Such spring collars are known, in particular, from two French patent applications filed by the Applicant on Feb. 26, 1993 and having respective titles [in translation] "Spring clamping collar" and "Spring clamping collar with improved safety", and also from French patent FR 2 495 265.
The first two of those documents disclose a first type of spring collar in which the tabs extend transversely over the entire width of the strip.
The third document describes a second type of spring collar in which the first terminal portion of the strip is provided with a central slot and has a wide tab, while the second terminal portion has a narrow tab that passes through the central slot.
Thus, the tabs are of different widths depending on which particular type of collar is concerned.
Until now, it has therefore been necessary to use special fittings or indeed special pliers as a function of the kind of collar to be clamped.
Thus, even in a single application, changing from one type of collar to the other has made it necessary either to change pliers, thereby making it necessary to acquire numerous types of tool and thus giving rise to excessive costs, or else while continuing to use the same basic pair of pliers, to remove a first pair of jaw fittings adapted to one type of collar and replace them with a second pair of jaw fittings adapted to the other type of collar.
Although using jaw fittings of two types is cheaper than using pliers of two types, it nevertheless requires pairs of jaw fittings of different types to be acquired and gives rise to considerable losses of time that reduce assembly rates. In addition, the fittings, and in particular their elements for fixing them on the jaws of a pair of pliers, such as spring clips, are parts that are relatively small, and that can therefore be awkward to handle and that are easily mislaid.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds