Easy-Access Patch Panel with Sliding, Rotatable Port Assemblies
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Solution Overview
Problem
Patch panels face challenges in maintaining accessibility to cable connections while minimizing cable slack and avoiding undesired bending stresses, especially in high-density configurations where space is limited.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates trays that slide out laterally, allowing access to cable connection terminals without requiring the tray to fully extend, and features like mechanical stoppers and anchors to prevent accidental sliding, ensuring minimal cable displacement and reduced slack.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If sliding trays are used to improve accessibility to connection ports, then ease of operation is improved, but cable length must be increased which leads to tangling and difficulty in high-density configurations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the connection panel into multiple independently movable segments or modules. Each segment can be accessed individually without requiring full extension of the entire panel, allowing cables to remain short while maintaining accessibility to specific connection points through selective segment movement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic, movable segments that can be selectively extended or repositioned based on access requirements. This dynamic configuration allows the panel to adapt its structure during operation, providing easy access to specific connections without permanently extending cable lengths or creating tangling issues.
2Volume of moving object
If patch panel size is reduced to conserve space, then volume is improved, but accessibility to latching mechanisms deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The compact patch panel is divided into multiple accessible segments or zones. Each segment can be independently accessed or moved, allowing users to reach latching mechanisms in a compact configuration without requiring the entire panel to be large or fully extended.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes multi-dimensional access strategies, such as movable segments that can be accessed from different angles or positions. This allows compact panel design while maintaining ease of operation by providing alternative access paths to latching mechanisms through spatial reconfiguration.
Data Source
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AI summary
Technology allowing for easy access to connectors in a patch panel. In one of the configurations a patch panel includes at least one patch panel subassembly, each patch panel subassembly including at least one mounting plate and a plurality of port assemblies, the at least one mounting plate being configured to accommodate the port assemblies so that each port assembly can individually translate along a direction parallel to a surface of the mounting plate and can rotate about an axis perpendicular to the surface of the mounting plate.