Title of Invention

A HOUSING FOR ELECRICAL AND DATA WIRE MANAGEMENT.

Abstract

A HOUSING (5) WITH A CABLE ACCESS APERTURE (9) FOR ELECTRICAL AND DATA WIRING, IS SLIDABLY FITTED INTO A PANEL RAIL (1) WITH ONE OR MORE APERTURES FOR USE IN A OFFICE PANEL SYSTEM, THE CABLE ACCESS APERTURE (9) OF THE HOUSING THEN ALIGNED WITH AN APERTURE IN THE PANEL SLIDE, SAID HOUSING (5) BEING HELD IN ITS POSITION BY A FASTENING MEANS (11), THE ALIGNED APERTURES ALLOWING THE PASSAGE OF ELECTRICAL AND DATA WIRES.

Full Text

FIELD OF INVENTION The present invention relates to a housing for electrical and data wire management for use in an office panel system. DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART Present day office furniture are modular in design. Such design makes use of modular pieces, which are fitted into each other easily, allowing users to add or take out pieces to fit the office space and working requirements. Wires for connection of personal computers and other office equipment would then have to be laid to such equipment through or under the modular pieces. There have been office panel systems with spaces for wires to be laid have been provided. However, such wires for office equipment are usually pulled through in an unorganized manner. This makes wire re-laying and re-wiring difficult. In the construction of offices, data wires, electrical power cables, computer wires, network cables and printer wires are laid in a haphazard manner. This is because the workmen responsible for laying of each type of cable or wire are doing it at different times and for different objective. As a result, in practice, cables, wires, data lines are laid on top of each other, the earliest being laid below and the latest being just laid on top of the bundle of wires/cables. This makes re-laying of a specific or cable very difficult, the workman having to unravel the messy bundle. OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention was made to solve the above problems. Accordingly, a first object of the Invention is to provide a housing for electrical and data wiring management slidably fitted into a panel rail with one or more apertures for use in a office panel system, the panel with a rail on each side, the housing comprising a linear groove on each side; an aperture for the passage of wires; a recess to receive a fastening means; a fastening means; a tightening means; and means to connect the housing to other parts of the office panel system characterised in that the housing is slidably fitted into the groove of the panel rail, the aperture of the housing then aligned with the aperture in the panel slide, said housing being locked into its position vis-a-vis with the slide rail of the office panel by the fastening means, to allow the passage of electrical wires. A second object of the invention is to lock the housing in place when fitted into the panel slide with a fastening means comprising of a fastener with two resilient shoulders, a tightening means comprising of a tightening screw which is inserted into a hole at each end of the housing wherein the fastener is inserted into the recess to receive the fastener, the shoulder of the fastener facing the panel rail is held in place when the tightening screw is screwed into the housing, exerting pressure on each shoulder of the fastener causing the shoulder to push out against the panel rail and the housing is then held in place. A third object of the Invention is to further allow the housing to be connected to other parts of the office panel system with a means to connect the housing to other parts of the office panel system comprising of a cable harness rail holder, hinge, hollow tube holder, snap lock for hollow tube holder, snap look for hinged cover and a hinged cover. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS Embodiments of the invention are hereinafter described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the housing in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the housing viewed from the back with hinged cover detached. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the housing viewed from the front Fig. 4 is a cross section view of the housing from the back Fig. 5 is a cross section view of the housing from the front Fig. 6 is a cross section view of the housing from the top Fig. 7 is a cross section view of the housing from one side DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Fig. 1 Is a perspective view of the housing 5 with other parts of the office system. The housing 5 has a cable access aperture 9 (10cm - 20cm) and a slide groove 10 (22cm- 26cm) on each side. The panel rail has one or more apertures and a linear slot 3 on each side. The housing is slid into the linear slot 3 of the panel rail. The aperture of the panel rail is then aligned with the cable access aperture 9 (10cm - 20cm) of the housing 5 and held in place with fastening and tightening means. The housing also has means to connect the housing to other parts of the office panel system comprising of a cable-harness rail holder 15 (lcm - 3cm), hinge 14, hollow tube holder 19 (10cm-20cm), snap lock for hollow tube 18 (2cm-4cm), snap lock for hinged cover 20 (2cm-5cm) and a hinged cover 4 (2cm-5cm). Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the housing 5 viewed from the back. A fastening means which is a fastener 11 with two resilient shoulders 16 (2cm-5cm) is inserted into a recess 13 (lcm- 3cm) to receive the fastener 11 before the housing is to be slid into the panel rail. The housing 5 has a slide groove 10 (2cm-26 cm) on each side, which slides fittingly into the linear slot 3 of the panel rail. After sliding into the linear slot of the panel rail, the cable access aperture 9 (10cm- 20cm) of the housing is aligned with the aperture of the panel rail. A tightening means in the form of a screw 12 (4cm-7cm) is then inserted into a hole 2 (lcm-3cm) located at the top of the housing and tightened, exerting pressure on the two resilient shoulders 16 (2cm-5cm) of the fastener. The two resilient shoulders 16 (2cm-5cm) then expand, pushing out against the panel rail, holding the housing in its place. A similar operation is repeated for the second hole located at the bottom of the housing, This is possible since, as mentioned above the housing 5 has a slide groove 10 (22cm-26cm) on each side, which slides fittingly into the linear slot 3 (see Fig. 1) of the panel rail. After sliding into the linear slot of the panel rail, the cable access aperture 9 of the housing is aligned with the aperture or the panel rail. A tightening means in the form of screw 12 (4cm-12 cm) is then inserted into a second hole 2 (lcm-3cm) located at the bottom of the housing and tightened, exerting pressure on the two resilient shoulders 16 of the fastener. The two resilient shoulders 16 then expand, pushing out against the panel rail, holding the housing in its place. The combined effect of the tightening means at the top and bottom of the housing against the panel rail holds the housing in place, with its cable access aperture 9(10 cm-20cm) aligned with the aperture of the panel rail, thus allowing wires to be pulled through. Since the housing and the panel slide are connected to other pieces of a office panel system, electrical wires could be pulled through the cable access apertures and through other hollow spaces within the other pieces of the office panel system to allow connection to personal computers and other office equipment. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the housing 5 viewed from the front. The front of the housing is connected to other parts of the office panel system such as a hollow tube 7 and cable harness rail holder 15 (lcm-3cm) and also the hinged cover 4 (2-5cm) and locked firmly in place by the hollow tube 7 and snaplock 20. The hinge cover 4 and snap lock for cover 20 is held in place by the hinge 15 and snap lock for cover 20. This will allow other pieces of the office panel system and the electrical wires to be laid through the hollow spaces of pieces of the office panel system and held in place securely. Fig. 4 is a cross section of the housing viewed from the back without the fastening means nor tightening means. The top and bottom of the housing has a recess 13 (lcm - 3cm) to receive the fastener with its two resilient shoulders 16. The housing 5 has a slide groove 10 (22-26 cm) on each side, which slides into the linear slot 3 of the panel rail. Fig. 5 is a cross section view of the housing 5 from the front. The cable harness rail holder 16, hollow tube holder 19 (1-3 cm), snap lock for hollow tube holder 18 (2-4 cm), snap lock for snap lock cover 20 and a cable access aperture 9 are shown. Fig. 6 is a cross section view of the housing from the top. A recess hole 2 for the tightening screw 12 (4 to 7 cm) allows the tightening screw to be inserted into the housing through the recess hole. A similar hole to allow a second screw to be inserted into the housing is located at the bottom of the housing. The tightening screw 12 (4cm-7cm) is only tightened onto the fastener when the cable access aperture of the housing and panel rail are aligned. The tightening action of the front portion of the tightening screw 12 exerts pressure on the shoulder 16 (2-5 cm) of the fastener. As the shoulder 16 (2cm-5cm) of the fastener is resilient, the pressure of the screw on the fastener forces the shoulder 16 to push out against the front of the panel rail. It should be noted that panel rail and housing are always in a vertical position and unless held in place, the aperture of the panel rail and the aperture of the housing would tend to be out of alignment causing the wires to be damaged or out of place. However, the combined force of each shoulder of the fastener exerted on the panel rail is sufficient to hold the housing 5 in its place. This is due to the fact that the panel rail and housing are always in a vertical position. The housing has a tendency to slide due to force of gravity. The tightening action of the front portion of the tightening screw 12 exerts pressure on the shoulder 16 of the fastener. As the shoulder 16 of the fastener is resilient, the pressure of the screw on the fastener forces the shoulder 16 to push out against the front of the panel rail. Since the housing is molded out of plastics, and the panel rails are made of metal, the housing and panel rails have different coefficient of friction. When the housing and panel rail are placed together, there is frictional force acting between them. One advantage of this housing is to allow flexible and systematic laying of wires within a modular panel office system. This is explained as follows: In the construction of offices, data wires, electrical power cables, computer wires, network cables and printer wires are laid in a haphazard manner. This is because the workmen responsible for laying of each type of cable or wire are doing it at different times and for different objective. As a result, in practice, cables, wires, data lines are laid on top of each other, the earliest being laid below and the latest being just laid on top of the bundle of wires/cables. This makes re-laying of a specific or cable very difficult, the workman having to unravel the messy bundle. Since with the present invention, there are other accessories such as "clips" and "hangers" which allow the cables and wires to be lined in an organized manner (see Fig 1). These "clips" and hangers" (listed as feature 8 of the present invention) are installed on the inside of the office panels and partitions. The systematic laying comes about when each cable or wire or data line is hung in a specific clip in the cable harness. This would mean the data wires and cables are laid neatly and suspended through the cable harness. Another advantage is this housing allows easier maintenance of wires since the wires are all held in place neatly in an organized manner. It will be understood that the housing described herein is a preferred embodiment and should not be construed as limiting in its scope of working. WE CLAIM ; 1. A housing (5) for electrical and data wiring management slidably fitted into a panel rail having a linear slot with one or more apertures employed in a office panel system, the panel with a rail on each side, the housing (5) comprising: a linear groove (10) [22cm-26cm]on each side; an aperture (9) [10-20 cm] for the passage of wires; a recess to receive a fastening means including a fastener (11) and two resilient shoulders (16) [2-5 cm]; a tightening means including a screw (12) [4 to 7 cm]; and means to connect the housing to other parts of the office panel system, characterised in that the panel rail and the housing are in vertical position and are fastened in place, the housing is slidably fitted into the linear slot of the panel rail, the said tightening means urges the fastener, causing the two resilient shoulders to expand, pushing out against the panel rail and holding the housing in place, and the aperture of the housing is aligned with the aperture on the panel rail allowing the passage of wires. 2. A housing (5) for electrical and data wiring management as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the fastening means comprise of a fastener with two resilient shoulders (16) [2-5 cm]. 3. A housing (5) for electrical and data wiring management as claimed in claim 1, wherein said housing comprises opposite ends, each having a hole therein, and wherein said tightening means comprises a tightening screw which is inserted into each said end of the housing. 4. A housing (5) for electrical and data wiring management as claimed in claim 1, wherein said fastener has a pair of shoulders, and wherein said fastener is positioned in said recess, said shoulder of the fastener being held in position when the tightening screw is screwed into the housing, thereby exerting pressure on each shoulder of the fastener causing each shoulder to push out against the panel rail and thereby hold the housing in place. 5. A housing (5) for electrical and data wiring management as claimed in claim 1, wherein the means to connect the housing to said panel other than with said panel rail comprise a cable harness rail (15) [l-3cm], hinge cover (4) [2—5 cm), hollow tube (7) and snap lock cover (20). 6. A housing (5) for electrical and data wiring management as claimed in claim 1, wherein said housing is moulded out of plastics. A housing (5) with a cable access aperture (9) for electrical and data wiring, is slidably fitted into a panel rail (1) with one or more apertures for use in a office panel system, the cable access aperture (9) of the housing then aligned with an aperture in the panel slide, said housing (5) being held in its position by a fastening means (11), the aligned apertures allowing the passage of electrical and data wires.

Documents:

133-kolnp-2003-granted-abstract.pdf

133-kolnp-2003-granted-claims.pdf

133-kolnp-2003-granted-correspondence.pdf

133-kolnp-2003-granted-description (complete).pdf

133-kolnp-2003-granted-drawings.pdf

133-kolnp-2003-granted-form 1.pdf

133-kolnp-2003-granted-form 18.pdf

133-kolnp-2003-granted-form 2.pdf

133-kolnp-2003-granted-form 3.pdf

133-kolnp-2003-granted-form 5.pdf

133-kolnp-2003-granted-letter patent.pdf

133-kolnp-2003-granted-others.pdf

133-kolnp-2003-granted-pa.pdf

133-kolnp-2003-granted-reply to examination report.pdf

133-kolnp-2003-granted-specification.pdf