GB2420552A

GB2420552A - A cable holder

Info

Publication number: GB2420552A
Application number: GB0426050A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Simon David
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2004-11-26
Filing date: 2004-11-26
Publication date: 2006-05-31
Also published as: GB0426050D0

Abstract

A cable holder has an outer surface to receive a cable wound therearound. The cable holder has two spaced apart apertures 1, 2, extending through the entire thickness of the body 3 for securing the cable to the body 3. The apertures 1, 2 can comprise holes or slits and can serve to grip the cable. The body 3 may be elongate with the apertures 1, 2 provided at opposing ends. The aperture 1, 2 can be formed through the cable holder and closed to its edges or they can be open to the edges of the cable holder. The body 3 can be of polygonal shape with flat outer surfaces having no protrusions or projections.

Description

Cable Holder

Field of the Invention

The present invention is concerned with means for holding a cable in order to tidy an excess length of cable or to store cable.

Background to the invention

The use of cables is essential for almost all electronic equipment, such as telephones, computers and personal electronic devices, for example a personal stereo or mobile telephone. Signal communications cables are one commonly used type.

Cables for carrying electrical power are also in widespread use.

There are often situations where the cable, in use, has some slack, i.e. where the length of the cable is long compared with distance between the two components it is electrically connecting. This excess length of cable can prove troublesome for a number of reasons, for example the cable may lie on the floor, presenting an obstruction. This can present an accident risk to humans, but can also shorten the lifetime of the cable due to it being repeatedly trodden on. Other problems are entanglement of the cable with itself, other cables or permanent fixings, which can prove extremely time consuming to sort out. Entangled cables and visible excess length of cable can also give the tidiest spaces a disordered and chaotic feel.

One conventional solution to this problem is the use of cable trays, which generally raise the cables above the floor and allow the cables to be neatly associated with the cable tray along its path between the equipment being electrically connected. The excess cable can be taken up within the cable tray by having changes of direction, i.e. by taking an overlapping route, and securing the cable in place with cable ties.

Such trays are usually used for storing cables of desk top appliances such as computers and telephones. The cable trays themselves require installation and permanent fixing, which is often not convenient or possible, and the use of cable ties will restrict the flexibility of the length of cable available.

The use of cables with portable electronic devices, such as laptops, MP3 players, personal stereos, mobile telephones and the like, is common, e.g. headphone cables.

Often, there will be an excess length of headphone cable during use, which hangs down in front of the user and can get in the way. Also, after use, the headphones are put away, for example in a bag or a pocket, with the device. In this state, the cables are liable to becoming twisted and tangled unless they are packed away very carefully.

Headphone cany cases are available on the market and are often provided with newly purchased sets of headphones. These carry cases, generally, compise a main disc having molded portions for placing the earphones of the headphones in. With the ear phones in position, the disc is wound to cause the cable to wrap itself around the outer surface of the disc. The disc is provided in an outer casing, which retains the wound cable, with some means to allow the user to turn the disc to effect the winding of the cable. An opening in the outer casing is provided through which the cable can be wound into and through which the cable can be unwound from. The opening is sized so the plug of the headphones can not fit through it.

These carry cases are useful for storing the cable and preventing entanglement.

However, they require disconnection of the headphones before they can be wound for storage. It is, mostly, for this reason that the popularity of use of caiiy cases is not widespread as the user will often want to keep the headphones connected to the personal electronic devices to ensure they are not lost and for convenience when they wish to resume listening. The bulk of the cany cases, some being larger than the personal electronic device itselt is also disadvantageous.

Thus, there is a need for a simple and convenient means for holding cables, which does not require permanent installation and which preferably does not require the cables to be disconnected from the appliance.

Summary of the Invention

In view of the above discussed problems, the present invention provides a means for holding a cable, comprising a body having an outer surface to receive a cable wound therearound and two spaced apart apertures extending through the entire thickness of the body for securing the cable relative to the body.

The cable holder of the present invention, therefore, allows the cable to be wrapped around the outer surface of the main body and the loose, nonwrapped. ends of the cable secured to the main body by being passed through the apertures. Wrapping the cables around the outside surface of the body is simple and convenient and the provision of more than one securing aperture prevents the cable from unraveling.

Whilst the body of the holder can be of a wide range of shapes, preferably, the body is elongate which should serve to reduce the number of times the windings overlap which could result in an undesirably thick bulk of wound cable. The elongate shape is also easy to hold and wind the cable around.

More preferably, the apertures for securing the cable are provided at opposing ends of the body. This feature allows a natural winding and securing of the cable to the holder. The cable can be secured at one end, wrapped around the body until the cable is wound as desired and then secured at the other end.

In one preferred form, at least one of the apertures comprises a cut which is open at an edge of the body. In another preferred form, at least one of the apertures are provided within the body as an aperture through the body, inside of an edge of the body.

Providing the apertures as cuts open at an edge of the body allows the cable to be secured to and wrapped around the holder without the need to disconnect the cable from the holder. Providing at least one of the apertures inside the edge of the end of the elongate body will prevent the cable from being accidentally removed from the holder as the hole is not open at an edge of the holder.

In another preferred feature, the body is substantially free of protrusions or projections to allow winding of the cable around the outer surface of the body without any obstructions hindering the process.

Whilst the material which the body is made from can be any kind, such as metal, wood, plastic, rubber, cardboard or fabric, it is a preferred feature of the invention that at least in the region of the apertures, the body is made from a flexible material.

The flexibility around the apertures will allow them to expand to cater for different sizes of cables.

In the case of closed apertures, the flexibility is necessary to allow a connection member, e.g. a plug or socket, on the end of the cable to fit through the aperture, assuming the aperture is smaller than the connection member. The aperture will need to expand as the connection member, such as a plug on the end of the cable. is pushed through and then retract in order to allow the cable to be secured relative to the body, i.e. so that the connection member can not fit back through. In the case of an aperture open to an edge of the body, the material being flexible allows it to defoim around the cable to some degree to conform with the shape of the cable to offer a better contact between the aperture and the cable.

The following is a description of' various preferred embodiments of the invention.

given by way of example only, for a more detailed understanding.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Figure 1 - shows a preferred embodiment of the cable holder of the present invention.

Figure 2 - shows the preferred embodiment of figure 1 in use with a cable wrapped around it.

Figure 3 - shows an alternative embodiment of the cable holder of the present invention provided in a flatter configuration.

Figure 4 - shows yet another embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 5 - shows the embodiment of figure 4 in use with headphone cables wrapped around it.

Figure 6 - shows various example shapes of the cable holder of the present invention.

Figure 7 - shows various examples of the types of apertures of the gripping means of the cable holder of the present invention.

Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments of the Invention The present invention is preferably concerned with a means for holding a cable which is of elongate form and has two opposing ends. The body of the cable holder is preferably polygonal and at least two opposing faces of the polygon are preferably flat. Slits or cuts in the body are preferably provided at opposing ends of the body.

The slits or cuts can either be open to the opposing ends or be provided entirely contained within the elongate body.

In use, a first end of a cable is secured in a first aperture, then an excess length of cable will be wound around the body of the cable holder by the user. The other ends of the cable will then be passed through an other aperture for securing the cable to the holder. Preferably, the cable will be wound around a central portion and the free ends of the cable will be secured at opposing ends, which provides a neat finish to the wound cable.

An example of the cable holder of the present invention can be seen in Figure I. The body 3 of the cable holder 4 serves to receive a cable 7 to be wound around it.

An elongate configuration is particularly preferred as, because of the flexible nature of cable, it is best provided in a coil, which is most efficient, in terms of occupied volume, in elongate form. The body should be designed accordingly.

With reference to Figures 1 and 2, the shape, width (w), length (1) and height (h) of the body 3 can be tailored to the radius, excess length and operating conditions of the target cable. For example, a holder for use with a personal electronic device will ideally be minimised in size to ensure portability. l'he cable holder in this case should also be lightweight as it will generally be carried on the person of the user.

1 5 The lightweight feature is also desirable for all applications to ensure it does not damage the cables or provide undue stress at the point of connection of the cable to whatever device it is connected to. Another preferred attribute of the cable holder is that it should be inexpensive to manufacture. The simple design set forth herein allows this. For example, basic shapes (e.g. rectangular) having apertures formed therein and made of readily available material, such as plastic or cardboard, will be easy and inexpensive to manufacture.

The small size of the cable holder can be achieved by ensuring that it is only slightly larger than the excess cable length to be retained. Thicker cables will, generally, require a larger radius of curvature than thinner cables and, therefore, a body having a larger cross-sectional area will be required. For example, a cable for headphones could be wrapped around the thickness of a pencil, whereas a power cord for a computer could, generally, not. Larger cables may also need a more robust cable holder to ensure it adequately supports the cable.

The material of which the cable holder is made is also dependent on the cable size and user requirements. Any material can be used, but it is generally preferred that the material provide some degree of flexibility and deformability. Cables are flexible in nature and the device should also have this characteristic. A deformable or flexible material will also allow better accommodation of the apertures to different size cables. The deformation, for example, expansion, should not be permanent and the cable holder should revert to its original configuration after use, for example by way of an elastic effect.

Figure 3 shows the body 3 of the cable holder 4 made from a soft malleable fabric material, which is clearly flexible and capable of conforming to any curve ill the cable 7. Figures 1,4 and 5 show the body 3 being made of a soft, rubber-like substance, which will provide a more rigid alternative to that in Figure 3. This more rigid form of the cable holder 4 may be more suitable for thicker cables. It is also envisaged that any appropriate plastic material or solid foam may be utilised.

The use of a relatively tacky material such as rubber will be advantageous as it offers a high friction surface. This is particularly useful in the regions around the apertures as the high friction material will better grip a cable passed through it.

Another factor in deciding on the particular material to be used is how lightweight the material is required to be. An important feature of the present invention is that.

in preferred forms, it can be used without disconnecting the cable from the equipment to which it is connected. Use of a heavy mateial may cause the cable to disconnect. Further, using a heavy material would place a burden on the cable material which could jeopardise the operating performance or the lifespan of the cable. Further, in portable applications, a lightweight design is clearly preferable, for convenience.

Figure 6 shows various possible shapes of the elongate body, which illustrates the diversity of possibilities available in the design of the cable holder 4 of the present invention. The invention is not limited to these shapes and it is envisaged that any shape could be used, provided that an outer surface is offered around which the cable can be wound.

It is preferred that the body 3 have a polygonal cross section, such as the rectangular configuration shown in Figures 1 to 5. It is possible that the device could be provided with a projecting lip at the opposing ends to keep the wound cable in position along the body. However, it is preferred that the body offer at least one flat or planar surface, which is shown in all of the examples given in the Figures.

Having at least one flat surface should allow the cable to be wound around the body without any obstructions. Example obstructions would be a large protruding ridge or rim at either end of the body, which would hinder easy winding. It may also be advantageous if the body offers two opposing flat or planar surfaces for the same reasons and this is, again, illustrated by the example shapes in the Figures.

With reference to Figure 6, the embodiments of Figures 6E, 6H, 61 and 6J show the cable holder having a reduced cross-section in the central portion compared to that at the ends. In the examples of âE, 6H and 61, two sides of the outer surface of the body taper inwardly to provide this reduced cross-section. In Figure 6J, the profile of the body is substantially I-shaped to provide a sudden step down in the crosssectional area of the body in a central portion as compared to that at both ends. This reduction in cross-sectional area may prove advantageous for the purposes of preventing the wound cable from sliding or moving along the body of the cable holder in the longitudinal direction (the longitudinal direction being an axis extending in parallel with the direction of elongation of the body).

Figure 6N shows a doughnut shaped cable holder. In this embodiment, the apertures could be provided in the outer circumference, within the circumference or in the inner circumference of the doughnut shaped portion. The apertures will be provided at spaced apart portions of the circumference, for example diametrically opposing portions.

The cable holder 4 shown in figures 1 to 5 is solid, i.e. it does not have any hollows or substantial holes in the portion around which the cable 7 is wrapped. It may be advantageous for the body 3 of the cable holder 4 to be hollow, or include at least one or a series of cavities extending through the body, thereby ensuring the lightweight property of the cable holder. The cavities would also mean that less material has been used providing an even less expensive object to manufacture.

It is also envisaged that the central portion of the body, around which the cable is to be wrapped, could be provided with grooves or small indentations to provide a high friction surface. This should allow better maintenance of the cable in its wound position.

Turning now to the securing apertures 1, 2, 5, 6, it can be seen from Figures Ito 5 and 7, that the means for gripping the cable ends always involves some sort of slit or opening. The term aperture is intended to cover, holes, slits, openings and cuts in the body. The use of apertures allows a simple and convenient way to secure the free, unwound ends of the cable to the body. The user simply needs to pass the unwound ends of the cable through the aperture to secure it in place.

The apertures can either grip the cable or simply hold the cable in position relative to the body. The apertures can be appropriately dimensioned such that the hole through which the cable is to be passed is smaller than any connection member at the end of the cable. The material will need to be expandable to allow the connection member to be initially forced through the hole and then contractible to allow the hole to reduce in size to prevent the connection member from passing back through the hole. A material having an elastic property may, therefore, be appropriate in the region around the apertures. Securing the cable in this way is best achieved using the closed style of apertures as discussed below.

Alternatively, the apertures can exploit the fact that cables are, generally, formed with a relatively soft outer cladding. Thus, any aperture provided by the gripping means which is slightly smaller than the radius of the cable will cause a pressing force from the sides of the aperture onto the cladding of the cable resulting in a depression of the cladding. This will result in a friction force between the sides of the aperture and the cable causing the necessary grip of the cable by the apertures. - 10-

Thus, the dimensions of the apertures need to be designed in view of the size of the cable with which it is likely to be used. Also, the material in the region around the apertures will need to be sufficiently hard and not too flexible to allow the cladding to be gripped.

Another possibility is for the material in the region around the apertures to be relatively sofi and malleable. This will allow the apellures to con loon to the sllIpc of the cable and to some extent encase the cable providing a friction fit. This will also provide the necessary grip of the cable.

The important aspect of the apertures is that they pass all the way through the body to allow the cable to be conveniently secured. Also, the apertures need to prevent the cable from becoming accidentally unattached from the cable holder whether this be by gripping force on the cable or apertures being too small to allow the connection members of the cables to pass back through. Of course, it should be possible to forcibly remove the cable from the holder if required With reference to Figures 2 and 5, it can be seen that if the free ends of the cable 7 are actually gripped then movement of the cable holder relative to the wound cable is prevented. The actual gripping of the cable also, importantly, serves to retain the cable wrapped around the body and prevent it from unraveling.

The apertures 1, 2, 5, 6 can, as described above, be provided in one of two basic forms as can be best seen from Figure 7. The gripping means are labeled as either being open or closed. The open form requires the aperture to be open at an end of the body 3 of the cable holder, for example such that a slit meets an end 10, 11 of the body 3 and is open to receive cable from that end. The closed form requires the aperture to be closed to an end 10, 11 of the body 3 of the cable holder such that the aperture does not extend up to the edge, for example a hole or passageway through the body. These contrasting styles of apertures are also illustrated in Figure 2, for

example.

The closed form is particularly useful in the case where the cable has free ends or disconnected ends of the cable. As can be seen from Figure 5, in the example of headphones, the plug end 9 and the earphone end 8 of the cable can be pushed through respective apertures 5, 6 at opposing ends 10, 11 to provide the necessary gripping of the cable 7. In this case, the apertures are in the form of intersecting slits positioned at opposite ends of the body. The slits will expand to allow the ear phones and the plug to be pushed through and the slits will then contract around the cable. This may be enough to grip cable. Alternatively, the free ends of the cable can be pulled deeper into the slit, away from the intersection to provide a slightly stronger hold.

In a preferred embodiment, one or both of the apertures 5, 6 are provided in the open form. In this way, the cable holder 4 can be installed without disconnection of the cable 7. In the case of a cable having both ends connected to devices, the cable holder will require both apertures to be of the open kind. The closed form of the apertures would make it impossible to secure a cable connected at both ends through the apertures. However, if the apertures are both open, the cable can be passed through one of the apertures, then the excess length of the cable can be wound around the body and the other end of the cable passed through the other aperture.

The excess length of cable is, in this way, tidied without the need for disconnection at either end. Any combination of open and closed apertures is possible In another example, in the case of a lap top power cable, the cable holder can have one open aperture and one closed, the open aperture for securing the main power plug end of the cable and the closed aperture for securing the small lap top plug end of the cable. The lap top plug is forced through the closed aperture, then the excess length of cable is wound around the body and the main plug end of the cable, which may still be connected to its socket, is secured to the open aperture without the need to disconnect the cable.

A cable holder with two closed apertures would be useful in the case of storing or transport of the cable, where the cable is disconnected. Again, the apertures would - 12 - both need to expand enough to allow the connection members to pass through and then contract enough to prevent the connection member from passing back through.

It is possible that the aperture could reliact enough to provide a gripping fhrce on the cable and not just prevent unraveling by being too small for the connection member to naturally pass back through. In the two aperture embodiment of Figure 6, both apertures are provided with intersecting cross style slits. In this case, the mateial could be suitably flexible to fold out when the cable is pushed through, thereby providing the necessary expansion. The material of region around the slits could be soft and malleable enough to fit around the cable to grip the cable. Alternatively, the material could offer a tackiness which resulted in the cable being gripped. Either way, the connection member will only be able to be removed when subjected to a force equivalent to that necessary to push the cable (with connection member) through in the first place.

Another example of the use of closed apertures at either end is in the case of headphones connected to personal electronic devices. The headphone plug aperture should be just large enough for the cable. By way of an elastic property of the body, for example, material, the plug can be pushed through the plug aperture and the aperture will retract to grip the cable. The earphones can be pushed through the other aperture which is, perhaps, of different size. This allows the holder to remain on the cable when both stored and worn. The amount of cable wrapped around the body can be changed depending on whether the headphones are being stored or used and how much slack of the cable is required during use. An example of a cable holder with two closed apertures can be seen from Figures 3, 4 and 5, with Figure 5 showing the cable holder in use. As can be seen in these figures, the apertures can be of different size, which can be especially useful for tightly gripping the cable at one end and allowing some flexibility of movement of the cable through the aperture at the other end.

The apertures used can be of a variety of forms as shown in Figure 7. With reference to Figures 7A, 7B, and 7C, the closed form is shown in three styles, a single incision style, a pair of intersecting incisions in a cross style or a single - 13 - corrugated incision or Zigzag incision style, respectively. With reference to Figures 7D to 71, the open form is shown in two main styles, the first is a single incision (7D to 7F) style extending from the end of the body inwards and the second is a corrugated or Zigzag style incision (7G to 71) also extending from the end of the body inwards. Both of these styles can be provided with extra holes along the slit or incision. The holes can increase in radius along the slit away from the end of the body (Figures 7E and 7H) or can decrease in radius along the slit away from the end of the body (Figures 7F and 71). The radii of these holes can be tailored to cater for varying sizes of cables.

The length of the apertures can be tailored to meet the size of the cable 7 to be used with the cable holder 4. Clearly, larger radius cables will require larger apertures to cater for them. This is particularly true in the case of closed slits where not only must the size of the cables be considered, but also the size of the plugs or connecting parts at the ends of the cable which must be pushed through the aperture.

Another advantage of making the body from a material which is flexible or pliable and allows expansion is that the apertures will be equally flexible and, therefore, be able to cater for various different size cables. Also, if the material is relatively soft and deformable, the apertures should, to some degree, conform to the curved shape of the cables, and, therefore, have a larger contact area between the two and, thus, offer a stronger friction gripping force.

It is also envisaged that the apertures could be V-shaped cuts, particularly in the case of open apertures, or even oval- shaped cuts, particularly in the case of closed apertures, rather than slits. Slits can be defined as apertures which, during incision, do not usually require any material to be removed from the body. The V-shaped or oval- shaped cuts would, again, cater for a variety of cable sizes. These types of cuts may be more appropriate in the case of more rigid applications of the body, where the soft nature of cable cladding will be exploited for the gripping of the cable, rather than any give of the body itself.

- 14 - The apertures will, ideally, be provided at opposing ends of the body, with the cable being wrapped around an intermediate portion of the body. This will allow access to the apertures after the winding process is completed. Providing the apertures at opposing ends also follows the nature of the cable to be wound, i.e. cables are provided intermediate two components and wound cable is allowed to conform to this path if the cable holder is provided with an entry aperture and exit aperture at opposing ends. In the example of Figure 1, if the cable 7 is to be connected between two pieces of electrical equipment, the end of the cable closest to one of those pieces of equipment can be secured through and in an aperture 2 at one end of the cable holder 4, the excess length can wound around the body 3, and the cable can then be secured through and in the aperture 1 at the other end. Thus, the cable holder 4 can be secured to the cable 7, conveniently following the natural route between the two pieces of electrical equipment.

Use of the cable holder is extremely simple. With reference to Figure 2, the cable is inserted through cable gripping means 5 and it is then wrapped around the length of the body 3 until all excess cable is used and then the cable is inserted through apertures 6. In the figure, the cable holder is shown as having one open and one closed aperture. Any combination of open or closed gripping means can be used, however, i.e. both open or both closed are also envisaged as described above. The present invention offers a simple way of handling cables to prevent

them from becoming untidy or tangled. The present invention may be particularly useful in portable devices, for example in combination with headphones connected to personal electronic devices. During use, any excess cable length can be wound around the cable holder with the free ends secured in and through the apertures.

After use, the earphones can be removed from the user's ears and the cable wrapped around the cable holder without necessarily having to disconnect the headphones from the electronic device (as the cable holder has, preferably, at least one open aperture). The personal electronic device and the cables can then be used or stored without risk of the cable entangling itself and with the cable holder being connected to the personal electronic device so as to prevent risk of losing the cable holder.

- 15 - Further, the head phones are very easily unwound from the cable holder. In this case, the cable holder should be pocket sized and extremely lightweight.

A user may have numerous personal electronic devices each with an associated cable holder. During use, the cable holder can contain any annoying or inconvenient excess cable length. When not in use, the cable holder will ensure that the headphone cables will be kept neat and tidy, for example in a bag oi pocket.

The cable holder also has applications in tidying excess cable which is connected between electrical equipment, such as computer or telephone cables. The cable can be easily wrapped around the holder and secured to it. The cable will, consequently, be tidied without being put under undue strain (because of the lightweight material used for the cable holder).

The cable holder can also be used on cables which are already disconnected.

Providing a quick and easy way of neatly winding the cables for transport or storage.

The cable is also easy to unwind from the cable holder when needed.

As has been highlighted in the foregoing, the cable holder is of simple design and very simple to use. Similarly, it is simple and inexpensive to manufacture. Further, the cable holder of the present invention can be adapted for almost any situation where there is an excess cable length or a risk of cables becoming entangled.

Claims

Claims 1. A means for holding a cable, comprising a body having an outer

surface to receive a cable wound therearound and two spaced apart apertures extending through the entire thickness of the body for securing the cable relative to the body.
2. The means for holding a cable of claim I, wherein the body is elongate.
3. The means for holding a cable of claim 2, wherein the apertures for securing the cable are provided at opposing ends of the body.
4. The means for holding a cable of claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein at least one of the apertures comprises a cut which is open at an edge of the body.
5. The means for holding a cable of any preceding claim, wherein at least one of the apertures are contained completely within the body.
6. The means for holding a cable of any preceding claim, wherein the body is substantially free of protrusions or projections.
7. The means for holding a cable of any preceding claim, wherein, at least in a region of the apertures, the body is made from a flexible material.
8. The means for holding a cable of any preceding claim, wherein, at least in a region of the apertures, the body is made from a material having an elastic property.