Electrical equipment rack having cable management arms with flexible linkage
First Claim
1. An electrical equipment rack, comprising:
- a housing assembly including a housing and a first drawer slide coupled to said housing;
a drawer assembly comprising a second drawer slide and an electrical equipment unit, said second drawer slide being coupled to said first drawer slide such that said second drawer slide can slide relative to said first drawer slide, said equipment unit being coupled to said second drawer slide such that said equipment unit can slide relative to said housing;
a first cable management arm having first and second ends, said first end of said first cable management arm being movably coupled to said housing assembly;
a second cable management arm having first and second ends, said first end of said second cable management arm being movably coupled to said drawer assembly; and
a flexible cable member having first and second ends, said first end of said flexible cable member being coupled to said second end of said first cable management arm, and said second end of said flexible cable member being coupled to said second end of said second cable management arm, such that said flexible cable member forms an arcuate shape between said second ends of said first and second cable management arms.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An electrical equipment rack includes an electrical equipment unit that slides in and out of the rack on two drawer slides. A hinge attaches a first cable management arm to the rack or to a first drawer slide, which is attached to the rack. Another hinge attaches a second cable management arm to the equipment unit or to a second drawer slide, which is attached to the equipment unit. A flexible linkage is connected between and joins each of the free ends of the two cable management arms. Cables for interconnecting two or more equipment units are attached to the cable management arms and flexible linkage. The equipment unit can be extended out the front or back of the rack for servicing, and each of the cable management arms can be rotated away from the equipment unit to permit easy access to the unit. The flexible linkage limits the bend radii of the cables without regard to the position of the cable management arms or the position of the equipment unit relative to the rack. In another embodiment, a single flexible cable management arm is used instead of the two cable management arms and flexible linkage.
163 Citations
24 Claims
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1. An electrical equipment rack, comprising:
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a housing assembly including a housing and a first drawer slide coupled to said housing;
a drawer assembly comprising a second drawer slide and an electrical equipment unit, said second drawer slide being coupled to said first drawer slide such that said second drawer slide can slide relative to said first drawer slide, said equipment unit being coupled to said second drawer slide such that said equipment unit can slide relative to said housing;
a first cable management arm having first and second ends, said first end of said first cable management arm being movably coupled to said housing assembly;
a second cable management arm having first and second ends, said first end of said second cable management arm being movably coupled to said drawer assembly; and
a flexible cable member having first and second ends, said first end of said flexible cable member being coupled to said second end of said first cable management arm, and said second end of said flexible cable member being coupled to said second end of said second cable management arm, such that said flexible cable member forms an arcuate shape between said second ends of said first and second cable management arms. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. 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 including a drawer assembly having a second drawer slide coupled to an electrical equipment unit, the second drawer slide being coupled to the first drawer slide such that the equipment unit can slide relative to the housing, the cable management assembly comprising:
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a first cable management arm having first and second ends, said first end of said first cable management arm having a first attaching mechanism for movably coupling said first cable management arm to the housing assembly;
a second cable management arm having first and second ends, said first end of said second cable management arm having a second attaching mechanism for movably coupling said second cable management arm to the drawer assembly; and
a flexible cable member having first and second ends, said first end of said flexible cable member being coupled to said second end of said first cable management arm, and said second end of said flexible cable member being coupled to said second end of said second cable management arm, such that said flexible cable member forms an arcuate shape between said second ends of said first and second cable management arms. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. An electrical equipment rack, comprising:
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a housing assembly including a housing and a first drawer slide coupled to said housing;
a drawer assembly comprising a second drawer slide and an electrical equipment unit, said second drawer slide being coupled to said first drawer slide such that said second drawer slide can slide relative to said first drawer slide, said equipment unit being coupled to said second drawer slide such that said equipment unit can slide relative to said housing;
a flexible cable management arm having first and second ends, said first end of said flexible cable management arm being coupled to said housing assembly, and said second end of said flexible cable management arm being coupled to said drawer assembly; and
a cable attached to said flexible cable management arm;
whereby, said flexible cable management arm maintains a minimum bend radius of said cable when said electrical equipment unit is slidably moved relative to said housing. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22)
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23. 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 including a drawer assembly having a second drawer slide coupled to an electrical equipment unit, the second drawer slide being coupled to the first drawer slide such that the equipment unit can slide relative to the housing, the cable management assembly comprising:
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a flexible cable management arm having first and second ends, said first end having a first coupling mechanism for coupling to the housing assembly, and said second end having a second coupling mechanism for coupling to the drawer assembly; and
said flexible cable management arm including a plurality of cable retention mechanisms for attaching a cable to said flexible cable management arm. - View Dependent Claims (24)
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Specification