1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to tools for electricians and electrical workers and, in particular, concerns a marker that allows an electrician or electrical worker to color mark wiring for identification and code compliance purposes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electrical wiring, which can include both power wiring, communication wiring and the like, often comes in different colors for identification purposes. In fact, the National Electric Code has a specific schedule of colors for wires of specific purposes. For example, ground wires are typically green, neutral wires are typically white and hot wires are typically some color other than green or white. Similarly, telephone wiring also has a standardized color schedule to allow for telephone personnel to identify the appropriate wiring for connection purposes.
While standardized wiring color is very common in many implementations, there are some circumstances where the standardized wiring colors are not used. For example, with equipment that is manufactured in foreign countries, the wiring of that equipment may not follow the same standardized color schedule that is used in the United States. Further, even wiring that is done in the United States is often done using non-standardized wiring colors. For example, sometimes wiring is all of a single color or a limited number of colors for aesthetic or other purposes which makes identification of specific wires more difficult.
For those individuals that are installing equipment or repairing equipment, there is thus a need for a way to mark wire for identification purposes. Sometimes non-standardized color wire will have to be marked for compliance with local building codes and other times the wires are simply marked by an electrician or installer to aid in subsequent identification of wiring for repair and replacement purposes. In either circumstance, it is often desirable to be able to color the insulation of the wiring with a desired color either to match the required code color or for simple identification purposes.
One example of a device that can be used for marking wiring is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,280,109 to Serratore. Serratore discloses a marker that has two openings including a smaller cylindrical opening and an open ended semi-cylindrical opening. However, both of the cylindrical openings in the Serratore patent have a single fixed circumference and, as such, are suitable for marking only wires with a corresponding outer circumference. Thus, electricians have to carry many different markers, not just markers of different colors, but also markers having different size openings, to be able to adequately mark wiring. For many workers, this is both cumbersome and inefficient.
Moreover, Serratore uses a standard felt-type nib like those used in ink pens. Such felt-type nibs are very suitable for applying ink to paper, however, these types of nibs are less suitable when applying thicker paint-type substances to harder and uneven wiring insulation and conductors as required in this particular application. Specifically, felt-type nibs generally have much smaller openings as ink is usually less viscous than paint. However, applying standard ink to non-absorbent materials like wiring insulation is not particularly effective for marking wiring for long periods of time as the ink does not adhere well and can also fade or come off over time. The use of felt-type nibs for applying paint is usually problematic as the felt-type nib can become more quickly clogged with paint. Further, the wiring insulation is harder and can often be rough which can result in damage to the softer felt-type nib.
Hence, there is a need for an improved way of being able to mark insulation and/or conductors of wiring with specific colors. To this end, there is a need for a marker that has a nib that can accommodate a greater range of diameters of wiring and a nib that is formed of a material that allows for more durable colored substances, such as paint, to be applied to wiring where the nib is resistant to damage as a result of application to uneven surfaces.
The aforementioned needs are satisfied by the wiring marker of the present invention which, in one implementation, comprises a shaft which houses a reservoir that contains a liquid colored substance. In this implementation, the marker further comprises a nib that is in fluid communication with the reservoir so as to receive the colored substance therefrom. The nib in this particular implementation has a distal surface having an opening formed therein. The opening has a bottom surface and two lateral side walls wherein the two lateral side walls are slanted so as to extend away from each other as the interior side walls extend toward the distal end of the nib.
The shape and configuration of the internal side walls of the opening allows wiring having a greater range of diameters to be marked by the marker as the distance between the slanted inner side walls increases over the depth of the opening. Thus, the marker in this particular implementation can be used to mark a greater range of circumferences of wiring without requiring the use of multiple markers.
In another implementation, the nib of the marker is formed of a deformable plastic material rather than a felt cloth material as the deformable plastic material is more resistant to abrasion and damage when being applied to hard wiring insulation. In one particular implementation, the nib is formed of a fiber polymer plastic and, in one very specific implementation, it is a porous plastic such as polyethylene having a pore size of 60-120 microns. In this particular specific implementation, the pore size is selected so as to allow a paint, such as a xylene-based paint selected for its elasticity and drying time, to be readily applied via the marker.
The foregoing implementations of the marker of the present invention provide a more versatile marker that can be used with a greater variety of wiring sizes and also a more durable marker due to the improvement of the configuration of the nib and the materials used to form the nib. These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying claims.
Reference will now be made to the drawings wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout. As is illustrated in
As is also illustrated in
The configuration of the nib member 114 and the opening 128 is shown in greater detail with respect to
Because the upper ends of the interior surfaces 130a, 130b of the arms 122a, 122b are spaced further apart than the interior ends, a range of diameter of conductors can be used with a single nib. More specifically, larger diameter conductors are more easily accommodated by the wider opening 128 between the arms 122a, 122b of the nib member 114. The conductor can be urged downward into the opening 128 to where the inner side walls 130a, 130b contact the outer circumference of the wiring such that marker liquid can be applied to the outer surface of the conductors via the inner side walls 130a, 130b and the rounded bottom surface 132 of the opening 128 in the nib member.
In one particular implementation, the opening 128 in the nib member 114 is approximately 0.120″ deep and that the bottom ends 133a, 133b of the inner surfaces 130a, 130b are approximately 0.127″ apart with the upper end 135a, 135b of the inner surfaces 130a, 130b being approximately 0.263″ apart. Thus, in this particular implementation, a single marker can accommodate wiring or gages of conductors of a range of approximately 18 awg to 2 awg. It will be appreciated that by varying the distance between the lower ends 133a, 133b and the upper ends 135a, 135b of the interior surfaces 130a, 130b of the opening 128, a wide variety of different conductors can be marked using the marker 100 of the illustrated embodiment.
In one particular implementation, the nib member 114 is formed of a fiber polymer plastic material, such as those found in common children's play markers, and it has a pore size of approximately 60 to 120 microns. The use of the fiber polymer plastic material results in a nib that is substantially more resistant to wear when applying the marking liquid to rough surfaces or uneven surfaces than a cloth material. Moreover, using this material with this particular pore size further allows for more uniform application of liquid marking material, such as a xylene-based marking material, which is highly elastic and has a relatively quick drying time. One particular xylene-based marking material that would be used is a xylene-based permanent pigmented ink available from National Ink located in Santee, Calif.
While certain embodiments of the invention have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Indeed, the novel methods and systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms, furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the methods and systems and devices described herein may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications that will fall within the scope and spirit of the invention.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/732,909, filed Nov. 3, 2005, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety herein.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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60732909 | Nov 2005 | US |