MARKING DEVICE

DISPOSITIF DE MARQUAGE

English Abstract

The invention relates to a device for marking electric
wires or the like and presents a solution of the
problem of making it possible to use one and the
same marker alternatively for permanent or temporary
mounting. In the first case the marker is threaded
over the wire in the direction of the longitudinal
axis of the wire, whereas in the latter case it is
mounted by a displacement in the radial direction of
the wire and retained by a snapping action. The marker
which consists of an elastic plastic material comprises
an outer portion shaped like an inverted U and an
inner portion having two lateral legs. According to
the invention the space for receiving a wire on which
the marker is permanently mounted is defined between
said inner and said outer portion whereas a space for
receiving a wire on which the marker is temporarily
mounted is defined between the legs of the inner portion.

Claims

Claims:
1. A device for marking wires manufactured as an
integral piece of an elastic plastic material, said
device, in its unmounted condition, having a
cross-section comprising an outer portion in the shape of
an inverted U or a semi-circle, the ends of which
merge into an inner portion having two lateral legs
and a central part and, between the inner portion
and the outer portion, defining a space for
receiving the wire on which the device is then
protected from unintentional dismounting by being
pushed onto the wire in the direction of the
longitudinal axis of the wire to thereby completely
surround the wire; and
wherein, for the purpose of providing an
alternative mounting of the device on the wire, by
the wire radially entering the space between said
legs, said central part being elastically
deformable, whereby, in its alternatively mounted
position, the device is, by a snapping action,
retained on the wire and the central part surrounds
a major portion of the circumference of the wire.
2. The device of claim 1, wherein said device is
manufactured as an extrusion.
3. The device of claim 1 or 2, wherein said
central part of the inner portion is shaped like a
bellows for the purpose of permitting use of the
marking device on wires of mutually different
diameters.
4. The device of claim 1 or 2, wherein said legs,
adjacent their junctions with said outer portion,
exhibit exposed projections which increase the
snapping action retaining the device on the wire.

Description

1 3 ~
A marking device
The present invention relates to a device for marking
electric wires or the like which device consists of
an integral unit, preferably manufactured by extrusion
of an elastic plastic material. When not mounted on a
wire the device exhibits in cross-section an outer
portion shaped like a reversed ~,or a semi-circle,the
ends of which merge with an inner portion having two
1C lateral legs and a central portion, said legs defining
~etween themselves and said outer portion a space for
receiving the wire by axial insertion thereof, whereby
the device is securely retained on the wire.
1~ Since several decades the prior art has comprised two
main tvpes of such marking devices, namel~ or the one
hand devices similar to a sleeve or a rina tc be
axially threaded over a free end of the wire and, on
the other, devices which are mounted on the wire by a
2~ radial movement and retained thereon b~ a snz?ping
action. In other words, in their mounted concition,
marking devices of the first type cannot ~e ~ninten-
tionally lost whereas this does rather of~en occur in
respect of devices of the latter type, e. a. c-1e to
2. vibrations or unintentional displacement. For that
reason, devices of the latter type are generally used
only when the wires are to be identified temp~rarily,
for example in the context of modification or repair
~orks being carried out in an existing apparatus.
3~ ~.arkers of the first type are used in such irstalla-
tions where loss of the markers cannot be accepted
resulting in the identification picture getting
incomplete or erroneous.
3~ ~owever, in certain cases there exists a r.eec, simul-
*

) fi ~
taneously or during different phases of a mountingwork, of having access to both of the two marking
alternatives mentioned above, the permanent as well
as the temporary one. The object of the invention
is to provide a marker satisfying this condition in
the way that one and the same device may optionally
be mounted permanently or be retained temporarily by
a snapping action. According to the invention this
has been realized in the way that said central
portion of the device is elastically deformable so
that a wire can be radially moved into the space
between the legs after which said portion does
substantially completely surround the wire,
retaining the marker by a snapping action.
rn accordance with one aspect of the invention there
is provided a device for marking wires manufactured
as an integral piece of an elastic plastic material,
said device, in its unmounted condition, having a
cross-section comprising an outer portion in the
shape of an inverted U or a semi-circle, the ends of
which merge into an inner portion having two lateral
legs and a central part and, between the inner
portion and the outer portion, defining a space for
receiving the wire on which the device is then
protected from unintentional dismounting by being
pushed onto the wire in the direction of the
longitudinal axis of the wire to thereby completely
surround the wire; and wherein, for the purpose of
providing an alternative mounting of the device on
the wire, by the wire radially entering the space
between said legs, said central part being elasti-
cally deformable, whereby, in its alternatively
mounted position, the device is, by a snapping
action, retained on the wire and the central part
surrounds a major portion of the circumference of
the wire.
,~L

2a 13 4~Q ~o
One embodiment of the invention will now be described
with reference to the drawing.
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a marker designed
according to the present invention and shown in its
5 unmounted condition.
Fig. 2 shows the device mounted on a wire in a
permanent way.
Fig. 3 shows the same marker mounted on a wire and
retained by a snapping action.
10 A device according to the illustrated embodiment may,
in a manner known per se, be manufactured by extrusion
of an elastic plastic material to a long hose which is
subsequently by transverse cutting operations divided
into individual markers. Each such marking device has
15 two main portions, namely an outer portion 1 roughly
shaped like an inverted U, the central part of which
comprising a marking symbol 2 on its outer wall, and

~ )ti~
an inner portion 3. The last mentioned portion has
two lateral legs 4, 5 and an intermediate bellows-
shaped part 6. Between that part and the outer portion
1 there is defined a space which may receive a wire 7
in the way that the marker is in an axial direction
threaded over the wire as illustrated in Fig. 2.
According to Fig. 2 the device is mounted on a rela-
tively small guage wire implying that substantially
only the bellows-shaped part 6 has been deformed.
However, according to the same principle, continued
deformation of all of the marker permits its use also
on significantly thicker wires. As is understood,
according to this mounting alternative the marker is,
in a manner known per se, retained on the wire so
that it cannot be unintentionally removed.
Fig. 1 does also show that another space is defined
between legs 4 and 5, which space in contrast to the
one mentioned above is not omnilaterally closed but
open at its bottom. This configuration makes it
possible alternatively to mount the marker on a wire
8, as shown in Fig. 3, by forcing the marker onto the
wire in a radial direction. It is likewise apparent
that, due to its configuration and the elasticity of
the plastic material, the marker is in this case
retained by a snapping action, i.e. there is no
protection against unintentional loss. However, the
retaining action can be amplified if legs 4 and 5 are
provided with shoulder-like protrusions 9 adjacent
their junctions with the outer portion 1.
In the practical application of the invention the
device may substantially deviate from the embodiment
here shown as far as its general shape and internal
proportions are concerned. The only essential feature
of the inventive idea is that the inner portion of

13 10d~0
the marker does, in the unmounted condition, define
two spaces one of which is omnilaterally closed whereas
the other one is not. As explained above, the first
mentioned space is arranged to receive a wire by an
axial threading movement resulting in the marker
getting mounted in a way protecting it against
unintentional loss. The outer space is defined between
the legs of the inner portion and, due to the presence
of the bottom opening, it can receive a wire mounted
by a radially inwards directed movement to a position
where the marker is retained by a snapping action.

Representative Drawing