Releasable Cable Tie with Inverted Release Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing zip ties are not easily removable or reusable, especially in tight spaces and when wearing gloves, leading to inconvenience and potential damage to cables, particularly in large-scale applications like airliners where miles of electrical cables need to be rerouted and resecured.
Innovation Solution
A releasable cable tie design featuring a locking head with a built-in release mechanism that faces away from the secured items, allowing for easy disengagement of the strap, providing leverage and accessibility regardless of glove use, and incorporating a backplate for finger support and excess strap management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a traditional zip tie is used to secure cables, then the cables are held firmly in place, but the tie cannot be removed or loosened without cutting
Solution Approach 1:
The locking head is divided into distinct functional segments: a locking mechanism with teeth that engage the strap, and a separate release button mechanism. This segmentation allows the tie to maintain its secure locked state while providing a dedicated interface for easy release without cutting.
Solution Approach 2:
The release button mechanism allows the user to easily disengage the locking teeth from the strap teeth by pressing the button, which pivots the locking head to release the grip. This self-service mechanism enables simple removal or loosening of the tie without external tools or cutting.
2Device complexity
If the release mechanism faces toward the cables, then it is compact, but it is difficult to access when wearing gloves or in tight spaces
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of facing the release button toward the cables (conventional design), the patent inverts the orientation so that the release button faces away from the cables. This provides ample space for the user's finger or gloved hand to access and press the button, even in tight spaces, while maintaining a compact overall structure.
3Device complexity
If a releasable cable tie is designed without a backplate, then it is simpler, but the user lacks leverage and finger support when releasing the tie
Solution Approach 1:
A backplate is introduced as an intermediary element between the user's finger and the release button. The backplate provides a stable surface for the user to press against, delivering necessary leverage and support when releasing the tie, especially when wearing gloves or in tight spaces where direct finger pressure on the button would be ineffective.
Data Source
AI summary
A tie to secure items therewithin that can be loosened or released to allow the items to be removed therefrom and the tie to be reused. The tie includes an elongated strap having teeth formed thereon that engage with teeth in a locking head to allow movement in only one direction (tightening). A release pad in conjunction with a backplate enables the teeth in the locking head to be disengaged from the teeth on the elongated strap when the release pad is depressed so that the strap can move in an opposite direction (removal). The release pad and the backplate are configured to face away from the items secured within the strap to provide more room for engagement (e.g., by a user's hand) and provide necessary leverage to release the cable tie without need to press the tie against other items (e.g., cables, chassis).