Cable support

• US 5,992,802 A
• Filed: 05/14/1997
• Issued: 11/30/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Campbell Design Systems
• Original Assignee: Campbell Design Systems
• Inventors: Campbell, John
• Primary Examiner(s): Ramirez, Ramon O.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Le, Tan
• Application Number:
  US08/856,354
• Time in Patent Office: 930 Days
• Field of Search: 248/68.1, 248/67.5, 248/62, 248/74.3, 248/68, 248/73, 248/49, 248/58, 248/74.4, 248/74.1, 248/70, 165/172, 165/162, 165/82, 174/135
• US Class Current: 248/68.1
• CPC Class Codes: F16L 3/2235 each pipe being supported by a common element fastened to the base
• CPC Class Codes: H02G 3/30 Installations of cables or lines on walls, floors or ceilings

Abstract

A support for parallel runs of coaxial cable is made up of pairs of molded blocks stacked on a single threaded rod. The blocks of each pair are identical, and have semi-circular cylindrical recesses which cooperate to provide circular, cable-gripping passages. The threaded rod extends in orthogonal relationship to the axes of the cable-gripping passages, through another passage located between two of the circular, cable-gripping passages, and cables can be installed and removed by loosening a nut on the rod, separating the blocks of a cooperating pair, and sliding the cables into and out of the recesses, without detaching any of the blocks from the rod. The blocks have interengaging ribs which prevent any pair of blocks from rotating about the rod relative to another pair of blocks.

Claims

1. A cable support comprising:

at least two pairs of molded elements stacked on one another, a first molded element of one pair being in engagement with a second molded element of another pair, wherein the molded elements of each pair are separable from each other and have;

cooperating semi-circular, cylindrical recesses providing a plurality of parallel, cable-receiving passages; and

a fastener-receiving passage located between two of the parallel, cable-receiving passages and extending orthogonally to the cable-receiving passages;

the cable support having, and the molded elements being secured together in stacked relationship solely by, a single, elongated fastener extending along an axis through the fastener-receiving passages of all of the pairs of elements in the stack, the fastener being sufficiently long to allow the molded elements of any one pair to be separated from each other, without removal of any of said element from the fastener and without disassembly of the fastener, by an amount at least equal to the diameter of the largest cable-receiving passage in the cable support to permit lateral insertion of the cables without removal of said fastener; and

interlocking means for preventing rotation of the pairs of molded elements relative to one another about the axis of the fastener, the interlocking means comprising a pair of elongated ribs on a first surface of each molded element, said ribs of each pair being spaced laterally from each other, and an elongated means on the first surface of each molded element, the elongated means of the first molded element fitting snugly between the ribs of the second molded element, and the elongated means of the second molded element fitting snugly between the ribs of the first molded element;

in which the molded elements of each pair are identical to each other.

2. A cable support according to claim 1 in which the fastener comprises an elongated rod extending through the fastener-receiving passages of the pairs of elements in the stack, and a nut attachable to the rod, and in which the rod is sufficiently long to allow the molded elements of one pair to be separated from each other, without removal of the nut from the rod, by an amount at least equal to the diameter of the largest cable-receiving passage in the cable support.

3. A cable support according to claim 1 in which all of the molded elements of the cable support are identical.

4. A cable support according to claim 1 in which the elongated fastener has first and second ends, in which one of the molded elements is an endmost element of the cable support located at a distance from the first end of the elongated fastener less than the height of the pair of molded elements having the least height, when in contact with each other, said height being measured in the direction of the axis of the fastener-receiving passage, and in which another one of the molded elements is an endmost element in the cable support located at a distance from the second end of the elongated fastener also less than the height of the pair of molded elements having the least height, when in contact with each other, said height being measured in the direction of the axis of the fastener-receiving passage.

5. A cable support according to claim 1 in which each pair of molded elements has at least two elongated ribs extending parallel to each other, and including a strut having a wall with opposite faces and an elongated slot defined by a pair of parallel, opposed edges, one of the molded elements of the cable support being situated against one face of said wall with its elongated ribs in the slot of the strut and being in contact respectively with said parallel, opposed edges of the slot, the elongated fastener extending through the slot, and also including a nut engaged with the elongated fastener and bearing against the other face of said wall.