TWM618890U - Cable-clamp system - Google Patents

Abstract

A cable-clamp system comprises a base structure and a clamp. The base structure is located within an electronic chassis. The base structure includes an upper region, a first side region, and a second side region. The upper region includes a plurality of cable-receptor cavities for receiving the cables. The first side region includes an opening, and the second side region includes a slot. The clamp includes an engagement surface, a first end, and a second end. The first end includes a hook for insertion into the opening to allow pivoting movement of the clamp relative to the base structure. The second end includes a plunger for retention within the slot. When the clamp pivots downwardly to cause the engagement surface to engage the cables, the plunger is retained within the slot to maintain a clamping force on the cables between the base structure and the clamp.

Description

Cable clamp system

This creation is about a cable clamp system for electronic equipment chassis, and in particular about a cable clamp system for 5G electronic equipment, which allows cables including fiber optic cables to be easily bent and fixed in the chassis, To maintain an acceptable seal in the area where the cable leaves the chassis.

Cellular networks rely on the installation of various electronic devices, such as radios and antennas, on supporting structures that are exposed to the environment. Some of these support structures are very tall, usually at heights of 100 feet or more. Therefore, the electronic equipment is exposed to bad weather. Advances in technology have led to the development of 5G networks, which require several interconnected devices, and the enclosures of these devices can accommodate cables and wires (hereinafter referred to as "cables"). Because of the need to allow cables to enter the equipment enclosure, various methods have been used to help restrict water and debris from entering the enclosure from the area around the cables.

In some cases, such as when the distance between interconnected electronic devices is large and the signal loss must be minimized, the cables used to connect the electronic devices are fiber optic cables. Fiber optic cables have hard backings, which require more force to bend the cable, resulting in a larger bend radius. In the narrow space of 5G electronic equipment, the area for cable bending is usually very small, especially for fiber optic cables. Therefore, when the force is released from the cable (usually Manual bending force), it is difficult to bend the cable to leave the chassis and maintain the same bending radius. This can cause various problems, including gaps where the cables leave the chassis.

Therefore, there is a need for an improved cable clamp system, which can be installed in the chassis of electronic equipment (especially 5G electronic equipment) to fix the cable in a fixed position, so that it can maintain the known cable-bending geometry (cable-bending geometry). geometries). This improved cable clamp system preferably accommodates multiple cable sizes and provides a user-friendly way to secure the cables in the chassis.

The terms embodiment and similar terms are intended to broadly refer to all the subjects of this disclosure and the following claims. It should be understood that statements containing these terms should not limit the subject matter herein or limit the meaning or scope of the following claims. The embodiments of the present disclosure covered herein are defined by the scope of the following patent applications rather than the creation content. This creation is a high-level overview of various aspects of the present disclosure and introduces some concepts, which are further described in the detailed description section below. This creation is not intended to determine the key or necessary features of the claimed subject matter; nor should it be used alone to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. The subject matter should be understood by referring to the entire specification of the present disclosure, any or all drawings, and appropriate parts of each claim.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a cable clamp system for fixing a cable in an electronic chassis includes a base structure and a clamp. The base structure is located in the electronic case. The base structure includes an upper area, a first side area, and a second side area. The upper area is located between the first side area and the second side area. The upper area includes a plurality of cable accommodating cavities for accommodating cables. The first side area includes an opening, and the second side area includes a narrow groove. The clamp includes a joining surface, a first end, and a second end. The first end includes a hook for insertion into the opening to allow pivotal movement of the clamp relative to the base structure. The second end includes a plunger for holding in the slot. Corresponding to the downward pivoting of the clamp to engage the engagement surface with the cable, the plunger is held in the slot to maintain a clamping force on the cable between the base structure and the clamp.

The above creation content is not intended to represent every embodiment or every aspect of the present disclosure. Rather, the foregoing creation content only provides examples of some of the novel aspects and features set forth herein. When considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the appended claims, the above features and advantages and other features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description of representative embodiments and ways for implementing the present creation.

In order to have a better understanding of the above-mentioned and other aspects of this creation, the following examples are specially cited, and the accompanying drawings are described in detail as follows:

10: Telecom network

12, 14: electronic equipment

15: Rod structure

16: cable

17: Chassis

18: Pedestal

20: Lid

22: Outer Wall

24: inner wall

26, 27: Through hole

28: Channel

30: Pedestal structure

31: Upper area

32: Cable receiving cavity

34: Slot

36: opening

37: threaded hole

38: curved surface

42: Middle area

43: lower surface

44: opening

46: hook

48: Plunger

50: Overhang

62: Outer Wall

64: inner wall

118: Pedestal

112: electronic equipment

116: Cable

Figure 1 shows two interconnected devices as part of a 5G telecommunications network.

Figure 2 is a partial exploded perspective view of one of the equipment of the base structure of the cable clamp system shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3A is a side view of the clamp used in the cable clamp system.

Fig. 3B is a plan view of the jig used in Fig. 3A.

Fig. 4 shows that the clamp of Figs. 3A to 3B is engaged with the base structure of the cable clamp system.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a cable clamp system used with multiple cables.

Figure 6 is a side view of the cable clamp system used with multiple cables.

Figure 7 is the top of the cable clamp system used on different electronic devices.

Figure 8 shows the modular base structure of the cable clamp system that can be installed in various electronic devices.

Various embodiments of the present disclosure are described with reference to the drawings, in which like reference numerals are used in all the drawings to denote similar or equivalent elements. These drawings are not drawn to scale, and the drawings are only used to illustrate the creation. The following describes several aspects of this creation with reference to exemplary applications for illustration. It should be understood that many of the specific details, relationships and methods described are intended to provide a complete understanding. However, those with ordinary knowledge in related fields will soon realize that various embodiments can be practiced without one or more specific details or by other methods. In other cases, well-known structures or operations are not shown in detail to avoid obscuring certain aspects of the various embodiments. The various embodiments are not limited by the ordering of the actions or events shown, as some actions may occur in a different order and/or concurrently with other actions or events.

For example, elements and limitations disclosed in the creation abstract, creation content and specific implementations but not explicitly stated in the claim shall not be incorporated into the claim individually or collectively by implication, inference or other means. For the purpose of this detailed description, unless specifically stated otherwise, the singular includes the plural, and vice versa. The word "including" means "including but not limited to". In addition, approximate words, such as "about", "almost", "substantially", "approximately", etc., may be used herein, for example, to mean "at", "close to", "close to", or "at 3 -5%", or "within acceptable manufacturing tolerance", or any logical combination thereof.

Fig. 1 shows the components of a telecommunication network 10 (such as a 5G network) including a plurality of electronic devices 12 and 14 according to an embodiment of the present creation. The electronic devices 12, 14 are mounted on the pole structure 15 and exposed to the surrounding environment. As an example, the electronic device 12 may be an antenna, and the electronic device 14 may be a remote radio unit (RRU). The electronic devices 12 and 14 are connected through a cable 16. As shown in Figure 1, the cable 16 is an optical fiber cable. In other embodiments, the cable 16 may also include other cable types, such as an RJ45 cable or a USB cable.

Fig. 2 shows a part of the electronic device 12 of Fig. 1 in more detail. The electronic device 12 includes a chassis 17 composed of a base 18 and a cover 20. In the first figure, only a part of the cover 20 is shown. For ease of description, FIG. 2 shows the internal components of the chassis 17. The overall structure of the cover 20 is shown in more detail in Figure 6, although according to the present disclosure, the chassis 17 may have various structural forms and sizes.

The base 18 includes an outer wall 22 and an inner wall 24. The outer wall 22 and the inner wall 24 respectively include a plurality of through holes 26 and 27 (for example, in the form of cutouts) to form a passage 28 for the cable 16 (not shown in FIG. 2) to exit the electronic device 12. In some embodiments, the area between and near the outer wall 22 and the inner wall 24 may include sealing devices, such as rubber structures and/or cable glands, to prevent water and debris from entering the chassis 17 through the passage 28.

The chassis 17 also includes a cable clamp base structure 30 (hereinafter referred to as the base structure 30), which helps guide and restrict the movement of the cable 16 (shown in Figure 1), as described in more detail below. The base structure 30 includes an upper area 31 having a plurality of cable receiving cavities 32, each of which is aligned with a corresponding channel 28. Slot 34 is located in the base structure The first side of 30. The opening 36 is located on the second side of the base structure 30. The base structure 30 also includes threaded holes 37 for accommodating fasteners, as described in more detail below with respect to FIGS. 5-6.

Each cable receiving cavity 32 is at least partially defined by a curved surface 38 on the base structure 30. The radius of curvature of the bottom of each curved surface 38 can be different to correspond to the cross-section of the outer diameter of the cable (not shown), and the cable passes through a specific cable accommodating cavity 32 and a corresponding channel 28. The outer diameter of the cable 16 used in the electronic device 12 is usually between about 5 mm and about 9 mm, but other sizes can also be used. In addition, the depth of the cable receiving cavity 32 measured from the uppermost surface of the upper region 31 may be different to accommodate cables 16 of different diameters. Preferably, the depth of the cable receiving cavity 32 is slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the corresponding cable 16 so that the outer surface of the cable slightly extends above the upper region 31. In this way, the base structure 30 preferably makes the outer surfaces of all the cables 16 in the cable accommodating cavity 32 substantially the same height above the base structure 30.

FIGS. 3A to 3B illustrate the jig 40 used with the base structure 30 of FIG. 2. The clamp 40 includes an elongated intermediate area 42 having a lower surface 43 for engaging the cable 16, as described in FIGS. 5 and 7 below. The elongated middle region 42 includes an opening 44 through which fasteners can pass. One end of the clamp 40 includes a hook 46. The other end of the clamp 40 includes a plunger 48 having an inwardly protruding end 50. In some embodiments, the plunger 48 may be a separate component from the clamp 40, which passes through a hole (not shown) and extends at the end of the clamp 40. The larger end of the plunger 48 that can be manually grasped is located on one side of the hole, and the protruding end 50 is located on the opposite side of the hole. In some embodiments, the plunger 48 is spring loaded and biased to the position shown in Figures 3A and 3B. When the plunger 48 is actuated At this time, the plunger 48 can be pulled away from the clamp 40 (that is, pulled to the right in Figures 3A to 3B), and pushed back to the position shown in Figures 3A to 3B under the action of the spring force.

Figure 4 shows how the base structure 30 and the clamp 40 are connected to each other in operation. The hook 46 of the clamp 40 is inserted into the opening 36 of the base structure 30 to form a pivotable installation configuration between the clamp 40 and the base structure 30. The arrow R indicates the rotational movement of the clamp 40 from the open position (as shown in Figure 4) to the closed position (as shown in Figures 5 to 7). In one embodiment, the opening 36 has a rectangular shape, and the hook 46 has a rectangular cross-section, thereby allowing it to fit within the opening 36. The present disclosure contemplates other types of pivotally mounted connections between the base structure 30 and the clamp 40. In some embodiments, such as the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the clamp 40 can be detached from the base structure 30.

Figure 5 shows two sets of base structures 30 and clamps 40 in use. The cables 16 (15 are shown) extend through the channel 28 defined by the outer wall 22 and the inner wall 24 of the base 18 of the electronic device 12 (Figure 2). The cable 16 is also arranged to pass through the cable receiving cavity 32 of the base structure 30 (Figure 2). The cable receiving cavity 32 is located near the outer wall 22 and the inner wall 24. The hook 46 of the clamp 40 has been inserted into the corresponding opening 36 of the base structure 30, as shown in FIG. 4. After the cable 16 is placed in its assigned cable receiving cavity 32, the clamp 40 is rotated downward from the open position, and the plunger 48 is pulled out from the clamp 40. When the clamp 40 reaches the closed position, its lower surface 43 (Figure 3A) is engaged with the outer surface of the cable 16, and the plunger 48 is released so that its protruding end 50 (Figure 3A) and the slot 34 (Figure 2) ) Joining. Therefore, the clamp 40 is locked in a position above the base structure 30 to maintain the clamping force on the cable 16 between the base structure 30 and the clamp 40. To help maintain the clamping force on the cable 16, the screw 58 is inserted through the opening 44 (Figure 3B) and screwed into the threaded hole 37 (Figure 2) of the base structure 30.

Although the cable 16 is manually bent in various degrees and directions in the electronic device 12, the clamping force is sufficient to hold the cable 16 including the harder fiber optic cable in a fixed position. The cable 16 is led out from the electronic device 12 through the channel 28. The cable clamp system composed of the base structure 30 and the clamp 40 helps to keep the cable 16 in alignment, thereby minimizing the gap around the cable 16 and causing the cable 16 to be around Better sealing. Therefore, the possibility of water and pollutants from the surrounding environment entering the electronic device 12 is reduced, which in turn leads to higher operating reliability of the electronic device 12.

If the cable 16 needs to be released, the screw 58 is removed and the plunger 48 is actuated to release the cable 16 from the base structure 30. Then, the clamp 40 pivots about the connection between the hook 46 and the opening 36 to rotate upward toward the open position. After that, the cable 46 can be pulled out of the base structure 30.

Fig. 6 shows a side view of the electronic device 12 in Fig. 5, with the cover 20 in its position. The case 17 of the electronic device 12 includes a base 18 and a cover 20. Similar to the outer wall 22 and the inner wall 24 of the base 18, the cover body 20 further includes an outer wall 62 and an inner wall 64. The cable 16 extends outward from the chassis 17 and enters the surrounding environment at the interface between the cover 20 and the base 18. As shown in FIG. 6, the base structure 30 is formed as a part of the base 18 of the cabinet 17. When the cable 16 abuts on the curved surface 38 in the cable accommodating cavity 32 of the base structure 30, the clamp 40 abuts the cable 16 to fix it in a fixed position.

Figure 7 shows the versatility of the cable clamp system, in which the base structure 30 and the clamp 40 are used in different electronic devices 112 with different bases 118 and different covers (not shown). The previously described base structure 30 and clamp 40 are used to hold the various cables 116 in fixed positions within the electronic device 112. Different from the embodiment shown in Figure 5, The left base structure 30 and the left clamp 40 have been rotated 180 degrees so that the plunger 48 is now located outside the electronic device 112. For each cable clamp system, the pivotal connection is defined in the inner area of the electronic device 112 by inserting the hook 46 into the opening 36. The screw 58 is used to help maintain the clamping force on the cable 116. Therefore, the base structure 30 and the clamp 40 can be used in various types of electronic devices 12, 112, and have different cable configurations in each type of electronic device.

Figure 8 shows an enhancement module provided by another embodiment of the present disclosure. Unlike the previous embodiment having the base structure 30 as a part of the chassis 17, Figure 8 shows a removable base structure 130 that can be attached by a fastener extending through a hole 131 at the bottom of the base structure 130 Connect to the chassis of the electronic device. The base structure 130 includes cable accommodating cavities 132 of different sizes and shapes to match the cables to be used in electronic devices. The base structure 130 includes an opening 136 at one side for matching with the hook 46 (not shown) of the clamp 40. Although not drawn, as mentioned above, the opposite side of the base structure 130 includes a slot for mating with the plunger 48 (not shown) of the clamp 40.

The foregoing description of the embodiments is presented only for the purpose of disclosure, and is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the precise form disclosed. For those with ordinary knowledge in the field, its various modifications, changes and uses will be obvious.

Although the creation has been disclosed with respect to one or more embodiments, after reading and understanding the specification and drawings of this case, other skilled in the art will know that equivalent changes and modifications can occur. In addition, although specific features related to the creation in several embodiments may have been disclosed, it may be desirable and advantageous according to any defined or specific application. This feature may be combined with one or more other features of other embodiments. Feature combination.

Although various embodiments of the present creation have been described above, it should be understood that they are only shown by way of example and not limitation. Without departing from the spirit or scope of the present creation, various changes can be made to the disclosed embodiments based on the disclosure herein. Therefore, the breadth and scope of this creation should not be limited by any of the above-mentioned embodiments. Rather, the scope of this creation should be defined in accordance with the scope of the attached patent application and its equivalents.

The terms used here are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments, and are not used to limit the creation. As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are also intended to include the plural forms, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In addition, in the detailed description and/or claims, the terms "include", "include", "have", "have", "have" or their variants are used. These terms are intended to be similar to the term "includes". The way is included.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used in this article have the same meaning as generally understood by those with ordinary knowledge in the field to which this creation belongs. Furthermore, for example, those terms defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having meanings consistent with their meanings in the context of the relevant field, and unless explicitly defined as such in this document, they will not be understood as idealized or Too formal meaning.

To sum up, although this creation has been disclosed as above in an embodiment, it is not intended to limit this creation. Those with ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which this creation belongs can make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of this creation. Therefore, the scope of protection of this creation shall be subject to the scope of the attached patent application.

12: Electronic equipment

17: Chassis

18: Pedestal

20: Lid

22: Outer Wall

24: inner wall

26, 27: Through hole

28: Channel

30: Pedestal structure

31: Upper area

32: Cable receiving cavity

34: Slot

36: opening

37: threaded hole

38: curved surface

Claims (10)

A cable clamp system for fixing cables in an electronic chassis includes: a base structure located in the electronic chassis, the base structure including an upper area, a first side area and a second side area, the The upper area is located between the first side area and the second side area, the upper area includes a plurality of cable accommodating cavities for accommodating cables, the first side area includes an opening, and the second side area includes a slot ; A clamp including an engagement surface, a first end and a second end, the first end includes a hook for inserting into the opening of the first side area to allow the clamp relative to the Pivoting movement of the base structure, the second end including a plunger for holding in the slot of the second side area; and corresponding to the clamp pivoting downward to engage the engaging surface with the cable , The plunger is held in the slot to maintain a clamping force on the cable between the base structure and the clamp. The cable clamp system according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of cable accommodating cavities has a curved surface for engaging the corresponding cable. The cable clamp system according to claim 2, wherein the curved surface of at least one of the plurality of cable accommodating cavities has a curvature radius different from that of the other cable accommodating cavities for receiving cables of different diameters. The cable clamp system according to claim 2, wherein each of the plurality of cable accommodating cavities has a depth measured in the base structure, and the depth is smaller than the outer diameter of the corresponding cable. The cable clamp system according to claim 1, wherein the base structure is separately attached to the electronic chassis. The cable clamp system according to claim 1, wherein the opening is a rectangular opening, and the hook has a rectangular cross section. The cable clamp system according to claim 1, further comprising a fastener, the clamp has a first hole, the base structure includes a threaded hole, the fastener is inserted through the first hole and screwed with the threaded hole combine. The cable clamp system according to claim 1, wherein the plunger includes a larger end for manual operation and a smaller protruding end for engaging in the slot. The cable clamp system according to claim 8, wherein the plunger is inserted into a second hole of the second end of the clamp, the larger end is arranged on one side of the second hole, and the smaller protruding end is arranged on The other side of the second hole. The cable clamp system according to claim 1, wherein the base structure is directly adjacent to the channel that allows the cable to leave the electronic chassis.

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