Cable Retainer With Resilient Foam For Upright Coiled Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing methods for packaging cables, such as patch cords, result in inefficiencies and increased costs due to loose and disorganized cables, which cause delays and frustration during installation and reconfiguration, as customers often need to handle cables of varying lengths and quantities.
Innovation Solution
A cable packaging system that includes a retaining device or retainer within a container to hold coiled cables in a predetermined orientation, such as upright, using resilient materials like foam or cardboard, to keep cables separated and organized, allowing for easy access and reducing the need to fumble through loose cables.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If cables are packaged loose in a box, then packaging simplicity is maintained, but cable accessibility and organization deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The packaging system divides the container into multiple compartments using dividers, with each compartment dedicated to holding cables of specific types or lengths. This segmentation allows cables to be organized systematically while maintaining easy access, as technicians can quickly locate needed cables without searching through a disorganized box.
Solution Approach 2:
Cables are pre-coiled and pre-organized in specific compartments before delivery to the customer. The packaging system performs the organization work in advance, so that upon arrival, cables are already arranged for optimal accessibility and storage efficiency, eliminating the need for customers to manually organize them.
2Reliability
If cables are provided without retainers, then packaging cost is reduced, but cable organization and protection deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
Retainers are strategically positioned at specific locations within the container where cables require additional support or separation. Rather than using retainers throughout the entire packaging system, they are applied locally only where needed to prevent cable damage or misorganization, balancing protection requirements with cost considerations.
3Volume of stationary object
If cables are coiled and stored upright, then space utilization is improved, but connector engagement issues may occur
Solution Approach 1:
Connectors are extracted from the cable assembly during the coiling process and stored separately in dedicated connector compartments. This prevents connectors from engaging with each other or getting damaged during upright storage, while still allowing for efficient vertical cable arrangement in the main container space.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system significantly reduces inefficiencies and frustration by keeping cables organized, preventing connector engagement issues, and improving overall installation efficiency by allowing easy access to the cables, resulting in cost savings and improved performance over time.
Implementation Method 1
The retainer may be of a resilient material that yields to the insertion of the cable, but springs back toward a neutral position to hold the cable in place after the cable has been inserted
Data Source
AI summary
In a cable packaging system and method a retainer within a container retains coiled cables in a preferred orientation, such as a vertical orientation, with the coil axis of the coiled cable directed longitudinally toward sidewalls of the container and a diameter line of a plane defined by the coil directed toward the top and bottom of the container. The retainer may include a resilient material, such as a foam material, to allow insertion of a coiled cable and return at least partially to a neutral, pre-insertion, position to thereby engage and retain the coiled cable.