Hanger assemblies and cabling management systems and methods including the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9407080-B2
Application number	US-201213344949-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 6, 2012
Priority date	Jan 7, 2011
Publication date	Aug 2, 2016
Grant date	Aug 2, 2016

Abstract

A hanger assembly for mounting an enclosure on an elongate support includes a body, first and second arms, and first and second attachment devices. The body is configured to be secured to the enclosure. The first and second arms each have opposed upper and lower ends. The lower ends are each pivotally secured to the body. The first and second attachment devices are located on the upper ends of the first and second arms, respectively, and are configured to secure the first and second arms, respectively, to the elongate support. The first and second arms can be pivoted about their lower ends to selectively adjust a spacing between the body and the elongate support to thereby selectively adjust a distance between the enclosure and the elongate support.

First claim

That which is claimed is:

1. A hanger assembly for mounting a cable splice enclosure on an elongate support including a strand, the hanger assembly comprising:
a body having a top wall, and two, opposite, side walls, each of the two side walls defining coupling slots therein;
clamps positioned within the coupling slots to secure the body to a portion of the enclosure, wherein the enclosure includes a housing moveable between an open configuration where an interior of the housing can be accessed and a closed configuration where the interior of the housing is enclosed;
first and second arms each having opposed upper and lower ends, the lower ends each being pivotally secured to the sides of the body at first and second pivotal connection points, the first and second pivotal connection points providing a pivotal relationship between the first and second arms and the enclosure, respectively, that allows pivotal movement between the enclosure and the first and second arms;
first and second attachment devices on the upper ends of the first and second arms, respectively, and being configured to secure the first and second arms, respectively, to the strand, the first and second attachment devices are engaged to the strand and slide thereon as the first and second arms pivot about the lower ends, respectively, to allow the enclosure to be moved between a first adjacent position and a second offset position;
wherein in the first adjacent position the first and second pivotal connection points are closer to the strand and in the second offset position the first and second pivotal connection points are farther from the strand, wherein the enclosure is moveable between the first adjacent position and the second offset position while the housing remains in the closed configuration; and
wherein each of the first and second arms includes an intermediate section extending vertically between the lower end and the upper end, and an upper section extending laterally between the intermediate section and the associated one of the first and second attachment devices, whereby the body and the first and second arms define a cable passage between the first and second attachment devices and the body to receive a cable or cables with a cable splice enclosed within the enclosure.

2. The hanger assembly of claim 1 wherein the first and second pivotal connection points are spaced apart along a length of the body.

3. The hanger assembly of claim 2 wherein each of the first and second arms is rigid from its lower end to its upper end.

4. The hanger assembly of claim 3 wherein:
the first arm defines a first arm axis;
the second arm defines a second arm axis;
the first and second pivot axes define a pivot point axis extending through each of the first and second pivot axes; and
when the hanger assembly is secured to the strand, the first and second arm axes, and the pivot point axis collectively define a trapezoid wherein the support axis and the pivot point axis are substantially parallel and the first and second arm axes are nonparallel.

5. The hanger assembly of claim 3 wherein:
the first arm defines a first arm axis;
the second arm defines a second arm axis;
the first and second pivot axes define a pivot point axis extending through each of the first and second pivot axes; and
when the hanger assembly is secured to the strand, the first and second arm axes, and the pivot point axis collectively define a parallelogram wherein the support axis and the pivot point axis are substantially parallel and the first and second arm axes are substantially parallel.

6. The hanger assembly of claim 3 wherein the first and second arms cross one another.

7. The hanger assembly of claim 1 including a crossbrace mounted on the first and second arms to maintain the first and second arms in a selected configuration.

8. The hanger assembly of claim 1 wherein the lower ends of the first and second arms are pivotable about the same pivot axis.

9. The hanger assembly of claim 1 including:
a third arm having opposed upper and lower ends, the lower end being pivotally secured to the body; and
a third attachment device on the upper end of the third arm configured to secure the third arm to the strand.

10. The hanger assembly of claim 1 wherein the first and second attachment devices are cable clamps.

11. The hanger assembly of claim 1 , wherein an orientation of the enclosure remains the same relative to the strand while the enclosure is moved between the first adjacent position and the second offset position.

12. A mounted enclosure assembly comprising:
an elongate support including a strand;
a cable splice enclosure;
a hanger assembly including:
a body having a top wall, and two, opposite, side walls, each of the two side walls defining coupling slots therein;
clamps positioned within the coupling slots to secure the body to a portion of the enclosure, wherein the enclosure includes a housing moveable between an open configuration where an interior of the housing can be accessed and a closed configuration where the interior of the housing is enclosed;
first and second arms each having opposed upper and lower ends, the lower ends each being pivotally secured to the side walls of the body at first and second pivotal connection points, the first and second pivotal connection points providing a pivotal relationship between the first and second arms and the enclosure, respectively, that allows pivotal movement between the enclosure and the first and second arms;
first and second attachment devices on the upper ends of the first and second arms, respectively, and securing the first and second arms, respectively, to the strand, the first and second attachment devices are engaged to the strand and slide thereon as the first and second arms pivot about the lower ends, respectively, to allow the enclosure to be moved between a first adjacent position and a second offset position;
wherein in the first adjacent position the first and second pivotal connection points are closer to the strand and in the second offset position the first and second pivotal connection points are farther from the strand, wherein the enclosure is moveable between the first adjacent position and the second offset position while the housing remains in the closed configuration; and
wherein each of the first and second arms includes an intermediate section extending vertically between the lower end and the upper end, and an upper section extending laterally between the intermediate section and the associated one of the first and second attachment devices, whereby the body and the first and second arms define a cable passage between the first and second attachment devices and the body to receive a cable or cables; and

a bundle of cables extending between the strand and the body through the cable passage;
wherein a cable splice is enclosed within the enclosure.

13. The mounted enclosure assembly of claim 12 wherein each of the first and second arms is rigid from its lower end to its upper end.

14. The mounted enclosure assembly of claim 12 wherein:
the strand is suspended from a plurality of support structures; and
the bundle of cables is lashed to the strand.

15. The mounted enclosure assembly of claim 13 wherein:
the lower ends of the first and second arms are pivotable about first and second pivot axes, respectively, at their lower ends;
the first and second pivot axes are spaced apart along a length of the body;
the strand defines a support axis;
the first arm defines a first arm axis;
the second arm defines a second arm axis;
the first and second pivot

Assignees

• Allen Barry Wayne
• Commscope Technologies Llc

Inventors

• Allen Barry Wayne

Classifications

• H01B9/008

  for overhead application · CPC title

• H02G7/053

  Suspension clamps and clips for electric overhead lines not suspended to a supporting wire · CPC title

• H02G7/00

  Overhead installations of electric lines or cables (installations of bus-bars H02G5/00) · CPC title

• H02G15/043

  with end caps, e.g. sleeve closed at one end · CPC title

• H02G7/06 Primary

  Suspensions for lines or cables along a separate supporting wire, e.g. S-hook · CPC title