Abstract:
One aspect of the present disclosure relates to a finger clip for providing controlled cable access to a cable routing aperture through a gap defined between adjacent first and second cable management members. The finger clip can be constructed and arranged for slidable engagement with at least one of a first extension of the first cable management member and a second extension of the second cable management member such that the finger clip can slide between an open position in which the gap is unobscured by the main body and a closed position in which the gap is closed by the main body.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application Serial Number 201610550643.2 entitled Finger Clip Cable Management Assembly and filed on Jul. 13, 2016, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein. 
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to cable management systems for telecommunications cables. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Telecommunications racks are sometimes provided with cable management members to aid in routing and securing the cables that are connected to equipment mounted within the racks. In some applications, the cables are routed through gaps between the cable management members and into cable routing apertures. Under certain conditions, the installed cables can undesirably migrate out of the cable routing apertures through the gaps and become loose and unsecured. Improvements are desired. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    One aspect of the present disclosure relates to a finger clip for providing controlled cable access to a cable routing aperture through a gap defined between adjacent first and second cable management members. The finger clip can include a main body extending from a first end to a second end. An attachment portion and a position retaining portion, formed as parts of the main body may also be provided. The attachment portion can be constructed and arranged for slidable engagement with at least one of a first extension of the first cable management member and a second extension of the second cable management member such that the main body can slide between an open position in which the gap is unobscured by the main body and a closed position in which the gap is closed by the main body. The position retaining member can be constructed and arranged to retain the finger clip in the open and/or closed position. 
         [0005]    The disclosure is also directed to a cable arrangement assembly for a telecommunications rack including the finger clip, a first cable management member defining a first extension, and a second cable management member defining a second extension. The first and second cable management members together define a cable routing aperture that can be accessed by a cable through a gap defined between the first and second extensions. The finger clip is slidably engaged with one or both of the first and second extensions and movable between an open position in which the gap is unobscured by the finger clip and a closed position in which the gap is closed by the finger clip. 
         [0006]    A method of installing and securing cables in a telecommunications rack is also disclosed and can include the steps of: providing adjacent first and second cable management members respectively defining first and second extensions that form a gap, wherein the first and second cable management members define a cable routing aperture accessible through the gap; sliding a finger clip attached to one or both of the first and second extensions into an open position such that the gap is unobscured by the finger clip; inserting one or more cables into the cable routing aperture through the gap; and sliding the finger clip into a closed position in which the gap is blocked by the finger clip, thereby securing the cables within the cable routing aperture. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]    The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the description, illustrate several aspects of the present disclosure. A brief description of the drawings is as follows: 
           [0008]      FIG. 1  is a top perspective view of an example cable management assembly in accordance with principles of the present disclosure; 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is an enlarged portion of the cable management assembly shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is a top perspective view of a finger clip of the cable management assembly shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is a side view of the finger clip shown in  FIG. 3 . 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  is a side view of a portion of the cable management assembly shown in  FIG. 1  with a plurality of finger clips being oriented in an open position. 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  is a side view of a portion of the cable management assembly shown in  FIG. 1  with a plurality of finger clips being oriented in a closed position. 
           [0014]      FIG. 7  is a side view of a portion of an example cable management assembly in accordance with principles of the present disclosure with a second example of a finger clip installed. 
           [0015]      FIG. 8  is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the assembly shown in  FIG. 7 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0016]    A cable management assembly  100  for a telecommunications rack or cabinet  10  for managing cable in and around telecommunications equipment racks and cabinets is disclosed. In one example, the rack or cabinet  10  is provide with a plurality of cable management members  12  which can be used to manage cables  200  routed between the telecommunications components installed within the rack  10 . In one example, the cables  200  are copper based telecommunications cables (i.e. Category 5 cables) and are provided with RJ type plugs that are connected to respective jacks of the telecommunications components. Many other types of assemblies, cables, and connectors are possible, such as fiber optic cables with LC, SC, and/or MPO connectors. 
         [0017]    In the example presented, a plurality of cable management members  12  is provided in an adjacent relationship to form a single row array. Examples of cable management member arrays is shown in U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/319,890 entitled CABLE MANAGEMENT ASSEMBLY and filed on Apr. 8, 2016, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein. Each of the cable management members  12  is shown as being provided with a base portion  14  for connecting the cable management member  12  to the rack  10  or to an intermediate structure connected to the rack  10 . A support member  16  is shown as extending from the base portion  14  to an upper and lower extension member  18 ,  20 . The support members  16  of adjacent cable management members  12  form a cable routing aperture  22  within which cables  200  can be routed and secured. 
         [0018]    The cables  200  can be installed into and removed from the cable routing aperture  22  through a gap  24  formed between the adjacent cable management members  12 . The gap  24  is specifically formed between an upper extension member  18  of one cable management member  12  and the lower extension member  20  of an adjacent upper cable management member  12 . The gap  24  can have an opening dimension D 1 . The cable management members  12  can be provided with sufficient flexibility such that they can be laterally deflected to increase the size of the gap  24  and dimension D 1 . In some cases, for example where the dimension D 1  is greater than a diameter of the cables  200 , the cables  200  can be inserted through the gap  24  without deflection of the cable management member  12 . 
         [0019]    Selective access to the cable routing apertures  22  through the gaps  24  can be provided by a finger clip  50  which is movable between an open position and a closed position. In the open position of the finger clip  50 , the gap  24  is unobstructed and cables  200  can be inserted there through.  FIG. 5  shows a plurality of finger clips  50  having been positioned into the open position. In the closed position of the finger clip  50 , the gap  24  is blocked or covered by the finger clip  50 . Thus, cables  200  can be neither inserted nor removed from the cable routing aperture  22  via the gap  24  with the finger clip  50  in the closed position.  FIG. 6  shows a plurality of finger clips  50  having been positioned into the closed position. 
         [0020]    As most easily seen at  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the finger clip  50  can be configured as a singular, unitary component with a main body  52 . The main body  52  can be formed of many different materials, for example a polymeric material. In one aspect, the main body  52  extends between a first end  52   a  and a second end  52   b  and defines an attachment portion  54 , a position retaining portion  56 , and an open channel portion  58 . 
         [0021]    In the example shown, the attachment portion  54  is configured as a closed ring  54   a  having an internal diameter equal to or slightly greater than that of the cable management member upper and lower extensions  18 ,  20 . When the finger clip  50  is in the closed position, the closed ring  54   a  surrounds the upper extension  18  of a lower cable management member  12 . Thus, in this position, the finger clip  50  is fully secured to the lower cable management member  12 . In the open position, the closed ring  54   a  surrounds the lower extension  20  of an upper cable management member  12 . Thus, in this position, the finger clip  50  is fully secured to the upper cable management member  12 . The finger clip  50  can be removed from the cable management members  12  by positioning the closed ring  54   a  within the gap  24  between the cable management members  12 . In one example, the closed ring  54   a  is provided with a height H 1  that is greater than the opening dimension D 1  of the gap  24 . In such a case, one of the cable management members  12  must be laterally deflected first in order for the closed ring  54   a  to be released from the upper or lower extension  18 ,  20 . Where the height H 1  of the closed ring  54   a  is equal to or less than the opening dimension D 1  of the gap  24 , the closed ring  54   a  can be released from the upper or lower extension  18 ,  20  by aligning the closed ring  54   a  with the gap  24 . 
         [0022]    The open channel portion  58  is the portion of the main body  52  that physically blocks the gap  24  when the finger clip  50  is positioned in the closed position. In this position, both the upper and lower extensions  18 ,  20  are received within a recess  58   a  of the open channel  58 . In the open position, the open channel portion  58  slides away from the upper extension  18  such that only the lower extension  20  is received within the open channel portion  58  to expose the gap  24 . In one example, the attachment portion  54  and the open channel portion  58  could be combined into the same feature such that the open channel portion  58  provides for a sliding snap-fit connection onto the upper and lower extensions  18 ,  20  without the need for a closed ring  54   a.    
         [0023]    With continued reference to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the position retaining portion  56  can be seen in greater detail. As shown, the position retaining portion  56  is formed as a first member  56   a  extending from the open channel portion  58  and a pair of clip members  56   b,    56   c  that extend from the first member  56   a  and back towards the open channel portion  58 . The clip members  56   b,    56   c  pass on opposite sides of the lower extension member  20  of an upper cable management member  12  such that the lower extension member  20  is received by a recess  56   d  defined between the clip members  56   b ,  56   c.  The recess  56   d  can be configured to frictionally engage the lower extension member  20  such that the finger clip  50  remains in a position in which it is placed absent any additional forces. For example, this construction can enable the finger clip  50  to be sufficiently frictionally engaged with the cable management member  12  to remain in the open position such that an installer can route cables  200  through the gap  24  without having to simultaneously hold the finger clip  50  in the open position. 
         [0024]    Engagement members  56   e,    56   f  can also be respectively provided at the end of each of the clip members  56   b,    56   c.  The engagement members  56   e,    56   f  form a snap-fit or indexing type engagement with a protruding portion  21  of the lower cable management member  12  once the finger clip  50  has been fully moved into the closed position. This construction aids in ensuring that the finger clip  50  will remain in the closed position unless a predetermined opening force is applied to move the finger clip  50  out of the closed position and into the open position. In one example, the engagement members  56   e,    56   f  are also configured to positively engage with the upper cable management member  12  to positively retain the finger clip  50  in the open position. 
         [0025]    The process for installing and removing cables  200  into and out of the cable routing apertures  22  can be described as follows. In one step, the finger clip  50  is first moved into the open position to expose the gap  24 , for example by sliding the finger clip  50  in a first direction D 1 . In another step, one or more cables  200  are inserted into the cable routing aperture  22  through the gap  24 . In a final step, the finger clip  50  is moved into the closed position to close or block the gap  24 , for example by sliding the finger clip  50  in a second direction D 2  that is opposite of the direction D 1 . This process can be repeated for each cable routing aperture  22  and cable  200  in the telecommunications system  100 . 
         [0026]    Referring to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , an alternative embodiment of a finger clip  50 ′ is shown in which the finger clip  50 ′ is connected to both the upper and lower cable management members  12  via a snap-fit connection. In this arrangement, instead of being slidable, the finger clip  50 ′ is retained in a fixed position relative to the cable management members  12 . As shown, the finger clip  50 ′ is formed with first, second, and third portions  52 ′,  54 ′,  56 ′ that form a generally U-shape or generally trapezoidal shape defining a recess  58 ′ within which the upper and lower extension members  18 ,  20  can be received. The second portion  54 ′ can be provided with snap members  60 ′ to enable the snap-fit connection. When access to the gap  24  is desired, the finger clip  50 ′ can be removed from the adjacent cable management members  12  and later reinstalled once the desired number of cables  200  have been inserted and/or removed. 
         [0027]    Various modifications and alterations of this disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of this disclosure, and it should be understood that the scope of this disclosure is not to be unduly limited to the illustrative embodiments set forth herein.