Strap for suspending wires that is reconfigurable for various attachment systems

{
  "publication_number": "US9709192B1",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "B1",
  "title": "Strap for suspending wires that is reconfigurable for various attachment systems",
  "abstract": "A strap assembly which may be attached to an overhead hangar is molded with three components used for suspending wires or pipes from an overhead structure such that the three components may be sold and shipped as a single unit, then singulated by the user to use separately. One component is a strap for forming a saddle to hold wires, pipes, and the like; a second component is a dual-function fastener which may be used to permanently attach the strap to a connector, such as a multifunction clip and temporarily fasten the other end of the strap to itself; a third component is a protective tip which may be pushed onto the end of the hangar. The dual-function fastener may be used alone for other purposes.",
  "claims": [
    "1. An apparatus for suspending items under an overhead supporting structure, comprising: a single piece strap assembly, comprising: a strap for receiving one or more items, including a first hole at a first end and a second hole at a second end of the strap, a dual-function fastener, which may be detached from the strap assembly, and a protective tip which may be detached from the strap assembly; a hanger which may be connected to the overhead supporting structure with a free end descending therefrom; and a connector for connecting the strap to the hanger, wherein the dual-function fastener may be removed from the strap assembly and inserted into the first hole on the first end of the strap and a matching hole in the connector, the strap wrapped around the items such that an end of the dual-function fastener may be inserted into the second hole on the second end of the strap thereby forming a saddle, and further wherein the protective tip may be detached from the single piece strap assembly and pushed onto the free end of the hanger.",
    "2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the items comprise communication wires.",
    "3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the items comprise wires for conducting electrical power.",
    "4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the hanger is a bendable wire.",
    "5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the hanger is a rigid bar.",
    "6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the connector is a multifunction clip."
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "In the construction of buildings, both residential and commercial, it is very common to have runs of several long items throughout the structure. Examples of the items include cables, UTP phone line, coax cable, CAT5, CAT6, electrical wire or other electrically-conducting wire, pipes, tubing, conduit, and fiber optic cables. Whether various supported elements mayor may not be mixed in a common support structure is a matter for building codes; it is not a limitation of the instant invention.\n\nElectrical wire is high voltage, and typically run from a junction box to various end points. In some areas low voltage communications wires and electrical power wires may be commonly supported provided they are separated. For example, the California Electrical Code 800.133(A)(1) allows the two to be mixed specifying they are “... separated from all of the conductors of communications circuits by a permanent barrier or listed divider.”\n\nParticularly in a commercial building, there may be a large number of wires in a common run. At certain points a subset of the wires may go in a different direction, thus the number of wires in a given segment can be very variable. Building codes generally require devices which restrain a bundle of communications wires to be no more than five feet apart. Requirements for spacing and clearance, such as space under a ceiling or raised floor, are generally given by the document ANSI/TIA/EIA 569-A. The document states that a suspension system may be located above or below a ceiling, within an access floor, in a plenum or non-plenum space.",
  "cpc": [
    "F16L 3/14",
    "B65B 1/00",
    "B65B 13/02",
    "F16B 19/00",
    "F16B 2/08",
    "F16B 2/246",
    "F16L 3/1218",
    "F16L 3/137",
    "F16L 3/233",
    "H02G 3/32"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "F16B 19/00",
    "F16L 3/06",
    "F16L 3/14",
    "F16L 3/233"
  ],
  "assignees": [
    "Com Dangles LLC"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "David Vance Newcomb",
    "Glen William Osterhout",
    "Charles H. Reynolds"
  ],
  "filing_date": "2015-06-30",
  "publication_date": "2017-07-18",
  "grant_date": "2017-07-18",
  "priority_date": "2011-04-08",
  "application_number": "US-201514754687-A",
  "family_id": "59297786",
  "cited_by_count": 14,
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}