APERTURE

The present invention relates to a device for

positioning hanging objects comprising a wire having an end to be mounted to an upper structure, and a spring clip having at least one pair of extending ears, each of which is provided with at least one aperture for clamping the wire in the apertures.

The present invention also relates to a spring clip suited for application in the device, to the use of such a spring clip, and to a method applied thereto. Such a device is known from US 2004/0111995 Al . In an embodiment the known clip comprises a first wire having one end which is to be mounted to an anchor secured to an upper support structure. The resilient clip has one pair of extending ears, each of which is provided with an aperture. In unreleased, compressed, condition of the clip the wire can be slit through both apertures, and in released

condition of the spring clip the aperture edges clamp onto the wire. The lower one of the ears may be coupled to a rail for hanging objects such as a drop or suspended ceiling, possibly through a second wire between the lower ear and the rail.

It is a disadvantage of the known device that

inserting the end of the wire through both registered apertures in tensioned and unreleased condition of the spring clip is difficult. In addition the tensioning of the spring clip requires and results in a lifting of at least the rail and under circumstances the objects hanging thereto, which may be difficult in practice. It is a main object of the present invention to provide such an improved device which is easy to

manufacture in mass production, and which allows faster handling when establishing multiple connections between an upper structure or ceiling and objects hanging from such a structure .

Thereto the device according to the invention is characterised in that at least one of the apertures in the pair of ears is fitted with a slot which opens on the side of its ear.

It is an advantage of the device according to the present invention that the establishment of a complete connection between the wire or wires and the spring clip is considerably simplified as it is no longer necessary to press the ears together and hold them together while simultaneously inserting the wire concerned through both apertures. The wire to be clamped to the spring clip can now simply be pulled through the slot which is normally be present at the side of the ear concerned, into its

associated open aperture, while the spring clip only has to be compressed to a minor extend. No tools are required during the handling as the pulling through the slotted aperture can simply be effected manually.

Further advantageously no longer during the

tensioning of the spring clip are both apertures required to be maintained registered and accessible for allowing insertion of the wire therein. Furthermore the lifting of at least the rail and under circumstances the objects hanging thereto does not necessarily accompany the

tensioning of the spring clip when compressing the ears. In addition personnel usually standing on a ladder or scaffold while working can do the simplified work faster and more safely, which makes this kind of work more cost effective. An embodiment of the device according to the

invention is characterised in that the slot is provided with extending side faces.

These extending side faces provide a lock or gate, which locks up the wire in the slotted aperture, and prevents the wire from coming out of its aperture.

Meanwhile the aperture edges clamp onto the outer surface of the wire which secures that a substantial weight can be applied to device without the wires shifting out of the apertures .

With the application of further embodiments which are characterised in that the spring clip has a main body from which the ears extend in different directions relative thereto, or which are characterised in that the device is provided with a cut or slit separating neighbouring ears of pairs of ears it is possible to allow the ears to spring independently from one another. This way one wire can be coupled or uncoupled from the spring clip independent from the other wire.

At present the device according to the invention will be elucidated further together with its additional

advantages while reference is being made to the appended drawing, wherein similar components are being referred to by means of the same reference numerals. In the drawing:

Figs. 1, 1A, and IB show examples with details A and B respectively of devices according to the invention, while fig 1C shows a side view of the invented device;

Fig. 2 shows some simple operations required to put an embodiment of the device according to the invention in operation; and

Figs. 3-8 show respective possible embodiments of the device according to the invention. Figs. 1, 1A and IB show a device 1 which is meant to be used in the process of mounting and positioning of hanging objects to an upper structure such as a netting, framework, support, cables, bars or girders or as shown a ceiling 2. The objects may concern various objects for example brackets, frameworks or supports 3 such as for a suspended or drop ceiling, baskets, swag lights or the like.

The device 1 in the case as shown in fig. 1 comprises a first wire 4 having an upper end 5 which is somehow mounted or anchored to the upper structure 2, and a spring clip 6 having at least one pair of extending ears 7-1, 7-2; 7-3, 7-4. Each of the ears also referred to with reference numeral 7 is provided with at least one aperture 8 for clamping at least one wire in the clip 6 while it is in released condition. Although the clip 6 may be arranged such that it allows direct connection to possibly the ceiling 2 or to the support 3 in which cases there is only one wire 4 clamped into the apertures 8 of the extending ears 7, hereafter further possible embodiments of the device 1 will be described which allow a second wire 9 to be coupled to and/or into the apertures in a way to be described hereafter.

One or more of the apertures 8 as shown in the figures 1-8 may be fitted with a slot 10 which normally opens on the side or edge of its ear 7-1, 7-2; 7-3, 7-4 concerned. This way one or more slotted apertures 8 is formed, which allow an easy gripping and coupling of one or more wires 4, 9 to the spring clip 6, advantageously while the spring clip 6 is in released condition.

Detailed Fig. 1A shows the spring clip 6 in the situation wherein the clip is coupled to both wires 4 and 9. In this situation, for example the distance between the clip 6 and the lower support 3 can be influenced by applying a pinching force on both ears 7-1, 7-2 where after wire 9 can be shifted, that is lowered or lifted through the apertures 8 in the ears 7-1, 7-2.

Detailed Fig. IB shows a situation prior to the situation shown in fig. 1A wherein the wire 9 has been inserted through an in this case not slotted -normal - aperture 8. Only by slightly manually manipulating the wire 9 and slightly compressing the ears 7-1, 7-2 as indicated in figs. 1C and 2, the wire which has a variety of degrees of freedom for allowing easy manipulation is forced to snap into the slotted aperture 8 of fig. 2, which results in the end condition shown in side view in Fig. 1C.

If as shown in the figs. 1-8 the spring clip 6 of the device 1 is provided with a cut 11 or slit 12 separating the ear pairs 7-1, 7-2 and 7-3, 7-4 respectively then the coupling or uncoupling of the one wire 4, 9 to or from the clip 6 does not influence the coupling or uncoupling of the other wire 4, 9 to or from the clip.

The slotted aperture 8 may be provided with extending side faces 13-1, 13-2 which can simply be punched out of the material of the often C-shaped or U-shaped or X-shaped spring clip 6. As shown in the various figures the side faces are oppositely extending side faces 13 thus providing a good wire closure of the slot 10 to its associated aperture 8 for as long as the ears 7-1, 7-2; 7-3, 7-4 are not compressed.

The spring clip 6 has one pair (cf. fig. 7) or as shown two pairs (cf. figs. 1-6 and 8) of extending ears 7- 1, 7-2; 7-3, 7-4. The spring clip 6 may as shown have a main body 14 from which the ears 7 extend in virtually the same or in different directions relative thereto. The ears 7 extend virtually in either the same (cf. fig. 1-7) or in opposite directions (cf. fig. 8) relative to the main body 14, which if present is curved but will normally be flat, as shown explicitly in the figs. The embodiment of fig. 7 has only one pair of ears 7- 1, 7-2. In this case the ears 7 have more than one aperture 8 of which in general one or more may be provided with a slot 10.

In general the device 1 and spring clip 6 are meant for application in the hanging and positioning of all kind of objects.

The clip 6 can be manufactured from a suitable elastic or resilient metal or a suitable plastic.