Abstract:
A cabling spool for guiding or storing cable, such as is often employed in network racks or other cabling cabinets or enclosures to organize cable layouts and store excess cable, includes a spool body and an end flange. The spool body has a surface with a radius, sized to prevent a minimum bend radius of a cable from being exceeded. The end flange of the spool keeps cables passing about the spool body from leaving the spool. The end flange may be attached to the spool body in a number of positions, e.g., in an upward position, when a majority of cables pass over a top of the spool body; in a downward position, when a majority of cables pass over a bottom of the spool body. The end flange may optionally be rotated relative to the spool body.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a management apparatus for cables. More particularly, the present invention relates to a device, such as a spool, for guiding one or more cables in a different direction and/or for storing cable slack. A spool is often used in combination with a network/equipment rack for managing fiber optic or other communication cables. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     There are many types of spools, which are known in the art of cable guidance, organization and storage. 
     For example,  FIG. 1  illustrates a spool in accordance with the prior art of U.S. Pat. No. 7,302,155, which is incorporated herein by reference. In  FIG. 1 , a first rack  1  and a second rack  3  support a plurality of brackets  5  holding ports  9 , i.e., patch panels. Connectors on the ends of cables  7  are connected to the ports  9 . The cables  7  extend from the ports  9  to spools  11 . At the spools  11 , the cables  7  are guided around the spool  11  and redirected to another port  9  or into an overhead conduit  13 . Excess cable  7  may be wrapped multiple times about one or more spools  11 . 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a spool in accordance with the prior art of U.S. Pat. No. 6,398,149, which is incorporated herein by reference. In  FIG. 2 , a network rack  6  (illustrated without ports, connectors or cabling to simplify the drawing) has a first track assembly  12  and a second track assembly  14  supported on opposing sides of the network rack  6 . A first spool  16  is engaged within a first track  20  of the first track assembly  12 . A second spool  18  is engaged within a second track  22  of the second track assembly  14 . 
     The first spool  16  may be selectively slid up and down within the first track  20  and locked into a desired position by a user, such that the first spool  16  may be positioned at a most desirable position relative to the cables to be accommodated by the first spool  16 . Of course, additional spools could be added to the first track assembly  12 . Also, the operation of the second spool  18  in the second track assembly  14  would be identical. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a spool in accordance with the prior art of U.S. Pat. No. 6,614,978, which is incorporated herein by reference. In  FIG. 3 , a network rack  30  supports a plurality of optical or electrical devices  32  with numerous ports to which plural cables would be connected. A plurality of first spools  34  are mounted adjacent to the devices  32 . The first spools  34  have an upwardly directed end flange  36 . The first spools  34  do not have any downwardly directed end flange. No downwardly directed end flange is present on the first spools  34  because, in use, cables only pass along the top of a spool body of the first spools  34  and there is no need to provide a downwardly directed end flange, which would add cost and occupy additional space in the network rack  30 . 
     At the bottom of the network rack  30 , a second spool  38  of a different design is provided. The second spool  38  includes an end flange  40  which extends both upwardly and downwardly from the spool body of the second spool  38 . The end flange  40  extends in both directions because cables are intended to be directed across the top and bottom of the second spool  38 , such that the extended flange  40  is needed in order to keep the cables on the second spool  38 . 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a spool in accordance with the prior art of U.S. Pat. No. 7,298,952, which is incorporated herein by reference. In  FIG. 4 , third spools  42  of a design similar to the first spools  34  of  FIG. 3  are employed. The third spools  42  have an upwardly extending end flange  44  to retain cables passing along a top surface of the third spools  42 .  FIG. 4  also illustrates a fourth spool  46 . The fourth spool  46  has a downwardly extending end flange  48  to retain cables passing along a lower surface of the fourth spool  46 . In practice, the fourth spool  48  is simply a third spool  42  mounted in an upside down fashion, such that the curved portion of the spool body and the end flange  48  face downwardly. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The Applicant has appreciated one or more drawbacks associated with the spools of the prior art. 
     As spools with different types of end flanges may be required in different circumstances, e.g., spools  34  and  38  in  FIG. 3 , it is incumbent upon a technician to purchase, inventory and carry several different types of spools when working on network racks or similar types of equipment. 
     Often times, it is desirable to display logos, trademarks, service contact information, warnings, notes or similar text on the flat surface of the end flange of a spool. If the service technician simply mounts one of the spools upside down, e.g., spool  46  versus spool  42  in  FIG. 4 , so as to reduce the number of spools to be inventoried and carried, the text will be upside down. 
     In some situations, a “best fit” spool must be selected by a service technician to accommodate the specific cabling requirements. In other words, in a situation where twenty runs of cable will be passed along a top surface of a spool and ten runs of cable will be passed along a bottom surface of a spool, the technician may only be able to select a spool having an end flange with 90% of the end flange at the top and 10% of the end flange at the bottom, e.g., spool  38  in  FIG. 3 , or select a spool with 50% of the end flange at the top and 50% of the end flange at the bottom, e.g. spool  11  in  FIG. 1 . The optimum spool for the circumstance might be a spool having 67% of the end flange at the top and 33% of the end flange at the bottom. Also, differently sized end flanges would be beneficial so as not to take up excess space on the network rack. However, purchasing, inventorying and carrying such a multitude of spools to the work site would be overly burdensome. 
     The Applicant has also appreciated a need for a spool, which is simple in design, rugged, more flexible as to end uses, easy to manufacture and/or less expensive to manufacture. 
     It is an object of the present invention to address one or more of the drawbacks of the prior art spools and/or Applicant&#39;s appreciated needs in the art. 
     These and other objects are accomplished by a cabling spool for guiding or storing cable, such as is often employed in network racks or other cabling cabinets or enclosures to organize cable layouts and store excess cable. The spool includes a spool body having a surface with a radius, sized to prevent a minimum bend radius of a cable from being exceeded. An end flange of the spool keeps cables passing about the spool body from leaving the spool. The end flange may be attached to the spool body in a number of positions, e.g., in an upward position, when a majority of cables pass over a top of the spool body; in a downward position, when a majority of cables pass over a bottom of the spool body. The end flange may optionally be rotated relative to the spool body. 
     Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus, are not limits of the present invention, and wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a front view of a first network rack with spools, in accordance with the prior art; 
         FIG. 2  is a front perspective view of a second network rack with spools, in accordance with the prior art; 
         FIG. 3  is a front perspective view of a third network rack with spools, in accordance with the prior art; 
         FIG. 4  is a front view of a fourth network rack with spools, in accordance with the prior art; 
         FIG. 5  is a front and side perspective view of a spool body, in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  is a rear and side perspective view of the spool body of  FIG. 5 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a front perspective view of an end flange for attachment to the spool body of  FIG. 5 ; 
         FIG. 8  is a rear perspective view of the end flange of  FIG. 7 ; 
         FIG. 9  is a rear perspective view of an optional, smaller end flange; 
         FIG. 10  is a side view of the end flange of  FIG. 7  attached to the spool body of  FIG. 5  in a first position; 
         FIG. 11  is a side view of the end flange of  FIG. 7  attached to the spool body of  FIG. 5  in a second position; 
         FIG. 12  is a side view of the end flange of  FIG. 7  attached to the spool body of  FIG. 5  in a third position; 
         FIG. 13  front and side perspective view of an end flange and a spool body attached to a network rack and holding a cable, in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 14  is a cross sectional view taken along line XIV-XIV in  FIG. 13 ; 
         FIG. 15  is a cross sectional view of the rear surface of the end flange of  FIG. 13 ; and 
         FIG. 16  is a front and side perspective view of the spool of  FIG. 13 , with the spool body inverted and the end flange rotated and slid downwardly. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention now is described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. 
     Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. In the figures, the thickness of certain lines, layers, components, elements or features may be exaggerated for clarity. Broken lines illustrate optional features or operations unless specified otherwise. 
     The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the specification and relevant art and should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein. Well-known functions or constructions may not be described in detail for brevity and/or clarity. 
     As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. As used herein, phrases such as “between X and Y” and “between about X and Y” should be interpreted to include X and Y. As used herein, phrases such as “between about X and Y” mean “between about X and about Y.” As used herein, phrases such as “from about X to Y” mean “from about X to about Y.” 
     It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “on”, “attached” to, “connected” to, “coupled” with, “contacting”, etc., another element, it can be directly on, attached to, connected to, coupled with or contacting the other element or intervening elements may also be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being, for example, “directly on”, “directly attached” to, “directly connected” to, “directly coupled” with or “directly contacting” another element, there are no intervening elements present. It will also be appreciated by those of skill in the art that references to a structure or feature that is disposed “adjacent” another feature may have portions that overlap or underlie the adjacent feature. 
     Spatially relative terms, such as “under”, “below”, “lower”, “cover”, “upper”, “lateral”, “left”, “right” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature&#39;s relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It will be understood that the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is inverted, elements described as “under” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “over” the other elements or features. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the descriptors of relative spatial relationships used herein interpreted accordingly. 
       FIG. 5  is a front and side perspective view of a spool body  53  of a spool apparatus or spool  51  in accordance with the present invention (See  FIGS. 10-12 ). The spool body  53  is generally cylindrical, with a round cross sectional shape, and has a first end  55  and a second end  57 . The second end  57  is remote, and preferably opposite to, the first end  55 . 
     The second end  57  of the spool body  53  includes a first connector structure. In one embodiment, the first connector structure includes first and second projecting portions  59  and  61 , such as cylinder-shaped members. The first and second projecting portions  59  and  61  may optionally include spring-loaded pins  63  and  65 . The spring-loaded pins  63  and  65  are biased so as to protrude from the side of the first and second projecting portions  59  and  61 , as illustrated. However, under an applied force, the spring-loaded pins  63  and  65  may be pressed into the first and second projecting portions  59  and  61 , respectively. 
       FIG. 6  is a rear and side perspective view of the spool body  53  of  FIG. 5 . The first end  55  of the spool body  53  includes locking features. In one embodiment, the locking features include resilient snap-locking tabs  67 - 1 ,  67 - 2 ,  67 - 3 ,  67 - 4 . The resilient locking tabs  67 - 1 ,  67 - 2 ,  67 - 3 ,  67 - 4  are designed to snap past retaining features on another structure (such as mounting holes on a network rack), so as to attach the spool body  53  to another structure, as will be further explained in connection with  FIG. 14 . Of course, other locking features may be employed to attach the spool body  53  to another structure, such as the adjustable slide locking features of the spool  14  in  FIG. 2 . 
       FIG. 7  is a front perspective view of an end flange  69 , in accordance with the present invention. A front surface  71  of the end flange  69  is generally flat and planar surface. The front surface  71  may include indicia  73 , such as logos, trademarks, service contact information, warnings, notes or similar text. 
       FIG. 8  is a rear perspective view of the end flange  69  of  FIG. 7 . A rear surface  75  of the end flange  69  is generally flat and planar. The rear surface  75  includes a second connector structure. The second connector structure has features to complimentarily engage with features of the first connector structure. In one embodiment, the second connector structure includes a plurality of recessed portions, such as first, second, third and fourth recessed portions  77 - 1 ,  77 - 2 ,  77 - 3 ,  77 - 4 . 
     The first projecting portion  59  is sized to engage within one of the first, second, third and fourth recessed portions  77 - 1 ,  77 - 2 ,  77 - 3 ,  77 - 4 . Optionally, the spring-loaded pin  63  of the first projecting portion  59  is adapted to engage within an indent within a recessed portion  77 , so as to create a removable attachment between the first projecting portion  59  and the recessed portion  77 . The second projecting portion  61  would also be sized to engage within one of the first, second, third and fourth recessed portions  77 - 1 ,  77 - 2 ,  77 - 3 ,  77 - 4 , in the same manner as the first projecting portion  59 . 
     With the structure illustrated in  FIGS. 5 and 8 , the end flange  69  may be attached to the second end  57  of the spool body  53  in one of three different offset positions. When the first projecting portion  59  is engaged within the third recessed portion  77 - 3  and the second projecting portion  61  is engaged within the fourth recessed portion  77 - 4 , the end flange  69  is in a first position relative to the second end  57  of the spool body  53 , wherein the end flange  69  protrudes, or is offset, more in a first or upper direction from the spool body  53 , as depicted in  FIG. 10 . When the first projecting portion  59  is engaged within the first recessed portion  77 - 1  and the second projecting portion  61  is engaged within the second recessed portion  77 - 2 , the end flange  69  is in a second position relative to the second end  57  of the spool body  53 , wherein the end flange  69  protrudes, or is offset, more in a second or lower direction from the spool body  53 , as depicted in  FIG. 12 . When the first projecting portion  59  is engaged within the second recessed portion  77 - 2  and the second projecting portion  61  is engaged within the third recessed portion  77 - 3 , the end flange  69  is in a third position relative to the second end  57  of the spool body  53 , wherein the end flange  69  protrudes approximately equally in the upper and lower directions from the spool body  53 , as depicted in  FIG. 11 . 
       FIG. 9  illustrates a second end flange  79 . The second end flange  79  is smaller than the end flange  69  of  FIG. 8 . A rear surface  81  of the second end flange  79  would include the same second connector structures as existing on the rear surface  75  of the end flange  69  in  FIG. 8 . In other words, first, second, third and fourth recessed portions  77 - 1 ,  77 - 2 ,  77 - 3 ,  77 - 4  would be provided with the same spacing therebetween, as compared to the end flange  69  of  FIG. 8 . Employing the smaller, second end flange  79  would conserve space in a network rack environment when less cabling is to be stored or guided by the spool. 
     The connector structures illustrated in  FIGS. 5 and 8  demonstrate a releasable locking structure, such that the end flange  69  may be removed from the second end  57  of the spool body  53  and reattached to the second end  57  of the spool body  53  in a same or different position relative to the second end  57  of the spool body  53  at the discretion of the user. Also the end flange  69  may be removed from the spool body  53  and replaced with the smaller, second end flange  79 . 
       FIGS. 5 ,  8  and  9  illustrate one embodiment of a connector structure. It should be appreciated that other connector structures could be employed. For example, the cylindrical shape of the first and second projecting portions  59  and  61  could be replaced with a cube-like shape. As such, it would be possible to eliminate the second projecting portion  61 . If the recessed portions  77 - 1 ,  77 - 2 ,  77 - 3 ,  77 - 4  were made of a complimentary square shape, it would be possible to attach the end flange  69  to the second end  57  of the spool body  53  in one of four different relative positions. To that end, it is envisioned that more or fewer positions than three or four positions could be provided for the end flange  69  on the second end  57  of the spool body  53  by providing more or fewer recessed portions  77 . 
     In a second embodiment depicted in  FIGS. 13-16 , a spool  51 ′ is half-moon shaped, similar in shape to the spools  34  and  42  in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , respectively. The spool  51 ′ includes a third end flange  83 . The third end flange  83  may be positioned in an infinite number of positions relative to a second end  85  of a second spool body  87 . A first end  89  of the spool body  87  includes the resilient snap-locking tabs  67 - 1 ,  67 - 2 ,  67 - 3 ,  67 - 4  which are engaged to a support  91 , such as a network rack for holding optical or electrical devices. A cable  93  is illustrated as being ran over the top of the spool body  87 . 
     A connector structure is disposed between the end flange  83  and the second end  85  of the spool body  87 . In the second embodiment, the connector structure may include a first connector structure in the form of a guide tab  95  attached to the second end  85  of the spool body  87  by fasteners  97 . The connector structure may also include a second connector structure in the form of a guide slot  99  formed within the third end flange  83 . The guide tab  95  is sized to fit within the guide slot  99  in a snug manner, such that the guide tab  95  remains stationary within the guide slot  99  due to friction, but can be moved within the guide slot  99  by overcoming the friction with a manual force applied by a user. By this arrangement, the connector structure provides a siding engagement where the third end flange  83  may be positioned in an infinite number of positions relative to the second end  85  of the spool body  87 . Although, the sliding connector has been illustrated in combination with a half-moon shaped spool body  87 , it could also be used in combination with the cylindrical spool body  53  of  FIGS. 5 and 6 . 
     Another feature of the embodiment of  FIGS. 13 and 14  is that the guide tab  95  may possess a circular shape inside of the guide track  99 , as illustrated in  FIG. 15 . By this arrangement, the third end flange  83  may be rotated about the guide tab  95  in the direction of arrow A in  FIGS. 13 and 15 . By this arrangement, the spool base  87  can be mounted upside down to accommodate cables passing along a bottom surface of the spool body  87 , in a manner similar to the spool  46  in  FIG. 4 . Yet as illustrated in  FIG. 16 , the “LOGO” printed on the end flange  83  will be properly oriented and the end flange  83  may be slid to be offset in a downward direction. 
     The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are to be included within the scope of the following claims.