Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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BACKGROUND OF T~IE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a device
for holding a cable suspended from a support, and
more particularly a cable of the type having an
aerial support wire connected therealong for support~
ing same, such as the steel messenger coaxial cable
used in the ca~le TV industry~
Applicant has already described in his
Canadian Patent No. 982,787 of February 3, 1976
a wedge clamp for securing a coaxial television
cable to a support. This wedge clamp comprises a
conical body member formed with a longitudinal outer
groove having a depth smaller than the diameter of
the cable ~or receiving the cable such as to leave
a cable portion protruding therefrom, and a conical
wedge sleeve for mounting over the body member and
~ormed with a longitudinal slot for passing the cable
theret~rouyh. The conical body member is also pro-
vided at its smaller end with means for connecting
it to a support. Thus, in use, the wedge sleeve is
mounted over the body member wi-th the slot in axial
alignment with the groove, the cable is inserted in
the groove -through the slot and the sleeve is rotated
over the body member to clamp the cable therebetween.
Since nowdays coaxial TV cables are generally
no longer used alone but rather in combination with a
steel messenger wire which is connected therealong by
means of the PVC or rubber coating covering both the cable
and messenger wire, for the purpose of supporting the
cable suspended above ground between two remote connection
points, Applicant's cable clamp described above cannot
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be used successfully to secure this type of cable
to a support, such as a pole or a housing. As the
primary purpose of the messenger wire is to support
the cable suspended above ground and to thereby
prevent axial tensions from belng exerted along the
cable, it is *hat wire which must be secured to the
support, instead of the cable itself. Thus, when
using Applicant's wedge clamp, sufficient clamplng
pressure cannot be exerted on the rnessenger wire
owing to the difference in size between the messenger
wire and the cable, the messenger wire having a much
smaller diameter than the cable. As a result, the
steel wire cannot be positively held and therefore
has a tendency of slipping within its plastic j~cket.
Other devices are also known for securing
a guy wire to a support and have been used for holding
a messenger coaxial cable suspended therefrom. One
such device is the so~called guy thimble which consists
of an elongated piece of metal bent to define an open
loop and formed with a longitudinal outer groove for
seatingly receiving over the loop a dead-end portion of
the messenger wire which has been separated from the
cable, with the dead-end of the wire being wound around
the messenger wire itself adjacent the ends of the loop
for posit:ive securement. Due to the particular confi-
guration of this device, the dead-end portion of the
messenger wire often slips away during installation, thus
rendering the latter difficult and time consuming. Dif-
ferent sizes of guy thimbles are also re~uired for differ-
ent si~es of messenger wires. Moreover, since the loop
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is generally small in diameter and is mounted over aneye bol~ or hoo~ secured to the support, the dead-
end of the messenger wire is held close to the point
of attachment to the support, resulting in fatigue or
stress being induced in the nearby cable portion upon
swinging movement of the attachment due to weather
conditions. As the cable and messenger wire which
remain connected together adjacent the winding of
the wire dead-end portion over the loop are not
positively retained together by any means other than
their own plastic coating, they often undergo further
separation when separating forces are exerted thereon.
Another known device consists of a preformed
grip wire bent to define a closed loop and having
elongated, twisted end portions adapted to be wound
around the dead-e~d portion of the messenger wire.
This grip wire basically suffers from the same dis-
advantages noted above in respect to the guy thimble,
in addition to not being reusable.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of this invention
to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks and to provide
a device for holding a cable of the above type sus-
pended ~rom a support, in such a manner that the aerial
support wire can be securely held at the dead-end
thereof while preventing the cable from undergoing
separation from the support wire when separating forces
are exerted thereon~as well as preventing fatigue or
stress from being induced in the cable.
In accordance with the present invention,
there is thus provided a device ~or holding a cable
suspended from a support, the cable havlng an aerial
support wire connected therealong for supporting same~
The device of the invention comprises an open-ended
tubular member having an inlet end and an outlet end
for receiving the cable and support wire therethrough
with an end portion o~ the support wire extend:ing beyond
the outlet end and separated from th~ cable, abutment
means disposed adjacent the out:Let end and substantially
along the longitudinal axis of the tubular member for
engaging the support wire to enable the cable to extend
freely within the member while permitting the end portion
of the support wire to be bent adjacent the outlet end so
as to extend exteriorly of the member in a direction towards
the inlet end, at least one wire retention opening formed
in the tubular member for enabling the wire end portion
to be further bent and retained captive so as to be
secured to the tubular member and means for connecting
the tubular member to the support such that the tubular
member lies at a predetermined distance from the support.
The cable is thus indirectly held by the device o~ the
invention via the aerial support wire having the end
portion thereof secured to the tubular member.
Ac~ording to a particularly preferred embodi
ment, the wire retention opening comprises a slot
formed at the inlet end and having a first portion
extending inwardly from the inlet end for receiving the
wire end portion and a second portion extending sub-
stantially transversely to the ~irst portion for captive-
ly retaining khe wire end portion received through the
first slot portion and into the second slot portion~
Thus, in use, the end portion of the support wire extend-
ing beyond the outlet end is secured to the tubular
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member by bending the wire end portion about the abutment
means adjacent the outlet end so as to extend ex-teriorly
of the member in a direction towards the inlet end,
inserting the wire end portion through the first slot
portion and then in-to the second slot portion while
applying a pulling force so as to cause the wire end
portion to extend closely adjacent the tubular member
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between the ends thereof and to ~urther bend at the
second slot portion for captive retention therein.
The provision of an open-encled tubular member
through w~ich both the cable and support wire extend with
the wire end portion being securely held thereby enables
the retention force to be applied exclusively to the
support wire, thus indirectly securing the cable via
its support wire while provicling to the cable portion
separated from the support wire and extend:ing beyond
the outlet end full liberty of movement without any
fatigue or stress i.nduced therein. On the other hand,
the body of the tubular member acts as a stopper to
prevent the cable from undergoing any further separa-
tion from the support wire when separating forces are
exerted thereon.
BRIEF DESCRIPTIO~ OF THE DRAWINGS
Further -features and advantages of the inven-
tion will become more readily apparent from the fol.low-
ing description of preferred embodiments thereof as
illustrated by way of example in the accompanying
drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a device
ac~ording to a preferred embodiment o~ the invention,
as seen holding a messenger coaxial cable suspended
from a pole,
Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view
of the device of Fig. 1, showing how the dead-end of the
messenger wire is secured at ~he inlet end of the device,
Fig. 3 is a view similar to that of FigO 2,
showing how the dead-end of a messenger wire having a
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smaller siæe can be secured at the inlet end of the
device,
Fig. 4 is another view similar to -that of
Fig. 2, showing how the dead-end of a messenger wire
having a larger size can be secured at the inlet end
of the device,
Fig. 5 is a top view of the device shown
in Fig~ 1,
Fig. 6 is a sideview of the same device
Fig~ 6A is a fragmentary longitudinal
section of the device shown in Fig. 6,
Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sideview of the
device of FigO l~showing how it can be used as a tool
to separate the cable and messenger wire extending
beyond the outlet end of the device,
Fig. 8 is a perspective view of another
device according to a further preferred embodiment
of the invention' and
Fig. 8A is a fragmentary longitudinal
section of the device shown in Fig. 8
DESCRIPTIOM OF PRFFERRED EMsoDIMENTs
Referring first to the embodiment represented
in Figures 1 through 7, th~re is illustrated in Fig. 1
a dead end messenger wire holder which is generally
designated by reference numeral 10 and seen hooked to
a pole 12, holding a messenger cable 14 suspended
therefrom. The messenger cable 14 includes a coaxial
cable 16 operative to transmit a signal, for example a
TV signal, and a steel messenger wire 18 which is
connected to the cable 16 and extends therealong for
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supporting ,it, both the cable 16 and messenger wire
18 are held connected toge ther by means of the PV~
or rubber coating covering them.
~he wire holder 10 comprises an open-ended
tubular member 20 made of galvanized steel and having
an inlet end 22 and an outlet end 2~, throuyh which
the messenger cable 14 extends., The tubular member
20 has a conical configuration tapering towards the
outlet end 24, and is provided at its outlet end with
10 an outwardly projecting abutment 26. The abutment
26 is planar and lies in a plane extendiny substan-
tially alony the central axis of the tubular member
20, as best shown in Fig. 6. A pair of L-shaped
slots 28 and 28' are provided at the inlet end 22 and
15 are arranged diametrically opposite one another. An
elongated hookiny member 30 consisting of a metallic
wire bent to define a hooking loop 32 and having the
ends 34 and 34' thereof crimped in the abutment 26
serves as a connecting means for connectiny the tubu-
20 lar member 20 to the pole 12. As shown, the hooking
member 30 extends along the longitudinal axis of the
tubular member 20 and connects the member 20 to the
pole 12 such that it lies at a predetermined distance
from the pole 12.
The L-shaped slots 28 and 28 t which are
provided at the inlet end 22 of the tubular member 20
serve as means for securing the dead-end of the
messenyer wire to the member 20. Each slot has a
wire receiviny portion extending inwardly from the
30 inlet end 22 and along the lonyitudinal axis of the
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tubular member 20, and a wire retaining pc>rtion extending
perpendicularly to the wire receiving portion. As
shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the dead-end portion 18' of the
messenger wire extending beyond the outlet end and
separated from the cable portion 16' is secured to
the tubular member 20 by first bending the wire end
portion 18' over the outer edge of the abutment 26
between the spaced-apart ends 34 and 34' of the hooki.ng
member 30, so as to extend exteri.orly of the tubular
member 20 in a direction towards the inlet end 22 there-
of. Next, the wire end portion 18' is inserted through
the wire receiving portions of the slots 28 and ~8' and
then into the wire retaining portions thereof while
applying a pulling force so as to cause the wire end
portion 18' to extend closely adjacent the tubular mem-
ber 20 between the ends 22 and 2~ thereo~ and to further
bend at each slot for captive retention therein.
The securing arrangement shown in Fig. 2 is
particularly useful for securing the dead-end of a
messenger wire of medium size, that is, having a diameter
of about 0.062 inch, in this case, the wire end portion
18' is securely retained by the provision of two anchor-
ing points, one at each slot. On the other hand, when
use is made of a messenger wire of smaller size, that
is, having a diameter of about 0.051 inch, it is advan-
tageous to insert the wire end portion 18' a second time
into the slot 28, thereby providing three anchoring points
for positively securing the dead~end of such messenger
wire, as shown in Fig. 3. With a messenger wire of larger
size, that is, having a diameter of about 0.081 inch, it
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is generally necessary to :insert the wi.re end portion
18' only ln one slot, such as the slot 28, as shown
in Fig~ ~, thus, in this case, only one anchoring
point is needed since the stiffness of such messenger
wire contributes to the positive securing of the wire
in slot 280
It should be noted that the open-ended tubu-
lar member 20 through which the messenger cable 14
extends with the dead end portion 18' o~ the messenger
wire 18 keing securely therehy enables the re-tention
force exerted by the wire retaining slots 28 and 28'
to ~e applied exclusively -to the messenger wire 18,
thus indirectly securing the cable 16 via its messenger
wire 18 while providing to the cable portion 16' sep-
arated ~rom the wire end portion 18' and extendingbeyond the outlet end 24 of the member 20 full liberty
of movement without any fatigue or stress induced
therein. The body of the tubular member 20, on the
other hand, acts as a stopper to prevent the cable 16
from undergoing any further separation from the
messenger wire 18 when separating forces are exerted
thereon.
As best shown in Figs 5 and 6, the outlet
opening 36 which is provided at the outlet end 24
of the tubular member 20 and captively retains the
cable 16 and messenger wire 18 together is angularly
inclined relative to the longitudinal axis o~ the
member 20. As also shown, the peripheral end edge
of the member at the outlet opening 36 merges with
the abutment 26
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In order to prevent the ou-ter edge of the
abutment 26 from damaging the PVC or rubber jacket
covering the messenger wire which is bent thereover,
the abutment 26 is provided an inwardly bent extension
38 which is curved to define a rounded folding edge
40, as best shown in Fig. 6A. On the other hand, the
hooking member 30 which extends from the abutment 26
has its ends 34 and 34' crimped in the abutrnent with
a retaining force capable of sustaining a load up to
about 300 pounds. Thîs feature enables the connec-tion
between the tubular member 20 and the hooking member 30
to yield when the rnessenger cable 14 is impacted for
instance by a moving truck or a falling tree, thus
avoiding damage to the pole 12 or other support.
Fig. 7 shows how the device 10 can be ad-
vantageously used as a tool to separate the cable 16
and rnessenger wire 18 from one another immediately
prior to securing the dead-end portion 18' o the
messenger wire to the tubular member 20~ As shown,
after having inserted the messenger cable 1~ -thxough
the tubular member 20 and separated only the ends of
the cable and messenger wire with conventional means
such as a knife or a rasor blade, the hooking loop 3
of the hooking member 30 is inserted between the
separated ends which are then grasped with one's hand
and the member ~0 is grasped with the other hand and
pulled in the direction shown by the arrow in Fig. 7,
so as to cause further separation of the cable and
messenger wire. Owing to the circular cross-section
of the metallic wire constituting the hooking member
30, the cable and messenger wire can thus be separated
to the desired length, w1thout damage to their ~VC
or rubber jacket. It should also be noted that the
wire end portion 18' which has been separated from
the cable portion 16' is in a position ready for
being bent over the outer edge of the abutment 26.
Turning to Fig. 8, there is illustrated
another dead-end messenger wire holder 100 similar to
the device 10 represented in Figs 1-7, comprising an
open~ended tu~llar member 102 of conical configuration
and having an inlet end 104 and an outlet end 106 with
L-shaped wire retaining slots 108 and 108' at the inlet
end. However, instead of having a hooking member in the
form of a wire loop connected to the tubular member as
in the device 10, the embodiment of Fig. 8 has an
elongated hooking member 110 which is solidary with
the tubular member 102. The hooking member 110 is
provided with an eyelet 112 adjacent the hooking
end thereof and with a slot 114 adjacent the outlet
20 end 106 of the tubular member 102. The inner periph-
eral edge 116 which is defined by the slot 114 in the
hooking member 110 includes a folding edge portion
116' adjacent the outlet end 106 for enabling the dead-
end portion of the messenger wire to be bent thereover
after having been inserted in the slot 114, and to be
~hereafter secured to the tubular member 102 by means
of the slots 108 and 108' similarly as in Figs 2-4.
As best shown in Fig~ 8A, the slot 114 is formed by
cutting out a portion in the hooking member 110, the
3G cut-ou-t portion 118 being bent inwardly to provide to
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the folding edge portion 116' a rounded configura-tion,
thus avoiding damage to messenger wire when it is bent
thereover.
As it is apparent, the invention provides
a dead-end messenger wire holder which is secure, con-
venient and easy to install,
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