Optical waveguides – Accessories – Splice box and surplus fiber storage/trays/organizers/ carriers
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-03
2001-08-28
Ullah, Akm E. (Department: 2874)
Optical waveguides
Accessories
Splice box and surplus fiber storage/trays/organizers/ carriers
Reexamination Certificate
active
06282360
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to a system for connecting and/or interconnecting optical fibers of a main cable and of distribution cables. It relates more particularly to a modular assembly for such systems known as an “organizer”, which assembly is of the type comprising a housing support and superposable cassettes for stowing fibers and holding splices, which cassettes are received in said support and are individually pivotable therein.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Documents U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,402,515 and 5,655,044 disclose organizers of that type, in which each cassette is pivotable about an axis secured to the support and between an open position where part of the cassette lies outside the support and a closed position where the cassette is completely within the support, and in which the cassette pivot axis is located relatively close to a fiber inlet passage in each of the cassettes. A small distance between the pivot axis and the inlet passage serves to limit stresses on the fibers due to the excess length that needs to be managed between the open position and the closed position of each cassette. Nevertheless, that does not suffice to eliminate such stresses in a manner that is completely reliable.
In document U.S. Pat. No. 5,655,044, the support has a rear inside face for guiding fibers to the various desired cassettes of the organizer. Access to the guide face requires all of the cassettes to be put into the open position, which is relatively inconvenient.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to avoid putting stresses on the fibers when moving cassettes between the open position and the closed position.
The invention provides an optical fiber organizer comprising:
flat superposable cassettes for stowing fibers and for holding splices, each cassette having a fiber inlet passage;
a support for housing said cassettes, the support having a zone for distributing said fibers towards said cassettes housed therein; and
flexible carrier arms each having a fiber retention and protection path, each arm connecting the inlet passage of one of said cassettes to the fiber distribution zone of said support, serving to hold the cassette in a plane, and being foldable down against said cassette and unfoldable away therefrom so as to enable said cassette to pivot in said plane and relative to said support between a closed position and an open position, thereby simultaneously defining a path of constant length for guiding fibers between said fiber distribution zone and said cassette whether placed in either of said open and closed positions.
Advantageously, the organizer presents at least one of the following additional characteristics:
each cassette in said closed position is inside said support and has its inlet passage situated on an open front face of said support and close to a front corner of said cassette, while one of said flexible carrier arms extends the inlet passage of the cassette externally, is foldable against said front corner of said cassette in the closed position, and is provided with an end tab for fixing to a fixing axis on said support;
each of said cassettes has a through guide slot of oblong and arcuate shape, provided along the front corner of the cassette, having a first end contiguous with the inlet passage of the cassette and a second end substantially contiguous with said fixing axis when said cassette is in the closed position, and said support carries a guide pin parallel to the fixing axis and held captive in the guide slots of said cassettes for guiding each of the cassettes while it is pivoting;
said support is in the form of a box that is open at least on said “front” face and at least on part of either side thereof, and includes two first opposite walls that are parallel to said cassettes, one side wall, and a series of fastening means for fastening to said side wall to hold the various flexible carrier arms provided for said cassettes, said fastening means being parallel to said cassettes in said support and defining said fixing axis for said cassettes in a transverse direction;
said organizer has a fiber fan-out assembly mounted externally against at least said side wall and defining said fiber distribution zone on said support and provided with a series of fan-out channels and with “front” outlets staged along said fixing axis;
said fan-out assembly has at least one modular fan-out device comprising at least one rear inlet for docking tubed fibers, the inlet being opposite from the outlets of the fan-out channels and being associated with a docking clip, said docking clip itself preferably being in the form of a comb having a plurality of docking channels, each suitable for receiving and fixing at least one fiber tube in said docking inlet; and
said fan-out device has an intermediate portion provided with snap-off rims defining respective additional lateral outlets towards other, analogous organizers.
The fan-out assembly external to the support facilitates implementation. It can be used to manage the fibers of a main incoming cable, to distribute them to the various cassettes or to another organizer, and to manage the fibers of distribution cables as requirements evolve, so as to distribute the fibers to the cassettes and connect them to the fibers of the main cable in the cassettes, by means of splices that are held therein.
The resulting organizer is compact in structure, integrating the functions of fiber fan-out, bare fiber protection without any need to re-tube them, and of connection by means of splices.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4319951 (1982-03-01), Korbelak et al.
patent: 4840449 (1989-06-01), Ghandeharizadeh
patent: 5097529 (1992-03-01), Cobb et al.
patent: 5396575 (1995-03-01), Hayward et al.
patent: 5402515 (1995-03-01), Vidacovich et al.
patent: 5661841 (1997-08-01), Van Noten et al.
patent: 0 550 327 A1 (1993-07-01), None
patent: 2 300 488 A (1996-11-01), None
patent: 2 325 531 A (1998-11-01), None
Milanowski Michel
Vincent Alain
Alcatel
Sughrue Mion Zinn Macpeak & Seas, PLLC
Ullah Akm E.
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