Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
BACKGROUND OF TOE INVENTION
The present invention is directed towards
improvements in cable clamps. More particularly, the
invention is concerned with an improved clamp for multi-
strand cable featuring positive strand engagement.
Applicant has already described in his Canadian Patent No. 1,055,133 of May 22, 1979 a hooking device for
holding a wire or the like from a suspended cable, such
as a guy wire which runs between poles on a street and
generally consists of a multi-strand cable This hooking
device comprises a pair of opposingly disposed clamping
members having respective end edges and lateral edges and
arranged one over the other with the respective end edges
facing one another, one end edge of each clamping member
being bent to define a jaw means for gripping the multi-
strand cable and having fingers asymmetrically formed
thrilling, the other end edges of the clamping members
abutting one another whereby to act as a hinge for moving
the jaw means between open and closed positions. releasable
coupling means interconnect the clamping members and are
operable to bias the jaw means to the closed position for
releasable securing the cable in clamping engagement
between the jaw means with the asymmetrically formed fingers
interdigitating, the coupling means including a bolt having
a longitudinal axis extending perpendicular to the clamping
members. The hooking device further comprises at least
on hooking member for holding the wire or the like, the
hooking member having a connecting end, a stem portion and a
hooking end, the connecting end being mounted between the clam-
ping members to the bolt with the stem portion extending
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generally perpendicular to the bolt and out of the coupled
clamping members through one of the other end edges and
lateral edges thereof, the other end edges and lateral
edges each having guide means or orienting and maintain-
in a hooking member substantially perpendicular to and parallel to the cable, respectively.
The above hooking device is conveniently used
for connecting a TV cable from a house directly to a nearby
guy wire running between poles on a street where such poles
are spaced too far from one another and it is impossible
to secure the TV cable to a pole without a major portion
of the cable sagging to an undesirable extent. Applicant
has found that even if the device is tightly clamped to
the guy wire, it tends to loosen after a certain period
lo of time As a result, the hooking device will pivot
under tension about the guy wire in adverse weather condo-
lions and thus cause the TV cable to sway, which may
interfere with the transmission of the TV signal.
The same problem also occurs with other types of
clamps, such as the lashing wire clamps which are used to
secure the dead-end of a lashing wire to a guy wire. These
generally comprise a pair of clamping plates with a bolt
and nut cooperating to bias the plates towards one another
so as to clamp the guy wire there between, the dead-end
of the lashing wire being connected to the portion of the
bolt which projects from one of the plates. Since there
are no positive strand engagement means, the clamps tend
to rotate with respect to the guy wire.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of this invention to
provide an improved multi-strand cable clamp having positive
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strand engagement means, the clamps tend to rotate with
respect to the guy wire and also to slide thrilling.
Salary OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of this invention to
provide an improved clamp for multi-strand cable having
positive strand engagement means so as to prevent the clamp
from pivoting about the cable as well as sliding thrilling.
In accordance with the present invention, there is
thus provided in a clamp for multi-strand cable comprising a
pair of opposingly disposed clamping members each having an
edge bent to define a jaw means forming a longitudinal passage
for gripping a multi-strand cable extending there through, the
clamping members being engaged with one another to permit
movement of the jaw means between open and closed positions,
and releasable coupling means interconnecting the clamping
members and operable to bias the jaw means to the closed post-
lion for releasable securing the cable in clamping engagement
between the jaw means, the improvement wherein the bent edge
of each clamping member is formed with a tooth which is
inclined relative to the longitudinal axis of the passage so
as to engage the cable between two successive outer strands
thereof, thereby providing a positive strand engagement and
preventing the clamping members from pivoting about the cable.
According to a preferred embodiment, the tooth is
formed at an end edge of each clamping member and adjacent a
lateral edge thereof, the tooth of one clamping member being
arranged diagonally opposite the tooth of the other clamping
member when viewed facing the jaw means. Preferably, the tooth
of each clamping member is rectangular in cross-section.
Owing to the provision of a tooth at the bent edge
of each clamping member, which tooth is adapted to penetrate
between two successive outer strands of the cable as the jaw
means are moved to the closed position, the cable clamp of the
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Further advantages and features of the invention
will become more readily apparent from the following
description of preferred embodiments -thereof as illustrated
by way of examples in the accompanying drawings, in which:
Fig. l is a perspective view of a clamp for multi-
strand cable according to a first preferred embodiment of
the invention,
Fig. 2 is a side view of the cable clamp
illustrated in Fig. l;
Fig. 3 is an exploded view of the cable clamp
of Fig. l;
Fig. 4 is a perspective view of another clamp for
multi-strand cable according to a second preferred embody-
mint of the invention;
Fig 5 is side view of the cable clamp illustrated in Fig. 4,
Fig. 6 is a top view of the cable clamp of Fig. 4
Fig. 7 is an exploded view of the cable clamp of
I Fig. 4;
Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing the cable
clamp of Fig. 4 clamped to a stranded cable and holding
a messenger coaxial cable with the messenger wire being
grounded to the clamp;
Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the grounding
connector used to connect the messenger wire to the cable
clamp as illustrated in Fig. 8;
Fig. lo is a bottom view partly in section of the
grounding connector shown in Fig. 9; and
Fig. if is a fragmentary part-sectional view
showing how the grounding connector of Fig. 9 is mounted
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showing how the grounding connector of Fig. 9 is mounted to
the cable clamp illustrated in Fig. 8.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring firs-t to Figs 1-3, there is illustrated a
lashing clamp which is generally designated by reference
numeral 10 and seen clamped to a multi-strand cable 12 made
of a plurality of strands 14 twisted together. m e clamp 10
comprises a pair of identically shaped clamping members 16 and 16'
having respective end edges 18,20 and 18',20' and disposed one
over the other with the respective end edges facing one another.
The end edges 18 and 18' of the clamping members 16 and 16' are
bent to define opposed jaws cooperating to clamp the cable 12
there between, whereas the end edges 20 and 20' abut one an-
other whereby to act as a hinge allowing movement of the jaws
between open and closed positions. Releasable coupling means
consisting of a thrum bolt 22 and nut 24 are provided for move
in the jaws defined at the end edges 18,18' to the closed
position so as to secure the cable 12 in clamping engagement
between the jaws, the bolt 22 being fixed to the clamping member
16' as at 26. The longitudinal axis of the bolt 22 extends per-
pendicular to the clamping members 16 and 16'~ A lock-washer
28 is interposed between the clamping member 16 and the nut 24
for securely retaining the clamping members together in the
closed position. The dead-end of the lashing wire (not shown)
is connected to the bolt 22 between the washers 30 and is held
in place by means of the nut 32.
In order to prevent the clamp 10 from pivoting about
the cable 12 as well as sliding thrilling, the end edges 18,18'
of the clumping members 16 and 16l are formed with respect
live projecting teeth 34,34' of rectangular cross-section,
each tooth being disposed adjacent one lateral edge of a clamping
member and being inclined relative to the longitudinal axis of
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the cable 12 so as to engage the cable between two successive
outer strands 14 thereof, as best shown in Fig. 2. Ike tooth
34 of the clamping member 16 is arranged diagonally opposite
the tooth 34' ox the other clamping member 16' when viewed
facing the end edges 18,18', as shown in Fig. 3. These teeth
bit into the Cobb 12 as they penetrate between the outer
strands 14 when the jaws defined at the end edges 18,18' are
moved to the closed position by means of the bolt 22 and
nut 24, thus providing a positive strand engagement.
The clamp 10 is further provided with guide means
for preventing misalignment of the jaws during opening or
closing thereof. Such guide means include a projection 36 on
the clamping member 16 at its end edge 20 and a corresponding
notch 38' formed in the clamping member 16' at its end edge 20',
into which the projection 36 is inserted. A similar guide pro-
section 36' is also provided on the clamping member 16', which
is spaced from the notch I and inserted into a corresponding
notch 38 formed in the clamping member 16, such that correspond-
in guide projections and notches are inserted in one another.
As shown, the clamping members 16 and 16' are
outwardly bulged between the end edges thereof so as to
resist deformation during repeated use of the clamp 10.
Turning now to Figs 4-7, there is illustrated a
hooking device 100 which has been improved over Applicant's
earlier device described in the aforementioned Canadian
Patent No. 1,055,133. The hooking device 100 comprises a pair
of identically shaped clamping members 102 and 102' having
respective end edges 104,106 and 10~',106' and disposed one
over the other with the respective end edges facing one
another. The end edges 104 and 104' of the clamping members
102 and 102' are bent to define opposed jaws cooperating to
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clamp the cable 12 there between, and have a plurality of
gripping fingers 108 and 108' asymmetrically formed
thrilling. the other end edges 106 and 106' abut one
another whereby to act as a hinge allowing movement of the
jaws between open and closed positions Releasable coupling
means consisting of a bolt 110 and nut 112 are provided
for moving the jaws defined at the end edges 104,104' to
the closed position so as to secure the cable 12 in clamping
engagement between the jaws with the asymmetrically formed
fingers 108,108' interdigitating. The longitudinal axis
of the bolt 110 extends perpendicular to the clamping members
102 and 102'. A lock-washer 114 is interposed between the clam-
ping member 102 and the nut 112 for securely retaining the
clamping members together in the closed position. As shown in
Fig. 5, the end edges 104,104' of the clamping members 102 and
102' together with the fingers 108,108' define respective
channels 116 and 116' for wittingly receiving the cable 12
in clamping engagement between the jaws.
- In order to prevent the hooking device 100 from
rotating with respect to the cable 12 as well as sliding
thrilling, the end edges 104,104' of the clamping members
102 and 102' are formed with respective projecting teeth
118,118' of rectangular cross-section, each tooth being
disposed adjacent one lateral edge of a clamping member and
being inclined relative to the longitudinal axis of the
cable 12 so as to engage the cable between two successive
outer strands 14 thereof, as best shown in Fig 5. The
tooth 118 of the clamping member 112 is arranged diagonally
opposite the tooth 118' of the other clamping member 102'
when viewed facing the gripping fingers 108,108', as shown
in Fig. 7. These teeth bit into the cable 12 as
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they penetrate between the outer strands 14 join
the jaws defined at the end edges 104,104' are moved to
the closed position by means of the bolt 110 and nut 112,
thus providing a positive strand engagement.
S The hooking device 100 is further provided with
guide means for preventing misalignment of the jaws during
opening or closing thereof. Such guide means include a
projection 120 on the clamping member 102 at its end edge
106 and a corresponding notch 122~ formed in the clamping
member 102l at its end edge 106', into which the projection
120 is inserted. A similar guide projection 120l is also
provided on the clamping member 102l, which it spaced from
the notch 122l and inserted into a corresponding notch 1~2
formed in the clamping member 102, such that -corresponding
guide projection sand notches are inserted in one another.
The hooking device 100 is also provided with at least
one hooking member 124 having a connecting end aye stem
portion 12~ and a hooking end 130. the connecting end 126
of the hooking member 124 is mounted between the clamping mom-
biers 102 and 102' to the bolt 110 and held in place by means
of the nut 132, the stem potion 128 extending perpendicular
to the bulletined out of the clamping members through the end
edges 106,106'. Aligned openings 134 and 134' are formed in
the clamping members 102 and 102' and located centrally
along the end edges 106 and 106', the openings 134,134'
receiving there through the stem portion 128 of the hooking
member 124 and thus serving as guide means for orienting
and maintaining the hooking member 124 substantially per-
pendicular to the cable 12~ It is also possible for the
hooking member 124 to extend out of the clamping members
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102 and 102' through the lateral edges thereof. To this
end, a lateral guide projection is provided on either
side of the hooking device 100 for orienting and maintain-
in a hooking member 124 substantially parallel to the
cable 12. As best shown in Figs 6 and 7, such lateral
guide projection comprises a first portion 136 extending
laterally of the clamping member 102 and a second portion
which extends in a direction generally perpendicularity
the clamping member 102 and is bifurcated to define a
pair of spaced-apart prongs 138 adapted to receive
there between the stem portion 128 of a hooking member
124. The clamping member 102' is similarly formed with a
lateral extension 136' and a pair of spaced-apart
prongs 138'~ It should be noted that since the prongs
138,138' are secured at their bases consisting of
the lateral extensions 136,136' which are remote from
the lateral edges of the clamping members 102 and 102',
the space defined between the prongs does not tend to
weaken the strength of the clamping members nor do the
prongs tend to open after a certain period of time, as
was the case with Applicant's former hooking device in
which the prongs projected directly from the lateral edges.
As shown, the clamping members 102 and 102' are
outwardly bulged between the end edges thereof whereby to
I resist deformation during repeated use of the device 100.
Fig. 8 shows how the hooking device 100 may be
used for holding a messenger cable 140 consisting of a
coaxial cable 142 operative to transmit a signal, for
example a TV signal, and a steel messenger wire 144
which is connected to the cable 142 and extends thrilling
for supporting it. To this end, a dead-end messenger wire
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holder 146 such as described in Applicant's cop ending
Canadian application No. 422,507, filed February 28, 1983,
is advantageously utilized, which is hooked to the hooking
member 124 of the device 100. The messenger wire 144 is
grounded to the hooking device 100 by means of a specially
designed grounding connector 148 which is adapted to fit
onto the prongs 138 or 138'.
s shown in Figs 9-11, the grounding connector
148 comprises a generally U-shaped bracket member 150 having
a pair of opposed arms 152 and 15~ adapted to fit over the
prongs 138' with the prongs 138' being disposed between
the arms 152 and 154 (as best shown in Fig. 11), and a bolt
156 having a head 158 and a threaded stem 160, the threaded
stem 160 extending through a bore 162 in the arm 152 and
between the prongs 138' and being in thread able engagement
with a threaded bore 164 in the arm 154. The bolt 156 thus
serves to releasably`secure the connecting portion 166 of the
the messenger wire 1~4 against the arm 152 while simultane-
ouzel securing the bracket member 150 to the prongs 13~'.
In order to facilitate the connecting ox the
messenger wire 144 to the bracket member 150, these is pro-
voided a wire end retention means consisting of an aperture
protrusion 168 which is formed on the arm 152 and located
adjacent the bore 162 for receiving the terminal end 170
of the messenger wire 1~4 so as to allow the connecting
portion 166 to be wrapped around the stem 160 of the bolt
156 and formed into an open loop defining a throat, while
the terminal end 170 is retained captive in the aperture
protrusion 168. This enables the looped connecting
portion 166 thus formed to be substantially entirely disposed
underneath the head 158 of the bolt 156, as best shown in
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Fig. 10. A guide abutment 172 is also provided on the
arm 152 for arresting a segment of the looped connecting
portion 166 which extends closely opposite the aperture
protrusion 168. As shown, the guide abutment 172 is
disposed in spaced relation to the bore 162 and the pro-
trusion 168 so as to maintain -the looped connecting portion
of the wire positioned underneath the head 158 of the bolt
156 and thus prevent same from expanding laterally when
the bolt 156 is tightened and the head 158 frictionally
engages the looped connecting portion 166 to securely
press same against the arm 152.
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