Classifications

• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16L—PIPES; JOINTS OR FITTINGS FOR PIPES; SUPPORTS FOR PIPES, CABLES OR PROTECTIVE TUBING; MEANS FOR THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16L3/00—Supports for pipes, cables or protective tubing, e.g. hangers, holders, clamps, cleats, clips, brackets
  • F16L3/22—Supports for pipes, cables or protective tubing, e.g. hangers, holders, clamps, cleats, clips, brackets specially adapted for supporting a number of parallel pipes at intervals
  • F16L3/237—Supports for pipes, cables or protective tubing, e.g. hangers, holders, clamps, cleats, clips, brackets specially adapted for supporting a number of parallel pipes at intervals for two pipes

Definitions

• This invention is concerned with plastics clips of a type for resiliently holding an elongated article (e.g. a pipe or cable) having means to enable the clip to be fixed to a support and an article-receiving portion which is arranged to extend round more than 180° of the article and provides a seat against which the article rests and two arms disposed to bear on the article at either side of the seat.
• an elongated article e.g. a pipe or cable
• Such a clip, moulded in thermoplastic resinous material commonly takes the form in which the articlereceiving portion provides a continuous arcuate surface embracing more than 180° of the article, introduction of the article being permitted by the resilience of the material from which the clip is moulded.
• the article is as easy or difficult to dislodge as it is to assemble, and therefore, if the clip is designed to give a high degree of resistance to withdrawal of the article, the article is usually difficult to assemble.
• Such difficulty can be especially undesirable in the case of plastics pipes, for example for break fluid, such as are commonly used in motor vehicles and which, while requiring to be firmly anchored, would be subject to the risk of damage, with potentially serious consequences, if they are too difficult to assemble.
• one of the arms has a yieldable article-engaging finger normally disposed in an articleholding position and arranged to be deflected towards said seat when an article is introduced to the clip and to revert to its article holding position after the widest part of the article has passed it, and
• a flexible strap of a length substantially the same as that of the periphery of the article which lies between said finger and said seat extends between said seat and the tip of the finger, the strap permitting the finger to deflect as aforesaid when an article is introduced to the clip but resisting deflection of the finger away from the seat from its articleholding position such as would release the article.
• the strap extends about an arc of a radius slightly smaller than that of a cylindrical pipe for which the article-engaging portion of the clip is intended so that the strap is held in tension when a pipe is in position, thus to ensure that vibration of the pipe is absorbed by the clip.
• the tip of the finger has a rib to engage the article, the rib running parallel to the article.
• a clip in accordance with the invention may conveniently have a projection extending from the arm which is less yielding than the finger to act as a guide to facilitate assembly of the article.
• Such an arm is preferably also sufficiently yieldable for the projection to be used, by application of a thumb thereto, to assist opening of the clip to enable an article to be removed without damage.
• such an arm with its projection lies adjacent the support to which the clip is secured.
• a clip in accordance with the Invention may be provided with any suitable means to secure it to a support, e.g. a longitudinally grooved hole through it to enable it to receive grippingly a threaded stud welded to a support, and two article-engaging portions symmetrically disposed on opposite sides of said hole with their less yielding arms adjacent the support.
• Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of a clip in accordance with the invention and illustrative thereof by way of example;
• Figure 2 is a plan view of the clip shown in Figure 1 .
• the illustrative clip shown in the drawings is made by injection moulding in any suitable resilient thermoplastic resinous material, for example polyacetal resin.
• the clip has a body portion 10 having means, exemplified by a longitudinally grooved hole 12 extending though the body portion of dimensions suitable for gripping a welded stud T having a screw thread or annular grooves with steep ridges inbetween, to enable the clip to be secured to a support S.
• the illustrative clip is designed for holding two break fluid pipes P 1 , P 2 of equal diameters and is accordingly shaped symmetrically on either side of the body portion 10 with pipe-engaging portions 14, 14 .
• Each portion 14 has a seat bounding the body portion and presenting an arcuate surface of the same radius as the pipe it is intended to engage, and this surface continues along a lower, yieldable, arm 18 which terminates in a projection 20.
• an upper arm 22 projects from the body portion 10 and includes a depending, flexible and resilient finger 24.
• the arm 18, seat 16 and finger 24 embrace more than 180° of the pipe, and preferably more than 270°; in the embodiment shown in the drawings they embrace about 300° of the pipe.
• an arcuate strap 26 which provides an Inner surface continuous with that of the seat 16 but 0.005 - 0.01 inches smaller in radius.
• the strap is thin, compared with the lower arm 18, and because of its slightly smellier radius, is held in tension by a pipe accommodated in the portion 14.
• the finger has a ridge 28 extending along most of its length parallel to the pipe, where it engages the pipe.
• the strap 26 has a central strengthening rib 30 running along its outer surface.
• the lower arm 18 is less yieldable than the finger 24, and with its projection 20 guides a pipe P 1 into the embrace of the portion 14 and Into engagement with the seat 12. Meanwhile, the finger 24 is deflected towards the seat, the flexible strap bending to allow it to do so, until the widest part of the pipe P 1 has passed it, and it is restored to Its initial position. With the finger 24 thus restored to the position shown in Figure 1, the pipe P 1 is held tightly because first the portion 14 embraces the pipe for 300° around its surface and secondly because, the strap 26 being in its natural condition slightly smaller In radius than the pipe, when the pipe P 1 is forced into it the strap is in tension.
• the clip is thus able to absorb vibration of the pipe P 1 .
• the strap 26 prevents the finger 24 from being deflected away from the seat 12.
• the projection 20 can readily be depressed by the thumb to facilitate release of the pipe P 1 from the clip.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Supports For Pipes And Cables (AREA)
• Clamps And Clips (AREA)
• Connection Of Plates (AREA)
• Furniture Connections (AREA)

Priority Applications (1)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=6119889

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (7)

Cited By (5)

Families Citing this family (10)

Citations (6)

Family Cites Families (4)

• 1980
  • 1980-12-22 DE DE19803048382 patent/DE3048382A1/de active Granted
• 1981
  • 1981-12-17 GB GB8138157A patent/GB2090320B/en not_active Expired
  • 1981-12-21 ES ES1981262547U patent/ES262547Y/es not_active Expired
  • 1981-12-21 FR FR8123852A patent/FR2496827B1/fr not_active Expired
  • 1981-12-22 WO PCT/GB1981/000282 patent/WO1982002239A1/en unknown
  • 1981-12-22 BR BR8108918A patent/BR8108918A/pt not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1981-12-22 JP JP56207938A patent/JPS57129912A/ja active Granted

Patent Citations (6)

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