Suspension clamp for cables having preferential bend

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9645343-B2
Application number	US-201414177706-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 11, 2014
Priority date	Aug 17, 2011
Publication date	May 9, 2017
Grant date	May 9, 2017

Abstract

Suspension clamps for fiber optic cables having a preferential bend are disclosed. The suspension clamp includes a body having a clamping region with a first radius R 1 adjacent to the clamping region and a second radius R 2 adjacent to the first radius R 1 where the first radius is greater than the second radius R 2 . In one embodiment, the suspension clamp is formed from an first (upper) portion having an attachment structure and a second (lower) portion where the body is generally symmetric about the clamping region.

First claim

We claim:

1. A suspension clamp for a cable having a preferential bend characteristic, comprising:
a body;
wherein the body has a clamping region and a first radius R 1 adjacent to the clamping region and a second radius R 2 adjacent to the first radius R 1 , wherein the first radius R 1 is greater than the second radius R 2 , and the first radius R 1 is not axisymmetric to a longitudinal centerline of the suspension clamp and the first radius is tangent to the clamping region.

2. The suspension clamp of claim 1 , wherein the body is formed from two or more portions.

3. The suspension clamp of claim 1 , further including at least one attachment structure.

4. The suspension clamp of claim 3 , the attachment structure being a tab integrally formed with the body.

5. The suspension clamp of claim 1 , further including at least one clamping mechanism.

6. The suspension clamp of claim 1 , further including a blend radius between the first radius and the second radius.

7. The suspension clamp of claim 1 , the body being generally symmetric about the clamping region.

8. The suspension clamp of claim 1 , further including a blend radius between the first radius R 1 and the second radius R 2 and a length ratio of 4 or greater, wherein the length ratio is the ratio between a half-length of the suspension clamp (1/2) to a centerline offset length that is a distance between the longitudinal centerline of the suspension clamp and a centerline of a hole in an attachment structure that acts as the pivot point for the suspension clamp.

9. The suspension claim of claim 1 , wherein the second radius R 2 is axisymmetric to the longitudinal centerline of the suspension clamp.

10. A suspension clamp for a cable having a preferential bend characteristic, comprising:
a body formed from a first portion and a second portion;
wherein the body has a clamping region and a first radius R 1 adjacent to the clamping region and a second radius R 2 adjacent to the first radius R 1 , wherein:
the first radius R 1 is greater than the second radius R 2 ;
the first radius R 1 is not axisymmetric to a longitudinal centerline of the suspension clamp and the first radius is tangent to the clamping region; and
the second radius R 2 is axisymmetric to the longitudinal centerline of the suspension clamp.

11. The suspension clamp of claim 10 , further including at least one attachment structure.

12. The suspension clamp of claim 11 , the attachment structure being a tab integrally formed with the body.

13. The suspension clamp of claim 10 , further including at least one clamping mechanism for holding the first portion with the section portion.

14. The suspension clamp of claim 10 , further including a blend radius between the first radius and the second radius.

15. The suspension clamp of claim 10 , the body being generally symmetric about the clamping region.

16. The suspension clamp of claim 10 with a mounting configuration that permits the clamp to align with the load direction so the rotation is about the Z axis.

17. The suspension clamp of claim 10 , further including a blend radius between the first radius R 1 and the second radius R 2 and a length ratio of 4 or greater, wherein the length ratio is the ratio between a half-length of the suspension clamp (1/2) to a centerline offset length that is a distance between the longitudinal centerline of the suspension clamp and a centerline of a hole in an attachment structure that acts as the pivot point for the suspension clamp.

18. A method of attaching a cable having a preferential bend characteristic to a suspension clamp, comprising the steps of:
providing a cable having a preferential bend characteristic;
placing the cable in the suspension clamp, the suspension clamp having a body with a clamping region with a first radius R 1 adjacent to a clamping region and a second radius R 2 adjacent to the first radius, wherein the first radius is greater than the second radius R 2 , and the first radius R 1 is not axisymmetric to a longitudinal centerline of the suspension clamp and the first radius is tangent to the clamping region; and
securing the suspension clamp to a structure.

19. The method of claim 18 , the body of the suspension clamp formed from two portions.

20. The method of claim 18 , the suspension clamp including at least one attachment structure.

21. The method of claim 18 , further including at least one clamping mechanism.

22. The method of claim 18 , the suspension clamp further including a blend radius between a first radius R 1 and a second radius R 2 .

23. The method of claim 18 , the body of the suspension clamp being generally symmetric about the clamping region.

24. The method of claim 18 , wherein the second radius R 2 is axisymmetric to the longitudinal centerline of the suspension clamp.

Assignees

• Corning Optical Communications LLC

Inventors

• Miller Allen Michael
• Seddon David Alan

Classifications

• G02B6/44785

  Cable clamps · CPC title

• H02G7/053 Primary

  Suspension clamps and clips for electric overhead lines not suspended to a supporting wire · CPC title

• G02B6/483

  Installation of aerial type · CPC title

• G02B6/4471 Primary

  Terminating devices (demountable connectors G02B6/3807); Cable clamps · CPC title