Cable clamp

Abstract

A cable clamp for holding a cable, preferably for an LED driver, including a clamp cover and a clamp gear which can be joined together, thereby defining an inner space for accommodating a portion of the cable, and a bracket placed inside the inner space and configured to apply a clamping force on the cable, wherein the bracket is adjustable in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the cable such that the bracket can take different positions in the joined state.

Claims

1. A cable clamp for holding a cable, the cable clamp comprising: a clamp cover and a clamp gear removably attached to one another at a hinge and defining an inner space configured to contain a portion of the cable; and a bracket inside the inner space and configured to be clamped on the portion of the cable, wherein the bracket is adjustable in a direction perpendicular to an axial direction of the portion of the cable, and wherein the bracket is configured to take different positions in the inner space.

2. The cable clamp according to claim 1, wherein: the clamp cover is displaceable relative to the clamp gear about the hinge to access the inner space; and closing the clamp cover pushes the bracket towards the cable thereby applying a clamping force on the portion of the cable.

3. The cable clamp according to claim 1, wherein the clamp cover and the clamp gear are configured to be locked in a joined position via interfacing of: at least one clip opening; and at least one clip nose configured to snap into the at least one clip opening in the joined position.

4. The cable clamp according to claim 1, wherein the bracket comprises at least one lug configured to stabilize the bracket to avoid deformation thereof due to a clamping force towards the portion of the cable.

5. The cable clamp according to claim 1, wherein the hinge provides an axis of rotation for the clamp cover and the clamp gear relative to one another, wherein the axis of rotation extends substantially perpendicular to the axial direction of the portion of the cable.

6. The cable clamp according to claim 1, wherein the bracket is configured to be clamped on the portion of the cable so as to press the portion of the cable into contact with the clamp gear.

7. The cable clamp according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the bracket and the clamp gear is formed with a gripping surface comprising at least one of: a protrusion that grips and holds the portion of the cable; a recess that grips and holds the portion of the cable; and a coating layer that grips and holds the portion of the cable.

8. A lighting device driver module comprising the cable clamp according to claim 1.

9. A lighting device comprising the cable clamp according to claim 8.

10. A cable clamp for holding a cable, the cable clamp comprising: a clamp cover and a clamp gear removably attached to one another and defining an inner space configured to contain a portion of the cable; and a bracket inside the inner space and configured to be clamped on the portion of the cable, wherein the bracket is adjustable in a direction perpendicular to an axial direction of the portion of the cable, and wherein the bracket is configured to take different positions in the inner space; wherein: the clamp cover or the clamp gear comprises one or more guiding portions configured to guide the bracket along a defined trajectory; the bracket comprises a gear shaft; and the one or more guiding portions each comprise a longitudinal guiding opening configured to receive the gear shaft.

11. The cable clamp according to claim 10, wherein at least one of the guiding openings is at least partially inclined relative to the axial direction of the portion of the cable.

12. The cable clamp according to claim 10, wherein: at least one of the guiding openings comprises two longitudinal sides; and at least one of the two longitudinal sides comprises a plurality of stopping recesses defining discrete positions for at least one of positioning and locking the bracket.

13. The cable clamp according to claim 12, wherein the gear shaft comprises a protrusion shaped to fit into at least one of the plurality of stopping recesses.

14. The cable clamp according to claim 10, wherein the one or more guiding portions and the bracket are configured such that rotating the bracket around the gear shaft locks and unlocks the bracket at a longitudinal position within the at least one guiding opening.

15. The cable clamp according to claim 14, wherein the bracket further comprises at least one concave portion engaging the at least one guiding opening for securing a locked position of the bracket.

16. A lighting device driver module comprising the cable clamp according to claim 10.

17. A lighting device comprising the cable clamp according to claim 16.

18. A cable clamp for holding a cable, the cable clamp comprising: a clamp cover and a clamp gear removably attached to one another and defining an inner space configured to contain a portion of the cable; and a bracket inside the inner space and configured to be clamped on the portion of the cable, wherein the bracket is adjustable in a direction perpendicular to an axial direction of the portion of the cable, and wherein the bracket is configured to take different positions in the inner space; wherein at least one of the bracket and the clamp gear comprises a plurality of ribs configured to grip and hold the portion of the cable, wherein the ribs at least partially have a concave shape which conforms to a cylindrical shape of the portion of the cable.

19. A lighting device driver module comprising the cable clamp according to claim 18.

20. A lighting device comprising the cable clamp according to claim 19.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Preferred embodiments of the invention will be explained in the following, having regard to the drawings.

(2) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cable clamp illustrating the outer appearance thereof;

(3) FIG. 2a is a perspective view of the cable clamp illustrating the inner configuration thereof;

(4) FIG. 2b is a perspective view of the cable clamp illustrating the inner configuration thereof;

(5) FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the cable clamp, which separately illustrates the clamp cover, the bracket and the clamp gear;

(6) FIG. 4a is a perspective view of the clamp cover;

(7) FIG. 4b is a perspective view of the clamp cover;

(8) FIG. 5a is a perspective view of the bracket;

(9) FIG. 5b is a perspective view of the bracket;

(10) FIG. 5c is a perspective view of the bracket;

(11) FIG. 6a is a perspective view of the cable clamp illustrating the holding capabilities;

(12) FIG. 6b illustrates how the cable clamp can be used to hold a variety of cable designs and diameters.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(13) In the following, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The same or similar elements or elements having the same effect are indicated by the same reference number in the drawings. Repeating the description of such elements may be omitted in order to prevent redundant descriptions.

(14) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cable clamp 1 illustrating the outer appearance thereof.

(15) The clamp 1 comprises a clamp cover 10 and a body denoted as clamp gear 30. The cable clamp 1 is configured to fix and securely hold a cable 100. The cable clamp 1 is preferably part of an LED driver 101. In this case the cable 100 may serve to connect the LED driver 101 with a power supply and/or one or more LED lamps or luminaires.

(16) FIGS. 2a and 2b are perspective views of the cable clamp 1 illustrating the inner configuration thereof.

(17) At one end, hereinafter referred to as the “front side”, the clamp cover 10 and/or the clamp gear 30 form a substantially circular cable hole 12 which is configured to receive the cable 100. An end portion of the cable 100 is inserted into an inner space 40 of the cable clamp 1 and tightly placed between the clamp gear 30 and a bracket 20 which is mounted at the clamp cover 10 such that it can be adjusted as detailed further below.

(18) In the closed or joined state illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2a and 2b, the clamp cover 10 and the clamp gear 30 form a housing surrounding the clamped end portion of the cable 100.

(19) The clamp cover 10 is pivotably mounted at the end which in the axial direction of the cable 100 is located opposite to the cable hole 12 such that the clamp cover 10 can be opened and closed. In the opened state, the cable 100 can be easily inserted. Closing the cable clamp 1 pushes the bracket 20 towards the cable 100 thereby applying a clamping force on the cable.

(20) For securely fixing the closed state, the cable clamp 1 comprises a clip 11, 31. According to the present embodiment, the clip 11, 31 is formed of a pair of clip openings 11 provided in the front side of the clamp cover 10 and corresponding clip noses 31 provided at the front side of the clamp gear 30. The clip openings 11 and the clip noses 31 are configured to snap into each other if the clamp cover 10 is pivoted and pushed towards the clamp gear 30. Once the clamp cover 10 is closed, the cable 100 is tightly fixed between the clamp gear 30 and the bracket 20 as best illustrated in FIGS. 2a, 2b and 6a, 6b.

(21) FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view separately illustrating the clamp cover 10, the bracket 20, and the clamp gear 30.

(22) Starting with the clamp cover 10, reference is particularly made to the FIGS. 4a and 4b. The clamp cover 10 has a partially hollow, concave shape such that it forms part of the cable clamp housing. The clamp cover 10 comprises two parallel guiding portions 13 placed and fixed inside the clamp cover 10. Please note that the guiding portions 13 and the clamp cover may be realized by separate components as illustrated in FIG. 4a but may as well be integrally formed.

(23) The guiding portions 13 are configured to hold and guide the bracket 20. For this purpose, each guiding portion 13 has a guiding opening 13a extending in a longitudinal direction. Thus, each guiding opening 13a has two longitudinal sides. At least one of the longitudinal sides of each guiding portion 13 comprises a plurality or one-dimensional array of stopping recesses 13b which are configured to define discrete positions for locking the bracket 20 as described in more detail with regard to FIGS. 5b and 5c.

(24) The longitudinal direction of the guiding openings 13a and the axial direction of the cable 100 may be almost but not exactly parallel as best illustrated in FIG. 4b. Even though according to the illustrated embodiment the guiding openings 13a extend substantially linear, the guiding openings 13a may as well be curved. The term “longitudinal direction” should therefore not be interpreted to cover only linear extensions.

(25) FIG. 5a illustrates the bracket 20 according to a preferred embodiment.

(26) The bracket 20 comprises a plurality of ribs 21 which serve to grip and hold the cable 100. For this purpose, each rib 21 at least partially has a concave shape which forms a seat or receptacle for the cable 100. The opposing portion of the clamp gear 30 preferably also comprises a plurality of ribs 32 which serve to securely grip and hold the cable 100.

(27) The present rib-like structure is one out of several configurations in order to achieve a sufficient friction between the cable 100 and the cable clamp 1. Alternatively, the bracket 20 and/or the clamp gear 30 may have differently shaped gripping surfaces, including for instance protrusions, recesses or a suitable coating. Alternatively, or additionally, the gripping surfaces may be made of a material which is suitable to securely hold the cable 100.

(28) The bracket 20 comprises a gear shaft 22 which is shaped and configured to be insertable into the guiding openings 13a such that the bracket 20 can be moved along a trajectory defined by the guiding portions 13 of the clamp cover 10. This movement, in the present exemplary case along a linear trajectory, is best illustrated in FIG. 5c, indicated by arrows and two different positions of the bracket 20.

(29) As indicated above, the guiding portions 13 are arranged such that the longitudinal direction of the guiding openings 13a is at least partially inclined relative to the axial direction of the correctly inserted cable 100, cf. to FIG. 4b. The purpose of this inclination is to adjust the vertical distance of the bracket 20 relative to the clamp gear 30. Thus, the cable clamp 1 can be easily adjusted for differently shaped and/or sized cables 100 as can be seen from a comparison of FIGS. 6a and 6b.

(30) Once the position of the bracket 20 along the longitudinal direction of the guiding portions 13 has been adjusted, the position can be secured by rotating the bracket 20 around the gear shaft 22 as illustrated by arrows in FIG. 5b. For this purpose, the gear shaft 22 comprises a protrusion 22a which is shaped to fit into a corresponding pair of the stopping recesses 13b. Thus, rotating the bracket 20 such that the ribs 21 substantially take a horizontal position locks the bracket 20 at the desired longitudinal direction.

(31) The locked position may be further secured by concave portions 23 which are configured to snap into the guiding openings 13a. The bracket 20 is unlocked by rotating the bracket 20 in a position as illustrated in FIG. 5c.

(32) The bracket 20 may further comprise one or more lugs 24 configured to stabilize the bracket such as to avoid a deformation of the ribs 21 due to the pressing force towards the cable 100.

(33) The cable clamp 1 as described above allows for a quick and easy installation of the cable 100 wherein the cable 100 is reliably fixed. The holding force can be adjusted by the bracket, thereby avoiding any degradation of the clamping force. The cable clamp 1 can be adjusted for different sizes and diameters of the cable 100. These effects are achieved with a simple and reliable configuration.

(34) Although the invention has been illustrated and described in detail by the embodiments explained above, it is not limited to these embodiments. Other variations may be derived by the skilled person without leaving the scope of the attached claims.

(35) Generally, “a” or “an” may be understood as singular or plural, in particular with the meaning “at least one”, “one or more”, etc., unless this is explicitly excluded, for example by the term “exactly one”, etc.

(36) Features shown in the embodiments, in particular in different embodiments, may be combined or substituted without leaving the scope of the invention.