US3403592A

US3403592A - Staple structure

Info

Publication number: US3403592A
Application number: US592583A
Authority: US
Inventors: Charles O Larson
Original assignee: CHARLES O LARSON Co
Current assignee: CHARLES O LARSON Co
Priority date: 1966-11-07
Filing date: 1966-11-07
Publication date: 1968-10-01
Anticipated expiration: 1985-10-01

Description

Oct. 1, 1968 c. o LARSON 3,403,592

STAPLE STRUCTURE Filed Nov. 7, 1966 Jizuznf? Ckawld alkrzs'wz/ 3,403,592 STAPLE STRUCTURE Charles 0. Larson, Sterling, 111., assignor to Charles 0. Larson Co., Sterling, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Filed Nov. 7, 1966, Ser. No. 592,583 1 Claim. (Cl. 85-49) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A staple having parallel legs including shank portions of a length approximating that of the connecting base portion and terminating in elongate tip portions gradually tapered and symmetric to a central apex facilitating driving of the staple into a support with reduced tendency toward twisting of the legs.

This invention relates generally to a mounting assembly and more particularly to a staple.

Cables, conduits and other objects having a relatively large cross-sectional area are commonly mounted on a support surface or wall with a metallic strap anchored by nails to the wall. The metallic strap usually extends across an outer surface of the object and is nailed to the wall to clamp the object in abutting engagement with the wall. This method of mounting an object requires that the object be first positioned in abutting engagement with the wall and the strap positioned relative to the object. Then, while the strap and object are being held in position, a first outer end of the strap is nailed to the wall. The mounting of the object is completed by nailing the other end of the strap to the wall.

The above described method of mounting objects having a large cross-section on a support surface or Wall requires that the strap and object be held with one hand while nails are pounded through the substantially unrestrained end of the strap. This simultaneous holding and pounding is both difiicult and time consuming. The difiiculties are increased by the necessity of stretching the strap tautly between the nails to provide the necessary clamping action to hold the object in place on the support surface or wall. Once the object has been mounted by nailing the strap in place, it is extremely difficult to increase the clamping action of the strap against the object.

Therefore, a general objective of the present invention is to provide an improved staple type mounting which overcomes the aforementioned limitation of prior art structures. Specifically, it is an object of this invention to provide a widespread staple for readily clamping objects having a large cross-sectional area to a support surface. More particularly, the invention provides a staple relatively dimensioned with shank portions of the legs approximating the length of the connecting base portion and with the shank portions terminating in elongate tip portions approximating one-half the length of the shank portions and providing peripherally symmetrical fiat surfaces tapering to a central apex to facilitate driving of the staple into a support without twisting of the legs.

These and other objects and features of the invention will become more apparent by a reading of the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view illustrating the positioning of a staple relative to an object to be mounted on a support surface immediately before the staple is driven into the support surface to mount the object;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view illustrating the staple of FIG. 1 in an operational position clampingly mounting an object on a support surface;

FIG. 3 is an end view, taken along the line 3-3 of nited States PatentO FIG. 2, illustrating the structure of an end portion of the staple;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged elevational view taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 2 further illustrating the structure of the end portion of the staple;

FIG. 5 is an elevational view, similar to FIG. 1, of a staple for mounting relatively delicate easily crushed objects; and

FIG. 6 is an elevational view, similar to FIG. 2, illustrating the staple of FIG. 1 in a mounting position retaining the delicate object on a support surface.

Referring now to the drawings in greater detail, a staple or mounting apparatus 10 is illustrated in FIG. 1. The staple 10 includes a pair of spaced-

apart leg sections

12 and 14. The

leg sections

12 and 14 are positioned with their

central axes

16 and 18 in substantially parallel relationship. Each of the

leg sections

12 and 14 includes an inner shank or body portion 20 and an outer end or tip portion 22 which is integrally formed with the shank portion 20. The

leg sections

12 and 14 are interconnected by a base section 24 which is integrally formed with the leg sections and extends between the leg sections. The base section 24 includes a pair of spaced apart

shoulder portions

26 and 28 which are positioned at opposite ends of the base section 24 adjacent to the

leg sections

12 and 14. The

shoulder portions

26 and 28 are interconnected by a central clamping portion 30.

The staple 10 is intended for use in mounting cables, conduits or other objects 40 having a relatively large crosssectional area on a mounting surface 42 of a support member 44. From an inspection of FIG. 1, it will be apparent that the object 40 has a diameter 46 of substantially the same length as the length of the base section 24. It should be noted that the shank or body portion 20 of the

leg sections

12 and 14 has substantially the same length as the base section 24 and consequently substantially the same length as the diameter 46 of the object 40. Since the base section 24 has substantially the same length as the diameter 46, the shank portion 20 of the

leg sections

12 and 14 tangentially, abuttingly engages opposite outer sides of the object 40.

The staple 10 is driven from the position shown in FIG. 1 to the position shown in FIG. 2 by the alternate application of a striking force to the

opposite shoulders

26 and 28 of the staple 10 with a heavy object such as a hammer.

The alternate application of striking force to the drive or

shoulder portions

26 and 28 of the staple drives the staple downwardly so that the

central axes

16 and 18 of the

leg sections

12 and 14 extend perpendicular to the support surface 42. After the outer or tip portions 22 of the

leg sections

12 and 14 have been driven into the support member 44, the base section 24 is in tangential abutting engagement with the side of the object 40 which is outermost from the support surface 42. A further alternate application of a striking force to the drive portions or

shoulders

26 and 28 drives the shank portion 20 of the

leg sections

12 and 14 into the support member 44. As the shank portion 20 of the

leg sections

12 and 14 enter the support member 44 the central portion 30 of the base section 24 is bent by abutting and clamping engagement with the object 40. The central portion 30 of the base section 24 is bent outwardly with substantially the same curvature and configuration as the outer side of the object 40. This outward bending action of the object 40 on the base section 24 enables the

leg sections

12 and 14 of the staple 10 to be driven into the support member 44 so that the shank portions 20 of the leg sections are driven into the support member to securely clamp the object 40 in position on the support surface 42.

Referring now to FIG. 3, taken in conjunction with FIG. 1, the

leg sections

12 and 14 are substantially cylindrical in shape. The base section 24 is also cylindrical in shape, the staple having been formed from a continuous cylindrical member by bending the member at

corners

50 and 52 to form the staple 10. The tip portion 22 of each of the

leg sections

12 and 14 includes a plurality of sides or surfaces 56 through 62 (see FIG. 3) which extend for the length of the tip section 22 to form a generally rectangular pyramid having its apex or peak 64 positioned on a central axis of the leg sections.

As is perhaps best seen in FIG. 4, the end portion 22 is elongated to provide relatively easy wedging engagement between the surfaces 56 through 62 when the staple is driven into a support member 44. Since the apex 64 of the staple is positioned on the central axis 16 of the leg sections of the staple, the support member 44 exerts a substantially even force on all sides of the

leg sections

12 and 14 when the staple is driven into a support surface. Since the forces exerted by the wedging engagement between the staple and the support member 44 are evenly positioned relative to the central axis of the

leg sections

12 and 14, the staple does not tend to pivot or twist about the leg sections as the staple is driven into the support member 44. By experimentation it has been determined that if slash or chisel points, that is a point beveled in only one direction and having its apex positioned off the center line of the leg section, are used the staple tends to twist and collapse due to the uneven application of force on the pointed end portions of the leg sections of the staple. It has also been determined that a staple having a tip or end section 22 of a length which is approximately onehalf the length of the base section 24 of the staple and the shank portion 20 of the staple is easiest to drive into the support member 44.

Referring now to FIGS. and 6, when a delicate easily crushed object, such as a thin-walled conduit 80 is to be mounted on a support surface 82 of a support member 84, the base section of the staple cannot be deformed by abutting engagement with the relatively thin-walled conduit 80. Therefore, a second embodiment of the invention has been illustrated in the staple 90 of FIGS. 5 and 6 for monuting conduits 80 on support members 84. The staple 90 includes a base section 92 which interconnects a pair of spaced-apart substantially

parallel leg sections

94 and 96. The

leg sections

94 and 96 include an inner shank portion 100 and an outer tip or end portion 102.

The staple 90 is substantially similar in its construction to the staple of FIGS 1 through 4.. However, the shank portion 100 of the

leg sections

94 and 96 is substantially longer in length than is the base portion 92 of the staple 90. This longer shank section 100 enables the staple to be driven, by the application of alternate striking forces to shoulder or drive

portions

106 and 108 of the base section 92 to mount the conduit 80 on the support surface 82 with the

leg sections

94 and 96 and the base section 92 in tangential abutting engagement with the exterior surface of the conduit 80. Since the shank section 100 is substantially longer than the base section 92, the shank section 100 is positioned in locking engagement with the support member 84 even though the base section 92 is not deformed or bent by the alternate application of a striking force to the

shoulders

106 and 108.

The manner in which the present invention may be practiced and the purpose to which it may be put are evident from the foregoing description. Therefore it is not believed that a further functional description of the mode of operation of the invention is necessary at this time. However, it should be noted that the staple 10 includes a pair of

leg sections

12 and 14 having a shank portion 20 which is substantially the same length as the base section 24 of the staple to provide a staple suitable for mounting objects 40 having a relatively large cross-sectional area on a support member 44. The object 40 is mounted on the support member 44 by driving the staple through the alternate application of a striking force to the

shoulder portions

26 and 28. As the staple is driven into the support member 44, the central portion 30 of the base section 24 is bent to clamp the object 40 securely again t the support member 44. In a second embodiment of the invention a staple 90 is provided for mounting conduits having a relatively large cross-sectional area. The staple differs from the staple 10 in the provision of a shank portion having a length which is substantially longer than the length of the base section of the staple 92 to permit the conduit 80 to be mounted on a base member 84 without deforming or bending the base section 92 of the staple by abutting engagement with the thin-walled conduit 80.

While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown, it should be understood, of course, that the invention is not limited thereto since many modifications may be made; and it is, therefore, contemplated to cover by the appended claim any such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A one-piece staple for mounting an object on a support member, said staple comprising: first and second leg sections of equal length having spaced-apart substantially parallel central axes, each said leg sections including a shank portion for engaging opposite sides of the object and a tip portion, each said tip portion being substantially one-half the length of its associated shank portion and including a plurality of substantially fiat interconnected surfaces peripherally symmetrical meeting at an apex to define a point on a central axis of the leg sections; and a base section integrally formed with and interconnecting said leg sections with a central axis of the base section extending perpendicular to the central axes of the leg sections, said base section having approximately the same length as the shank portions of said leg sections and including a pair of drive portions located at opposite ends of said base section and a central portion interconnecting said drive portions, each of said shank portions and said base section being of uniform circular cross section throughout substantially the entire length thereof, and said leg sections and said base section each being straight throughout substantially its entire length, said staple being adapted to be moved from a first position in which said base section is substantially straight and spaced apart from the object to a second position in which said central portion of said base section is bent outwardly by abutting engagement with a third side of the object and with the drive portions depressed below the outwardly bent portion of said base section to securely clamp the object to the support member, said staple being adapted to be moved from said first position to said second position by the alternate application of a striking force to said drive portions of said base sec tion, said tip portions and said shank portions being in locking engagement with the support member when said staple is in the second position to securely mount the object on the support member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,562,681 11/1925 Bonaly 85-49 1,998,991 4/ 1935 Heller 85-49 2,132,295 10/1938 Hawkins 85-49 2,351,608 6/ 1944 Greenwood 85-49 2,632,356 3/1953 Thiel 85-49 2,887,004 5/ 1959 Stewart 85-49 3,154,999 11/1964 Stewart 85-49 303,398 8/ 1884 Phillips 85-49 2,418,539 4/ 1947 Anderson 85-49 2,741,147 4/ 1956 Marano 85-49 2,918,240 12/1959 Wiegand 85-49 3,279,300 10/ 1966 Larson 248-71 CARL W. TOMLIN, Primary Examiner.

R. S. BRITTS, Assistant Examiner.