Optical waveguides – Accessories – External retainer/clamp
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-12
2001-08-21
Sanghavi, Hemang (Department: 2874)
Optical waveguides
Accessories
External retainer/clamp
C385S135000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06278830
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to fiber and wire management in telecommunication systems and, more particularly, to panel assemblies for maintaining excess cable and wire in a coiled condition.
In telecommunication systems, long lengths of cable and wire may be employed between points. To avoid having to replace an entire length of cable or wire in the event of a break or other failure in the cable or wire at one of the end points, it is generally desirable to provide extra cable or wire of about 1-3 meters in length, and this excess is coiled and stored within the housing or elsewhere adjacent the terminating device.
Indicative of the types of panel structures which have been employed for this purpose are those shown in Smith et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,850,901, Deusser et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,886,336, Devilla U.S. Pat. No. 4,976,510, Richter et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,532, Orlando U.S. Pat. No. 5,724,469 and Regester U.S. Pat. No. 5,737,475. Generally, such structures have required a fixed structure about which the cable or wire is coiled, were limited to coiling a single cable about the supporting structure and did not afford the ability to vary the circumference of the coil.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel bend limiting fiber management clip which can be easily assembled on panels or other substrates so as to avoid excessive bending of the fiber or wire wound thereabout.
It is also an object to provide such a clip which can be readily and economically fabricated.
Another object is to provide such a fiber management clip which can be utilized to provide fiber management structures in which the circumference of the coil may be varied and in which multiple cables can be coiled.
A further object is to provide bend limiting fiber and wire installations utilizing such clips.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It has now been found that the foregoing and related objects may be readily attained by use of a bend limiting fiber management clip having generally rectangular top and bottom walls, a pillar extending between the top and bottom walls and arcuately between diagonal corners of the walls, convexly arcuate retaining arms extending upwardly from the bottom wall to adjacent the top wall at the other diagonal corners of the walls, a depending boss on the bottom wall which is engageable in an aperture or recess in a panel.
Preferably, the top wall has an aperture cooperatively dimensioned with the boss whereby the boss of a second clip may be engaged in the aperture, and the aperture and boss are disposed centrally of their respective walls. The arcuate retainer arms have projections at the upper ends thereof extending upwardly from the top wall, and the arcuate retainer arms are deflectable outwardly from their point of connection to the bottom wall.
A bending limiting fiber installation utilizes four clips in combination with a panel having spaced apertures therein. Four bend limiting fiber management clips are mounted on the substrate in a rectangular pattern with the arcuate pillars facing diagonally outwardly at the corners of the rectangular pattern to define four arcs of an imaginary closed curve.
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patent: 5421532 (1995-06-01), Richter
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patent: 5724469 (1998-03-01), Orlando
patent: 5737475 (1998-04-01), Regester
patent: 5836537 (1998-11-01), Glass
patent: 6021919 (2001-03-01), Puetz et al.
Levesque Stewart A.
Watrous Samuel E.
Ortronics Inc.
Sanghavi Hemang
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