CA1128309A - Marker sleeves - Google Patents
Marker sleevesInfo
- Publication number
- CA1128309A CA1128309A CA342,547A CA342547A CA1128309A CA 1128309 A CA1128309 A CA 1128309A CA 342547 A CA342547 A CA 342547A CA 1128309 A CA1128309 A CA 1128309A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- marker sleeve
- marker
- wall
- inner webs
- article
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
- G09F—DISPLAYING; ADVERTISING; SIGNS; LABELS OR NAME-PLATES; SEALS
- G09F3/00—Labels, tag tickets, or similar identification or indication means; Seals; Postage or like stamps
- G09F3/04—Labels, tag tickets, or similar identification or indication means; Seals; Postage or like stamps to be fastened or secured by the material of the label itself, e.g. by thermo-adhesion
- G09F3/06—Labels, tag tickets, or similar identification or indication means; Seals; Postage or like stamps to be fastened or secured by the material of the label itself, e.g. by thermo-adhesion by clamping action
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01B—CABLES; CONDUCTORS; INSULATORS; SELECTION OF MATERIALS FOR THEIR CONDUCTIVE, INSULATING OR DIELECTRIC PROPERTIES
- H01B7/00—Insulated conductors or cables characterised by their form
- H01B7/36—Insulated conductors or cables characterised by their form with distinguishing or length marks
- H01B7/368—Insulated conductors or cables characterised by their form with distinguishing or length marks being a sleeve, ferrule, tag, clip, label or short length strip
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
- Y10S—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10S206/00—Special receptacle or package
- Y10S206/82—Separable, striplike plural articles
Abstract
ABSTRACT
A marker sleeve having an outer wall defining a tubular body and a plurality of inner webs extending longitudinally of the tubular body. Each inner web is spaced from its overlying outer wall portion along an adjacent longitudinally extending aperture. The marker sleeve is to be positioned about an article which extends through its tubular body.
A marker sleeve having an outer wall defining a tubular body and a plurality of inner webs extending longitudinally of the tubular body. Each inner web is spaced from its overlying outer wall portion along an adjacent longitudinally extending aperture. The marker sleeve is to be positioned about an article which extends through its tubular body.
Description
~2~3~3~
This invention relates to the art of marker sleeves which comprise a tubular or ring-like member adapted to be positioned upon and encircle an object. A marker sleeve of this type often carries alpha-numeric indicia or is color coded to enable identification of the article to which it is applied.
Marker sleeves have been known to the art for many years which comprise tubular bodies having a circular cross section and a smooth outer wall, the sleeves generally being made of a slightly elastic extruded thermoplastic material. The sleeves are especially useful for applica-tion to electrical wires for identification purposes. A
marker of this type in a given size, however, generally is limited to use with a narrow size range of articles be-cause it is often difficult to stretch it sufficiently to fit about larger diameter objects, and it can only loosely fit smaller diameter articles instead of being firmly posi-tioned in place.
Various sleeve constructions have been developed to overcome some of the problems of the circular sleeve marker. One of these shown in the patent art, but of un-known commercial acceptance, is a sleeve having internal longitudinal v-shaped grooves, see Italian patent 625,732.
Other forms, which have presently gained wider commercial usage, have one or more longitudinally extending convolu-tions or loops which are intended to allow the sleeve to be expandable, see U. S. patents 3,487,574 and 3,534,777.
~ .Z~3~
The object o~ the present invention is to pro-vide a marker sleeve which provides effective engagement with the article to be marked and which can accommodate a useful range of sizes with a particular size of sleeve or a small number of sleeves of varying sizes.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a marker sleeve comprising an outer wall defining a tubular body which is to be positioned about an article and a plurality of inner webs each secured at its ends to the outer wall and extending longitudinally along the inter-ior of the tubular body for engagement with an article to which the marker sleeve is applied, the outer wall and inner webs being formed of a plastic material, the plu-rality of inner webs being equally spaced from one ano-ther about the interior of the tubular body, each inner web being separated from its respective overlying portion of the outer wall by a longitudinally extending aperture of circular, oval, rectangular or triangular cross sec-tion, and the inner webs having an initial position wherein they extend radially inwardly of the tubular body and a second position assumed upon engagement with an article in which they straighten relative to their ini-tial position and stretch their respective overlying portion of the outer wall to provide for firm engagement of the sleeve with an article to which it is applied.
The outer wall preferably has a smooth exter-ior surface, thereby eliminating the v-shaped groove of some of the prior art sleeves. Each inner web extends in-wardly so that the marker sleeve has a non-circular inter-nal construction. Each inner web contacts or engages the article which is to be marked. Thus, the new marker sleeve is held in place on most sizes of objects by deformation or straightening of an inner web which causes its adjacent out-er wall portion opposite a longitudinal aperture to stretch, and this co-.,. . ~ ; . :
~,:
.
action enables the marker sleeve to be snugly positioned on an object.
In the drawings:
Fig. 1 i~ a perspective view of a marker sleeve according to the present invention;
Fig. 2 ls a cross-sectional view of the m~rker sleeve shown in Fig. 1:
Fig. 3 is a plan view of the marker sleeve of Fig.
l;
Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the marker sleeve of Fig. 1 positioned on an object;
Fig. 5 is a 9 ide view o~ a marker sleeve o~ the present invention showing a different end wall con~truction than that of Fig. 1-4;
Fig. 6 is a cross-~ectional view of ~ mQrker sleeve of the prior art;
Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view o~ a marker ~leeve of the prlor art; and Figs. 8-12 are cross-sectional views of marker sleeves according to the present invention having different internal con~igurations than the marker sleeves of Figs. 1-5.
Several embodiments o~ the marker ~leeves of the present invention are illustrated in Figs. 1-5 and 8-12.
Figs. 1-4 illustrate a marker sleeve 1 having ~n outer wall 2 which de~ines a generally tubular body having essentially a smooth outer surface. The marker sleeve 1 may be o~ any desired length and diameter depending upon its speci~ic end-use; sizes in the range o~ 0.1 inch to 1 inch in lenght, or about 2.5 to 25 mm. long and ~rom about 1/8 inch to 1 inch or about 3 to 25 mm. in diameter are generally used. As illustrated in the cross-sectional view of Fig. 2, the marker 1 may have an oval cross-section9 although it may also have a circular cross-section i~ desired. Inner web~
3 and 4, having an arcu~te cross-section are ~oined at each o~ their ends to the inner sur~ace of the outer wall and ex-tend inwardly of the interior of the tubular marker 1, 1.e.
the inner webs are directed radially inwardly of the cross-section of the body of the sleeve. In the ~orm lllustrated .
in these figures, the inner webs 3 and 4 are positioned di-ametrically oppos~te from one another, and each occupies a minor portLon of the internal periphery o~ the marker 81eeve.
Inner web 3 iB separated from its overlying portlon 2A o~
the outer wall of the marker along a longitudinally extend-ing opening 5, and inner web 4 is s~parated from its over-lying portion 2B of the outer wall along a similar open-ing 5. The inner webs extend longitudinally or axially of the marker sleeve as best deplcted in Fib. 3. With a pair of the lnner webs 3 and 4, the internal cross-section ~f the marker 1 has a generally hour-glass configuration.
In a particularly e~fective structure, although not mandatory with the present invention, the web thlckness of the overlying outer wall portions 2A and 2B as measured in the longitudinal plane extending through the axis of the sleeve and through the centers of the apertureæ 5, shown by the reference letter C in Fig. 2 is s~mewhat less than the web thickness of the inner webs 3 and 4 as denoted by the reference letter D ln Fig. 2, ~or the purpose described herein below.
Fig. 4 illustrates the marker sleeve 1 p~sitioned about a wire 7 having an external insulation layer 8. It will be noted that the inner webs 3 and 4 have each engaged the wLre and assumed a straightened condltion upon contact with the wire, and that their overlying wall portions 2A and 2B respectively have become slightly stretched. This condi-tion ls further indicated by the elongation of the longltud-inal apertures 5. This combined straightening of the inner webs and stretching of the respective overlyin~ outer wall portions enables the marker 1 to snugly grip the wire 7 and to be held Ln place in the desired po~ition. It has been noted the marker sleeves 1 as described are able to accom-modate a range of various sizes of wires (~r simil~r ob~ect~).
Thus, with a wire of a relatlvely smaller diameter than that illustrated in Fig. 4, the inner webs 3 and 4 will form the principal engagement with the w~re; with a medlum-sized wire as shown in Fig. 4, the outer wall portions 2A and 2B/ which are thinner than the lnner webs 3 and 4J stretch when the in-3'~9-- 5 --ner webs deform or straighten and thereby provide for a gripping or locking engagement wlth the wire; and with a relatively larger diameter than that shown in Fig. 4, both the inner webs 3 and 4 and outer wall portions 2A and 2B
each stretch somewhat to firmly hold the marker in place~
As shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the marker sleeve 1 will normally carry some type of identification ~ndicia such as the numeral 7 shown in the~e figures. Any desired infor-mation may be carried on ~he marker, such as a name, trade-markJ numerical sequence~ com~ination of letters and numbers, etc. Also, i~ no speci~ic information is required, the sleeves may be made of a material which ifi color coded in order to provide for identification. It is also possible that in some instances a marker sleeve would be used to provide in-sulating material at a particular location on an electrical wire or to cover a contact element.
As best shown in Figs. 1 and 3, one end wall of the sleeve 1 may be provided with tongues 10 extending from the main body of the marker, and the opposite end wall of the marker may be provided with similarly shaped grooves 11.
When two or more markers are applied about an object, the tongues 10 of one marker may extend into the grooves 11 of an adJacent marker so that the two markers can be appropriate-ly aligned with one another i~ so desired. Other end wall constructions may be employed with the present marker sleeves, however, such as that shown in Fig~ 5 with respect to marker sleeve lA which has flat end walls 12 and 13; i.e. walls which extend perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis o~
the sleeve.
In Flg~ 8, a marker sleeve 20 has three inner webs 21, 22 and 23 each separated from an overlying por-tion of the outer wall of the sleeve along longitudinally extending apertures 24, 25 and 26. In Fig. 9, marker sleeve 30 has four inner webs 31-34 each separated from an ad~acent overlying portlon of the outer wall along longitudlnally ex-tending apertures 35.
In addition to the circular longltudinal apertures shown in Figs. 1-5 and 8-9, other configurations for the aperture~ may be employed. Thus in Fig. 10, marker sleeve 40 has triangular longitudinal openings 41 which separate in-ner webs 42 from their respective overlylng portions o~
the outer wall. Marker sleeve 50 of Fig. 11 has generally rectangular openings 51 between its inner webs 52 and their ad~acent overlying outer wall portions, andin Fig~ 12 marker sleeve 60 has oval shaped longitudinal opening~ 61 between the inner webs 62 and their overlying ad~acent outer wall portions.
The marker sleeves of the present inventlon can be made with any thermoplastic material wh~ch can be ex-truded to achieve the proper cross sectional configuration, and most usefully of a material having at least a slight degree of elasticity so that the marker sleevee can expand slightly for insertlon about articles of various size ranges.
Typical useful materials include polyvinyl chloride homo-polymers and copolymers, nylon, ABS materials, polyolefins such as polyethylene and polypropylene or copolymers, and fluorocarbons such as polytetrafluorethylene. Elastomeric material such as natural and synthetic rubbers are also suitableJ particularly those which are appropriately com-pounded to achieve the desired rigidity and slight elasticity.
Polyvinyl chloride materials are generally the most used for this type of productO Other criteria which may be used to ~elect an appropriate material for a specific marker are whether it is necessary to be resistant to moisture, solvents or other chemicals, and whether it is to be an insulating ma-terial if used for application to electrical articles such as electrical conductors and other objects.
Alpha-numeric indicia, when used in connection with the marker sleeves, may be applied by printing, hot stamping or embossment, whichever i~ most appropriate for the specific end use of the marker sleeve and best suited to the specific material Or ~hich it is made. Al~o, the m~-terial~ ~rom which the ~leeve~ are made should be capable o~ being colored, as by blending in suitable color~ng agents, if a color coded identification function i8 desired.
The marker ~leeve described above provide~ a 1~2~3r~9 combination of ~everal advantages not found with prior art ~leeves The new marker sleeve has an internal construction which re~ult~ ln secure engagement about an article to which it i~ applied. When an artlcle i8 inserted through the tub-ular body of the sleeve, the inner webs that are positioned along the lnterior and extend radially inwardly of the sleeve are forced to a stra'ghtened or upright condition relative to their initial po~ition; this movement of an inner web causes an overlying outer wall portion to stretch. It will further be noted that when the marker sleeve is formed with an oval cross-section (Flg. 2) the ma~or axis of the oval is shi~ted 90 when an article i8 inserted through the sleeve (Fig. 4). Thi~ rearrangement of the sleeve cross-~ection also is brought about by the action of the inner webs upon the outer wall portions when the sleeve i~ applied to an ob~ect. What is believed to take place i6 that as a wire or similar object displaces the inner webs along the interior of the sleeve and the inner webs force the outer uall portions into a straightened or stretched position, the force of the wire against an inner web is equalled by an equal and opposite force set up in an inner web as it re-sists the straightening action. There ls no prior art marker sleeve to date that exhlbits -this type of engage-ment with an ob~ect, and the present marker sleeve is be-lieved to engage an article in a more firm and secure man-ner than is attainable by the prior art sleeves. Also, a substantial portion of the inner ~tructure of the present marker sleeve engages an article, which further aids in re-taining the sleeve in a de3ired position, unlike some prlor art sleeves which have only minimal contact with an article.
Another advantage o~ the present marker aleeve is that it maintains a close pro~ile with the object to which it is applied. It has a smooth external configuration which will minimize interference with surrounding objects.
The desired gripping engagement is achieved by the internal construction of the marker sleeve, so that the external -outer w~ll can have a minimal diameter. This can be partic-ularly help~ul, for example, in installation3 in which a 3r~
number of wires located in the same general area are closely spaced together and each must be individually identified.
Another advantage is that, as indicated in the drawings, the outer wall of the marker sleeve of the present invention may be made with a substantially smooth exterior surface. This feature enables the application of alpha-numeric identification information about the entire outer periphery of the marker sleeve if desired for a particular installation. This differs from the prior art sleeves of Figs. 6 and 7 in which a substantial portion of the exterior peripheral surface of the marker is disrupted by folds or convolutions extending along one side of the sleeve so that only part of the sur-face is available for identification purposes. A prior art marker sleeve similar to that disclosed in U. S.
Patent No. 3,487,574 is shown in cross section Fig. 6 of the present application. This prior art marker has a longitudinal groove which may be described as an in-verted v-shape. Another prior art sleeve of -this gen-eral type, which is also used commerically, is shown in Fig. 7 of the present application and has an upright v-shaped groove extending longitudinally of the sleeve.
The foregoing and other advantages are obtained with a marker sleeve construction which can be readily manufactured by extrusion techniques using an appropriate die, has an attractive appearance, and provides effective and highly visible identification of an article.
f~ ~
This invention relates to the art of marker sleeves which comprise a tubular or ring-like member adapted to be positioned upon and encircle an object. A marker sleeve of this type often carries alpha-numeric indicia or is color coded to enable identification of the article to which it is applied.
Marker sleeves have been known to the art for many years which comprise tubular bodies having a circular cross section and a smooth outer wall, the sleeves generally being made of a slightly elastic extruded thermoplastic material. The sleeves are especially useful for applica-tion to electrical wires for identification purposes. A
marker of this type in a given size, however, generally is limited to use with a narrow size range of articles be-cause it is often difficult to stretch it sufficiently to fit about larger diameter objects, and it can only loosely fit smaller diameter articles instead of being firmly posi-tioned in place.
Various sleeve constructions have been developed to overcome some of the problems of the circular sleeve marker. One of these shown in the patent art, but of un-known commercial acceptance, is a sleeve having internal longitudinal v-shaped grooves, see Italian patent 625,732.
Other forms, which have presently gained wider commercial usage, have one or more longitudinally extending convolu-tions or loops which are intended to allow the sleeve to be expandable, see U. S. patents 3,487,574 and 3,534,777.
~ .Z~3~
The object o~ the present invention is to pro-vide a marker sleeve which provides effective engagement with the article to be marked and which can accommodate a useful range of sizes with a particular size of sleeve or a small number of sleeves of varying sizes.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a marker sleeve comprising an outer wall defining a tubular body which is to be positioned about an article and a plurality of inner webs each secured at its ends to the outer wall and extending longitudinally along the inter-ior of the tubular body for engagement with an article to which the marker sleeve is applied, the outer wall and inner webs being formed of a plastic material, the plu-rality of inner webs being equally spaced from one ano-ther about the interior of the tubular body, each inner web being separated from its respective overlying portion of the outer wall by a longitudinally extending aperture of circular, oval, rectangular or triangular cross sec-tion, and the inner webs having an initial position wherein they extend radially inwardly of the tubular body and a second position assumed upon engagement with an article in which they straighten relative to their ini-tial position and stretch their respective overlying portion of the outer wall to provide for firm engagement of the sleeve with an article to which it is applied.
The outer wall preferably has a smooth exter-ior surface, thereby eliminating the v-shaped groove of some of the prior art sleeves. Each inner web extends in-wardly so that the marker sleeve has a non-circular inter-nal construction. Each inner web contacts or engages the article which is to be marked. Thus, the new marker sleeve is held in place on most sizes of objects by deformation or straightening of an inner web which causes its adjacent out-er wall portion opposite a longitudinal aperture to stretch, and this co-.,. . ~ ; . :
~,:
.
action enables the marker sleeve to be snugly positioned on an object.
In the drawings:
Fig. 1 i~ a perspective view of a marker sleeve according to the present invention;
Fig. 2 ls a cross-sectional view of the m~rker sleeve shown in Fig. 1:
Fig. 3 is a plan view of the marker sleeve of Fig.
l;
Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the marker sleeve of Fig. 1 positioned on an object;
Fig. 5 is a 9 ide view o~ a marker sleeve o~ the present invention showing a different end wall con~truction than that of Fig. 1-4;
Fig. 6 is a cross-~ectional view of ~ mQrker sleeve of the prior art;
Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view o~ a marker ~leeve of the prlor art; and Figs. 8-12 are cross-sectional views of marker sleeves according to the present invention having different internal con~igurations than the marker sleeves of Figs. 1-5.
Several embodiments o~ the marker ~leeves of the present invention are illustrated in Figs. 1-5 and 8-12.
Figs. 1-4 illustrate a marker sleeve 1 having ~n outer wall 2 which de~ines a generally tubular body having essentially a smooth outer surface. The marker sleeve 1 may be o~ any desired length and diameter depending upon its speci~ic end-use; sizes in the range o~ 0.1 inch to 1 inch in lenght, or about 2.5 to 25 mm. long and ~rom about 1/8 inch to 1 inch or about 3 to 25 mm. in diameter are generally used. As illustrated in the cross-sectional view of Fig. 2, the marker 1 may have an oval cross-section9 although it may also have a circular cross-section i~ desired. Inner web~
3 and 4, having an arcu~te cross-section are ~oined at each o~ their ends to the inner sur~ace of the outer wall and ex-tend inwardly of the interior of the tubular marker 1, 1.e.
the inner webs are directed radially inwardly of the cross-section of the body of the sleeve. In the ~orm lllustrated .
in these figures, the inner webs 3 and 4 are positioned di-ametrically oppos~te from one another, and each occupies a minor portLon of the internal periphery o~ the marker 81eeve.
Inner web 3 iB separated from its overlying portlon 2A o~
the outer wall of the marker along a longitudinally extend-ing opening 5, and inner web 4 is s~parated from its over-lying portion 2B of the outer wall along a similar open-ing 5. The inner webs extend longitudinally or axially of the marker sleeve as best deplcted in Fib. 3. With a pair of the lnner webs 3 and 4, the internal cross-section ~f the marker 1 has a generally hour-glass configuration.
In a particularly e~fective structure, although not mandatory with the present invention, the web thlckness of the overlying outer wall portions 2A and 2B as measured in the longitudinal plane extending through the axis of the sleeve and through the centers of the apertureæ 5, shown by the reference letter C in Fig. 2 is s~mewhat less than the web thickness of the inner webs 3 and 4 as denoted by the reference letter D ln Fig. 2, ~or the purpose described herein below.
Fig. 4 illustrates the marker sleeve 1 p~sitioned about a wire 7 having an external insulation layer 8. It will be noted that the inner webs 3 and 4 have each engaged the wLre and assumed a straightened condltion upon contact with the wire, and that their overlying wall portions 2A and 2B respectively have become slightly stretched. This condi-tion ls further indicated by the elongation of the longltud-inal apertures 5. This combined straightening of the inner webs and stretching of the respective overlyin~ outer wall portions enables the marker 1 to snugly grip the wire 7 and to be held Ln place in the desired po~ition. It has been noted the marker sleeves 1 as described are able to accom-modate a range of various sizes of wires (~r simil~r ob~ect~).
Thus, with a wire of a relatlvely smaller diameter than that illustrated in Fig. 4, the inner webs 3 and 4 will form the principal engagement with the w~re; with a medlum-sized wire as shown in Fig. 4, the outer wall portions 2A and 2B/ which are thinner than the lnner webs 3 and 4J stretch when the in-3'~9-- 5 --ner webs deform or straighten and thereby provide for a gripping or locking engagement wlth the wire; and with a relatively larger diameter than that shown in Fig. 4, both the inner webs 3 and 4 and outer wall portions 2A and 2B
each stretch somewhat to firmly hold the marker in place~
As shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the marker sleeve 1 will normally carry some type of identification ~ndicia such as the numeral 7 shown in the~e figures. Any desired infor-mation may be carried on ~he marker, such as a name, trade-markJ numerical sequence~ com~ination of letters and numbers, etc. Also, i~ no speci~ic information is required, the sleeves may be made of a material which ifi color coded in order to provide for identification. It is also possible that in some instances a marker sleeve would be used to provide in-sulating material at a particular location on an electrical wire or to cover a contact element.
As best shown in Figs. 1 and 3, one end wall of the sleeve 1 may be provided with tongues 10 extending from the main body of the marker, and the opposite end wall of the marker may be provided with similarly shaped grooves 11.
When two or more markers are applied about an object, the tongues 10 of one marker may extend into the grooves 11 of an adJacent marker so that the two markers can be appropriate-ly aligned with one another i~ so desired. Other end wall constructions may be employed with the present marker sleeves, however, such as that shown in Fig~ 5 with respect to marker sleeve lA which has flat end walls 12 and 13; i.e. walls which extend perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis o~
the sleeve.
In Flg~ 8, a marker sleeve 20 has three inner webs 21, 22 and 23 each separated from an overlying por-tion of the outer wall of the sleeve along longitudinally extending apertures 24, 25 and 26. In Fig. 9, marker sleeve 30 has four inner webs 31-34 each separated from an ad~acent overlying portlon of the outer wall along longitudlnally ex-tending apertures 35.
In addition to the circular longltudinal apertures shown in Figs. 1-5 and 8-9, other configurations for the aperture~ may be employed. Thus in Fig. 10, marker sleeve 40 has triangular longitudinal openings 41 which separate in-ner webs 42 from their respective overlylng portions o~
the outer wall. Marker sleeve 50 of Fig. 11 has generally rectangular openings 51 between its inner webs 52 and their ad~acent overlying outer wall portions, andin Fig~ 12 marker sleeve 60 has oval shaped longitudinal opening~ 61 between the inner webs 62 and their overlying ad~acent outer wall portions.
The marker sleeves of the present inventlon can be made with any thermoplastic material wh~ch can be ex-truded to achieve the proper cross sectional configuration, and most usefully of a material having at least a slight degree of elasticity so that the marker sleevee can expand slightly for insertlon about articles of various size ranges.
Typical useful materials include polyvinyl chloride homo-polymers and copolymers, nylon, ABS materials, polyolefins such as polyethylene and polypropylene or copolymers, and fluorocarbons such as polytetrafluorethylene. Elastomeric material such as natural and synthetic rubbers are also suitableJ particularly those which are appropriately com-pounded to achieve the desired rigidity and slight elasticity.
Polyvinyl chloride materials are generally the most used for this type of productO Other criteria which may be used to ~elect an appropriate material for a specific marker are whether it is necessary to be resistant to moisture, solvents or other chemicals, and whether it is to be an insulating ma-terial if used for application to electrical articles such as electrical conductors and other objects.
Alpha-numeric indicia, when used in connection with the marker sleeves, may be applied by printing, hot stamping or embossment, whichever i~ most appropriate for the specific end use of the marker sleeve and best suited to the specific material Or ~hich it is made. Al~o, the m~-terial~ ~rom which the ~leeve~ are made should be capable o~ being colored, as by blending in suitable color~ng agents, if a color coded identification function i8 desired.
The marker ~leeve described above provide~ a 1~2~3r~9 combination of ~everal advantages not found with prior art ~leeves The new marker sleeve has an internal construction which re~ult~ ln secure engagement about an article to which it i~ applied. When an artlcle i8 inserted through the tub-ular body of the sleeve, the inner webs that are positioned along the lnterior and extend radially inwardly of the sleeve are forced to a stra'ghtened or upright condition relative to their initial po~ition; this movement of an inner web causes an overlying outer wall portion to stretch. It will further be noted that when the marker sleeve is formed with an oval cross-section (Flg. 2) the ma~or axis of the oval is shi~ted 90 when an article i8 inserted through the sleeve (Fig. 4). Thi~ rearrangement of the sleeve cross-~ection also is brought about by the action of the inner webs upon the outer wall portions when the sleeve i~ applied to an ob~ect. What is believed to take place i6 that as a wire or similar object displaces the inner webs along the interior of the sleeve and the inner webs force the outer uall portions into a straightened or stretched position, the force of the wire against an inner web is equalled by an equal and opposite force set up in an inner web as it re-sists the straightening action. There ls no prior art marker sleeve to date that exhlbits -this type of engage-ment with an ob~ect, and the present marker sleeve is be-lieved to engage an article in a more firm and secure man-ner than is attainable by the prior art sleeves. Also, a substantial portion of the inner ~tructure of the present marker sleeve engages an article, which further aids in re-taining the sleeve in a de3ired position, unlike some prlor art sleeves which have only minimal contact with an article.
Another advantage o~ the present marker aleeve is that it maintains a close pro~ile with the object to which it is applied. It has a smooth external configuration which will minimize interference with surrounding objects.
The desired gripping engagement is achieved by the internal construction of the marker sleeve, so that the external -outer w~ll can have a minimal diameter. This can be partic-ularly help~ul, for example, in installation3 in which a 3r~
number of wires located in the same general area are closely spaced together and each must be individually identified.
Another advantage is that, as indicated in the drawings, the outer wall of the marker sleeve of the present invention may be made with a substantially smooth exterior surface. This feature enables the application of alpha-numeric identification information about the entire outer periphery of the marker sleeve if desired for a particular installation. This differs from the prior art sleeves of Figs. 6 and 7 in which a substantial portion of the exterior peripheral surface of the marker is disrupted by folds or convolutions extending along one side of the sleeve so that only part of the sur-face is available for identification purposes. A prior art marker sleeve similar to that disclosed in U. S.
Patent No. 3,487,574 is shown in cross section Fig. 6 of the present application. This prior art marker has a longitudinal groove which may be described as an in-verted v-shape. Another prior art sleeve of -this gen-eral type, which is also used commerically, is shown in Fig. 7 of the present application and has an upright v-shaped groove extending longitudinally of the sleeve.
The foregoing and other advantages are obtained with a marker sleeve construction which can be readily manufactured by extrusion techniques using an appropriate die, has an attractive appearance, and provides effective and highly visible identification of an article.
f~ ~
Claims (9)
1. A marker sleeve comprising an outer wall defining a tubular body which is to be positioned about an article and a plurality of inner webs each secured at its ends to the outer wall and extending longitudinally along the interior of the tubular body for engagement with an article to which the marker sleeve is applied, the outer wall and inner webs being formed of a plastic material, the plurality of inner webs being equally spaced from one anot-her about the interior of the tubular body, each inner web being separated from its respective overlying portion of the outer wall by a longitudinally extending aperture of circular, oval, rectangular or triangular cross section, and the inner webs having an initial position wherein they ex-tend radially inwardly of the tubular body and a second position assumed upon engagement with an article in which they straighten relative to their initial position and stretch their respective overlying portion of the outer wall to provide for firm engagement of the sleeve with an arti-cle to which it is applied.
2. A marker sleeve according to claim 1, wherein the tubular body is of oval cross section having a major axis, and movement of the inner webs from their initial position to their second position causes the major axis of the tubular body to shift.
3. A marker sleeve according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the plurality of inner webs consists of a pair of inner webs, each extending inwardly along the interior of the marker sleeve for engagement with an article.
4. A marker sleeve according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of inner webs consists of three inner webs, each extending inwardly along the interior of the marker sleeve for engagement with an article.
5. A marker sleeve according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of inner webs consists of four inner webs, each extending inwardly along the interior of the marker sleeve for engagement with an article.
6. A marker sleeve according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the thickness of each inner web is greater than the thickness of its respective overlying portion of the outer wall, both measured in the plane including an axis of the marker sleeve and the center of an aperture between an in-ner web and its overlying outer wall portion.
7. A marker sleeve according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of inner webs consists of a pair of inner webs, each extending inwardly along the interior of the marker sleeve for engagement with an article, and wherein the thickness of each inner web is greater than the thickness of its respective overlying portion of the outer wall, both measured in the plane including an axis of the marker sleeve and the center of an aperture between an inner web and its overlying outer wall portion.
8. A marker sleeve according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of inner webs consists of three inner webs, each extending inwardly along the interior of the marker sleeve for engagement with an article, and wherein the thickness of each inner web is greater than the thickness of its respective overlying portion of the outer wall, both measured in the plane including an axis of the marker sleeve and the center of an aperture between an inner web and its overlying outer wall portion.
9. A marker sleeve according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of inner webs consists of four inner webs, each extending inwardly along the interior of the marker sleeve for engagement with an article, and wherein the thickness of each inner web is greater than the thickness of its respective overlying portion of the outer wall, both measured in the plane including an axis of the marker sleeve and the center of an aperture between an inner web and its overlying outer wall portion.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US05/972,662 US4234090A (en) | 1978-12-26 | 1978-12-26 | Marker sleeve assembly |
| US972,934 | 1978-12-26 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1128309A true CA1128309A (en) | 1982-07-27 |
Family
ID=25519971
Family Applications (2)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA342,547A Expired CA1128309A (en) | 1978-12-26 | 1979-12-21 | Marker sleeves |
| CA342,562A Expired CA1114604A (en) | 1978-12-26 | 1979-12-24 | Sleeve marker assembly |
Family Applications After (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA342,562A Expired CA1114604A (en) | 1978-12-26 | 1979-12-24 | Sleeve marker assembly |
Country Status (6)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (1) | US4234090A (en) |
| EP (1) | EP0013827B1 (en) |
| JP (1) | JPS55124176A (en) |
| AU (1) | AU5417379A (en) |
| CA (2) | CA1128309A (en) |
| DE (1) | DE2963312D1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (17)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SE452219B (en) * | 1980-09-10 | 1987-11-16 | Partex Fabriks Ab | DEVICE FOR LABELING OF ELECTRIC CABLES AND SIMILAR |
| EP0357766A4 (en) * | 1988-03-07 | 1992-05-20 | Richard A Strausser | Clip device, and methods of constructing and utilizing same |
| US4874084A (en) * | 1988-03-07 | 1989-10-17 | Hope Sexton | Color coding device, kit of components thereof, and methods of constructing and utilizing same |
| US4909692A (en) * | 1988-12-12 | 1990-03-20 | Hendren Stephen R | Electrical receptacle mounting spacers |
| IT1232484B (en) * | 1989-04-14 | 1992-02-17 | Grafoplast Spa | SUPPORT FOR THE MARKING OF ELECTRIC CABLES WITH CLOSED SLEEVE WITH PARTIAL NOTCHES |
| FR2667425B1 (en) * | 1990-10-02 | 1992-12-11 | Legrand Sa | REFERENCE BOOK, IN PARTICULAR FOR ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT, AND CORRESPONDING FILE. |
| GB2278767B (en) * | 1990-11-29 | 1995-07-12 | Miller Harness Co Inc | Training reins |
| US5896826A (en) * | 1995-12-05 | 1999-04-27 | Winer; Robert | Adjustable cable marker |
| US6277456B1 (en) | 1999-09-24 | 2001-08-21 | Brady Worldwide, Inc. | Labeling media and method of making |
| US20040126201A1 (en) * | 2002-08-09 | 2004-07-01 | Brian Kobylinski | Color-coded staples |
| US6962014B2 (en) * | 2003-04-01 | 2005-11-08 | Mccabe Suellyn A | Removable cable labeling device |
| US6929415B2 (en) * | 2003-08-12 | 2005-08-16 | Brady Worldwide, Inc. | Wire marker label media |
| US7963056B1 (en) * | 2009-01-29 | 2011-06-21 | Mangone Jr Peter G | Cable markers for use in close quarters |
| US20150214705A1 (en) * | 2014-01-27 | 2015-07-30 | Aj Solutions, Inc. | Conduit Code Bands |
| US10087573B1 (en) | 2014-05-08 | 2018-10-02 | Regina B. Casperson | Elastomeric tubular casings for drawstrings and a method of laundering accessories therewith |
| WO2016064951A1 (en) * | 2014-10-21 | 2016-04-28 | Indiana University Research And Technology Corp. | Conduit identification tags |
| USD763565S1 (en) | 2015-05-08 | 2016-08-16 | Regina B. Casperson | Elastomeric tubular drawstring casing |
Family Cites Families (9)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE1022655B (en) * | 1953-06-10 | 1958-01-16 | Paul Hellermann | Arrangement of identification rings for electrical lines |
| US3351190A (en) * | 1965-05-17 | 1967-11-07 | Sigmund J Mcguire | Packaging of sleeves |
| SE327745B (en) * | 1967-06-20 | 1970-08-31 | N Loeoef | |
| US3491472A (en) * | 1968-05-01 | 1970-01-27 | Thomas & Betts Corp | Article identification sleeve |
| US3894731A (en) * | 1973-06-14 | 1975-07-15 | Raychem Corp | Marker assembly |
| US3924738A (en) * | 1974-12-09 | 1975-12-09 | Illinois Tool Works | Multipackage device for containers and method for making same |
| US4032010A (en) * | 1975-05-27 | 1977-06-28 | Raychem Corporation | Marker assembly |
| US4123864A (en) * | 1976-01-07 | 1978-11-07 | John Thomas Batts, Inc. | Tally for article displays |
| DE2655958C3 (en) * | 1976-12-10 | 1980-06-26 | Volkmar 6412 Gersfeld Trittin | Marking device for thin wires in electrical cables |
-
1978
- 1978-12-26 US US05/972,662 patent/US4234090A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
-
1979
- 1979-12-21 CA CA342,547A patent/CA1128309A/en not_active Expired
- 1979-12-21 EP EP79303007A patent/EP0013827B1/en not_active Expired
- 1979-12-21 DE DE7979303007T patent/DE2963312D1/en not_active Expired
- 1979-12-24 CA CA342,562A patent/CA1114604A/en not_active Expired
- 1979-12-24 AU AU54173/79A patent/AU5417379A/en not_active Abandoned
- 1979-12-26 JP JP17019779A patent/JPS55124176A/en active Pending
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| JPS55124176A (en) | 1980-09-25 |
| EP0013827B1 (en) | 1982-07-07 |
| EP0013827A1 (en) | 1980-08-06 |
| AU5417379A (en) | 1980-07-03 |
| DE2963312D1 (en) | 1982-08-26 |
| US4234090A (en) | 1980-11-18 |
| CA1114604A (en) | 1981-12-22 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| MKEX | Expiry |