US 6,398,149 · Granted 2002-06-04
The Cable Spool System That Keeps Server Rooms Organized
Imagine a wall-mounted organizer for cables—the kind you'd see in a server room or behind a TV setup. This patent covers a clever system where spools lock onto a rail using a rotating clamp, so cables stay bundled and neat without getting tangled or falling out.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a cable management system with detachable spools that mount to a guide rail. What's protected here is the specific mechanism: a coupler with a retractable brace that slides into a channel, rotates, and then clamps against in-turned flanges to secure the spool in place. Anyone making a spool-and-rail system with this same rotating-latch design would be infringing on the patent.
Why it matters
Data centers, server rooms, and electronics cabinets generate dozens or hundreds of cables that need to stay organized and accessible. A solid cable management system saves time during maintenance and reduces the risk of accidentally unplugging the wrong wire. Ortronics was a major player in structured cabling solutions, so this patent protected a key part of their product line and gave them a competitive edge in the enterprise IT furniture market.
Real-world use
Walk into a server room or the back of a professional audio setup, and you're seeing cable management systems like this one at work, keeping power and network cables neatly coiled and easy to trace.
Original USPTO abstract
The present invention teaches a cable management system for supporting and routing cables. The cable management system includes one or more cable supports attached to a support structure such as a wall or electronics cabinet. Each cable support includes one or more cable spools detachably mounted to a spool guide. The spool guide includes a channel extending along its length and in-turned flanges that extend partially across the opening of the channel. Each cable spool includes a spool body and a coupler. The coupler has a retractable brace that can be inserted into the channel, rotated and retracted toward the spool body for clamping the in-turned flanges between the brace and the spool body.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 6,398,149
- Filing date
- 2001-01-16
- Grant date
- 2002-06-04
- Assignee
- Ortronics, Inc.
- Inventor(s)
- HINES MICHAEL J., WATROUS SAMUEL E., SPERA SUZANNE L.
- CPC class
- A47B21/06
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