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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flat cable clamp which can easily and
efficiently retain either a single flat cable or a plurality of piled flat
cables.
(2) Description of the Invention
Heretofore, there has been typically employed a type of cable clamp 1 as
shown in FIG. 1. Said clamp 1 comprises a synthetic resin base board 3 the
longitudinal direction of which complies to the transverse direction W of
a bundle of flat cables 2, an arrow-shaped protrusion 4 formed integral
with the back of the base board 3 for securing the base board 3 to a
supporting board for distributing wires and a press board 9 formed
integral with the top surface of the base board 3 at one of the
longitudinal ends thereof, which can be engaged and disengaged with the
other longitudinal end of the base board 3 via a locking mechanism 8 which
consists of an unlock lever 5 and engaging hooks 6 and 7.
Therefore, in such case, since the necessary height H of an inserting
channel 10 provided for mounting cables and defined by the base board 3
and the press board 9 varies depending on the number of flat cables to be
mounted, it is necessary to prepare at least as many number of flat cable
clamps 1 as required so as to give the fitting with the flat cables in a
certain height and furthermore, in reality, since the width W of the flat
cable 2 can vary depending on the particular flat cable in use, the number
of necessary flat cable clamps having different shapes in the term of
width is increased, thus reducing the productivity of clamps, which then
increases the production cost and hence the wiring cost, and further
complicates wiring operation, resulting in reduction in efficiency of such
operation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
As a result of my intensive study to overcome the above problems, I have
discovered that the use of a flat cable clamp having a structure similar
to that of a pantograph enables flat cables to be easily and securely
clamped irrespective of their number, thickness etc.
Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to eliminate the
afore-mentioned drawbacks by providing a flat cable clamp which can clamp
any number of flat cables.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the conventional type of flat cable clamp;
FIG. 2 is a front view of a flat cable clamp in accordance with the present
invention, which is shown as the unclamped state;
FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 are a top view and a bottom view of the flat cable clamp
illustrated in FIG. 2, respectively;
FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 are views of the flat cable clamp illustrated in FIG. 2,
observed in the directions A and B, respectively;
FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 are detailed partial views of the parts C and D of the
flat cable clamp illustrated in FIG. 2, respectively;
FIG. 9 is a right side view of the illustration of FIG. 8;
FIG. 10 is a bottom view of the illustration of FIG. 8;
FIG. 11 is a front view of the flat cable clamp illustrated in FIG. 2,
which is shown as the clamped state;
FIG. 12 is a front view of another flat cable clamp in accordance with the
present invention, which is shown as the unclamped state;
FIG. 13 is a view of the flat cable clamp illustrated in FIG. 12, observed
in the direction F; and
FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing the details of the part G of the flat
cable clamp illustrated in FIG. 12.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
One embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to
FIGS. 2-11.
Referring to FIG. 2, a synthetic resin base board 12 the longitudinal
direction of which complies to the transverse direction of flat cables 11
is provided and formed integral with a protrusion 13 on the bottom at one
end and with an arrow-shaped protrusion 15 on the bottom at the other end.
The protrusion 13 has a dent to be engaged with one fitting hole on a
supporting board for distributing wires (not shown) and the arrow-shaped
protrusion 15 has a resilient arrow-shaped member 14 to be engaged with
the other fitting hole on the supporting board for distributing wires, so
that the combination of the protrusions 13 and 15 constitutes an instantly
engaging means 16. The base board 12 is further provided on the bottom
surface with resilient flaps 17 and 17' together with a reinforcing rib 18
in order to eliminate the looseness between the supporting board for
distributing wires and the base board 12.
On the top surface of the base board 12, there is provided and integrated
with the base board 12 a press board 20 which is rockingly movable by
being connected with one of the longitudinal ends of the base board 12 by
a hinge and can be engaged and disengaged with the other longitudinal end
via a locking mechanism 19. As shown in FIG. 11, where the base board 12
and the press board 20 are in the locked state, when an unlock lever 21 is
pressed down in the direction R as in the Figure, an engaging hook 22 at
the tip of the unlock lever 21 is released from the engagement with an
engaging hook 23 at the tip of the press board 20, which will immediately
jump up to the position as shown in FIG. 2.
In the locked (i.e. clamped) state where the hooks 22 and 23 of the press
board 20 and the unlock lever 21 are engaged, as particularly shown in
FIGS. 5 and 6, a channel 24 at the tip of the press board 20 is engaged
with a stopper 26 protrudingly provided on a guide wall 25 on the base
board 12 which receives the inner side of the tip portion of the press
board 20, thus preventing the transverse slippage of the press board 20,
i.e., keeping the press board 20 from the movement in the longitudinal
direction of the flat cables 11.
On the inner surface of the press board 20 facing to the top surface of the
base board 12, there is provided a contact board 27 in combination with
resilient members 28 formed integral with the press board 20, and the
contact board can be resiliently displaced via said resilient members in
the repulsive direction of the flat cables 11 mounted on the base board 12
and brought into contact with the contact board 27.
Now, the mode of application of the flat cable clamp described above will
be explained in details.
When wiring is carried out simultaneously with clamping the flat cables 11
with a flat cable clamp 29 having the structure described above, the
protrusions 13 and 15 are inserted into the fitting holes on the
supporting board for distributing wires to instantly secure the clamp 29
to the supporting board, and at the same time, the flat cables 11 are
mounted on the base board 12 in the unlocked state and the press board 20
is locked with the base board 12 via the locking mechanism 19. Thus, the
flat cables 11 are clamped between the base board 12 and the contact board
27 by the resilience of the resilient members 28. Even when the number of
the piled flat cables mounted on the clamps is increased, the position of
the contact board 27 can easily be raised using its resiliency imparted by
the resilient members 28, and therefore, any number of flat cables within
the movable distance of the contact board 27 can be clamped. In addition,
in the case where a flat cable having a width greater than that of the
contact board 27 is to be clamped, it can be smoothly clamped in the
modestly curved state along the sloped surfaces at both ends of the
contact board 27 as shown in FIG. 11, and thus the damage to the cable
itself is advantageously avoided.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the instantly
engaging means 16 employed in the particular example described above may
be replaced by other means, e.g., the one presented in FIG. 1 as the
conventional embodiment, that coated with an adhesive or the like, and
that the external shape of the clamp 29 may be modified according to the
shapes of the supporting board for distributing wires and the flat cables
and the like.
FIGS. 12 to 14 present another embodiment of the present invention, in
which the pantograph-shaped resilient members 28 are provided with
semi-circular connecting parts 30 at the respective turns, thus giving
more smooth displacement of the contact board 27. In addition, a bigger
engaging hook 22 is used at the tip of the unlock lever 21 and when the
unlock lever 21 is pressed down, the engaging hook 22 hits the bottom 31
of the channel 24 at the tip of the press board 20 to lift it, thus easily
effecting the clamp-off operation. Advantageously, the hook 23 at the tip
of the press board 20 is constructed to have a double stage as shown in
FIG. 14, and therefore, it is possible to choose between the upper hook
23a and the lower hook 23b depending on the height of cables to be
mounted. Further, the protrusion for engaging with the supporting board
for distributing wires 13 is changed into the one shown in FIG. 12, thus
preventing the whole clamp 29 from warping.
The material for the structure in accordance with the present invention is
not critical as long as it does not interfere the mechanism of the clamp,
and those skilled in the art will readily select appropriate materials for
making the same.
The above description has been presented for the purpose of enabling those
skilled in the art to practice the present invention and has not attempted
to describe all the possible modifications and variations of the invention
which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading this
disclosure. It is intended, however, that all such modifications and
variations be included within the scope of the present invention which is
defined by the following claims.
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