Abstract:
A cable support apparatus is provided. The cable support apparatus includes an elongate spine member, and a plurality of support members each attached to the elongate spine member, each of the plurality of support members defining at least one cable receiving portion therein, wherein at least one of the plurality of support members further includes a hanger for retaining one or more cables separate from the at least one cable receiving portion.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/732,444, filed on Mar. 26, 2010, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present disclosure relates to cable management systems and more particularly to cable management systems for cable management and installation applications. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     With the increasing volume of communication and data cables being incorporated into buildings cable management systems are becoming more and more critical. Previous cable management systems utilized rigid box trays or ladders which required a high degree of labor and components to perform even a simple installation. The amount of labor and additional components significantly increased when attempting an installation which required routing the cable tray around obstacles such as ductwork, plumbing or other building systems. 
     Known cable management systems are configured to maintain communication and data cables. Commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,361,000, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, discloses multiple cable management systems for supporting one or more cables. In these systems, the cables are retained in bundles; however, bundling of the cables may cause interference with transmission through the cables. This is especially true of cables transmitting at radio frequencies (RF). 
     Accordingly, a need exists for cable management systems which is configured to maintain one or more cables separate from the cable bundle. 
     SUMMARY 
     A cable support apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes an elongate spine member and a plurality of support members each attached to the elongate spine member. Each of the plurality of support members defines at least one cable receiving portion. At least one of the plurality of support members further includes a hanger for retaining one or more cables separate from the at least one cable receiving portion. 
     The plurality of support members may be positioned relative one another to permit substantial bending of the elongate spine member. The plurality of support members may include a mounting terminal formed as a loop adapted to receive mounting hardware therein. The plurality of support members may define an opening in communication with the at least one cable receiving portion, the opening being disposed a vertical distance away from the elongate spine member to permit loading or unloading of cables on the cable support apparatus when the cable support apparatus is mounted relative to a base. The plurality of support members may be attached to the flexible spine member such that the elongate spine member is maintained at a predetermined distance away from the at least one cable receiving portion of each of the plurality of support members. The support members may further be attached to the elongate spine member at at least two points along the length of thereof. 
     The support members including a hanger may be equally spaced from the support members without a hanger. The hanger may be configured to maintain at least one cable a predetermined distance from the cable receiving portion. The hanger may be disposed in substantial vertical alignment with the center of gravity of the cable support apparatus. 
     Also disclosed is a cable support apparatus. The cable support apparatus includes an elongate flexible spine member, a plurality of support members attached to the elongate flexible spine member, the plurality of support members each defining a partially enclosed area configured and dimensioned to receive a plurality of cables therein, the plurality of support members further including a hanger configured to suspend the support member from a support structure. The plurality of support members may be positioned relative to one another to permit substantial bending, by hand, of the elongate spine member. The hanger may be disposed in substantial vertical alignment with a center of gravity of the cable support apparatus. 
     The plurality of support members may be attached to the flexible spine member such that an opening is defined which provides access to the at least one enclosed area, the opening being disposed a vertical distance away from the flexible spine member to permit loading or unloading of cables on the cable support apparatus when the cable support apparatus is suspended from a support structure. Additionally, the plurality of support members may be attached to the flexible spine member such that the flexible spine member is maintained at a predetermined distance away from the at least one area of each of the plurality of support members. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       For a better understanding of the invention, reference is made to the following description of exemplary embodiments thereof, and to the accompanying drawing figures, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a known cable management system; 
         FIG. 2  is an enlarged sectional view of the cable management system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a cable management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 4  is an enlarged sectional view of the cable management system of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is an enlarged perspective view of a modified cable support member of the cable management system of  FIGS. 3 and 4 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a cable management system according to another embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 7  is an enlarged sectional view of the cable management system of  FIG. 6 ; 
         FIG. 8A  is an enlarged side view of a cable support member of the cable management system of  FIGS. 6 and 7 ; and 
         FIG. 8B  is an enlarged front view of the cable support member of  FIG. 8A . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring initially to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a known cable management system is shown generally as cable tray  100 . Cable tray  100  is preferably constructed of wire stock and includes a flexible spine  106  and multiple cable support members  105 . Spine  106  runs along the length of cable tray  100  with cable support members  105  extending from spine  106 . Cable support members  105  are formed by bending the wire stock to form cable receiving portion  120 . Although receiving portions  120  are shown generally as being rectangular, it is understood, that other geometric configurations may also be utilized. 
     Still referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , cable support members  105  include mounting loops  127  and looped ends  126 . Mounting loops  127  are formed as u-shaped horizontal terminal ends at the upper terminus of the inboard vertical leg of receiving portions  120  of cable support members  105 . In this manner, a double attachment point is established for each cable support member  105  with respect to flexible central spine  106 , thereby greatly reducing moment forces which could otherwise potentially be created in the longitudinal direction of spine  106  at the connection and providing greater stability and strength for each connection. Spine  106  may be attached to mounting loops  127  by any suitable known methods, for example, welding. Mounting loops  127  are configured and dimensioned to receive mounting hardware, for example, a threaded bolt and nut combination. This eliminates the need for additional separate mounting brackets or the like which would otherwise have to be attached to cable tray  100  in order to mount it to the overhead structure of the building. Looped ends  126  are formed on the outboard vertical leg of cable supports  105 , and as shown, are formed outwardly. Looped ends  126  may instead be reversed and formed inwardly in order to provide a retention feature. 
     Although the aspects of the present disclosure will now be described with respect to the embodiments disclosed, it is envisioned that these aspects may be modified for use with other cable management systems, including those found in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,361,000, the contents of which were previously incorporated by reference in their entirety. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 3-5 , a first embodiment of the cable management system of the present disclosure is shown generally as cable tray  200 . Cable tray  200  is substantially similar to cable tray  100 , and will be described in detail as it relates to the differences therebetween. A flexible spine  206  runs along the length of cable tray  200 . Spine  206  may be sized and constructed so as to be bent by hand. Cable support members  205  are laterally spaced along spine  206 . Cable support members  205  are substantially similar to cable support members  105 . Cable support members  205  include mounting loops  227  and looped ends  226  and define cable receiving portions  220 . Mounting loops  227  are configured to secure cable support members  205  to spine  206 . As described above with reference to cable tray  100 , mounting loops  227  create double attachment points for the attachment of cable support members  205  to spine  206 . Looped ends  226  are formed facing inwardly to provide a cable retention feature. Alternatively, looped ends  226  may be formed facing outwardly. 
     Still referring to  FIGS. 3-5 , cable tray  200  further includes modified cable support members  235 . Modified cable support members  235  are spaced at intervals along spine  206  and are configured to retain one or more cables away from cable receiving portions  220  of cable support members  205 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , modified cable support members  235  are attached to spine  206  in place of every tenth cable support members  205 . It is envisioned, however, that modified cable support members  235  may be inserted more or less frequently along spine  206 . 
     With particular reference to  FIG. 5 , modified cable support member  235  is substantially similar to cable support member  205  ( FIGS. 3 and 4 ). Each modified cable support member  235  defines a cable receiving portion  232  corresponding substantially to cable receiving portions  220  of cable support members  205 . Cable support member  235  further includes a mounting loop  237  and a looped end  236 . Mounting loop  237  includes an extension or hanger  238  extending therefrom for supporting one or more cables “C” (shown in phantom) separate from cables (not shown) maintained in cable receiving portions  232 . Hanger  238  extends below cable receiving portion  232  and includes a hook  239  for retaining one or more cables. In this manner, modified cable support member  235  may maintain one or more cables separate from cable receiving portion  232 . 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 6-8B , a second embodiment of a cable management system of the present disclosure is shown generally as cable tray  300 . Cable tray  300  includes cable support members  305  laterally spaced along a spine  306 . Spine  306  may be sized and constructed so as to be bent by hand. Cable tray  300  is configured to be suspended from one or more cables or other suitable structures. 
     With particular reference to  FIGS. 8A and 8B , each cable support member  305  includes a mounting loop  327  and a looped end  326 . Cable support member  305  further includes a cable receiving portion  320 . Although shown as a substantially U-shaped region, cable receiving portion  320  may define any suitable geometric shape. Looped ends  326  are formed facing laterally (e.g., in a place that is substantially parallel to an axis of spine  306 ), however, it is envisioned that looped ends may be formed facing inwardly to provide a cable retention feature. 
     Still referring to  FIGS. 8A and 8B , mounting loop  327  is configured to secure cable support member  305  to spine  306  at two attachment points, as discussed above. Mounting loop  327  is further configured to include an extension or hanger  338 . As seen in  FIGS. 8A  and  8 B, hanger  338  extends away from cable receiving portion  320 . Hanger  338  includes a hook  339  configured to be suspended from one or more support cables “C” (shown in phantom) or other suitable structure. Preferably, hanger  338  is configured such that hook  339  is disposed in alignment with the center of gravity of cable support member  305 . In this manner, cable support members  305  are balanced when suspend from a support cable “C” (shown in phantom) and as cables (not shown) are received within cable receiving portions  320 . It is envisioned, however, that hanger  338  may be lengthened or shortened to adjust the balance of cable tray  300 . 
     Although the illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure have been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited to those precise embodiments, and that various other changes and modifications may be affected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the disclosure. All such changes and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims.