Abstract:
There is provided a cable support apparatus included in an information processing apparatus having a plurality of electronic equipment units, the cable support apparatus includes: a slide member configured to assemble cables connected to the plurality of electronic equipment units; a holding board on which the slide member is installed, the holding board being pivotable downward; and a link mechanism capable of sliding the slide member toward rotary shafts of the holding board, during the pivoting of the holding board.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority of the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-213902, filed on Oct. 11, 2013, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
       FIELD 
       [0002]    The application discussed herein is related to a cable support apparatus and an information processing apparatus. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Recently, an information processing apparatus such as a server includes, in a rack, a plurality of electronic equipment units that houses electronic circuits such as a hard disk device, memory, CPU, power supply unit, and so on. In each of the electronic equipment units installed in the rack, cables to be connected to the unit are held in the installation area of the unit and routed to the outside of the rack through cable storage space (cable forming area) on both sides of the back of the rack. 
         [0004]    When the installation area for electronic equipment units is large enough (for example, electronic equipment units occupy about 50% of the unit installation area), a forming area for holding connection cables at all times is easily kept in the installation area for electronic equipment units. However, as the density of packaging becomes higher, the size of a rack is reduced and the number of units installed in the rack is increased. As a result, there is no room for the installation area for electronic equipment units in the rack and the electronic equipment units have occupied 80% to 90% of the size of the rack. 
         [0005]    Since there is substantially no room for the cable storage space (forming area) for holding cables at all times in the rack, cable forming has been performed using pivotable cable supports or the like. Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 10-215083 discloses an example of such a mechanism in which cable support bodies are disposed on supporting columns of a cabinet (rack) so as to project toward the back side of the cabinet and a cable support with a pivot angle of 90 degrees is attached to brackets disposed at the tip of the cable support bodies. Cables to be connected to a package installed in the cabinet are formed along the cable support and, during replacement of the package, the cable support is opened to keep space for inserting or removing the package. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    According to an aspect of the invention, a cable support apparatus included in an information processing apparatus having a plurality of electronic equipment units, the cable support apparatus includes: a slide member configured to assemble cables connected to the plurality of electronic equipment units; a holding board on which the slide member is installed, the holding board being pivotable downward; and a link mechanism capable of sliding the slide member toward rotary shafts of the holding board, during the pivoting of the holding board. 
         [0007]    The object and advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the claims. 
         [0008]    It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         [0009]      FIG. 1A  is a front view of an information processing apparatus; 
           [0010]      FIG. 1B  is a rear view of the information processing apparatus depicted in  FIG. 1A ; 
           [0011]      FIG. 2A  is a partially enlarged perspective view of a cable support apparatus on the back side of the information processing apparatus depicted in  FIG. 1B ; 
           [0012]      FIG. 2B  is a partially enlarged perspective view of a section of  FIG. 2A ; 
           [0013]      FIG. 2C  is a side view of the cable support apparatus depicted in  FIG. 2A ; 
           [0014]      FIG. 3A  is a partially enlarged view depicting a state in which the cable support apparatus in  FIG. 2A  has been opened; 
           [0015]      FIG. 3B  is a drawing corresponding to  FIG. 2C  when the cable support apparatus depicted in  FIG. 2A  is opened; 
           [0016]      FIG. 4A  is a side view of the cable support apparatus in  FIG. 2C  from which cables and connectors have been removed; 
           [0017]      FIG. 4B  is a side view of the cable support apparatus in  FIG. 4A  in which a cable support has been pulled out backward; 
           [0018]      FIG. 4C  is a side view of the cable support apparatus in  FIG. 4B  in which the cable support has been pivoted downward; 
           [0019]      FIG. 5A  is a sectional view of a standard cable used in the information processing apparatus depicted in  FIG. 2A ; 
           [0020]      FIG. 5B  is a sectional view of a cable having thick signal wires used in the information processing apparatus depicted in  FIG. 2A ; 
           [0021]      FIG. 5C  is a sectional view of a cable having many signal wires used in the information processing apparatus depicted in  FIG. 2A ; 
           [0022]      FIG. 6  is an exploded perspective view depicting components constituting a cable support apparatus of an embodiment together with mount angles of the information processing apparatus; 
           [0023]      FIG. 7A  is a plan view of a slide board depicted in  FIG. 6 ; 
           [0024]      FIG. 7B  is a front view of the slide board depicted in  FIG. 6 ; 
           [0025]      FIG. 7C  is a plan view of a cable support depicted in  FIG. 6 ; 
           [0026]      FIG. 8  is an exploded view depicting a procedure for assembling the cable support apparatus in  FIG. 6 ; 
           [0027]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view of a part of the information processing apparatus into which the cable support apparatus has been built, seen from the back side; 
           [0028]      FIG. 10A  is a side view of the cable support apparatus depicted in  FIG. 9 ; 
           [0029]      FIG. 10B  is a side view depicting a state in which the cable support of the cable support apparatus depicted in  FIG. 10A  has started pivoting relative to a relay board; 
           [0030]      FIG. 10C  is a side view depicting a state in which the cable support of the cable support apparatus in  FIG. 10B  has finished pivoting relative to the relay board; 
           [0031]      FIG. 11A  is a side view depicting a state in which an electronic equipment unit is pulled out from the back side of the information processing apparatus into which the cable support apparatus has been built; 
           [0032]      FIG. 11B  is a partially enlarged side view of the cable support apparatus depicted in  FIG. 11A ; 
           [0033]      FIG. 11C  is a side view depicting a state in which the cable support has been pivoted downward and the electronic equipment apparatus has been pulled out from the back side of the information processing apparatus in the information processing apparatus into which the cable support apparatus has been built; 
           [0034]      FIG. 11D  is a partially enlarged side view of the cable support apparatus depicted in  FIG. 11A ; 
           [0035]      FIG. 12A  is a side view depicting a state in which the cable support apparatus does not operate on the back side of the information processing apparatus to which the cable support apparatus has been built; 
           [0036]      FIG. 12B  is a side view depicting a state in which the cable support apparatus has been pivoted downward from the state depicted in  FIG. 12A ; 
           [0037]      FIG. 13A  is a partial perspective view of the information processing apparatus into which the cable support apparatus has been built, seen from the back side; and 
           [0038]      FIG. 13B  is a partial perspective view depicting a state in which the cable support apparatus is operating in the information processing apparatus depicted in  FIG. 13A . 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
       [0039]    A cable support apparatus  90  will be described in detail with reference to  FIGS. 1A to 5C .  FIG. 1A  is a front view depicting a whole information processing apparatus (rack mount type server)  1 .  FIG. 1B  is a rear view of the information processing apparatus  1  depicted in  FIG. 1A . Mount angles  4  are present at the four corners in a rack  3 , which is the cabinet of the information processing apparatus  1 . A plurality of steps of unit installation areas  5  are provided in the space enclosed by the mount angles  4 . A plurality of electronic equipment units  2  may be installed in each of the unit installation areas  5 . In the following description, the side on which the cables connected to the electronic equipment units  2  are present is assumed to be the back side or the rear. 
         [0040]      FIG. 2A  is a partially enlarged view of one of the unit installation areas  5  on the back side of the information processing apparatus  1  depicted in  FIG. 1B . A cable forming area  6  is present on the back side of the information processing apparatus  1  and the cable support apparatus  90  is present in the cable forming area  6 . The cable support apparatus  90  holds, in the cable forming area  6 , cables  7 A and  7 B for connecting the electronic equipment units  2  installed in the unit installation area  5  externally. 
         [0041]      FIG. 2B  is a partially enlarged view of the unit installation area  5  depicted in  FIG. 2A . In  FIG. 2A , the cables  7 A and  7 B to be connected to the electronic equipment unit  2  are depicted. Unit connectors  9  are disposed on the back side of the electronic equipment unit  2  and cable connectors  8  disposed at the ends of the cables  7 A and  7 B are connected to the unit connectors  9 . On the back side of the electronic equipment unit  2 , there are brackets  91  attached to the mount angles  4  in  FIG. 2A  and the cables  7 A and  7 B are held by a cable support  93  held by the brackets  91  via relay plates  92 . Cable holding parts  95  fix the cables  7 A and  7 B to the cable support  93 . 
         [0042]      FIG. 2C  is a side view of the cable support apparatus  90  depicted in  FIG. 2B .  FIG. 2C  depicts a structure for attaching the cable support  93  to the brackets  91 . The mount angles  4  to which the brackets  91  are attached are not depicted in this drawing. The bracket  91  is a metal plate extending backward from the mount angle  4  and has therein a slit  91 S formed in a longitudinal direction. The relay plate  92  attached to the bracket  91  is movable along the slit  91 S, but the relay plate  92  is normally fixed to the bracket  91  by a lock mechanism  96 . The cable support  93  is attached pivotably around a rotary shaft  94  to the relay plate  92  attached to the bracket  91 . 
         [0043]    The cable connectors  8  for the cables  7 A and  7 B are connected to the unit connectors  9  of the electronic equipment unit  2  installed in the unit installation area  5  and the cables  7 A and  7 B are fixed by the cable holding parts  95  disposed on the cable support  93 . The cable support  93  is arranged so as to be able to support the cables even when the height of the electronic equipment unit  2  has a different length such as 1U, 2U, 3U, 4U, . . . . Accordingly, the rotary shaft  94  of the cable support  93  is disposed in a lower part of the unit installation area  5 . 
         [0044]    In the state depicted in  FIG. 2C , the cables  7 A and  7 B interfere with a particular electronic equipment unit  2  installed in the unit installation area  5  when the electronic equipment unit  2  is removed from or attached to the unit installation area  5 . Therefore, when any of the electronic equipment units  2  is removed from or inserted into the unit installation area  5 , the cable support  93  is pivoted downward around the rotary shaft  94 , as depicted in  FIGS. 3A and 3B , to move the cables  7 A and  7 B from the insertion/removal path of the electronic equipment unit  2 . At this time, if the cable support  93  is pivoted by 26.7 degrees from the position depicted in  FIG. 2C , the cables  7 A and  7 B are moved from the insertion/removal path of the electronic equipment units  2 . 
         [0045]    If the cable support  93  is pivoted downward around the rotary shaft  94 , the distance between the cable connector  8  and the cable holding part  95  increases as depicted in  FIGS. 2C and 3B . Therefore, in the cable support apparatus  90 , the cables  7 A and  7 B between the cable connector  8  and the cable holding part  95  are fixed with an extra length given, so that the length increased by pivoting of the cable support  93  is canceled. 
         [0046]    In the cable support apparatus  90 , as depicted in  FIGS. 4A to 4C , if engagement between the lock mechanism  96  and a lock groove  96 N disposed in the bracket  91  is released, the relay plate  92  may be moved relative to the bracket  91 . In  FIGS. 4A to 4C , the cables  7 A and  7 B and the cable connector  8  and the unit connector  9  depicted in  FIGS. 2C and 3B  are not depicted. In the cable support apparatus  90 , the moved relay plate  92  may be fixed by the lock mechanism  96  at the position of any of the lock grooves  96 N. That is, the position of the cable support  93  may be changed between the position depicted in  FIG. 4A  and the position depicted in  FIG. 4B  by moving the relay plate  92 . In addition, as depicted in  FIG. 4C , the cable support  93  may be pivoted downward in the position in which the cable support  93  has been pulled out. As described above, when the length of the electronic equipment unit  2  installed in the unit installation area  5  is long and projects backward from the unit installation area  5 , the position of the cable support  93  is desired to be changed. 
         [0047]    On the other hand, in recent years, the number of signals assigned to each connector is increasing as the density of packaging has become higher and the outer diameter of core wires in a cable is increasing as the transfer rate has increased, thereby increasing the outer diameter of the cable. Such a situation will be described with reference to  FIGS. 5A to 5C .  FIG. 5A  is a sectional view of the standard cables  7 A and  7 B used in the information processing apparatus  1  depicted in  FIG. 2A . The cables  7 A and  7 B, which were conventionally used, have a smaller diameter (for example, a diameter of less than 8 mm) and flexible. In contrast, the core wires of a cable  7 C depicted in  FIG. 5B  have a larger diameter than conventional ones. The core wires of a cable  7 D depicted in  FIG. 5C  have the same diameter of the core wires as conventional ones, but the diameter of the cable increases because the number of core wires increases. 
         [0048]    If a cable becomes thicker and the minimum bending radius exceeds, for example, 40 mm, the cable bending radius may not be kept if an extra length is provided between the cable connection part (connector part) and the cable holding part in the cable support apparatus. Accordingly, if the cable is thicker, when the cable holding part is moved aside during insertion or removal of any of the electronic equipment units, the cable interferes with the pivoting of the cable support, possibly making it difficult to keep the unit insertion/removal area. In addition, if a thicker cable is routed with an extra length given, the cable connection part is loaded, possibly causing a cable break or a poor connection or possibly making it difficult to ensure reliability for a long time. 
         [0049]    Embodiments of an information processing apparatus with a cable support apparatus capable of moving the cable support from the unit installation area (insertion/removal area) of electronic equipment regardless of the thickness and the minimum bending radius of a cable connected to an electronic equipment unit will be described below in detail based on specific examples. 
         [0050]      FIG. 6  depicts the components constituting a cable support apparatus  10  according to an embodiment together with mount angles  4 , a part of the cabinet of an information processing apparatus (for example, a rack mount type server). The cable support apparatus  10  includes brackets  11 , the relay board  12 , a cable support  13  (an example of a holding board), a slide board  17 , and links  18 . The brackets  11  are fixed to the mount angles  4 , respectively. Cable holding parts  15  are disposed on the slide board  17 . The slide board  17  is placed on the cable support  13  so as to slide thereon. The cable support  13  is attached to the brackets  11  via the relay boards  12 . The slide board  17  is linked to the relay boards  12  via the links  18 . Assembling of these parts will be described later. 
         [0051]      FIG. 7A  is a plan view of the slide board  17  depicted in  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 7B  is a front view of the slide board  17 .  FIG. 7C  is a plan view of the cable support  13  depicted in  FIG. 6 . The plurality of cable holding parts  15  are disposed on an upper surface of the slide board  17  and a guide projection  17 P is disposed on an undersurface. A guide groove  13 G is disposed along a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction in the middle of the cable support  13 . When the slide board  17  is placed on the cable support  13 , the guide projection  17 P disposed on the undersurface of the slide board  17  is inserted into the guide groove  13 G. A detachable C-shaped ring (referred to below as the C-ring) is attached to the tip of the guide projection  17 P. When the slide board  17  is placed on the cable support  13 , the C-ring is detached and the guide projection  17 P is inserted into the guide groove  13 G. After the guide projection  17 P in inserted, the C-ring may be attached to the guide projection  17 P. The slide board  17  is formed so as to have substantially the same length in the longitudinal direction as the longitudinal direction of the cable support  13  so that the slide board is able to hold all cables connected to the electronic equipment units. 
         [0052]      FIG. 8  depicts a procedure for assembling the cable support apparatus  10  in  FIG. 6 . When the cable support apparatus  10  is assembled, the brackets  11  are first attached by fixtures (not depicted) such as bolts to the two mount angles  4  on the back side of the information processing apparatus (not depicted), respectively.  FIG. 8  depicts the procedure for attaching the bracket  11 , the relay board  12 , the slide board  17 , and the link  18  to one of the two mount angles  4 . Next, the relay board  12  is fixed to the bracket  11  with a fixture  12 P according to the length of projection from the mount angle  4  at the rear end of the electronic equipment unit (not depicted) installed in the information processing apparatus. The fixture  12 P is inserted into a slit  11 G disposed in the bracket  11  and then tightened. The position of the relay board  12  depicted in  FIG. 8  is determined assuming that the rear end of the electronic equipment unit (not depicted) installed in the information processing apparatus does not project backward beyond the mount angles  4 . 
         [0053]    Although the bracket  11  depicted in  FIG. 6  has a lock groove (notch)  16 N as in the bracket  91  described in  FIGS. 4A to 4C , the bracket  11  depicted in  FIG. 8  does not have a lock groove. Accordingly, the relay board  12  depicted in  FIG. 8  may be moved along the slit  11 G of the bracket  11  according to the length of projection from the mount angle  4  at the rear end of the electronic equipment unit installed in the information processing apparatus and may be fixed at an arbitrary position. When the lock groove  16 N as depicted in  FIG. 6  is disposed in the bracket  11  according to the present application, the relay board  12  may be moved along the slit  11 G of the bracket  11  and may be fixed at the position of the lock groove  16 N, as in the case described in  FIGS. 4A to 4C . 
         [0054]    On the other hand, in a process other than that for fixing the relay board  12  to the bracket  11 , the slide board  17  is attached to the cable support  13 . When the slide board  17  is attached to the cable support  13 , the guide projection  17 P projecting from the undersurface of the slide board  17  is inserted into the guide groove  13 G of the cable support  13  and then the slide board  17  is placed on the cable support  13 . Next, the C-ring  17 C is attached to the tip of the guide projection  17 P (indicated by a dotted line) projecting from the rear surface of the cable support  13  so that the guide projection  17 P is not removed from the guide groove  13 G. It is also possible to screw a screw with a head diameter larger than the width of a guide groove  13 G into the tip of the guide projection  17 P instead of attaching the C-ring  17 C to keep the guide projection  17 P from being removed from the guide groove  13 G. 
         [0055]    Side walls  13 W are disposed on both sides of a portion of the cable support  13  closer to the mount angle  4 . A shaft hole  13 A is disposed in a portion of the side wall  13 W closer to the mount angle  4 . In addition, the cable holding parts  15  are provided on the upper surface of the slide board  17  and a linking piece  17 L with a link hole  17 A is disposed on each of both sides. The cable support  13  to which the slide board  17  has been attached is attached pivotably to the relay board  12  by aligning the shaft hole  13 A with a shaft hole  12 A of the relay board  12  and inserting a pin P to form a rotary shaft  14 . Finally, the link  18  having linking holes  18 A and  18 B at both ends is installed between the relay board  12  and the slide board  17  with the coupling hole  18 A aligned with the coupling hole  17 A, the pin P is inserted into the holes, the coupling hole  18 B is aligned with a link hole  12 B, and then the pin P is inserted into the holes. The rotary shafts formed by inserting the pins P at both ends of the link  18  are assumed to be rotary shafts  19 A and  19 B. 
         [0056]      FIG. 9  depicts a part of the information processing apparatus  1  into which the cable support apparatus  10  according to the present application has been built, seen from the back side. The information processing apparatus  1  has a plurality of steps of unit installation areas  5  each having a plurality of electronic equipment units and the cable support apparatus  10  is disposed at the back side of each step of the unit installation area  5 . No cables are attached yet to the cable support apparatus  10  depicted in  FIG. 9 . 
         [0057]    The operation of the cable support apparatus  10  attached to the mount angles  4  of the information processing apparatus  1  will be described with reference to  FIGS. 10A to 10C .  FIG. 10A  is a side view of the cable support apparatus  10  depicted in  FIG. 9 . The distance F between the rotary shaft  14  of the cable support  13  disposed on the relay board  12  and the rotary shaft  19 B of the link  18  does not change. In contrast, the distance E between the rotary shaft  14  and the cable holding part  15  disposed on the slide board  17  changes when the cable support  13  is pivoted. 
         [0058]      FIG. 10B  depicts a state in which the cable support  13  of the cable support apparatus  10  depicted in  FIG. 10A  has started pivoting in the direction of arrow D relative to the relay board  12  around the rotary shaft  14 . When the cable support  13  is pivoted around the rotary shaft  14  in the direction of arrow D, the link  18 , which is connected to the slide board  17  via the rotary shaft  19 A, is pivoted around the rotary shaft  19 B in the direction of arrow R. Since the length of the link  18  does not change, the slide board  17 , which is connected to the link  18  via the rotary shaft  19 A, slides on the cable support  13  in the direction of arrow U. Accordingly, the cable holding part  15  on the slide board  17  moves toward the rotary shaft  14 . 
         [0059]      FIG. 10C  is a side view depicting a state in which the cable support  13  of the cable support apparatus  10  in  FIG. 10B  has finished pivoting relative to the relay board  12 . In this state, the slide board  17  connected to the link  18  via the rotary shaft  19 A slides on the cable support  13  and moves downward as the cable holding part  15  on the slide board  17  moves toward the rotary shaft  14 . In  FIG. 10C , the rear end of an electronic equipment unit  2  installed in the information processing apparatus  1  and the installation area (insertion/removal area) S of the electronic equipment unit  2  are indicated by dash-dot-dot lines. When the cable support  13  has finished pivoting relative to the relay board  12 , the cable holding part  15  on the slide board  17  is located below the installation area S of the electronic equipment unit  2 . Accordingly, the cable holding part  15  does not interfere with the movement of the electronic equipment unit  2  during replacement of the electronic equipment unit  2 . 
         [0060]    The distance by which the slide board  17  slides on the cable support  13  may be adjusted by the length of the link  18 . If the length of the link  18  is increased, the movement distance of the cable holding part  15  is reduced. If the length of the link  18  is reduced, the movement distance of the cable holding part  15  is increased. In addition, if a plurality of shaft holes are disposed in the relay board  12  and the link  18  and a shaft hole of the relay board  12  is combined with a shaft hole of the link  18  to adjust the length of the link  18 , the movement distance of the cable holding part  15  is changed, thereby enabling flexible adjustment. 
         [0061]      FIG. 11A  depicts a state in which one of the electronic equipment units  2  is pulled out from the unit installation area  5  in a normal state in which the cable support  13  is not pivoted on the back side of the information processing apparatus  1  into which the cable support apparatus  10  according to the present application has been built.  FIG. 11B  is a partially enlarged view of the cable support apparatus  10  depicted in  FIG. 11A . Since an end  2 T of the electronic equipment units  2  makes contact with an end  13 T of the cable support  13  as depicted by the arrow in a normal state in which the cable support  13  is not pivoted, it is impossible to pull out the electronic equipment unit  2  from the back side of the information processing apparatus  1 . 
         [0062]      FIG. 11C  is a side view depicting a state in which the cable support  13  has been pivoted downward in the information processing apparatus  1  into which the cable support apparatus  10  according to the present application has been built.  FIG. 11D  is a partially enlarged side view of the cable support apparatus  10  depicted in  FIG. 11C . In a state in which the cable support  13  is pivoted, the slide board  17  moves on the cable support  13  as depicted in  FIG. 11D , so an end  17 T of the slide board  17  is close to the end  13 T of the cable support  13 . In this state, as depicted in  FIG. 11C , when the electronic equipment unit  2  is pulled out from the unit installation area  5 , the end  17 T of the slide board  17 , the end  13 T of the cable support  13 , and the cable holding part  15  are all located below the end  2 T of the electronic equipment units  2 . Accordingly, it is possible to pull out the electronic equipment unit  2  from the back side of the information processing apparatus  1  and to insert the electronic equipment unit  2  into the unit installation area  5  of the information processing apparatus  1  from the back side. 
         [0063]      FIG. 12A  depicts a state in which the cable support apparatus  10  does not operate on the back side of the information processing apparatus  1  to which the cable support apparatus  10  according to the present application has been built. The cables  7 A and  7 B connected, via the cable connectors  8 , to the unit connectors  9  of the electronic equipment unit  2  installed in the information processing apparatus  1  are fixed to the cable holding part  15  disposed on the slide board  17 .  FIG. 12B  depicts a state in which the cable support  13  of the cable support apparatus  10  has been pivoted downward from the state depicted in  FIG. 12A . 
         [0064]    In the cable support apparatus  90  depicted in  FIGS. 2C and 3B , if the cable support  93  is pivoted downward, the distance between the cable connector  8  and the cable holding part  95  increases. Accordingly, in the cable support apparatus  90  depicted in  FIGS. 2C and 3B , the cables  7 A and  7 B between the cable connectors  8  and the cable holding part  95  are fixed with an extra length given, so that the length increased by pivoting of the cable support  93  is canceled. However, the diameter of the cable is larger, it is impossible to provide an extra length for the cables  7 A and  7 B between the cable connectors  8  and the cable holding part  95 , so the cable support apparatus  90  depicted in  FIGS. 2C and 3B  is unavailable for thicker cables. 
         [0065]    In contrast, even if the cable support  13  is pivoted downward in the cable support apparatus  10  depicted in  FIGS. 12A and 12B , there is little variation in the distance between the cable connector  8  and the cable holding part  15  because of movement of the link  18  and the slide board  17 . Accordingly, in the cable support apparatus  10 , there is no desire to provide an extra length for the cables  7 A and  7 B between the cable connector  8  and the cable holding part  95 . Consequently, the cable support apparatus  10  is applicable even when it is difficult to provide an extra length for the cables  7 A and  7 B between the cable connector  8  and the cable holding part  95  because the cables  7 A and  7 B are thick and hard. In addition, a pivoting angle of the cable support  13  desired to insert or remove the electronic equipment unit does not change between the cable support apparatus  10  and the cable support apparatus  90  depicted in  FIGS. 2C and 3B . 
         [0066]      FIG. 13A  is a rear view of the information processing apparatus  1  according to an embodiment into which the cable support apparatus  10  has been built. There are three steps of unit installation areas  5  in  FIG. 13A . As many cables  7  (cables  7 A and  7 B) as electronic equipment units  2  installed in the unit installation area  5  are connected to the back side of the unit installation area  5  for each step and are fixed to the cable holding part  15  on the slide board  17  of the cable support apparatus  10 . The cable support apparatus  10  holds the cables  7  connected to the back side of the information processing apparatus  1  so that the cables  7  do not invade the areas of other units. 
         [0067]    For example, when an electronic equipment unit  2  on the second step of three steps of unit installation areas  5  depicted in  FIG. 13A  is inserted or removed, only the cable support  13  of the cable support apparatus  10  on the second step is pivoted downward, as depicted in  FIG. 13B . The cable support  13  of the cable support apparatus  10  on the second step may be pivoted downward regardless of the states of the cable support apparatuses  10  on the first and third steps. The unit insertion/removal area is kept by pivoting the cable support  13  downward to move the cables  7  and the cable holding part  15  aside. 
         [0068]    As described above, the cable support apparatus and the information processing apparatus having a cable support apparatus are able to keep the unit insertion/removal area of an electronic equipment unit regardless of the thickness and minimum bending radius of a cable connected to the electronic equipment unit. As a result, during replacement of the electronic equipment unit, active replacement is achieved while the information processing apparatus operates, thereby improving the efficiency of maintenance of the information processing apparatus. 
         [0069]    All examples and conditional language recited herein are intended for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventor to furthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions, nor does the organization of such examples in the specification relate to a showing of the superiority and inferiority of the invention. Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, it should be understood that the various changes, substitutions, and alterations could be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.