A standoff for use with a cable tie

Abstract: A standoff for use with a cable tie for securing a wire bundle at a spaced distance from a mounting panel including a pair of opposing strap passageways extending from a top to a bottom side of the standoff and including access slots connecting the strap passageways to the exterior of the body.

Description: The present invention relates to a standoff acc. to the preamble of claim 1. EP-A-438 878 which defines the preamble of claim 1 discloses a spacer or standoff for securing a telecommunication cable to a support cable by means of a cable tie. The spacer includes a pair of opposing strap passage ways. A problem encountered in the field when using this prior art spacer in combination with a cable tie for securing a bundle of wires or cables instead of a single telecommunication to a panel but not to a support cable is that the cable tie must be inserted into the mounting whole and within the strap passage ways at the same time as it is being secured around the bundle. Therefore, improvement in the art is needed. It is therefore object of the present invention to provide an improved standoff that is easier to apply to a cable tie for securing a bundle to a panel. This object is solved by the features as defined in the characterizing part of claim 1. The invention will now be described by way of examples and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a standoff of the present invention shown securing a bundle of wires at a spaced distance to a panel. FIG. 2 is a perspective top view of the standoff of FIG.1. FIG. 3 is a perspective bottom view of the standoff of FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a side view of the standoff of FIG. 1. FIG. 5 is a plan view of the standoff of FIG. 1. FIG. 6 shows a wire bundle being initially secured to a mounting panel by a button head type cable tie. FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view of the standoff of FIG. 1 being applied to the cable tie of FIG. 6. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the standoff being applied to the cable tie of FIG. 6. FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view of the standoff fully applied to the cable tie. FIG. 10 is a cross sectional view of the standoff engaged with a cable tie shown along lines 10-10. FIG. 11 is a cross sectional view of a wire bundle being held a spaced distance from a mounting panel by the standoff of FIG. 1. A standoff embodying the concept of the present invention is designated generally by the reference numeral 10 in the accompanying drawings and is formed of plastic. As can be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, standoff 10 includes a generally cylindrical body 12 having a top side 14 and a bottom side 16 and including a pair of strap passageways 18 extending from the top 14 to the bottom 16 through the interior of body 12. Top side 14 includes a centering shoulder portion 24 that is also generally cylindrically shaped which provides a seat for the standoff and helps to center standoff 10 within a hole 32 of the mounting panel 30 as the top side 14 abuts the underside of mounting panel 30. As can be seen in FIG. 3, bottom side 16 of standoff 10 includes a radiused surface so as to have a concave shape for centering the wire bundle 40 to the underside of standoff 10. As can be seen in FIGS. 3-5, strap passageways 18 are opposing and spaced relatively near each other at the top 14 of standoff 10 and extend through the interior of standoff 10 in a divergent angled manner so they are spaced apart a greater distance at the bottom 16 of standoff 10. Standoff 10 also includes access slots 22 extending the length of strap passageways 18 so as to provide access from the exterior of the body 12 to the interior strap passageways 18. The exit surfaces of access slots 22 and strap passageways 18 are rounded off at the bottom side 16. This rounding off of the exit surfaces at the bottom 16 in conjunction with the divergingly angled strap passageways 18 results in a smaller bend radius for the bundling strap 36. In operation, as can best be seen in FIGS. 6-9 and 11, the user utilizes a cable tie such as a buttonmount tie which includes an enlarged head portion of sufficient size greater than the hole 32 and includes a strap with a locking head. The user inserts the leading end of strap 36 through hole 32, around bundle 40, and reinserts the leading end of strap 36 back through hole 32 to partially engage with the locking head of cable tie 34. As shown in FIG. 7, when cable tie 36 is temporarily securing bundle 40 to mounting panel 30, standoff 10 can be applied by inserting a portion of strap 36 on each side of bundle 40 into access slots 22 to reach the strap passageways 18. Access slots 22 are provided on opposing side surfaces of body 12 to allow for easier insertion of both the strap portions surronding the bundle into strap passageways 18. After straps 36 on both sides of bundle 40 have been inserted into strap passageways 18 of standoff 10, cable tie 34 can be tightened completely as shown in FIG. 11. It is to be noted that while standoff 10 has been shown and described as having a generally cylindrical body, that other configurations could also be employed. Similarly, it is also noted that standoff 10 as shown includes a plurality of cutout sections 26. Cutout sections 26 are used to eliminate material and reduce cost of the standoff while maintaining the required strength. The number, size and shape of these cutout sections are not essential and can be varied for different standoff configurations.

Claims: A standoff (10) for use with a cable tie for securing a wire bundle (40) to a panel at a spaced distance from the panel (30), comprising: a body (12) having a top side (14), a bottom side (16), and outer side surfaces therebetween for defining an interior separated from an exterior of the body; and a pair of opposing strap passageways (18) extending through the interior of the body (12) from the top side to the bottom side; characterized by a pair of access slots (22) disposed between the top and bottom sides (14,16) connecting the strap passageways (18) to the exterior of the body. A standoff according to claim 1, wherein the strap passageways (18) are opposing and disposed so as to be relatively near each other at the top of the body (12) and divergingly angled so as to be spaced further apart at the bottom. A standoff according to claim 2, wherein the strap passageways (18) further include an exit surface having a rounded shape at the bottom side. A standoff according to claim 1, wherein the access slots (22) are formed on opposite side surfaces. A standoff according to claim 1, wherein the top includes a shoulder portion (24) for centering the body (12) in a hole (32) of the panel (30). A standoff according to claim 5, wherein the shoulder portion (24) is cylindrical. A standoff according to claim 1, wherein the bottom side (16) is radiused so as to be concave.

Inventors: HAMMON GARY D, KRONZ MARTY J, WHITE FREDERICK E JR, HAMMON, GARY D., KRONZ, MARTY J., WHITE, FREDERICK E., JR.
Applicants: PANDUIT CORP, PANDUIT CORPORATION
Application year: 1996
Main classification: H02G3
IPC codes: H02G3, F16L3