Raised Floor Patch Panel with Angled Mounting Brackets
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing raised floor enclosures are not optimally designed to accommodate fiber optic connections and modular fiber optic cassettes, as they do not consider suitable bend radii and depth requirements for fiber optic cables, limiting their ability to handle fiber optic connections effectively.
Innovation Solution
A raised floor patch panel with angled mounting brackets and a cable management bar system that allows the panel face to be mounted perpendicular to the enclosure's bottom wall, enabling optimal fiber optic cable management and accommodating 'ready to use' modular cassettes, while maintaining suitable bend radii and depth flexibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If standard raised floor enclosures with angled mounting rails are used, then ease of installation and compatibility with existing infrastructure are improved, but the ability to accommodate fiber optic bend radii and depth requirements deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting system is divided into two independent components: the fixed angled mounting rails attached to the enclosure, and the adjustable mounting brackets attached to the patch panel. This segmentation allows the brackets to be positioned at different angles relative to the panel face, enabling optimization for fiber optic bend radii while maintaining compatibility with the existing angled rails infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting brackets are designed with adjustable positioning capability along the angled mounting rails. This dynamic adjustment allows installers to optimize the bracket position and angle to accommodate specific fiber optic cable bend radius requirements, transforming a static mounting system into an adaptable one that can accommodate varying fiber optic installation needs.
2Ease of operation
If mounting rails are inclined at 45-60 degrees for copper cable access, then ease of cable access is improved, but suitability for fiber optic connections deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting brackets are designed with asymmetric geometry where the bracket body attaches to the angled rail at one angle, but the mounting surface for the patch panel can be oriented at a different angle. This asymmetric design allows the bracket to bridge between the angled rail configuration (optimized for cable access) and the perpendicular panel orientation (optimized for fiber optic bend radii).
3Area of stationary object
If enclosure depth is reduced to fit under 2x2 floor tiles, then floor space utilization is improved, but ability to accommodate fiber optic cable depth requirements deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The solution moves the depth optimization from the enclosure dimension to the mounting bracket dimension. By positioning the mounting brackets at the far end of the enclosure depth and angling them appropriately, the system effectively uses the available depth space more efficiently, allowing perpendicular panel mounting in shallower enclosures than would traditionally be required for fiber optic installations.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure is related to an apparatus and method that enables fiber optic network installers to mount fiber optic connections in raised floor locations that would otherwise be unsuited to the task. The method and apparatus permit using a de facto standard raised floor enclosures to accommodate fiber optic connections while maintaining bend radius considerations. In an exemplary embodiment, a patch panel includes a panel face defined by a bottom edge, a top edge and opposing side edges each joined to the bottom and top edges; a cable management bar operably coupled to the panel face, spaced apart from at least one surface side defining the panel face and extending a substantial length defining a length of the panel face; and a pair of mounting brackets extending from the opposing side edges. Each mounting bracket includes a mounting plane aligned with a plane of a corresponding angled mounted rail for mounting thereto such that the panel face is perpendicular to a bottom wall defining the enclosure in which it is mounted.