| CPC F16L 3/222 (2013.01) [F16L 3/1058 (2013.01); G02B 6/06 (2013.01); G02B 6/4439 (2013.01)] | 13 Claims |
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1. A cable management system comprising
a plurality of separably interconnectable clips;
each of the clips comprising:
a one-piece clip body, the clip body having a first lateral end, a second lateral end, a first longitudinal end, a second longitudinal end, a top side, and a bottom side, the clip extending in a lateral dimension from the first lateral end to the second lateral end, the clip extending in a longitudinal dimension from the first longitudinal end to the second longitudinal end, the clip extending in a vertical dimension from the bottom side to the top side, the lateral, longitudinal, and vertical dimensions being orthogonal to one another;
a plurality of cells, the plurality of cells forming a corresponding plurality of cable channels, each of the cells having a cell wall extending over a length and around a portion of a perimeter of the corresponding cable channel, the cable channels being spaced apart along the lateral dimension in a one-dimensional cable channel array, each of the cable channels having a cable channel axis extending in the longitudinal dimension and a cable channel diameter perpendicular to the cable channel axis, the cable channel axis defining radial directions perpendicular to the cable channel axis, each cable channel having a peripheral opening on the bottom side of the clip;
each cell being adapted and configured to receive a corresponding cable of circular cross section, the cable having a corresponding cable diameter, the cable diameter being smaller than the cable channel diameter to accommodate the cable in the cable channel without interference between the cable and the cell when the clip is not connected to a another of the clips;
the clips being interconnectable in a vertically stacked series to form a clip stack comprising a topmost clip and at least one successively lower clip, a top side of each successively lower clip of the stack being connected to a bottom side of a preceding higher clip of the stack, the one-dimensional cable channel arrays of the clips in the clip stack being spaced apart vertically along the vertical dimension to form a two-dimensional cable channel array, the top side of each successively lower clip in the stack comprising a plurality of contact regions corresponding to the plurality of cells of the preceding higher clip, each contact region of the successively lower clip being adapted and configured to cooperate with the corresponding cell of the preceding higher clip such that, when the corresponding cable is retained in the corresponding cable channel of the preceding higher clip, the contact region and the cell are configured to form an interference fit with a vertical diameter of the cable wherein the cable is frictionally gripped between the contact region and the cell.
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