A PANEL FOR SUPPORTING A PLURALITY OF FIBRE OPTIC CONNECTORS

Abstract: A panel (18) for supporting a plurality of fibre optic connectors (14) is provided with a plurality of apertures (13) for receiving connectors (14) arranged in at least one row. In accordance with the invention, the apertures (13) are oriented such that a connector (14) received therein is inclined to the normal to the panel (18), and the orientation of at least one aperture (13) or group of apertures determining the direction of inclination of at least one connector (14) or group of connectors is selectable prior to installation of the connector or connectors therein.

Description: A PANEL FOR SUPPORTING A PLURALITY OF FIBRE OPTIC CONNECTORS This invention relates to fibre optic management systems or distribution centres and in particular to patch panels for use in such systems and centres. Fibre optic management systems or distribution centres are used for the organisation of optical cables and connectors. Such management systems can take the form of a cabinet situated on the street or within a building and are used for separating and organising the optical fibres and cables entering the building. A fibre optic management system can also take the form of an equipment rack in a central exchange, such as a central telephone exchange, or sub-racks at customer premises. In such management systems fibre connectors are supported on a fixed panel known as a patch panel. Patch panels are used for securing and retaining the connectors of fibres and cables and the connectors are generally arranged on the patch panel in rows and columns. Access to individual connectors on a patch panel after initial installation is often required to allow changes such as reassignment to be made to those connectors. At head end or exchange environments in particular, reconfigurations, testing and expansion are regularly required for which reason easy access to individual connectors is essential. Access to individual connectors in conventional systems can, however, be impeded due to the general lack of space and by the presence of fibres and cables running to adjacent connectors. At present there is great need to increase the capacity of cabinets and racks by increasing the number of connectors, whilst at the same time maintaining adequate access to individual connectors to allow subsequent disconnection and reconnection operations to be performed without undue difficulty. One way in which the accessibility can be improved without requiring any greater space is by inclining the connectors to the normal to the general plane of the panel. The Applicant's earlier European patent no. 0 943 944 describes one way in which access can be improved by providing a panel for supporting a plurality of fibre optic connectors, which panel is provided with a plurality of apertures for receiving the connectors arranged in at least one row with a part of each connector so received being removable from a front of the panel, wherein the apertures of the at least one row are arranged such that connectors received therein diverge forwardly of the front of the panel. Another way in which this problem of restricted access may be addressed is by directing the connected fibres or so-called "pigtails" or "jumpers" (which are lengths of optical fibre with connectors fitted to one end for making connection within a cabinet) in pre-selected directions away from the panel on which the connectors are carried. Examples of Prior Art patch panels are disclosed in US 5 530 954 and US 5 363 467. In these patch panels the connectors are positioned at a predetermined oblique angle. Another Prior Art example is disclosed in US 5 127 082 where connector yokes are provided with a pre-set angle relative to the normal of plane of the panel and which is beneficial to preferred cable arrangement. For reasons of economy it is desirable to make as few different components as possible while for reasons of practicality it is desirable to have as wide a range of alternative potential configurations as possible. The present invention seeks to reconcile these conflicting requirements and provide a panel structure for supporting optical fibre connectors which will be versatile in the directions in which optical fibres or pigtails can be lead away from the panel without requiring a large number of different components to achieve this objective. According to the present invention, therefore, there is provided a panel for supporting a plurality of fibre optic connectors, which panel is provided with a plurality of apertures for receiving connectors arranged in at least one row, in which the apertures are oriented such that a connector received therein is inclined to the normal to the panel, and the orientation of at least one aperture or group of apertures determining the direction of inclination of at least one connector or group of connectors is selectable prior to installation of the connector or connectors therein. In one embodiment each aperture is defined by a frame the plane of which is inclined to the general plane of the panel. The inclination of such frames may be achieved either by forming the panel with a plurality of rectilinear corrugations comprising alternate oppositely-directed faces, or by providing each frame defining an aperture with two parallel opposite frame limbs inclined to the general plane of the panel and joined by a transverse frame limb. This latter configuration can be achieved by punching the frame limbs from a metal plate, or by plastics injection moulding to form a "plate" having a plurality of such frames. Preferably the frames are designed so they can be bent or tilted into a proper orientation. For convenience of identification herein, a frame defining an aperture for receiving one connector will be termed a "window", this term being applied equally to the aperture or the surrounding frame defining it. In one embodiment of the invention the window frames are joined together in a strip or plate comprising at least one row of such frames. In such an embodiment the panel preferably has one or a plurality of openings for receiving the or each strip or plate. The orientation of the strip or plate within the opening then defines the direction of inclination of the window apertures. The apertures defined by the window frames in a row thereof may be all inclined in the same direction or, as appropriate, alternate apertures defined by adjacent frames in a row thereof may be inclined in opposite directions. The inclinations may, of course, be in a direction parallel to the length of the row or transverse the length of the row, and if inclined in a direction transverse the row they may be perpendicular to the length of the row or inclined at an angle other than 90° to the length of the row. In embodiments in which adjacent window frames are inclined in different directions the direction of inclination may lie at an angle other than 90° to the length of the row and, consequently, may have components parallel to and perpendicular to the length of the row. Alternate frames may then vary in inclination in one component whilst the other component may be constant throughout the length of the row. In other embodiments there are a plurality of rows of frames on a connector plate which can be positioned in an opening in a support panel in one of two orientations whereby to determine the direction of inclination of the frames. Preferably the support panel has a plurality of openings for receiving a plurality of connector plates in selected orientations. In an advantageous development of the invention the angle of inclination of an aperture is variable. Preferably both the angle and the direction of inclination of an aperture is variable. The present invention also comprehends apparatus for forming a patch panel for supporting a plurality of fibre optic connectors, comprising a support panel having one or more openings therein and a corresponding number of connector plates having a plurality of apertures for receiving connectors in one or more rows, the apertures being inclined to the general plane of the connector plate and the direction of inclination being selectable by the choice of orientation of the connector plate upon installation thereof. The present invention also comprehends a cabinet incorporating one or more patch panel as defined herein. Various embodiments of the present invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of an element suitable for forming part of the patch panel of the invention; Figures 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e and 2f are respectively a plan view of the element of Figure 1 ; a side view of the element of Figure 1 ; a plan view of a panel within which such elements may be fitted; a plan view of the panel shown in Figure 2c with a number of elements fitted therein; a side view of the assembled panel of Figure 2d; and a side view showing a plurality of connectors in place; Figures 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, 3e and 3f are views corresponding to those of Figure 2, illustrating a patch panel element having two rows of windows; Figure 4 is a schematic view illustrating various different configurations in which the patch panel of the invention may be assembled using the element of Figure 1 ; Figures 5a, 5b, 5c, and 5d are, respectively, a plan view of an alternative version of the element illustrated in Figure 1, this element having twelve windows; and three schematic views illustrating various different configurations in which the patch panel of the invention may be assembled using such elements; Figures 6a, 6b and 6c are respectively a plan view, an end view and a side view of an alternative embodiment of the inventions; Figures 7a, 7b and 7c are respectively a plan view, an end view and a side view of a further alternative embodiment of the invention; Figures 8a, 8b and 8c are respectively a plan view, an end view and a side view of a further alternative embodiment of the invention; Figures 9a, 9b and 9c are respectively a plan view, of a further alternative embodiment, and end view of the embodiment and a corresponding end view showing connectors in position; and Figures 10a, 10b, 10c, lOd and lOe are respectively and end view of a further embodiment of the invention; an enlarged schematic view of a part of Figure 10a; an end view of the element of Figure 10a showing the connector in position in a first orientation; a corresponding view showing a connector in a second orientation; and a corresponding view showing a connector in a third orientation. Referring now to the drawings and particularly to Figures 1 and 2 thereof, a plate generally indicated 11 for a patch panel is formed as an elongate strip having, in this embodiment, six upstanding rectangular frames 12 each defining a rectangular window 13 within which a connector 14 (Fig. 2f) can be mounted to interconnect a fibre optic cable 15 with a pig tail 16 having an integral counterpart connector. The plate or strip 11 can be fitted in an opening 17 in a panel 18 having eight such openings, for which purpose the strip 11 is provided with holes 19, 20 at each end through which can pass fixing elements into corresponding aligned holes 21, 22 of a selected opening 17. In this respect the eight openings 17 are all identical with one another and, likewise, the fixing holes 21, 22 are correspondingly identical and accordingly only one example of each has been identified in Figure 2c. The patch panel 18 is suitable for being used in a cabinet for separating and organising optical fibres to be connected end to end, for example prior to entering or within a building. The patch panel 18 may be supported in a cabinet by means (not shown) which allow it to be moved between a stored or closed position and an access position at which it is possible for an operator to act on the connectors 14, making new connections or repairing damaged connections as appropriate. As illustrated in Figure 2f the inclination of the connectors 14, which is determined by the inclination of the frames 12 and windows 13 in which the connectors are fitted, direct the pigtails 16 to the left as viewed in Figure 2. A patch panel having up to forty-eight windows 13 for receiving respective connectors 14 can thus be produced from the strip 11 and the panel 18. With any fewer number of windows 13, in units of six, being made available by a suitable selection of the number of plates 11 to fit to the panel 18. Figure 3 shows a similar configuration in which, as in the other Figures, the same reference numerals have been used to identified the same or corresponding components. In this embodiment the strip 11 has two rows of frames 12 defining two rows of windows 13 and the panel 18 has four openings 17 for receiving a corresponding number of strips or plates 11. In Figure 3f these are shown oriented such that the connectors 14 are inclined with the pigtails all leading to the right. As will be seen in Figure 4, a number of different patch panel configurations can be achieved utilising the single row connector plate 11 illustrated in Figure 2a. In a first patch panel 18a illustrated at the top of Figure 4, the plates 11 are grouped in pairs in longitudinal alignment with their windows inclined in one direction, but with adjacent pairs of plates 11 oriented with their windows aligned in the opposite direction. Thus, on the top panel 18a adjacent rows of pigtails 16 exit from the patch panel to the left or to the right. On the next panel, panel 18b, the plates 11 are orientated so that the pigtails 16 exit the patch panel in a configuration with two rows leading to the left and two rows leading to the right. In the next panel down, panel 18c all pigtails 16 lead to the left and in panel 18d all pigtails 16 lead to the right. Finally, in panel 18e a first row of pigtails 16 is shown leaving to the left whilst the remainder all leave to the right. This demonstrates the versatility of the invention in allowing the user to set up the patch panel to achieve whatever configuration of connectors may be desirable. It should be emphasised at this point that the term "rows" is intended to identify solely a longitudinally aligned assembly of items and not define the orientation of alignment. Thus, a row may extend horizontally, vertically or at any angle in between. Figure 5a shows an element in the form of a plate 11 comprising a single row of twelve frames 12, that is twice the number present in the embodiment of Figures 1 and 2. Apart from its additional length the plate 11 of Fig. 5a has the same form as the strip 11 of Figure 1. Figure 5b shows the configuration of a patch panel in which adjacent plates 11 are oriented with their frames 12 inclined in opposite directions so that adjacent rows of pigtails 16 exit from the patch panel on opposite sides thereof. In Figure 5c all the windows 12 are inclined to the left so that the pigtails 16 all exit to the left, and in Figure 5d all the windows 12 are inclined to the right so that all the pigtails exit to the right. It will be appreciated that different combinations of configurations can be achieved upon installation simply by selecting the respective orientations of the plates 11 as they are fitted to the patch panel. In other embodiments (not shown) plates having two, three, four or more rows of twelve windows may be provided. Obviously in such embodiments the exit direction of the pigtails can only be selected in groups the size of which is determined by the number of windows in the plate. Patch panels for receiving such plates may be provided with individual apertures the size of which matches that of an individual plate, or may have apertures in which one dimension is a multiple of that of the plates so that two, three or more plates may be positioned in a common aperture, naturally oriented as selected by the installer to determine the exit direction of the pigtails or optical fibres. Figure 6 illustrates an alternative embodiment in which a plate 11 is provided with inclined frames 12 each of which defines three windows 13, 13', and 13" such that the single plate 11 offers eighteen potential sites for connectors 14 all inclined in the same direction as illustrated in Figure 6c. Naturally, a patch panel may be assembled by fitting plates 11 into correspondingly dimensioned holes in a support panel with the windows 13, 13', and 13" oriented to one direction or the other as appropriate. Figure 7 illustrates a further alternative embodiment in which, instead of having window frames projecting from an otherwise planar panel, the panel 18 itself is corrugated with an array of rectilinear corrugations 23, 24, alternate corrugations defining surfaces 23 having a set of holes 13 for receiving connectors 14. In the embodiment shown there are twelve columns of six rows of holes 13 in twelve spaced surfaces 23. Again, an overall patch panel can be assembled by fitting the panel 18 in one orientation or the other to allow the optical fibres to join and exit in one direction or the other as desired. Figure 8 illustrates a further alternative embodiment in which a panel of corrugated form like that of the embodiment of Figure 7 is formed in such a way that the alternate faces 23 (corresponding to frames 12 in Fig. 2d) each have a single large opening 13 for receiving individual connectors 14 which are displaceable along the length of the opening 13 to facilitate changes to the connection arrangement. Figure 9 illustrates a corrugated panel 18 having (preferably alternately inclined) faces 23, 24, the faces 23 of which have six openings 13 each defined by respective frames 12', 12" which are oppositely inclined from one another such that, as can be seen in Figure 9c, connectors fitted to the frames 12' and 12" will direct their optical fibres in opposite directions. The plate 18 thus provides for the pigtails or optical fibres in an upper horizontal row (in the orientation viewed in the drawing) to exit to the left whilst the pigtails or optical fibres of the connectors in the next row all exit to the right and so on. Again, this maximises the space available for access to individual connectors and, furthermore, makes the best use of the space within the cabinet for housing and routing optical fibres. In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 10, a plate 11 has a plurality of windows 17 each with two opposite sides 27, 28 having cavities 29, 30 for receiving oppositely-directed spigots 31, 32 of a removable rectangular frame 12 the dimensions of which are such as to make it suitable for receiving a connector 16, as illustrated in Figures 10c, lOd and lOe. The spigots 31, 32 in the cavities 29, 30 allow the frame 12 to pivot so that the connector 16 can adopt any inclined position between the end positions illustrated in Figures 10c and lOe. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments shown and that many additions and modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined in the appending claims.

Claims: Claims 1. A panel (18) for supporting a plurality of fibre optic connectors (14), which panel is provided with a plurality of apertures (13) for receiving connectors (14) arranged in at least one row, characterised in that the apertures (13) are oriented such that a connector (14) received therein is inclined to the normal to the panel (18), and in that the orientation of at least one aperture (13) or group of apertures determining the direction of inclination of at least one connector (14) or group of connectors is selectable prior to installation of the connector or connectors therein. 2. A panel as claimed in claim 1 , in which each aperture (13) is defined by a frame (12) the plane of which is inclined to the general plane of the panel (18). 3. A panel as claimed in claim 2, in which the panel (18) has a plurality of rectilinear corrugations (23,24) comprising alternate oppositely-directed faces. 4. A panel as claimed in claim 2, in which each frame (12) defining an aperture (13) has two parallel opposite frame limbs inclined to the general plane of the panel (18) and joined by a transverse frame limb. 5. A panel as claimed in any of claims 2 to 4, in which the window frames (12) are joined together in a strip or plate (11) comprising at least one row of such frames. 6. As panel as claimed in claim 5, in which the apertures (13) defined by the frames (12) in a row thereof are all inclined in the same direction. 7. A panel as claimed in claim 5, in which alternate apertures (13) defined by adjacent frames (12) in a row thereof are inclined in opposite directions. 8. A panel as claimed in any of claims 2 to 7, in which the frames (12) are inclined in a direction parallel to the length of a row thereof. 9. A panel as claimed in any of claims 2 to 7, in which the frames (12) are inclined in a direction perpendicular to a length of a row thereof. 10. A panel as claimed in any of claims 2 to 9, in which there are a plurality of rows of frames (12) on a connector plate (11) which can be positioned in an opening in the panel (18) in one of two orientations whereby to determine the direction of inclination of the frames (12). 11. A panel as claimed in any of claims 2 to 10, in which the panel has a plurality of openings (17) for receiving a plurality of connector plates (11) in selected orientations. 12. A panel as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the angle of inclination of an aperture (13) is variable. 13. A panel as claimed in claim 12, in which both the angle and the direction of inclination of an aperture (13) is variable. 14. An apparatus for forming a patch panel for supporting a plurality of fibre optic connectors (14), the panel (18) having one or more openings (17) therein and a corresponding number of connector plates (11) having a plurality of apertures (13) for receiving connectors in one or more rows, characterised in that the apertures (13) are inclined to the general plane of the connector plate (11) and in that the direction of inclination is selectable by the choice of orientation of the connector plate upon installation thereof in an opening in the panel (18). 15. A cabinet incorporating a panel (18) as claimed in any preceding Claim. * *

Inventors: BRANTS JOS MARIE ROGER, LAEREMANS ETIENNE ROBERT, NOLF JEAN-MARIE ETIENNE, WAMBEKE ALAIN, BRANTS, JOS, MARIE, ROGER, LAEREMANS, ETIENNE, ROBERT, NOLF, JEAN-MARIE, ETIENNE, WAMBEKE, ALAIN
Applicants: BRANTS JOS MARIE ROGER, LAEREMANS ETIENNE ROBERT, NOLF JEAN MARIE ETIENNE, RAYCHEM LTD, RAYCHEM SA NV, WAMBEKE ALAIN, BRANTS, JOS, MARIE, ROGER, LAEREMANS, ETIENNE, ROBERT, N.V. RAYCHEM S.A., NOLF, JEAN-MARIE, ETIENNE, RAYCHEM LIMITED, WAMBEKE, ALAIN
Application year: 1999
Main classification: G02B6
IPC codes: G02B6