Abstract:
An apparatus for toollessly, releasably attaching an optical component to a structure is disclosed. The optical component has a snap fastener. The snap fastener may be integrally formed with and part of the optical component. An accepting feature is attached to the structure. When the snap fastener is brought into contact with the accepting feature, the accepting feature accepts the snap fastener thereby toollessly, releasably attaching the optical component to the structure.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/530,697 filed on Sep. 2, 2011 the content of which is relied upon and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Disclosure 
         [0003]    The technology of the disclosure relates to optical components and an apparatus and method for toollessly and releasably attaching components to a structure. 
         [0004]    2. Technical Background 
         [0005]    In the telecom industry, panels and modules serve as connection points, housing fiber optic adapters. Traditional methods for fastening metal panels or modules, even plastic, to an enclosure employ use of fasteners such as plungers and grommets or other types of mechanical fasteners, such as screws or captive fasteners. Fasteners in the panels or modules are used to secure the panel or module to another component by allowing the plunger/grommet system to snap in place. However, traditional methods are designed to support specific types of optical components making configuring or reconfiguring the structure for different optical components impossible or, at least, costly and time consuming. 
       SUMMARY OF THE DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0006]    Embodiments disclosed herein include an apparatus and method for toollessly and releasably attaching an optical component to a structure. The optical component has a snap fastener. The snap fastener may be integrally formed with and a part of the optical component. An accepting feature is attached to the structure. When the snap fastener is brought into contact with the accepting feature, the accepting feature accepts the snap fastener thereby releasably attaching the optical component to the structure. 
         [0007]    In another aspect, embodiments disclosed herein also include a cradle assembly having a cradle adapted to receive an optical component such that the optical component toollessly, releasably attaches to the cradle and a cradle connection assembly, wherein the cradle connection assembly is adapted to toollessly and releasably attach to a housing a snap fastener. The optical component may be a module and/or an adapter panel having fiber optic adapters. Additionally, the optical component may be a slack box. The cradle assembly may include a hinge allowing the cradle to rotate between an unengaged position and an engaged position. A snap fastener may releasably, toollessly attach the cradle in the engaged position. 
         [0008]    In another aspect, embodiments disclosed herein also include a method for toollessly and releasably attaching an optical component to a structure. The method includes, providing a snap fastener attached to the optical component, providing an accepting feature attached to the structure, and moving the optical component such that the snap fastener contacts the accepting feature wherein the accepting feature accepts the snap fastener toollessly and releasably attaching the optical component to the structure. The structure may be an enclosure, a housing, or a chassis. Additionally, the structure may be a cradle. The optical component may be a module and/or an adapter panel, each of which may have adapters. Additionally, the optical component may be a slack box 
         [0009]    Additional features and advantages will be set forth in the detailed description which follows, and in part will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from that description or recognized by practicing the embodiments as described herein, including the detailed description that follows, the claims, as well as the appended drawings. 
         [0010]    It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description present embodiments, and are intended to provide an overview or framework for understanding the nature and character of the disclosure. The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding, and are incorporated into and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate various embodiments, and together with the description serve to explain the principles and operation of the concepts disclosed. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
         [0011]      FIG. 1  is a perspective, partially exploded view of an exemplary embodiment of a cradle assembly toollessly and releasably attachable using snap fasteners; 
           [0012]      FIG. 1A  is a partial, bottom, exploded perspective view of a slack box and a cradle of the cradle assembly of  FIG. 1  toollessly and releasably attachable using snap fasteners; 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  is a view of a module as ready to be inserted into the cradle of the cradle assembly of  FIG. 1 , with the cradle assembly shown toollessly and releasably attached to an enclosure or housing; 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  is a view of the snap fastener in the side flange of an adapter panel for toollessly, releasably attaching the adapter to the cradle assembly of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0015]      FIG. 4A  is a side view of the snap fastener to be toollessly and releasably attached to an accepting feature; 
           [0016]      FIG. 4B  is a side view of the snap fastener of  FIG. 4A  toollessly and releasably attached to an accepting feature; 
           [0017]      FIG. 5  is a front, perspective view of the cradle assembly of  FIG. 2  with the module attached to the cradle assembly and the cradle assembly attached to the housing; 
           [0018]      FIG. 5A  is a partial, perspective detail view of the cradle connection assembly of the cradle assembly of  FIG. 1 , showing a catch flange extending from a cradle plate; 
           [0019]      FIG. 6  is a perspective, rear view of the cradle assembly of  FIG. 1  shown between an unrotated, unengaged position and a rotated engaged position; 
           [0020]      FIG. 7  is a perspective, rear view of the cradle assembly of  FIG. 1  shown in the rotated, engaged position; 
           [0021]      FIG. 8A  is a top, perspective view of an exemplary embodiment adapter panel that has the snap fastener molded into the panel; 
           [0022]      FIG. 8B  is a side, perspective view of the adapter panel of  FIG. 8A ; 
           [0023]      FIG. 8C  is a bottom, perspective view of the adapter panel of  FIG. 8A . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0024]    Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all embodiments are shown. Indeed, the concepts may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limiting herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Whenever possible, like reference numbers will be used to refer to like components or parts. 
         [0025]    Embodiments disclosed herein include a snap fastener for toollessly and releasably locking optical components to a structure, for example, without limitation, a housing, enclosure or chassis. The snap fastener may be any type or design of fastener that provides for toolless and releasable locking or attaching of one component to another. Additionally, the snap fastener may be one used for sheet metal as a non-limiting example, a Snap Lock™ fastener. In such a case, the snap fastener functions analogously to plastic snaps but is used for components constructed of sheet metal. Use of the snap fastener in panels and modules eliminates the need for additional fasteners or components to fasten or secure a panel or module within an enclosure. Other components within the enclosure may also employ use of the snap fastener to assemble or disassemble components and may eliminate the need for additional components and the use of tools for installation. 
         [0026]    In this regard,  FIG. 1  illustrates a cradle assembly  10  that includes snap fasteners  12  to attach the components of the cradle assembly  10  to each other. The cradle assembly  10  includes a cradle  14 , a cradle connection assembly  16 , a slack box  18  and a housing plate  20 . The slack box  18  toollessly and releasably attaches to a cradle bar  22  on the cradle  14  using snap fasteners  12  as shown on  FIG. 1A , which illustrates a bottom, exploded, perspective partial detail view of the cradle assembly  10 . The slack box  18  may be used for storing fiber optic cable slack. The cradle  14  includes a cradle extension  24  which connects to the cradle connection assembly  16  at hinge  26  providing a rotatable connection between cradle extension  24  and cradle connection assembly  16  allowing the cradle  14  and the cradle connection assembly  16  to rotate about each other. In  FIG. 1 , the cradle  14  is shown in an un-rotated, unengaged position designated as “A”. The housing plate  20  attaches to a surface of a housing, enclosure or chassis (not shown in  FIG. 1 ). The cradle connection assembly  16  has a cradle plate  28  with two slots  30 . The housing plate  20  has two snap fasteners  12 . The two snap fasteners  12  may be integral with and a part of the housing plate  20 . The cradle connection assembly  16  toollessly, releasably attaches to the housing plate  20  by the housing plate&#39;s  20  two snap fasteners  12 . The housing plate&#39;s  20  two snap fasteners  12  position in the respective slots  30  and holes  31  in a cradle plate  28 . The respective slots  30  and holes  31  are accepting features of the cradle plate  28 . In this manner, since the housing plate  20  is attached to a surface of the housing and the cradle connection assembly  16  is toollesly and releasably attached to the housing plate  20 , due to the hinge  26 , the cradle  14  may rotate about the housing plate  20 , and, thereby, the housing. This will be discussed in more detail below. As an additional or alternative attachment to the housing, the cradle connection assembly  16  may be attached to the housing plate  20  using security screws  32  inserted into screw holes  34  in the cradle plate  28 . 
         [0027]    Continuing with reference to  FIG. 1 , the cradle connection assembly  16  includes a catch flange  35  attached to and extending from the cradle plate  28 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , the catch flange  35  may be a vertically extending right-angled structure with a tab feature  36 . The tab feature  36  provides a surface for locating a snap fastener  12  oriented in a direction toward the cradle  14 . The snap fastener  12  is positioned such that as the cradle  14  rotates on the hinge  26 , the snap fastener  12  engages a mating feature (not visible in  FIG. 1 ) attached to the cradle extension  24 . In this manner, the snap fastener  12  may toollessly and releasably lock the cradle  14  in a rotated, engaged position (designated as “B” see  FIG. 7 ) until the cradle  14  is rotated back to the un-rotated position “A”. A finger tab  38  may be used to rotate the cradle  14  between the un-rotated, unengaged position and the rotated, engaged position. Two component mounting holes  39  are shown extending through the catch flange  35 . The component mounting holes  39  may be used to mount other components, as a non-limiting example, a routing guide, one of which is illustrated in  FIG. 5A . 
         [0028]    The cradle  14  has a first side  40 , a second side  42  and a bottom  44 , which with the slack box  18  toollessly and releasably attached to the cradle bar  22 , define an interior  46  of the cradle  14 . One or more routing guides  48  may attach to either or both of the first side  40  and the second side  42 . Additionally, tie down lances  50  may extend from the first side  40  and/or the second side  42 . The routing guides  48  direct optical fibers around the sides  40 ,  42  of the cradle  14 , while the tie down lances  50  may be used for fastening tie wraps, or the like, to restrain the optical fibers. In this way, the optical fibers associated with a module or an adapter panel may be organized and managed. 
         [0029]    Referring now to  FIG. 2  a module  52  positioned to be inserted into the cradle  14  in the un-rotated position is illustrated. The cradle assembly  10  is shown attached to a housing  54 . It should be understood that housing  54  is intended to refer to and include any type or design of structure to or on which the cradle assembly  10  may be attached. The module  52  may have a cover  56  and a base  58  with the base  58  having a front  60 , a back  62 , a first side  64  and a second side  66 . In  FIG. 2 , fiber optic adapters  68  in the form of SC adapters are shown mounted in the front  60 . Although SC adapters are shown, it should be understood that any type of fiber optic adapters  68  may be mounted in or on the module  52 . The second side  66  has a snap fastener  12 . The snap fastener  12  may be integral with and a part of the second side  66 . The module  52  may be inserted into the cradle  14  by inserting the back  62  of the module  52  in the interior  46 . As the module  52  inserts into the interior  46  of the cradle  14 , the second side&#39;s  66  snap fastener  12  engages an accepting feature  70  or mating part in the cradle  14  upon installation. In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 2 , the accepting feature  70  in the cradle  14  may be a rectangular cutout  71  and a snap hole  73 . The mating of the snap fastener  12  and the accepting feature  70  toollessly and releasably locks the module  52  in place within the cradle  14 . 
         [0030]    An adapter panel  72  with adapters  68  mounted thereon may be used with the cradle assembly  10  in the same manner as a module  52 .  FIG. 3  illustrates an adapter panel  72  with a first side flange  74  and a second side flange  76 . The snap fastener  12  in the first and second side flanges  74 ,  76  of an adapter panel  72  are designed to fit the cradle assembly  10  shown in  FIG. 2 . The snap fasteners  12  on both first and the second side flanges  74 ,  76  (as it is in a module) engage the respective accepting feature  70  in the cradle  14  when installed. The snap fasteners  12  may serve as a stopping point as well during installation. 
         [0031]      FIGS. 4A and 4B  show the snap fastener  12  from a side view to illustrate the construction of the snap fastener  12  and its engagement with the mating part  70 . An angled flange  78  acts as a guide or lift causing the snap fastener  12  to spring out when the mating part  70  moves or slides into or on to the snap fastener  12 . A barb  80  on the snap fastener  12  positions in the snap hole  73  and holds the panel  72  or module  52  in place. The barb  80  catches a snap hole  73  in the mating part. 
         [0032]      FIGS. 5 and 5A  illustrate the cradle assembly  10  attached to the housing  54  via use of the snap fasteners  12  attached to the housing plate  20 , which is attached to the housing  54 . The housing plate  20  is shown as having two snap fasteners  12 , but it should be understood that the housing plate  20  may have any number of snap fasteners  12 . The cradle assembly  10  may toollessly and releasably connect to the housing  54  via the cradle plate  28  of the cradle connection assembly  16 . The cradle plate  28  has two slots  30  each with the hole  31  to accept the respective snap fasteners  12 . The cradle assembly  10  may have security screws  32  extending through the screw holes  34  in the cradle plate  28  and into the housing plate  20  to ensure the cradle assembly  10  is fully secure to the housing  54  upon installation and that the cradle assembly  10  does not move once installed and the cradle  14  is in the rotated, engaged position. In  FIGS. 5 and 5A , a routing guide  41  is shown positioned in one of the component mounting holes  39 . 
         [0033]    To install the cradle  14  to the housing  54 , the cradle connection assembly  16  is positioned over the housing plate  20  such that the snap fasteners  12  align with the slots  30 , and the security screws  32  align with the screw holes  34 . The cradle  14  and the cradle connection assembly  16  are then lowered onto the housing plate  20  to allow the snap fasteners  12  to insert into the slots  30  and the security screws  32  to insert into the screw holes  34 . The cradle  14  and the cradle connection assembly  16  are moved toward the housing  54  allowing the barb  80  (not shown in  FIGS. 5 and 5A ) to engage the respective hole  31  in the cradle plate  28 . The screw holes  34  move in a manner to position the security screws  32  toward the end of the screw holes  34  where the security screws  32  may be tightened down. A tool, as a non-limiting example, a screw driver, may be used to tighten the security screws. 
         [0034]      FIG. 6  shows a rear view of the cradle assembly  10  rotated between a unrotated, unengaged position “A” and a rotated, engaged position “B”, or, in other words between and open and closed position. The cradle assembly  10  has a catch flange that contains the snap fastener. It is located such that upon opening and closing of the cradle assembly or rotational access, the cradle assembly  10  will engage the snap fastener  12  and releasably lock in place. In this regard, the cradle  14  has a mating flange  82  a hole  84  that receives the snap fastener  12  on the tab feature  36  to toollessly and releasably retain the cradle  14  in the rotated, engaged position “B”. 
         [0035]      FIG. 7  shows a back view of the cradle  14  of the cradle assembly  10  in the rotated, engaged or closed position. In  FIG. 7 , the snap fastener  12  on the tab feature  36  is fully engaged and mated with the mating flange  82 . 
         [0036]    The snap fastener  12  provides advantages which include, without limitation, a cost savings due to reduced number of components and assembly of the components required for traditional methods has been eliminated. Additionally, hardware (such as screws, nuts, bolts, etc.) to fasten components to telecom enclosure in traditional methods may not be required, as well as, tools to assemble components. The snap fastener  12  may also function as a spring loaded tab in metal. Further, the snap fastener  12  allows panels and modules or rotational action of the cradle to be installed or removed multiple times while maintaining its function to spring back and forth to releasably lock or attach components in place. 
         [0037]      FIGS. 8A ,  8 B,  8 C illustrate an exemplary embodiment of a plastic version of an adapter panel  72 ′ that has a snap fastener  12 ′ molded into the adapter panel  72 ′. Although not shown in  FIGS. 8A ,  8 B,  8 C the adapter plate  72 ′ may have holes extending therethrough in which adapters may be mounted. The snap feature  12 ′ has a “J” hook  84  attached at one end to the adapter panel  72 ′ and extending from an inside surface  86  of the adapter panel  72 ′. An actuator  88  is attached to and extends from the other end of the “J” hook  84  though an opening  90  in the adapter panel  72 ′ to a distance past the outside surface  92  of the adapter panel  72 ′. The snap fastener  12 ′ is resilient in that the “J” hook  84  will toollessly and releasably locate and lock into a receiving hole in an optical component or structure, as non-limiting examples, a housing, enclosure or chassis. Manipulating the actuator  88  will release the “J” hook  84  from the receiving hole allowing the adapter plate  72 ′ to be removed from the optical component or structure, as non-limiting examples, a housing, enclosure or chassis. 
         [0038]    Many modifications and other embodiments not set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which the embodiments pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the description and claims are not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. It is intended that the embodiments cover the modifications and variations of the embodiments provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.