DE29722178U1 - Label holder for electrical conductors - Google Patents

Abstract

A label carrier for electrical conductors has an upper half-shell (1) placed on the conductor (4) that has a label-mounting surface (5) and a lower half-shell (2) enclosing the conductor that is pivoted to the other half-shell by a film hinge(3). At the free ends of the half-shells are catches (6,7) to hold them closed. The device has a clamping strap or clip (11), to compensate for the conductor diameter, integrated into the filmic hinge, and it projects into the conductor space, with each end moulded into the two half-shells. The catch at the free end of the lower half-shell is tangential.

Description

Marking carrier for electrical conductors

The invention relates to a marking carrier for electrical conductors.

Such marking carriers are known (DE 39 08 917 A1) in which a U-shaped upper clamping bracket, which has a holder for the actual marking means, has two double-armed locking legs, each of which is articulated at its two free U-ends. Such a marking carrier can be subsequently pressed onto an electrical conductor after it has been laid. By pressing it on, the electrical conductor itself activates the locking legs, thus closing the passage of the conductor into the interior of the marking carrier. Apart from a relatively complicated structure, the positioning of the marking carrier requires a certain rigidity from the electrical conductor, which is generally not guaranteed with thin, flexible conductors.

The situation is also comparable with another known marking carrier (EP 0 400 186 B1), in which a lever arm is formed on a rigid, C-shaped support body and a double-armed locking bracket is formed on its free end, whereby here too the conductor himself must actuate the double-armed locking bracket in order to close the passage opening.

LOESENBECK & STRACKE - PATENT ATTORNEYS - BIELEFELD

15 December 1997

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The present invention is therefore based on the task of creating a label holder which, with a very simple construction, is particularly suitable for the subsequent fitting of thin and flexible conductors. The solution according to the invention is given in claim 1. The label holder consists only of the upper and lower half shells, both of which are connected to one another by the film hinge and each of which has the locking means for the closed position. The label holder therefore has a very simple structure. The subsequent fitting onto a conductor is carried out by placing the upper half shell of the label holder onto this conductor and then manually swiveling the lower half shell around the conductor with a finger until the locking means on the free ends of the two half shells lock together in the closed position. This actuation option means that practically no bending or other positional change pressure has to be applied to flexible thin conductors in order to put the label holder on. You can easily apply a very slight holding pressure to the upper half-shell by hand, while you swing the lower half-shell around the conductor and press the locking elements into each other. With this procedure, the locking elements on the two half-shells also practically automatically find the locking position corresponding to the closed position of the attached marking carrier.

In another very practical embodiment, the label holder has a conductor diameter compensation device. This is conveniently integrated into the film hinge and, in a particularly preferred embodiment, consists of a clamping bracket that protrudes into the conductor receiving space in a recess in the film hinge. This allows the label holder to be used for electrical conductors of a defined, relatively large diameter range. The clamping bracket not only compensates for the diameter, but also ensures that the label holder is fixed to the electrical conductor to prevent unwanted displacement.

In another particularly useful design, the locking means consist of a locking hook provided at the free end of the lower half-shell and a locking receptacle provided at the free end of the upper half-shell, which is conveniently provided with a through slot for the locking hook that is open at the bottom. In this way, when the lower half-shell is swung around the ladder, the locking hook can pass through the through slot from the inside and below, and is then accessible from the outside in the closed position, in order to be able to easily

LOESENBECK & STRAcke - PATENT ATTORNEYS - BIELEFELD 15 December 1997

WeidmüNer '!!*·. · * · SesqjK-eibung Sheet

for example, by means of a screwdriver to open the locking mechanism.

An embodiment of a label carrier according to the invention is described in more detail below with reference to the drawing. They show:

Figure 1 shows a marking carrier according to the invention for electrical conductors in

Narrow side view, wide side view, top view and bottom view,

Figure 2 shows the marking carrier according to Figure 1 in three different phases of its installation and fixing on an electrical conductor.

The marking carrier for electrical conductors essentially consists of an upper half-shell 1 and a lower half-shell 2. The two half-shells 1 and 2 are pivotably connected to one another on one side by a film hinge 3 in such a way that after the upper half-shell 1 has been placed on an electrical conductor 4, the lower half-shell 2 can be pivoted around the conductor by hand with a finger. During this process, only a very small counter-pressure needs to be exerted on the upper half-shell 1, so that hardly any deflection or bulging pressure is exerted on the electrical conductor 4 and consequently even thin and flexible conductors can be subsequently marked with such a marking carrier, i.e. after they have been laid.

The upper half-shell 1 has a label receiving surface 5, which in the illustrated embodiment can be labeled directly on a plotter or an MC printer, for example. As a modification to this, it is also conceivable to provide a possibility for receiving a printed label element on such a surface section.

The upper half-shell 1 and the lower half-shell 2 are locked together in their closed position enclosing the electrical conductor 4. For this purpose, in the illustrated embodiment, a locking hook 6 is formed on the free end of the lower half-shell 2, which runs approximately tangentially into the lower half-shell 2. At the free end of the upper half-shell 1, a locking receptacle 7 for the locking hook 6 is formed, which contains a through slot 8 for the locking hook 6 that is open inwards and downwards.

If, after placing the upper half-shell 1 on the electrical conductor 4, the lower half-shell 2 is pivoted around the electrical conductor 4, the locking hook 6 automatically finds its way from the inside through the through-slot 8, so that the catch 9 of the locking hook 6 is then on the outside of the

LOESENBECK & STRAcke - PATENT ATTORNEYS - BIELEFELD 15 December 1997

WeidmüNer &idigr; !** · · · Description Sheet

The locking mechanism 7 is located and is accessible here so that the locking mechanism can be easily released again using a screwdriver, for example.

The label holder has a conductor diameter compensation device. In the illustrated embodiment, this conductor diameter compensation device is integrated into the film hinge 3. In a recess 10 in the middle area of the film hinge 3 there is a clamping bracket 11 that projects inwards into the conductor receiving space of the label holder, one end of which is molded onto the upper half-shell 1 and the other end onto the lower half-shell 2. As indicated in Fig. 1 in the narrow side view of the label holder by dash-dotted lines, the diameter differences within a given conductor diameter range can be compensated for by means of the clamping bracket 11. In addition, as can be seen in particular from Fig. 2, the application of the clamping bracket 11 to the electrical conductor in the closed position ensures that the label holder is reliably fixed to the electrical conductor to prevent unwanted displacement. However, it is still possible to rotate or move the marking carrier in its closed position to a desired position on the electrical conductor.

From a manufacturing point of view, it is sensible and possible to mold a plurality of such label carriers next to one another onto a logistics strip 12 via predetermined breaking points.

The lower image of Fig. 2 illustrates the clamping on an electrical conductor of larger diameter.

LOESENBECK & STRAcke - PATENT ATTORNEYS - BIELEFELD 15 December 1997

Claims (9)

Protection claims 1. Identification carrier for electrical conductors, characterized by an upper half-shell (1) which can be placed on the electrical conductor (4) and has a marking receiving surface (5) and a lower half-shell (2) which is connected to the upper half-shell (1) by means of a film hinge (3) so as to be pivotable about the conductor (4), wherein locking means (6,7) which interact in the closed position of the identification carrier are provided at the free ends of the half-shells (1,2). 2. Marking carrier according to claim 1, characterized in that it has a conductor diameter compensation device (11), 3. Label holder according to claim 2, characterized in that the conductor diameter compensation device (7) is integrated into the film hinge (3). 4. Label holder according to claim 3, characterized in that the conductor diameter compensation device is a clamping bracket (11) arranged in a recess (10) in the film hinge (3) and projecting into the conductor receiving space. 5. Identification carrier according to claim 4, characterized in that the clamping bracket is formed with one end onto the upper half-shell (1) and with its other end onto the lower half-shell (2). LOESENBECK & STRACKE - PATENT ATTORNEYS - BIELEFELD 15 December 1997 Weidmuller ';;··.&iacgr; * · « Claims Sheet 2 6. Identification carrier according to claim 1, characterized in that a locking hook (6) is formed on the free end of the lower half shell (2). 7. Identification carrier according to claim 6, characterized in that the locking hook (6) runs tangentially to the corresponding free end of the lower half shell (2). 8. Identification carrier according to claims 1 and 6, characterized in that a locking receptacle (7) for the locking hook (6) is provided at the free end of the upper half-shell (1). 9. Identification carrier according to claim 8, characterized in that the locking receptacle (7) has a through slot (8) open inwards and downwards for the locking hook (6). LOESENBECK & STRACKE - PATENT ATTORNEYS - BIELEFELD 15, December 1997