Features for cable managers and other electronic equipment structures

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10271452-B2
Application number	US-201715843879-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 15, 2017
Priority date	Jul 26, 2016
Publication date	Apr 23, 2019
Grant date	Apr 23, 2019

Abstract

A cable manager includes a backbone assembly and at least one side wall extending from the backbone assembly. The at least one side wall optionally includes one or more cable finger units. The backbone assembly includes a spine member having an extruded construction. The spine member includes one or more channels extending substantially an entire length thereof to facilitate easy attachment, removal and/or repositioning of a structure relative to the spine member. The cable manager optionally includes an accessory rod, a half-spool assembly, a cable finger accessory, a strap/buckle accessory, and/or a door assembly having an interference-free hinge set.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A cable manager and accessory system comprising:
a backbone assembly including
upper and lower lateral members arranged in parallel relationship, and
a spine member interconnected between the upper and lower lateral members and oriented perpendicularly relative thereto, the spine member having an extruded construction and a generally uniform cross-sectional shape along its length;

first and second upper support arms extending forwardly from opposite ends of the upper lateral member of the backbone assembly and in a parallel relationship with one another;
first and second lower support arms extending forwardly from opposite ends of the lower lateral member of the backbone assembly and in a parallel relationship with one another;
a first side wall interconnected between the first upper and lower support arms;
a second side wall interconnected between the second upper and lower support arms;
one or more first cable finger units that extend forwardly from the first side wall; and
one or more second cable finger units that extend forwardly from the second side wall;
wherein the one or more first cable finger units and the one or more second cable finger units are in general alignment with one another and define a cable management space therebetween, the cable management space being located in front of the spine member;
wherein the spine member includes a pair of adjacent T-shaped ribs extending along its length, each T-shaped rib including an inward-facing ledge that extends toward the other T-shaped rib and an outward-facing ledge that extends in a direction opposite to that of the inward-facing ledge, the pair of adjacent T-shaped ribs together defining a T-slot channel therebetween; and
wherein an accessory structure is secured against one or more of the T-shaped ribs of the spine member and is slidably maneuverable therealong such that a position of the accessory structure relative to the spine member is infinitely adjustable along at least a portion of the length of the spine member.

2. The cable manager and accessory system of claim 1 , wherein each of the upper and lower lateral members has an extruded construction and a generally uniform cross-sectional shape.

3. The cable manager and accessory system of claim 2 , wherein
each of the spine member and the upper and lower lateral members utilize the same extruded construction such that the cross-sectional shape of each of the upper and lower lateral members is the same as that of the spine member.

4. The cable manager and accessory system of claim 3 , wherein the spine member further includes a fastener screw-in channel extending along its length for accommodating a fastener at either end thereof.

5. The cable manager and accessory system of claim 4 , further comprising a mounting bracket secured at each end of the spine member via a respective first fastener received within the fastener screw-in channel of the spine member.

6. The cable manager and accessory system of claim 5 , wherein each mounting bracket is secured to one of the upper and lower lateral members via a respective second fastener that extends through an aperture of the mounting bracket and is received within a spring nut positioned within the T-slot channel of the corresponding lateral member.

7. The cable manager and accessory system of claim 6 , wherein the spine member is slidably maneuverable along the upper and lower lateral members such that a position of the spine member relative to the upper and lower lateral members is infinitely adjustable along at least a portion of the length of the upper and lower lateral members and such that the spine member remains oriented perpendicularly relative to the upper and lower lateral members.

8. The cable manager and accessory system of claim 1 , wherein the accessory structure is an accessory rod assembly, the accessory rod assembly comprising:
a base member secured against at least one of the pair T-shaped ribs of the spine member, the base member defining a socket; and
an accessory rod, an end of which is received within the socket, that extends forwardly from the spine member into the cable management space.

9. The cable manager and accessory system of claim 8 , wherein the accessory rod assembly further comprises:
at least one hook protruding from a rear of the base member, the at least one hook being positioned against one side of one of the pair of adjacent T-shaped ribs of the spine member; and
a rotatable knob having a threaded shaft that is received within a threaded portion of the base member, a distal end of the threaded shaft being positioned against the other side of the one of the pair of adjacent T-shaped ribs of the spine member, thereby clamping the base member of the accessory rod assembly to the spine member.

10. The cable manager and accessory system of claim 8 , wherein:
the accessory rod has an extruded construction and a generally uniform, at least partially cylindrical, cross-sectional shape;
the at least partially cylindrical cross-sectional shape of the accessory rod being defined by two opposed arcuate portions interconnected by a midsection portion; and
at each side of the at least partially cylindrical cross-sectional shape of the accessory rod, adjacent facing edges of the opposed arcuate portions define a drop-in T-slot channel that extends along a length of the accessory rod.

11. The cable manager and accessory system of claim 10 , further comprising at least one half-spool accessory snap-fitted around one of the two opposed arcuate portions of the accessory rod for routing and/or arranging cables.

12. The cable manager and accessory system of claim 11 , wherein the at least one half-spool accessory is slidably maneuverable along the length of the accessory rod.

13. The cable manager and accessory system of claim 10 , further comprising at least one cable finger accessory secured to the accessory rod.

14. The cable manager and accessory system of claim 13 , wherein the at least one cable finger accessory comprises:
first and second clamp sections connected together via a first hinge such that the first and second clamp sections are permitted to rotate relative to one another;
a cable finger extending from at least one of the clamp sections; and
a clamp mechanism that couples distal ends of the pair of clamp sections together around a section of the accessory rod, thereby clamping the at least one cable finger accessory to the accessory rod and arranging the at least one cable finger accessory in an installed configuration.

15. The cable manager and accessory system of claim 1 , wherein the accessory structure is a cable strap/buckle accessory for bundling and/or retaining cables, the cable strap/buckle accessory including a mounting boss received within the T-slot channel of the spine member.

16. The cable manager and accessory system of claim 15 , wherein the cable strap/buckle accessory includes a buckle that is rotatably paired with a buckle support.

17. The cable manager and accessory system of claim 16 , wherein:
the buckle includes a generally round socket;
the buckle support includes a generally round snap; and
the generally round snap is received within the socket by snap-fit to secure the buckle to the buckle support.

18. The cable manager and accessory system of claim 1 , wherein:
the first side wall is a left side wall disposed at a left side;
the first upper and lower support arms are, respectively, top and bottom left door supports;
the second side wall is a right side wall disposed at a rig

Assignees

• Chatsworth Prod Inc

Inventors

• Hennrich Preston Ellis
• Lawrence James I
• Robertson John W
• Fraga Johnny C
• Davis Jared Keith
• Krietzman William Drew

Classifications

• H02G3/045

  provided with perforations or slots permitting introduction or exit of wires · CPC title

• F16B37/045

  specially adapted for fastening in channels, e.g. sliding bolts, channel nuts · CPC title

• H04Q1/06

  Cable ducts or mountings specially adapted for exchange installations · CPC title

• H04Q1/02

  Constructional details · CPC title

• H02G3/04

  Protective tubing or conduits, e.g. cable ladders or cable troughs · CPC title