Abstract:
A clamp for retaining a probe cable out of a technician&#39;s way while he/she probes an electronic system includes a cable-retention element and a clamp-attachment element. The cable-retention element releasably holds a probe cable to the clamp, and the clamp-attachment element anchors the cable-retention element at a desired location. Consequently, the clamp can isolate the probe cable away from the technician&#39;s activities and keep excess probe cable from looping. This reduces the likelihood of damage caused by the technician unintentionally pulling the probe cable while probing an electrical circuit and increases the fidelity of the signal the oscilloscope receives. Furthermore the clamp-attachment element may releasably anchor the cable-retention element at a desired location to allow the clamp to be effectively reused many times.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    Electronic systems, such as computers typically include at least one circuit board mounted inside a protective case. Each circuit board typically includes many electrical circuits and at least one component such as a processor, power supply or memory chip mounted to it. When these systems malfunction or their design is not complete, a technician typically probes the electrical circuits and components with an oscilloscope to determine the cause of the malfunction or to confirm the system operates as intended.  
           [0002]    To probe the system, a technician connects a probe to the oscilloscope and probes a signal node with a tip of the probe. The probe cable—the cable that connects the probe to the body of the oscilloscope—is typically several feet long to allow a technician to maneuver the probe.  
           [0003]    Unfortunately, a long probe cable can cause problems for a technician. For example, the extra length of the probe cable can be coiled or looped on or next to an electrical circuit or component of the electrical system. If the technician snags the loop with his arm, he/she could pull the probe cable damaging the electrical system, the probe, or the oscilloscope. In addition, such a cable loop can pick up noise from the electronic system or elsewhere, and the noise can adversely affect the fidelity of the probed signal received by the oscilloscope.  
           [0004]    One method of retaining the probe cable out of the technician&#39;s way is to secure the probe cable to the electrical system with conventional tape. This solution, however, has some problems. Conventional tape often loses its ability to adhere to the electrical system after the tape has been removed a few times, and thus, the technician is limited in the number of times he/she can reuse it. Furthermore, as the tape nears its limit of effective use, it could prematurely release the probe cable, which the technician could then snag or unintentionally pull.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    In one aspect of the invention, a clamp for retaining a probe cable out of a technician&#39;s way while he/she probes an electrical circuit and/or component of an electronic system includes a cable-retention element and a clamp-attachment element. The cable-retention element releasably holds a probe cable to the clamp. The clamp-attachment element anchors the cable-retention element at a desired location. For example, the desired location can include a circuit board of the electronic system, a protective case housing the electronic system, an electronic component included in the electronic system or the technician&#39;s workbench. Furthermore the clamp-attachment element may releasably anchor the cable-retention element at a desired location to allow the clamp to be effectively reused many times.  
           [0006]    By retaining a probe cable at a desired location, the clamp can isolate the probe cable away from the technician&#39;s activities and keep excess probe cable from looping. This reduces the likelihood of damage caused by the technician unintentionally pulling the probe cable while probing an electrical circuit and increases the fidelity of the signal the oscilloscope receives. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]    [0007]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electronic system that includes an electrical circuit being probed, and a probe cable secured to various structures of the electronic system by cable clamps according to an embodiment of the invention.  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 2 is a perspective view with portions broken away of a probe-cable clamp in FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the invention.  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a probe-cable clamp according to another embodiment of the invention.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a probe-cable clamp in FIG. 1 according to another embodiment of the invention.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 5 is a side view of a probe-cable clamp according to yet another embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0012]    The following discussion is presented to enable one skilled in the art to make and use the invention. Various modifications to the disclosed embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electronic system  10  that includes an electrical circuit  12  being probed by a probe  14 . The probe  14  is connected to an oscilloscope  16  with a probe cable  18 , and clamps  20  secure the probe cable  18  to the electronic system  10  out of the technician&#39;s way and prevent the probe cable  18  from looping. Consequently, the technician is less likely to snag or unintentionally pull the probe cable  18  and thus, less likely to damage the electronic system  10 , probe  14 , or oscilloscope  16  while probing the electronic system  10 . Furthermore, the unlooped probe cable  18  is less likely to degrade the electrical signal sensed by the probe  14 , and thus the technician can obtain a more accurate reading of the electrical signal in the electrical circuit  12 .  
         [0014]    Each clamp  20  includes a clamp-attachment element (discussed in greater detail elsewhere herein) for releasably anchoring the clamp to the electronic system  10 . Thus, the clamp  20  can be anchored to a desired location on the electronic system  10  and later be reused to secure the clamp  20  at other desired locations on the same electronic system  10  or on a different electronic system. Alternatively, one or more of the clamps  20  may be designated for one-time use only. Each clamp  20  also includes a cable-retention element (also discussed in greater detail elsewhere herein) for releasably retaining the probe cable  18  to the clamp  20 .  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a first clamp  20  in FIG. 1, according to an embodiment of the invention. The cable-retention element  21  includes two arms  22   a  and  22   b  operable to hold a probe cable  18  in FIG. 1, and the clamp-attachment element  23  includes a magnet  24  for releasably retaining the clamp  20  to a portion of the electronic system  10  in FIG. 1, such as a protective case (not shown). The clamp  20  may also include a body  26  for housing the magnet  24  and to which the two arms  22   a  and  22   b  are mounted.  
         [0016]    Each arm  22   a  and  22   b  releasably retains the probe cable  18  by receiving the probe cable  18  between each arm  22   a  and  22   b . Each arm  22   a  and  22   b  is made from elastically deformable material, such as, any conventional metal, plastic, rubber or any combination of the three, and is fixed to the body  26  to prevent the rotation of each arm  22   a  and  22   b  relative to the body  26 . Consequently, when a probe cable  18  is inserted between the arms  22   a  and  22   b , the arms  22   a  and  22   b  hold the probe cable  18  to the clamp  20 . To help hold a probe cable  18  between the arms  22   a  and  22   b , each arm  22   a  and  22   b  also curves toward the other as each extends from the body  26 . If the probe cable  18  is too thick to completely fit between the arms  22   a  and  22   b , one or both of the arms  22   a  and  22   b  may elastically deform and thereby pinch the probe cable  18  between the arms  22   a  and  22   b.    
         [0017]    Alternatively, the arms  22   a  and  22   b  can extend from the body  26  in any desired manner. For example, the arms  22   a  and  22   b  can remain parallel or substantially parallel to each other as they extend from the body  26 . Or, each arm  22   a  and  22   b  can include any desired material that can increase the friction between the arm and a probe cable  18  to help retain the probe cable  18  in situations where the arms hold the cable by pinching it. In other embodiments, each arm  22   a  and  22   b  can be pivotally attached to the body  26 , and the cable-retention element  21  can include a closure for preventing the arms  22   a  and  22   b  from pivoting away from each other after a probe cable  18  has been inserted between them. In still other embodiments, the cable-retention element  21  can include more than two arms to retain a probe cable  18 .  
         [0018]    Still referring to FIG. 2, the clamp-attachment element  23  includes a magnet  24  for magnetically attaching the clamp  20  to an electronic system  10  in FIG. 1. The magnet  24  can be any desired magnet that generates enough magnetic force to anchor the clamp  20  and probe cable  18  to the electronic system  10 .  
         [0019]    Still referring to FIG. 2, the magnet  24  is encased in the body  26 . In other embodiments, the magnet  24  can be attached to the body  26  or directly to the arms  22   a  and  22   b  using any desired fastening technique. For example, the magnet  24  can be glued to the body  26  or arms  22   a  and  22   b  with a conventional adhesive or using conventional mechanical fasteners such as a rivet, screw, or bolt and nut.  
         [0020]    In other embodiments, the clamp  20  may be attached to an electronic system  10  in FIG. 1 using any other desired technique. For example, the clamp-attachment element  23  may include any desired adhesive. The adhesive may be a reusable adhesive or reusable putty that retains the clamp  20  to any desired location on an electronic system  10  and that remains with the clamp  20  when the clamp  20  is removed from the electronic system  10  to be reused. Alternatively, a permanent adhesive may be used. Furthermore, the clamp-attachment element  23  may also include Velcro® to releasably anchor the clamp  20  to the electronic system  10 .  
         [0021]    Still referring to FIG. 2, the body  26  can be made of any desired material. For example, the body  26  can be made of conventional thermoplastic polymers formed around the magnet  24  by injecting the polymer into a mold. With the body  26  made of plastic, the clamp  20  is less likely to create a short in the electronic system  10  when used or accidentally dropped onto the system  10 . In other embodiments, the body  26  can be made from other types of materials, such as, conventional metal or wood, and formed by other manufacturing processes, such as, stamping or machining. Alternatively, the body  26  can include a material that suppresses any excessive magnetic field generated by the magnet  24 .  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a clamp  20  that can retain one or more probe cables—here two probe cables  28   a  and  28   b -according to another embodiment of the invention. The cable-retention element  29  includes a conventional rubber band  30  and two cleats  32   a  and  32   b  that extend from a body  34 . With the rubber band  30 , the clamp  20  can retain two or more probe cables  28   a  and  28   b . This may be desirable when the technician probes the electronic system  10  in FIG. 1 with two or more probes. In addition, the clamp  20  can be used to retain a variety of probe cables having different diameters. For example, the clamp  20  could retain a probe cable having a diameter equal to the sum of the diameters of the probe cables  28   a  and  28   b , or the clamp  20  could retain the probe cable  28   a  or  128   b  alone. This flexibility allows the technician to use the clamp  20  with probe cables having different diameters.  
         [0023]    The clamp  20  may be attached to an electronic system  10  in FIG. 1 using any desired technique such as those described in conjunction with FIG. 2. The cleats  32   a  and  32   b  may be constructed and attached to the body  34  similar to the construction and attachment of the arms  22   a  and  22   b  in FIG. 2 to the body  26  in FIG. 2.  
         [0024]    In other embodiments, the cable-retention element  29  can include two or more rubber bands, or three or more cleats.  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a hanging clamp  20  in FIG. 1 according to another embodiment of the invention. The cable-retention element  37  includes a first strap  38  having a first end  39  attached to a first location  40  on the body  42 , a second strap  44  having a first end  45  attached to the body  42  at a second location  46 , and a buckle  48  attached to a second end  49  of the second strap  44  and operable to attach the first strap  38  to the second strap  44 . The clamp-attachment element  50  includes a hook  51  for suspending the clamp  20  from the electronic system  10  in FIG. 1. To retain a probe cable  18  (FIG. 1) with the straps  38  and  44 , the probe cable  18  is placed between the first and second locations  40  and  46 . The first strap  38  is then wrapped over the probe cable  18 , and a second end  47  of the first strap  38  is inserted into the buckle  48 . Similar to the rubber band  30  in FIG. 3, the straps  38  and  44  allow the clamp  20  to retain two or more probe cables or a variety of probe cables having different diameters.  
         [0026]    The hook  51  provides another means for releasably anchoring the body  42  to the electronic system  10  in FIG. 1. The hook  51  can engage an edge of a circuit board or protective case of the electronic system  10  in FIG. 1 or the hook  51  can be inserted into a hole in a circuit board or protective case of the system  10 . In one embodiment, the hook  51  has a fixed length and is constructed and attached to the body  42  similar to the construction and attachment of the arms  22   a  and  22   b  in FIG. 2 to the body  16  in FIG. 2. In other embodiments, the hook&#39;s length can be adjustable.  
         [0027]    Still referring to FIG. 4, the straps  38  and  44  are conventionally attached to the body  42  such as with a conventional adhesive, or with a fastener such as, a rivet, screw, nut and bolt, or thread.  
         [0028]    In other embodiments of the clamp  20 , the cable-retention element  37  can include more than one first and corresponding second straps  38  and  44  with a buckle  48  to retain a probe cable. In still other embodiments of the clamp  20 , the first and second straps  38  and  44  can be attached to each other with Velcro®.  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 5 is a side view of a clamp  20  according to another embodiment of the invention. A clamp-attachment element  57  includes an expansion pin  52  that can be inserted into a receptacle (not shown in FIG. 1) of the electronic system  10  in FIG. 1 for releasably anchoring the clamp  20  at a desired location on the system  10 . A cable-retention element  53  includes a strap  54  having a first end  55  attached to a body  56  and Velcro® strips  58  for releasably retaining a probe cable  18  in FIG. 1 to the clamp  20 . One of the Velcro® strips  58  is attached to a second end  59  of the strap  54  and another of the Velcro® strips  58  is attached to the body  56 .  
         [0030]    The expansion pin  52  can be inserted into different sized receptacles—typically holes having different diameters in a circuit board of the electronic system  10 —to allow a technician to use and reuse the clamp  20  at a number of desirable locations. The expansion pin  52  includes two legs  60  each extending from the body  56  of the clamp  20 . Each leg  60  is elastically deformable when the legs are pinched together and each includes a latch  62  at a distal end  64 . The distal ends  64  are configured to allow the respective legs  60  to be inserted into a hole in the electronic system  10  with little or moderate pressure. As the legs  60  are inserted into a hole, the edge of the hole forces one or both legs  60  toward each other. Once, the hole passes a latch  62 , the elastically deformable material causes the legs  60  to move away from each other. Thus, each latch  62  prevents one of the respective legs  60  from being removed from the hole by merely pulling the clamp  20 . Consequently, to release the clamp from the electronic system  10 , a technician must pinch the legs  60  together so that the latches  62  can pass through the hole.  
         [0031]    In other embodiments the latches  62  can be configured to allow removal of the clamp  20  by pulling on the clamp  20  with force sufficient to move the legs  60  toward each other. Alternatively, the expansion pin  52  can include a shaft with a flexible ridge extending from the shaft that allows the shaft to be inserted into a hole in an electronic system with less force than is required to remove the shaft.  
         [0032]    In still other embodiments of the clamp  20 , other mounting techniques may be used as desired. Furthermore, the clamp  20  may include Velcro® to releasably anchor the clamp  20  to an electronic system  10  and to releasably retain a probe cable  18  to the clamp  20 . In such an embodiment, the clamp  20  may not include a body.