Abstract:
A cable management support for a conventional equipment rack provides various bars and members to support, order, direct and otherwise manage cables coupled to equipment secured in the rack.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   Generally, the present invention relates to cable management devices for communication equipment racks. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Communication cables such as fiber optic and metal cables tend to be plentiful and a challenge in managing the cables to keep them orderly and supported at junction points involving communication racks. Communication racks are used for many sorts of applications including telephony, networking, and other communication related applications. Unfortunately, conventional solutions to cable management challenges can present challenges of their own such as with insufficient access and/or high demands for space requirements. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of a cable management support system having dual attachment brackets according to a first implementation of the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  is a rear perspective view of the cable management support system of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 3  is a front perspective view of a cable management support system having single attachment brackets according to a second implementation of the present invention. 
       FIG. 4  is a rear perspective view of the cable management support system of  FIG. 3 . 
       FIG. 5  is a front perspective view of a cable management support system having dual attachment brackets, an expanded deck, and angled cross bars according to a third implementation of the present invention. 
       FIG. 6  is a rear perspective view of the cable management support system of  FIG. 5 . 
       FIG. 7  is a front perspective view of a cable management support system having single attachment brackets, an expanded deck, and angled cross bars according to a fourth implementation of the present invention. 
       FIG. 8  is a rear perspective view of the cable management support system of  FIG. 7 . 
       FIG. 9  is a front perspective view of a cable management support system having dual attachment brackets, an expanded deck, angled cross bars, and a solid platform area according to a fifth implementation of the present invention. 
       FIG. 10  is a rear perspective view of the cable management support system of  FIG. 9 . 
       FIG. 11  is a front perspective view of a cable management support system having single attachment brackets, an expanded deck, angled cross bars, and a solid platform area according to a sixth implementation of the present invention. 
       FIG. 12  is a rear perspective view of the cable management support system of  FIG. 11 . 
       FIG. 13  is a front perspective view of the first implementation of the cable management support system of  FIG. 1  shown attached to the front side of a communication rack holding a one RU patch panel. 
       FIG. 14  is a front perspective view of the first implementation of the cable management support system of  FIG. 1  shown attached to the rear side of the communication rack holding the one RU patch panel. 
       FIG. 15  is a front perspective view of the third implementation of the cable management support system of  FIG. 5  shown attached to the front side of a communication rack. 
       FIG. 16  is a front perspective view of the third implementation of the cable management support system of  FIG. 5  shown attached to the rear side of a communication rack. 
       FIG. 17  is an enlarged view of a portion of  FIG. 13  showing detail regarding securing cables along an end portion of the first implementation of the cable management support system. 
       FIG. 18  is an enlarged view of a portion of  FIG. 15  showing detail regarding securing cables along an end portion of the third implementation of the cable management support system. 
       FIG. 19  is a front perspective view of the third implementation of the cable management support system of  FIG. 5  shown attached to the a communication rack and acting as a shelf to hold a group of cables. 
       FIG. 20  is a side elevational view of a first cable management support system and a second cable management support system both having the dual attachment bracket and attached to the front and rear side, respectively, of a communication rack with a first cable being supported above the first cable management support system and a second cable being supported below the second cable management support system. 
       FIG. 21  is a side elevational view of a first cable management support system and a second cable management support system both having the dual attachment bracket and attached to the front and rear side, respectively, of a communication rack with a first cable being supported above and a second cable being support below both the first cable management support system and the second cable management support system wherein both the first cable and the second cable are passing through the communication rack. 
       FIG. 22  is a front perspective view of the third implementation of the cable management support system of  FIG. 5  shown attached to the front side of a communication rack holding a two RU patch panel. 
       FIG. 23  is a front perspective view of the fourth implementation of the cable management support system of  FIG. 7  shown attached to the front side of the communication rack holding the one RU patch panel. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   A cable management support system has various implementations including those depicted herein that are useful for supporting, ordering, and otherwise managing cables near and coupled with communication racks. 
   A first implementation  100  of the cable management support system is shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2  as having a first deck  102  extending between a left dual attachment bracket  104  and a right dual attachment bracket  106 . The first deck  102  has a front lateral member  108  and a rear lateral member  110  with tie or cross bars  112  extending therebetween. The front lateral member  108 , the rear lateral member  110 , and the cross bars  112  are so spaced to define openings therebetween that are substantially larger in lateral dimension and in forward dimension than the thickness of the cross bars, and preferably by multiples of such thickness, thus allowing for good access to various cables secured and/or to be secured and the securing devices used. The openings are sized to allow for a user to pass a finger of the hand therethrough to facilitate working with the securing devices used to secure cables to the cross bars. The first deck  102  and other deck implementations have a thin vertical profile to allow various options in cable placement and not significantly block the face of a patch panel or other equipment to which attached. 
   The first deck  102  also has a left end laterally inwardly angled bar  114  and a right end laterally inwardly angled bar  116  near the left dual attachment bracket  104  and the right dual attachment bracket  106 , respectively. Extension portions  118  couple the left end inwardly angled bar  114  and the right end inwardly angled bar  116  to the left dual attachment bracket  104  and the right dual attachment bracket  106 , respectively. The extension portions  118  serve to extend the first deck  102  outward from a communication rack to which coupled. Although the extension portions  118  are depicted as a certain size, in other implementations the extension portions can be other sizes to accommodate placement of various implementations of decks, such as the first deck  102 . 
   The left dual attachment bracket  104  and the right dual attachment bracket  106  each have a split portion  120  that each extend from their respective extension portion  118 . The split portion  120  vertically locates the first deck  102  approximately mid-way of a rack unit dimension of a communication rack as further discussed below. 
   The split portion  120  of the left dual attachment bracket  104  is coupled to an upper attachment portion  104   a  and a lower attachment portion  104   b  of the left dual attachment bracket  104 . Likewise, the split portion  120  of the right dual attachment bracket  106  is coupled to an upper attachment portion  106   a  and the lower attachment portion  106   b  of the right dual attachment bracket  106 . The upper attachment portion  104   a,  the lower attachment portion  104   b,  the upper attachment portion  106   a,  and the lower attachment portion  106   b  each have a hole  122  that can be used to receive a bolt for attaching the first implementation  100  to a communication rack. 
   A second implementation  130  of the system is shown in  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4  with the first deck  102  extending between a left single attachment bracket  132  and a right single attachment bracket  134 , both having only one hole  122  for attaching to a communication rack. 
   A third implementation  140  of the system is shown in  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6  has having a third deck  142  extending between the left dual attachment bracket  104  and the right dual attachment bracket  106 . The third deck  142  has an extended front lateral member  144  and the rear lateral member  110  with laterally outwardly angled left cross bars  146 , laterally outwardly angled right cross bars  148 , a left end cross bar  150 , and a right end cross bar  152  extending therebetween. A mid-portion  154  centrally located in a center longitudinal position of the rear lateral member  110  extends from the rear lateral member to receive the middle most outwardly angled left cross bar  146  and middle most outwardly angled right cross bar  148 . 
   A fourth implementation  160  as shown in  FIG. 7  and  FIG. 8  includes the third deck  142  extending between the left single attachment bracket  132  and the right single attachment bracket  134 . 
   A fifth implementation  170  as shown in  FIG. 9  and  FIG. 10  includes a fourth deck  172  extending between the left dual attachment bracket  104  and the right dual attachment bracket  106 . 
   The fourth deck  172  includes the extended front lateral member  144  and the rear lateral member  110  with the outwardly angled left cross bars  146 , the outwardly angled right cross bars  148 , the left cross bar  150 , and the right cross bar  152  extending therebetween. An extended mid-portion  174  extends between the extended front lateral member  144  and the rear lateral member  110 . 
   Placement of the laterally outwardly angled left cross bars  146  and the laterally outwardly angled right cross bars  148  are shifted along the extended front lateral member  144  and the rear lateral member  110  relative to placement of the outwardly angled left cross bars  146  and the outwardly angled right cross bars  148  in the third deck  142  to accommodate the extended mid-portion  174  of the fourth deck. 
   A sixth implementation  180  as shown in  FIG. 11  and  FIG. 12  includes the fourth deck  172  extending between the left single attachment bracket  132  and the right single attachment bracket  134 . 
   As shown in  FIG. 13 , the first implementation  100  can be attached to a front side  176  of a left post  177 L and a right post  177 R of a communication rack  178  to allow for attachment of cables  180  running over and under the first deck  102 . Some of the cables  180  are shown attached to the first deck  102  with straps  182 . With use of the left dual attachment bracket  104  and the right dual attachment bracket  106 , the first deck  102  is vertically positioned at a mid-portion area of a one rack unit (RU) patch panel  183  from which the cables  180  extend. The patch panel  183  is illustrated with the cables  180  having their connectors inserted into ports  184  of the patch panel. The front side  176  has pairs  185  of top holes  185   a  and bottom holes  185   b  that receive bolts  185   c  to fasten equipment such as the patch panel  184 , other types of patch panels, or other equipment to the communication rack  178 . Typically each pair  185  of the top hole  185   a  and the bottom hole  185   b  are vertically separated by distances that will allow for receipt of various equipment configured to conventional rack unit dimensions. The bolts  185   c  also extend through the holes  122  to secure the first implementation to the communication rack  178 . 
   The first implementation  100  can also be attached to a rear side  186  of the left and right posts  177 L and  177 R having pairs  185  of the top holes  185   a  and the bottom holes  185   b  for receiving the bolts  185   c  of the communication rack  178  as shown in  FIG. 14 . 
   The third implementation  140  is shown attached to the front side  176  of the communication rack  178  in  FIG. 15 . The outwardly angled left cross bars  146  and the outwardly angled right cross bars  148  allow for angling of the cables  180  attached thereto toward the left and right sides of the communication rack. 
   The third implementation  140  can also be attached to the rear side  186  of the left and right posts  177 L and  177 R of the communication rack  178  as shown in  FIG. 16 . 
     FIG. 17  illustrates for the right side of the first deck  102  that there is not as much availability for securing thereto cables which are extending from the pair of ports of the patch panel  184  adjacent to extension portion  118 . The right end inwardly angled bar  116  of the first deck  102  is positioned too far laterally inward and not directly in front of the ports. The same is true for the left side of the first deck  102 . The availability for securing cables which are extending from the pair of ports of the patch panel  184  adjacent to extension portion  118  is greatly improved in the designs of the third deck  142  by the extended front lateral member  144  that projects laterally outward farther and provides an outwardly angled right cross bar  148  positioned immediately forward of this pair of ports of the patch panel to which cables can be secured as shown in  FIG. 18 . The same is true for the left side of the of the third deck  142 . The same design feature is used with the of the fourth deck  172 . 
   As shown in  FIG. 19 , the third implementation  140 , as well as the other implementations, can serve as a shelf to hold a group of cables  188  strapped with large straps  190  to the third deck  142  as a bundle of cables. 
   As shown in  FIG. 20 , various implementations of the system can be attached to both the front side  176  and the rear side  186  of the communication rack  178  allowing for connection of cables  180  extending from either the front side and/or the rear side of the communication rack, above and/or below the deck of the implementation. 
   As shown in  FIG. 21 , two decks of the system, one attached to the front side  176  and one attached to the rear side  186  of the communication rack  178 , can also allow for pass through of cables  192  through the communication rack between the front and rear sides of the communication rack. 
   As shown in  FIG. 22 , the third implementation  140  can be attached to the front side  176  of the communication rack  178  that is holding a two RU patch panel  192 . Only the upper attachment portion  104   a  and the upper attachment portion  106   a  of the left and right dual attachment brackets  104  and  106  are bolted to the communication rack  178  since the height of the two RU patch panel  192  does not allow for further bolting of the lower attachment portion  104   b  and the lower attachment portion  106   b  when the upper attachment portions are bolted. 
   As shown in  FIG. 23 , the fourth implementation  160  using the left single attachment bracket  132  and the right single attachment bracket  134  can be bolted to the communication rack  178  with a one RU patch panel  183  having upper attachment positions  194  and lower attachment positions  196 . Although the fourth implementation  160  is shown bolted to the upper attachment positions  196 , the fourth implementation can also be bolted to the lower attachment positions  196 . 
   Implementations of the system can be made from rigid metals, such as die cast aluminum, zinc, and other metals or rigid plastics. 
   It will be readily understood by those persons skilled in the art that the present invention is susceptible of broad utility and application. Many embodiments and adaptations of the present invention other than those herein described, as well as many variations, modifications and equivalent arrangements, will be apparent from or reasonably suggested by the present invention and the foregoing description thereof, without departing from the substance or scope of the present invention. Accordingly, while the present invention has been described herein in detail in relation to its preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that this disclosure is only illustrative and exemplary of the present invention and is made merely for purposes of providing a full and enabling disclosure of the invention. The foregoing disclosure is not intended or to be construed to limit the present invention or otherwise to exclude any such other embodiments, adaptations, variations, modifications and equivalent arrangements, the present invention being limited only by the claims filed and the equivalents thereof.