Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
1061084
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to securing devices, and is
particularly applicable to devices or use in securing an
object, for example a sign, to a post or the like body.
BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION
It is often necessary to mount a body to a channel
member having a restricted mouth. Such channel members may
be provided on the rear of a sign, the body to be mounted
being a supporting post for the sign. Alternatively the
channel member may be a structural element to which a body,
such as an electric cable or group of cables are to be mounted.
Frequently the channel members are of soft~ aluminium, whereas
the mounting devices have to be of high tensile material such
as stainless steel. Some signs, however, do not have such
channel, but may have a return flange at the edge. It is an
object of the present invention to provide a mounting device
which is of wider applicability than the majority of mounting
devices hitherto known.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention there is provided
a device for use in securing an object to a post or the like
body, comprising a saddle having a pair of opposite side
members of similar form and spaced apart, the side members
being shaped along one edge to seat against the post, and a
pair of attachment members loosely carried at opposite ends
of the saddle each attachment member having a body portion
located at the respective end of the saddle and a stem portion
projecting beyond the saddle in the direction remote from said
shaped edges of the side members thereof and provided with
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abutment means, the body portion being adapted to co-operate
with strap means which may be passed around the post to secure
the saddle to the post and, tightened to cause a gripping action
on a said object located between the abutment means of the
attachment members and the saddle.
In one form of the invention, the saddle further
includes a base member extending between said side members, the
stems of the attachment members passing alongside the ends of
the base member, the abutment means being provided by lateral
enlargements on the ends of the stems of the attachment members
for engagement in a channel which forms part of the object which
is to be attached to the post, whereby the enlarged abutment
portions of the stems may be retained by inturned lips at the
mouth of the channel, said lips being thereby gripped between
the enlarged abutment portions of the attachment members and
the base member of the saddle when said strap means is tightened
around the post.
In another form of the invention, the saddle is
carried on one outside face of one of a pair of mutually in-
wardly facing channel shaped elongate members, the stems ofthe attachment members passing slidably through openings in the
elongate member to which the saddle is attached and secured to
the opposite elongate member, whereby tightening said strap
means around the post causes said opposite elongate member to
be drawn towards the other elongate member thereby gripping an
object located therebetween.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
28 In order that the invention may be more clearly
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1061(~1~4
understood? various embodiments will now be described with
reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Fig. 1 shows an exploded perspective view of a
saddle and attachment members of a first embodiment,
Fig. 2 shows a cross-sectional plan view of the
device in use,
Fig. 3 shows an exploded perspective view of a
second form of the device,
Fig. 4 shows an end view of part of an alternative
type of sign)for use with the mounting device of Fig. 3, and
Fig. 5 shows a perspective view of a third embodiment
of the device.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
_ _
Referring to the drawings, and firstly to Figs. 1
and 2; the device comprises a saddle 10 and a pair of
- attachment members 12. The saddle is made from a single piece
of sheet metal, for example stainless steel sheet, and
comprises a flat base member 14 and a pair of side members 16
projecting therefrom. The side members are of similar shape,
their edges remote from the base member 14 being of shallow
V-shape and are turned over to provide mutually inwardly
directing flanges 18. A part of the base member at each end
thereo~ is turned upwardly between the side members to provide
flanges 20. Lugs 22 project from the side members 16 at each
end of the saddle.
Each attachment member ~ is likewise conveniently
made from sheet metal, and comprises a rectangular body part
24 which is slightly narrower than the spacing between the
side members 16 of the saddle. A narrower stem 26 projects
from the body 24, and terminates in a laterally enlarged head
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28. This head may have ears 30 at each side of the head
extending at right angles thereto, either in the same or in
opposite directions (as shown). The body 24 has a slot ~2
therein to receive a flexible high tensile strap 34, as shown
in Fig. 2.
Fig~ 2 also shows a fragment of the sign which is to
be attached to a post by means of this fixing device. A sign
panel 36 has one or more elongate channel members 38 secured
to its rear surface, partly to make the panel more rigid, and
partly to provide a suitable fixing point. The channel is
conveniently made from extruded aluminium, and has inturned
lips 40 at the mouth thereof.
Fig. 2 shows how the device is used. Prior to use
t'` the attachment members ~ are assembled to the saddle 1~ by
locating the body parts 24 between the side members 16 with
the stem 26 projecting through the space in the base member
14 left by turning up the flanges 20. The flanges 20 provide
an abutment on one side of the attachment members, and the
lugs 22 are turned mutually inwardly at each end of the saddle
to provide a counter-abutment for loosely retaining the
attachment members. The attachment members are prevented
from sliding out by virtue of the fact that the flanges 20
extend only part way across the base part of the saddle for a
distance less than the width of the body or head of the
attachment members, so that the adjacent shoulders of the
base member retain the attachment members by engagement
alternatively with the head or body thereof.
The saddle is mounted to the channel ~ at the back
of a sign by inserting the heads of the attachment members
into one end of the channel and then s~iding the device along
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the channel to a suitable position. A flexible high tensile
strap 34, for example of stainless steel, is threaded through
the slots 32 in the attachment members, either before or after
attaching the device to the channel. The ends of the strap are
taken around a post 42 and secured in conventional manner by
means of a buck~ 44, after applying suitable tension to the
strap.
From Fig. 2 it will be seen that the post 42 seats
in the generally concave side of the saddle, the flanges 18
providing a suitable area of abutment. Tensioning of the strap
34 tends to draw the attachment members 18 towards the post,
and thereby the head 28 of each attachment member is forced
against the lips 40 of the channel 38 which are thereby
gripped between the heads of the attachment members and the
base member 14 of the saddle. The ears 30, if present, provide
an increased area of abutment with the lips 40, which may be
necessary in the case of aluminium channels particularly, to
prevent the head of the attachment member from cutting through
the lips of the channel.
~o The device is very simple to manufacture and to use,
and is very versatile in use. In particular, it can be used
for attachment to posts which are of larger or smaller
diameter than the length of the saddle.
Referring now to Fig. 3 of the drawings; the device
2, in this case comprises a saddle 50, which is also made from
sheet metal, with opposed pair of side members 52 shape along
one edge to provide a shallow V-concavity. Y-shaped edges are
bridged by webs 54, which provide an extensive bearing surface
for the post. The opposite edges of the side members 52 are
3C welded to a first channel shaped member 56. The two sides of
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the channel are of unequal depth, the side 58 being shorter
~ than the side 60. The web portions 54 terminate short of the
ends of the side members 52 of the saddle, and in the shallow
space left thereby, attachment members 62 are located (only one
such attachment member is shown). Each attachment member 62
has a rectangular body part 64 similar to that described in
the first embodiment, with a slot 66, and with a stem 68
projecting from the body part to pass slidably through a slot
70 in the channel member 56. Optionally, lugs 72 may be
provided on the side members 52 of the saddle to assist in
retaining the attachment members in their correct locations.
A second channel member 74 is provided facing the first channel
member 56, this channel member has a side 76 similar to the
side 58 of the first channel member, and opposite side 78. The
base web of the channel 74 is slightly wider than the base web
- of the channel 56, so that when the wall ~Oabuts the inside
surface of the wall 78, in the manner shown in Fig. 3, the
wall 58 is directly opposite the wall 76. The depth of the
wall 60 is somewhat greater than the combined depths of the
20 walls 58 and 76. The stem 68 of each attachment member passes
slidably through the respective slot 70 in the first channel
member 56 and passes also through an opposite slot 80 in the
second channel member 74. The projecting end of the stem 68
is turned over at 82 on the side of the channel 74 remote from
25 the saddle and is welded or otherwise secured to the channel
74.
In use, the device can be attached to a post by means
of a flexible strap, in the same marner as described with
reference to Fig. 2. In this case, however, tensioning of the
strap will cause the channel member 74 to be urged closer to
the channel member 56, and thus the opposed sides 58,76 of the
channels can act as a pair of jaws. In the embodiment shown
in Fig. 3, a sign panel 84 is turned over along one edge into
the form of a channel, so that one ~imb 86 of the channel is
5 parallel to and spaced from the plane of the sign panel 84.
This limb can thus be inserted into the mouth between the sides
58,76 of the channel members 56,74 prior to tightening the
strap, so that when the strap is tightened the flange 8~ is
securely gripped. If, in addition, the free edge of the flange
10 86 has been inturned to form a rib 88, this will provide
- security against the mounting device slipping off the flange 86,
particularly prior to tightening the strap. The sign panel 84
can be provided with a similar channel shaped portion on the
opposite edge, which can be attached to the same support post
15 by a similar attachment device.
This type of fixing device is, perhaps, even more
versatile than the first embodiment described above, since it
does not require the presence of a channel shaped member on
the rear of the article which is being mounted to the post.
2' It is only necessary that there be a fIange which can be
received in the jaws as shown in Fig. 4. Instead of turning
over the edges of a metal sign panel, a conventional sign
panel 90 could h7~ve an elongate member 92 of a similar shape,
secured to the rear surface of the sign. Instead of a single
~, strapJ separate straps could be connected to, or be ex~ensions
of, the two attachment members.
Fig. 5 shows an embodiment which comprises a saddle
10, which seats over the open mouth of a channel section
member 38, in the same way as in Fig. 1. A pair of stainless
30 steel attachment members 62, similar to those of Fig. 3, are
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provided, located one at each end of the saddle 10. The stem
68 of each attachment member 62 is passed through a slot 102
in a respective end portion of an elongated stainless steel
plate 104, and the ends of the stems being bent at right-angles
towards each other and spot welded to the underside of the
plate 104. The slots 66 receive the cranked ends of flexible
stainless steel straps, or a single strap passed through both
slots, the free strap ends being passed around the post,
tightened and secured by suitable means, as in Fig. 2. Prior
to attachment to the post, the saddle assembly is slid
lengthwise into the channel 38 at the rear of the sign, the
plate 104 engaging the inturned lips 40 of the mouth of the
channel, and preventing the device from becoming dislodged
from the channel. ~hen the strap is tightened, the lips 40 of
- 15 the channel are gripped between the plate 104 and the base 14
of the saddle.
Instead of the stems of the attachment members 62
passing through slots in the plate 104 and being welded thereto,
the plate could be an integral extension of the stems of the
two attachment members, so that the attachment members 62 and
the plate 104 are stamped out of a single piece of steel sheet
and bent into the U-form shown.
Although the invention has been illustrated with
reference to mounting a sign to a post, it lS to be understood
that the devices could be ~ed for mounting other bodies, such
as pipes or cables (for convenience referred to generically as
"posts"), to restricted mouth channel members.
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