Abstract:
A cable hanger includes: a first half including a main body with a first cable recess, a latch adapted for mounting to a mounting structure, and a first securing feature; and a second half including a main body with a second cable recess, a bore adapted for receiving the latch of a second cable hanger, and a second securing feature. The first half is mated with the second half such that the first and second cable recesses form a pocket for receiving and grasping a cable. The first and second securing features engage to maintain the first half and the second half in a mated condition.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims priority from and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/248,465, filed Oct. 30, 2015, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    This invention relates generally to devices for supporting cables and, in particular, to hangers for securing cables to support structures. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Cable hangers are commonly used to secure cables to structural members of antenna towers and or along tunnel walls. Generally, each cable is attached to a structural member by cable hangers mounted at periodically-spaced attachment points. 
         [0004]    Antenna towers and or tunnels may be crowded due to the large numbers of cables required for signal-carrying. Over time, as systems are added, upgraded and/or expanded, installation of additional cables may be required. To conserve space, it may be desirable for each set of cable hangers to secure more than a single cable. Certain cable hangers have been constructed to secure multiple cables; other cable hangers have a stackable construction that permits multiple cable hangers to be interlocked extending outwardly from each mounting point/structural member. Stacked and multiple-cable-type cable hangers significantly increase the number of cables mountable to a single attachment point. 
         [0005]    One popular stackable cable hanger is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,191,836 to Korczak, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety. Hangers disclosed therein have generally a U- or C-shaped profile with rounded arms. A locking projection extends from the free end of each arm, and the “root” of the hanger that spans the fixed ends of the arms has a large aperture. The hanger can hold a cable between the arms; gripping of the cable is enhanced by short fingers that extend inwardly from the arms to engage the cable. Hangers can be “stacked” onto each other by inserting the locking projections of one hanger into the large aperture of the next hanger. 
         [0006]    One variety of cable hanger of this type is the SNAP-STAK® hanger, available from CommScope, Inc. (Joliet, Ill.). The SNAP-STAK® hanger is offered in multiple sizes that correspond to the outer diameters of different cables. This arrangement has been suitable for use with coaxial RF cables, which tend to be manufactured in only a few different outer diameters; however, the arrangement has been less desirable for fiber optic cables, which tend to be manufactured in a much greater variety of diameters. Moreover, fiber optic cables tend to be much heavier than coaxial cables (sometimes as much as three times heavier per unit foot), which induces greater load and stress on the hangers. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0007]    As a first aspect, embodiments of the invention are directed to a cable hanger, comprising: a first half including a main body with a first cable recess, a latch adapted for mounting to a mounting structure, and a first securing feature; and a second half including a main body with a second cable recess, a bore adapted for receiving the latch of a second cable hanger, and a second securing feature. The first half is mated with the second half such that the first and second cable recesses form a pocket for receiving and grasping a cable. The first and second securing features engage to maintain the first half and the second half in a mated condition. 
         [0008]    As a second aspect, embodiments of the invention are directed to a cable hanger, comprising: a first half including a main body with a first cable recess, a latch adapted for mounting to a mounting structure, and a first securing feature; and a second half including a main body with a second cable recess, a bore adapted for receiving the latch of a second cable hanger, and a second securing feature. The first half is mated with the second half such that the first and second cable recesses form a pocket for receiving and grasping a cable. The first and second securing features engage to maintain the first half and the second half in a mated condition. The first half and the second half are connected via a hinge. The main body of the first half includes a bore that is coaxial with the latch. The cable hanger further comprises a plunger, the plunger configured to reside in the bore of the first half and maintain the latch in a latched condition. The plunger is attached to the first half within the bore of the first half. 
         [0009]    As a third aspect, embodiments of the invention are directed to a cable hanger, comprising: a first half including a main body with a first cable recess, a latch adapted for mounting to a mounting structure, and a first securing feature; and a second half including a main body with a second cable recess, a bore adapted for receiving the latch of a second cable hanger, and a second securing feature. The first half is mated with the second half such that the first and second cable recesses form a pocket for receiving and grasping a cable. The first and second securing features engage to maintain the first half and the second half in a mated condition. The cable hanger is a monolithic component formed of a polymeric material, and the first and second halves are connected via a living hinge. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is a partial top view of a cable hanger according to embodiments of the invention, with the cable hanger in an open configuration. 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is a partial front view of the cable hanger of  FIG. 1  in the open position. 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is a top view of the cable hanger of  FIG. 1  showing the hinging movement of the cable hanger move from the open positon to a closed position. 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  is a top view of one half of the cable hanger of  FIG. 1  inserted into an antenna ladder for mounting. 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  is a top view of the mounted cable hanger of  FIG. 4  with cables mounted therein and another cable hanger about to be mounted thereon 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  is a top view of the cable hanger of  FIG. 4  mounted to a structure without pre-formed holes. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0016]    The present invention is described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which certain embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments that are pictured and described herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. It will also be appreciated that the embodiments disclosed herein can be combined in any way and/or combination to provide many additional embodiments. 
         [0017]    Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms that are used in this disclosure have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. The terminology used in the below description is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used in this disclosure, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will also be understood that when an element (e.g., a device, circuit, etc.) is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another element, there are no intervening elements present. 
         [0018]    Referring now to the figures, a cable hanger, designated broadly at  10 , is shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . The cable hanger  10  includes two halves  12 ,  14  that are connected at their ends by a living hinge  16 . The halves  12 ,  14  are described below. 
         [0019]    The half  12  (which is shown in its complete form in  FIGS. 1 and 2 ), includes a main body  22 . The main body  22  has a central bore  25  that is encircled by a split boss latch  24  that extends forwardly of the main body  22 . The latch  24  has a radially-outwardly extending hook  26 , and also includes a radially-inwardly extending ledge  28 . A hollow cylindrical plunger  30  is attached within the bore  25  via breakaway tabs  32 . The plunger  30  has an inclined bearing surface  34  at one end that forms a hook  35 . A counterbore  36  is coaxial with the bore  25  opposite the latch  24 . 
         [0020]    Referring still to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , an arcuate cable recess  38  is located in the rear surface of the main body  22  on each side of the bore  24 . Flex sections  40  extend across each cable recess  38 . The flex sections  40  enable the cable hanger  10  to grasp cables of different sizes; the structure and function of various flex sections are described in U.S. Patent No. 62/139,057, filed Mar. 27, 2015, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety. 
         [0021]    A slot  42  is located near the end of the main body  22  opposite the living hinge  16 . The slot  42  has teeth  44  on its inner surface (i.e., the surface nearest the latch  24 ). 
         [0022]    Referring still to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the half  14  (most of which is shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 ) includes has a main body  46  with cable recesses  48  with flex sections  50  similar to the cable recesses  38  and flex sections  40  of the half  12 . In its center, the main body  46  has a bore  51  that is sized to be similar to the outer diameter of the latch  24 . At its end opposite the living hinge  16 , the half  14  has a ratchet strap  52  with teeth  54  on its inward-facing surface (see  FIG. 3 ). 
         [0023]    The cable hanger  10  can be formed of a variety of materials, including polymeric materials such as nylon and polypropylene (in particular, materials suitable for a living hinge may be appropriate). In some embodiments, the cable hanger  10  is formed as a monolithic component. 
         [0024]    Use of the cable hanger  10  is illustrated in  FIGS. 3-5 .  FIG. 3  shows that the half  14  is pivoted from its open position in  FIGS. 1 and 2  about the living hinge  16  to mate with the half  12 . Upon pivoting, the recesses  38  of the half  12  align with the recesses  48  to form pockets  60  that capture cables  150 . The ratchet strap  52  of the half  14  is inserted into the slot  42  of the half  12 ; the teeth  54  of the ratchet strap  52  intermesh with the teeth  44  in the slot  42  to prevent release of the ratchet strap  52  from the slot  42 , thereby securing the half  14  to the half  12  in a closed position. The ratchet strap  52  is pulled into the slot  42  to tighten the halves  12 ,  14  until cables  150  are snugly held in the pockets  60  (see  FIG. 5 ). The presence of the flex sections  40 ,  50  enable the cable hanger  10  to accommodate different sizes of cables, as does the ability of the ratchet strap  52 .to secure the halves  12 ,  14  in slightly different relative positions. 
         [0025]    Referring now to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , it can be seen that the cable hanger  10  can be mounted on a structure, such as an cable ladder  100  or antenna tower, within holes already present in the ladder  100 . In many instances (particularly in the U.S.) cable ladders and antenna towers have multiple pre-formed holes that are ¾ inch in diameter and spaced apart at 3 foot intervals. The latch  24  is inserted into a desired hole  110  in the ladder  100  such that the hook  26  of the latch  24  engages the interior surface of the ladder  100 . The plunger  30  is then pushed (with a tool or the like) deeper into the bore  25 , which breaks the plunger  30  away from the breakaway tabs  32 . The bearing surface  34  of the plunger  30  engages the ledge  28  of the latch  24  to force the latch  24  radially outwardly, then the hooks  35  engage the far edge of the ledge  28  to firmly secure the latch  24  in place in the hole  110  (see  FIG. 5 ). 
         [0026]    Referring still to  FIG. 5 , once one cable hanger  10  has been mounted in place, additional cable hangers  10 ′ can be mounted to the first cable hanger  10 . The latch  24 ′ on the second cable hanger  10 ′ can be inserted into the bore  51  of the first cable hanger  10  in the manner described above. Additional cable hangers  10 ′ can then be mounted in stacked relationship in the same manner. 
         [0027]    Notably, the first cable hanger  10  can also be mounted to a structure that has no pre-formed holes in which the latch  24  can fit. In such an instance (as shown in  FIG. 6 ), an appropriately-sized bolt  220  may be inserted into a hole (pre-formed or formed on-site) after being inserted through the bore  25  and the plunger (not shown in  FIG. 6 ) in the half  12  of a first cable hanger  10 . The head  222  of the bolt  220  is received in the counterbore  36 . Once the first cable hanger  10  is mounted onto the structure, additional cable hangers  10 ′ may be mounted thereto as described above. 
         [0028]    Those skilled in this art will appreciate that the cable hanger  10  may take different forms. For example, the living hinge  16  may be replaced with a hinge of a different variety, or the halves  12 ,  14  may be formed as separate pieces. In the illustrated embodiment, the cable hanger  10  is configured to hang two cables, but it may be modified to hang only a single cable or more than two cables. The latch  24  and bore  51  may be configured differently (for example, the mounting latch may have two straight arms, rather than the curved configuration shown, and the bore may be square or rectangular to accommodate the straight-armed latch). Also, the plunger  30  may be omitted in some embodiments. Further, the halves may be secured with features other than a ratchet strap and toothed slot; for example, screws, bolts, VELCRO® material or the like may be employed to mate the halves together. Other configurations may also be employed. 
         [0029]    The foregoing is illustrative of the present invention and is not to be construed as limiting thereof. Although exemplary embodiments of this invention have been described, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the exemplary embodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of this invention. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this invention as defined in the claims. The invention is defined by the following claims, with equivalents of the claims to be included therein.