CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is the U.S. national phase of International Application No. PCT/GB2018/050399 filed Feb. 14, 2018, which claims priority from Application No. 1702830.9 filed Feb. 22, 2017 in the United Kingdom. The entire contents of these applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention concerns apparatus for connecting an elongate flexible member to an item.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In a number of applications it is necessary for a flexible elongate member such as a cable to be connected to an item. It is desirable for the elongate member to be readily connectable to the item, but to be protected from damage in use. This is particularly the case where the elongate member is likely to be caused to move relative to the item, such as for instance when located subsea. In such a location the elongate member may be subject to tidal and/or wave movement and other movement of the water, which potentially could cause the elongate member to be damaged.

Such applications can include cables extending to marine wind turbines, oil rigs or such structures. Such cables are often mounted to tubes, often referred to as “J Tubes” which are provided on the exterior of support structures such as legs. It is required to provide a readily usable connector for the mounting of for instance cables to such tubes. A number of prior arrangements have been proposed. These have often not provided sufficient protection to the elongate member. They have also often been difficult to connect, and if necessary to subsequently disconnect, in such environments.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided connection apparatus for mounting a cable to a structure, the apparatus including a receiving member on the structure, the receiving member comprising a cylindrical hollow body with a diverging mouth, a latch member movably mounted on the outside of the body with a latch part selectively extending into the body, and a mounting member through which the cable can extend, the mounting member being locatable in the body with the latch part selectively engageable with a retaining formation on the mounting member to retain the mounting member in the body and hence the cable mounted to the structure.

The apparatus may be arranged such that the latch part automatically engages with the mounting member as the mounting member is introduced into the body.

The retaining formation may comprise a circumferential formation, which may comprise a groove.

The latch member may be selectively movable between an engagement position in which the latch part can engage with the mounting member, and a disengagement position in which the latch part is clear of the mounting member such that the mounting member can be withdrawn from the hollow body.

The latch member may be pivotally mounted on the outside of the hollow body and may be urged to an engagement position. A pivot pin may be provided on the latch member engageable with a pivot formation on the outside of the hollow member. The latch part may be provided on the latch member on one side of the pivot formation, with a resilient member on the other side of the pivot formation urging the latch part into the mounting member.

The pivot pin may be selectively removable from the pivot formation to permit release of the latch member from the hollow body. The pivot pin may include a formation to enable the pin to break to permit removal from the pivot formation. Alternatively or in addition, a removable fastening member may be provided on the pivot pin to retain the pivot pin on the pivot formation.

A link formation may be provided on the latch member to permit the latch member to be moved to a disengagement position by remote operation. The link formation may be provided on said one side of the pivot formation, and the link formation may be provided on the opposite side of the latch member to the pivot formation. The link formation may comprise an opening, and line means may be provided extending from the link formation.

The latch part may have an outwardly facing inclined edge, with which inclined edge the mounting member is engageable when entering the hollow body, such that the latch part is urged outwardly until the latch part engages with the retaining formation.

The latch part may have an at least generally radially aligned edge facing inwardly to retain the mounting member in the hollow body once the latch part engages with the retaining formation.

A stop formation may be provided in the hollow body against which stop formation the distal end of the mounting member is engageable when fully in the hollow body. A seal member may be provided on the hollow body against which seal member the mounting member engages when fully in the mounting member. The seal member may include a profiled resilient member.

The mounting member may have a converging distal end. The part of the hollow member which receives the distal end of the mounting member may be correspondingly profiled.

The mounting member may include a first distal part and a second proximal part. The distal part may be more rigid than the proximal part.

Formations may be provided within the hollow body to urge the mounting member into a required alignment as it enters into the hollow body.

