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EP-4024108-B1 - CABLE MANAGEMENT ARRANGEMENT

EP4024108B1EP 4024108 B1EP4024108 B1EP 4024108B1EP-4024108-B1

Inventors

  • GEENS, JOHAN
  • VERMEULEN, PIETER
  • Vos, Bart

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20170112

Claims (15)

  1. A cable management arrangement (1000) comprising: (a) a plurality of cables (1002) extending between first and second ends; (b) a supporting sheet (1004) having a first side, at least a first portion of the plurality of cables being removably adhered to the supporting sheet's sheet first side by a first adhesive (1010), characterised by at least a second portion of the plurality of cables being permanently secured to the supporting sheet's first side.
  2. The cable management arrangement (1000) of claim 1, further comprising: (a) a second adhesive (1012) provided on at least a portion of the supporting sheet's second side; and (b) a protection sheet (1014) covering the second adhesive, the protection sheet being removable from the supporting sheet to allow the supporting sheet to be adhered to a surface.
  3. The cable management arrangement (1000) of claim 1, wherein the plurality of cables are fiber optic cables.
  4. The cable management arrangement (1000) of claim 3, further comprising a plurality of optical connectors (110) provided on the first ends of the plurality of cables.
  5. The cable management arrangement (1000) of claim 1, wherein the first adhesive is a silicone-based adhesive.
  6. The cable management arrangement (1000) of claim 1, wherein the plurality of cables includes at least one power cable and at least one telecommunications cable.
  7. The cable management arrangement (1000) of claim 5, wherein the plurality of cables are non-overlapping and are arranged in a side-by-side arrangement.
  8. The cable management arrangement (1000) of claim 6, wherein the plurality of cables are adhesively bonded to each other.
  9. The cable management arrangement (1000) of claim 1, further including a second sheet (1016) covering the second portion of the plurality of cables.
  10. The cable management arrangement (1000) of claim 9, wherein the first adhesive secures the supporting sheet and second sheet together against the plurality of cables.
  11. A telecommunications assembly (20) comprising: (a) a telecommunications tray (112) having a first side and a second side; and (b) the cable management arrangement (1000) of any preceding claim, wherein a second side of the supporting sheet is adhered to the telecommunications tray's second side with a second adhesive (1012), and wherein the first ends of the plurality of cables (1002) are provided with optical connectors (110).
  12. The telecommunications assembly (20) of claim 11, wherein the telecommunications tray is a splice tray.
  13. A telecommunications assembly (20) for mounting within a telecommunications cabinet (200), the telecommunications assembly (20) comprising: (a) a support tray (22) defining an interior space; (b) a cable management structure (102) mounted within the support tray interior space, the cable management structure including at least one telecommunications component (112) having a first side and a second side; and (c) the cable management arrangement (1000) of any of claims 1 to 10, wherein a second adhesive (1012) is provided on at least a portion of the supporting sheet's second side to secure the supporting sheet to the at least one telecommunications components second side, and wherein the first ends of the plurality of cables (1002) are provided with optical connectors (110).
  14. The telecommunications assembly (20) of claim 13, wherein the at least one telecommunications component (112) is a splice tray.
  15. The telecommunications assembly (20) of claim 13, wherein the at least one telecommunications component (112) includes a plurality of telecommunications components (112) and the at least one cable management arrangement (1000) includes a plurality of cable management arrangements (1000).

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 62/277,774, filed on January 12, 2016, and claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 62/286,101, filed on January 22, 2016. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to arrangements adapted to manage and control telecommunications and other types of cables in an effective manner. BACKGROUND Numerous telecommunications panels exist today and are used in various equipment applications. Conventional telecommunications panels generally include telecommunications cables that are independently routed between telecommunications components. The identification and separation of individual or specific cables can be problematic for these types of installations. The published patent application - US 2004/161212 A1 - is an example of the background art which can be regarded as useful for understanding the present invention. SUMMARY The present invention is defined by the appended independent claim. Optional features are defined by the appended dependent claims. Cable management arrangements are disclosed in which a plurality of cables are removably secured to a carrier or support sheet structure. The cables can be arranged in any desired manner and length on the carrier or support sheet structure. In one aspect, the cables are arranged in a coiled or serpentine manner, and can be peeled away from the carrier or support sheet structure. In this manner, an arrangement can be factory produced in which the cables are securely stored on the carrier or sheet and can then be later selectively peeled from the carrier or sheet in the field during installation. Such an approach also ensures that the cables are arranged so that minimum bend radius limitations are maintained. As a result, quality control can be maintained at a high level during factory production. The resulting construction is also easily transportable while maintaining the desired routing and storage patterns. The carrier or support sheet can be provided with a specifically designed shape to allow for cable routing within an environment, for example within a fiber optic storage tray. In this manner, entire lengths of individual cables do not need to be routed and managed in the field. Rather, an installer can simply place the carrier or support sheet at the desired location, and subsequently remove the necessary length of cable to provide the final connection between the cables and other devices or cables. According to the invention, portions of the cables are permanently secured to the carrier or sheet while other portions of the cables can be peeled from the carrier or sheet. For example, the cables may be permanently attached to a zone or portion of the carrier or sheet responsible for routing the cables from one location to another while the cables may be removable from a portion or zone of the carrier or sheet responsible for storing lengths of cable that are intended to be removed such that they can be routed to a different location. As will be further appreciated in the remaining portions of this application, the disclosed arrangements and methods represent a significant advance over approaches requiring individual installation and routing of cables. The disclosure includes multiple embodiments of cable management arrangements. In one example, a plurality of cables extending between first and second ends is, provided. The arrangement includes a supporting sheet having a first side, at least a first portion of the plurality of cables being removably adhered to the supporting sheet's first side by a first adhesive, at least a second portion of the plurality of cables being permanently secured to the supporting sheet's first side. A second adhesive can be provided on at least a portion of the supporting sheet's second side and a protection sheet can be provided to cover the second adhesive. A protection sheet can be provided that is removable from the supporting sheet to allow the second adhesive to be exposed such that the supporting sheet can be adhered to a surface. A telecommunications arrangement is also disclosed in which the aforementioned cable management arrangement is mounted to a telecommunications tray, for example a splice tray, via the second adhesive or by a fastener system (e.g. clamping, bolting, clips, slots that receive the support sheet edges, etc.). Multiples of the telecommunications trays can be mounted within a support tray of a support tray assembly that can in turn be mounted within a telecommunications cabinet. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 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: Figure 1 is a top view of an example cable management arrangement in accordance with principles of the present disclosure.Figure 1A is a top view of an exampl