Abstract:
There is provided a fiber optic housing assembly that includes a fiber optic interconnection portion and/or a splice portion. To provide the technician convenient access to the interconnection portion and/or the splice portion, the slidable shelf portion includes a pivotable portion that allows the interconnection portion and/or splice portion to be moved upwards or downwards, such as by pivoting about an axis. Therefore, the technician can preferably manipulate the fiber optic cables and/or connectors at an upper portion of the equipment rack without using a step ladder or similar device and at the lower portion of the equipment rack with greater comfort. The pivotable portion includes locks, latches, pins, and/or the like to prevent unintentional movement of the pivotable portion relative to the shelf portion and/or exterior portion of the housing assembly.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention is related to fiber optic housing assemblies, and more particularly, to fiber optic housing assemblies adapted to provide technicians with convenient access to the internal portions of the housing assemblies. 
   2. Description of Related Art 
   Fiber optic housing assemblies are often used to provide connection points, slack storage, and other functionalities for fiber optic communications networks at various points in the networks. For example, housing assemblies are often used in the central office or at customer premises in equipment racks to modularly contain and provide the technicians access to fiber optic connections, such as cross-connects, splices, or the like, to splitter modules, and to other fiber optic hardware. 
     FIGS. 1 and 2  illustrate two prior art housing assemblies.  FIG. 1  shows a housing assembly  10  into which fiber optic cables  12  enter and/or exit and are connected, spliced, or otherwise manipulated within the housing assembly. Housing assembly  10  includes an interconnection portion  14  and a splice portion  16 ; however, as the housing assembly defines a fixed panel housing assembly, in order for technicians to make fiber optic connections, fiber optic splices, or the like, the technician must walk around the equipment rack (not shown) to access the back of the fixed panel housing assembly thus complicating the technician&#39;s task and requiring additional technician time. 
   Turning now to  FIG. 2 , a second prior art housing assembly  20  is shown. The housing assembly  20  includes a slide-out shelf  22  that includes a splice portion  24  for receiving a splice assembly (not shown) and corresponding slack storage for the spliced fiber optic cables (not shown). Although the slide-out shelf  22  does provide improved access to the splice portion  24 , such a splice portion would be difficult for a technician to access if the housing assembly  20  were positioned near the upper portion of the equipment rack. Indeed, technicians often are required to use step ladders to access such housing assemblies, thus requiring additional technician time and creating possible safety concerns. Similarly, when the housing assembly  20  is positioned near the lower portion of the equipment rack, the technician must stoop or sit on the ground to work with the splice portion  24  or other portions of the housing assembly, which may not be desirable to the technician. 
   Still further prior art housing assemblies include panels that swing outward about a vertical axis to provide a technician access to the front and back of the panel. However, these prior art housing assemblies fail to address the difficulty in accessing housing assemblies that are positioned relatively high and relatively low in an equipment rack. Therefore, a need exists for a fiber optic housing assembly that provides convenient access to the various portions therein regardless of the vertical position of the housing assembly in the equipment rack. 
   BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The invention addresses the above needs and achieves other advantages by providing a housing assembly that includes a pivotable portion that may be moved upwards and/or downwards to improve technician access to the fiber optic portions of the housing assembly. More specifically, the housing assemblies of some embodiments of the present invention provide a shelf portion that moves relative to the exterior portion of the housing assembly, such as in a front-to-back direction. Once the shelf portion is substantially in an open position, the technician can selectively raise or lower a pivotable portion as desired. The pivotable portion of various embodiments of the invention includes an interconnection portion, a splice portion, and/or other portions that the technician may need to access. For example, the pivotable portion may be pivoted downward when the housing assembly is positioned in a relatively high position in the equipment rack to provide access to the interconnection portion, a splice portion, and/or other portions without the need for a stepladder or the like. Similarly, the pivotable portion may be pivoted upward when the housing assembly is positioned in a relatively low position in the equipment rack to provide access to the interconnection portion, a splice portion, and/or other portions without the need for the technician to stoop as low or to sit on the ground. Furthermore, additional features are provided in various embodiments of the present invention for improved functionality and safety. 
   One embodiment of the present invention comprises a fiber optic housing assembly including a fiber optic interconnection portion and/or a fiber optic splice portion. The housing assembly is adapted to be selectively attached to an equipment rack and includes an exterior portion for selective attachment of the housing assembly to the equipment rack. The housing assembly also includes a shelf portion adapted to selectively move relative to the exterior portion of the housing assembly, such as in a front-to-back direction. Joined to the shelf portion is a pivotable portion adapted to selectively pivot relative to the shelf portion. The fiber optic interconnection portion and/or the fiber optic splice portion is joined to the pivotable portion such that pivoting of the pivotable portion enables the technician to achieve convenient access to the interconnection portion and/or the splice portion. The pivotable portion of some embodiments of the present invention may be pivoted upwardly and/or downwardly relative to the shelf portion, and still further embodiments include pivotable portions with a top portion and bottom portion for convenient access to both the interconnection portion and/or the splice portion. 
   Further embodiments of the present invention provide methods for accessing a fiber optic interconnection portion and/or a fiber optic splice portion in a housing assembly. The shelf portion is moved relative to the exterior portion of the housing assembly, preferably to a position where the pivotable portion may be pivoted. The pivotable portion may be locked relative to the shelf portion, such that unlocking the pivotable portion allows it to be moved relative to the shelf portion, for example by pivoting the pivotable portion about an axis. As the interconnection portion and/or the splice portion is preferably joined to the pivotable portion, the technician may therefore have more convenient access to the fiber optic hardware. Therefore, the present invention enables technicians to service the fiber optic hardware more quickly, more safely, and more comfortably than prior art housing assemblies. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Having thus described the invention in general terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale and are meant to be illustrative and not limiting, and wherein: 
       FIG. 1  is a right, front perspective view of a prior art fixed panel housing assembly comprising fixed interconnection portions and/or splice portions; 
       FIG. 2  is a right, front perspective view of a prior art slide-out shelf housing assembly comprising a horizontally-slideable shelf that includes a splice portion; 
       FIG. 3  is a right, front perspective view of a housing assembly in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention, illustrating the shelf portion in the closed position relative to the exterior portion; 
       FIG. 4  is a right, front perspective view of the housing assembly of  FIG. 1 , illustrating the shelf portion in an opened position relative to the exterior portion and pivotable portion in a locked position relative to the shelf portion; 
       FIG. 5  is a right, front perspective view of the housing assembly of  FIG. 1 , illustrating the pivotable portion selectively pivoted relative to the shelf portion and a top cover rotated outwardly to expose the interconnection portion and a reference chart; 
       FIG. 6  is a right, front perspective view of the housing assembly of  FIG. 1 , illustrating a bottom portion of the pivotable portion selectively pivoted in a generally downward direction to expose a splice portion without a splice assembly; 
       FIG. 7  is a left, front perspective view of the housing assembly of  FIG. 1 , illustrating a top portion of the pivotable portion selectively pivoted in a generally upward direction to expose a splice portion with a splice assembly; and 
       FIG. 8  is an enlarged right, front perspective view of the housing assembly of  FIG. 1 , illustrating the pivotable portion with the top cover and interconnection adapters removed to show the multipositional panels for mounting of the adapters of the interconnection portion. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all embodiments of the invention are shown. Indeed, the invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Although apparatus and methods for providing convenient access to fiber optic equipment are described and shown in the accompanying drawings with regard to a specific type of housing assembly, it is envisioned that the functionality of the various apparatus and methods may be applied to any now known or hereafter devised housing assemblies in which it is desired to provide convenient access to fiber optic equipment. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. 
   With reference to  FIGS. 3-8 , a housing assembly  30  in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. The housing assembly  30  of the illustrated embodiment is intended to be used in a central office equipment rack and/or a customer premises equipment rack in an environmentally controlled setting. However, further embodiments of the present invention comprise housing assemblies for use in other environmentally controlled settings, in outside plant applications with or without environmental control, such as in fiber distribution hubs, multiple dwelling unit stations, or the like to provide non-limiting examples, or in any other fiber optic network application in which it is advantageous to use housing assemblies. Furthermore, the fiber optic housing assemblies of the embodiments described herein include fiber optic interconnection portions and/or fiber optic splice portions; however, further embodiments of the present invention include additional and/or alternative fiber optic portions such as splitter portions to list one non-limiting example. 
   Turning now to the fiber optic housing assembly  30  of  FIG. 3 , the housing assembly comprises an exterior portion  32  adapted for selective attachment to an equipment rack (not shown). The exterior portion  32  of the illustrated embodiment of the present invention comprises top and bottom surfaces that are generally opposed and left, back, and right surfaces disposed between the top and bottom surfaces. The exterior portion  32  defines a generally open front surface through which the shelf portion  34  is selectively accessible and such that a front panel  36  (which defines a front surface of the housing assembly) of the shelf portion and/or pivotable portion  38  enables the exterior portion to generally enclose the interconnection portion and/or splice portion when the shelf portion defines a close position, such as in  FIG. 3 . The shelf portion  34  is illustrated in the open position in  FIGS. 4-8 . The exterior portion  32  generally encloses the interconnection portion and/or splice portion in order to protect them from unintentional damage and for orderly fiber management. In some embodiments of the present invention, the exterior portion hermetically seals the interior of the housing assembly when the shelf portion is in the closed position; however, the housing assembly  30  of the illustrated embodiment is not hermetically sealed when the shelf portion is in the closed position. 
   The exterior portion  32  of the housing assembly  30  is adapted to be selectively attached to an equipment rack, such as an equipment rack defining an interior width of 19 inches or 23 inches, to provide two non-limiting examples of equipment rack dimensions. The exterior portion  32  comprises one or more mounting brackets  40  adapted to connect a left side and/or right side of the exterior portion to the equipment rack by conventional fasteners; however, further embodiments of the present invention comprise alternative devices and design to selectively or permanently attach the housing assembly to an equipment rack or similar structure. The housing assembly  30  of  FIG. 3  is intended to be installed with one or more other housing assemblies in an equipment rack in a generally vertical fashion, and accordingly the housing assembly defines a relatively low height, such as a height of 1.75 inches for the illustrated embodiments, to allow a preferred number of housing assemblies to be installed in an equipment rack to minimize the height and/or volume of the fiber optic system. Still further embodiments of the present invention comprises housing assemblies with alternatively shaped and sized exterior portions adapted for the particular requirements of the fiber optic system. The exterior portion  32  of  FIG. 3  further comprises a fiber routing guide  42  mounted to both the left and right sides of the exterior portion to protect and/or organize the fibers entering and exiting the housing assembly. 
   Turning now to the shelf portion  34  illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the shelf portion is adapted to selectively move in a first direction relative to the exterior portion  32  of the housing assembly  30 . The first direction in  FIG. 4  is generally aligned in a front-to-back direction relative to the equipment rack (not shown) to which the housing assembly  30  is mounted; however, further embodiments of the present invention comprise shelf portions that are adapted to selectively move in any direction relative to the exterior portion and or equipment rack. The shelf portion  34  of  FIG. 4  comprises a rail device  44  on both the left and right sides of the shelf portion that engage mating rail devices on the inside of the exterior surface. The rail devices  44  may be oriented horizontally as shown in the illustrated embodiment or may be oriented vertically, or may be any combination thereof or may comprise circular or other shaped or positioned devices to allow the shelf portion  34  to move in a first direction relative to the exterior portion  32  of the housing assembly  30 . 
   The shelf portion  34  of the illustrated embodiment includes one or more latch devices  46  to selectively retain the shelf portion  34  within the exterior portion  32  in a closed position. As shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , both the left and right side of the shelf portion  34  comprises a latch device  46 , which comprises a winged tab that may be selectively rotated by a technician, a cylinder for receiving a key, or the like, wherein the latch device selectively engages and disengages a mating surface of the exterior portion  32  to selectively lock and unlock the shelf portion relative to the exterior portion. The housing assembly  30  of the illustrated embodiment comprises one or more latch devices  46  that provide enough retention to enable the housing assembly to conform to current Zone 4 geographic region earthquake test requirements. Further embodiments of the present invention include alternative latching devices, or no latching devices at all, to selectively retain the shelf portion relative to the exterior portion of the housing assembly. 
   Joined to the shelf portion  34  is a pivotable portion  38  that is adapted to selectively pivot in a second direction relative to the shelf portion. Whereas the first direction for the illustrated embodiment is generally aligned in a front-to-back direction relative to the equipment rack, the second direction in which the pivotable portion  38  selectively pivots is preferably in a generally upward and/or downward direction relative to the shelf portion  34  and is more preferably about a single axis such that the second direction is a generally rotational direction relative to the shelf portion. Further embodiments of the present invention comprise alternative pivotable portions that selectively pivot in alternative directions or combinations of multiple directions and/or about one or more axes. For example, the pivotable portion of some embodiments moves generally orthogonally relative to the shelf portion. Referring now to  FIG. 5 , the pivotable portion  38  is shown rotated downwardly relative to the shelf portion  34  and is shown with a top cover  48  rotated outwardly to expose the interconnection portion  50  on the pivotable portion and a reference chart  52  on the top cover. The top cover  48  is preferably included to provide protection for the interconnection portion  50  and/or the fibers  54  passing into and out of the interconnection portion. The reference chart  52  is preferably provided on the top cover  48  to allow the technician to provide and review information about one or more of the connections in the interconnection portion  50 . However, further embodiments of the present invention comprise pivotable portions with alternative top covers and/or reference charts or with no top cover or reference chart. 
   The interconnection portion  50  of the illustrated embodiment comprises two arrays comprising twelve adapters each, wherein the adapter is configured to optically connect two fiber optic connectors, such as in a cross-connect or other interconnection portions known in the art.  FIG. 5  illustrates the input fibers  54  that are optically connected to the central office or other signal originating device and routed about various retainers before being connected to the interconnection portion  50 ; however,  FIG. 5  does not show the output fibers optically connected to customer premises (or intended to be subsequently connected to customer premises) and intended to optically connected to the interconnection portion opposite the input fibers. Slack storage hubs  56  and  58  are shown in  FIG. 5  to provide routing of the output fibers once installed to provide sufficient slack for technicians to connect the output fibers and to maintain the minimum bend radius of the fibers. Additional clips and other fiber retainers are provided to selectively retain the fibers. Pivotable portions of further embodiments of the present invention comprise alternative interconnection portions and may or may not comprise slack storage hubs as required by the specific application of the housing assembly. 
   Also provided on the pivotable portion  38  of  FIG. 5  is one or more optical connector  60  into which one or more fibers  62  are optically connected to the input fibers  54 . The optical connectors  60  of  FIG. 5  are preferably fan-out connectors into which a ribbon fiber or similar cable of multiple fibers is divided into multiple individual fibers for selective connection of the individual fibers, pair of fibers, or the like. The fibers  62  are optically connected to the fiber optic splice portion as discussed more fully below. Further embodiments of the present invention comprise pivotable portions with alternative connectors for optically connecting the various fibers and/or may comprise no connector at all, for example, in the case of an interconnection portion that receives a ribbon cable or the like and is adapted to receive one or more individual fiber cables opposite the interconnection portion. 
   The pivotable portion  38  of  FIG. 5  is selectively pivotable about one or pins or similar devices (not shown) that define an axis near the back of the shelf portion  34 , such that the pivotable portion pivots relative to the rail devices  44  of the shelf portion  34 . One or more first linkages  64  are provided proximate the middle of the shelf portion  34  to allow the pivotable portion  38  to pivot downward a predetermined distance and to retain the pivotable portion in a relatively fixed position relative to the shelf portion to allow the technician to conveniently work with the various components and/or fibers included on the pivotable portion. The pivotable portion  34  comprises one or more slots  66  corresponding to one end of the first linkage  64  to allow the first linkage to travel a predetermined distance. In addition, the one or more linkages  64  of the illustrated embodiment enable the pivotable portion  38  to remain in a generally horizontal fashion after being unlocked from the shelf portion  34  by a technician, such that the pivotable portion can be lowered as desired by the technician as opposed to unintentionally dropping after being unlocked. Still further embodiments of the present inventions provided alternative devices for enabling the pivotable portion to selectively pivot relative to the shelf portion. 
   Turning now to  FIG. 6 , the pivotable portion  38  defines a top portion  68  and a bottom portion  70 , wherein at least one of the fiber optic interconnection portion  50  and the fiber optic splice portion  72  is joined to the top portion and the other is joined to the bottom portion. For the illustrated embodiment, the interconnection portion  50  is joined to the top portion and the splice portion  72  is joined to the bottom portion, however, further embodiments include the portions in reverse constructions. The top portion  68  of the pivotable portion  38  of  FIG. 6  is adapted to selectively pivot in a second direction or generally upward direction relative to the shelf portion  34 , and the bottom portion  70  is adapted to selectively pivot in a third direction or generally downward direction relative to the shelf portion. Further embodiments of the present invention include top and bottom portions that pivot in alternative orthogonal, lateral, and/or rotational directions. 
   As best illustrated in  FIG. 6 , the pivotable portion  38  comprises a latch portion  74  for selectively locking the pivotable portion relative to the shelf portion  34 . The latch portion  74  enables the pivotable portion  38  to be removed from the exterior portion  32  in a relatively fixed position relative to the shelf portion  34  and to prevent the pivotable portion from unintentionally pivoting downward or in other directions. The latch portion  74  of the illustrated embodiment is mechanically connected to one or more pins  76  such that rotation of the latch portion  74  linearly moves the one or more pins to selectively engage or disengage the shelf portion to accordingly allow the pivotable portion to pivot relative to the shelf portion. Alternative embodiments of the housing assembly of the present invention include alternative latch portions or no latch portion. 
   Turning now to the splice portion  72  joined to the pivotable portion  38 , as shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the splice portion  72  is joined to the bottom portion  70  of the pivotable portion.  FIG. 6  illustrates the splice portion  72  without a splice assembly, whereas  FIG. 7  illustrates the splice assembly  78  included in the splice portion. The splice assembly  78  is shown with fibers entering into the housing assembly  30  and being routed about slack storage hubs  80  and other fiber retainers to provide the technician with sufficient fiber slack to perform the splice operation. The fiber entering the housing assembly is preferably spliced to the fiber  62  that is optically connected to the interconnection portion  50  as discussed above. 
     FIG. 7  also shows the top portion  68  of the pivotable portion  38  selectively pivoted in a generally upward direction relative to the shelf portion  34  such that the technician is able to conveniently access the splice portion  72 . The top portion  68  includes one or more second linkages  82  provided proximate the middle of the shelf portion  34  and/or pivotable portion  38  to allow the top portion  68  to pivot upward a predetermined distance and to retain the pivotable portion in a relatively fixed position relative to the shelf portion and/or bottom portion  70  to allow the technician to conveniently work with the various components and/or fibers included on the bottom portion. The pivotable portion  34  comprises one or more slots corresponding to one end of the second linkage  82  to allow the second linkage to travel a predetermined distance. Still further embodiments of the present inventions provided alternative devices for enabling the top portion to selectively pivot relative to the shelf portion and/or bottom portion. 
   The front panel  36  of the pivotable portion  38  of the illustrated embodiment comprises a low profile handle  84  on a front surface of the housing assembly. The handle  84  is attached to the front surface at two points and is able to swing about the two points that are preferably axially aligned. The handle  84  rests in generally upward direction, as shown in  FIG. 3 , such that the handle defines a low profile; however, the handle is also capable of swinging outwardly to enable the technician to better grasp the handle to selectively move the shelf portion and/or pivotable portion. The handle  84  is illustrated in the outward position in  FIGS. 4 ,  6 , and  8 . Further embodiments of the present invention include alternative low profile handles, such as recessed handles to provide one non-limiting example. 
   The fiber optic interconnection portion  50  of the illustrated embodiment comprises one or more multipositional panels  86  for selective mounting of one or more adapters.  FIG. 8  provides an enlarged view of the multipositional panels  86  of the interconnection portion  50 , with one multipositional panel in a lower position in contact with and generally parallel to the pivotable portion  38  and with the other multipositional panel in an upright position such that it is not in contact and generally angled relative to the pivotable portion. The multipositional panel  86  includes a channel portion to allow the technician to selective raise the multipositional panel relative to the channel portion and reposition the multipositional panel from the lower position to the upright position or vice versa. Alternative embodiments of the present invention include alternative multipositional panels having alternative shapes and/or components to allow movement of the interconnection portion relative to the pivotable portion. Still further embodiments of the present invention comprise no multipositional panels at all. The multipositional panel  86  of  FIG. 8  also comprises an opening  88  adapted to receive one or more adapters of the interconnection portion  50 . The multipositional panel  86  is adapted for selective movement relative to the pivotable portion  50  when the multipositional panel includes no adapters or one or more adapters. 
   The housing assembly  30  of the present invention provides a technician convenient and effective access to the fiber optic portions within the housing assembly. Methods for accessing a fiber optic interconnection portion  50  and a fiber optic splice portion  72  are provided by the present invention. The technician moves the shelf portion  34  of the housing assembly  30  in a first direction, such as a front-to-back direction, relative to an exterior portion  32  of the housing assembly. Once the shelf portion  34  is substantially outside the exterior portion  32 , the technician pivots the pivoting portion  38  that is joined to the shelf portion  34  in a second direction, such as in a rotational direction about a single axis to provide one non-limiting example of a second direction, relative to the shelf portion. The interconnection portion  50  and/or the splice portion  72  are joined to the pivotable portion  38  such that the technician can conveniently access the interconnection portion and/or the splice portion after pivoting the pivotable portion. Further embodiments of the present invention comprise alternative and additional methods for accessing fiber optic portions of the housing assembly. 
   Many modifications and other embodiments of the invention set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which the invention pertains having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the invention is 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 present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention 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.