WO1994027073A1

WO1994027073A1 - Cleats

Info

Publication number: WO1994027073A1
Application number: PCT/GB1994/001035
Authority: WO
Inventors: Robert Cyril Lyon
Original assignee: Robert Cyril Lyon
Priority date: 1993-05-15
Filing date: 1994-05-13
Publication date: 1994-11-24
Also published as: GB9522278D0; GB2292180B; GB2292180A; CA2162389A1; CA2162389C; GB9310048D0

Abstract

A cleat for mounting a cable has a hook-shaped body (3) with an open cable-receiving mouth. With the cable in position the mouth of the hook shaped body is closed with a closure part (4). The inner surfaces (12, 28) of the body (3) and the closure part (4) define a ring with multiple inclined or curved portions (14, 15, 16,, 30, 31, 32) so that cables of different diameters can be clamped between the body (3) and closure part (4). The open mouth of the body (3) may face upwardly to retain the cable prior to attachment of the closure part (4). Clips (39, 40) may be provided around the cleat to provide fall-back support for the cable in high temperature or fire conditions.

Description

CLEATS TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to a cleat for use in mounting elongate articles,

such as cables.

BACKGROUND ART

A known form of cable cleat, which is referred to as a hook cleat, has

a main body part with a hook section defining an open mouth. In use, this part is fastened to a wall or other support structure, the cable is located

within the hook section by insertion through the open mouth, and the mouth

is then closed by attachment of a closure part to the main body part. The

closure part has a curved closure section which forms a ring structure with

the hook section which encloses and securely retains the cable.

This known kind of hook cleat is particularly simple and convenient to use because the hook section provides a temporary support for the cable

during installation.

However, with the known hook cleat the hook section and the curved

closure section have inner part-cylindrical surfaces which are clamped against the cable from opposite sides.

With this arrangement, depending on the relative diameters of the

cable and the inner surfaces of the hook and closure sections there may only

be small areas of contact with the cable so that a relatively large clamping force is required for secure retention of the cable. This may be inconvenient

and also may cause damage to the cable. Also a relatively wide range of

sizes of cleats may be required to accommodate different diameters of cables. Further, any difference in diameter between the cable and the inner

surfaces of the clamping sections, as would be the case in practice, will

cause the cable to move its position as the sections are tightened against

the cable, which is inconvenient from the installation point of view and may

give rise to damage.

Moreover, with the known arrangement, the main body part has the

hook section depending from a fixing part. When the cleat is attached to a vertical wall surface by means of a bolt passed through the fixing part, the hook section provides a hanging temporary support for the cable during

installation. This may require the use of expensive, strong materials for the hook section to withstand the imposed stresses, and with the assembled

cleat the arrangement lacks security in that the cable may readily release in fire conditions due to melting of the hook section unless expensive fire

resistant materials are used. Also, since the bolt is located at the top of the

hook section it can interfere with easy insertion of the cable from above into

the temporary support position. DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved cleat with which the aforementioned disadvantages of the known cleat or at least some

of them can be overcome or at least minimised.

According to one aspect of the invention therefore there is provided

a cleat for use in mounting an elongate article comprising a body part having

a hook section defining an open mouth, a fixing section on the body part for

attachment to a support structure, and a closure part attachable to the body

part by fixing means to close the mouth, the hook section and the closure

part having shaped inner surfaces which define a ring structure to enclose

and retain the elongate member, and said fixing means is operable to move the surfaces towards each other to clamp the elongate member,

characterised in that at least one of said inner surfaces has multiple portions

with different inclinations or curvatures.

With this arrangement it is possible to achieve secure clamping even

in the case where the elongate article has a circular cross-section which is

significantly smaller than the maximum cross-section of the ring structure defined between the said inner surfaces. A wide range of diameters of elongate articles can be accommodated with a relatively small number of

different sizes of cleats. This is because the use of different

inclinations/curvatures permits contact at multiple positions as necessary

and can facilitate the application of a progressively increasing powerful

clamping force possibly in the manner of a wedging action. Moreover this can be achieved without undue risk of damage to the elongate member and

without necessarily causing the member to shift its position as it is clamped.

Most preferably both said inner surfaces have multiple portions with different inclinations/curvatures.

The different portions may comprise a central curved portion,

preferably of circular curvature, with side portions comprising tangential flat portions or curved portions of much greater diameter.

In a particularly preferred embodiment each inner surface has the

aforesaid arrangement of a central curved portion and two side portions and the inner surfaces are arranged to be spaced apart at their ends at least prior

to maximum movement towards each other so that essentially an 8-sided ring structure is defined.

The fixing means which moves the cleat parts towards each other is preferably arranged to act on contacting inclined sliding surfaces whereby

the respective parts move towards each other with a wedge or ramp action

as the surfaces are tightened against each other.

The fixing means may comprise a bolt, or threaded stud passed

through aligned apertures in the fixing section of the body part and the

closure part at one end of the hook part, and engaged with a nut on the

outer side of the closure part. This bolt or stud may also be used to attach

the cleat to a wall or other support structure behind the body part. There may be two pairs of engageable inclined surfaces provided

respectively on opposite ends of the body part at or adjacent opposite ends

of the open mouth. In this case, the inclined surfaces at the fixing section end of the body part may be longer than those at the opposite end.

The inclined surfaces may be defined by elongate rails, and each

inclined surface may have a pair of such rails.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, the fixing section of the body

part is at a bottom end of such part and the hook section mouth is open upwardly therefrom.

Thus, and in accordance with a second aspect of the present

invention, which may be combined with the first aspect, there is provided

a cleat for use in mounting an elongate article comprising a body part having

a hook section defining an open mouth, a fixing section on the body part for

attachment to a support structure, and a closure part attachable to the body

part by fixing means to close the mouth, the hook section and the closure

part having shaped inner surfaces which define a ring structure to enclose

characterised in that said fixing section is at a bottom end of the body part and the hook section mouth is open upwardly therefrom.

With this arrangement, the body part of the cleat can be supported on an upright support structure from below at said fixing section. This means

that it is not necessary to use specially strong materials for the hook section to ensure adequate strength prior to attachment of the closure part. Also it

is not necessary to use specially fire resistant materials to prevent the

elongate article dropping out of the assembled cleat in fire conditions.

Moreover, the upwardly open hook section mouth can be well clear of the

fixing section and the fixing means whereby the elongate article can be readily dropped into position prior to attachment of the closure part.

The use of a bottom end fixing section also gives a wider range of design possibilities. In particular it is feasible and convenient to use inclined

surfaces having a greater angle of inclination and therefore a better wedging

or ramp action. In particular, with the prior art cleat there are inclined

surfaces between a top fixing section and a depending hook section and an angle of 45° is used. Any greater angle would tend to increase the

separation of the fixing and hook sections (and hence the weakness of the

structure) and also could tend to obstruct entry into the hook mouth. With

the present invention an angle greater than 45 ° , say 60° can be used

without necessarily adversely affecting strength or entry into the hook

mouth.

The cleat of the invention may be used to support any suitable kind

of elongate article, preferably but not necessarily an electric cable. Also, the cleat may be used on an upright support structure such as

a wall, or on any other kind of support structure disposed at any angle or

disposition.

The cleat may be attached, in conventional manner, to a fixing

channel which may extend horizontally with the cleat hanging down, or

projecting upwardly.

Multiple like cleats of the same or different size may be stacked one

against another with the back of the body part of one engaging the front of the closure part of another. These parts may be provided with cooperable configurations such as elongate ridges or shoulders engageable with

elongate channels or grooves.

In order to give additional strength and support, particularly with a

view to retaining at least some support for the elongate article in high temperatures or fire conditions, the cleat is preferably provided with a metal

(or other fire resistant) clip attached around at least part of the sur ace thereof and retainingly engageable with the fixing means whereby on partial

or complete failure of the body part and/or closure part of the cleat the elongate article may still be retained by the clip.

Thus and in accordance with a further aspect of the present invention

there is provided a cleat having two parts which can be clamped around an

elongate article to hold such article relative to a fixing means attached to a supporting structure, characterised by the provision of at least one clip

fitting around at least part of at least one of said parts and retainingly engageable with the fixing means.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described further by way of example only

and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figs. 1 to 3 are side views of one form of a cleat according to the invention with parts thereof shown in different relative

positions with cables of different diameters; Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the cleat on line I V-IV of

Fig. 1 ; Fig. 5 is a vertical section through a body part of the cleat-

Figs. 6 & 7 are views from the left and right of Fig. 5;

Fig. 8 is a vertical section through a closure part of Fig. 5; and

Figs. 9 & 10 are views from the left and right of Fig. 8.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to the drawings, a cleat for use in supporting an electric

cable 1 on an upright wall structure 2 is formed from two strong moulded

plastics parts, a body part 3 and a closure part 4.

The body part 3 has two planar, parallel shaped vertical side walls 5

linked by integral transverse web structures defining an upper open mouthed hook section 6, and a lower fixing section 7. The body part 3 has a vertical

generally planar back wall structure 8 perpendicular to the side walls 5, and

an inclined front wall structure 9 essentially defined by two rails 10 (Fig. 7)

at front edges of the side walls, running at about 60° to the vertical.

There is a through circular bore 1 1 (Figs. 6 and 7) in the transverse

web structure 12 (Fig. 5) forming part of the fixing section 7 between the

side walls 5.

Upwardly directed edges 12 of the side walls 5 are linked by a further transverse web structure 13 of the aforementioned open-mouthed hook section 6. This defines an upwardly directed channel which is ribbed and

has three surface portions: a central part cylindrical surface portion 14 and

two planar side surface portions 15, 16 extending tangentially from the

central portion 1 . At the bottom end of the open hook mouth one of these

side portions 16 terminates in a sharp edge meeting the inclined front wall

structure 9. At the top end the side portion 15 terminates in a sharp edge which leads to a short upwardly inclined wall structure 17 which is parallel

to the front wall structure and is also defined by two rails 18 and a

transverse web structure 19.

The closure part 4 is constructed generally in like manner to the body

part 3 and also has two planar, parallel shaped vertical side walls 20 linked

by integral transverse web structures defining an upper open mouthed hook shaped closure section 21 and a lower clamping section 22.

The closure part has a vertical generally planar back wall structure 23

perpendicular to the side walls 20, and an inclined front wall structure 24

essentially defined by two rails 25 at front edges of the side walls 20,

running at 60° to the vertical.

There is a through bore 26, which is vertically elongated in cross-

section, in the transverse web structure 27 forming part of the clamping section between the side walls 20.

Downwardly directed edges 28 of the side walls 20 are linked by a

further transverse web structure 29 of the aforementioned open mouthed

closure section 21. This defines a downwardly directed channel which is ribbed and has three surface portions: a central part cylindrical surface

portion 30 and two tangential planar side portions 31 , 32. At the bottom end the respective side portion 32 terminates in a cut back surface leading

to the inclined front wall structure 24. At the top end the side portion 31 terminates in a sharp edge which meets a short upwardly inclined wall

structure 33 which is parallel to the front wall structure and is also defined by two rails 34 and a transverse web structure 35.

In use, a threaded stud 36 is fixed at one end into the vertical wall

surface 2 so that the opposite threaded end of the stud extends horizontally

outwardly from the wall. This stud is engaged with the hole 1 1 in the body part 3 of the cleat so as to hold the body part 3 in position on the wall (by

means of a nut 37 on the threaded stud 36) with the hook section mouth

open upwardly and the body part 3 supported from below on the stud 36.

The electric cable 1 is then inserted through the open mouth of the

hook section 6 so as to be temporarily supported by the cleat.

When temporary installation of the cable has been completed, the

closure part 4 is fitted by engaging the elongate bore 26 with the threaded

end of the stud 36. A nut 38 is then tightened against the back wall structure of the closure part 4 to move the closure part 4 towards the body part 3.

The cable 1 rests on the channel of the hook section 6 of the body

part 3. The channel of the closure section 21 of the closure part 4 engages

the cable 1 from above. The inclined rails 10, 25 of the two front wall structures 9, 24 engage each other, as also do the rails 18, 34 of the two

upper short wall structures 17, 33. As the nut 38 is tightened, the rails slide

along each other and the cable is securely clamped between the channels of

the hook and closure sections.

As can be seen from Figs. 1 -3 the cable 1 may be contacted at two

diametrically opposed positions on its periphery if it is relatively small, or the

cable may be contacted at two pairs of diametrically opposed positions if it

is relatively large, and these positions, and the area of contact, will differ depending on the diameter of the cable. In each case, the cable is securely gripped over a good surface area and does not move to adjust its position

as the nut is tightened. The ramp action of the 60° sliding rails facilitates

secure clamping.

The cable, if relatively large is enclosed within a ring structure which

is generally octagonal (Fig. 1 ). If it is relatively small, the ring structure becomes generally hexagonal.

Because the body part 3 is supported from below by the stud 36 it is

not necessary to use specially strong materials. Also, it is not necessary to use specially fire resisting materials since the cable 1 will not readily drop out if the cleat is subjected to fire conditions.

For further strengthening and resistance to adverse fire affects, it is

possible to provide metal (e.g. springy steel) clips which fit around the cleat, e.g. as shown in Fig. 2 at 39, 40. The clips 39, 40 have bores therein to

allow passage of the stud 36. In the event that the cleat is partially or completely destroyed or damaged by heat or fire, the clips will give at least

some residual support for the electric cable. If desired clip 39 may be

omitted to leave only clip 40 as shown in Fig. 4.

The cleat described above can be used with multiple like cleats

stacked one against the other to support multiple cables. In this respect as

shown in Fig. 4, the body and closure parts 3, 4 have respectively pairs of cooperable grooves 41 and ridges 42 which interengage to locate and seat

the cleats relative to each other.

It is of course to be understood that the invention is not intended to

be restricted to the details of the above embodiment which are described by

way of example only.

Thus although the cleat is described as being fixed to a vertical wall

surface by a threaded stud it is to be understood that the cleat may be fixed

in any suitable manner to any suitable structure having any suitable

disposition.

Claims

1 . A cleat for use in mounting an elongate article comprising a body part

having a hook section defining an open mouth, a fixing section on the body

part for attachment to a support structure, and a closure part attachable to

the body part by fixing means to close the mouth, the hook section and the

closure part having shaped inner surfaces which define a ring structure to enclose and retain the elongate member, and said fixing means is operable to move the surfaces towards each other to clamp the elongate member,

characterised in that at least one of said inner surfaces has multiple portions

with different inclinations or curvatures.

2. A cleat according to claim 1 characterised in that both said inner surfaces have multiple portions with different inclinations/curvatures.

3. A cleat according to claim 1 or 2 characterised in that the different

portions comprise a central curved portion and side portions which are

tangential flat portions.

4. A cleat according to claim 1 or 2 characterised in that the different

portions comprise a central curved portion and side portions which are curved with a larger diameter of curvature than the central portion.

5. A cleat according to any one of claims 1 to 4 characterised in that

each inner surface has a central curved portion and two side portions and

the inner surfaces are arranged to be spaced apart at their ends at least prior to maximum movement towards each other to define an 8-sided ring structure.

6. A cleat according to any one of claims 1 to 5 characterised in that the

fixing means is arranged to act on contacting inclined sliding surfaces

whereby the respective parts move towards each other with a wedge or

ramp action as the surfaces are tightened against each other.

7. A cleat according to any one of claims 1 to 6 characterised in that the fixing means comprises a bolt or threaded stud passed through aligned apertures in the fixing section of the body part and the closure part at one

end of the hook part, and engaged with a nut on the outer side of the

closure part. This bolt or stud may also be used to attach the cleat to a wall

or other support structure behind the body part.

8. A cleat according to any one of claims 1 to 7 characterised in that there are two pairs of engageable inclined surfaces provided respectively on

opposite ends of the body part at or adjacent opposite ends of the open

mouth.

9. A cleat according to claim 8 characterised in that the inclined surfaces

at the fixing section end of the body part are longer than those at the

opposite end.

10. A cleat according to claim 6 or any claim dependant thereon

characterised in that the inclined surfaces are defined by elongate rails.

1 1 . A cleat according to claim 10 characterised in that each inclined surface has a pair of said rails.

12. A cleat according to any one of claims 1 to 1 1 characterised in that

the fixing section of the body part is at a bottom end of such part and the

hook section mouth is open upwardly therefrom.

13. A cleat for use in mounting an elongate article comprising a body part

having a hook section defining an open mouth, a fixing section on the body part for attachment to a support structure, and a closure part attachable to the body part by fixing means to close the mouth, the hook section and the closure part having shaped inner surfaces which define a ring structure to

enclose and retain the elongate member, and said fixing means is operable to move the surfaces towards each other to clamp the elongate member,

characterised in that said fixing section is at a bottom end of the body part

and the hook section mouth is open upwardly therefrom.

14. A cleat having two parts which can be clamped around an elongate

article to hold such article relative to a fixing means attached to a supporting

structure, characterised by the provision of at least one clip fitting around

at least part of at least one of said parts and retainingly engageable with the

fixing means.

15. A cleat according to any one of claims 1 -12 which is also a cleat

according to claim 13 or 14.

16. A cleat according to any one of claims 1 to 15 when attached to an

upright support structure and supporting an electric cable.

17. A cleat according to any one of claims 1 to 15 when attached to a

fixing channel so as to hang down therefrom.

18. Multiple cleats according to any one of claims 1 to 15 when stacked

one against another with the back of the body part of one engaging the front

of the closure part of another.