NL2020913B1 - Rack for holding electronic and/or optical equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a rack for holding electronic and/or optical equipment comprising a frame, enclosing a data cable accommodating space for housing 5 excess data cable, and at least one shelf for holding electronic and/or optical equipment comprising a front end for receiving cables originating from the cable accommodating space, wherein a corner of the shelf facing the data cable accommodating space is rotatably connected to the frame by a hinge allowing the shelf to rotate around a substantially vertical axis of rotation along a substantially 10 horizontal rotational path, wherein the cable accommodating space is positioned outside the rotational path of the shelf, and wherein the hinge at least partially encloses at least one feed through for cables originating from the cable accommodating space and being received by the front end of the shelf.

Description

© 2020913 © B1 OCTROOI (2?) Aanvraagnummer: 2020913 © Aanvraag ingediend: 11 mei 2018 © Int. Cl.:

H05K 7/14 (2018.01) G02B 6/44 (2019.01) H04Q

1/02 (2019.01) (© Afsplitsing van aanvraag , ingediend (30) Voorrang:

Aanvraag ingeschreven: 18 november 2019 (43) Aanvraag gepubliceerd:

47) Octrooi verleend:

november 2019 © Octrooihouder(s):

TALLGRASS COÖPERATIE U.A. te Amsterdam © Uitvinder(s):

Reindert Marnix Hommes te Amsterdam © Gemachtigde:

ir. H.Th. van den Heuvel c.s. te 's-Hertogenbosch © Octrooischrift uitgegeven:

november 2019

54) Rack for holding electronic and/or optical equipment

5^ The invention relates to a rack for holding electronic and/or optical equipment comprising a frame, enclosing a data cable accommodating space for housing excess data cable, and at least one shelf for holding electronic and/or optical equipment comprising a front end for receiving cables originating from the cable accommodating space, wherein a corner of the shelf facing the data cable accommodating space is rotatably connected to the frame by a hinge allowing the shelf to rotate around a substantially vertical axis of rotation along a substantially horizontal rotational path, wherein the cable accommodating space is positioned outside the rotational path of the shelf, and wherein the hinge at least partially encloses at least one feed through for cables originating from the cable accommodating space and being received by the front end of the shelf.

NL B1 2020913

Dit octrooi is verleend ongeacht het bijgevoegde resultaat van het onderzoek naar de stand van de techniek en schriftelijke opinie. Het octrooischrift komt overeen met de oorspronkelijk ingediende stukken.

Rack for holding electronic and/or optical equipment

The invention relates to a for holding electronic and/or optical equipment, as well as a shelf and a cable guide suitable for such a rack.

The use of racks for mounting electronic and optical equipment is well known for server and telecom applications. For ensuring compatibility with standard rack mountable equipment modules, the dimensions of these racks are standardized. These standardized racks are commonly used in datacenter environments, wherein customers such as telecom service providers can lease one or more of these racks for placement of their own equipment. The datacenter typically provides for the cabling necessary to connect a rack with different racks, equipment or networks inside or outside of the datacenter. As these (commonly fiber optic) cables are property of the datacenter, the length of cable provided by the datacenter can rarely be customized. This poses a problem for customers as they end up with a variety of excess cable lengths that need to be routed inside the rack, in which space is limited due to rack size constraints.

As a way of handling the excess cable lengths, the cables are often routed along a front or rear of the rack in front of the equipment modules. A drawback of this solution is that the access to the rack internals and therewith to the equipment is impaired, as the racks and equipment are commonly designed to be accessible from a front and/or rear side thereof. Alternatively, one or more separate racks may be used for the purpose of housing the excess cables. This solution however requires the customer to lease one or more additional racks complementing the rack needed for housing the electronic and optical equipment. This solution is therefore not desirable from a cost perspective.

It is therefore a goal of the present invention to provide a space efficient solution for managing excess cable lengths inside racks for mounting electronic and/or optical equipment while improving equipment accessibility.

The invention hereto proposes a rack for holding electronic and/or optical equipment comprising a frame, enclosing a data cable accommodating space for housing excess data cable, and at least one shelf for holding electronic and/or optical equipment, wherein a corner of the shelf facing the data cable accommodating space is rotatably connected to the frame by a hinge allowing the shelf to rotate around a substantially vertical axis of rotation along a substantially horizontal rotational path, wherein the cable accommodating space is positioned outside the rotational path of the shelf. As will also be explained in more detail below, the rack according to the invention is through the presence of a dedicated cable accommodating space able to store excess length of cable inside the rack, while at the same time providing easy access to electronic and/or optical equipment through the use of a rotatable shelf.

The frame provides the rack, which may alternatively be referred to as a “cabinet”, with the necessary structural rigidity and is commonly provided with means such as holes or protrusions for mounting equipment modules or further supporting means onto. The frame further encloses a space dedicated to housing excess lengths of data cable. In the context of the present invention, a “data cable” must be understood as an electrical or optical cable used to connect one electronic or optical device with another for signal routing. In common applications of the rack according to the present invention the data cables are network or patch cables, which are often of the fiber optic type. By providing a dedicated data cable accommodating space, lengths of excess cable can be routed and stored inside the rack without taking up free space allocated for easy access to equipment.

As another way of improving accessibility to equipment, the rack comprises at least one shelf for holding electronic and/or optical equipment that is connected to the frame and able to rotate with respect to the frame in a horizontal plane. Said equipment held by the shelf is in a common instance passive hardware such as patch panels, multiplexers, cables and splitters, configured for connection with the data cables and further hardware. Rotation of the shelf allows for easy access to the equipment placed on the shelf surface. The rotation of the shelf is made possible by the application of a hinge, typically having two hinge parts able to rotate relative to each other, which parts may make an integral part of the frame respectively the shelf. Given the fact that the shelf is rotatably connected to the frame by the hinge at a corner of the shelf facing the data cable accommodating space, and that the data cable accommodating space is positioned out of the rotational path of the shelf, the shelf itself is, independent of the angle over which the shelf is rotated, accessible from an outside of the rack.

To further enhance the accessibility of the equipment held by the shelf, the shelf may be rotatable between a closed position wherein a front end of the shelf is facing a front side of the rack, and an opened position wherein a support surface of the shelf behind the front end of the shelf becomes accessible from said front side of the rack. The front side of the rack is the side of the rack facing the front end of the shelf in a closed position of the shelf, which side provides access to rack internals. In the closed position, the shelf is commonly completely contained inside the rack, while in the opened position the shelf may at least party be protruding past the front side of the rack. This further enhances the accessibility of the shelf surface and the equipment placed thereon from the front side of the rack. As yet a further way of enhancing the accessibility of the shelf surface, the shelf may be rotatable over at least 90 degrees, and preferably 180 degrees, thereby allowing easy access to the shelf from a rear side of the shelf in the fully opened position.

In order to allow the shelf to rotate freely inside the rack without touching the frame or other parts of the rack, a side of the shelf opposing the corner of the shelf that is connected with the hinge is rounded. In a specific embodiment, the side of the shelf opposing the corner of the shelf connected to the hinge has the shape of a circle segment. In a particular embodiment, the shelf surface has the shape of a quarter circle.

In a further possible embodiment of the rack, the at least one shelf comprises a front end configured for receiving cables originating from the cable accommodating space and the hinge at least partially encloses at least one feed through for cables originating from the cable accommodating space and being received by the front end of the shelf. By configuring the front end of the shelf for the receipt of cables originating from the cable accommodating space, the equipment held by the shelf can conveniently be connected to said cables originating from the cable accommodating space via the easily accessible front side of the rack which commonly faces the front end of the shelf in a closed position of the shelf. Said cable feed-through is thereby provided to route the data cables originating from the data cable accommodating space and being received by the front end of the shelf in a structured and uncluttered manner. As the feed-through is at least partly enclosed by the hinge and thus located at the hinge near or coinciding with the axis of rotation, the cables routed through the feed-trough and connecting at the front end of the shelf to equipment placed on the shelf surface will not or hardly be shifted upon rotation of the shelf, independent of the position of the shelf. Consequently, the cables will not be tensioned upon rotation of the shelf, avoiding unintentional disconnection, for example due to link loss in optical cables caused by the affection of light signals send over said cables when tensioned. In a rare case, the tensioning of the data cables could lead to said cables snapping loose from their connections even breakage of said cables.

In a further embodiment of the rack according to the invention, at least part of the feed-through may be located at the axis of rotation, such that the feed-through at least partly coincides with said axis of rotation. For the cables running through the rotational axis of the shelf, no or only little shifting or tensioning of the cables will take place upon rotation of the shelf. A user will thus be able to freely rotate the shelf without needing to disconnect any cables running from the cable accommodating space to the shelf via the feed-through. It may also be possible that the feed-through is located between the axis of rotation and the front end of shelf, wherein part of the feed-through may coincide with the axis of rotation.

In a possible embodiment, the hinge may completely enclose the feed-through such that cables running through the feed-through are completely confined by the hinge and cannot move out of the feed-through without disconnection. The hinge hereto commonly comprises an upper hinge part and a lower hinge part, which upper and lower hinge parts together enclose the at least one feed-through. The upper hinge part and a lower hinge part may hereto have a first and second hinge part, one of which connects to the frame and the other of which connects to the shelf.

The shelf may be provided with an elbow comprising a surface for guiding cables exiting the feed-through towards the front end of the shelf. Cables running from the data cable accommodating space to the front end of the shelf are bended to a greater of lesser extend dependent on the angle over which the shelf is rotated. Due to the location of the feed-through at the rotational axis of the shelf, the cables will bend at the feed-through location. The elbow hereby functions to prevent the formation of sharp bends in the cables, as well as to prevent the cables from sustaining damage due to contact with possible sharp edges of the frame. The guiding surface of the elbow is hereto typically provided with a smooth, and possibly sloping surface to increase the bending radius of the bends in the cables at the location of the feed-through. Specifically, the guiding surface of the elbow may be convexly curved in a lengthwise direction of the data cables guided, running from the cable accommodating space towards the front end of the shelf to best follow the shape of the cables at the location of the feed-through where they bend around the frame of the rack. In addition, the guiding surface of the elbow may have a non-developable surface wherein the surface may, in a direction perpendicular to the convex curve, also be concavely curved in order to guide the cables over the center of the elbow surface.

The front end of the shelf may be provided with a patch panel comprising at least one connector for connecting cables originating from the data cable accommodating space to equipment held on the shelf. Said patch panel typically constitutes the demarcation point where data center data cables terminate and connect with equipment owned by the customer leasing the rack. The patch panel hereby acts to facilitate easy connection and disconnection of data cables to the equipment on the shelf as well as to provide a clear overview of the connections made. Every data cable is typically fitted with its own connector. In the case of optical fiber cables, LC/PC type connectors are commonly used. However, the use of other connector types is possible and dependent on customer preference. The connectors provided on the patch panel are on the outer side facing away from the shelf configured to connect with the connector on the end of the data cable. On the inner side facing towards the shelf, the connectors are configured to connect with cables and equipment on the shelf. The one or more connectors on the patch panel thus act as adapters mating data cables originating from the data cable accommodating space with connectors of cables and equipment on the other side of the patch panel. The patch panel hereby allows the data cables originating from the cable accommodating space to be routed to the next function in a structured and uncluttered manner.

In a preferred lay-out of the rack, the hinge is positioned adjacent to the data cable accommodating space. The data cable accommodating space and shelf are hereby positioned side by side in a width direction of the rack, wherein a side end of the shelf adjacent to the hinge lies directly next to the data cable accommodating space in a closed position of the shelf. This configuration makes it possible to connect data cables originating from the data cable accommodating space to equipment contained by the shelf following the shortest possible route through the rack, thereby minimizing the chance of cable entanglement and unnecessary utilization of rack internal space.

The at least one connector provided on the patch panel may comprise a connecting interface on a front side of the patch panel facing a front side of the rack in a closed position of the shelf, which connecting interface encloses an angle with the patch panel such that the connecting interface is directed towards the feed-through. The slanted connecting interface allows for oblique insertion of data cables originating from the data cable accommodating space in the patch panel, thereby reducing the extent to which the data cable must be bended to establish a connection with the patch panel. This reduces the amount of tension put on the cables and their connections.

To improve the organization of excess data cable length inside the data cable accommodating space, the data cable accommodating space may be provided with at least one cable retention element, and in a common instance a plurality of cable retention elements. These cable retention elements are typically connected to the frame of the rack and may be formed by one or more flexible elements capable of enclosing the cable or a bundle of cables.

In addition to the data cable accommodating space, the frame may enclose an internal cable accommodating space for housing excess internal cable situated at a side of the shelf facing away from the data cable accommodating space. In a closed position of the shelf, the shelf is hereby in a width direction of the rack enclosed on one side by the data cable accommodating space and on the other side by the internal cable accommodating space. The equipment on the shelf can herewith easily be connected with cables originating from both the data cable accommodating space and internal cable accommodating space. In a possible instance, the internal cable accommodating space is utilized to house individual cables of a bundle of cables making up a feeder cable that connects to a greater network of cable that is installed in the ground or overhead using areal cables. These individual cables from the feeder cable may from the internal cable accommodating space then be guided to the shelf and connected to the equipment placed thereon. It is also possible that the internal cable accommodating space is used for the housing of excess length of cables connecting the (passive) equipment on the shelf with (active) equipment elsewhere inside or outside of the rack.

The dimensions of the internal cable accommodating space are typically chosen smaller than that of the data cable accommodating space, as the earlier mentioned space commonly houses internal cables comprising thin fibers (e.g. in the range of 250-900 micron), significantly smaller than the standard data cables generally having a thickness in the 2-3 mm range. As opposed to the data cables in the data cable accommodating space, which are typically data center property, the internal cabling can be chosen freely by the client. By selecting a thinner cable, less space is required for housing said cables and/or more internal connections can be made within the same amount of space. By choosing the dimensions of the internal cable accommodating space in dependence on the thickness of the cables to be housed therein, the space needed for cable routing is effectively minimized. Like the data cable accommodating space, the internal cable accommodating space may be provided with at least one cable retention element to improve the organization of cables inside the internal cable accommodating space.

To facilitating the guidance of cables from the internal cable accommodating space to the shelf for connection to the equipment placed thereon, the side end of the shelf adjacent to the corner of the shelf connected to the hinge, which side faces the data cable accommodating space in a closed position of the shelf, may comprise an opening for the feed-through of cables originating from the internal cable accommodating space. The location of the opening at the side end of the shelf adjacent to the corner of the shelf at which the shelf is rotatably mounted to the frame minimizes the distance between the opening and the axis of rotation of the shelf. Because of this, the cables will only shift to a limited extend upon rotation of the shelf. In addition, the opening located at the side end of the shelf does not face the front side of the rack anywhere between a 0 to 180 degrees rotation of the shelf, such that the cables running through the opening do not hinder the user in accessing either the front end or back of the shelf.

In a further embodiment of the rack, the rack may comprise an elongated and flexible cable guide led through the opening and connected to the shelf on one end thereof and to the internal cable accommodating space at the other end thereof. This cable guide, which through its flexibility is able to shift and bend with the cables upon rotation of the shelf, guarantees a predetermined routing of the cables guided along the cable guide, thereby preventing the formation of sharp bends. In a possible embodiment, the cable guide is at predetermined positions along its length provided with cable retention elements such that the cable can be effectively tied to the guide. The retention elements may be carried out as flexible elements capable of enclosing the cable or a bundle of cables that may be provided on one or more sides of the cable guide.

The rack may be provided with multiple shelves, which may typically be placed directly on top of each other. The plurality of shelves may hereby share the same axis of rotation and may or may not be individually rotatable. By using multiple shelves, the space available for placing (passive) electronic and/or optical equipment on is effectively expanded.

In addition to the shelf, which is commonly used to house passive electronic and/or optical equipment, the rack may comprise a space for active equipment situated adjacent to a rear side of the rack. Active equipment is hereby to be understood as hardware that needs a power source to function and is used to establish an active connection between devices. With the addition of a space for active equipment to the rack according to the invention, a rack is obtained that provide all the functionality a typical telecom service provider or carrier needs inside a single rack suitable for datacenter environments. By placing the space for active equipment at a rear end of the rack, the active equipment can be easily connected to the (passive) equipment on the shelf, or to cables originating from the data cable accommodating space or internal cable accommodating space without unnecessary diversion of the cables. Moreover, the equipment is because of this placement accessible from an outside of the rack at a rear side thereof. Last, with said placement of the active equipment space, the full width of the rack becomes available to house said active equipment. This full width is often necessary as the active equipment commonly comes in the form of rack mountable modules having standardized dimensions matching with the dimensions of the rack.

To facilitate the placement of standardized, rack mountable equipment, as well as the placement of the rack in datacenters having a standard lay-out, the rack dimensions commonly match those of an industry standard rack cabinet, wherein the width of the rack as defined by the front and rear side of the rack is configured to fit a standardized rack-mountable equipment module having a front panel width of one of 19 inch, 21 inch or 23 inch. In its most common appearance, the rack width is chosen such that it can accommodate rack-mountable equipment modules with a front panel width of 19 inch.

The invention also relates to a shelf for holding electronic and/or optical equipment suitable for a rack according to invention. Said shelf and its advantages for use in a rack for holding electronic and/or optical equipment are already described above in detail. The invention further relates to a cable guide suitable for a rack according to the invention, which has also been described in relation to the rack.

In an effort to further elucidate the invention, exemplary, non-limitative embodiment will be described with reference to the figures. In the figures:

- figure 1 shows an isometric view of a rack according to the invention,

- figure 2 shows a schematic layout of a rack according to the invention as seen from a top view,

- figure 3 shows a detailed view of a shelf for holding electronic and/or optical equipment as provided in the rack of figure 1, and

- figure 4a and 4b show a detailed view of a cable guide as provided in the rack of figure 1.

The figures represent specific exemplary embodiments of the invention and should not be considered limiting to the invention in any way or form. Throughout the description and the figures corresponding reference numerals are used for corresponding elements.

Figure 1 shows an isometric view of a rack 1 according to the invention. The rack 1 comprises a frame 2 comprising both uprights and girders. At one side of the rack 1, the frame 2 encloses data cable accommodating space 3 for housing excess data cable, which accommodating space comprises a number of cable retention elements 4 connected to the frame 2. In the shown embodiment, the retention elements 4 are formed by two interdigitating, flexible fingers cable of enclosing one or more data cables. The frame 2 also functions as an attachment point for several shelves 5 for holding electronic and/or optical equipment that are rotatably connected to the frame 2 by means of hinges 6 that allow a rotation of the shelves around a vertical axis of rotation 7. Each hinge 6 is located at a corner 8 of a shelf 5 situated between a front end 9 and a side end 10 of the shelf 6, making it possible to rotate the shelf 5 over 180 degrees, thereby letting the shelf 5 in an opened position protrude past a front side of the rack 1. For each shelf 5, a side 11 of the shelf opposing the hinge 6 is rounded, making a rotation of the shelf 5 possible thereby clearing the frame 2 and any cabling suspended adjacent thereto. The front end 9 of each shelf 5 is provided with a patch panel 12 comprising multiple connectors 13 for connecting cables on both an outer side and an inner side of the patch panel 12 in order to connect cables originating from the data cable accommodating space 3 to equipment placed on the shelf surface 14. When connecting cables originating from the data cable accommodating space 3 to equipment placed on the shelf surface 14, the cables are routed through a feedthrough 15 located at the axis of rotation 7 and enclosed by the hinge 6. The shelf 5 is hereby provided with an elbow 16 comprising a convex surface for guiding cables exiting the feed-through 15 towards the front end 9 of the shelf 5. On a side of the shelves 5 opposing the data cable accommodating space 3, the frame encloses an internal cable accommodating space 17, which, like the data cable accommodating space 3 is provided with multiple cable retention elements 4. In order to route cables originating from the internal cable accommodating space 17 to the shelves 5, each shelf is on a side end 10 thereof adjacent to the corner 8 of the shelf 5 connected to the hinge 6 provided with an opening 18 for the feedthrough of said cables. An elongated and flexible cable guide 19 led through the opening 18 and connected to the shelf 5 on one end thereof and to the internal cable accommodating space 17 at the other end thereof hereby smoothly routes the cables between the internal cable accommodating space 17 and the shelf 5.

Figure 2 shows a schematic layout of a rack 20 according to the invention as seen from a top view. The rack 30 provides room for a data cable accommodating space 21, which is positioned at a side of the rack 20 adjacent to a space for (passive) equipment or components 22 as formed by one or more shelves. The front ends of the shelves mark the demarcation point 23 where datacenter data cables 24 connect to the (privately owned) equipment contained in the rack 20. On a side of the space for (passive) equipment 22 opposing the data cable accommodating space 21, an internal cable accommodating space 25 is provided, which could function as a terminal space for a feeder cable 26, housing the plurality of cables being part of a bundle of cables forming said feeder cable 26. From the internal cable accommodating space connections 27 with the equipment on the shelves can be made. In addition, the cables 35 originating from the internal cable accommodating space 25 may connect to active equipment contained in a space for active equipment 28 situated on one end adjacent to a rear side of earlier mentioned space for (passive) equipment 22 formed by one or more shelves and on the other, opposing end adjacent to a rear side 32 of the rack. With the just described layout, a distinction can be made between a passive side 29 comprising the data cable accommodating space 21, internal cable accommodating space 25 and the space for passive equipment 22, including the client demarcation 23, and an active side 30 comprising the space for active equipment 28. The rack 20 is in a common instance accessible from both the front side 31 and rear side 32 of the rack, such that both the passive and active equipment can be easily reached from outside the rack 20. The dimensions of the rack 20 commonly vary from 200-240 cm in height, to 60-120 cm in depth 33 and to 60-120 cm in width 34. The frame of the rack 20 commonly accommodates the mounting of standardized 19, 21 or 23 inch wide rack mountable equipment modules that have height that is also standardized as multiples of 1,752 inch (44.5 mm), also known as a rack unit.

Figure 3 shows a detailed view of a shelf 5 for holding electronic and/or optical equipment as provided in the rack of figure 1. The shelf 5 comprises a shelf surface 14, which is at a front end 9 delimited by a patch panel 12 and at a side end 10 delimited by a raised edge 40. The side end 10 comprises an opening 18 for the feed-through of cables, which may be guided along a cable guide, such as the one shown in figures 4a and 4b. The shelf surface 14 is typically rounded at an edge 11 opposing the corner 8 at which the shelf 5 is rotatably connected to the frame of the rack by means of a hinge 6. In the depicted embodiment of the shelf surface 14 hereby takes the form of a circle segment.

The hinge 6 rotatably connects the corner 8 of the shelf 5 between the front end 9 and side end 10 with the frame of the rack, wherein a first part 44 of the hinge 6 connects of the frame via one or more mounting holes 41. The hinge 6 has a vertical axis of rotation 7, allowing the shelf 5 to rotate in a horizontal plane. In the shown embodiment, a second part 45 of the hinge 6 forms an integral part of the shelf 5. It is however also conceivable that the second part 45 of the hinge 6 is connected to the corner 8 of the shelf 5 by means of detachable connection such as a bolted connection. Likewise, it is possible that the first part 44 of the hinge 6 forms an integral part of the frame. The hinge 6 depicted here is moreover comprises an upper hinge part 46 and a lower hinge part 47, which upper and lower hinge parts 46, 47 together enclose a feed-through 15 for data cables connecting to the patch panel 12 and originating from the data cable accommodating space facing the side end 10 of the shelf 5 in a closed position of the shelf. The feed-through 15 hereby runs through the shelf’s axis of rotation 7 and extends towards the front end 9 of the shelf 5. An elbow 16 comprising a convex surface 42 for guiding cables is provided at the feed-through to avoid the cables from making sharp bends. Said surface 42 of the elbow may, like the surface depicted here, in a direction perpendicular to the convex curve, also be concave in order to guide the cables over the center of the elbow surface. For similar reasons of avoiding sharp bends in the data cables, the patch panel 12 is provided with multiple connectors 13 of which the connecting interfaces 14 on an outer side of the patch panel 12 facing away from the shelf 5 enclose an angle with the patch panel 12 such that they are directed towards the feed-through 15. The patch panel 12 shown in this embodiment is further provided with a mounting hole 43 through which the shelf 5 can be fixed to the frame of the rack in a closed position.

Figures 4a and 4b show a detailed view of a cable guide 50 as provided in the rack of figure 1, which cable guide 50 is configured to connect to the shelf for holding electronic and/or optical equipment on one end thereof and to connect to the internal cable accommodating space at another side thereof. Figure 4a shows the shape the cable guide 50 takes when the shelf it is connected to is in a closed position, and figure 4b shows the shape of the cable 50 guide when said shelf is in a fully opened position. The cable guide 50 is typically made from a flexible material that is still rigid enough to retain its shape under the load of the cables attached thereto. The cable guide 50 is, on one side thereof, at predetermined positions along its length provided with cable retention elements 51, which in this instance take the form of flexible fingers capable of enclosing one or more cables. It is also possible that both sides of the cable guide 50 are provided with such cable retention elements 51 to allow more cables to be guided along the cable guide 50. The cable guide 50 is at its free ends moreover provided with fixation points (holes) 52 to fix the cable guide 50 to a shelf of the rack on one end of the guide and to for 10 example the frame enclosing the internal cable accommodating space on the other end of the guide.

Claims (23)

Conclusions A rack for including electronic and / or optical equipment, comprising: - a frame enclosing a data cable accommodating space for accommodating excess data cable, and - at least one shelf for containing electronic and / or optical equipment, wherein an angle of the shelf opposite space accommodating the data cable is rotatably connected to the frame by means of a hinge that causes the shelf to rotate about a substantially vertical axis of rotation a substantially horizontal rotation path, the space accommodating the cable being positioned outside the rotation path of the shelf. The rack of claim 1, wherein the shelf is rotatable between a closed position in which a front end of the shelf faces a front of the rack, and an open position in which a support surface of the shelf is accessible behind the front end of the shelf is from the front of the rack. Rack according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the plank is rotatable by at least 90 degrees, and preferably 180 degrees. 4. Rack according to one of the preceding claims, wherein one side of the board is rounded opposite the corner of the board connected to the hinge. Rack according to one of the preceding claims, in which the at least one plank comprises a front end for receiving cables coming out of the cable-accommodating space and wherein the hinge at least partially encloses at least one feed-through for cables that extend from the cable space and be absorbed by the front end of the board. The rack of claim 5, wherein at least a portion of the bushing is located on the axis of rotation. 7. Rack according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the hinge completely encloses the bushing. Rack according to one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the plank is provided with an elbow comprising a surface for guiding data cables coming from the bushing to the front end of the plank. The rack of claim 8, wherein the guide surface of the elbow is convexly curved in a longitudinal direction of the guided data cables, extending from the cable accommodating space to the front end of the plank. 10. Rack as claimed in any of the claims 5-9, wherein the front end of the shelf is provided with a connecting panel comprising at least one connecting piece for connecting cables coming from the data cable accommodating space to equipment included on the shelf. 11. Rack according to claim 10, wherein the at least one connecting piece of the connecting panel comprises a connecting coupling on a front side of the connecting panel which faces a front of the rack in a closed position of the board, which connecting coupling encloses an angle with the connecting panel so that it faces the transit. 12. Rack according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the hinge is positioned adjacent the space accommodating the data cable. Rack according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the data cable accommodating space is provided with at least one cable retaining element. A rack according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the frame encloses an internal cable accommodating space for accommodating excess internal cable, which internal cable accommodating space is located on a side of the shelf remote from the data cable accommodating space . The rack of claim 14, wherein the internal cable accommodating space is provided with at least one cable retaining element. A rack according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the side of the board adjacent to the corner of the board connected to the hinge comprises an opening for the passage of cables coming from the internal cable accommodating space. The rack of claim 16, wherein the rack comprises an elongated and flexible cable guide that is guided through the opening and connected to the plank at one end thereof and to the internal cable accommodating space at the other end thereof. 18. Rack according to claim 17, wherein the cable guide is provided with cable retaining elements at predetermined positions along its length. 19. Rack according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the rack comprises a plurality of shelves. A rack as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the rack comprises a space for active equipment located adjacent a rear of the rack. A rack as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the rack dimensions correspond to those of an industry standard rack cabinet, wherein the width of the rack as determined by the front and rear of the rack is arranged to have a standardized rack-mountable device module with to fit a front panel width of one of 19 inches, 21 inches or 23 inches. Shelf for comprising rack-capable electronic and / or optical equipment according to one of the preceding claims. A cable guide suitable for a rack according to any one of the preceding claims. 1/4