Abstract:
A flexible conduit for routing cable between a source and destination is provided herein. The flexible conduit may have a corrugated cover portion and a generally flat attachment portion for attaching the flexible conduit to an attachment surface or nearby structure. It is contemplated that the flexible conduit may flex in the lateral and/or vertical direction such that the flexible conduit may be intricately routed between the source and destination. It is also contemplated that the attachment portion may be directly attached (e.g., pressure sensitive adhesive, hooks and loops, etc.) to the attachment surface to allow ease of installation without the use of tools. It is also contemplated that the elongate hollow body of the conduit may exhibit a slit opening opposite the attachment portion of the conduit to facilitate non-destructive installation and removal of the cables. It is also contemplated that the attachment portion may be attached to the attachment surface with screws.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   Not Applicable 
   STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT 
   Not Applicable 
   BACKGROUND 
   The present invention relates to a cable routing conduit for organizing a plurality of cables. 
   Computers have cables that route different information to various components of the computer system. By way of example and not limitation, a computer system may have a monitor cable that routes information between the monitor and a computer tower, a keyboard cable that transmits information between the keyboard and the computer tower, and a printer cable that routes information between the computer tower and the printer. Desktop computers may additionally have a mouse cable that runs between the mouse and the computer tower. The cables route the information between the respective components and the computer tower to interconnect and interoperate the various components to work as one. Unfortunately, the number of cables also increases the clutter on or around a person&#39;s desk. Accordingly, the cables for operating the computer system may be disorganized and interfere with the user&#39;s work. Moreover, during maintenance, IT personnel may have difficulty in tracing the pertinent cable at issue. 
   Other electronic components require cables such as cell phones for charging the battery of the cell phone. Typically, households may have at least one cell phone per adult. Accordingly, the household may have a plurality of charger cables that extend from a wall outlet to a table top. The charging cables may create clutter that detracts from the aesthetic beauty of the person&#39;s home. Another example of an electronic component that requires cables is a television. It appears that almost inevitably the television is placed at a point in the room that is furthest from the TV cable connection or the electrical outlet. The TV cable or the electric cord extending between the television and their respective wall outlets detract from the aesthetic beauty of the person&#39;s home. Also, wall mounted flat screen televisions challenge the owner to hide the cable in the wall, leave the cables to hang loose or somehow fasten them to the adjacent wall. 
   To alleviate the above-identified problems with cable clutter, some computer systems have gone wireless. However, even so-called wireless components interact with sending units through wires connected to the personal computer. Also, prior art cable conduits have been introduced into the market place. For example, a split corrugated tubing permits cables to be inserted into the tubing to organize the cables. The split corrugate tubing may have a slit on one side of the tubing to allow the cable(s) to be pushed through the slit and into the tubing or pulled out of the tubing via the slit. 
   The split corrugated tubing may be attached to a nearby structure with wire ties. In particular, the split corrugated tubing may be laid adjacent to a leg of a desk. With the cables within the split corrugated tubing, wire ties are wrapped or disposed around the leg and the split corrugated tubing. The wire ties are then twisted to attach the split corrugated tubing to the leg or post of the desk. Unfortunately, in this scenario, to insert or remove a cable from the split corrugated tubing, all of the wire ties must be removed. Accordingly, prior art methods of attaching the split corrugated tubing to the structure present many limitations during installation and maintenance of electronic components. 
   Another limitation in hiding the cables of electronic components is that prior art devices may require nails and other destructive means. For example, the cables may be hidden by coverings (e.g., molding, etc.) nailed to the dry wall. Attempting to route and hide the multiple cables included with wall mounted flat screens usually necessitates the damage and repair of the surrounding drywall and/or the use of drywall fasteners which damage the drywall. This is unacceptable in most home or apartment rental situations and cumbersome and expensive in any situation. Unconcealed, uncontrolled, wall mounted flat screen television cables are an aesthetically intolerable issue that creates an expensive nuisance especially for the new unprepared TV buyer. Nonetheless, typically, cables for flat screen televisions are hidden by molding due to the extensive labor required to hide the cables within the wall which in apartment situations may be unacceptable. 
   Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved flexible cable routing conduit. 
   BRIEF SUMMARY 
   The cable routing conduit discussed herein addresses the issues discussed above, discussed below and those that are known in the art. 
   The cable routing conduit may be comprised of a cover portion and an attachment portion. The cover portion may have a generally semi-circular shape with corrugation extending along a length of the cable routing conduit. The corrugation allows vertical and horizontal bending of the conduit. The cover portion may be attached to an attachment portion. The attachment portion may be generally flat with an attachment means for attaching the flexible conduit to an attachment surface. The attachment means may include a pressure sensitive adhesive or a hooks and loops system. The attachment portion may additionally have a straight relief or a triangularly shaped relief for permitting lateral bending of the flexible conduit. If the straight relief or triangularly shaped relief is incorporated into the attachment portion of the flexible conduit, then the flexible conduit may be operative to bend in a lateral direction. 
   A plurality of flexible conduits may be connected to each other by means of a fitting. The fitting may receive adjacent flexible conduits or be received into adjacent flexible conduits. The fittings may also be straight or bent. Alternatively, the flexible conduit may have a cylindrical nub portion which is receivable into a distal end portion of an adjacent flexible conduit. It is also contemplated that the flexible conduits may be butted up against each other, as required. The attachment means of the flexible conduits would hold the adjacent flexible conduits in alignment with each other during use. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     These and other features and advantages of the various embodiments disclosed herein will be better understood with respect to the following description and drawings, in which like numbers refer to like parts throughout, and in which: 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a cable routing conduit for neatly organizing electronic cables behind a computer tower; 
       FIG. 2  is an uninstalled cable routing conduit; 
       FIG. 2A  is an alternative outer cross sectional configuration of the cable routing conduit; 
       FIG. 2B  is a further alternative outer cross sectional configuration of the cable routing conduit; 
       FIG. 2C  is a further alternative outer cross sectional configuration of the cable routing conduit; 
       FIG. 3A  is a bottom view of an attachment portion of the cable routing conduit; 
       FIG. 3B  is a bottom view of an alternative attachment portion of the cable routing conduit; 
       FIG. 3C  is a side view of the cable routing conduit shown in  FIG. 2  that illustrates vertical bending of the cable routing conduit; 
       FIG. 4  is an end view of the cable routing conduit shown in  FIG. 2  illustrating a v-shaped notch at a slit for allowing the cable to be easily pushed into the cable routing conduit; 
       FIG. 5  illustrates a cylindrical nub portion on a distal end of a first cable routing conduit insertable into a distal end of a second cable routing conduit; 
       FIG. 6  illustrates a straight fitting for attaching first and second cable routing conduits; 
       FIG. 7  illustrates an elbow fitting for attaching first and second cable routing conduits; 
       FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a straight fitting sized and configured to receive adjacent flexible conduits; 
       FIG. 9  is an end view of a mandrel and die for forming the conduit; 
       FIG. 10  is a schematic of a molding machine for forming corrugation on a cover portion of the conduit and a knife for forming a slit along a length of the conduit; 
       FIG. 11  is a side view of a cable routing conduit attachable to an attachment surface via a plurality of screws insertable through a corresponding plurality of holes in an attachment portion of the conduit; and 
       FIG. 12  is a top view of the cable routing conduit shown in  FIG. 11  illustrating alignment of the through holes with a slit. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   Referring now to  FIGS. 1-5 , a conduit  10  for routing cable  12  is shown. The conduit  10  may be attached to an attachment surface  14  (e.g., wall, floor, computer box, etc.). The cable  12  may be disposed within the conduit  10  to neatly organize the cable  12  or cables  12 . Moreover, since the conduit  10  may be bendable, the cables may be routed in a complex configuration to guide the cables  12  from a source (e.g., computer tower) to a destination (e.g., table top). The conduit  10  may be bent (e.g., 90 degrees) vertically and/or laterally so as to be attachable to the floor and wall then to an underside of a tabletop. Accordingly, the cables  12  are not disorganized under the table, but are rather neatly confined within the cable routing conduit  10 . 
   Referring now to  FIG. 2 , a perspective view of the conduit  10  is shown. The conduit  10  may have an elongate hollow body  16 . The elongate hollow body  16  may have a generally flat attachment portion  18 . The attachment portion  18  may be utilized to attach the elongate hollow body  16  to the attachment surface  14 , as will be discussed below. The elongate hollow body  16  may also have a cover portion  20 . The cover portion  20  may have a corrugated configuration which aids in the lateral and/or vertical bending of the conduit  10 . The corrugated configuration is shown in  FIG. 2 . Although the cover portion  20  may be corrugated, it is also contemplated that the cover portion  20  may have a spiral corrugation or a smooth configuration. 
   To further aid in the lateral and/or vertical bending of the conduit  10 , the attachment portion  18  may be formed with reliefs  22 . As shown in  FIG. 3A , the attachment portion  18  may have a plurality of straight transverse reliefs  22   a . The relief  22   a  may permit the conduit  10  to bend laterally in a horizontal plane as shown by arrows  30  in  FIG. 3A . To bend the conduit  10  laterally in a horizontal plane, one side of the attachment portions  18  are pushed closer to each other, whereas, the opposed sides of the attachment portions  18  are pulled further away from each other. This allows the conduit  10  to have an arc shaped configuration. 
   Referring now to  FIG. 3B , the relief  22   b  may alternatively have a triangularly shaped configuration. This also allows the conduit  10  to bend laterally in the horizontal plane as shown by arrows  30 . It is contemplated that the adjacent attachment portions  18  shown in  FIG. 3B  may not be connected to each other. Rather, the relief  22   b  may run transversely through the entire attachment portion  18 . There may be a small gap between adjacent attachment portions  18 . 
   The relief  22   a  or  22   b  may optionally be incorporated into the attachment portion  18 . If reliefs  22   a  or  22   b  are not incorporated into the attachment portion  18 , then the conduit  10  may not bend in the lateral direction as shown in  FIGS. 3A and 3B . Rather, the conduit  10  as shown in  FIG. 3C  may bend in only the vertical direction as shown by arrow  32  in  FIG. 3C . Please note that the embodiments shown in  FIGS. 3A and 3B  are also vertically bendable in the direction of arrow  32 . 
   In an aspect of the conduit  10 , the outer cross sectional configuration of the conduit  10  may be circular as shown in  FIG. 2 , or alternatively, triangular as shown in  FIGS. 2A and 2B  or square as shown in  FIG. 2C . A difference between the triangular outer cross sectional configurations of the conduit  10  shown in  FIGS. 2A and 2B  is that the triangular configuration shown in  FIG. 2A  is an equilateral triangle, whereas, the triangular configuration of  FIG. 2B  is a right triangle. It is contemplated that the non-slitted sides of the triangular shape may be lined with a pressure sensitive adhesive. A benefit of such construction is that the pressure sensitive adhesive formed on the legs of the triangle may be wedged against a corner such as the floor and an upright wall. This provides secure attachment of the conduit  10  against the attachment surface  14 . Similarly, two (2) adjacent sides of the square shaped conduit  10  shown in  FIG. 2C  may be lined with pressure sensitive adhesive and be attached to a corner of a floor and wall in a similar manner compared to the triangularly shaped conduit  10  shown in  FIG. 2B  for secure attachment of the conduit to the attachment surface  14 . Although the above example illustrates the conduit  10  as being wedged against a floor and wall, it is also contemplated that the conduits  10  may be wedged against any type of corner. The corner does not necessarily have to be a right angle but is preferably the same angle as the angle formed between the non-slitted sides of the conduit  10 . For example, in  FIG. 2A , the two (2) non-slitted sides of the conduit are approximately 60 degrees. Accordingly, these two (2) sides of a conduit  10  may be lined with a pressure sensitive adhesive. The triangularly shaped conduit  10  shown in  FIG. 2A  may be wedged into a 60 degree corner. The first and second legs or sides of the triangularly shaped conduit  10  may be adhered to the corner walls. 
   To aid in the insertion and removal of the cable  12  into the hollow portion  34 , as shown in  FIG. 2 , the hollow body  16  (preferably, the cover portion  20 ) may have a slit  36  extending the entire distance of the longitudinal length of the elongate hollow body  16 . However, it is also contemplated that the slit  36  may extend only a partial or substantial length of the longitudinal length of the elongate hollow body  16 . To insert the cable  12  into the hollow portion  34  of the conduit  10 , the cable  12  is aligned to the slit  36 . The cable  12  is then pushed into the slit  36  separating the cover portion  20 . To aid in the insertion of the cable  12  between the slit  36  and into the hollow portion  34 , the cover portion  20  may have an optional v-shaped notch or bevel (see  FIG. 4 ) extending at least a portion, if not the entire length, of the slit  36 . The v-shaped notch provides an initial position of the cable  12  such that the cable  12  may push the cover portion  20  laterally away from each other upon the application of pressure on cable  12 . It is also contemplated that the V-shaped notch may be formed only at one or both distal end portions of the elongate hollow body  16 . In an aspect of the hollow portion  34 , it is contemplated that the hollow portion  34  may be sized and configured to fit only one cable or a plurality of cables. 
   The attachment portion  18  may be attachable to the attachment surface  14  via a pressure sensitive adhesive. The pressure sensitive adhesive may be lined on the external surface of the attachment portion  18  as shown in  FIGS. 3A and 3B . The pressure sensitive adhesive when initially supplied to a customer or a user may be covered with a removable protective liner to prevent dust or other dirt from settling on the pressure sensitive adhesive and rendering the adhesive abilities of the pressure sensitive adhesive inoperable. The liner may be removed from the attachment portion  18  just prior to attachment of the conduit  10  to the attachment surface  14 . Alternatively, the body  16  of the conduit  10  may be attached to the attachment surface with a hooks and loops system. In particular, a first part of the hooks and loops system may be attached to the external surface of the attachment portion  18 . A second part of the hooks and loops system may be attached to the attachment surface  14 . The first and second parts of the hooks and loops system may be attached to the attachment portion  18  and the attachment surface  14  via a pressure sensitive adhesive lined on the first and second parts. To attach the hollow body  16  of the conduit  10  to the attachment surface  14 , the first part is engaged to the second part. The first and second parts of the hooks and loops system may respectively be hooks and loops, or vice versa. 
   As a further alternative to attaching the attachment portion  18  to the attachment surface  14 , the attachment portion  18  of the conduit  10  may have a plurality of through holes  68  along a longitudinal length of the conduit  10 , as shown in  FIG. 11 . The through holes  68  may be equi-distantly spaced apart from each other. Additionally, the through holes  68  may be laterally aligned to the slit  36 , as shown in  FIG. 12 . The slit  36  may be directly above (see  FIG. 12 ) the through holes  68 . To attach the conduit  10  to the attachment surface  14 , a screw  70  may be inserted through the slit  36  and into the through holes  68 . A pilot hole may optionally be formed in the attachment surface  14  to guide the screw  70  into the attachment surface  14 . Additionally, a screwdriver  72  may be inserted into the slit  36  and engaged to the screw head to turn the screw  70  such that the screw  70  may engage the attachment surface  14 . A plurality of screws  70  may be fed through the through holes  68  and attached to the attachment surface  14  to secure the conduit  10  on the attachment surface  14 . Optionally, the attachment portion  18  may be sufficiently thick to handle the use of the fasteners (e.g., screws, etc.) to install or attach the conduit  10  to the attachment surface  14 . The through holes  68  may be pre-punched into the attachment portion  18  or the screws  70  may be self threading screws such that the screws  70  form the through holes  68  as the conduit  10  is being attached to the attachment surface  14 . 
   Referring now to  FIGS. 5-8 , various ways of attaching a first conduit  10   a  to a second conduit  10   b  are shown. In  FIG. 5 , the first conduit  10   a  may have a cylindrical nub portion  38 . The cylindrical nub portion  38  may have a matching corrugated or spiral configuration compared to the cover portion  20 . More particularly, the outer surface of the cylindrical nub portion  38  may have ridges  40 . The ridges  40  may form a spiral shape or a corrugated shape. The inner surface of the second conduit  10   b  may also have ridges  42 . The outer diameter of the cylindrical nub portion  38  may be sized and configured to fit within the hollow portion  34  of the second conduit  10   b . The ridges  40  on the cylindrical nub portion  38  may interlock with the ridges  42  on the inner surface of the second conduit  10   b . The ridges  40 ,  42  may have a matching spiral configuration. It is contemplated that the second conduit  10   b  may be rotated or screwed onto the cylindrical nub portion  38 . It is also contemplated that since the first and second conduits  10   a, b  are somewhat flexible, the cylindrical nub portion  38  may be pushed into the end portion of the second conduit  10   b . The ridges  40  of the cylindrical nub portion  38  may deflect and ride over the ridges  42  within the second conduit  10   b . The interlocking nature of the ridges  40 ,  42  may prevent or mitigate disconnection of the first and second conduits  10   a, b.    
   Referring now to  FIG. 6 , the first and second conduits  10   a, b  may both have cylindrical nub portions  38 . These cylindrical nub portions  38  of the first and second conduits  10   a, b  are insertable into a fitting  44 . The cylindrical nub portions  38  of the first and second conduits  10   a, b  may also have ridges  40  having the same characteristics as the ridges  40  described in relation to  FIG. 5 . The fitting  44  may be a straight fitting. The fitting  44  may also have ridges  42  that may interlock with the ridges  40  of the cylindrical nub portions  38  of the first and second conduits  10   a, b . Alternatively, the fitting may be bent as shown in  FIG. 7 . The fitting shown in  FIG. 7  is shown with a 90 degree bend. However, it is contemplated that the fitting may be bent with other angles between 0 and 180 degrees. Similar to the fitting shown in  FIG. 6 , the fitting,  44  shown in  FIG. 7  may also have ridges that may interlock with the ridges  40  of the cylindrical nub portions  38  of the first and second conduits  10   a, b.    
   Referring now to  FIG. 8 , the first and second conduits  10   a, b  may not incorporate the cylindrical nub portion  38 . In this instance, the fitting  44  may receive the end portions of the first and second conduits  10   a, b . More particularly, fitting  44  may have an inner cross sectional configuration which matches the outer cross sectional configuration of the end portion  46  of the first and second conduits  10   a, b . By way of example and not limitation, the first conduit  10   a  may be smaller than the second conduit  10   b . Accordingly, the fitting  44  may have different inner cross sectional configurations (not shown) and sizes or the same inner cross sectional configuration and sizes (see  FIG. 8 ). Similar to the other fittings  44  described above, the fitting  44  shown in  FIG. 8  may have internal ridges  64  that may interlock with ridges  66  of the first and second conduits  10   a, b.    
     FIGS. 5-8  illustrate various ways of attaching the first conduit  10   a  to the second conduit  10   b . However, it is also contemplated that the first conduit  10   a  may be aligned to the second conduit  10   b . The attachment means of the first and second conduits  10   a, b  hold the first and second conduits  10   a, b  to the attachment surface and maintain the alignment of the first and second conduits  10   a, b  during normal use. Accordingly, in this situation, the various ways of attaching the first and second conduits  10   a, b  shown and described in relation to  FIGS. 5-8  may optionally be incorporated into the first and/or second conduits  10   a, b.    
   In an aspect of the fittings  44  shown and described in  FIGS. 6-8 , the fitting  44  may also have a slit  36 . The slit  36  of the fitting  44  may be aligned to the slits  36  of the first and second conduits  10   a, b . This allows the cables  12  to be directly inserted into the adjacent conduits  10   a, b  via the slits  36 . For example, after the assembled flexible conduits  10  are secured to the attachment surface  14 , the cable  12  may be inserted into the slit  36  of the attached flexible conduits  10 . Since these slits  36  of the flexible conduits  10  are aligned to the slit  36  of the fitting  44 , the cable can be pushed into the hollow portion  34  of the fitting  44  and the flexible conduits  10 . The installer does not have to continually realign the cable to the slit  36  of an adjacent flexible conduit. Moreover, to remove a cable  12  such as during maintenance, the cable may be easily pulled out of the assembled flexible conduits  10  and reinserted after maintenance. 
   Referring now to  FIGS. 9 and 10 , a method of forming the flexible conduits  10  shown in  FIG. 2  is shown. By way of example and not limitation, feedstock (e.g., plastic, etc.) may be forced through an opening  48  of a die  50 . To form the hollow portion  34  of the conduit  10 , a mandrel  52  may be placed in the center of the die opening  48 . After extruding the feedstock through the die  50  and mandrel  52 , the extruded feedstock  54  may have a tube configuration without any corrugations, spiral corrugations or reliefs  22   a, b . Thereafter, the extruded feedstock  54  may be placed in a molding machine  56 . The molding machine  56  may have an outer mold  58  and an inner mold  60 . The inner and outer molds  60 ,  58  may have corresponding peeks and valleys that form the corrugated configuration of the cover portion  20  of the flexible conduit  10 . Moreover, as discussed above, the flexible conduit  10  may have a generally flat attachment portion  18 . The inner and outer molds  60 ,  58  of the molding machine  56  may have corresponding generally flat surfaces that match the generally flat attachment portion  18 . After the extruded feedstock  54  has been processed through the molding machine  56 , the molded feedstock may have a cover portion  20  that is corrugated. Also, the attachment portion  18  may be generally flat. Thereafter, the molded feedstock may be cut with a knife  62  to form the slit  36  and the optional reliefs  22   a, b . These method steps form the flexible conduit  10  as shown in  FIG. 2 . 
   It is also contemplated that the other types of conduits  10  and the fittings  44  discussed herein may also be formed with the above-described manufacturing process. 
   During use, a plurality of cables  12  may extend between the source and destination. To neatly organize the cables  12  between the source and destination, the conduits  10  may be attached to the attachment surface  14  prior to inserting the cable  12  into the conduits  10 . By way of example and not limitation, the attachment portion  18  of the conduits  10  may be attached to the attachment surface  14 . If the conduit  10  needs to be lengthened or shortened, the conduit  10  is lengthened or shortened prior to attachment of the attachment portion  18  to the attachment surface  14 . The conduit  10  may be vertically or laterally bent to match the requirements of the cable&#39;s environment. For example, if the cable  12  runs from the floor to a tabletop, the conduit  10  may be bent upward or vertically such that the cables  12  may run upward along a leg of the table or a wall adjacent the table. The conduits  10  may be routed from the source to the destination by vertically or laterally bending the flexible conduit  10  to match the contour of the attachment surface(s)  14 . As a further tool to aid in the routing of the cable from the source to the destination, two conduits  10  may be attached to each other such as with a straight fitting or an elbow fitting. The fittings  44  allow a user to route cables a long distance. As the conduits  10  are attached to the attachment surface  14 , the slits of each of the conduits  10  and the fitting  44  may be aligned to each other. After all the conduits  10  are attached to the attachment surface  14 , the cable  12  may then be pushed into the conduit  10  via the slit  36 . Since the slits  36  are aligned to each other between each of the conduits  10 , the user need only push the cable  12  into the conduit  10 . It is also contemplated that the cables  12  may be inserted into the conduits  10  before attaching the conduits  10  to the attachment surface  14 . 
   The above description is given by way of example, and not limitation. Given the above disclosure, one skilled in the art could devise variations that are within the scope and spirit of the invention disclosed herein. Further, the various features of the embodiments disclosed herein can be used alone, or in varying combinations with each other and are not intended to be limited to the specific combination described herein. Thus, the scope of the claims is not to be limited by the illustrated embodiments.