Electricity: electrical systems and devices – Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical... – For electrical power distribution systems and devices
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-21
2001-12-04
Thompson, Gregory (Department: 2835)
Electricity: electrical systems and devices
Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical...
For electrical power distribution systems and devices
C174S069000, C174S0720TR, C174SDIG009, C361S725000, C361S727000, C361S826000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06327139
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention pertains to electrical equipment housings or “racks” for receiving slidably mounted electrical equipment units and, more particularly, to a cable management arm and flexible linkage assembly for use in such racks.
It is well known to mount one or more electrical equipment units, each contained in its own housing, in a larger housing called a “rack.” The rack is usually vertically oriented so that one equipment unit is mounted above or below another equipment unit. Each equipment unit may be rigidly mounted in the rack, or it may be slidably attached to the rack through the use of well known drawer slides, which permit each equipment unit to slide (within the limits of the drawer slides) out of the front or the back of the rack to facilitate installation, removal, servicing and adjustment of the equipment unit. Electrical or optical cables are used to interconnect one equipment unit to another and are usually routed along the back of the rack, which may be uncovered or accessible through a door that is hinged to the back of the rack.
Because of the sheer number of cables that may be located in the back of the rack, problems are frequently encountered when attempting to service, adjust or remove an existing equipment unit in the rack, or to install a new equipment unit in the rack. The severity of the problem increases when drawer slides are used, and the problem can become particularly acute when very deep (distance from front to back) equipment units are mounted in the rack, because deeper units require more travel when sliding the unit in or out of the rack. Adding to this problem are the cables themselves, which may be thick and stiff and, consequently, not easily bendable in the limited space found at the back of the rack. Furthermore, some cables, such as fiber optic cables, require minimum bend radii to insure that there is no breakage of the glass fibers in the optical cables.
Accordingly, the invention described below is a rack and cable management assembly that can manage a large number of cables. The cable management assembly organizes and collects the cables in appropriate cable groups and allows the cables to swing out of the way to permit access to each equipment unit for servicing and adjustment, or for the installation or removal of an equipment unit. The cable management assemble also provides these advantages while permitting each equipment unit to slide a considerable distance out the front or back of the rack. Furthermore, the cable management system described below also limits the bend radius of the cables as each equipment unit slides in and out of the rack on its drawer slides.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Briefly, the invention is an electrical equipment rack having a housing and a first drawer slide connected to the housing. A drawer assembly includes a second drawer slide and an electrical equipment unit, and the second drawer slide is connected to the first drawer slide such that the second drawer slide can slide relative to the first drawer slide. The equipment unit is connected to the second drawer slide such that the equipment unit can slide relative to the housing. A first end of a first cable management arm is movably connected to the housing. A first end of a second cable management arm is movably connected to the drawer assembly. A flexible cable member has first and second ends, wherein the first end of the flexible cable member is connected to the second end of the first cable management arm, and the second end of the flexible cable member is connected to the second end of the second cable management arm, such that the flexible cable member forms an arcuate shape between the second ends of the first and second cable management arms.
In another embodiment, the invention is a cable management assembly for use with an electrical equipment rack having a first drawer slide coupled to a housing and a drawer assembly having a second drawer slide coupled to an electrical equipment unit. The second drawer slide is connected to the first drawer slide such that the equipment unit can slide relative to the housing. The cable management assembly includes a first cable management arm having first and second ends, the first end of the first cable management arm has a first attaching mechanism for movably coupling the first cable management arm to the housing. A second cable management arm has first and second ends and the first end of the second cable management arm has a second attaching mechanism for movably coupling the first cable management arm to the drawer assembly. A flexible cable member has first and second ends. The first end of the flexible cable member is connected to the second end of the first cable management arm, and the second end of the flexible cable member is connected to the second end of the second cable management arm, such that the flexible cable member forms an arcuate shape between the second ends of the first and second cable management arms.
In another embodiment, the invention is an electrical equipment rack including a housing assembly having a housing and a first drawer slide coupled to the housing. A drawer assembly includes a second drawer slide and an electrical equipment unit. The second drawer slide is coupled to the first drawer slide such that the second drawer slide can slide relative to the first drawer slide. The equipment unit is coupled to the second drawer slide such that the equipment unit can slide relative to the housing. A flexible cable management arm has first and second ends, wherein the first end of the flexible cable management arm is coupled to the housing assembly, and the second end of the flexible cable management arm is coupled to the drawer assembly. A cable is attached to the flexible cable management arm. The flexible cable management arm maintains a minimum bend radius of the cable when the electrical equipment unit is slidably moved relative to the housing.
In yet another embodiment, the invention is a cable management assembly for use with an electrical equipment rack including a housing assembly having a first drawer slide coupled to a housing, and further including a drawer assembly having a second drawer slide coupled to an electrical equipment unit. The second drawer slide is coupled to the first drawer slide such that the equipment unit can slide relative to the housing. The cable management assembly includes a flexible cable management arm having first and second ends. The first end has a first coupling mechanism for coupling to the housing assembly, and the second end has a second coupling mechanism for coupling to the drawer assembly. The flexible cable management arm includes a plurality of cable retention mechanisms for attaching a cable to the flexible cable management arm.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3335326 (1967-08-01), Bonin et al.
patent: 5460441 (1995-10-01), Hastinngs et al.
patent: 5726866 (1998-03-01), Allen
Champion David Frederick
Johnson Kevin D.
Miller Michael Sven
Myrto Glenn Edward
Trumbo Brian Alan
International Business Machines - Corporation
McKinley Martin J.
Thompson Gregory
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