BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of equipment racks.
2. Description of the Related Art
Racks, frames, cabinets, and the like (referred to generally herein as “racks”) support computer and other electronic equipment, whereas raceways route cables, wires, and the like (generally referred to hereinafter as “cables”) to and from the equipment in racks. Vertical raceways and other structures route cables vertically through or adjacent to equipment racks. Such structures may be used to route cables vertically to equipment mounted or otherwise supported by a rack from other equipment in the rack, from an overhead or underfloor raceway, or the like. These cables are generally routed in the vertical direction to a point laterally adjacent to the desired equipment and then routed in the horizontal direction to the desired equipment.
Cables may be routed by positioning the cables around elongated guide members, such as having finger-like projections. Conventional projections are regularly spaced to conform to conventional belief that the regularity of standardized rack dimensions dictates a regularity of spacing between the elongated guide members.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)
FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a variably spaced assembly according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of a version of the variably spaced assembly of FIG. 1 having alternately variably spaced projections.
FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of a version of the variably spaced assembly of FIG. 1 having alternately variably spaced projections.
FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of a version of the variably spaced assembly of FIG. 1 having irregularly variably spaced projections.
FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of a version of the variably spaced assembly of FIG. 1 having irregularly variably spaced projections.
FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary rear perspective view of the variably spaced assembly of FIG. 1 showing a vertical engagement portion.
FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary rear perspective view of two of the variably spaced assemblies of FIG. 1 prior to being coupled together vertically through the vertical engagement portion.
FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary rear perspective view of the two variably spaced assemblies of FIG. 1 shown coupled together vertically through the vertical engagement portion.
FIG. 9 is a front perspective view of a conventional rack with the variably spaced cable management assembly of FIG. 1.
FIG. 10 is a rear perspective view of the variably spaced assembly of FIG. 1.
FIG. 11 is a top plan view of the variably spaced assembly of FIG. 1.
FIG. 12 is a side elevational view showing two of the variably spaced assemblies of FIG. 1 being coupled together back-to-back horizontally through a horizontal engagement portion.
FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the two horizontally coupled variably spaced assemblies of FIG. 12 further coupled to the conventional rack.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
A variably spaced cable management assembly according to the present invention is used in conjunction with a conventional equipment rack to route cables between and otherwise to or from equipment stored in the conventional rack. Implementations of the variably spaced assembly include various elongated guide members projecting from a rear wall of the variably spaced assembly fashioned somewhat like teeth of a comb although spaced from each other to variable degree. As cables are routed through spaces of variable dimension between the elongated guide members, the elongated guide members are used to position and retain the cables.
An implementation of a variably spaced cable management assembly 100 according to the present invention is shown in FIG. 1 as having a rear wall 102, and a first column 104 and a second column 106 of elongated guide members 108 projecting forwardly therefrom. The elongated guide members 108 of the first column 104 are shown interspaced in juxtaposition along a first side between the top end and the bottom end of the rear wall 102. The elongated guide members 108 of the second column 106 are shown interspaced in juxtaposition along a second side between the top end and the bottom end of the rear wall 102. At each end of the rear wall 102 is a vertical engagement portion 110, each used to vertically stack and couple two of the variably spaced assemblies 100 together.
Versions of the variably spaced assembly 100 are shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. In FIG. 2, the variably spaced assembly 100 is shown with the elongated guide members 108 having variable spacing between each other that alternate between being spaced apart an “A” amount and a “B” amount, wherein the “B” amount is greater than the “A” amount. In FIG. 3, the variably spaced assembly 100 is shown with the elongated guide members 108 having variable spacing between each other that alternate between being spaced apart a “C” amount and a “D” amount. In at least some of the implementations, the variable spacing is sized to still allow for placement of equipment with standard rack unit dimensions into the variably spaced assembly 100. In some implementations, the “A” amount can be equal to 1.70 inches and the “B” amount can be equal to 1.80 inches. As depicted in FIG. 3, in other, implementations, there can be greater discrepancies between the “C” amount and the “D” amount.
Versions of the variably spaced assembly 100 are shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5. In FIG. 4, the variably spaced assembly 100 is shown with the elongated guide members 108 having variable spacing between each other by an irregular sequential occurrence of being spaced apart an “A” amount and a “B” amount, wherein the “B” amount is greater than the “A” amount. In FIG. 5, the variably spaced assembly 100 is shown with the elongated guide members 108 having variable spacing between each other by an irregular sequential occurrence of being spaced apart an “E” amount and a “F” amount.
Better shown in FIGS. 6-8, the vertical engagement portions 110 each have a plurality of teeth 114 alternatingly positioned to form a channel 115 therebetween to receive the rear wall 102 along with teeth of another variably spaced assembly 100 to be vertically coupled. The teeth 114 are arranged at the top end at alternate positions from the teeth at the bottom end. Each of the teeth 114 have an elongated vertical protrusion 116 that is positioned to engage with a corresponding groove 117 on the rear wall 102 of the other variably spaced assembly 100 to be vertically coupled.
As shown in FIG. 9, the variably spaced assembly 100 can be positioned adjacent and along a vertical dimension of a conventional equipment rack 10 through attachment with brackets 126 to a first one of the support posts 12 of the equipment rack. The equipment rack 10 is depicted as having equipment attached thereto extending between the first support post 12 and a second support post 16.
As shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, the rear wall 102 has apertures 118 that each receives a pin 120 of a horizontal engagement portion 122 extending rearward from the rear wall of another one of the variably spaced assemblies 100 for horizontal coupling between the two variably spaced assemblies. The rear wall 102 also has apertures 124 to provide cable access as shown in FIG. 12; two of the variably spaced assemblies 100 are horizontally coupled together through their respective horizontal engagement portions 122 to form a raceway area 128 therebetween. The horizontally coupled pair of the variably spaced assemblies 100 is further shown in FIG. 13 as being affixed adjacent to the conventional communication rack 10.
It will therefore be readily understood by those persons skilled in the art that the present invention is susceptible of broad utility and application. Many embodiments and adaptations of the present invention other than those herein described, as well as many variations, modifications and equivalent arrangements, will be apparent from or reasonably suggested by the present invention and the foregoing description thereof, without departing from the substance or scope of the present invention. Accordingly, while the present invention has been described herein in detail in relation to its preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that this disclosure is only illustrative and exemplary of the present invention and is made merely for purposes of providing a full and enabling disclosure of the invention. The foregoing disclosure is not intended or to be construed to limit the present invention or otherwise to exclude any such other embodiments, adaptations, variations, modifications and equivalent arrangements, the present invention being limited only by the claims appended hereto and the equivalents thereof.
Patent Grant
7963486
