Fiber optic organizer with lockable trays and method of accessing a tray
First Claim
1. A fiber optic organizer comprising:
- a mounting bracket;
a plurality of organizer trays, each organizer tray having proximal and distal ends and being pivotally connected at the proximal end to the mounting bracket to be movable between a stacked position and a raised position to facilitate access to an underlying organizer tray; and
locking means positioned on the distal end of each organizer tray for locking at least two organizer trays together in the raised position to facilitate access to the underlying organizer tray and for disengaging the adjacent organizer trays when they are lifted beyond a predetermined angle.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A fiber optic organizer includes a mounting bracket and a plurality of organizer trays having proximal and distal ends. The organizer trays are pivotally connected at their proximal ends to the mounting bracket and are movable between a stacked position and a raised position to facilitate access to an underlying organizer tray. A locking mechanism is positioned on the distal end of each tray and locks at least two adjacent organizer trays together in a raised position when the organizer trays are lifted to a predetermined angle, and disengages the locked organizer trays when the organizer trays are lifted beyond the predetermined angle. The locking mechanism on each organizer tray includes a slot and an upstanding tab that is received within a slot on an overlying organizer tray when the organizer trays are raised to a predetermined angle. The tab and slot can be angled to assist in pushing an overlying organizer tray into its raised position and also assist in retaining the organizer trays in a locked position if the locked organizer trays are jarred. When raised beyond the predetermined angle, the organizer trays can separate from each other. As the organizer trays are lowered into the stacked position, the organizer trays are maintained separate from each other.
226 Citations
46 Claims
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1. A fiber optic organizer comprising:
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a mounting bracket; a plurality of organizer trays, each organizer tray having proximal and distal ends and being pivotally connected at the proximal end to the mounting bracket to be movable between a stacked position and a raised position to facilitate access to an underlying organizer tray; and locking means positioned on the distal end of each organizer tray for locking at least two organizer trays together in the raised position to facilitate access to the underlying organizer tray and for disengaging the adjacent organizer trays when they are lifted beyond a predetermined angle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A fiber optic organizer comprising
a mounting bracket; -
a plurality of organizer trays, each organizer tray having proximal and distal ends and pivotally connected at the proximal end to the mounting bracket to be movable between a stacked position and a raised position to facilitate access to an underlying organizer tray; and locking means positioned on the distal end of each organizer tray for locking at least two organizer trays together in the raised position when the organizer trays are lifted to a predetermined angle to facilitate access to the underlying organizer tray and for disengaging the organizer trays when the organizer trays are lifted beyond the predetermined angle. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A fiber optic organizer comprising:
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a mounting bracket; a plurality of organizer trays, each organizer tray having proximal and distal ends and pivotally connected at the proximal end to the mounting bracket to be movable between a stacked position and a raised position to facilitate access to an underlying organizer tray; and an angled slot and upstanding angled tab positioned on the distal end of each tray and configured so that when at least two adjacent organizer trays are raised to a predetermined angle, the angled tab on an underlying organizer tray initially engages the overlying tray to assist in pushing the organizer tray into the predetermined angle where the angled tab engages the angled slot on an overlying organizer tray to lock the adjacent trays together in the raised position to facilitate access to the underlying organizer tray. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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43. A method of accessing an organizer tray in a fiber optic organizer including a stack of organizer trays pivotally connected at their proximal ends to a mounting bracket, comprising the steps of:
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raising at least two adjacent organizer trays together in a raised position to facilitate access to an underlying organizer tray; and locking the raised organizer trays together by engaging locking mechanisms positioned on the distal ends of the trays; and disengaging the organizer trays by raising the organizer trays beyond a predetermined angle. - View Dependent Claims (44, 45, 46)
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Specification