Optical waveguides – Accessories – Splice box and surplus fiber storage/trays/organizers/ carriers
Patent
1991-05-15
1992-07-14
Healy, Brian
Optical waveguides
Accessories
Splice box and surplus fiber storage/trays/organizers/ carriers
385137, 206557, 206558, 206564, 206565, G02B 626, B65D 134
Patent
active
051310660
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relate to an arrangement for storing elements, particularly optical fibers and/or optical fiber splices, within a splice closure.
Storage arrangements are used in splice closures in the joining of optical fiber cables. The splice closure is used to provide environmental protection and sealing of the joint in e.g. telecommunications and data transmission networks, which joints are formed either between cables or at the termination of a cable to terminal equipment.
The conventional arrangement for storing optical fibers at a joint to ensure a high degree of protection during the jointing process is to insert the fiber into a tray or attach it to a plate. The trays or plates are then stacked one above the other in a cassette stacking arrangement. The tray or plate either singular or multiple is positioned inline with the cable entry ports.
This arrangement has various disadvantages. For example, splice closures are generally cylindrical in shape to improve sealing performance and ease of re-entry. However, cylindrical shape closures doe not allow the maximum use of available space when stacking a multiplicity of trays in line with the cable entry ports. In order to ensure that the required number of trays can be fitted without increasing the outside diameter of the closure, the width of tray has to be reduced. The arrangement when viewed from the side (at 90 degrees to cable entry), involves fitting a rectangular mass into a cylindrical cavity and requires a reduction in the width of the tray or plate, reducing the maximum bend radius which is available for the fiber within the tray or plate, and so introducing a degree of light loss through the wall of the fiber. It is desirable to maintain as large a bend radius as possible for the optical fiber, to minimize the losses and improve the operating efficiency of the network.
Inline cassette arrangements have the further disadvantages of limiting the height of the stack of trays and limiting the space available within the joint for the free passage of excess fibers or fiber carrying tubes around the jointing space over the entire length of the joint.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with this invention there is provided an arrangement for storing elements within a splice closure, comprising at least one generally circular tray for receiving the elements to be stored, and means for mounting the tray at an angle inclined to a longitudinal axis of the splice closure.
The generally circular splice tray may be used to store one or more splices between the signal transmitting filaments (e.g. particularly optical fibers) of the interconnected cables or interconnected cable and terminal equipment. The splice tray may be used instead or in addition to store lengths of the signal transmitting filaments. Preferably a plurality of the generally circular trays are stacked one upon another, all the trays, being similarly inclined to the longitudinal axis of the splice closure.
With this arrangement, a splice closure of a given diameter or cross-section can accommodate a tray (or trays) of an adequate diameter and still have space between the trays and the internal surface of the closure for passage of cables or their transmission filaments as required. The transmission filaments (particularly optical fibers) can be coiled within the tray to an adequate bending radius.
Preferably the means for mounting the trays allows any one of these to be removed without having to remove other trays. Preferably the trays are supported on respective fingers which can be flexed for pivoting trays away from a tray which is to be removed, so that this tray can be slipped out.
An embodiment of this invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 gives a plan view and a cross-section through a tray used in a storage arrangement in accordance with this invention;
FIG. 2A is a view of an optical fiber cable joint incorporating the storage arrangeme
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Bowthorpe-Hellerman Limited
Gordon David P.
Healy Brian
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