Cable management with reciprocating bracket, separators, and flexible barrier
An apparatus and method for handling cable motion within a machine comprises a housing having openings for routing cables therethrough. A bracket proximate one opening of the housing secures in a stationary position thereto a first segment of the cables while a reciprocating member proximate another opening of the housing secures thereto another segment of the cables. A spacer body within the housing facilitates routing of the cables within the housing by causing the cables to travel around the body. Separators are attached to groups of the cables to maintain a desired separation there-between and dividers are placed between separated groups of cables to prevent excessive friction therebetween.
1. A system for controlling movement of cables connected to a base and to a reciprocating bracket, the system comprising:
a housing having a horizontal upper interior surface and a horizontal lower interior surface substantially parallel to the horizontal upper interior surface, the horizontal upper interior surface separated from the horizontal lower interior surface by a first distance;
a reciprocating device attached to the reciprocating bracket to move the reciprocating bracket from a first position to a second position;
a plurality of separators each having vertically aligned openings therethrough, the plurality of separators each further having a substantially flat top surface and a substantially flat bottom surface for contacting the horizontal upper interior surface of the housing and the horizontal lower interior surface of the housing, respectively, to prevent an angular displacement of the plurality of separators from a vertical alignment, the plurality of separators each having a height between the top surface and the bottom surface less than the first distance, the cables passing through the vertically aligned openings and affixed to the plurality of separators, the plurality of separators for maintaining the cables vertically aligned at the plurality of separators; and
an elongated flexible barrier on at least one side of the plurality of separators and the cables, the elongated flexible barrier comprising a first end attached to the base and a second end attached to the reciprocating bracket.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the cables are oriented such that a center of each of the cables are co-linear along a direction orthogonal to the horizontal upper interior surface and the horizontal lower interior surface.
3. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a floating body between the cables to maintain a spatial separation between the cables.
4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the floating body is rigidly connected to the reciprocating device.
5. The system of claim 1 , wherein a first one of the cables comprises a power cable and a second one of the cables comprises a data cable.
6. An apparatus comprising:
a housing comprising a horizontal upper surface and a horizontal lower surface substantially parallel to the horizontal upper surface;
a first set of cables affixed to a base at an opening of the housing, the first set of cables entering the housing through the opening and extending within the housing in a first direction;
a second set of cables affixed to the base at the opening of the housing, the second set of cables entering the housing through the opening and extending within the housing in a second direction transverse to the first direction;
the first set and the second set of cables exiting the housing through a longitudinal slot in the housing, the first set and the second set of cables converging toward, and affixed to, a reciprocating bracket at the longitudinal slot, the reciprocating bracket configured to travel back and forth along the longitudinal slot and in a direction substantially parallel thereto;
one or more first barriers within the housing adjacent the first set of cables to maintain a first spatial separation therebetween;
separators disposed between the horizontal upper interior surface and the horizontal lower interior surface, the separators affixed to each of the first and the second set of cables, the separators having generally planar top and bottom surfaces and a height less than a distance between the horizontal upper surface and the horizontal lower surface of the housing to prevent the separators from rotating excessively within the housing and to maintain central axes of each of the first and the second set of cables in a vertical linear orientation at the separators perpendicular to the horizontal upper surface and the horizontal lower surface of the housing; and
one or more second barriers within the housing adjacent the second set of cables to maintain a second spatial separation therebetween.
7. An apparatus comprising:
a housing having a first opening in a first side of the housing, a second opening in a second side of the housing, a horizontal upper interior surface and a horizontal lower interior surface parallel to the horizontal upper interior surface;
a plurality of cables;
a bracket proximate the first opening to secure in a stationary position a first segment of each of the plurality of cables;
a reciprocating member proximate the second opening and having secured thereto a second segment of each of the plurality of cables;
separators disposed between the horizontal upper interior surface and the horizontal lower interior surface, the separators affixed to the plurality of cables, the separators having generally planar top and bottom surfaces and a height less than a distance between the horizontal upper interior surface and the horizontal lower interior surface of the housing to prevent the separators from rotating excessively within the housing and to maintain central axes of the plurality of cables in a vertical linear orientation at the separators perpendicular to the horizontal upper interior surface and the horizontal lower interior surface of the housing; and
a spacer within the housing,
wherein the plurality of cables extend through the first opening into the housing, extend around one side of the spacer, and extend through the second opening out of the housing.
8. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein at least one of the one or more first barriers is disposed between cables in the first set of cables, and wherein at least one of the one or more second barriers is disposed between cables in the second set of cables.
9. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the housing is curved, and wherein a reciprocating device travels back and forth along a curved longitudinal slot.
10. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the housing is substantially rectangular, and wherein a reciprocating device travels back and forth along a linear longitudinal slot.
11. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the separators and the one or more first barriers and the one or more second barriers comprise a height dimension slightly less than a distance between the horizontal upper and lower surfaces of the housing.
12. The apparatus of claim 6 , further comprising a floating body within the housing, the floating body disposed between the first set of cables and the second set of cables to maintain a spatial separation therebetween.
13. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the one or more first barriers and the one or more second barriers each comprise a first end affixed to the base, and wherein the one or more first barriers and the one or more second barriers each comprise a second end affixed to the reciprocating bracket.
14. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the first set of cables each comprise a conductor for power transmission, and wherein the second set of cables each comprise a conductor for data transmission.
15. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein a first subset of the plurality of cables and a second subset of the plurality of cables diverge within the housing, the first subset of the plurality of cables extend around a first side of the spacer within the housing, and wherein the second subset of the plurality of cables diverge around a second side of the spacer within the housing.