower recesses 35 of the attachment means 4, and is also provided on its outside with left and right ridges extending along at least a portion of the length of the magazine 5b for guiding the magazine 5b in the left and right recesses 35 of the slot 4 into which the magazine 5b is insertable. The height of the upper left and right recesses 35 is smaller than the height of the lower left and right lower recesses 34. The height of the outer left and right ridges of the larger magazine 5a is low enough to fit into the upper recesses 34, and the height of the left and right outer ridges of the smaller magazine 5b is larger than the height of the upper left and right recesses 34, such that it cannot be inserted into the upper left and right recesses 34, but only into the lower left and right recesses 35. Thus, wrong insertion of smaller magazines 5b is prevented.

As will be further described, the magazines 5a, 5b are designed such that the tip of the leg of the foremost cable clamp in each magazine, after having been released from the locking mechanism and advanced towards the drive means 7, is situated close to a lower forward portion of the magazine. Further, the magazines are configured to be insertable into a respective position with the bottom of the magazine 5a, 5b close to the bottom of the slot of the attachment means 4, such that the tip of the clamp is positioned at the same position in the driving device 1 independently of clamp size. This enables a first magnet 17 of the driving device 1 to attract the foremost clamp 2 out of the magazine independently of clamp size (see Figs. 5c and 6c).

The driving device 1 also comprises a drive means 7 in the form of an elongate metal rod with square cross-section and a rounded upper head suitable for being driven into the drive means 7 using a hammer. Other materials and cross-sectional shapes can be used within the scope of the invention. The rod is guided relative to the housing 3 for movement within the driving slot 6 along a first longitudinal axis A (see Figs. 3b and 3d, back and forth between a lower position (see Figs. 4a-e and 8a-c) in which the drive means 7 at least partially blocks the entry opening 8 of the driving slot 6 such that a cable clamp 2 cannot pass through the entry opening 8) into the driving slot 6, and an upper position in which the drive means 7 is positioned to allow entry of a cable clamp 2 through the entry opening 8 into the driving slot 6. Movement of the rod is limited by the provision of an elongate stop slot 28 on the front side of the rod 7, and a stop member 29 provided on a front member and extending into the elongate stop slot 28, said front member being attached to the housing 3. When the stop member 29 reaches its upper or lower extremes, the stop member 29 engages respective upper or lower end of the elongate stop slot 28. Instead of an elongate stop slot 28 and stop member 29, some other means with the same functionality could be provided within the scope of the invention. However, the since the stop slot does not protrude from the rod, the rod can be withdrawn out of the housing 3 after the front member 17 has been moved away from the housing 3. The stop member 29 is optional and in other embodiments, the rod 7 may be freely movable out of the housing 3.

The rod 7 is provided with left and right cams 10 extending along a portion of the length of the drive means 7. The cams 10 are provided with respective lower portions 12 gradually increasing in width along the length of the rod 7 into upper wider portions 13. The cams 10 are made from a suitable material, such as plastic or metal. The rod are fixed to the rod 7 by press-fitting into corresponding left and right recesses of the rod 7 but may in other embodiments be fixed to the dive means 7 in any suitable manner. The housing 3 is along the driving slot 6 provided with left and right, first recesses 11 shaped for allowing the cams 10 to travel back and forth along with the rod 7 without the cams touching the housing 3. The first recess 11 may be distinct from the driving slot 6, as shown, but may in other embodiments be part of the driving slot. Making the driving slot distinct from the first recesses may be advantageous, since it allows a tighter fit between drive means 7 and driving slot 6 such, effectively allowing better sideways guiding of a clamp moved through the driving slot 6. Further, the housing 3 is provided with left and right second recesses 14 extending from the respective first recesses 11 and past the entry opening 8 of the driving slot 6 from inside the driving slot 6, to outside the driving slot 6, such that an external object, such arms of a magazine, is movable into the first recesses 11 from outside the driving device 1. The second recesses 14 further function to provide space around the cams for objects protruding into the housing 3 through the entry opening 8 of the driving slot 6 to be moved by the cams 10, for example forced away from the drive means 7 from the first recesses 11 to the left and right sides respectively of the drive means 7. The objects protruding into the housing are typically forward portions of left and right arms 23 of a locking mechanism for controlling feed of clamps through the driving device 1 towards the entry opening of the driving slot 6. Such arms 23 are typically integrated with the magazine, but may in some embodiments instead be provided as part of the driving device 1. In the illustrated embodiments, the second recessed 14 are The driving slot 6 is forwardly open (see Figs. 3a and 3c) and the driving device 1 is provided with a front member 15 extending along the driving slot 6 for forwardly delimiting the driving slot 6. A lower portion of said front member 15 is movably attached to the housing 3 by means of an excenter mechanism 16 such that the front depth dl of the driving slot 6 (see Fig. 3c) is adjustable by turning an external arm of the excenter mechanism 16. The adjustable front depth of the driving slot 6 enables the driving device 1 to be used with cable clamps of varying depth. It should be understood that it would not always work well to provide an oversized driving slot, i.e. with a fixed depth large enough to accommodate the largest clamp for which the driving device is to be used, since that smaller clamps would sometimes be driven obliquely into the underlying substructure. The depth adjustable driving slot 6 makes it possible to adapt the depth of the driving slot to closely match the depth of the clamp to be driven, thereby to provide a front wall of the driving slot for supporting the clamp when driven.

A first magnet 17 is provided in a back wall 18 of the driving slot 6 close to a lower portion of the entry opening 8 (see Fig. 2). Such a position of the first magnet 17 enables the driving device 1 to attract the tip of the leg of a foremost cable clamp in a magazine attached to the driving device thereby to at least guide the leg within the driving slot 6, and also to assist in moving the cable clamp out of the magazine and into the driving slot. Further, a two second magnets 19 are provided in the back wall 18 of the driving slot 6 and are distributed along the length of the driving slot 6 in a straight line between the entry opening 8 and the exit opening 9 of the driving slot 6. The second magnets 18 attract the leg of a cable clamp 2 in the driving slot 6 to guide it sideways in order to keep it correctly positioned within the driving slot with a straight path of movement during its travel through the driving slot 6 and into the substructure. Incorrect alignment of the cable clamp 2 would lead to excessive wear of the driving device 1 and may lead to wrongly installed cable clamps 2. In this illustrated embodiment, a straight central recess 30 is provided along the back wall 18 of the driving slot for assisting in guiding the leg of a cable clamp, whilst the second magnets 18 attract the leg into the straight central recess 30. This recess is also for guiding a central protrusion 31 of the back of the clamp heads, shown in Figs. 11a-j, especially in Fig. 11i.

The driving device 1 is also provided with a biasing mechanism comprising an arm 32 an arm slidably guided in left and right guide slots 33 along which the arm 32 is forced forwards by a spring (not shown). The arm 32 is rotatably suspended in the guide slots 33 for rotation back and forth between an active position and an inactive position. In the active position, the arm 32 is folded into the slot of the attachment means 4 for extending into a magazine 5a, 5b, where the arm 32 is able to act for forcing clamps forward towards the exit opening 22 of the magazine 5a, 5b. In the inactive position, the arm 32 is folded backwards away from the guide slots 33 of the attachment means 4, such that magazines 5a, 5b can be inserted into and withdrawn from the driving device 1.

A first embodiment of a magazine 5a for cable clamps 2 will now be described with reference to the appended drawings. The magazine 5a, shown for example in Figs. 9a-g, comprises an elongate body provided with a longitudinal guide slot 20 for supporting a row 21 of single-leg cable clamps in front-to-back arrangement within the elongate body and for allowing the row 21 of cable clamps to advance along the length of the guide slot 20 towards an exit opening 22 of the magazine 5a. The exit opening 22 is provided at a front end of the magazine 5a, and is illustrated with the plane P. As shown, the magazine 5a is not planar around the exit opening 22, but the plane P illustrates a plane in front of which the drive means 7 is free to pass in front of the exit opening 22 thereby to drive away a clamp 2, which clamp has moved out of the exit opening 22. As shown in Fig. 9g, the exit opening 22 may be provided at an angle ?1to the longitudinal axis AX of the magazine 5a, the angle ?1. The angle ?1is preferably chosen such that the plane P is substantially parallel with a frontal plane P2 through the tip and through the front most portion of the head on the first clamp of a row of clamps in the magazine 5a, as illustrated in Fig. 3c. In other words, the angle ?1is chosen such that the exit opening 22 is parallel with the frontal plane P2 of the foremost clamp. This in turn makes it possible for the foremost clamp to be stopped by the drive means 7 without excessive amount of free space around the clamp, thus without being able to move around between drive means 7 and second clamp in magazine 5a, something that could have led to risk of jamming the magazine 5a or unwanted release of the second clamp.

The magazine 5a is provided with a locking mechanism comprising at least one pair of arms 23 disposed on opposite longitudinal sides, i.e. the left a right sides respectively, of the guide slot 20. The arms 23 are movable between a respective inner arm position (see Fig. 3e) and a respective outer arm position (see Fig. 4e). Further, the arms 23 are provided with respective gripping means 24 in the form of cone shaped protrusions extending normally to each arm into the guide slot 20 to partially block the guide slot 20 in order to engage a cable clamp 2 in the magazine from opposite sides when the arms 23 are in their respective inner arm positions. The cone shaped protrusions 24 thus act to prevent a clamp 2 from advancing past the gripping means 24 towards the exit opening 22 of the magazine 5a. The respective cone shaped protrusions 24 are also configured to allow the cable clamp 2 to move past the cone shaped protrusions 24 towards the exit opening 22 of the magazine when the arms 23 are in their respective outer arm positions. In other embodiment, the gripping means could take other forms, such as rubber pads, metal tips, or simply a surface with large enough friction to allow gripping of clamps. End portions 25 of the arms 23 protrude in front of the exit opening 22 of the magazine 5a, as shown in Fig. 2. Further, opposite left and right blade springs 36 are provided on the housing 3 for biasing the respective left and right arms 23 towards their locking positions. The provision of blade springs, or similar resilient members 36 for biasing the arms 23 enables design of a less rigid magazine with less rigid arms, hence saving material, cost, and the environment, whilst still being able to force the gripping means of the arms 23 into the guide slot 20 with enough force to ensure that clamps are not unintentionally forced past the gripping means 24.

A front portion of the magazine 5a comprises a recessed portion inside of the exit opening 22 for allowing a front most clamp 2 to move diagonally away from the row of clamps in a first direction D substantially along the length of the leg of the front most clamp 2, after having been released past the gripping means 24 of the locking mechanism, and thus after the drive means 7 has been moved such that it does not block the entry opening of the driving slot 6.

The guide slot 20 of the magazine 5a is provided with an elongate opening 25 along the length of the magazine 5a through which an external arm 26 is movable for biasing a row of cable clamps 21 towards the exit opening 22 of the magazine 5a. Such external arm 32 is provided as part of the clamp biasing mechanism of the driving device 1 described above.

The magazine may preferably be sold pre-loaded with a row of single-leg cable clamps stacked in front-to-back position within the guide slot of the magazine 5a, such that the craftsman fastening cable can quickly load new clamps into the driving device, simply by retracting an empty magazine from the driving device 1 and inserting a new magazine into the attachment means 4 of the driving device 1.

A first embodiment of a system according to the invention comprises the above described driving device 1 and magazine 5a.

Claims

1. A driving device (1) for driving a single leg cable clamp (2) into a substructure, wherein the driving device (1) comprises a housing (3) comprising attachments means (4) for attachment of a magazine (5a, 5b) for cable clamps, said housing (3) further comprising an elongate driving slot (6) provided with an entry opening (8) through which a cable clamp is movable to enter the driving slot (6), and an exit opening (9) through which the cable clamp (2) is movable to exit the driving device (1), wherein the driving device (1) further comprises a drive means (7) guided relative to the housing (3) for movement within the driving slot (6) along a first longitudinal axis (A), back and forth between a lower position in which the drive means (7) at least partially blocks the entry opening (8) of the driving slot (6) such that a cable clamp (2) cannot pass through the entry opening (8) into the driving slot (6), and an upper position in which the drive means (7) is positioned to allow entry of a cable clamp (2) through the entry opening (8) into the driving slot (6), characterized in that the drive means (7) is provided with cams (10) on opposite sides of the drive means (7) and along at least a portion of the length of the drive means (7), wherein the cams (10) are provided with respective lower portions (12) gradually increasing in width into upper wider portions (13), wherein the housing (3) along its driving slot (6) is provided with first lateral recesses (11) for allowing the cams (10) to travel back and forth along with the drive means (7) without conflicting with the housing (3), and wherein the housing (3) is provided, adjacent the entry opening (8), with second recesses (14) extending from the respective first recesses (11) and past the entry opening (8) of the driving slot (6).

2. A driving device (1) according to claim 1, wherein the driving slot (6) is forwardly (FW) open and wherein the driving device is provided with a front member (15) extending along the driving slot (6) for forwardly delimiting the driving slot (6), wherein a lower portion of said front member (15) is movably attached to the housing (3) by means of an excenter mechanism (16) such that the front depth (dl) of the driving slot (6) is adjustable by adjustment of the excenter mechanism (16).

3. A driving device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a first magnet (17) provided in a back wall (18) of the driving slot (6) close to a lower portion of the entry opening (8).

4. A driving device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a plurality of second magnets (19) provided in a back wall (18) of the driving slot (6) and distributed along the length of the driving slot (6) between the entry opening (8) and the exit opening (9) of the driving slot (6).

5. A magazine (5a, 5b) for cable clamps (2) comprising an elongate body provided with a longitudinal guide slot (20) for supporting a row (21) of single-leg cable clamps in front-to-back arrangement within the elongate body and for allowing the row (21) of cable clamps to advance along the length of the guide slot (20) towards an exit opening (22) of the magazine (5a, 5b) provided at a front end of the magazine (5a, 5b), characterized in that the magazine (5a, 5b) is provided with a locking mechanism comprising at least one pair of arms (23) disposed on opposite longitudinal sides of the guide slot (20), wherein the arms (23) are movable between a respective inner arm position and a respective outer arm position, wherein the arms (23) are provided with respective gripping means (24) configured to partially block the guide slot (20) in order to engage a cable clamp (2) in the magazine from opposite sides when the arms (23) are in their respective inner arm positions, in order to prevent the clamp (2) from advancing towards the exit opening (22) of the magazine (5a, 5b), wherein the respective gripping means (24) are also configured to allow the cable clamp (2) to move past the gripping means (24) towards the exit opening (22) of the magazine when the arms (23) are in their respective outer arm positions, and wherein end portions (25) of the arms (23) protrude in front of the exit opening (22) of the magazine (5a, 5b).

6. A magazine according to claim 5, wherein a front portion of the magazine (5a, 5b) comprises a recessed portion inside of the exit opening (22) for allowing a front most clamp to move diagonally away from the row of clamps in a first direction (D) substantially along the length of the leg of the front most clamp (2).

7. A magazine according to claim 6, wherein first guide ridges (26) extend along the guide slot (20) for guiding clamps along the guide slot (20), wherein said first guide ridges (26) end by the recessed portion a distance from the exit opening (22) of the magazine, and wherein second guide ridges (27) extend from the first guide ridges (26) diagonally in the first direction (D) towards a lower front portion of the magazine (5a, 5b).

8. A magazine (5a, 5b) according to any one of claims 5-7, wherein a lower front portion of the magazine (5a, 5b) is provided with one or more third magnets oriented such that its magnetic field is able to attract the tip of the leg of a foremost clamp (2) in the magazine (5a, 5b) to move the clamp out of the magazine..

9. A magazine (5a, 5b) according to any one of claims 5-8, wherein the guide slot (20) is provided with an elongate opening (25) along the length of the magazine (5a, 5b) through which an external arm (26) is movable for biasing a row of cable clamps (21) towards the exit opening (22) of the magazine (5a, 5b).

10. A magazine (5a, 5b) according to any one of claims 5-8, provided with a biasing means for biasing a row of clamps (21) in the magazine (5a, 5b) towards the exit opening of the magazine (5a, 5b).

11. A magazine (5a, 5b) according to any one of claims 5-10, comprising the row (21) of single-leg cable clamps stacked in front-to-back position within the guide slot of the magazine (5a, 5b).

12. A system comprising a driving device according to any one of claims 1-4 and one or more magazines according to any one of claims 5-10.

13. A system according to claim 12, wherein the driving device (1) is provided with left and right resilient members (36), such as blade springs, configured for biasing the respective left and right arms (23) of the magazine, towards their locking positions when the magazine is attached to the driving device.