Abstract:
There is provided an accommodation apparatus for a transmission medium, such as an optical fiber cable which includes a housing for accommodating the transmission medium and an arrangement part located in the housing, said arrangement part arranging an orientation of the transmission medium accommodated in the housing so as to prevent the transmission capability of the transmission medium from getting damaged. The arrangement part may include downwardly extending L-shaped posts  116  about which the cable  10  may be wound in a space enclosed by a bottom cover  130.  The housing top side  110 A is to support an optical to electrical media converter  200  and includes a raised part  114  with an opening  118   a  for receiving a projecting port  214  of the media connector.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to accommodation apparatuses for accommodating a transmission medium. The present invention is suitable, for example, for an accommodation apparatus for accommodating an extra portion of an optical fiber cable (“OFC”) connected to a communication device. 
   The recent development of the information-oriented society has promoted frequent information transmissions. In general, the information transmission uses transmission media, such as a cable, and an OFC among them has multipurpose utility because it may effectively transmit data over a long distance at a much higher speed than those of conventional pair line or coaxial metallic cable. The OFC is a glass or plastic made thin line for transmitting an optical signal, and has a concentric shape in which a clad covers a center core. The OFC efficiently transmits a signal far away as an optical signal enclosed in the core using a difference between core and clad light diffractive indexes and the total reflection of the optical signal. 
   For example, a high-speed Local Area Network (“LAN”) that achieves a base band signal transmission at a transmission speed of 100 Mbps is called the 100BASE standard, and includes the 100BASE-TX and 100BASE-FX. The 100BASE-TX uses an Unshielded Twisted Pair (“UTP”) cable as a transmission medium, while 100BASE-FX uses an OFC as a transmission medium. The OFC has great utility for providing not only a LAN Ethernet with signal transmissions over several kilometers but also the Fiber To The Home (“FTTH”) inexpensively. A media converter usually converts a signal between two transmission media. The media converter, as used herein, is a device that converts a signal propagating through one transmission medium to a signal for a different transmission medium. These different transmission media include, for instance, an UTP and an OFC and, and an OFC (of a single mode) and an OFC (of a multimode). 
   It is difficult to handle an OFC except for engineers. The OFC is made of such fragile materials as the above core and clad, and the curvature less than a permissible value would lessen the transmission capability and damage the OFC. An engineer usually lays out an OFC, but users sometimes have to handle it. For example, once an engineer properly attaches the media converter, a user should take over its handling. 
   While the OFC has a length specified by the standard, the standardized length is sometimes not optimal to service conditions. For example, when the OFC has an extra length, it is conceivable that a user applies an unintentional force, thereby bending the cable or damaging a connection between the media converter and the OFC or undesirably damaging its transmission capability. 
   It is conceivable to accommodate the OFC to protect from an external force, but a mere accommodation is not enough for the accommodated cable. That is, the accommodated condition must assist in maintaining OFC&#39;s transmission capability. 
   BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   Therefore, it is an exemplified object of the present invention to provide an accommodation apparatus for accommodating a transmission medium without deteriorating its transmission capability. 
   In order to attain the above object, an accommodation apparatus of one aspect of the present invention for a transmission medium includes a housing for accommodating the transmission medium, and an arrangement part, located in the housing, for arranging an orientation of the transmission medium accommodated in the housing so as to prevent a transmission capability of the transmission medium from getting damaged. This accommodation apparatus protects the transmission medium from an external force by accommodating the transmission medium in the housing. In addition, the arrangement part arranges an orientation of the accommodated transmission medium in the housing and prevents its transmission capability, whereby the transmission medium may be effectively accommodated while its transmission capability is maintained. 
   An accommodation apparatus of another aspect of the present invention for a transmission medium includes a housing for accommodating the transmission medium, and an arrangement part, located in the housing, for arranging an orientation of the transmission medium accommodated in the housing so that the transmission medium has a predetermined curvature. This accommodation apparatus protects the transmission medium from an external force by accommodating the transmission medium in the housing. In addition, the arrangement part arranges an accommodation orientation of the transmission medium in the housing and maintains its curvature equal to or larger than a predetermined curvature. Thereby, the transmission medium may be effectively accommodated while its transmission capability is maintained. The predetermined curvature is, for example, a radius of curvature of 30 mm or larger. 
   In the above accommodation apparatus, the transmission medium may be an OFC. The OFC is made of fragile materials, such as glass or plastic, and the inventive accommodation apparatus is suitable for an accommodation of the OFC. 
   In the above accommodation apparatus, the housing may be mounted with an external apparatus connectable to the accommodated transmission medium. The accommodation apparatus serves as a support stand. This accommodation apparatus supports the external apparatus connected to the accommodated transmission medium, fixes a positional relationship between the transmission medium and external apparatus, and does not deteriorate a connection condition between them. Thereby, the accommodation apparatus may maintain a proper transmission condition of the transmission medium with the external apparatus. In the above accommodation apparatus, the housing may have an opening that enables the accommodated transmission medium to be connected to an external apparatus or another transmission medium. This accommodation apparatus may make the transmission medium usable while accommodating it. This accommodation apparatus is suitable for an accommodation of an extra cable. The inventive accommodation apparatus may further include a protection part for protecting a connection part between the transmission medium and an external apparatus connectible to the transmission medium, thus preventing coming-off of the transmission medium and deterioration of the connection under the external force to the connection part. The protection part may have a connection opening that enables the external apparatus to be connected to the transmission medium when the external apparatus is mounted onto the housing, and a convex shape that covers the transmission medium around the connection opening. The protection part may be formed by partially raising the housing. The external apparatus is, for example, a media converter. 
   The arrangement part may have an approximately L shape to properly hold the transmission medium. The L shape contributes to a further protection of the transmission medium by preventing the gravity drawdown. The housing may have a mechanical splice for connecting the transmission medium to another transmission medium. 
   An accommodation apparatus still another aspect of the present invention includes a support part which is attached to a media converter that converts a signal for a first transmission medium to a signal for a second transmission medium; and an arrangement part for winding the first transmission medium so that the first transmission medium has a predetermined radius of curvature or larger. The accommodation apparatus may further include a connection part for connecting the media converter to the first transmission medium. The first transmission medium may be an optical fiber cable and the second transmission medium may be an unshielded twisted pair cable. 
   Other objects and further features of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments with reference to accompanying drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic perspective view of an accommodation apparatus of the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the accommodation apparatus shown in  FIG. 1 , which accommodates an optical fiber cable. 
       FIG. 3  is a schematic bottom view of the accommodation apparatus shown in  FIG. 1 , which accommodates an optical fiber cable. 
       FIGS. 4A and 4B  are schematic side views showing sides of the accommodation apparatus shown in FIG.  1 . 
       FIG. 5  is an exploded perspective view of a variation of the accommodation apparatus shown in FIG.  1 . 
       FIG. 6  is an enlarged side view of a locus arrangement part as a variation of the accommodation apparatus shown in FIG.  1 . 
       FIG. 7  is an enlarged perspective view of a locus arrangement part as a variation of the accommodation apparatus shown in FIG.  1 . 
       FIGS. 8A ,  8 B and  8 C, respectively, are schematic perspective, schematic side and schematic side views of a media converter. 
       FIG. 9  is a schematic perspective view the accommodation apparatus shown in  FIG. 1  is mounted with the media converter shown in FIG.  8 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   A description will now be given of an accommodation apparatus  100  of the present invention with reference to the accompanied drawings. Here,  FIG. 1  is a schematic perspective view of the accommodation apparatus  100 .  FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the accommodation apparatus  100 , which accommodates an OFC  10 .  FIG. 3  is a schematic bottom view of the accommodation apparatus  100 , which accommodates the OFC  10 . In each figure, the same reference numeral designates the same element, and a duplicate description will be omitted. In addition, the same reference numeral with an alphabetical capital generally denotes a variation, and the reference numeral without the alphabetical capital generalizes all the same reference numerals with an alphabetical capital. 
   The accommodation apparatus  100  is a device for accommodating an extra part of OFC  10  connectible with an external device (or media converter  200  in the instant embodiment), and includes a body  110  and a cover  130 . In the inventive accommodation apparatus  100 , the cover  130  is removably attached to a bottom surface  110   c  of the body  110 , and the OFC  10  may be accommodated in the body  110  by detaching the cover  130  from the bottom surface  110   c . A connection between the body  110  and the cover  130  may use screws  20 , as shown in  FIG. 20 , and other mechanical means. The body  110  and cover  130  in the accommodation apparatus  100  may be made, for example, of resin, woods, steel, etc. Preferably, the accommodation apparatus  100  may be made of a properly rigid material so as to protect the OFC  10  and support the external apparatus, as will be described later. The accommodation apparatus  100  may be made of a properly rigid material so as to protect the OFC  10  and support the external apparatus, as will be described later. The accommodation apparatus  100  is dimensioned such that the OFC  10  has a predetermined curvature, as will be discussed later. Of course the size of the accommodation apparatus  100  is determined based on a size of the external apparatus to be mounted and, its portability and aesthetic external appearance, etc. 
   The body  110  accommodates the OFC  10 , and protects the OFC  10  from getting bent and damaged by an external force, and a connection between the OFC  10  and the external apparatus. The accommodation apparatus in this embodiment accommodates the extra part of the OFC  10  while maintaining a proper curvature of the OFC  10  so as to prevent its deteriorated transmission performance. 
   The body  110  includes a support part  112 , a connection protecting part  114 , locus arrangement parts  116 , and openings  118   a  and  118   b , and has an approximately rectangular shape when viewed from its top surface  110   a . The body becomes a close box when the cover  130  is attached to it. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the support part  112  is formed on part of the body top surface  110   a , i.e., a surface opposite to that connected to the cover  130 , and the connection protecting part  114  is formed as a convex shape raised from part of the body  110  adjacent to the support part  112  on the body top surface  110   a . As shown in  FIGS. 4A and 4B , the body  110  has approximately L-shaped sides when viewed from a direction A (or a direction opposite to the direction A). Here,  FIGS. 4A and 4B  are schematic side views showing sides of the accommodation apparatus  100 . As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , a plurality of locus arrangement parts  116  are formed on a surface opposite to the support part  112  in the body  110 , so as to form an approximately eclipse shape. Turning back to  FIG. 1 , the opening  118   a  is formed as an opening at a side of the connection protecting part  114  at a side of the connection protecting part  114  adjacent to the support part  112 , while the opening  118  is formed as an opening at a body side surface  110   b . When viewed from the direction A, as shown in  FIG. 4A , the openings  118   a  and  118   b  are provided on the same side in this embodiment. However, the opening  118   b  may be positioned on the side surface  110   b  for convenience of pulling out of the OFC  10 . A plurality of openings may be provided on the body side surface  110   b  to increase the number of selectable portions for the OFC  10  to the extent that the accommodated OFC  10  may keep a predetermined curvature or larger. 
   The support part  112  serves as a rack for the external apparatus connectible to the OFC  10  accommodated in the accommodation apparatus  100 , and is a flat surface made of part of the body  110 . The support part  112  has a plurality of screw holes  113  for removably attaching the external apparatus to the support part  112  through screws  21 . The screw attachment between the support part  112  and the external apparatus makes the mounted external apparatus exchangeable, as well as fixing the external apparatus onto the support part  112  and thus a positional relationship between the external apparatus and the OFC  10  for a good connection between the OFC  10  and the external apparatus. The fixed configuration between the external apparatus and the OFC  10  does not affect their connection even under an external force. When the connection between the support part  112  and the media converter  200  does not use the screw attachment, the screw holes  113  do not have to be provided in the support part  112 . The present invention does not limit a connection between the support part  112  and the external apparatus to the above screw attachment as long as the alternative exhibits similar operation and effect. For example, a connection between the support part  112  and the external apparatus may use an engagement by providing a convex part to one of them and a concave part to the other of them, or a band for fixing the external apparatus. Of course, the external apparatus may be non-removably fixed or non-fixedly mounted onto the support part  112 . For example, the media converter  200  may be bonded and fixed onto the support part  112 . Of course, the removable fixation, such as the screw attachment is superior to the non-removable fixation and non-fixed mount in view of the above effect. 
   The connection protecting part  114  creates a space through which the OFC  10  is introduced into the body  110  while maintaining a connection with the external apparatus. This space protects the OFC  10  connected to the external apparatus, and their connection. The connection protecting part  114 , in  FIG. 3 , is provided on the body top surface  110   a  adjacent to the support part  112 , and close to the side of the external apparatus mounted onto the support part  112 . Specifically, the opening  118   a,  in  FIG. 3 , is located at the connection part between the external apparatus and the OFC  10 . In this structure, the connection protecting part  114  has the aforementioned convex shape, and introduces, through the opening  118   a , the OFC  10  connected to the external apparatus into the accommodation apparatus  100 . Without the connection protecting part  114 , a difference in height between the body top surface  110   a  and a connection part of the external apparatus would expose the OFC  10  connected to the external apparatus. However, the instant embodiment has the connection protecting part  114 , in  FIG. 3 , to accommodate the connection part of the external apparatus and the OFC  10  in the accommodation apparatus  100 , contributing to the protection of the OFC  10 . As external apparatus is inserted into the opening  118   a , it is automatically connected to the OFC  10 . 
   Although the instant embodiment forms the connection protecting part  114  and the body  110  as one member, the connection protecting part  114  may be formed as a separate member from the body  110  as shown in FIG.  5 . Here,  FIG. 5  is an exploded perspective view of a variation of the accommodation apparatus  100 . The accommodation apparatus  100  is different from the accommodation apparatus  100 A in that a connection protecting part  114  may be detachable from a body  110 A, which has a rectangular shape, as shown in  FIG. 5. A  hole  111  is formed on the body  110 A to introduce the OFC  10  in the body  110 A through the connection protecting part  114 A. Such a configuration may also exhibit an effect similar to that of the connection protecting part  114 A. When there are plural types of connection protecting parts  114 A each having a different height, this configuration may commonly use one accommodation apparatus  100 A by selecting one of connection protecting parts  114 A, which is suitable for one of various external apparatuses having various heights. 
   The locus arrangement parts  116  define an orientation of accommodated OFC  10  so that the OFC  10  in the body  110  has a curvature of a predetermined curvature or larger. The instant embodiment exemplarily makes the locus arrangement parts  116  of a plurality of L-shaped plate members raised from the bottom of the body  110  to house the OFC  10  in the body  110  along the locus arrangement parts  116 . Specifically, the locus arrangement parts  116  are provided so that they alternately face the inside and the outside along the accommodated OFC  10 . The OFC  10  is aligned with each locus arrangement part  116  when accommodated in the body  110 . The locus arrangement part  116  defines an orientation of the OFC  10  accommodated in the accommodation apparatus  100  so that the OFC  10  may have a curvature equal to or larger than a predetermined value. 
   As discussed, the OFC  10  easily deteriorates its transmission performance and gets damaged when it is bent and its curvature becomes smaller than the necessary value. However, the inventive accommodation apparatus  100  accommodates the OFC  10  along the locus arrangement parts  116 , and necessarily defines its curvature as the predetermined value or larger. Once an arrangement of the locus arrangement parts  116  is determined which provides the OFC  10  with a predetermined curvature, the accommodation apparatus  100  may efficiently accommodate the OFC  10  without deteriorating its transmission performance. The predetermined curvature is a radius of curvature r=30 mm in this embodiment, but the locus arrangement parts  116  may have a larger radius of curvature. Indeed, the radius of curvature near the mechanical splice  122  is larger than the predetermined curvature. The predetermined curvature is a variable value depending upon the thickness of the OFC  10  and its transmission performance. Positions and the number of the locus arrangement parts  116  may be arbitrarily determined so that cable&#39;s transmission performance may not be deteriorated and the cable may not be damaged. 
   The locus arrangement part  116  serves to hold the OFC  10  using its L shape. As understood from  FIG. 2  as an exploded perspective view viewed from the bottom, the OFC  10  hangs down due to its own weight when accommodated in the accommodation apparatus  100 . The L shape of each locus arrangement part  116  may hold the OFC  10  that hangs down due to its own weight. This function is useful to hold the OFC  10  and effective to define a locus of the accommodated OFC  10 . 
   The instant embodiment makes each locus arrangement part  116  of an L-shaped plate member, but the locus arrangement part  116  may be formed by another member having similar operation and effect, as shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 . Here,  FIG. 6  is an enlarged side view of a locus arrangement part  116 A as a variation of the accommodation apparatus  100  shown in FIG.  1 .  FIG. 7  is an enlarged perspective view of a locus arrangement part  116 B as a variation of the accommodation apparatus  100  shown in FIG.  1 . It is noted that  FIGS. 6 and 7  are exemplary and representative variations having similar operations and effects. 
   Referring to  FIG. 6 , the locus arrangement part  116 A is implemented, for example, by a pair of standing rod members, which are spaced at a preset interval to hold the accommodated OFC  10 . A plurality of locus arrangement parts  116 A may be provided at a proper interval as the locus arrangement parts shown in  FIG. 2  or one continuous locus arrangement part  116 A for forming the orientation of the accommodated OFC  10 , but the proper interval should maintain the curvature of a predetermined value or larger for the accommodated OFC  10 . The locus arrangement parts  116 A in  FIG. 6  may be made elastic and crossed with each other or their interval may be tapered from the body  110  to the top, so as to hold the OFC  10 . Such a structure may hold the OPC as the locus arrangement parts  116 , and exhibit effects similar to the locus arrangement parts  116  including the L-shaped plate members. 
   Referring to  FIG. 7 , the locus arrangement parts  116  may be made movable relative to the body  110 . While the locus arrangement parts  116  shown in  FIG. 2  are integrated with the body  110  and the integration covers a direct integration such as bonding, the locus arrangement parts  116  may be replaced with a plurality of the locus arrangement parts  116 B movable along a groove formed on part of the body  110 B. Such a structure may form a curvature necessary for the accommodated OFC  10  by moving the locus arrangement parts  116 B along the groove  117 . The stopper  117   a  may be provided in the groove  117  to restrict the movement of the locus arrangement part  116 B. While the variation shown in  FIG. 7  forms the groove linearly, the groove  117  may have a radius of curvature to some extent (although it is larger than the above predetermined value). As positions of the locus arrangement parts  116 B become variable, the accommodation orientation may be defined accurately. 
   The openings  118   a  and  118   b  are openings to make connectible the accommodated OFC  10  to the external apparatus. The opening  118   a  is an opening to make connectible the connection port of the external apparatus mounted on the body  110  to the accommodated OFC  10 , and provided in the connection protecting part  114  facing the support part  112 . The opening  118   b  is an opening to introduce an extra part of the OFC  10  (such as a long-distance OFC introduced from the outside) into the accommodation apparatus  100 , and provided in the body side surface  110   b . The openings  118   a  and  118   b  are so dimensioned that they may provide the above connections. 
   One end of the OFC  10  positioned at the side of the opening  118   a  is connected to the external apparatus and thus its movement is restricted in the accommodation apparatus  100 , but it is conceivable that the other end of the OFC  10  positioned at the side of the opening  118   b  moves in the accommodation apparatus  100 . As a result, when the OFC  10  is pulled out from the accommodation apparatus  100 , for example, the OFC strongly winds around the locus arrangement parts  116  and possibly gets damaged. 
   Accordingly, the instant embodiment provides fixture means  120  for fixing the accommodated OFC  10  near the opening  118   b  in the body  110 . The instant embodiment implements the fixture means  120  using a band member attached to the body  110 , which may vary the fixation state arbitrarily. The present invention is not limited to this embodiment; for example, the fixation of the OFC  10  in the opening  118   b  may use any mechanical means. 
   The mechanical splice  122 , in  FIG. 3 , is provided to connect, in the body  110 , the extra cable  10   b  of the OFC  10  to the OFC  10   a  connectible to the external apparatus. The mechanical splice  122 , in  FIG. 3 , is known in the art, and a general description is included. According to  FIG. 3 , the OFC  10   a  attached to the connection part connectible to the external apparatus is connected through the mechanical splice  122  to the extra cable  10   b  of the OFC  10  that has been introduced from the outside. The extra cable  10   b  of the OFC  10  connected to the mechanical splice  122  is accommodated along the locus arrangement parts  116 , and pulled out to the outside through the opening  118 . 
   The cover  130  serves as a lid of the accommodation apparatus  100 , and detachably coupled to the body  110 . The cover  130  has the same shape as the bottom surface  110   c  of the body  110 , and includes holes  132  used to screw the body  110 . The instant embodiment has four holes  132  exemplarily and the cover  130  is attached to the body  110  by connecting the screws  20  in the holes  132 . 
   Thus, the inventive accommodation apparatus  100  accommodates the OFC  10  in its body  110 , and may protect the OFC  10  from the external force that is otherwise applied to the OFC  10 . The locus arrangement parts  116  fix the orientation of the OFC  10  accommodated in the body  110  so as to maintain the desired transmission capability. Thereby, the extra part of the OFC  10  may be effectively accommodated while the transmission performance of the OFC  10  is maintained. As the inventive accommodation apparatus  100  thus fixedly supports the media converter  200  to be connected to the accommodated OFC  10 , the positional relationship between the OFC  10  and the media converter  200  does not change or their connection does not deteriorate when the media converter  200  is manipulated. As a consequence, the OFC  10  may maintain its good transmission performance. 
   The OFC  10  is a cable for optical communications, and made of thin fiber of transparent dielectric, such as glass and plastic. Structurally, it includes a core of a large refractive index at its center, and a clad of a small refractive index around the core. An electric signal converted into a light signal propagates through the core while totally reflected due to a difference of refractive indexes between the core/clad boundaries. The OFC  10  has a multimode that allows multiple modes to be transmitted due to the difference of refractive indexes between the core/clad boundaries and core&#39;s diameter, and a single mode that allows only one mode to be transmitted. Advantageously, the OFC  10  has such small attenuation that it may achieve a long-distance transmission without any interconnecting device. In addition, because of its thin cable diameter and large transmission amount of 100 Mbps to several Gbps, the OFC  10  has a larger transmission amount per cable&#39;s sectional area than that of the metal cable. On the other hand, the OFC  10  is disadvantageously vulnerable to bending, and damaged by excessive bending. The inventive accommodation apparatus  100  solves these problems including a deteriorated transmission performance due to bending by effectively handling the extra cable of the OFC  10  with such characteristics. 
   The media converter  200  converts a signal for one medium to a signal for a different medium, such as the UTP cable to the OFC  10 . The media converter  200  includes, as shown in  FIG. 8A , a front surface  210 , a side surface  220 , and a rear surface  230 . Here,  FIG. 8A  is a schematic perspective view of the media converter  200 .  FIG. 8B  is a schematic side view of the front surface  210  of the media converter  200  shown in FIG.  8 A.  FIG. 8C  is a schematic side view of the rear surface  230  of the media converter  200  shown in FIG.  8 A. 
   The front surface  210  includes, as shown in  FIG. 7B , a 100BASE-TX port  212 , a 100BASE-FX port  214 , and three setup-confirming LED lamps  216 . 
   The 100BASE-TX port  212  is a connector to be connected to a UTP cable (not shown) that is connected to an external device, such as a hub in the Ethernet. The 100BASE-TX port  212  has an automatic recognition function of Full Duplex/Half Duplex, and operates in a mode in accordance with an external device to be connected. 
   The 100BASE-FX port  214  is a connector to be connected to the OFC  10 . The OFC  10  is connected, for example, to an optical network. 
   The LED lamps  216  are used to confirm a configuration for communications, and include an LED lamp  216   a  for identifying a link test, an LED lamp  216   b  for identifying a connection of the 100BASE-FX port  214 , and an LED lamp  216   c  for identifying the 100BASE-TX port  212 . 
   The side surface  220  includes an MDI/MDI-X switch  222 . The MDI/MDI-X switch  224  is a switch to determine whether the 100BASE-TX port  212  is used as a cascade connection port or as a normal MDI-X port. 
   The rear surface  230  includes, as shown in  FIG. 8C , a communication mode switch  232  and a DC jack  234 . The communication mode switch  222  is a switch to set up the communication mode (Full Duplex/Half Duplex), and selects the same communication mode as that of the device connected to the 100BASE-FX port  214 . The DC jack  234  is a connector to which a DC cable  340  is connected. 
   A description will now be given of an attachment, exchange, and wire configuration of the media converter  200  accommodated in the accommodation apparatus  100 , with reference to FIG.  9 . Here,  FIG. 9  is a schematic perspective view of the accommodation apparatus  100  shown in  FIG. 1  mounted with the media converter  200 . In attaching the media converter  200 , the cover  130  is detached from the body  110 . Then, the media converter  200  is mounted onto the support part  112  of the body  110 . The media converter  200  is arranged so that the front surface  210  faces the protection connecting part  114 . Then, the media converter  200  is fixed onto the support part  112  through the screws  21  from the inside of the body  110  and screw holes  113  in the support part  112 . The screw attachment is omitted, for example, when the support part  112  and the media converter  200  are connected by a mechanical means other than the screw attachment. 
   Following the screwing step, the UTP cable (not shown) is connected to the 100BASE-TX port  212 , the DC cable (not shown) is connected to the DC jack  234 . The OFC  10 , in particular, the OFC  10   a  with a connector  12  shown in  FIG. 3 , is connected to the 100BASE-FX port  214  from the inside of the body  110  through the opening  118   a,  shown in  FIG. 3 , in the connection protecting part  114  in FIG.  3 . 
   The other end of the OFC  10   a  is connected, through the mechanical splice  122 , to the OFC  10   b  pulled out to the outside, and thus the connection between the media converter  200  and the OFC  10  is completed. The extra length cable part of the OFC  10   b  is accommodated in the body  110  along the locus arrangement parts  116  while the necessary locus of accommodation is maintained. Once the cover  130  is screwed onto the body  110 , only the extra part is accommodated in the apparatus  100  while the OFC  10  is connected to the media converter  200 . 
   The reverse procedure is conducted in exchanging the media converter  200 . 
   Thus, the inventive accommodation apparatus  100  accommodates the OFC  10  in its body  110 , and protects the OFC  10  from the external force that is otherwise applied to the OFC  10 . The locus arrangement part  116  fixes the orientation of the OFC  10  accommodated in the body  10  so as to maintain the desired transmission capability. Thereby, the extra part of the OFC  10  may be effectively accommodated while the transmission performance of the OFC  10  is maintained. 
   Next, a description will be given of the operation and change of the operation of the media converter  200 . After the media converter  200  is fixed onto the support part  112 , the communication mode switch  232  and the MDI/MDI-X switch  222  are manipulated. The communication mode switch  232  may select the Full Duplex (bi-directional simultaneous communication) or the Half Duplex (one-way directional communications). After the UTP cable is connected, the MDI/MDI-X switch  222  provided at the side surface of the media converter  200  selects and sets up the a HUB (for use as a cascade connection port with a repeater or switch) or an XPC (for use as a normal 100BASE-TX port). The similar procedure applies to the setup change. 
   The configuration of the media converter  200  may be confirmed using the LED lamps  216 . 
   As the inventive accommodation apparatus  100  thus fixedly supports the media converter  200  to be connected to the accommodated OFC  10 , the positional relationship between the OFC  10  and the media converter  200  does not change or their connection does not deteriorate when the media converter  200  is manipulated. As a consequence, the OFC may maintain its good transmission performance. 
   Further, the present invention is not limited to these preferred embodiments, and various variations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the present invention is applicable to the normal wire LAN system. 
   Thus, the inventive accommodation apparatus accommodates the OFC in its inside, and protects the OFC from the external force that is otherwise applied to the OFC. The locus arrangement part fixes the orientation of the OFC accommodated in the apparatus so as to maintain the desired transmission capability. Thereby, the extra part of the OFC may be effectively accommodated while the transmission performance of the OFC is maintained. As the inventive accommodation apparatus thus fixedly supports the media converter to be connected to the accommodated OFC, the positional relationship between the OFC and the media converter does not change or their connection does not deteriorate when the media converter is manipulated. As a consequence, the OFC may maintain its good transmission performance.