GB2233163A

GB2233163A - Flexible cable guide

Info

Publication number: GB2233163A
Application number: GB9012055A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Zore Subazzoli; Alberto Albertini
Original assignee: Coopsette SCARL
Current assignee: Coopsette SCARL
Priority date: 1989-06-01
Filing date: 1990-05-30
Publication date: 1991-01-02
Anticipated expiration: 2010-05-30
Also published as: FR2647977B3; FR2647977A3; IT8921187V0; GB2233163B; GB9012055D0; IT216638Z2

Abstract

A cable guide for use with office furniture comprises upper and lower terminal elements 3, 5, a flexible guide 2 formed of elements 4 having C-shaped parallel ribs 8 (Fig 3) and T-shaped elements 10 to provide channels 11 for receiving electrical cables 7 (Fig 2), elements 4 having a hole 21 for receiving a flexible cable 24 (Figs 2 & 7) to join together the elements 4, the flexible cable being fixed to the upper and lower elements 3, 5, the lower element 5 being provided with means 28 to secure the electrical cables by friction. The elements 4 have corresponding pins (17 Fig 5) and holes (18) to retain then in correct alignment. The pegs 28 provide a sinuous path for the electrical cable thereby preventing stress reaching the equipment on the furniture 1. A bifurcated upper terminal element 3 may be used to give two cable guides (Figs 2, 6, & 7). <IMAGE>

Description

FLEXIBLE CABLE GUIDE ASSEMBLY FOR TRANSVERSE INSERTION OF CABLES The present invention relates to a flexible cable guide assembly for transverse insertion of cables.

Office and similar furniture is required to hold equipment of various kinds, such as lamps, telephones, calculators, typewriters and others, which require connecting and/or power cables which must be run to the furniture from their connection points, which may be plugs or other connected pieces of equipment, and are then led through suitable channels, housings or similar formed in the structure of the furniture up to the point of connection of the equipment.

In order to carry the cables from the floor to the furniture and prevent them from hanging loose, exposed to impact or entanglement, while also keeping a number of cables together in a single bundle, sheaths or similar devices are used, within which the cables are housed, contained and divided.

It must be possible to insert the cable into such sheaths, or cable guide assemblies, without having to remove one end of the cable from the equipment to which it is connected, in other words without having to make an axial insertion through an access hole or similar; in addition, such assemblies must have a constant flexibility, to enable the desired path to be followed without irregularities in curvature, while also providing a firm restraint on the cables, so that accidental traction on an end outside the cable guide assembly cannot cause the cable to be pulled out, and cannot be transmitted to the connected equipment.

According to the present invention, there is provided a cable guide assembly comprising an upper terminal element which can be connected rigidly to a piece of furniture or the like, a plurality of intermediate elements flexibly connected one to another and a lower terminal element, in which the upper terminal element and the intermediate elements each consists of a central core which can be connected in line with the cores of the contiguous elements, from which a number of parallel C-shaped ribs project on opposite sides, forming, in combination with corresponding T-shaped elements which also project from the central core, a pair of substantially parallel channels which are transversely accessible through gaps between the opposing ends of the C-shaped ribs and the T-shaped elements, the central core of each intermediate element having a hole which can accommodate a flexible cable fixed to the lower terminal element and to the upper terminal element and the lower terminal element being provided with means of anchoring by friction one or more cables inserted in the channels of the assembly.

The upper terminal element may have two pairs of C-shaped ribs and corresponding T-shaped elements, forming two pairs of channels, in alignment with which may be arranged two sequences of intermediate elements whose cores are of limited thickness in the lateral direction and have a limited flexibility in the same direction. The frictional anchoring means of the lower terminal element can consist of a number of pegs projecting transversely from a cylindrical body, around which pegs one or more cables may be taken in a sinuous path.

The upper terminal element, the intermediate elements, and the lower terminal elements can be provided with corresponding pairs of pins and holes which can be connected together by insertion when the elements are aligned, so that the elements are movable by articulation with respect to each other.

For a better understanding of the invention and to show how the same may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side view of a piece of furniture fitted with a cable guide assembly according to the invention; Figure 2 is an enlarged detail of the cable guide assembly shown in Figure 1, seen in the direction of the arrow II; Figure 3 is a top view of a constituent element of the cable guide assembly; Figure 4 is a front view of the element shown in Figure 3; Figure 5 is a section along V-V in Figure 3; Figure 6 is a top view of the upper terminal element of the cable guide assembly; Figure 7 is a section along VII-VII of Figure 6; Figure 8 is a front view of the lower terminal element of the cable guide assembly; and Figure 9 is a side view of the lower terminal element of the cable guide assembly shown in Figure 8.

As shown in Figure 1, a piece of office or similar furniture 1, such as a table or desk, is fitted with a cable guide assembly 2, into which may be inserted a number of power supply or communication cables, such as power cables for lamps, typewriters, or calculators, or telephone cables and others, these cables being guided and enclosed in their path from the ground to the upper plane of the furniture, where the equipment connected to the cables is located, or to a guiding element conveniently provided in the structure of the furniture, along which the cables are guided to the desired position.

For this purpose, the cable guide assembly 2 consists of an upper terminal element 3, connected to the structure of the furniture, a number of intermediate elements 4, connected together in the form of a chain, and a lower terminal element 5, whether resting on the ground or otherwise, placed at the end of the assembly.

As shown in Figure 2, the upper element 3, which may be connected to the structure of the furniture by means of a screw 6 or similar, may carry one or two lines of intermediate elements 4, connected together in succession to form one or two sheaths within which one or more cables 7 are housed.

For this purpose, the intermediate elements 4, illustrated in Figures 3, 4 and 5, consist of two groups of parallel ribs 8, with a substantially C-shaped profile, which project from a central core 9, of reduced thickness, forming in combination with corresponding T-shaped frontal elements 10 a pair of channels 11 suitable for accommodating the cables.

The channels 11 are accessible through gaps 12 between the opposing ends of the ribs 8 and the T-shaped elements, through which a cable may be transversely inserted into the channel, as shown in Figure 2, by movement in the direction of the arrow F.

The upper terminal element 3, shown in a plan view in Figure 6 and in side view in Figure 2, consists of a central core 13, provided with a threaded attachment 14a for connection by means of a screw 6 to the structure of the furniture, from which core two pairs of ribs 14b project and form, in combination with the T-shaped elements 15, which also project from the core 13, two pairs of channels 16a, 16b, which are accessible through the gaps 16c.

As shown in Figure 2, the channels 11 of a first intermediate element 4, and subsequently a number of further elements 4, are arranged in line with each pair of channels 16a or 16b to form the complete cable guide assembly.

The core 9 of the intermediate elements 4 has a projecting pin 17 on one end, and a hole 18 on the opposite end; in addition, a depression 19 is present on the lower surface of the upper terminal element 3, and the lower terminal element 5 has a projecting pin 20.

The pins 17 of all the intermediate elements, inserted in the corresponding hole 18 of the intermediate elements above and, in the case of the top element, in the depression 19 of the upper terminal element, provide alignment and articulation of the elements; similarly, the pin 20 is inserted in the hole 18 of the intermediate element 4 contiguous to the lower terminal element.

At the side of the hole 18, and parallel to it, each intermediate element 4 has a through hole 21 and a through hole 22 in the upper terminal element, and a hole 23 in the lower terminal element 5 is provided in line with the through holes in the intermediate elements.

A metal cable 24, with an enlargement 25 at its end, visible in Figure 9, is then inserted into the hole 23 of the lower terminal 5, which is arrested by the enlargement 25; the cable 24 then passes through the holes 21 of the intermediate elements 4 and its end is fixed to a small cylinder 26, which is housed inside the hole 22 of the upper terminal and is fixed to it by a screw 27.

In this way the cable 24 provides continuity between the various elements, keeping them in contact with each other but without preventing their articulation resulting from either the pivoting of the individual elements about the pins 17 or the elastic deformability of the elements 4.

Thus the cable guide assembly may follow the requisite curvilinear path, with a substantially constant curvature, owing to the lateral flexibility of the cores of the intermediate elements, and the cables may be inserted transversely into it, so that there is no need for axial insertion which would require the separation of the cables from the equipment or plugs to which they are connected.

At the exit of the cable guide assembly the cables are led along a sinuous path around the pegs 28, as shown by the dashed line in Figure 9, and are consequently held in position by friction, so that any stresses transmitted to the cables outside the sheath are transmitted directly to the sheath itself and cannot reach the equipment connected to the cables.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1 A cable guide assembly comprising an upper terminal element which can be connected rigidly to a piece of furniture or the like, a plurality of intermediate elements flexibly connected one to another and a lower terminal element, in which the upper terminal element and the intermediate elements each consists of a central core which can be connected in line with the cores of the contiguous elements, from which a number of parallel C-shaped ribs project on opposite sides, forming, in combination with corresponding T-shaped elements which also project from the central core, a pair of substantially parallel channels which are transversely accessible through gaps between the opposing ends of the C-shaped ribs and the T-shaped elements, the central core of each intermediate element having a hole which can accommodate a flexible cable fixed to the lower terminal element and to the upper terminal element and the lower terminal element being provided with means of anchoring by friction one or more cables inserted in the channels of the assembly.

2. A cable guide assembly according to claim 1, wherein the upper terminal element has two pairs of C-shaped ribs and corresponding T-shaped elements, forming two pairs of channels, in alignment with which two series of intermediate elements are arranged.

3. A cable guide assembly according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cores of the intermediate elements have a limited thickness in the lateral direction and have limited flexibility in the same direction.

4. A cable guide assembly according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the frictional anchoring means of the lower terminal element consist of a plurality of pegs transversely projecting from a cylindrical body, around which one or more cables may be led along a sinuous path.

5. A cable guide assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the upper terminal element, the intermediate elements, and the lower terminal element are provided with corresponding pairs of pins and holes which can be connected together by insertion with the elements in alignment, so that the elements are movable by articulation with respect to each other.

6. A cable guide assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.