Cross-Reference To Related Application

This application is being filed on September 14, 2020 as a PCT International Patent Application and claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application Serial No.

62/900,898, filed on September 16, 2019, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to clamping a portion of a telecommunications cable.

Background

Telecommunications systems typically employ a network of telecommunications cables capable of transmitting large volumes of data and voice signals over relatively long distances. Telecommunications cables can include fiber optic cables, electrical cables, or combinations of electrical and fiber optic cables. A typical telecommunications network also includes a plurality of telecommunications enclosures integrated throughout the network of telecommunications cables. The telecommunications enclosures or “closures” are adapted to house and protect telecommunications components such as splices, termination panels, power splitters, wave division multiplexers, fiber management trays, cable organizing and routing components, etc.

Typically, cables entering telecommunications enclosures must be fixed in place inside the enclosure. Within the closure, and depending on the type of cable, protective components of the cable, such as a jacket, a buffer tube, strength members, etc., are stripped, truncated, or removed, allowing the optical fibers held by the cable to be managed within the closure. One or more of these cable components may be fixed in place using a cable fixation assembly.

Portions of telecommunications cables typically are fixed to other structures as well, such as walls, ceilings, racks, cabinets, shelves, drawers, poles, beams, supports, pipes, other cables, etc.

Fixing cables in telecommunications closures can be important to minimize damage to, or over-bending of, the exposed fibers within the closure. In other areas of a telecommunications network it is likewise important to prevent shifting of telecommunications cables.

Summary

In general terms, the present disclosure is directed to improvements in clamps for telecommunications cables.

In some examples, a cable clamp in accordance with the present disclosure clamps a portion of a cable to another structure.

Non-limiting examples of such structures include another cable, a pipe, a beam, a cabinet, a closure, a rack, a shelf, a drawer, a panel, a body of a cable fixation assembly, etc.

Non-limiting examples of the portion of the cable that can be clamped with a cable clamp in accordance with the present disclosure include an outer jacket, a buffer tube, a strength member, a grounding component, etc.

In some examples, one or more components of the cable clamp are made from an electrically conductive material and the cable clamp can conductively couple a portion of the cable it is clamping to an electrical ground.

In some examples, one or more components of the cable clamp are made from metal, such as steel.

In some examples, one or more components of the cable clamp and/or components to which the cable clamp is coupled are made from a polymeric material.

In some examples, one or more components of the cable clamp are made from a non-electrically conductive material.

Cable clamps in accordance with the present disclosure include one or more features that can improve access to the adjustment mechanism that allows for tightening and loosening of the cable clamp, particularly in an area with a high density of cables where the close proximity of one cable can limit accessibility to the cable clamp of another cable.

Cable clamps in accordance with the present disclosure include one or more features that can improve the resistance to unintentional loosening of the cable clamp.

Clamps in accordance with the present disclosure may be used to clamp objects other than telecommunications cables or other cables. Non-limiting examples of other objects that can be clamped with clamps of the present disclosure include hoses, pipes, and rods. The contents of PCT International Application No. PCT/US2020/014634 filed January 22, 2020 are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

As used herein, terms such as “vertical,” “horizontal,” “vertically,” “horizontally,” “up,” “down,” “top,” “bottom, ” “upper,” “lower,” “front,” “back,” “rear,” “proximal,” “distal,” etc., are used only for ease of description in relating the position or orientation of one component relative to another and regardless of how the overall apparatus or assembly may be used, positioned, or oriented in practice.

According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, a clamp for securing an object comprises: a band defining an axis extending between a first axial end and a second axial end of the band along an elongate dimension of the band; a worm screw, the worm screw including: a head; and a threaded shaft extending from the head to a shaft end; and a worm screw housing fixedly attached at an attachment position to the band and capturing at least a portion of the worm screw in a position such that the head of the worm screw is closer than the shaft end of the worm screw to the first axial end of the band and such that the worm screw can rotate relative to the worm screw housing, wherein the band, the worm screw, and the worm screw housing are configured to cooperate such that when the worm screw rotatably engages the band, the second axial end advances relative to the worm screw housing and the first axial end is stationary relative to the worm screw housing.

According to further aspects of the present disclosure, a clamp for securing an object comprises: a band defining an axis extending between a first axial end and a second axial end of the band along an elongate dimension of the band; a worm screw, the worm screw including: a head; and a threaded shaft extending from the head to a shaft end; and a worm screw housing fixedly attached to the band at an attachment position and capturing at least a portion of the worm screw such that the worm screw can rotate relative to the worm screw housing, wherein the band, the worm screw, and the worm screw housing are configured to cooperate such that when the worm screw rotatably engages the band, the second axial end moves relative to the worm screw housing and the first axial end is stationary relative to the worm screw housing, and wherein the band includes a generally looped portion and first and second tail portions extending from first and second opposite ends, respectively, of the generally looped portion and extending away from a center of the looped portion, wherein the attachment position is at one of the first and second tail portions. According to further aspects of the present disclosure, method of clamping a telecommunications cable to a structure comprises: providing a band, a worm screw, and a worm screw housing, the band defining an axis extending between a first axial end and a second axial end of the band along an elongate dimension of the band, the worm screw including a head and a threaded shaft extending from the head to a shaft end; fixedly attaching the worm screw housing to the band at an attachment position such that the worm screw is rotatably captured within the worm screw housing and such that the worm screw can rotate relative to the worm screw housing; wrapping the band around a portion of the telecommunications cable and the structure such that the band includes a generally looped portion and first and second tail portions extending from first and second opposite ends, respectively, of the generally looped portion and extending away from a center of the looped portion, the generally looped portion receiving the portion of the telecommunications cable and the structure, and the worm screw housing being fixedly attached to the first tail portion; inserting the second tail portion in the worm screw housing; and rotating the screw to advance the second tail portion relative to the worm screw housing and tighten the generally looped portion about the portion of the telecommunications cable and the structure.

A variety of additional inventive aspects will be set forth in the description that follows. The inventive aspects can relate to individual features and to combinations of features. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the broad inventive concepts upon which the embodiments disclosed herein are based.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The following drawings are illustrative of particular embodiments of the present disclosure and therefore do not limit the scope of the present disclosure. The drawings are not to scale and are intended for use in conjunction with the explanations in the following detailed description. Embodiments of the present disclosure will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings, wherein like numerals denote like elements.

FIG. l is a perspective view of a prior art cable clamp.

FIG. 2 is a top view of portions of three telecommunications cables arranged in parallel, each of the cables including a prior art cable clamp of FIG. 1 clamped thereto.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an example cable clamp in accordance the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is a further perspective view of the cable clamp of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the cable clamp of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the cable clamp of FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is a further side view of the cable clamp of FIG. 3.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the cable clamp of FIG. 3 along the line A-A in

FIG. 6.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the cable clamp of FIG. 3 along the line B-B in

FIG. 6.

FIG. 10 is a further side view of the cable clamp of FIG. 3.

FIG. 11 is a top view of the cable clamp of FIG. 3.

FIG. 12 is a bottom view of the cable clamp of FIG. 3.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the cable clamp of FIG. 3 with the cover removed. FIG. 14 is a side view of a further example cable clamp in accordance with the present disclosure, the cable clamp being in a clamping configuration.

FIG. 15 is a top view of portions of three telecommunications cables arranged in parallel, each of the cables including a cable clamp of FIG. 14 in accordance with the present disclosure clamped thereto.

Detailed Description

Various embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals represent like parts and assemblies throughout the several views. Reference to various embodiments does not limit the scope of the invention, which is limited only by the scope of the claims attached hereto. Additionally, any examples set forth in this specification are not intended to be limiting and merely set forth some of the many possible embodiments for the claimed invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a prior art clamp 10 that can be used for clamping a portion of a telecommunications cable to another structure is shown.

The clamp 10 includes a band 12 defining an axis 14 extending between a first axial end 16 and a second axial end 18 along an elongate dimension of the band 12. Towards the first axial end 16 a worm screw housing 20 is fixedly attached to the band 12. The worm screw housing 20 captures a shaft of a worm screw 22 that includes a head 24 and a threaded shaft 26 extending from the head 24. Though axially captured by the worm screw housing 20, the worm screw 22 is rotatable within the worm screw housing 20 about a rotation axis 28 of the worm screw 22.

The band 12 includes a plurality of parallel slots 30 that are configured to engage threads of the worm screw 22.

To secure the clamp 10 to an object, the band 12 is wrapped around the object, and the axial end 18 of the band is fed into an opening 32 of the worm screw housing 20.

Then, the worm screw 22 is rotated about the worm screw axis 28, with the threads of the worm screw sequentially engaging slots 30 of the band 12 such that the band 12 axially advances through the worm screw housing, tightening the band 12 around the object.

Referring to FIG. 2, each of three of the clamps 10 is clamped to a protective end sleeve 40 of a cable 42a, 42b, 42c, respectively. Each clamp 10 clamps the respective cable 42a, 42b, 42c to a structure 44, schematically represented. The cables each have a central longitudinal axis 46a, 46b, 46c, respectively.

The rotation axes 28a, 28b, 28c, respectively, of the worm screws 22a, 22b, 22c are generally tangential to the curved outer jacket of the corresponding cable. As a result, accessing the heads 24b, 24c of the corresponding worm screws 22b, 22c in order to rotate them to tighten or loosen the corresponding cable clamp can be challenging due to the parallel arrangement of the cables 42a, 42b, 42c, resulting in gaps 50b, 50c of limited size between adjacent cables.

Referring now to FIGS. 3-13, a clamp 100, and/or components of the clamp, are shown that can provide one or more advantages over the clamp 10 of FIG. 1.

The clamp 100 can be used for clamping cables such as telecommunications cables to structures, such as closures, bodies of cable fixation assemblies, walls, poles, pipes, cabinets, racks, beams, drawers, other cables, etc. The clamp 100 can be made from electrically conductive or electrically non-conductive material. In some examples, the clamp 100 is made from a metal, such as steel. In some examples, the clamp 100 is made from a polymeric material. In some examples, at least the band of the clamp 100 is made from a polymer and the threads of the worm screw are configured to dig into the polymer as the worm screw turns to provide an enhanced tightening of the clamp with improved resistance to loosening of the clamp.

The clamp 100 includes a band 112 defining an axis 114 extending between a first axial end 116 and a second axial end 118 along an elongate dimension of the band 112. Towards the first axial end 116 and at an attachment position 150 a worm screw housing 120 is fixedly attached to the band 112. The worm screw housing 120 captures a threaded shaft 126 of a worm screw 122 that also includes a head 124, the threaded shaft 126 extending from the head 124. The threaded shaft 126 includes threads 127. Though axially captured by the worm screw housing 120, the worm screw 122 is rotatable within the worm screw housing 120 about a rotation axis 128 of the worm screw 122.

The band 112 includes a plurality of parallel slots 130 that are configured to engage threads of the worm screw 122. The band also defines a pair of opposite notches 152, 154 at the attachment position 150 of the worm screw housing 120. The worm screw housing 120 includes a pair of tabs 156, 158 that are received in the notches 152, 154, respectively to fixedly attach the worm screw housing 120 to the band 112 at the attachment position 150.

The band 112 also defines a fully enclosed opening 160 at the attachment position 150. The fully enclosed opening 160 is sized and positioned such that the threads 127 of the threaded shaft can enter and rotate within the enclosed opening 160 and/or extend therethrough but do not contact the border 162 of the enclosed opening 160 when the worm screw 122 is rotated about its rotation axis 128 (e.g., using a screw driver).

The axial length of the band 112 and the number of parallel slots 130 can be selected such that the clamp 100 can accommodate clamping of many different sized cables, and particularly cables of relatively small outer transverse diameter, e.g., cables having outer transverse diameters in a range from about 2 millimeters to about 15 millimeters. In addition, the clamp 100 can be configured to clamp different portions of a cable, such as an outer jacket of a cable, a buffer tube positioned within the outer jacket, a strength member, an electrical grounding component of the cable, etc.

The band 112 can, in some examples, begin in a straight configuration, e.g., with the axis 114 forming a straight or generally straight line. To use the clamp 100 to clamp a cable to another structure, the band 112 is bent or otherwise shaped to form a generally looped portion 164 (that can be wrapped around a portion of the cable and the other structure to which the cable is to be clamped) and first and second tail portions 166, 168 extending from first and second opposite ends 170, 172, respectively, of the generally looped portion 164.

The first and second tail portions 166, 168 extend away from a center 174 of the looped portion.

The attachment position 150 where the worm screw housing 120 is fixedly attached to the band 112 is located at the tail portion 166. The clamp 100 also includes a cover 180 for covering at least a portion of the worm screw housing 120 and at least a portion of the head 124 of the worm screw 122.

The cover includes a latch 182, and the worm screw housing 120 includes a tab 184 defining a window 186. The worm screw housing 120 and the cover 180 are configured to lock together by engagement of the latch 182 and the window 186. The latch 182 can be flexed away from the window 186 to unlock the cover 180 from the worm screw housing 120 and thereby allow the cover 180 to be removed from the worm screw housing 120. With the cover 180 in position on the worm screw housing 120, the chance of inadvertent rotation of the worm screw 122 while clamped to a cable is minimized, thereby minimizing inadvertent loosening of the clamp. In addition., the cover 180 can serve as an attachment means for attaching the cable clamp to another structure, e.g., another structure within a telecommunications closure.

To secure the clamp 100 to an object, the band 112 is wrapped around the object to form the generally looped portion 164 and tail portions 166, 168, and the axial end 118 of the band is fed into an opening 132 of the worm screw housing 120. Then, the worm screw 122 is rotated about the worm screw axis 128, with the threads of the worm screw sequentially engaging the slots 130 of the band 112 such that the band 112 axially advances through the worm screw housing, tightening the band 112 around the object.

Referring now to FIG. 14, a clamp 200 in accordance with the present disclosure is shown in a clamping configuration. The clamp 200 includes a band 112 and a worm screw 122 as described above, and a worm screw housing 220. The worm screw housing 220 axially captures the shaft of the worm screw 122 while permitting rotation of the worm screw 122 about the screw rotation axis 128.

The band includes a generally looped portion 164 (that can be wrapped around a portion of the cable and the other structure to which the cable is to be clamped) and first and second tail portions 166, 168 extending from first and second opposite ends 170, 172, respectively, of the generally looped portion 164.

The first and second tail portions 166, 168 extend generally away from a center 174 of the looped portion.

The first and second tail portions 166, 168 extend from the first and second opposite ends 170, 172, respectively, generally parallel to the rotation axis 128 of the worm screw 122 and at unequal corresponding first and second angles a, b respectively, relative to the first and second opposite ends 170, 172. In the example shown in FIG. 14, the angle a is acute and the angle b is obtuse. In other examples, the angle a is a right angle and the angle b is obtuse. In other examples, both of the angles a and b are obtuse. The first and second angles a, b are unequal to each other due to the cooperation of the tightening mechanism 290 (consisting of the worm screw 122 and the worm screw housing 220) with the band 112, and the fixation of the tail portion 166 to the worm screw housing 220.

Because the threads of the worm screw 122 engage the slots 130 of a relatively straight tail portion 168 rather than a relatively curved part of a looped portion (as in the clamp 10 described above), more of the screw threads can engage slots 30 at the same time, providing for improved strength of the clamp 100 and improved resistance to loosening of the clamp.

Referring now to FIG. 15, each of three of the clamps 200a, 200b, 200c (each corresponding to the clamp 200 described above) is clamped to a protective end sleeve 40 of a cable 42a, 42b, 42c, respectively. In some examples, each cable includes an outer jacket, optionally one or more strength members, and one or more optical fibers for carrying optical signals, and/or one or more electrical wires for carrying electrical signals. In other examples, the clamps of the present disclosure can be used to clamp objects other than cables, such as hoses, pipes, rods, etc. Each clamp 10 clamps the respective cable 42a, 42b, 42c to a structure 44, schematically represented. The structure can be, e.g., one or more of a cable, a pole, a beam, a body of a cable fixation assembly, a cabinet, a rack, a drawer, a closure, etc. The cables each have a central longitudinal axis 46a, 46b, 46c, respectively.

The rotation axes of the worm screws 122a, 122b, 122c are generally into and out of the page in FIG. 15, with the worm screw extending generally away from the corresponding cable axis as the worm screw extends from the shaft end to the head. As a result, accessing the heads 124b, 124c of the corresponding worm screws 122b, 122c in order to rotate them to tighten or loosen the corresponding cable clamp 200b, 200c, is facilitated despite the relatively high density of parallel cables and accompanying limited size of the gaps 50b, 50c between adjacent cables.

From the foregoing detailed description, it will be evident that modifications and variations can be made in the devices of the disclosure without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.