Patent Publication Number: US-2021175696-A1

Title: Cable fixing accessory

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATION 
     Priority is claimed to German Patent Application No. DE 10 2019 219 182.7, filed on Dec. 9, 2019, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein. 
     FIELD 
     The invention relates to the field of cable fixing devices, in particular for electric cables. It also relates to the use of a cable fixing device. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Electrical and/or electronic devices often have or require many connections. This can lead to a high number of cables that have to be connected to the devices. For example, cables can, at least in some cases, be laid in an undefined way and therefore carry the risk of breakage, e.g. near—or due to—an edge or corner around which they can be laid. 
     SUMMARY 
     In an embodiment, the present invention provides a cable fixing accessory, comprising: a cylinder segment having a surface with a predefined radius of curvature, wherein the surface of the cylinder segment is configured to bend a cable having an electrically conductive core at least partially around the surface of the cylinder segment, and wherein the radius of curvature of a portion of the surface of the cylinder segment, which is configured to have direct contact with the cable, is greater than or equal to six times a diameter of the electrically conductive core of the cable. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention will be described in even greater detail below based on the exemplary figures. The invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments. Other features and advantages of various embodiments of the present invention will become apparent by reading the following detailed description with reference to the attached drawings which illustrate the following: 
         FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of a cable fixing accessory according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  shows a perspective view of a cable fixing accessory according to another embodiment; 
         FIG. 3  shows a perspective view of a cable fixing accessory according to another embodiment; 
         FIG. 4  shows a side view of a cable fixing accessory according to another embodiment; 
         FIG. 5  shows a side view of a cable fixing accessory according to another embodiment; 
         FIG. 6  shows a side view of a cable fixing accessory according to another embodiment; 
         FIG. 7  shows a perspective view of a cable fixing accessory according to another embodiment; 
         FIG. 8  shows a perspective view of the cable fixing accessory attached to a housing of  FIG. 7 ; 
         FIG. 9  shows a perspective view of a cable fixing accessory according to another embodiment; 
         FIG. 10  shows another perspective view of the cable fixing accessory of  FIG. 9 ; 
         FIG. 11  shows a perspective view of a cable fixing accessory according to another embodiment; 
         FIG. 12  shows another perspective view of the cable fixing accessory of  FIG. 11 ; 
         FIG. 13  shows a perspective view of the cable fixing accessory of  FIG. 9 or 10  attached to a housing; and 
         FIG. 14  shows a perspective view of the cable fixing accessory according to an embodiment attached to a housing. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     There may be a desire to at least reduce the risk of cable breakage on a path of the cable from or to an electrical and/or electronic device. 
     One aspect relates to a cable fixing accessory that comprises a cylinder segment with a surface with a predetermined radius of curvature. The surface is designed to bend a cable with an electrically conductive core at least partially around the surface of the cylinder segment. The radius of curvature of a portion of the surface adapted to have direct contact with the cable is greater than or equal to six times the diameter of the core of the cable. 
     The cylinder segment may be hollow—e.g. in the form of a shell—or solid and/or everything “in between”, i.e. it may be partially solid, with stabilising ribs extending radially and/or axially from a central axis of the cylinder segment to an area below the surface of the cylinder segment. The cylinder segment may not be a “mathematically exact” cylinder segment. Accordingly, the radius of curvature and predefined angle of the cylinder segment may differ from a “mathematically exact” definition of the radius and/or angle of a cylinder segment. The cable fixing accessory is designed to bend the cable at least partially around the surface of the cylinder segment. Therefore, at least areas of the surface of the cylinder segment that are designed and/or adapted for direct contact with the cable have a radius of curvature greater than or equal to six times the diameter of the electrically conductive core of the cable. 
     The cable may consist of one cable, several cables, a cable bundle (e.g. arranged horizontally), a cable stack or cable bundles and/or other cable arrangements. 
     The surface may be partially interrupted or broken. The width of the surface can vary along the radius of curvature. The cylinder segment may include at least one boundary area in an area near its axial ends, which may be rounded, flattened, stepped and/or have other shapes or combinations of these shapes. Since neither the interrupted area(s) nor the boundary area(s) have direct contact with the cable, these areas may have a smaller radius of curvature, especially at their boundaries. 
     An advantage of the cable fixing accessory is that by simply guiding the cable to be laid over the surface of the cable fixing accessory, a minimum radius of curvature is ensured, thus protecting the cable(s) from breaking, even if it is bent around an edge, corner or the like. This can also help to protect the cable&#39;s insulation from damage. Cable fixing accessory can also at least help to meet industry standards in a system of electrical and/or electronic components, in particular the IEC 61010-2-201:2018 standard. 
     In at least some embodiments, the cable fixing accessory may bear—or otherwise indicate—an instruction not to use it for cables with a conductive core diameter of more than one sixth of the surface area. 
     In at least some embodiments, an angle of the cylinder segment is between 30° and 190°, for example between 60° and 150°, and especially between 75° and 95°. Cylinder segments with these angles have proven to be particularly useful in protecting the cable(s) from breakage. 
     In at least some embodiments, the cable fixing accessory further comprises an extension member, the extension member extending in a direction substantially tangential to a central axis of the cylinder segment and having a flat and/or convex surface. The surface of the extension member is adapted to increase the surface area of the cylinder segment, and the radius of curvature of the surface of the cylinder segment and the extension member is greater than or equal to six times the diameter of the cable. 
     The cable fixing accessory—with or without extension element—can be formed from one piece or consist of several pieces or parts. The extension elements can be flat and/or convex. This shape can be advantageous in giving the freedom to guide a cable fixing accessory around complicated corners and/or edges. This shape can also give the freedom to adapt it to special manufacturing processes, e.g. for special shapes. 
     In at least some embodiments, the surface is made of a rubber-like material, for example silicone rubber and/or similar materials. This can provide slip protection for the cable(s). In addition, this material may have a softer surface that helps to protect against “hard” movements of the cable(s) due to vibration and/or other forces, thus protecting the core of the cable(s) from breaking. 
     In at least some embodiments, the cable fixing accessory further comprises at least one edge element, the at least one edge element protruding radially from the surface of the cylinder segment and/or extension element. 
     The edge elements may have any shape, e.g. the shape cylinder, rectangle, bracket and/or others. The edge elements can have a groove. The height of the edge element can depend on the intended function. Some edge elements can be designed to protect a cable harness or stack—i.e. even with a large number of cables—from shifting to the right and/or left, depending on the position of the edge element(s). Some edge elements may be designed to be held, e.g. a cable tie which may be designed to be looped around the cables. This may also help to make the cable(s) resistant to vibration and/or manual or other forces and/or to permanent movement caused, for example, by vibrations of the machine in which they are located. It can also prevent the cable(s) from slipping out of a plug (or other electrical device) or the plug from losing contact with the device on which it is mounted. 
     In at least some embodiments, the cable fixing accessory also includes a fixing element, the fixing element being designed to fix the cable to the cable fixing accessory. The fixing element may, for example, be a clamp, a cable tie, a cable tie and/or any other element adapted and/or suitable for fixing the cable(s) to the cable fixing accessory. 
     In one embodiment, the fastening element is designed to wrap axially around the cylinder segment and/or to be guided around or through at least one of the edge elements. This can be realised e.g. by a kind of groove in the cylinder segment. 
     Alternatively or additionally, the cable fixing accessory may comprise a first passage through the cylinder segment and/or a second passage through at least one of the edge elements, the fixing element being adapted to pass through the first passage and/or through the second passage. This may facilitate the installation of the fixing element and/or contribute to a firm fixing of the cable(s). 
     In at least some embodiments, the cable fixing accessory further comprises a retaining element, the retaining element being designed to hold the cable fixing accessory to a housing. 
     The term “enclosure” has to be interpreted broadly. This may be an enclosure of an electrical apparatus or system, a part which is fixed or in some way connected or attached to an electrical apparatus or system, and/or may be another type of “wall-mounted element”—possibly with openings—suitable for holding and/or fixing the cable fixing accessory to it. The retaining element may include, for example, a barb and/or an adjustment hook. The barb may provide a snap-on mechanism for fixing the cable fixing accessory to the enclosure. For example, the retaining element can be advantageously attached to a so-called ventilation grille area of an electrical appliance without covering it and/or disturbing the air flow of the appliance. The support element can provide means to integrate the cable fixing accessory into the ventilation grille. 
     In at least some embodiments, the cable fixing accessory is part of a housing or housing element. This integration makes it possible to design enclosures and/or enclosure elements—such as side panels, ventilation grilles and/or other enclosure elements—in such a way that cables are protected against breakage. 
     In one version, the cable fixing accessory includes two or three edge elements. The edge elements can protrude from the surface on the left, right and/or in the middle, so that one, two or even more cable bundles are attached to the cable fixing accessory. 
     In at least some embodiments, the cylinder segment is hollow, solid or partially solid. The cylinder segment may include internal ribs radially and/or axially to a central axis of the cylinder segment. The cylinder segment may be made of plastic. The cable fixing accessory can be designed as an optional plastic part which can be plugged by the end user onto the electrical and/or electronic device (e.g. a programmable logic controller, PLC) or its housing and/or can be an integral part of the housing. 
     Another aspect relates to the use of a cable fixing accessory, as above and/or described below, to bend a cable along a surface of the fixing accessory with a radius of curvature of the surface greater than or equal to six times the diameter of the cable. 
     Another aspect relates to an electronic device comprising a housing of a cable fixing accessory, as described above and/or below. The electronic device may be a programmable logic controller, PLC, or I/O device. 
     The reference numerals used in the drawings and their meaning are summarised in the list of reference numerals. In principle, the same or similar parts in the figures have the same reference numerals. 
       FIG. 1  schematically shows a perspective view of a cable fixing accessory  10  according to an embodiment. The cable fixing accessory  10  comprises a cylinder segment  20  with a surface  22  which has a predetermined radius of curvature  24  and a predetermined angle  26 . For better illustration, this embodiment has the shape of a cylinder segment with a predefined angle  26  of 90°. However, this should not be understood as a restrictive characteristic of the cable fixing accessory  10 . Other designs may have angles  26 , for example between 30° and 190°, possibly between 60° and 150°, in particular between 75° and 95°. Another embodiment may also include extension elements (see e.g.  FIG. 4 ) which can change the overall shape of the cable fixing accessory  10  away from a “mathematically regular” cylinder segment. Further forms may include breaks and/or passages in the surface  22  and/or in the body of the cylinder segment  20  caused by a variety of reasons, e.g. manufacturing restrictions, the attachment of further components to the cylinder segment  20 , design reasons and/or other reasons. 
     The cable fixing accessory  10  is designed to bend a cable  30  (not shown in  FIG. 1 ) with an electrically conductive core  32  at least partially around the surface  22  of the cylinder segment  20 . In an area (or a plurality of areas) of surface  22  that is/are adapted to be in direct contact with cable  30 , the radius of curvature  24  of surface  22  is greater than or equal to six times the diameter  34  of cable  30 . This condition may not apply to areas of surface  22  that are not in direct contact with cable  30 . These areas may include breaks, passages and/or edge areas—e.g. the left or right edge—in or from surface  22 . 
       FIG. 1  further shows an example of a boundary or edge element  40 . The boundary element  40  protrudes radially from the surface  22  of the cylinder segment  20 . In other versions of the cable fixing accessory  10 , which include an extension element  28  (not shown in  FIG. 1 ), the boundary element  40  may project radially from the surface  22  of the extension element  28  and/or from the surface  22  of the cylinder segment  20 . The boundary elements  40  can have any shape, e.g. cylinder, rectangle, and/or other. The number of edge elements  40  can be one (as shown), two or more. An embodiment with an edge element  40 , which can be placed near the right edge of surface  22 , for example, can be used to prevent cables from sliding to the right. The edge element  40  may have a groove and/or a lead-through (not shown in  FIG. 1 ); these elements of the edge element  40  may be designed for fixing, e.g. a fixing element such as a cable tie and/or other types of fixing elements. The height  42  of the boundary element  40  may depend on the purpose for which the boundary element  40  is intended. Examples may be a comparatively large height of the boundary element  40 , e.g. to “align” a stack of cables and/or to provide resistance of the cables to movement, or a comparatively small height of the boundary element  40 , e.g. to provide a feed-through for a cable tie. 
       FIG. 2  schematically shows a perspective view of a cable fixing accessory  10  according to another embodiment. This embodiment is largely identical to that of  FIG. 1 , with the exception of the edge element  40 . The dotted lines clearly show an internal structure of the cable fixing accessory  10 . As this embodiment has the shape of a cylinder segment  20  with a predefined angle  26  of 90°, a central axis  25  of the cylinder segment  20  is located in a corner of the cylinder segment  20 . 
       FIG. 3  schematically shows a perspective view of a cable fixing accessory  10  according to another embodiment. The cable fixing accessory  10  shown here comprises a cylinder segment  20  with an angle of less than 180°, the centre axis  25  of which lies outside the cylinder segment  20 . 
       FIG. 4  schematically shows a side view of a cable fixing accessory  10  according to another embodiment. This cable fixing accessory  10  comprises an extension element  28  which extends in a direction substantially tangential to a central axis  25  (shown with dotted lines) of cylinder segment  20 . The surface  22  of the extension element  28  is designed to increase the surface  22  of cylinder segment  20 . The radius of curvature  24  of the surface  22  of the cylinder segment  20  and the extension element  28  is greater than or equal to six times the diameter  34  of the cable  30 . The shape shown is a kind of “pure” shape in relation to a “mathematically close” definition. There may be shapes of the cable fixing accessory  10  which have deviations and/or variations from the shapes shown here. Examples may be, but are not limited to: a cable fixing accessory  10  with breaks and/or passages in the surface  22 , the extension element  28  and/or in the body of the cylinder segment  20 , with convex parts of the surface  22  of the extension element  28  and/or deviating shapes of edge areas in or from the surface  22  and/or the extension element  28 . However, in all areas of the surface  22  of the cylinder segment  20  and/or the extension element  28  which are adapted to have direct contact with the cable  30 , the radius of curvature  24  of the surface  22  is greater than or equal to six times the diameter  34  of the cable  30 . 
     The cable fixing accessory  10  consists of a retaining element  60 , which may be configured as a barb and/or an adjustment hook. The retaining element  60  is designed to hold the cable fixing accessory  10  to a housing. The term “housing” must be interpreted broadly. This may be an enclosure of an electrical apparatus or system, a part which is fixed or somehow connected or connected to an electrical apparatus or system, and/or another type of “wall-like element”—possibly with openings—suitable for holding the cable fixing accessory to it. 
       FIG. 5  schematically shows a side view of a cable fixing accessory  10  according to another embodiment. This exemplary embodiment shows a cylinder segment  20  with an angle  26  of approx. 140°. 
       FIG. 6  schematically shows a side view of a cable fixing accessory  10  according to another embodiment.  FIG. 6  also shows a cable  30  which is bent around the cylinder segment  20  and whose surface has  22  direct contact with the cable  30 . The cable  30  comprises an electrically conductive core  32  and an insulation or insulating element  38 . The electrically conductive core  32  has a diameter  34 . The radius of curvature  24  of the area of the surface  22  that has direct contact with the cable  30  (in  FIG. 6 ) is greater than or equal to six times the diameter  34  of the cable  30 . 
     The cable fixing accessory  10  consists of a retaining element  60 , which can be designed as a barb and/or an adjustment hook. The cable fixing accessory  10  consists of a fixing element  50 , which is designed as a cable tie or clip. The fixing element  50  is arranged through a first passage  27 , which passes through the cylinder segment  20 , and a second passage  47 , which passes through at least one of the edge elements  40 . By passing through the first passage  27  and the second passage  47 , the fixing element  50  can fix the cable  30  to the cable fixing accessory  10 . Instead of or in addition to the bushings, the cylinder segment  20  and/or the edge element(s)  40  may have a groove or the like, which are designed to fix the fixing element  50 . Instead of or in addition to the edge element(s)  40 , the fixing element  50  may—instead of or in addition to the edge element(s)  40 —contribute to making the cable fixing accessory  10  robust against vibrations and/or manual forces and/or permanent movements caused, for example, by vibrations of the machine in which they are located. It can also help to prevent cables from slipping out of the plug and/or a plug losing contact with the machine. 
       FIG. 7  schematically shows a perspective view of a cable fixing accessory  10  according to another embodiment. The cable fixing accessory  10  consists of one or more cylinder segments  20  and extension elements  28 , which together form a surface  22 . A radius of curvature  24 , measured at any point on the surface  22  of the cylinder segment  20  and/or the extension element  28 , is greater than or equal to six times the diameter  34  of a cable  30  (not shown in  FIG. 7 ), the cable fixing accessory  10  being adapted to bend the cable  30  at least partially around the surface  22 . This condition does not apply, e.g. for an edge area  29  and/or an undercut  21 , which can help to improve an injection moulding process. The cable fixing accessory  10  shown also includes a passage  27  in the housing of the cylinder segments  20  and/o 20  and/or extension elements  28 . The passage  27  can be used to fix a cable  30  to the cable fixing accessory  10 . 
       FIG. 8  schematically shows a perspective view of the cable fixing accessory  10  from  FIG. 7 , which is attached to a housing  70 . The cable fixing accessory  10  can be fixed to the housing  70  with a retaining element  60  (not shown in  FIG. 8 ), which is e.g. located on the back of the cable fixing accessory  10 . The retaining element  60  can be designed as a barb, for example, which provides a snap mechanism for snapping into openings in the housing  70 . The retaining element  60  can be designed as an adjustment hook that corresponds to openings in the housing  70  and can engage in these openings with a tight fit when fastened. The retaining element  60  can, for example, be designed as part of the housing  70 , in particular as an integral part of the housing  70 . 
       FIG. 9  schematically shows a perspective view of a cable fixing accessory  10  according to another embodiment. The cable fixing accessory  10  comprises a cylinder segment  20  with a surface  22 . The cable fixing accessory  10  is designed to bend a cable  30  with an electrically conductive core  32  at least partially around the surface  22  of the cylinder segment  20 . The cable fixing accessory  10  consists of two edge elements  40 , each with a bushing  47 . The bushing  47  can be useful for fixing a cable  30  (not shown in  FIG. 9 ), e.g. with a fixing element  50  (not shown in  FIG. 9 ), to the cable fixing accessory  10 . 
     The cable fixing accessory  10  shown also includes retaining elements  60 . The retaining elements  60  shown include two barbs  62  and two adjusting hooks or adjusting elements  64 . The retaining elements  60  can be set up to hold the cable fixing accessory  10  to a housing  70 , e.g. to a housing as shown in  FIG. 8 or 14 .  FIG. 10  schematically shows another perspective view of the cable fixing accessory  10  from  FIG. 9 . Identical reference signs show the same or similar elements. 
       FIG. 11  schematically shows a perspective view of a cable fixing accessory  10  according to another embodiment. The cable fixing accessory  10  may have similarities with the versions shown in  FIG. 9 or 10 . The cable fixing accessory  10  also includes a fixing element  50 , which is designed as a cable tie. The fixing element  50  is designed to be arranged with its upper part  54  through the duct  47  and with its lower part  52  around the cylinder segment  20 . The cylinder segment  20  may have grooves or the like to contribute to a permanent fixing of the fixing element  50  or of the cables to be fixed to it.  FIG. 12  schematically shows another perspective view of the cable fixing accessory  10  from  FIG. 11 . 
       FIG. 13  shows schematically a perspective view of the cable fixing accessory  10  attached to a housing from  FIG. 9 or 10 . The cable fixing accessory  10  can be fixed to the housing  70  with a retaining element  60  (not shown in  FIG. 13 , see examples in  FIGS. 9 to 12 ), which may be located on a back of the cable fixing accessory  10 . The retaining element  60  can, for example, take the form of a barb, which provides a snap mechanism for snapping into openings in the housing  70 . The retaining element  60  can be designed as an adjustment hook that can correspond to openings in the housing  70 . The retaining element  60  can, for example, be designed as part of the housing  70 , in particular as an integral part of the housing  70 . 
       FIG. 14  schematically shows a perspective view of a cable fixing accessory  10  according to an embodiment attached to a housing. The cable fixing accessory  10  is designed as part of a housing element  75 , in particular a ventilation grille of an electrical or electronic device. The surface  22  is part of an upper section  76  of the housing element  75 . A fixing element  50  is looped around a cable bundle  30 . An upper part  54  is placed on the uppermost cable, a lower part  52  runs under the surface  22  through the upper area  76  of the housing element  75 . 
     While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, such illustration and description are to be considered illustrative or exemplary and not restrictive. It will be understood that changes and modifications may be made by those of ordinary skill within the scope of the following claims. In particular, the present invention covers further embodiments with any combination of features from different embodiments described above and below. Additionally, statements made herein characterizing the invention refer to an embodiment of the invention and not necessarily all embodiments. 
     The terms used in the claims should be construed to have the broadest reasonable interpretation consistent with the foregoing description. For example, the use of the article “a” or “the” in introducing an element should not be interpreted as being exclusive of a plurality of elements. Likewise, the recitation of “or” should be interpreted as being inclusive, such that the recitation of “A or B” is not exclusive of “A and B,” unless it is clear from the context or the foregoing description that only one of A and B is intended. Further, the recitation of “at least one of A, B and C” should be interpreted as one or more of a group of elements consisting of A, B and C, and should not be interpreted as requiring at least one of each of the listed elements A, B and C, regardless of whether A, B and C are related as categories or otherwise. Moreover, the recitation of “A, B and/or C” or “at least one of A, B or C” should be interpreted as including any singular entity from the listed elements, e.g., A, any subset from the listed elements, e.g., A and B, or the entire list of elements A, B and C. 
     LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS 
     
         
           10  cable fixing accessory 
           20  cylinder segment 
           21  undercut 
           22  surface 
           24  radius of curvature 
           25  central axis 
           26  angle 
           27  first passage 
           28  extension element 
           29  edge area 
           30  cables 
           32  conductive core 
           34  diameter 
           38  insulation element 
           40  limiting element, edge element 
           42  height 
           47  second passage 
           50  fixing element 
           52  bottom part 
           54  top part 
           60  retaining element 
           62  barbs 
           64  adjusting elements 
           70  housing 
           75  housing element 
           76  upper area