Abstract:
A device for electrically connecting power cable conductors to distribution cable conductors includes a panel that supports contact modules that have contacts and that are distributed along a circle about a hub and that pass through the thickness of the panel. On a rear side of the panel the contacts are joined to conductors of the cables. On a front side of the panel the contacts are joined to jumper wires, which may be wrapped about the hub and passed between the teeth of a circular comb. In another embodiments, a panel supports structures forming guide chutes for jumpers and pivotally mounted caps for added protection of the jumpers. The panel may be pivotally mounted at an axis for easy access to the rear side and may support a rotatable arm for aid in preparing jumper wire ends. In another embodiment a pair of opposed panels are coupled at internal surfaces to conductors of cables and on their outer surfaces to jumpers, the jumpers passing through aligned openings in the panels.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention concerns a device for connecting conductors of a power cable to conductors of a distribution cable. 
     Located at the various nodes of a distribution network are devices with which one or more power cables can be connected to one or more distribution cables in order to create spurs of the network. 
     These devices are referred to, depending on their level within the network, as distribution boxes, distribution or splitter terminals, interior or exterior subdistributors, and distributors. 
     In each case, at least one power cable and at least one distribution cable arrive at the device, where they are connected in appropriate fashion, each conductor of the power cable, or power conductor, being connected to a conductor of the distribution cable, or distribution conductor, via a linking conductor also referred to as a “jumper.” 
     In existing communication networks, the cable heads are arranged vertically one above another, mounted on trusses which are constituted by vertical formed sections. 
     A plurality of trusses are generally placed alongside one another so that the set forms a two-dimensional distributor in which the cable heads are distributed in rows and columns. 
     The power cable terminates at certain cable heads, and the distribution cable terminates at other cable heads, and the jumpers link the cable heads two by two by passing within the distributor along the lines and columns of the latter. 
     The conductors can be electrical conductors, i.e. generally copper wires, or optical conductors, i.e. optical fibers. 
     In the first case, the jumpers are constituted by segments of electrical wire, while in the second case they are segments of optical fiber. 
     In both cases, the arrangement in rows and columns of the cable heads demands the use of jumpers having lengths which differ from one pair of conductors to another. 
     This is detrimental to the general organization of the distributor, and does not allow easy visual identification of the various jumpers linking the power cables to the distribution cables. 
     A particular problem arises when one wishes to modify a connection by changing only the distribution conductor connected to a power conductor. 
     The reason is that the jumpers are generally so intermingled with one another that it is impossible to displace one of the ends of a jumper in order to connect it to another distribution conductor. 
     It is thus preferable to cut the two ends of the jumper and leave it in place, then to add a new jumper between the power conductor and the new conductor of the distribution cable. 
     Work must therefore be performed at regular intervals on the distributor to revise all the connections and eliminate the jumpers that have become superfluous. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The purpose of the present invention is to furnish a device which eliminates the above disadvantages in particular while being easy to manage and maintain and particularly simple and economical to implement. 
     The object of the present invention is a device for connecting the conductors of a power cable to conductors of a distribution cable, the ends of the conductors being mounted in stationary fashion on the device and being capable of being linked to one another via jumpers which are each connected on the one hand to a conductor of the power cable and on the other hand to a conductor of the distribution cable, wherein the ends of the conductors of the power cable and/or of the distribution cable are distributed around a hub on which the jumpers which each link two conductor ends can be wound. 
     In other words, the invention consists in arranging the ends of the conductors which are linked to one another via jumpers not along rows and columns, as in the existing art, but around a hub. 
     In a particular embodiment, the ends of the power and/or distribution cable conductors are distributed substantially along a circle. 
     According to the invention, the term “substantially along a circle” is understood to mean that the ends of the power and distribution cable conductors are located in the vicinity of an open or closed line drawn around the hub; this line can be not only a circle but also an oval, an ellipse, a square, or a rectangle, this list not being limiting. 
     All the jumpers can thus have an identical length which is similar to the diameter of the circle or to the greatest width of the line along which the conductor ends are distributed. 
     This may prove extremely interesting from a practical point of view, since such identical-length jumpers can be prepared in advance in a factory. 
     In the case of optical conductors in particular, this advantage eliminates the need for on-site cutting, stripping, and splitting of the optical fibers constituting the jumpers, which is a delicate operation. 
     In the device according to the invention, removal of a jumper which has become superfluous presents no problem, since the jumpers are not entangled with one another. 
     In addition, the device according to the invention does not necessitate the presence of a truss but requires simply a support, for example a panel or a wheel, on which the conductor ends can be placed around the hub. 
     It can nevertheless be adapted to an existing distributor using a specific support that is adaptable to a truss. 
     The fact that the conductor ends are placed around a hub according to the invention also makes it possible to achieve a connection density much greater than that which can be achieved with a traditional distributor. The overall dimensions of the distributor can thus be reduced. 
     In a particular embodiment of the invention, the device has a panel, the power and distribution cables being situated on one side of that panel, the conductor ends being distributed on the panel substantially along a circle, the jumpers being situated on the other side of the panel where they link the ends of the conductors to which they are connected through said panel. 
     This embodiment facilitates maintenance of the device by making it possible, for example by tilting the panel, to work on the couplings of the power and distribution cable conductors without having to access the rear surface of the device. 
     It is evident that it is particularly easy to displace only one of the ends of a jumper to connect it to another conductor without thereby needing to detach its other end. Displacement of the end of the jumper is accomplished by simply rotating the jumper segment extending from the hub to the end of the jumper to be displaced. 
     Advantageously, the hub exhibits an appropriate cross section for facilitating organization of the jumpers. 
     The hub may thus have a truncated conical shape which allows jumpers to be collected in the vicinity of the panel as necessary. 
     The hub can also have several compartments, thus preventing tangling of the jumpers. 
     In this case, the diameter of the hub can vary from one compartment to another in order to compensate for the increase in the distance to be covered by the jumper due to the axial offset of the compartment. For example, the diameter of the hub can decrease with increasing distance from the panel on which the conductor ends are arranged in a circle. 
     The diameter of the hub is of particular importance in cases where the conductors are optical fibers, since it guarantees a minimum radius of curvature for the jumpers. 
     Advantageously, the device has a means for holding the jumpers on the hub, for example a circular comb situated inside the circle along which the conductor ends are distributed. 
     The terminal portions of the jumpers are then wedged between two teeth of the comb, which holds them in place. 
     In a preferred variant, the device has a means for guiding end portions of the jumpers which ensures that they are positioned in a direction that is substantially radial with respect to the hub, so as to facilitate their engagement in the teeth of the comb. 
     This guiding means can furthermore serve as a support for the jumpers, preventing those which are too long from interfering with access to the jumper ends where the latter connect to the ends of the power and distribution cable conductors. 
     To protect the jumper ends, the device advantageously has protective caps which cover a set of jumper ends. 
     With the purpose of protecting the jumpers over their entire length, the device can have a set of radial chutes capable of receiving multiple jumpers and extending from the vicinity of the hub to the vicinity of the ends of the power and distribution cables, these chutes being closed off by a partition equipped with a slot which allows a single jumper to pass through. 
     In a particular embodiment of the invention, the device has an arm mounted pivotably about an axis passing through the center of the hub, which can correspond to the center of the circle along which the conductor ends are distributed, the length of said arm being substantially identical to the radius of the circle. 
     It is possible to mount on such an arm, for example, a tool with which jumpers can be prepared for connection to the conductor ends, the tool being displaceable along the circle by rotation of the arm. 
     A magnifier can also be provided at the end of the arm to facilitate the work of the operator responsible for installing the jumpers. 
     In use, it may be preferable for the ends of the power and distribution conductors to be grouped in angular sectors around the hub, each angular sector corresponding, for example, to a geographical area served by the distribution cable conductors or to a geographical area from which the conductors of the power cable arrive. 
     According to an advantageous variant, the device also has a hub on the side of the panel where the power and distribution cables are situated, the conductors of said cables being wound around this hub and their ends being distributed substantially along a circle or an open or closed line. 
     In a particular embodiment of the invention, the device has two substantially parallel panels which each have an external surface facing away from the external surface of the other panel and an internal surface facing toward the internal surface of the other panel and each equipped with an opening; the two openings being in alignment with one another and forming a hollow hub; the power and distribution cables being situated between the internal surfaces of these two panels; the ends of the power cable conductors being distributed on the first panel around the opening; the ends of the distribution cable conductors being distributed on the second panel around the opening; the jumpers extending from the external surface of the first panel, where they are each connected to an end of a power cable conductor through the first panel, to the external surface of the second panel, where they are each connected to an end of a distribution cable conductor through the second panel; said jumpers passing through the openings of the first and second panels. 
     In other words, in this embodiment the device has two panels, the first of which is reserved for the power cable conductors while the second is reserved for the distribution cable conductors, the links between these conductors being accomplished via jumpers which pass from one panel to the other by crossing their central open portions which constitute a hollow hub. 
     In another embodiment of the invention, the device has, on a single panel, a plurality of hubs around which the ends of the power and distribution cable conductors are distributed, a space being reserved for the jumpers to pass between two adjacent hubs. 
     According to the invention, the conductors can be light conductors, i.e. optical fibers, or electricity conductors, i.e. electrical wires, or any other conductors which must be connected to one another. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     In order to explain the invention further, an explanation will now be given of embodiments provided as non-limiting examples, with reference to the attached drawings in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a distributor according to the existing art; 
     FIG. 2 a  is an elevation of a device according to the invention; 
     FIG. 2 b  is a detail of an elevation shown in FIG. 2 a ; 
     FIG. 3 is a view from behind of the panel of the device of FIG. 2 a ; 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view depicting another embodiment of the device according to the invention; 
     FIG. 5 is an elevation of a device according to another embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 6 is an axially sectioned view of a hub of a device according to the invention; 
     FIG. 7 is a view, analogous to FIG. 6, of a variant of the hub; 
     FIG. 8 is an elevation of a device according to another embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 9 is a view from behind of the device of FIG. 8; 
     FIG. 10 is an elevation of a device according to another embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 11 is a view from above of FIG. 10; 
     FIG. 12 is a sectioned view along A—A of FIG. 11; 
     FIG. 13 is a three-quarter frontal perspective view of the device of FIGS. 10 through 12; 
     FIG. 14 is a view analogous to FIG. 13, the device being viewed from the other side and certain protective caps having been removed; and 
     FIG. 15 is a three-quarter rear perspective view of the device of FIGS.  10  through  14 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The conventional distributor depicted in FIG. 1 comprises five trusses  1 , constituted by metal formed sections, arranged vertically alongside one another. 
     Each truss supports a set of five cable heads  2  which are thus distributed along five rows and five columns of the distributor. 
     Bundles of cables  3  arrive at the distributor through the upper part thereof. Other bundles of cables (not depicted) arrive through the lower part of the distributor beneath floor  4  which supports it. 
     As is evident from FIG. 1, the cables pass within the distributor along the latter&#39;s rows and columns. 
     Each conductor of a cable is connected to a contact of a cable head  2  on the rear surface thereof. 
     For greater clarity in the drawing, the contacts have been depicted on only eight of the twenty-five cable heads depicted here. 
     The front surfaces of the cable heads are intended to receive jumpers which link the contacts two by two. 
     A single jumper  5  is depicted in FIG.  1 . It is evident that this jumper was prepared in customized fashion so as to pass horizontally and then vertically within the distributor between the two contacts which it is linking. 
     The distributor depicted in FIG. 2 a  comprises a cabinet  6  with two doors  7 , inside which is housed a device  8  according to the invention. 
     This device  8  comprises a panel  9 , the front surface of which is visible in FIG.  2  and the rear surface of which is visible in FIG.  3 . 
     Bundles of cables  10  terminate at panel  9  through the lower part of cabinet  6  and are connected on the rear surface of panel  9  in contact modules  11  which pass through the thickness of panel  9 . 
     Contact modules  11  are distributed on panel  9  along a circle. 
     In the detail view of FIG. 2 b , it is apparent that contact modules  11  appear on the front surface of panel  9  where they exhibit a certain number of contacts  12  each capable of receiving the end of a jumper by simple insertion. 
     Three jumpers  13 ,  14 , and  15  are depicted in FIG. 2 a.    
     These jumpers all have substantially the same length, this length being similar to the diameter of the circle along which contact modules  11  are distributed. 
     A hub  16  is situated at the center of the circle to serve as support for jumpers  14 ,  15 , which can thus be extended between-their two ends while additionally held between the teeth of a comb  17 , also of circular shape, situated inside the circle formed by contact modules  11 . 
     It is clear that the jumpers arranged in this fashion are intermingled with one another only in the vicinity of hub  16 , i.e. over a small portion of their length. 
     Extraction of a jumper that has become superfluous, or displacement of one of the ends of a jumper from one contact  12  to another, thus entails no difficulty. 
     Visual identification of the jumpers is moreover facilitated, especially if the contact modules are distributed by angular sector on the basis of the power and/or distribution cables  10  to which they correspond, as is evident from FIG.  3 . 
     Opposite panel  9 , hub  16  supports a disk  18  which retains the jumpers on said hub. 
     An arm  19 , mounted pivotably on disk  18  and having a length substantially equal to the radius of the circle formed by the contact modules, may serve for the placement of equipment with which the jumper ends can be prepared. 
     This arm  19  may also be used to automate connection changes between the power conductors and distribution conductors. 
     It is thus possible, remotely, to perform coupling changes or to implement slow switching of subscribers, particularly in an optical fiber network. 
     The fact that the power and distribution cables  10  terminate on the rear surface of panel  9  makes it possible, by simply pivoting panel  9  with respect to a horizontal axis  20 , to work on the couplings between the cables and the contact modules without having to access the rear of cabinet  6 . 
     In contrast to prior distributors whose trusses cannot be individually swiveled because of the cables which link them to one another and which must therefore be accessible from behind, the device according to the invention can thus be placed against a wall. 
     In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 4, the device comprises two panels  21 ,  22  which are cut out in the shape of wheels, held parallel to one another with their internal surfaces facing one another and their external surfaces outward. 
     Each wheel  21 ,  22  is open in its central portion  23 ,  24 . 
     As described above, conductor cables terminate at the wheels, a power cable  25  being coupled to the internal surface of wheel  21  while a distribution cable  26  is coupled to the internal surface of wheel  22 . 
     Jumpers  27  link, two by two, the contacts appearing on the external surface of wheel  21  to the contacts appearing on the external surface of wheel  22 , passing from one wheel to the other through openings  23 ,  24 . 
     Thus, as described above, all the jumpers of the device exhibit the same length, which is substantially equal to the diameter of the wheels plus the distance separating said wheels. 
     In this embodiment, management of the jumpers can be facilitated by the fact that all the couplings to the power cable conductors are made on the same surface of the device, while all the couplings to the distribution cable conductors are made on the other surface of the device. 
     By mounting the two wheels  21  and  22  on a single support articulated about a horizontal axis, like panel  9  of FIG. 2 a , it is possible to install the device of FIG. 4 in a cabinet and access the external surface of wheel  22  by swiveling the support. 
     In the embodiment of FIG. 5, multiple circles of contact modules  11  are arranged on a single panel  29 , spaces being reserved between the centers of two adjacent circles for the passage of jumpers  30  linking the contacts present on those circles. 
     In this embodiment, several jumper lengths must be provided, but the number of different lengths required is only three, which is very low considering the large number of contacts combined on this single panel  29 . 
     FIG. 6 depicts, in section, panel  9 , hub  16 , and disk  18  of FIG.  2 . 
     The truncated conical shape of the hub allows jumpers  31  to be grouped in the vicinity of disk  18 , which prevents them from accumulating in the vicinity of panel  9 . 
     In the variant depicted in FIG. 7, hub  16 ′ is compartmentalized by having a plurality of disks  18 . 
     This limits the risk of entangling the jumpers. 
     It may be noted that the diameter of hub  16 ′ increases in the direction of panel  9 , so that the jumper length necessary to connect two contacts remains identical regardless of the hub compartment used by that jumper. 
     The device depicted in FIGS. 8 and 9 comprises a vertical panel  32  on whose front surface a hub  33  bearing a disk  34  is mounted. Contact modules  35  (only some of which have been depicted in the Figure) are distributed on the panel along a circle that is concentric with hub  33  and disk  34 . 
     Combs  36  are adjacent to contact module  35 , the function of these combs being to hold jumpers  37 ,  38  in position. 
     At the periphery of contact modules  35 , the panel has a marking  39  which allows contact modules  35  to be identified visually. 
     A plurality of cylindrical studs  40 , distributed in a circle on the panel around disk  34 , constitutes a means for guiding the end portions of the jumpers, ensuring that they are positioned in a substantially radial direction with respect to the hub, in particular to facilitate their engagement into the teeth of comb  36 . 
     These cylindrical studs  40  moreover perform the function of keeping the jumpers sheltered by disk  34 , in the event that, for example, a jumper of excessive length, although wound on the hub, extends beyond the lower portion of disk  34 . 
     As is evident from FIG. 9, panel  32  also has a hub  41  on its rear surface; this hub  41  can be the extension of hub  33  of the front surface. 
     A disk  42  similar to disk  34  of the front surface is also carried by hub  41 . 
     The power and distribution cables arrive through the lower edge of panel  32  and rise vertically to a peripheral comb  43  which allows the optical fibers to penetrate radially beneath disk  42  and wind around hub  41 . 
     In the embodiment of FIGS. 10 through 15, the device again has a vertical panel  44  carrying a hub  45  which passes completely through it and projects from both surfaces, hub  45  carrying a disk  46 ,  47  on the front and rear surfaces of panel  44 . 
     As described above, contact modules  48  and a circular comb  49  surround the hub. 
     Radial partitions  50  (see FIGS. 12 and 14) on the front surface of panel  44 , and radial partitions  51  (see FIGS. 13 and 15) on the rear surface of panel  44  have been provided around each hub to keep the fibers in a radial orientation with respect to the hub. 
     On the front surface, jumpers  52  thus leave a contact module  48  and engage between two radial partitions  50 , then enter an open space  53  surrounding hub  45  beneath disk  46 , then once again penetrate between two radial partitions  50  and terminate at another contact module  48 . 
     On the rear surface of panel  44 , the optical fibers emerging from the power and distribution cables engage between radial partitions  51  and then wind around hub  45  beneath disk  47 . 
     On the front surface of panel  44 , protection has furthermore been provided for the fibers, intended especially to prevent any alteration to the jumpers if a tool should be dropped by an operator working on the device. 
     This protection is constituted by vertical partitions or fins  54  which are each mounted on a radial partition  50  and are arranged next to one another to form a kind of disk  55  having multiple radial slots, each slot, which is in fact the space separating two adjacent fins, allowing a jumper to be introduced between two radial partitions. 
     In other words, the assembly constituted by the radial partitions and the fins forms a partitioned assembly whose various channels or chutes, delimited between panel  44 , radial partitions  50 , and fins  54 , converge toward hub  45 . 
     The jumpers are also protected at the level of each contact module  48  by swiveling caps  56  each constituted by a partition  56   a  perpendicular to panel  44  and tangent to a circle constituted by the set of contact modules  48 , and a partition  56   b , perpendicular to partition  56   a , which extends from the tip of partition  56   a  toward hub  45  to a point above fins  54 . 
     Each cap  56  is articulated on panel  44  at the base of its partition  56   a.    
     FIG. 13 depicts all the caps  56  in the folded-down position, forming a sort of crown that prolongs fins  54  and thus ensures integral protection for the jumpers over their entire length. 
     In FIG. 14, most of the contact modules  48  as well as combs  49  have been omitted, and only two protective caps  56  have been retained, making them easier to observe. 
     It is understood that the embodiments which have just been described are in no way limiting in nature, and that they may be modified in any manner desired without thereby leaving the context of the invention.