Cable ties

Abstract

To provide a binding band in which the excess part of a band part can be easily broken even in binding work in a narrow space, and the end part of the band part does not protrude from a head part after the excess part is broken. [Solution] The cable tie (91) comprises a cylindrical head portion (1) having a through hole (1a), a narrow band portion (2) extending from the head portion (1) and having a first locking portion (21K) and formed so as to be insertable into the through hole (1a), a second locking portion (11) that flexibly protrudes into the inside of the through hole (1a) and hooks onto the first locking portion (21K) of the inserted band portion (2) to allow further insertion of the band portion (2) and restrict withdrawal, and a cutter portion (12) with an uneven shape formed on the inner surface of the through hole (1a) in a position where it can interfere with the side of the inserted band portion (2) further towards the tip side than the second locking portion (11).

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a cable tie. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a cable tie that can be used to tie together multiple cables or the like, and then the excess portion of the band can be manually torn off. This cable tie has multiple V-shaped grooves extending widthwise in the band at predetermined intervals along its length, and the tensile strength of the deepest part of the grooves is relatively stronger than the tear strength. This allows the grooves to be manually torn off. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 8-281825 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Cable ties have a wide range of uses, including bundling wiring cables when wiring and securing in-vehicle equipment in the space inside the dashboard of a car. In this application, cable ties prevent the cables from coming undone, preventing abnormal noise from being generated by vibrations caused by the car's movement and preventing the cables from being damaged by repeated contact with hard components inside the car.

[0005] The cable tie described in Patent Document 1 requires a certain amount of space to allow for free hand movement in order to manually tear off the excess cable portion after the cable tie has been installed. However, when performing cable tie and cable cutting in a confined space, such as the installation of in-vehicle equipment, it is often difficult to secure sufficient space for free hand movement, making it difficult to manually tear the cable, leaving room for improvement. Furthermore, with the cable tie described in Patent Document 1, after the excess cable portion has been torn off, the end of the cable tie protrudes from the head. Because this fracture surface is typically sharp, the protruding end of the cable tie may come into contact with other wires or the hand inserted during additional work, potentially causing problems and leaving room for improvement.

[0006] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a cable tie that allows the excess portion of the band to be easily broken off even when the cable tie is being used in a narrow space, and that does not allow the end of the band to protrude from the head portion after the excess portion is broken off. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, one embodiment of the present invention has the following structure 1). 1) A cylindrical head portion having a through hole; a narrow band portion extending from the head portion, having a first locking portion, and formed to be insertable into the through hole; a second locking portion that flexibly protrudes into the through hole and is hooked onto the first locking portion of the inserted band portion to allow further insertion of the band portion and restrict removal of the band portion; a cutter portion having a concave-convex shape formed on the inner surface of the through hole at a position that is capable of interfering with a side surface of the inserted band portion on the tip side of the band portion relative to the second engaging portion; It is a cable tie equipped with [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to one aspect of the present invention, even when performing binding work in a narrow space, the excess portion of the band can be easily broken off, and after the excess portion is broken off, the end of the band does not protrude from the head portion. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1A] FIG. 1A is a plan view showing a binding band 91 according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 1B] FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line S1B-S1B shown in FIG. 1A, and the band portion 2 is shown in an intermediate binding state by a dot-dash line as an imaginary line. [Figure 1C] FIG. 1C is a cross-sectional view taken along the line S1C-S1C in FIG. 1B. [Figure 1D] FIG. 1D is a partially enlarged view for explaining the cutter unit 12. As shown in FIG. [Figure 2A] FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view showing the fastened state of the band part 2 on the head part 1. FIG. [Figure 2B] FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of the object 8 being bound by the binding band 91. [Figure 3A] FIG. 3A is a first diagram showing a procedure for breaking off the unnecessary portion 21S of the band portion 2. FIG. [Figure 3B] FIG. 3B is an enlarged view of part A in FIG. 3A. [Figure 3C] FIG. 3C is a second diagram showing the procedure for breaking off the unnecessary portion 21S of the band portion 2. As shown in FIG. [Figure 3D] FIG. 3D is a diagram showing a state in which the unnecessary portion 21S has been separated. [Figure 3E] FIG. 3E is a cross-sectional view showing how the binding band 91 is used. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a band portion 2A of the first modification, with FIG. 4(a) being a side view and FIG. 4(b) being a bottom view. [Figure 5A] FIG. 5A is a first diagram showing a procedure for breaking off the unnecessary portion 21AS of the band portion 2A. [Figure 5B] FIG. 5B is a second diagram showing the procedure for breaking off the unnecessary portion 21AS of the band portion 2A. [Figure 5C] FIG. 5C is a diagram showing a state in which the unnecessary portion 21AS has been separated. [Figure 6A] FIG. 6A is a diagram for explaining a band portion 2B of the second modification, where FIG. 6A(a) is a side view and FIG. 6A(b) is a bottom view. [Figure 6B] FIG. 6B is a diagram showing the angle θb of the tip of the cutter portion 12. As shown in FIG. [Figure 6C] FIG. 6C is a partially enlarged view illustrating how the band portion 2B is broken. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] A cable tie 91 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1A to 1D. FIG. 1A is a plan view showing a cable tie 91 according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line S1B-S1B in FIG. 1A. FIG. 1C is a cross-sectional view taken along the line S1C-S1C in FIG. 1B. FIG. 1D is a partially enlarged view illustrating a cutter unit 12.

[0011] For convenience of explanation, the X direction, Y direction, and Z direction are defined as three mutually orthogonal axial directions, and are indicated by arrows in FIGS. 1A and 1B.

[0012] The binding band 91 has a head portion 1 and a band portion 2. The head portion 1 and the band portion 2 are integrally formed from a resin. Examples of the resin include PA (polyamide) and PP (polypropylene).

[0013] The head portion 1 has a through-hole 1a that penetrates in the Z direction and is formed in a substantially rectangular tubular shape. The band portion 2 is formed as a strip-like portion extending in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the through hole 1a (Y direction) from one end side in the Z direction of one wall portion 1b of the head portion 1. The band portion 2 has a base portion 21 and an introduction portion 22. The base portion 21 is formed so that its width W2 is smaller than the width W1a of the inner dimension in the X direction along the wall portion 1b of the through hole 1a, and the center of the width W1a and the center of the width W2 of the band portion 2 are positioned in the X direction as shown in FIG. 1A.

[0014] The head portion 1 has a head locking portion 11. The head locking portion 11 is connected to the side of the wall portion 1b in the Z direction from which the band portion 2 extends, and is formed so as to protrude into the through-hole 1a. The tip of the head locking portion 11 in the Z direction is located closer to the center of the through-hole 1a in the Z direction than the end of the through-hole 1a.

[0015] The head locking portion 11 has a plurality of claws 111 on the side facing the wall portion 1c opposite the wall portion 1b. The claws 111 are triangular rib-shaped portions that extend in the X direction and have a cross-sectional shape that forms a right triangle, and a plurality of claws 111 are formed at predetermined intervals in the Z direction. The cross-sectional area of ​​the head locking portion 11 is reduced at the portion that connects to the wall portion 1b, and the head locking portion 11 is flexible in the direction of arrow DR1 shown in FIG. 1B, with the connecting portion as a fulcrum.

[0016] Cutter portions 12 are formed on the inner surfaces of side wall portions 1d and 1e, which are opposing walls other than walls 1b and 1c of head portion 1. Cutter portions 12 are formed in end regions of side wall portions 1d and 1e opposite band portion 2 in the Z direction, in regions that do not interfere with head locking portion 11 in the Z direction. Cutter portion 12 has multiple cutting protrusions 121 whose cross-sectional shape is a triangle with an acute tip. As shown in FIG. 1D, one of the multiple cutting protrusions 121 may be a main protrusion 121a that protrudes more than the others.

[0017] When a worker performs a bundling operation using a cable tie 91, as shown in Figure 1B, the band portion 2 is wrapped around the outside of the object to be bound 8, such as multiple cables, and the tip introduction portion 22 is inserted into the through hole 1a of the head portion 1 (see arrow DR2).

[0018] The band portion 2 has a base portion 21 that extends in a narrow strip shape with a constant width W2, and an introduction portion 22 that connects to the tip of the base portion 21 and extends so that its width gradually narrows. A band locking portion 21K is formed in the base portion 21. The band locking portion 21K has an opening 210 that is a hole that extends along the base portion 21, leaving side edges 213, 214 that are both edges in the X direction, and a connecting portion 211 formed in the opening 210 that connects the side edges 213 in the X direction. A plurality of connecting portions 211 are formed at predetermined intervals in the Y direction. As a result, the band locking portion 21K has a region in the opening 210 where a plurality of connecting portions 211 and slits 212 that are spaces between adjacent connecting portions 211 are alternately arranged in the Y direction. Hereinafter, the band locking portion 21K will also be referred to as a first locking portion, and the head locking portion 11 of the head portion 1 will also be referred to as a second locking portion.

[0019] As shown in Fig. 2A, the band portion 2 can be inserted into the through-hole 1a. During the above-described bundling operation, when the band portion 2 is inserted into the through-hole 1a to a position where the band locking portion 21K and the head locking portion 11 correspond to each other, the multiple claw portions 111 of the head locking portion 11 enter and become caught in the multiple slits 212 of the band locking portion 21K due to the elastic repulsive force of the head locking portion 11. In other words, the formation pitch of the claw portions 111 and the formation pitch of the slits 212 match. Furthermore, the claw portion 111 has a locking surface 111a, which is a surface rising at the right angle of the right-angled triangle in cross section, and a sliding surface 111b, which is an inclined surface. On the other hand, in the cross-sectional shape of the connecting portion 211, the surface on the root side of the band portion 2 is an engaging surface 211a that is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the base portion 21, and the surface on the tip side is a sliding surface 211b that corresponds to the sliding surface 111b of the claw portion 111 and is inclined so that the edge facing the claw portion 111 is on the root side.

[0020] When the claw portion 111 enters the slit 212 and attempts to move the base portion 21 in the direction of removal (arrow DR3), the locking surface 111a of the claw portion 111 abuts against the locking surface 211a of the connecting portion 211, restricting the movement. Furthermore, when an attempt is made to insert the base portion 21 deeper into the through-hole 1a (arrow DR4), the locking surface 211a slides while pressing against the locking surface 111a, causing the claw portion 111 to rotate in the direction of removal from the slit 212 (arrow DR5), allowing the base portion 21 to be inserted deeper. Thus, during the binding operation, the binding band 91 allows movement of the band portion 2 in the tightening direction but prevents movement in the loosening direction. This allows the band portion 2 to remain fastened to the object 8 without loosening.

[0021] In the task of bundling object 8, first, as shown in FIG. 2B, a cable tie 91 having a band portion 2 of an appropriate length for bundling object 8, which is a bundle of multiple cables, is selected. Then, band portion 2 of the selected cable tie 91 is wrapped around object 8. Next, introduction portion 22 is inserted into through-hole 1a of head portion 1, and as described above, head locking portion 11 and band locking portion 21K lock with a predetermined binding force (force pulling band portion 2) to bind object 8. This binds object 8, and the object is maintained in a stable state. In this state, the excess portion of band portion 2 that passed through head portion 1 extends from head portion 1 as unnecessary portion 21S.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 3A, the worker presses the unnecessary portion 21S against, for example, the side wall portion 1e on one side of the head portion 1 in the X direction (see arrow DR5). The cutter portion 12 is formed in a position that allows it to interfere with the side wall portion 1e when pressed. As a result, as shown in FIG. 3B, tiny cracks 21P are created in the outer surfaces of the side edge portions 214 of the band portion 2 by the sharp tips of the cutting protrusions 121 of the cutter portion 12. Next, the worker similarly presses the unnecessary portion 21S against the side wall portion 1d on the opposite side in the X direction. As a result, cracks 21P are created in the outer surfaces of the side edge portions 213 and 214 as shown in FIG. 3C.

[0023] Once cracks 21P are formed in side edge portions 213 and 214, unnecessary portion 21S is pulled, as shown in FIG. 3D, so that unnecessary portion 21S breaks from cracks 21P as starting points (see arrow DR6).

[0024] In this way, the unnecessary portion 21S, which is the excess portion after bundling, of the cable tie 91 can be broken and separated with one hand without using any tools. Furthermore, this breaking and separating operation does not require large manual movements such as bending the unnecessary portion 21S, so it can be performed even in a small work space. Furthermore, during the breaking and separating operation of the unnecessary portion 21S, the crack 21P is formed at a position corresponding to the cutter portion 12, so the broken end portion 21Q of the remaining portion after breaking and separating the unnecessary portion 21S is located in a hidden position within the head portion 1.

[0025] That is, as shown in Figure 3E, after the excess unnecessary portion 21S of the cable tie 91 used to tie the object to be tied 8 is broken and separated from the head portion 1, there is no remaining portion protruding from the head portion 1, so there is no problem such as the remaining portion coming into contact with other wires or the hand inserted during additional work.

[0026] The embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the above-described configurations, and may be modified within the scope of the present invention.

[0027] (Variation 1) The band part 2 may be the band part 2A shown in Fig. 4. The band part 2A does not have an opening 210 formed in the base part 21A, and has a band locking part 21Aa on the surface that faces the head locking part 11 when the band part 2A is inserted into the through-hole 1a of the head part 1. The multiple protruding ribs 21A1 are formed at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction of the base part 21A. The claw parts 111 of the band locking part 21Aa also engage and catch on the protruding ribs 21Aa, allowing further insertion of the band part 2 into the head part 1 and restricting movement in the removal direction, preventing the band part 2 from loosening.

[0028] As shown in Fig. 5A, the work of breaking and separating the unnecessary part 21AS of the band part 2A is performed in the same manner as in the band part 2, by pressing the edge part 21Ac of the base part 21A against one side wall part 1e (see arrow DR7), and causing a crack 21AP in the edge part 21Ac as shown in Fig. 5B by the cutting protrusion 121 of the cutter part 12. Next, as shown in Fig. 5C, by pulling the unnecessary part 21AS (see arrow DR8), a crack C propagates from the crack 21AP, allowing the band part to be broken and separated. When the band portion 2A is pulled, a crack C develops from the crack 21AP, and the crack 21AP can be broken and separated by pressing one edge portion 21Ac in the width direction against the cutter portion 12.

[0029] (Variation 2) The band portion 2A may be further modified as the band portion 2B shown in FIG. 6A. The band portion 2B has a crack guide portion 21M on its side, which is formed by a plurality of continuously formed protrusions 21Ab to form an uneven shape. Each protrusion 21Ab of the crack guide portion 21M is a triangular rib with a triangular cross section extending in the thickness direction. The angle θa formed by the opposing slopes of adjacent protrusions 21Ab is set to be smaller than the angle θb (see FIG. 6B) formed by the tip of the cutting protrusion 121 of the cutter portion 12. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6C, when the crack guide portion 21M is pressed against the cutter portion 12 of one side wall 1e of the head portion 1 (see arrow DR9), the cutting protrusion 121 pushes apart a pair of adjacent protrusions 21Ab and enters between them. Therefore, stress is concentrated at the deepest part of the base of the protrusion 21Ab, making it more likely that cracks C will occur. Modification 2 also provides the same effects as those of the embodiment and modification 1. [Explanation of symbols]

[0030] 1 Head 1a Through hole 1b,1c wall 1d,1e Side wall part 11 Head locking part 111 Claw 111a Locking surface 111b Sliding surface 12 Cutter section 121 Cut protrusion 121a Main protrusion 2, 2A, 2B band section 21,21A base 21K Band retaining part 21M Crack Guidance Section 21P, 21AP crack 21Aa Band locking part 21Ab protrusion 21Ac Edge 21A1 Convex rib 21S,21AS Unnecessary part 21Q Broken end 210 Opening 211 Connecting part 212 Slit 213,214 Side edge 22 Introduction 8 Object to be bound 91 Cable ties C Crack W2, W1a width θa,θb angle

Claims

1. a cylindrical head portion having a through hole; a narrow band portion extending from the head portion, having a first engaging portion, and formed to be insertable into the through hole; a second locking portion that flexibly protrudes into the through hole and is hooked onto the first locking portion of the inserted band portion to allow further insertion of the band portion and restrict removal of the band portion; a cutter portion having an uneven shape formed on the inner surface of the through hole at a position capable of interfering with a side surface of the inserted band portion on a tip side of the second locking portion; Equipped with cable ties.

2. The first locking portion is a plurality of slits extending in a width direction of the band portion; a plurality of connecting portions that connect a pair of side edge portions of the band portion and are formed alternately with the slits in the longitudinal direction of the band portion, the second locking portion has a claw portion that enters and is caught in the slit of the first locking portion, The cable tie according to claim 1, wherein a crack can be generated in the side edge portion by pressing the side edge portion of the band portion against the cutter portion while the second engaging portion is hooked on the first engaging portion.

3. The first locking portion is a plurality of protruding ribs extending in the width direction of the band portion and spaced apart at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction of the band portion; the second engaging portion has a claw portion that engages with and hooks onto the protruding rib of the first engaging portion, The cable tie according to claim 1, wherein a crack can be generated in the side edge portion by pressing the side edge portion of the band portion against the cutter portion while the second engaging portion is hooked on the first engaging portion.

4. The cutter portion has a cutting protrusion portion having a triangular cross-sectional shape, The side edge portion has a crack guide portion in which a protrusion having a triangular cross section extending in the thickness direction is continuously formed in the longitudinal direction, The binding band according to claim 3 , wherein an angle formed by opposing slopes of adjacent protrusions is smaller than an angle formed by tips of the cutting protrusions of the cutter portion.

Images