The present invention relates generally to an improved cable gripping apparatus for use in attaching cables between posts or the like; more particularly, to such an apparatus for tensioning such an attached cable; and most particularly, to such an apparatus operative to attach and tension a cable between two points on a structure without requiring use of a swaging ferrule and swaging tool, while allowing the installer to make easy adjustments to the length and tension of the cable.
A conventional cable railing system comprises a plurality of vertical posts with cables attached to and extending between the posts. Typically, it is desirable to keep the cables under tension, and the attachment hardware is designed such that tension in the cables may be adjusted at, the time of installation or thereafter as may be needed.
A typical turnbuckle system comprises a first male threaded fitting swaged onto the end of a cable of appropriate length attached to a first post and a second male threaded fitting attached to a second post. The first and second threads are opposite threaded (left hand and right hand threads). A turnbuckle body having left and right hand internal female threads is installed onto the first and second threaded fittings, which turnbuckle body by being rotated serves to draw on the cable between the turnbuckle body and the first post, thereby tensioning the cable.
Such existing devices are necessarily complex, expensive, and difficult to install in the field, requiring a first swaging step of the cable (which may also require both a swaging ferrule and a swaging tool) followed by assembly into a turnbuckle for the second step of tensioning of the secured cable as may be desired.
It is known to avoid the first swaging step in devices for securing the end of a cable, but such devices typically relinquish the turnbuckle function, as shown in the following examples.
US Patent Application No. 2014/0230599 by Chen, filed Apr. 25, 2014, discloses a cable connection device comprising an outer barrel, an inner connecting member, and a tube, wherein an outer thread is arranged at one end of the tube, and a cone portion is arranged inside the end of the tube having the outer thread tapered inwardly; an inner thread arranged at one end of the outer barrel is screwed with the outer thread of the tube, and a flange is arranged inside the end of the outer barrel away from the inner thread; and two flexible latches of the inner connecting member are disposed inside the cone portion, and an outer convex ring arranged between two ends of the inner connecting member is against the flange adjacent to the inner thread. The flexible latches are compressed by the cone portion to fasten one end of a cable passed through the tube.
A shortcoming of this apparatus is that it makes no provision for further tensioning of the cable after the cable has been secured into the tube because the outer thread of the tube is free at only one end and is captive to the tube at its other end.
US Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0084180 by Toimil et al., filed Oct. 13, 2010, discloses an interchangeable, self-locking, cable gripping and adaptive anchoring apparatus comprising a gripping component and adaptor component. The adaptor component comprises a receiving side for a fitting or anchoring device, and a connector side to engage with a cable or the like. The gripping component comprises a housing having a cable receiving end and dispatching end. The housing holds cable gripping elements comprising a spring, spacer, and two jaws, within a tapering bore of the housing. At the dispatching end, the housing comprises an internal bore for engaging around the connector side of the adaptor component. The gripping component is spring-loaded and self-locking for securing a cable. The pressure of the adaptor component connector side against the spring, spacer, and jaws, locks the inserted cable in place to allow the cable to move in only one direction. The adaptor component engages flush against the housing to contain the housing components.
A shortcoming of this apparatus is that once the cable is gripped within the housing and the adaptor component is inserted fully into the housing, there is no provision for moving the cable further axially within the anchoring apparatus as is required to tension the cable. The cable may be further tensioned only by rotating the entire gripping component assembly, including the cable, on the fitting or anchoring device threaded into the receiving end of the adaptor component.
Therefore, there exists a need to provide a simple, easily assembled, cable gripping and tensioning apparatus comprising an integral turnbuckle assembly wherein, a cable is gripped by elements within the turnbuckle body itself and may be advanced axially within the turnbuckle body as may be desired in a separate step after the cable is gripped, which apparatus can be used to adjust the tension and length of the cable easily by the installer in the field.
A cable gripping and tensioning apparatus is provided which includes a plurality of jaw members, preferably two. The jaw members taper from a larger first end to a smaller second end. The plurality of jaw members are configured to receive the cable therebetween in an internal bore formed jointly or collectively by the plurality of jaw members, which bore may include threads or other features to assist in gripping the cable.
A cylindrical collar free at both ends is provided having external threads and having a tapered internal bore adapted to receive the plurality of tapered jaw members. When the cable is inserted into the internal bore of the jaw members, and the jaw members are inserted into the tapered internal bore of the cylindrical collar, the jaws are urged against the cable to hold it in place and the jaws are axially immobilized within the tapered internal bore of the threaded cylindrical collar.
The cable may be inserted into the jaw members either before or after the jaw members are entered into the tapered internal bore of the cylindrical collar.
A turnbuckle body has a threaded bore adapted for receiving the external threads of the collar entirely within the threaded bore such that when the turnbuckle body is rotated, the collar moves axially within the threaded bore of the turnbuckle body, taking with it the plurality of jaws and the gripped cable, and thus causing adjustment of tension in the cable.
In one embodiment, the cable gripping apparatus includes ridges in the tapered internal bore of the collar to engage a surface of at least one of the jaw members.
In another embodiment, the cable gripping apparatus includes a pawl in the collar adapted to engage a portion of at least one of the jaw members to prevent axial disengagement of the jaw members from the tapered internal bore of the collar.
In yet another embodiment, the jaw members of the cable gripping apparatus include a groove proximate the larger first end and further include an O-ring adapted to be received in the groove. The inner diameter of the collar also may include a mating groove to also receive the O-ring.
The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention, as well as presently preferred embodiments thereof, will become more apparent from a reading of the following description in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:
Referring now to
In a first method of operation, optional O-ring 22 is placed in groove 20 of jaw members 12,14. Cable 28 is placed into collar bore 32. Jaw members 12,14 are placed on cable 28 and inserted into collar bore 32, defining a collar sub-assembly 31 that itself is threaded into bore 44 of turnbuckle body 40.
In a second method of operation, jaw members 12,14 are inserted into collar bore 32, and collar 30 is threaded into turnbuckle body 40. The apparatus is now ready to receive an end of cable 28.
The first and second methods of operation arrive at the same status wherein the cable is being gripped by the jaw members within the collar within the turnbuckle body. To adjust the length and tension of cable 28, turnbuckle body 40 is rotated either clockwise or counterclockwise such that collar sub-assembly 31 is moved axially within turnbuckle body 40. Collar sub-assembly 31 is held completely within turnbuckle body 40.
Optionally, cap 50 may be installed onto cable 28 via a central aperture in the cap prior to either of the above assembly procedures and then threaded into turnbuckle body 40 to seal cable attachment and tensioning apparatus 10.
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that there has been provided an improved method and apparatus for attaching and tensioning a cable. Variations and modifications of the herein described method and apparatus, in accordance with the present invention, will undoubtedly suggest themselves to those skilled in this art. Accordingly, the foregoing description should be taken as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
The present application draws priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/355,998, filed Jun. 29, 2016, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
1988829 | Bird | Jan 1935 | A |
2025556 | Stahl | Dec 1935 | A |
2217400 | Gallagher | Oct 1940 | A |
2357733 | Guderian | Sep 1944 | A |
2463144 | Buchanan | Mar 1949 | A |
2965944 | Moran | Dec 1960 | A |
3163904 | Ziolkowski | Jan 1965 | A |
3278210 | Sanders | Oct 1966 | A |
3374511 | Barker | Mar 1968 | A |
3852850 | Filhaber | Dec 1974 | A |
3858991 | Burtelson | Jan 1975 | A |
3868748 | Kelly | Mar 1975 | A |
3879147 | Morell | Apr 1975 | A |
3952377 | Morell | Apr 1976 | A |
4367568 | Weiser | Jan 1983 | A |
4395798 | McVey | Aug 1983 | A |
4455717 | Gray | Jun 1984 | A |
4627762 | Scotti | Dec 1986 | A |
4671695 | Scotti | Jun 1987 | A |
4899499 | Hoekstra | Feb 1990 | A |
5015023 | Hall | May 1991 | A |
5022780 | Shaw | Jun 1991 | A |
5233730 | Milne | Aug 1993 | A |
5347777 | Sudduth | Sep 1994 | A |
5369849 | De France | Dec 1994 | A |
5450657 | Georgopoulos | Sep 1995 | A |
D423913 | Dougan, Jr. | May 2000 | S |
6226841 | Lin | May 2001 | B1 |
6733203 | Carlsen et al. | May 2004 | B2 |
7043801 | Toimil | May 2006 | B2 |
7198253 | Striebel et al. | Apr 2007 | B2 |
7581909 | Szoke | Sep 2009 | B2 |
7716800 | Percheron | May 2010 | B1 |
7823344 | Shin | Nov 2010 | B2 |
8051615 | Mathews et al. | Nov 2011 | B2 |
RE43194 | Toimil | Feb 2012 | E |
8286309 | Landry | Oct 2012 | B2 |
D683614 | Toimil et al. | Jun 2013 | S |
D706117 | Toimil et al. | Jun 2014 | S |
9194155 | Landry | Nov 2015 | B2 |
9233508 | Hall | Jan 2016 | B2 |
9249577 | Ross | Feb 2016 | B2 |
9540219 | Heinrichs | Jan 2017 | B2 |
9869056 | Fukuda | Jan 2018 | B2 |
9874016 | Sorkin | Jan 2018 | B2 |
20030178611 | Anderson | Sep 2003 | A1 |
20030213948 | Striebel et al. | Nov 2003 | A1 |
20040040123 | Tillitski | Mar 2004 | A1 |
20050071958 | Toimil | Apr 2005 | A1 |
20050207838 | Striebel et al. | Sep 2005 | A1 |
20080302035 | Shin | Dec 2008 | A1 |
20100178113 | Tjader | Jul 2010 | A1 |
20110084180 | Toimil et al. | Apr 2011 | A1 |
20140138596 | Ross | May 2014 | A1 |
20140230599 | Chen | Aug 2014 | A1 |
20180030832 | Abreu | Feb 2018 | A1 |
20180035830 | Arakawa | Feb 2018 | A1 |
20190165496 | Toivanen | May 2019 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
202013101806 | May 2013 | DE |
2005035407 | Apr 2005 | WO |
Entry |
---|
Electroline End Fittings & Swivela for Wire & Synthetic Rope, 1406 Fifth Street SW, Canton Ohio 44702, pp. 1-40, www.esmet.com. |
Raileasy Cable Railing System With Patented Tensioner, Bezdan, pp. 1-12, geobezdan.com. |
Cable Art Inc.—Feeney Cablerail Assemblies. pp. 1-2, http://www.cableartinc.com/feeney2/assemblies.php. |
Feeney Architectural Products Catalog 2008, pp. 1-73. |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20180003202 A1 | Jan 2018 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
62355998 | Jun 2016 | US |