Hanger for mounting cables

Abstract

A cable hanger includes: a generally flat base; and first and second opposed arms extending in a first direction from the base; wherein hooks are positioned on free ends of the arms; wherein each of the free ends of the arms has an arcuate cross-section; wherein the arms form a gap configured to receive and grasp a cable; and wherein the cable hanger is a unitary member formed of a polymeric material.

Claims

1. A cable hanger, comprising: a generally flat base with an opening with an arcuate edge; first and second outer members extending in a first direction from opposite edges of the base; first and second segments extending inwardly from, respectively, the first and second outer members; first and second hooks extending in the first direction from, respectively, inner ends of the first and second segments; and first and second inner members that extend in the first direction from the base, the first and second inner members configured to receive and grasp a cable; wherein the first and second inner members meet the first and second segments; and wherein the cable hanger is formed of a polymeric material.

2. The cable hanger defined in claim 1, in combination with a cable grasped by the first and second inner members.

3. The combination defined in claim 2, wherein the first and second inner members are inwardly spaced from, respectively, the first and second outer members as they grasp the cable.

4. The cable hanger defined in claim 1, in combination with a mounting structure, wherein the first and second hooks are inserted into a mounting hole in the mounting structure.

5. The combination defined in claim 4, wherein the mounting structure is formed of a metallic material.

6. The combination defined in claim 4, wherein the first and second segments contact the mounting surface.

7. The cable hanger defined in claim 1, wherein the base is generally round.

8. The cable hanger defined in claim 1, wherein each of the first and second inner members includes an arcuate portion configured to engage a grasped cable.

9. The cable hanger defined in claim 1, wherein the opening in the base is round.

10. The cable hanger defined in claim 1, in combination with a second cable hanger mounted in the arcuate opening.

11. A combination, comprising: a cable; a metallic mounting structure having a mounting hole; and a polymeric cable hanger comprising: a generally flat base with an opening with an arcuate edge; first and second outer members extending in a first direction from opposite edges of the base; first and second segments extending inwardly from, respectively, the first and second outer members; first and second hooks extending in the first direction from, respectively, inner ends of the first and second segments, the first and second hooks being inserted into the mounting hole of the mounting structure; and first and second inner members that extend in the first direction from the base, the first and second inner members grasping the cable; wherein the first and second inner members meet the first and second segments.

12. The combination defined in claim 11, wherein the first and second segments contact the mounting surface.

13. The combination defined in claim 11, wherein the base is generally round.

14. The combination defined in claim 11, wherein each of the first and second inner members includes an arcuate portion that engages the cable.

15. The combination defined in claim 11, wherein the opening in the base is round.

16. The combination defined in claim 11, in combination with a second cable hanger mounted in the opening in the base.

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 top view of a cable hanger according to embodiments of the invention mounted onto a prior art cable as in FIG. 1.

(4) FIG. 4 is an end view of the cable hanger of FIG. 3.

(5) FIG. 5 is a top view of a cable hanger according to alternative embodiments of the invention.

(6) FIG. 6 is an end view of the cable hanger of FIG. 5 holding a cable.

(7) FIG. 7 is an end view of a cable hanger according to additional embodiments of the invention, wherein the cable hanger is holding a cable.

(8) FIG. 8 is a partial top view of the cable hanger of FIG. 7.

(9) FIG. 9 is a partial top view of a cable hanger according to embodiments of the invention.

(10) FIG. 10 is a top view of a cable hanger according to additional embodiments of the invention.

(11) FIG. 11 is an end view of the cable hanger of FIG. 10.

(12) FIG. 12 is a top section view of the cable hanger of FIG. 10.

(13) FIG. 13 is an opposite end view of the cable hanger of FIG. 10.

(14) FIG. 14 is a top view of the cable hanger of FIG. 10 shown in an open hinged position.

(15) FIGS. 15A-15C are top views showing the clamping and mounting of a cable with the cable hanger of FIG. 10.

(16) FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a cable hanger according to additional embodiments of the invention.

(17) FIG. 17 is a side view of the cable hanger of FIG. 16.

(18) FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a cable hanger according to further embodiments of the invention.

(19) FIG. 19 is a side section view of the cable hanger of FIG. 19.

(20) FIG. 20 is a side view of the cable hanger of FIG. 19.

(21) FIG. 21 is a front view of the cable hanger of FIG. 19.

(22) FIG. 22 is a perspective view of a cable hanger according to further embodiments of the invention.

(23) FIG. 23 is an opposite perspective view of the cable hanger of FIG. 22.

(24) FIG. 24 is a side view of the cable hanger of FIG. 22.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(25) 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.

(26) 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 “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 connected” or “directly coupled” to another element, there are no intervening elements present.

(27) Referring now to the figures, a prior art cable hanger, designated broadly at 10, is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The hanger 10 includes curved arms 5 that extend from a flat base 6. Locking projections 7 extend from the free ends of the arms 5. As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the locking projections 7 are inserted into a reinforced hole 8 in a tower structure 4 to mount the hanger 10 thereon. The base 6 of the hanger 10 includes a reinforced hole 9 that can receive the projections of another hanger 10 to mount a second cable.

(28) As can be best seen in FIG. 2, the arms 5 include arcuate sections 14 that together generally define a circle within which a cable can be grasped. Two cantilevered tabs 12 extend radially inwardly and toward the base 6 at one end of the arcuate sections 14, and two cantilevered tabs 16 extend radially inwardly and toward the base 6 from the opposite ends of the arcuate sections 14. The cantilevered tabs 12, 16 are deployed to deflect radially outwardly when the hanger 10 receives a cable for mounting; this deflection generates a radially inward force from each tab 12, 16 that grips the jacket of the cable.

(29) The hanger 10 is popular for the mounting of larger coaxial cables, that tend to be provided in relatively few different sizes, but may be less popular for smaller cables. FIGS. 3 and 4 are illustrate a cable hanger, designated broadly at 110, that may be employed with hangers 10 or by themselves to mount smaller cables. As illustrated, the cable hanger 110 includes a base 106 with two opposed arms 105 extending from the base 106. Each of the arms 105 is arcuate in profile (best seen as arms 205 with respect to cable hanger 210 in FIG. 6). A hook 107 is located at the free end of each arm 105. Each arm 105 also has a radially-outwardly-extending stop 118. A gap 120 is present between the arms 105. Arcuate slots 122 are present in the base adjacent and radially outwardly of the fixed ends of the arms 105.

(30) As can be seen in FIG. 3, the cable hanger 110 can be used to mount a cable to a cable hanger 10. A cable 130 is positioned in the gap 120 between the arms 105. The cable hanger 110 is then mounted in the hole 9 of the cable hanger 10 by aligning the arms 105 with the hole 9 and pushing the base 106 toward the cable hanger 10 (not unlike the motion used to insert a thumbtack). This motion deflects the free ends of the arms 105 toward each other to enable the hooks 107 to fit within the hole 9. The cable hanger 110 is pushed in the direction of the cable hanger 10 until the hooks 107 clear the edges of the hole 9, at which point the arms 105 deflect away from each other to secure the cable hanger 110 to the cable hanger 10. The inner edges of the arms 105 grip the cable 130.

(31) As shown in FIG. 3, a second cable hanger 110′ can be employed to mount a cable to the cable hanger 110. The hooks 107′ of the arms 105′ of the second cable hanger 110′ are inserted into the slots 122 in the base 106 of the first cable hanger 110. Additional cable hangers can then be “stacked” onto the second cable hanger 110′.

(32) It should also be apparent to those of skill in this art that the cable hanger 110 can be used to mount a cable directly to a mounting structure such as the tower 4 without an intervening cable hanger 10.

(33) Other embodiments or cable hangers may include structures to enhance insertion and grasping of a cable. Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, a cable hanger 210 is similar to the cable hanger 110 with the exception that the gap 220 between the arms 205 is wider near the free ends of the arms 205 than at their fixed ends. Aa a result, a cable 230 can be inserted easily into the wider end 220a of the gap 220, but is grasped more firmly at the narrow end 220b of the gap 220.

(34) Referring now to FIGS. 7 and 8, another embodiment of a cable hanger, designated broadly at 310, is shown therein. The cable hanger 310 is similar to the cable hanger 110 with the exception that two ridges or tabs 324 extend away from the base 306 on opposite sides thereof. The gaps 326 between the ridges 324 are offset slightly from the gap 320 formed by the arms 305. As a result, the cable 330 inserted into the gaps 320, 326 takes a slight diversion from a straight path, which improves the overall grip of the cable 330 by the cable hanger 310. As few as one ridge 324 may be sufficient to bend the cable 330 sufficiently to improve the grip.

(35) Referring now to FIG. 9, a portion of another embodiment of a cable hanger, designated broadly at 410, is shown therein. The cable hanger 410 is similar to the cable hanger 110 with the exception that the arms 405 include bent cantilevered tabs 432 that extend into the gap 420. The tabs 432 can deflect relative to and toward the arms 405, which can enable the cable hanger 410 to accommodate a wider variety of cable thicknesses.

(36) Those skilled in this art will appreciate that cable hangers according to embodiments of the invention may combine the above-mentioned features to improve cable grip. For example, a cable hanger may have both ridges as in cable hanger 310 and cantilevered tabs as in cable hanger 410.

(37) Those skilled in this art will appreciate that the cable hangers 110, 210, 310, 410 discussed above are typically formed of a polymeric material, such as acetal resin, and may be formed as a unitary member (often via injection molding). The cable hangers may also be configured to grasp different sizes of cables: for example, one size of hanger may be employed to mount cables having an outer jacket with a 4-7 mm diameter (DOJ), another size of hanger may mount 7-10 mm DOJ cables, and a third size of hanger may mount 10-14 mm DOJ cables.

(38) Referring now to FIGS. 10-13, another cable hanger, designated broadly at 510, is shown therein. The cable hanger 510 shares similarities with the cable hangers 110, 210, but has some exceptions. First, the gap 520 is divided by projections 520b into a closed-end pocket 520a and an open-ended channel 520c. Second, the base 506 is divided into two halves 506a, 506b that are attached via a living hinge 506c that has a pivot axis A. Third, rather than slots similar to slots 122 of the cable hanger 110, the base 506 has a central hole 506d configured to receive the locking projections 507 of a second cable hanger.

(39) As can be seen in FIG. 14, the halves 506a, 506b of the base 506 of the cable hanger 510 can pivot about the pivot axis A defined by the living hinge 506c. The presence of the living hinge 506c enables the cable hanger 510 to include the projections 520b in the gap 520 and be injected molded in a relatively straightforward manner, the reciprocating halves of the mold can be drawn in the directions M, M′ shown in FIG. 14 and form the cable hanger 510 without the need for any “side-action” slides or the like in the mold.

(40) Referring now to FIGS. 15A-15C, use of the cable hanger 510 is shown therein. The cable hanger 510 can be “opened” so that the locking projections 507 are separated. A cable 530 can be inserted into the gap 520. The halves 560a, 506b of the cable hanger 510 can be pivoted about the axis A to close the halves 506a, 506b and capture the cable 530 in the pocket 520a. The cable hanger 510 and cable 530 can then be mounted onto a mounting structure, cable hanger or adapter as discussed above.

(41) The cable hanger 510 may be suitable for the mounting of a cable of any size. In some embodiments, the cable hanger 510 may be sized to mount cables having a diameter of between about 7 and 10 mm.

(42) Referring now to FIGS. 16 and 17, another cable hanger according to embodiments of the invention, designated broadly at 610, is shown therein. The cable hanger 610 is similar to the cable hanger 110 described above in that it includes a base 606 and arms 605 with hooks 607 and stops 618. The cable hanger 610 also includes a pocket 620a to hold a cable similar to the pocket 520a of cable hanger 510. However, the cable hanger 610 also includes braces 640 that extend between the base 606 and the stops 618 on the arms 605. The braces 640 can provide strength and rigidity to the cable hanger 610 to enable it to remain in position once it has been mounted to capture a cable. In addition, the braces 640 can help the cable hanger 610 to maintain its shape in the event that the cable hanger 610 is formed of a polymeric material (for example, via injection molding). Polymeric components tend to shrink as they cool after molding, which in some instances can cause the component to deform undesirably from its molded shape. The braces 640 can assist in preventing deformation due to shrinkage of the cable hanger 610 as it cools after molding.

(43) Referring now to FIGS. 18-21, another cable hanger according to embodiments of the invention, designated broadly at 710, is shown therein. The cable hanger 710 is similar to the cable hanger 610 in that it that it includes a base 706 and arms 705 with hooks 707 and stops 718. The cable hanger 710 also includes a pocket 720a to hold a cable similar to the pocket 620a of cable hanger 610. The base 706 includes two arcuate holes 709a, 709b that are configured to receive the hooks 707 of a second cable hanger 710.

(44) The cable hanger 710 also includes a small post 730 that extends from the closed end of the pocket 720a generally parallel to the arms 705. The post 730 serves to improve the grip of the cable hanger 710 on cables that have a diameter smaller than that of the pocket 720a. For such cables, the post 730 pokes into the jacket of the cable, thereby pushing it into the projections 720b that narrow the open end of the pocket 720a. The post 730 is typically sufficiently slender that, in the event a cable having a diameter slightly less than or equal to the pocket 720a, the post either fractures or bends out of the way.

(45) Referring now to FIGS. 22-24, another cable hanger according to embodiments of the invention, designated broadly at 810, is shown therein. The cable hanger 810 is similar to the cable hanger 610 described above in that it includes a base 806 and arms 805 with hooks 807 and stops 818. The cable hanger 810 also includes a pocket 820a to hold a cable similar to the pocket 620a of cable hanger 610. The cable hanger 810 also includes braces 840 that extend between the base 806 and the stops 818 on the arms 805. The braces 840 are positioned radially outwardly sufficiently to enable the hooks 807 of a second cable hanger 810 to comfortably engage the underside of the base 806. Also, the cable hanger 810 includes a cross-beam 808 that extends across the base 806 to form two holes 809a,809b in the base 806. These holes 809a, 809b receive the hooks 807 of a second cable hanger 810.

(46) The cable hanger 810 also includes three posts 830a, 830b, 830c similar to the post 730 of the cable hanger 710. The posts 830a,830c are located on opposite sides of the pocket 820a and extend generally toward each other, and the post 830b extends generally parallel to the arms 805 similar to the post 730 of the cable hanger 710.

(47) 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.