WO1985003800A1

WO1985003800A1 - A marking device for elelctrical conductors and components

Info

Publication number: WO1985003800A1
Application number: PCT/SE1985/000048
Authority: WO
Inventors: Lars Skarin
Original assignee: Partex Fabriksaktiebolag
Priority date: 1984-02-17
Filing date: 1985-02-01
Publication date: 1985-08-29
Also published as: IT8567161A0; DE8423747U1; ZA85924B; IT1182444B; AU3933785A; IT8552994V0; SE8400888D0; IT8567161A1

Abstract

Devices for marking electric wires and components. It eliminates the need of using two different types of such devices for each of those two fields of use. A marking device according to the invention has a central portion (2) with marking symbols (3) and two lateral mounting portions (4 and 5). When the device is used for marking an electric wire (8) the latter is received in the space between portions (2, 4 and 5). When the device is used for marking an electric component (9) its mounting portions (4, 5) are, by a snapping action, retained in recesses (16) in one of the wall surfaces of the component.

Description

A marking device for electrical conductors and components

There exist several different systems for the identification of electrical conductors. According to the oldest method the insulating covers of the individual conductors in a cable were given mutually different colours.Why this "analogous" marking method is still applied within the telecommunication industry and in cables and conductors for the distribution of electrical energy at line voltage it lacks practical interest in other applications. In all other fields of use the conductors or wires used are of the same colour. The identification problem has instead been solved by the mounting, on each wire, of a marking device having marking symbols in "digital" form, usually numbers, letters or combinations thereof. The marking devices may either consist of sleeves or rings, i.e. be closed in their circumferential direction, or be of the saddle type. In the latter case each marking device has a central portion with a surface for the marking symbols, and two legs which clasp the wire between them and, thanks to the elasticity of the material, retains the device on the wire. In contrast thereto, sleeves or rings naturally have to be slipped axially onto the wire meaning that, in comparison to the saddle type marking device, it has the disadvantage of permitting mounting only when a free wire end is available. On the other hand such devices cannot get lost after having once been mounted. It is also possible to provide them with bellows-like folds whereby each individual sleeve or ring of a given size can be used on conductors having different diameters within a given, relatively large diameter interval. However, the identification need is present not only in connection with wires but also at certain components, especially connectors and terminals. Each such component is as a rule given the same identification mark as that of the wire which is to be connected to it. Generally, a large number of connectors are mounted side by side on one or more mounting rails. A primitive way of solving the identification problem is to provide an elongated sign having one marking symbol opposite each component. A somewhat better method is to use an individual sign for each component. However, it is as a rule necessary, or at least highly desirable, that each component can be provided with its own marking device which consequently remains on the component even when its related wire is disconnected. The greatest advantage of individual marking of the components is, however, that the very first connection of the wires to the components can be carried out very quickly and without any risk of confusion since all the operator has to do is to make sure that the marking of the wire he is connecting agrees with that of the component. Prior art marking devices for components generally consist of flat signs which, when to be mounted, are deformed by bending, then introduced into a mounting groove and released there, so that they are retained thanks to the elasticity of the sign material. However, especially in view of the development towards small components this mounting work is complicated because the handling of the correspondingly small signs requires much attention and precision. There does consequently exist a need of a marking device for components which is easier to handle.

Further, already in view of storing costs, but also for further obvious reasons it would be an advantage if it were possible to eliminate the present necessity of using two different marking systems, one for the wires and one for the components, and instead have access to marking devices usable in both those contexts. The object of the invention is to provide a marking device satisfying the above mentioned needs. A further object of the invention has been to provide a component', particularly a connector or a terminal, designed -so that it may receive marking devices primarily intended for use on wires.

The characteristics of the invention are set out in the claims and some embodiments of the invention will now be described, reference being made to the drawing. Figure 1 is a perspective view showing, in its not mounted state, a marking device according to a preferred embodiment.

Figure 2 corresponds to Figure 1 but shows the marking device mounted on an electric wire. Figure 3 is a part-section lateral view of an electric component in the form of a connector provided with a number of marking devices according to Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 4 does, on a larger scale, illustrate a portion of an electric component having recesses for marking devices of other types.

The device shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is suitably manufactured by extrusion of an elastic synthetic resin. Following the extrusion proper the extruded string is provided with marking symbols and then, by transverse cuttings, divided into a plurality of marking units as shown in Fig. 1. The device has a central portion 2 with a marking symbol 3. Integrally connected to the central portion are two mutually opposite mounting portions 4 and 5. As far as this general configuration is concerned the marking device is previously known. However, according to the invention, the free ends of the mounting portions 4 and 5 have been given a special configuration which will be referred to later on. A marking device for wires may have two or more marking symbols 3 in the form of figures and/or letters. However, this invention is especially useful in the electronics field. Due to the fact that in that area the wires are thin it often is necessary to provide each marking device 1 with one single marking symbol only. This means that, when the complete marking text consists of several digits, it has to be composed by a correspond¬ ing number of marking devices mounted on the wire axially after each other.

In Fig. 2 the device is shown mounted on an electric wire 8. The mounting is carried out by pushing the device radially over the wire. During that operation legs 4 and 5 are resiliently forced apart when the wire passes through the slot between them whereupon they again move towards each other and, thanks to the elasticity of the material, retain the device on the wire 8. As appears from the drawing, the free end portions 6 of legs 4 and 5 have a larger cross-section than the rest of the device and their inner walls form inclined guiding surfaces 7. It should be observed that the outer walls of beads 6 are convex. The purpose of that configuration is to improve the retaining action of the beads when the device is mounted in a groove of a component in the way shown in the bottom left magnified portion of Fig. 3. As has already been mentioned, in many installations a number of connectors 9 as shown in Fig. 3 are mounted side by side on a common mounting rail. The latter is often of U-shaped cross-section and the flanges thereof inserted into grooves above and below a central body portion 10. The connector shown in Fig. 3 is of the type where one wire is to be connected to each of two interconnected terminals 11. When the wire ends have been received in those terminals they are locked in that position by the tightening of a lock screw 12. In order to ensure a correct and quick wiring operation it is necessary that both the components and the wires carry marking devices. Thanks to the present invention it has been made possible to use one and the same type of marking device for both the components and the wires. As most clearly appears from the magnified top portion of Fig. 3, an inclined front surface of connector 9 has a number of transverse ribs 13 defining grooves 16 between themselves. The marking devices 1 are mounted on ribs 13, beads 6 of their legs 4, 5 resting in grooves 16. It will be seen that marking devices are slightly expanded, i.e. the distance between the inner ends of legs 4 and 5 is greater than in the unmounted state of the device.

Further, according to the embodiment here illustrated, each groove 16, except the two outermost grooves, receives two legs from a pair of adjacent marking devices.

According to the embodiment illustrated in the magnified bottom portion of Fig. 3 both legs of each marking device are received in one and the same groove 16 or, differently put, when the devices are mounted beads 6 are forced together instead of apart. It should however be observed that, according to both embodiments illustrated in Fig. 3, the marking devices are retained by a snapping action. It should also be noticed that the configuration of ribs 13 and grooves 16 are the same according to both mounting methods just described. The statement latest made applies also to the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 4. In other words, ribs 13 and grooves 16 of the component are the same as in Fig. 3. On the other hand, the marking devices 14 and 15, respectively, received in grooves 16 are not of the saddle type but of the bellows type. This means that the legs do not have any free ends but are united via one or more bellows-like folds 17. These folds have a dual function. Their first function, since long known per se, is to increase the wire diameter interval within which any given marking device can be used as has already been mentioned above. The second function, which is exercised when the marking device is mounted on a component as shown in Fig. 4, consists in an increase of a transversally directed elastic force retaining the device in its mounting groove.

Finally, it should be emphasized that the embodi- ments of the invention here illustrated and described do just exemplify the inventive concept which consists in the realization that, by giving wire identification devices a suitable configuration and by providing components with suitable mounting means, it is possible to use one and the same type of marking device for the identification of wires as well as components. More specifically, when the device is used together with components, it is mounted and retained by a snapping action. One modification of the system illustrated in Fig. 3 would be to receive each of legs 4 and 5 in individual mounting grooves.

Claims

1. A marking device, preferably manufactured by extrusion of an elastic synthetic resin and comprising a central portion (2) having marking symbols (3) and two lateral mounting portions (4, 5), defining between themselves a space for an electric wire

(8), c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that said mount¬ ing portions (4, 5) are adapted by a snapping action . alternatively to retain the device in corresponding recesses in an electric component, especially a connec¬ tor (9).

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which mounting portions^' (4, 5) each has a free end, c h a r a c ¬ t e r i z e d in that each of said ends is shaped like a bead (6) for co-operation with said recesses (16).

3. An electric component, especially a connector (9) or a terminal having means (11, 12) for the connection of electric wires thereto, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that, in at least one of its wall surfaces, the component has a number of recesses (16) with such a profile that they may, by a snapping action, retain mark¬ ing devices (1), each such device being made by extru¬ sion of an elastic synthetic resin and comprising a central portion (2) having marking symbols (3) and two opposite mounting portions (4, 5), said portions defin¬ ing between themselves a space for alternative reception of an electric wire (8) .