A flexible lock lanyard suitable for extreme environments

Abstract

The application discloses a flexible lock buckle cable tie suitable for extreme environment, relates to the technical field of fasteners and wire harness management, and comprises a belt body, a head and a lock buckle spring plate arranged in the head, the belt body is provided with a tooth-shaped structure for engaging with the lock buckle spring plate, the head comprises a head shell, the lock buckle spring plate comprises a spring plate body, a spring plate root and a spring plate contact end, and the spring plate body is a long cantilever flexible structure; a large round corner transition area is arranged between the spring plate root and the head; the tooth-shaped structure comprises a tooth top and a tooth root; the whole structure is a low stress path locking system, so that the cable tie still keeps elastic locking instead of rigid locking under low temperature or dynamic load conditions. Through the cooperative design of high-toughness materials, flexible lock buckles, low-stress tooth-shaped structures and gradient structures, the brittle fracture resistance of the cable tie under a low-temperature environment of-40 DEG C is realized, the stable locking is kept under the vibration working condition, and the installation compliance and the structural life of the cable tie are remarkably improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of fasteners and wire harness management technology, specifically a flexible locking cable tie suitable for extreme environments. Background Technology

[0002] In the current field of fasteners and wire harness management, plastic cable ties are widely used as a common fixing and binding element in various industrial and civilian applications.

[0003] However, in actual use, especially under complex working conditions, existing cable ties have obvious performance deficiencies. First, in low-temperature environments, traditional cable tie materials are prone to embrittlement, leading to breakage during installation, especially in the locking area, where brittle failure is particularly prominent, seriously affecting their reliability. Second, under vibration conditions, existing cable ties rely on rigid locking in their structural design, making the locking mechanism prone to loosening. The toothed structure also wears down due to repeated friction, further leading to fatigue cracks and ultimately locking failure. In addition, in complex assembly environments, existing cable ties are too rigid, making it difficult to conform to the shape of wire harnesses or irregular objects, resulting in difficult installation and poor adaptability.

[0004] In summary, existing cable tie technologies mainly rely on the rigidity of materials to ensure locking performance, lacking a coordinated design between structure and materials, making it difficult to meet the high reliability requirements under multiple working conditions such as low temperature, vibration, and complex assembly. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide a flexible locking cable tie suitable for extreme environments, in order to solve the problems mentioned in the background art.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solution: a flexible locking cable tie suitable for extreme environments, comprising a strap body, a head, and a locking spring disposed within the head. The strap body is provided with a toothed structure for engaging with the locking spring. The head includes a head shell, and the locking spring includes a spring body, a spring root, and a spring contact end. The spring body is a long cantilever flexible structure, and its length L and the strap body thickness T satisfy: 2.0 ≤ L / T ≤ 4.0; A large rounded corner transition area is provided between the root and head of the spring sheet, and the rounded corner radius R satisfies: 0.3T ≤ R ≤ 0.8T, which is used to form a continuous stress release path; The upper surface of the spring body is a continuous curvature arc surface structure, which makes the stress distributed along the arc surface during the deformation of the spring, avoiding local stress concentration. The tooth structure includes a tooth tip and a tooth root. The tooth tip is a flat-topped or rounded-arc transition flat-topped structure, and the tooth root is provided with continuous rounded corners. The tooth root Rroot and the tooth tip height h satisfy: 0.2 ≤ Rroot / h ≤ 0.6. A transition zone with a continuously varying thickness is provided between the belt body and the head, so that the tensile load forms a continuous stress transfer path from the belt body to the head. The contact interface between the contact end of the spring and the toothed structure is a curved-plane or curved-curved-plane contact fit, which makes the load distribution uniform and reduces the peak contact stress during the locking process. The structure as a whole is configured as a low-stress path locking system, which allows the cable ties to remain elastically locked rather than rigidly jammed under low temperature or dynamic load conditions.

[0007] Preferably, the belt body is made of a high-toughness polymer with an elongation at break of ≥50%.

[0008] Preferably, the high-toughness polymer is a PEKK material.

[0009] Preferably, the angle of the guide surface of the tooth structure is 20°-40°, the angle of the locking surface is 50°-75°, and the two are a continuous transition surface.

[0010] Preferably, the thickness t of the locking spring and the thickness T of the belt body satisfy: 0.5 ≤ t / T ≤ 0.8.

[0011] Preferably, the belt body does not crack when bent at -40°C.

[0012] Preferably, the locking spring does not experience structural failure during cyclic locking.

[0013] Preferably, the cable tie is manufactured using an injection molding process, in which the flow path of the injection melt is designed so that after entering from the injection point at the head, the melt preferentially fills the transition area between the tie body and the head, and then flows simultaneously in two directions: In the first direction, a toothed structure is filled along the belt body towards the tail end; In the second direction, after smoothly turning through the large rounded corner transition area at the root of the spring piece, the arc-shaped surface structure of the locking spring piece is filled. Throughout the entire flow path, there are no abrupt changes in cross-section, no sharp-angle turns, and no weld lines formed at the locking spring or tooth root.

[0014] Preferably, in the injection molding process, the rate of change of the flow velocity of the melt front when it flows through the large rounded corner transition zone at the root of the spring sheet is ≤ 15%, and the peak shear stress in this region is ≤ 60% of the allowable shear stress of the material.

[0015] Preferably, the mold cavity for forming the locking spring has a gradient arc gate at the root of the spring, and the arc radius R_gate of the gate and the fillet radius R satisfy: 0.8 ≤ R_gate / R ≤ 1.2.

[0016] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are: This flexible locking cable tie, designed for extreme environments, utilizes a high-toughness polymer material and a flexible locking structure to maintain good flexibility even at temperatures as low as -40°C. The tie body can be bent without breaking, and the locking area does not experience brittle failure, significantly improving the reliability of the cable tie under extreme climatic conditions.

[0017] This flexible locking cable tie, suitable for extreme environments, features a large rounded transition zone at the root of the locking spring and a curved surface structure, allowing the spring to form a continuous bending deformation path during stress, thus avoiding the stress concentration problem at the root that occurs in traditional short spring structures.

[0018] This flexible locking cable tie, suitable for extreme environments, uses a flat-top design with a toothed structure and continuous rounded corners at the tooth roots to change the locking contact area from point contact to surface contact or curved surface contact, thus achieving uniform load distribution.

[0019] This flexible cable tie, suitable for extreme environments, features a compliant design with low rebound and a small bending radius. It can closely fit complex wire harnesses or irregular assembly surfaces, reducing installation difficulty and improving assembly efficiency and reliability. Through the gradual transition zone between the cable tie body and the head, the tensile load is transferred step by step along the structure, avoiding stress peaks at abrupt changes in cross-section.

[0020] This flexible locking cable tie, suitable for extreme environments, utilizes the synergistic effect of the aforementioned structures to transform the cable tie from a traditional "rigid locking" to an "elastic deformation locking" under low temperature or dynamic load conditions, thereby significantly improving its resistance to brittle fracture and fatigue life. Attached Figure Description

[0021] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the display mechanism structure of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the cross-sectional structure of the head of the present invention; Figure 4 For the present invention Figure 1 Enlarged structural diagram at point A in the middle; Figure 5 For the present invention Figure 1 Enlarged structural diagram at point B; Figure 6This is a schematic diagram illustrating the usage state of the present invention.

[0022] In the diagram: 1. Body; 2. Head; 21. Head shell; 3. Locking spring; 31. Spring body; 32. Spring root; 33. Spring contact end; 4. Tooth structure; 41. Tooth tip; 42. Tooth root; 5. Tail end; 6. Transition zone. Detailed Implementation

[0023] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0024] In the description of this invention, it should be noted that the terms "upper," "lower," "inner," "outer," "front end," "rear end," "both ends," "one end," and "the other end," etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are used only for the convenience of describing this invention and for simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this invention. Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance. Example

[0025] like Figures 1 to 6 As shown, this embodiment of a flexible locking cable tie suitable for extreme environments includes a strap body 1, a head 2, and a locking spring 3 disposed in the head 2. The strap body 1 is provided with a toothed structure 4 for engaging with the locking spring 3. The head 2 includes a head shell 21. The locking spring 3 includes a spring body 31, a spring root 32, and a spring contact end 33. The spring body 31 is a long cantilever flexible structure, and its length L and the thickness T of the strap body 1 satisfy: 2.0 ≤ L / T ≤ 4.0; A large rounded corner transition area is provided between the root 32 and the head 2 of the spring piece. The radius of the rounded corner R satisfies: 0.3T ≤ R ≤ 0.8T. This is used to form a continuous stress release path. By setting a large rounded corner transition area at the root 32 of the spring piece and combining it with the arc-shaped surface structure of the spring piece, the spring piece can form a continuous bending deformation path during the stress process, thereby avoiding the stress concentration problem at the root in the traditional short spring piece structure. The upper surface of the spring body 31 is a continuous curvature arc surface structure, which makes the stress distributed along the arc surface during the deformation of the spring and avoids local stress concentration. The tooth structure 4 includes a tooth tip 41 and a tooth root 42. The tooth tip 41 is a flat-top or rounded-arc transition flat-top structure, and the tooth root 42 is provided with continuous rounded corners. The rounded corner Rroot of the tooth root 42 and the height h of the tooth tip 41 satisfy: 0.2 ≤ Rroot / h ≤ 0.6. Through the flat-top design of the tooth tip 41 and the continuous rounded corners of the tooth root 42, the locking contact area is transformed from point contact to surface contact or curved surface contact, so as to achieve uniform load distribution. A transition zone 6 with a continuously varying thickness is provided between the belt body 1 and the head 2, so that the tensile load forms a continuous stress transmission path from the belt body 1 to the head 2. Through the gradual transition zone 6 between the belt body 1 and the head 2, the tensile load is transmitted step by step along the structure, avoiding the formation of stress peaks at the abrupt change in cross-section. The belt body 1 adopts a compliant design with low bending stiffness, which can achieve small bending radius bending, making it easy to fit complex wire harnesses or irregular assembly surfaces. At the same time, the belt body 1 has low springback characteristics, which makes it less likely to automatically loosen after tightening, further improving the reliability of installation. The contact interface between the contact end 33 of the spring and the tooth structure 4 is a curved surface-plane or curved surface-curved surface contact fit, which makes the load distribution uniform and reduces the peak contact stress during the locking process. The overall structure is designed as a low-stress path locking system, which allows the cable ties to remain elastically locked rather than rigidly locked under low temperature or dynamic load conditions.

[0026] Furthermore, the belt body 1 is made of a high-toughness polymer with an elongation at break of ≥50%.

[0027] Furthermore, the high-toughness polymer is PEKK material.

[0028] Furthermore, the guide surface angle of the tooth structure 4 is 20°-40°, the locking surface angle is 50°-75°, and the two are continuous transition surfaces.

[0029] Furthermore, the thickness t of the locking spring 3 and the thickness T of the belt body 1 satisfy: 0.5 ≤ t / T ≤ 0.8.

[0030] Furthermore, the belt body 1 does not crack when bent at -40℃.

[0031] Furthermore, the locking spring 3 does not experience structural failure during cyclic locking.

[0032] Furthermore, the cable tie is manufactured using an injection molding process. In this process, the flow path of the injection melt is designed so that after entering from the injection point of the head 2, the melt preferentially fills the transition zone 6 between the strap body 1 and the head 2, and then flows simultaneously in two directions: In the first direction, the toothed structure 4 is filled along the belt body 1 towards the tail end 5; In the second direction, after smoothly turning through the large rounded corner transition area at the root of the spring piece 32, the arc-shaped surface structure of the locking spring piece 3 is filled. Throughout the entire flow path, there are no abrupt changes in cross-section, no sharp-angle turns, and no weld lines formed at the locking spring piece 3 or tooth root 42.

[0033] Furthermore, in the injection molding process, the flow velocity change rate of the melt front when flowing through the 32 large rounded corner transition zone at the root of the spring sheet is ≤ 15%, and the peak shear stress in this area is ≤ 60% of the allowable shear stress of the material.

[0034] Furthermore, the mold cavity used to form the locking spring 3 has a gradient arc gate at the position corresponding to the root 32 of the spring. The arc radius R_gate of the gate and the fillet radius R satisfy: 0.8 ≤ R_gate / R ≤ 1.2.

[0035] The method of use in this embodiment is as follows: Wrap the cable tie body 1 around the wire harness or object to be bundled, insert the end of the cable tie body 1 into the locking channel of the head 2, and pull the end of the cable tie body 1 to gradually tighten the cable tie to the target tightness. During this process, the flexible design of the cable tie body 1 allows it to closely conform to the surface of the bundled object and adapt to complex or irregular shapes. After applying appropriate tension, the locking spring 3 in the locking structure automatically engages with the toothed structure 4 on the cable tie body 1. Unlike traditional cable ties that rely on rigid locking, the locking mechanism of this invention achieves locking through elastic deformation. After the tension is released, the locking spring 3 springs back, forming a reliable self-locking state. After confirming that the locking is secure, the excess portion of the cable tie body 1 can be cut off. When installed in a low-temperature environment, no preheating or special treatment is required, and the cable tie still maintains sufficient flexibility and will not break brittlely.

[0036] Finally, it should be noted that the above are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art can still modify the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments or make equivalent substitutions for some of the technical features. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A flexible locking cable tie suitable for extreme environments, comprising a strap body (1), a head (2), and a locking spring (3) disposed within the head (2), wherein the strap body (1) is provided with a toothed structure (4) for engaging with the locking spring (3), characterized in that: The head (2) includes a head shell (21), and the locking spring (3) includes a spring body (31), a spring root (32) and a spring contact end (33). The spring body (31) is a long cantilever flexible structure, and its length L and the thickness T of the belt body (1) satisfy: 2.0 ≤ L / T≤ 4.0; A large rounded corner transition area is provided between the root (32) and the head (2) of the spring sheet, and the rounded corner radius R satisfies: 0.3T ≤ R ≤ 0.8T, which is used to form a continuous stress release path; The upper surface of the spring body (31) is a continuous curvature arc surface structure, so that the stress is distributed along the arc surface during the deformation of the spring and local stress concentration is avoided. The tooth structure (4) includes a tooth tip (41) and a tooth root (42). The tooth tip (41) is a flat-top or a rounded-arc transition flat-top structure. The tooth root (42) is provided with continuous rounded corners. The rounded corner Rroot of the tooth root (42) and the height h of the tooth tip (41) satisfy: 0.2 ≤ Rroot / h ≤ 0.6; A transition zone (6) with a continuously varying thickness is provided between the belt body (1) and the head (2) so that the tensile load forms a continuous stress transmission path from the belt body to the head. The contact interface between the contact end (33) of the spring piece and the toothed structure (4) is a curved surface-plane or curved surface-curved surface contact fit, so that the load distribution is uniform and the peak contact stress is reduced during the locking process; The structure as a whole is configured as a low-stress path locking system, which allows the cable ties to remain elastically locked rather than rigidly jammed under low temperature or dynamic load conditions.

2. The flexible locking cable tie suitable for extreme environments according to claim 1, characterized in that: The belt body (1) is made of a high-toughness polymer with an elongation at break of ≥50%.

3. The flexible locking cable tie suitable for extreme environments according to claim 2, characterized in that: The high-toughness polymer is PEKK material.

4. The flexible locking cable tie suitable for extreme environments according to claim 1, characterized in that: The tooth structure (4) has an inlet surface angle of 20°-40° and a locking surface angle of 50°-75°, and the two are continuous transition surfaces.

5. The flexible locking cable tie suitable for extreme environments according to claim 1, characterized in that: The thickness t of the locking spring (3) and the thickness T of the belt body (1) satisfy: 0.5 ≤ t / T ≤ 0.

8.

6. The flexible locking cable tie suitable for extreme environments according to claim 1, characterized in that: The belt (1) does not crack when bent at -40℃.

7. The flexible locking cable tie suitable for extreme environments according to claim 1, characterized in that: The locking spring (3) does not experience structural failure during cyclic locking.

8. The flexible locking cable tie suitable for extreme environments according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cable tie is manufactured using an injection molding process. In this process, the flow path of the injection melt is designed so that after entering from the injection point of the head (2), the melt preferentially fills the transition area (6) between the body (1) and the head (2), and then flows simultaneously in two directions: In the first direction, toothed structures (4) are filled along the belt body (1) towards the tail end (5). In the second direction, after smoothly turning through the large rounded corner transition area of ​​the root of the spring piece (32), it fills the arc-shaped surface structure of the locking spring piece (3); In particular, there are no abrupt changes in cross-section, no sharp angle changes, and no weld lines formed at the locking spring (3) or tooth root (42) in the entire flow path.

9. The flexible locking cable tie suitable for extreme environments according to claim 8, characterized in that: In the injection molding process, the flow velocity change rate of the melt front when it flows through the large rounded corner transition zone of the spring root (32) is ≤ 15%, and the peak shear stress in this area is ≤ 60% of the allowable shear stress of the material.

10. The flexible locking cable tie suitable for extreme environments according to claim 8, characterized in that: The mold cavity used to form the locking spring (3) has a gradient arc gate at the corresponding spring root (32) position. The arc radius R_gate of the gate and the fillet radius R satisfy: 0.8 ≤ R_gate / R ≤ 1.2.

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