Insert for mounting multiple cables in cable hanger

Abstract

An insert for mounting multiple cables in a cable hanger includes: a gripping portion configured to engage multiple cables; and a wrapping portion attached to the gripping portion and configured to wrap around the gripping portion as it receives cables.

Claims

1. An insert for mounting multiple cables in a cable hanger, comprising: a gripping portion configured to engage multiple cables: and a wrapping portion attached to the gripping portion and configured to wrap around the gripping portion as it receives cables; wherein the gripping, portion comprises a strip with a plurality of undulations, and wherein the undulations define receptacles configured to receive cables; wherein the wrapping portion comprises one or more slots located adjacent to one of the undulations nearest the wrapping portion and configured to receive a fastening feature extending from a free end of the wrapping portion opposite the one or more slots; and wherein the gripping portion and the wrapping portion are formed of a monolithic strip of metallic material, wherein the fastening feature is a hook, wherein when the insert is in an unrolled position, the wrapping and gripping portions are in a generally flat position, and when the insert is in a rolled position, the wrapping portion wraps around the gripping portions in an enclosed configuration.

2. The insert defined in claim 1, in combination with a cable hanger and multiple cables, wherein the multiple cables are received in the gripping portion, the wrapping portion is wrapped around, the gripping portion, and the insert is received in the cable hanger.

3. The insert defined in claim 1, wherein the gripping portion comprises a strip with gripping features on one side thereof.

4. The insert defined in claim 1, wherein an edge of the gripping portion includes a plurality of flanges extending away from cables held in the gripping portion.

5. An assembly for mounting multiple cables in a cable hanger, comprising: a monolithic insert comprising: a gripping portion configured to engage multiple cables; and a wrapping portion attached to the gripping portion and configured to wrap around the gripping portion as it receives cables; wherein the gripping portion comprises a strip with a plurality of undulations, and wherein the undulations define receptacles configured to receive cables; wherein the wrapping portion comprises one or more slots located adjacent to one of the undulations nearest the wrapping portion and configured to receive a fastening feature extending, from a free end of the wrapping portion opposite the one or more slots; and a plurality of cables, wherein each cable is disposed within a different receptacle of the gripping portion, wherein the fastening feature is a hook inserted into one of the slots to secure the wrapping portion around the plurality of cables, wherein when the insert is in an unrolled position, the wrapping and gripping portions are in a generally flat position, and when the insert is in a rolled position, the wrapping portion wraps around the gripping portions in an enclosed configuration.

6. An insert for mounting multiple cables in a cable hanger, comprising: a gripping portion configured to engage multiple cables; and a wrapping portion attached to the gripping portion and configured to wrap around the gripping portion as it receives cables; wherein the insert is monolithic; and wherein the gripping portion comprises a strap with a plurality of undulations, wherein each undulation serially merges with at least one adjacent undulation, and wherein the undulations define receptacles configured to receive cables, and wherein the wrapping portion comprises one or more slots located adjacent to one of the undulations nearest the wrapping portion and configured to receive a hook extending from a free end of the wrapping portion opposite the one more slots, wherein when the insert is in an unrolled position, the wrapping and gripping portions are in a generally flay position, and when the inserts is in a rolled position, the wrapping portion wraps around the gripping portions in an enclosed configuration.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

(1) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a prior art cable hanger.

(2) FIG. 2 is a top view of the prior art cable hanger of FIG. 1.

(3) FIG. 3 is a perspective view of another prior art cable hanger.

(4) FIG. 4 is a top view of the cable hanger of FIG. 3.

(5) FIG. 5 is a top view of a cable hanger insert capable of mounting multiple cables according to embodiments of the invention, with the insert in its unrolled condition.

(6) FIG. 6 is a top view of the cable hanger insert of FIG. 5 in a rolled condition with multiple cables captured therein.

(7) FIG. 7 is a top view of the cable hanger insert and cables of FIG. 6 being mounted in a cable hanger such as that of FIGS. 3 and 4.

(8) FIG. 8 is a top view of the cable hanger insert, cables and cable hanger of FIG. 7 with the insert mounted in the cable hanger and the cable hanger mounted to a mounting structure.

(9) FIG. 9 is a top view of a cable hanger insert according to alternative embodiments of the invention shown in an unrolled condition.

(10) FIG. 10 is a top view of a cable hanger insert according to further embodiments of the invention, the cable hanger insert shown in its unrolled condition.

(11) FIG. 11 is a top section view of the cable hanger insert of FIG. 10 in a rolled condition with multiple cables mounted therein.

(12) FIG. 12 is a partial side view of the cable hanger insert of FIG. 11 mounted in a cable hanger such as that of FIGS. 3 and 4.

(13) FIG. 13 is a partial side view of a cable hanger insert according to alternative embodiments of the invention mounted in a cable hanger such as that of FIGS. 3 and 4.

(14) FIG. 14 is a top view of a cable hanger insert according to further embodiments of the invention with cables mounted therein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(15) The present invention is described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which certain embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments that are pictured and described herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. It will also be appreciated that the embodiments disclosed herein can be combined in any way and/or combination to provide many additional embodiments.

(16) Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms that are used in this disclosure have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. The terminology used in the below description is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used in this disclosure, the singular forms a, an and the are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will also be understood that when an element (e.g., a device, circuit, etc.) is referred to as being attached, connected or coupled to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being directly attached, directly connected or directly coupled to another element, there are no intervening elements present.

(17) Referring now to the drawings, a cable hanger insert, designated broadly at 100, is shown in FIG. 5. The insert 100 is formed from a unitary strip, such as steel, that includes a gripping portion 101 with a plurality of undulations 102 and a wrapping portion 104. One or more slots 106 are present in the wrapping portion 104 adjacent the undulation 102 nearest the wrapping portion 104. A hook or other fastening feature 108 extends from the free end of the wrapping portion 104.

(18) The insert 100 is shown in FIG. 5 in an unrolled (and in this instance generally flat) condition. As can be seen in FIG. 6, the insert 100 can be formed into a rolled condition in which wrapping portion 104 wraps around the undulations 102 of the gripping portion 101, such that the undulations 102 are positioned radially inwardly from the wrapping portion 104. The hook 108 is inserted into one of the slots 106 to maintain the insert 100 in the rolled condition.

(19) As can be seen from FIG. 6, any or all of the undulations 102 may serve as receptacles that capture and grasp a cable 120. In some embodiments, the rolling of the insert 100 into the rolled condition of FIG. 6 will cause each of the undulations 102 to collapse somewhat, which may provide additional gripping force for the undulations 102. Thus, the undulations 102 may be sufficiently wide to receive a cable 120 with no or minimal insertion force when the insert 100 is unrolled as in FIG. 5, but will grip the cables 120 tightly when the insert 100 is rolled into the rolled condition of FIG. 6.

(20) The undulations 102 may be of any size desired to hold cable. Typically, the undulations 102 are sized to hold cables 120 sized at 4 to 17 mm in diameter.

(21) As can be seen in FIG. 7, once the cables 120 are inserted into the insert 100 and the insert 100 is rolled into the rolled condition, the insert 100 and cables 120 can be inserted into a conventional cable hanger, such as that shown in FIG. 3 at 610. The gripping members 612, 616 of the cable hanger 610 can grip the insert 100 and cables 120. Once the insert 100 and cables 120 are received by the cable hanger 610, the cable hanger 610 can be mounted onto a mounting structure 150 (such as an antenna tower or the like) in a conventional manner (FIG. 8).

(22) The insert 100 may be formed of a variety of materials, such as steel and other metals. The insert 100 may be stamped from a sheet of material, such as steel, and bent by known methods into the configuration shown in FIG. 5. As such, the insert 100 may be a monolithic component.

(23) Referring now to FIG. 9, another embodiment of a cable hanger insert, designated broadly at 100, is illustrated therein. The insert 100 is similar to that of the insert 100 with the exception that the undulations 102 include cable gripping features 103. The cable gripping features 103 may be barbs, lances, teeth, or other grip-enhancing features. In some embodiments, the gripping features 103 may be bent or struck from the sheet of material used to form the insert 100.

(24) Referring now to FIG. 10, another cable hanger insert, designated broadly at 200, is shown therein. The insert 200 comprises a wrapping portion 204 with slots 206 similar to those of the insert 100. However, rather than undulations, the insert 200 has a gripping portion 202 that includes gripping features 210 such as barbs, nubs, lances and the like on one side thereof. On the opposite side of the gripping portion, a series of discontinuous flanges 212 extend from one edge of the gripping portion 202 away from the gripping features 210 (see also FIG. 12). A latch 208 extends from the free end of the gripping portion 202.

(25) As can be seen in FIG. 11, the insert 200 can be wrapped around multiple cables 250. The insert 200 can be secured by inserting the latch 208 into one of the slots 206 of the wrapping portion 204. The gripping features 210 extend radially inwardly from the gripping portion 202 and are therefore positioned to penetrate and grip the cables 250. The discontinuity of the flanges 212 enables the insert 200 to be relatively easily bent into the desired shape.

(26) The wrapped insert 200 and cables 250 can then be inserted into a cable hanger such that shown at 610 above, after which the cable hanger 610 can be mounted to a mounting structure in the conventional manner, As shown in FIG. 12, the flanges 212 of the wrapped insert 200 can rest on the upper surfaces of the flex members 618 and/or the gripping members 612, 616 of the cable hanger 610, which can provide additional support and security to the mounting of the insert 200 within the cable hanger 610.

(27) FIG. 13 illustrates an alternative cable hanger insert 200 that is similar to the cable hanger insert 200, but which includes flanges 213 on the lower edge of the gripping portion 202 in addition to the flanges 212 on the upper edge of the gripping portion 202. As can be seen in FIG. 13, the inclusion of both flanges 212 and 213 on the insert 200 enables the insert 200 to grasp the flex members 618 of the cable hanger 610 more tightly.

(28) The inserts 100, 100, 200, 200 may be formed of a variety of materials, such as steel and other metals. The inserts 100, 100, 200, 200 may be stamped from a sheet of material, such as steel, and bent by known methods into the configuration shown in FIG. 5. As such, the inserts 100, 100, 200, 200 may be monolithic components.

(29) Referring now to FIG. 14, another cable hanger insert, designated broadly at 300, is shown therein. The insert 300 includes a central gripping portion 302 and an attached wrapping strip 304. The gripping portion 302 includes a central body 306 with multiple recesses or pockets 308 (the illustrated embodiment includes four pockets 308) sized to serve as receptacles to hold cables 350. The wrapping strip 304 wraps around the cables 350 and can be secured near its fixed end with a latch/slot arrangement, a button/slot arrangement, VELCRO fasteners, tape or other adhesives, or the like. The insert 300 and wrapped cables 350 can then be inserted into a cable hanger that is then mounted to a mounting structure.

(30) The insert 300 may be formed of a variety of materials, including polymeric and elastomeric materials such as EPDM rubber. The insert 300 may be formed via injection molding, transfer molding, compression molding, 3-D printing, or the like.

(31) Those skilled in this art will appreciate that, although the cable hangers 10, 610 are shown herein, the inserts discussed above may be employed with a variety of cable hanger designs, including others discussed in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2016/0281881 to Vaccaro, supra, and other offered under the SNAP-STAK trade name by CommScope, Inc.

(32) It can be seen that, by using cable hanger inserts such as those shown above, a conventional cable hanger that is designed to grasp a single cable can be used to grasp multiple smaller cables. This capability can provide the technician with great flexibility in mounting cables on an antenna tower or the like. Also, cable hangers with inserts held therein may also stack onto, or receive in stacked fashion, other cable hangers that hold either a single cable in conventional fashion or multiple cables with an insert as described above.

(33) Those skilled in this art will appreciate that other configurations of cable hanger inserts may be suitable for use with cable hangers. For example, the inserts may have more or fewer receptacles/pockets/undulations than are shown herein. The undulations may be shaped differently. The inserts 100, 100 may include flanges such as those shown at 212 on insert 200 to further support the insert within the cable hanger, as may the insert 300. The inserts 100, 100, 200, 200 may lack a hook/latch and slots for securing of the wrapping portion to the gripping portion, and in some instances may rely on another securing technique. Other options may also be suitable.

(34) The foregoing is illustrative of the present invention and is not to be construed as limiting thereof. Although exemplary embodiments of this invention have been described, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the exemplary embodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of this invention. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this invention as defined in the claims. The invention is defined by the following claims, with equivalents of the claims to be included therein.