Cable Bus Spacer Retention Without Alignment-Critical Bolts
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cable bus management blocks require complex and labor-intensive installation due to the need for precise alignment of bolts or rods through holes, increasing installation costs and complexity.
Innovation Solution
A cable bus management block design featuring a housing with sidewalls, channel rungs, and securement bars that secure cable block spacer assemblies without the need for precise alignment, using fasteners to attach the securement bar to channel rungs, thereby simplifying installation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If bolts or rods are used to secure support blocks through holes, then the support blocks are retained in place, but the installation complexity and labor costs increase due to the need for precise alignment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the alignment-critical holes from the support blocks and replaces them with protrusions that engage with recesses in the channel rungs. This extraction of the hole feature eliminates the need for precise alignment during installation while maintaining the retention function through the protrusion-recess engagement mechanism
Solution Approach 2:
The channel rungs serve as an intermediary component between the support blocks and the housing. The rungs provide recesses that receive the protrusions from support blocks, mediating the connection in a way that eliminates the need for aligned holes while ensuring secure retention of the support blocks in place
2Reliability
If through holes are provided in support blocks for bolts, then the blocks can be secured, but the installation time and labor costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the hole feature from the support blocks and replaces it with protrusions that engage with recesses in the channel rungs. This eliminates the time-consuming alignment process while maintaining secure retention through the protrusion-recess engagement mechanism
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of having holes in the support blocks that require alignment, the patent inverts the approach by providing protrusions on the support blocks that engage with recesses in the channel rungs. This inversion eliminates the alignment requirement and reduces installation time while ensuring reliable securing
Data Source
AI summary
A cable bus management block for retaining cables having a housing with a base and two opposing sidewalls extending upward generally perpendicular to the base, and a set of channel rungs attached to the sidewalls and extending upward perpendicular to the base, where each of the channel rungs includes a channel along its length. A cable block spacer assembly sits within the channels of the channel rungs, wherein the cable block spacer assembly has a plurality of apertures through which the cables may be retained. The cable bus management block further includes an upper channel support having a channel for seating on top of the cable block spacer assembly, with a securement bar extending laterally across the cable bus management block between the sidewalls, with the securement bar attached to the channel rungs to hold the cable block spacer assembly in place.