Attachment Collar With Integral Gripping Elements
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing attachment collars for elongate elements, such as cables or pipes, are difficult to use and pose a risk of damaging the elements during installation and maintenance due to the need for small slots and the reliance on cable ties, which can be damaged or cut during reopening.
Innovation Solution
An attachment collar with an integral array of gripping elements on its outside face and a tape secured to the belt portion, allowing for easy closure and reopening by pressing the tape down, preventing damage to the elements and ensuring secure retention independent of the elements' diameter or presence.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a cable tie is inserted into small slots at the free ends of the belt portion to close the collar, then the collar can be closed to retain cables, but the collar becomes difficult to open and requires pliers which may damage the cables
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful element (cable tie requiring pliers) is extracted and replaced with a benign closure mechanism. The patent removes the need for external tools by integrating the closure function directly into the collar structure through interlocking elements that can be operated manually without damaging the cables.
Solution Approach 2:
An intermediary mechanism (the second free end with complementary closing elements) is introduced to mediate between the user and the cable retention function. This intermediary allows safe opening and closing operations without direct manipulation of the cable tie or risk of cable damage.
2Reliability
If the collar is designed with small slots for cable tie insertion, then the collar can be closed securely, but the operator needs to use pliers and carefully manipulate the closure zone which risks damaging cables
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the potentially harmful manipulation of cable ties into a beneficial manual operation. The closing elements are designed to be manipulated by hand in a way that benefits from the same secure closure function while eliminating the harm of requiring pliers and risking cable damage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the disposable cable tie (which must be cut and risks cable damage) with a reusable integrated closure system. The closing elements can be opened and closed multiple times without degradation, eliminating the need for disposable components that pose damage risks.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the collar uses a closure system dependent on elements being present in the inside space, then the collar can close around cables, but the closure reliability varies with element diameter and presence
Solution Approach 1:
The closing elements are designed with universal functionality that works independently of what is inside the collar. The interlocking mechanism between the second free end and the belt portion provides reliable closure whether cables are present or not, and regardless of cable diameter, making the system universally applicable.
Solution Approach 2:
The collar is segmented into functional zones: the belt portion for cable reception and the separate second free end with closing elements. This segmentation allows the closing function to be independent of the cable presence, as the closure mechanism operates on the collar structure itself rather than relying on cables for actuation.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to an attachment collar for elongate elements, the collar comprising a belt portion suitable for being fastened on a support, the belt portion being open and defining an inside space suitable for receiving the elongate element. In order to close the belt portion and thus retain the elongate elements in the inside space, the collar firstly an array of gripping elements made of plastics material injected integrally with the belt portion and situated on its outside face, and secondly a tape secured to the belt portion via one of its ends, the inside face of the tape presenting retention means suitable for co-operating with the gripping elements of the belt portion in order to secure the tape and the belt portion together, the belt portion presenting stiffness that is greater than the stiffness of the tape.