Side-Mounted Patch Panel With Articulating Brackets
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In data centers, routing cables within server racks is labor-intensive and prone to errors, and traditional patch panels occupy valuable space, reducing rack density and complicating cable management.
Innovation Solution
A patch panel assembly with articulating brackets is mounted on the side of the rack, above the computing devices, allowing cable connectors to be accessed externally without occupying rack slots, thus avoiding interference with installed components and maintaining rack density.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If patch panels are mounted in rack slots to facilitate cable routing, then cable management is improved, but rack space for computing devices is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent relocates the patch panel from the traditional rack slot (2D plane) to the side of the rack (3D space utilization). This dimensional shift allows cable management functionality to be achieved without consuming valuable rack slot space, as the patch panel now occupies vertical side space rather than horizontal rack unit space.
Solution Approach 2:
The patch panel is extracted from the rack slot environment and mounted on the rack side externally. This extraction separates the cable management function from the computing device mounting space, allowing both functions to operate independently without competing for the same physical resources.
2Device complexity
If cables are routed external to the rack to connection points on switches, then installation complexity is reduced, but access to components is interfered with and cable management becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patch panel serves as an intermediary component mounted on the rack side, providing a dedicated interface point for external cables. This mediator allows external cables to connect to switches within the rack without cables needing to pass through or interfere with the switches themselves, thus maintaining component accessibility while enabling simplified external cable routing.
3Area of stationary object
If patch panels are mounted on the rack side, then rack density is increased, but cable connector accessibility may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The bracket is designed with articulating capability, allowing it to move between a first position (flush with rack side for maximum density) and a second position (extended outward for improved connector accessibility). This dynamic positioning system enables the same structure to optimize for either rack density or accessibility depending on operational requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patch panel assembly is segmented into a rack-mounted portion and a bracket portion that can be independently positioned. This segmentation allows the bracket to be articulated to different positions, providing flexibility in balancing rack density versus connector accessibility based on specific operational needs.
Data Source
AI summary
A patch panel assembly mounts in a rack on a side of the rack other than the front side of the rack and other than the back side of the rack and fits within a volume of space not occupied by rack slots of the rack. In some embodiments the patch panel assembly includes brackets that articulate into out of the volume of space in the rack in which the patch panel assembly is mounted to allow access to patch cable connectors coupled in the brackets of the patch panel assembly.