WO2007113526A1

WO2007113526A1 - Improvements in and relating to cable management

Info

Publication number: WO2007113526A1
Application number: PCT/GB2007/001187
Authority: WO
Inventors: Andrew Joseph Coyne
Original assignee: Brand-Rex Limited
Priority date: 2006-04-01
Filing date: 2007-04-02
Publication date: 2007-10-11
Also published as: GB2436641A; GB0606789D0; GB2436641B

Abstract

A patch cable management system (1) has at least a first rail (4) arranged to be mounted in front of a patch panel (2) and a first clip means (10) adapted to be secured to the rail (4). The first clip means has a plurality of resilient clips (22 and 23) arranged in at least one row (32), each clip capable of carrying a cable. A benefit of the invention is that patch cord cables may be individually clipped to and supported by the patch cable management system.

Description

Improvements in and relating to patch cable management

The present invention relates to the management of patch cables.

It is known to provide clips for retaining patch cables in a fixed location. It is also known to use flexible straps, commonly known as cable ties, to group a number of cables together to facilitate the organisation and management of large number of cables. However, if, for example, cable ties are to restrain a bundle of cables, to prevent relative movement, they must be pulled tightly around the bundle of cables, hence holding the cables in close proximity to each other. A problem arises where such cable ties are used for data cables used for high speed networks, since when a cable is in close proximity to another cable there tends to be an inductive coupling between the cables causing the signal on one cable to give rise to noise on an adjacent cable. This is highly detrimental to the data transfer rates that can be achieved in a cable installation. This noise is known as "cable to cable crosstalk" or "Alien Crosstalk".

Such cable to cable crosstalk arises where there are cables in close proximity, and particularly where the cables are of a similar construction with the same lay of twisted pairs. Manufacturing tolerances result in the twisted pairs being unbalanced, and hence an electro-magnetic coupling can arise between twisted pairs in adjacent cables. This results in electrical noise being transmitted from one cable to another. This is "alien crosstalk". The transmission of the electrical noise is generally inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the cables. Hence a small increase in the distance between the twisted pairs of adj acent cables reduces the problem of alien crosstalk substantially.

A further problem arises when cable ties are used to restrain cables, in that when it is desired to change one cable in the bundle of cables, it is necessary to open or cut the cable tie to release all the cables. Frequently, such disturbance has undesirable effects on the other cables in the bundle. For example stress may un-intentionally be placed on a cable termination, or a cable in the bundle may un-intentionally be pulled sharply around a corner. Such a disturbance of the bundle of cables may easily be detrimental to the performance of a high speed network that had previously been tested as satisfactory. According to the present invention, there is provided a patch cable management system comprising at least a first rail arranged to be mounted in front of a patch panel and a first clip means adapted to be secured to the rail, the first clip means having a plurality of resilient clips arranged in at least one row, each clip capable of carrying a cable.

A benefit of the invention is that patch cord cables may be individually clipped to and supported by a patch cable management system.

Preferably the clips are arranged so that cables, when fitted to the clips, are spaced apart from each other.

A benefit of the clips being arranged so that cables fitted to the clips are spaced apart from each other is that the electromagnetic coupling between adjacent cables that gives rise to cable to cable (Alien Crosstalk) reduces by a power of the distance between the cables. Hence a small increase in separation gives a significant improvement in network performance by reducing the level of alien crosstalk.

Preferably the clip means is arranged with a first row of clips and a second row of clips parallel and adjacent to the first row, the clips in each row being spaced apart from each other, and arranged so that when cables are fitted to all clips, each row carries alternate cables.

A benefit of adjacent cables being fitted to clips in different rows is that when fitting or removing a cable from a clip, the clip may resile without contacting or applying pressure to an adjacent cable.

Preferably the clip means is provided with a further opposed row or rows of clips, the opposed row of clips being arranged to receive cables from an opposite direction to the at least one row. A benefit of the clip having opposed rows of clips is that a single clip means may space apart more cables.

Preferably the opposed row or rows of clips are substantially identical to the at least one row. A benefit of the opposed rows being substantially identical is that a second clip means may be clipped to the cables fitted to a first clip means, hence increasing the number of cables that may be supported and spaced apart from each other. Preferably the support rail is substantially the same diameter as the cables.

A benefit of the support rail being the substantially the same diameter as the cables is that the clip means may be attached to the support rail by any of the clips. A further benefit is that all the clips may be optimally sized to accept cables.

Preferably the patch cable management system further comprises a second rail arranged to be mounted in front of the patch panel parallel to and below the first rail. More preferably the rails and clip means are arranged such that a clip means may be attached to both rails. A benefit of the second rail and the clip means being arranged to be attached to both the rails is that a larger number of patch cables may be supported adequately and spaced apart from each other.

Preferably the patch cable management system further comprises a second clip means arranged to be mounted to a surface.

A benefit of a second clip means arranged to be mounted to a surface is that support may be provided to cables beyond an end of the patch panel.

Preferably in a first embodiment of the invention the second clip means is provided with a lug for mounting under a screw head.

A benefit of the second clip means having a lug for mounting under a screw is that the second clip means may be mounted under screw heads of screws used for mounting the patch panels.

Preferably in a second embodiment of the invention the second clip means is provided with a self adhesive surface for mounting the clip to a suitable surface.

A benefit of the second clip means having self adhesive mounting is that support and spacing may be provided for cables where they are routed away from the patch panel.

Preferably in a third embodiment of the invention, the second clip means is provided with both a lug for mounting under a screw head and a self adhesive mounting.

Preferably the clips of the second clip means are arranged at substantially the same spacing as the clips of the first clip means. A benefit of the clip spacing of the first and second clip means being substantially the same is that a first clip means may be clipped onto cables fitted to a second clip means, thereby increasing the number of cables supported and spaced apart. Specific embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: -

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a patch cable management system according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the cable management system shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a perspective view of a first clip means shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 A is a side elevation of the first clip means shown in Figure 3; Figure 4 is a perspective view of a second clip means shown in Figure 1; Figure 4 A is a plan view of the second clip means shown in Figure 4;

Figure 4B is a rear perspective view of the second clip means shown in Figure 4;

Figure 5 is a side view of a clip means according to a third embodiment of the invention;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a clip means according to a fourth embodiment of the invention;

Figure 7 is a graph showing experimental test results achieved using a patch cable management system according to the invention; and

Figure 8 is a view of several clip means being used in conjunction with each other to support and space a large number of cables

In Figures 1 and 2 a patch cable management system 1 according to the invention is shown to comprise a patch panel 2 mounted to a frame 3, 3'. Further patch panels 2' may be also mounted to the frame. A first rail 4 is mounted in front the patch panel 2 and a first clip means 10 is clipped to the first rail by a resilient end clip 11, 11', 11" which is adapted to secure the clip means to the rail. To provide good support and ensure cables are spaced along their length, further clip means 10' and 10" identical to clip means 10 may be fitted to the rail 4 as required. The first clip means has a plurality of resilient clips 22, 23, and 24. From Figure 1, clips 22 and 23 may be seen to be capable of carrying a patch cable 42 and 43 respectively. Clips 22 and 23 are arranged in one row. Each patch cable 42, 43 and 44 is terminated in a plug 52, 53 and 54 respectively.

From Figure 1, it can be seen that patch cord cables 42 or 43 or 44 are individually mounted to the clip means 10 and 10', and hence if it is required to reconfigure the patch panel, a single patch cable may be un-clipped from the patch cable management system to facilitate the reconfiguration.

Support rail 4 is preferably substantially the same diameter as the cables 42,43 and 44. Hence, if an installer should need to, he may attach the clip means to the support rail by any of the clips. Alternatively, should an installer so require, all the clips of a clip means will accept cables.

To ensure optimum support to the patch cables, the patch cable management system preferably has a second rail 5 mounted in front of the patch panel parallel to and below the first rail 4. The rails are spaced apart a distance IH, which in the preferred embodiment shown is the same as the height of the patch panel 2. Hence the second rail 5 may also be used as a first rail for a patch panel 2' mounted below the patch panel 2. The clip means 10 is arranged such that a distance between centres of clips 11 and 12 is the same as IH, and hence the clip means may be attached to both rails. When the clip means 10 is attached to both the rails it is prevented from swinging freely and hence a larger number of patch cables may be supported adequately and spaced apart from each other.

To facilitate adjustment of the clip means on the rails, the end clips 11 and 12 are arranged to provide a sufficient force to retain the clip means to the rails, but not so great a force as to prevent an installer from slidably moving a clip along the rails. Wider clips 11 and 12 provide greater stability of the clip means on the rails to prevent the clip means from twisting and jamming on the rails when slidably moved.

In the preferred arrangement shown, end clips 11 and 12 are wider than the clips 22, 23, 24 etc, and hence provide a stronger retentive force when clipped to the rail 4 to reduce a risk of an installer inadvertently unclipping clips 11 or 12 from a rail when unclipping a cable from one of the other clips of clip means 10.

To provide support to the patch cables beyond an end 6 of the patch panel 2 a second clip means 15 is arranged to be mounted to a surface such as the frame 3. Figure 1 and 2 show that to provide support and separation of the cables along their length, a number of identical clip means 15, 15' and 15" may be affixed to a suitable surface at convenient spacings apart from each other.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the second clip means 15 is provided with a lug 16 for mounting under a screw head 31 of a screw such as that used for retaining a patch panel to the frame 3. To reduce the number of types of clip means that an installer has to carry to complete an installation satisfactorily, the second clip means 15 is provided with a self adhesive surface 17 on a rear face of the clip means for mounting the clip means to a suitable surface, such as that of frame 3 where suitable screw fixings are not convenient.

To facilitate the mounting of the rails 4, 5 to the front of the patch panels 2, 2\ the rails are provided with angle brackets 61 and 62, each bracket having a slot for fixing under a screw head such as screw head 31.

Hence from Figures 1 and 2 it can be seen that using the patch cable management system described it is possible to support and space apart eight patch cables within the height of one standard patch panel. Since the rails mount to the patch panel using the standard fixing screws, the present system may be adapted for use with any patch panel, and for example a rail adapted for a standard 19 inch width would suit the majority of applications. The provision of different width rails would enable different width panels to be accommodated. No modification is required to the patch panel or the cabinet. Use of the second clip means 15 ensures that cables may be routed in a controlled manner along their length as they leave the patch panel, ensuring the optimum performance benefit (see Figure 7) is achieved from the invention.

Mounting as it does on a front of an existing patch panel, the system of the invention may also be easily fitted to a patch panel that is already installed and in use to obtain the benefits described herein.

From Figures 3 and 3 A which are a perspective view and side view respectively of the first clip means 10, this preferred embodiment can be seen to have the two end clips 11 and 12 and eight clips 22 to 29 inclusive. The eight clips are arranged in four rows 31, 32, 33 and 34, clips 22 and 23 being in a first row 31, clips 26 and 27 being in a second row 32, clips 24 and 25 being in a third row 33, and clips 28 and 29 being in a fourth row 34. The clips in the third and fourth rows facing in an opposite direction 3 Q to a direction 3P that the clips in the first and second rows face. Hence the clip means is arranged with a first row of clips and a second row of clips parallel and adjacent to the first row, the clips in each row being spaced apart from each other, and arranged so that when cables are fitted to all clips 22, 23 and 26, 27 in the first and second rows, adjacent cables are carried by clips in alternate rows. Hence when a cable is fitted to, for example, clip 23, resilient limbs 13 and 14 may resile in the directions of arrows 3 Y and 3X respectively to allow the insertion of the cable. The resilient limbs 13 and 14 may resile in the directions of arrows 3 Y and 3X without the limbs contacting or applying pressure to an adjacent cable when fitted to clips 26 and 27.

Hence, the two adjacent rows of clips are offset, to allow each clip a full independent clipping action, where both insertion and removal forces are unaffected by whether or not cables are carried by adjacent clips. Likewise the grip of a clip on a cable is dependent only on that clip and the particular cable carried by the clip.

Each row of clips is arranged so that cables when fitted to the clips are spaced apart from each other by a distance 3 S from the outsides of each cable. This equates to a distance 3C between centres of adjacent cables. In the preferred embodiment, if the clips 11 and 12 are also used for carrying cables, then the distance 3D between cables in the end clips and the adjacent clips is substantially the same as the distance 3C.

By careful selection of the dimensions, it has been found possible to adequately space the cables apart with the clip means of the preferred embodiment, while accommodating eight cables in a clip means. Patch panels are frequently constructed with multiples of eight sockets, hence for a sixteen way patch panel, patch cables are preferably routed to both sides of the patch panel using the rails and clip means of the present invention. For a twenty-four way patch panel, it will be necessary to use an additional clip means 10 clipped in a piggy-back manner to cables carried by a clip means 10 that is clipped to the rails 4 and 5.

Hence the clips are arranged so that cables fitted to the clips are spaced apart from each other so that the electromagnetic coupling between adjacent cables that gives rise to cable to cable (Alien Crosstalk) is reduced. Figure 7 is a graph showing experimental test results achieved using a patch cable management system according to the invention where the cables were spaced by the distances 3 S and 3 C from each other. In the experiment, two tests were conducted, one with seven 5m patch cords separated using clip means according to the present invention, and one using the same patch cables bundled together, with six surrounding a centre cable, all kept in close contact with a cable tie at intervals of 300mm in accordance with standard TIA 568-B.2-10. The graph of Figure 7 shows on the upper plot the result of the bundled cables and on the lower plot the result obtained with the cables supported and spaced apart by the clip means of the present invention. This graph demonstrates that such a separation of the cables gives a significant improvement by reducing the level of alien crosstalk.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the second clip means 15 shown in Figure 1, and Figure 4A is a plan view and Figure 4B is a rear perspective view of the same clip means. The self-adhesive mounting 17 for the clip means 15 can be clearly seen in Figure 4B.

Figure 5 shows a side view of a clip means 100 according to a third embodiment of the invention. The clip means 100 has clips 122 to 129 inclusive. Shown in Figure 5 in cross-section is a cable 160 carried by clip 126, and just outside clip 123 is a cable 150. Cable 150 is inserted into the clip 123 by applying pressure so that it moves in the direction of arrow 5 A, spreading the limbs 133 and 134 in the direction of arrows 5 Y and 5X respectively. Preferably the resilience of the limbs is such that the cable is not significantly deformed as it is being inserted into the clip, since deformation of the cable may be detrimental to the cable performance. It has been found to be important that the edges of the clips are provided with radii and or chamfers to avoid the clips cutting into the cable sheathing.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a clip means 200 according to a fourth embodiment of the invention, which has a lug 216 for mounting under a screw head to mount the clip to a support. The clip means 200 has a first row 210 comprising clips 222 and 223, and a second row 212 comprising clips 226 and 227.

From Figure 8, it can be seen that several clip means 801, 802 and 803 may be used in conjunction with each other to provide support and spacing for a large number of cables, since the clip means is provided with an opposed row or rows of clips, the opposed row of clips can receive cables 840 to 851 (only two labelled) from an opposite direction to the at least one row which receives cables 820, 821 to 831 (only three labelled). Arrangement 800 shows the clips mounted to rails 810, 811, 812 and 813, the clips being axially displaced along the rails to permit two clips to be mounted to the same rail. Where it is desired to use the clips away from the rails, additional cables maybe fitted to the clips in place of the rails, achieving the same effect of spacing the cables apart. The clip means shown in Figure 3 can be used to space apart cables that are laying in a duct or on a cable tray.

The second clip means 15 comprises clips 71 and 72 in a first row, and clips 73 and 74 in a second row 76. The second row is parallel to the first row. The clips of each row are staggered, so that adjacent cables when clipped to the clip means 15 are clipped to alternate rows.

From Figure 4A it can be clearly seen that there is a split line 18 down the centre of the clip means 15. This enables easy tooling of these parts, since a moulding tool for manufacturing these clip means may be arranged to open along this split line. A row of clips is arranged on each side of the split line 18.

Since the clip means are preferably made from a resilient plastics material, different colours are preferably used to identify each type of clip means, so that installers may quickly and easily select the clip means they require.

Claims

1. A patch cable management system comprising at least a first rail arranged to be mounted in front of a patch panel and a first clip means adapted to be secured to the rail, the first clip means having a plurality of resilient clips arranged in at least one row, each clip capable of carrying a cable.

2. A patch cable management system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the clips are arranged so that cables, when fitted to the clips, are spaced apart from each other.

3. A patch cable management system as claimed in any one of claims 1 or 2, wherein the clip means is arranged with a first row of clips and a second row of clips parallel and adjacent to the first row, the clips in each row being spaced apart from each other, and arranged so that when cables are fitted to all clips, each row carries alternate cables.

4. A patch cable management system as claimed any of the preceding claims, wherein the clip means is provided with a further opposed row or rows of clips, the opposed row of clips being arranged to receive cables from an opposite direction to the at least one row.

5. A patch cable management system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the opposed row or rows of clips are substantially identical to the at least one row.

6. A patch cable management system as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the support rail is substantially the same diameter as the cables.

7. A patch cable management system as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the patch cable management system further comprises a second rail arranged to be mounted in front of the patch panel parallel to and below the first rail.

8. A patch cable management system as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the patch cable management system further comprises a second clip means arranged to be mounted to a surface.

9. A patch cable management system as claimed in claim 8, wherein the second clip means is provided with a lug for mounting under a screw head and a self adhesive surface for mounting the clip to a suitable surface.

10. A patch cable management system, substantially as hereinbefore described and with reference to the accompanying drawings.