Abstract:
The present invention relates to a telecommunications connection module including a housing and connection locations mounted to a front face of the housing. The connection locations are removably mounted to the front face allowing access to an interior side of the connection locations from outside the housing and arranged to two rows. A shelf divide the interior of the housing into two spaces allowing cables to be directed to one or the other of the rows of connection locations. The housing may also include integral mounting recesses for mounting the housing to a telecommunications equipment rack. The rear of the housing may also include a removable portion and angled portions adjacent the sides which are offset toward the front face. The present invention also relates to a telecommunications connection system including a rack and at least one connection module mounted to the rack, the rack including a front and a rear cable management structure. The rear cable management structure includes at least two vertical cable channels, one of which is adapted to manage cable which do not extend from modules mounted to the equipment rack. The present invention also relates to a method of installing a new equipment rack into an existing telecommunication equipment installation into a gap in the existing lineup which is narrower than the existing equipment racks. The new rack includes a rear vertical cable channel for managing cables extending from devices mounted in adjacent or nearby equipment racks but which are not connected to the new rack.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to termination frames and modules for mounting to the frame to provide connections between telecommunications cables. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   In telecommunications infrastructure installations, equipment for switching, cross-connecting and inter-connecting a variety of devices is used. Much of these devices are installed in telecommunications equipment racks to permit organized, high-density installations to be achieved in limited space available for equipment. Due to the increasing demand for telecommunications system capacity, it is desirable to increase the density of connections within a given space that can be achieved. One approach to increasing the density of connections within an installation is to utilize space within the footprint of the rack which previously was not used. At the same time, it is desirable to ensure that cables leading to and from the equipment mounting within the installation are adequately managed and that sufficient cable management structures are provided. 
   Within a single telecommunications equipment installation, it may be desirable to provide connection modules and cable management structures for traditional copper, high speed copper and optical fiber. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to a telecommunications connection module including a plurality of connection locations on a front of a housing for connecting telecommunications cables. The plurality of connection locations are arranged in two vertically spaced apart rows and an interior of the housing is divided by a shelf into first and second spaces so that cables entering the first space are directed to the first row of connection locations and cables entering the second space are directed to the second row of connection locations. 
   The present invention also relates to a telecommunications connection module including a plurality of connection locations on a front of a housing for connecting telecommunications cables, where a top and opposing sides of the housing cooperate to form mounting recesses for mounting the module to a telecommunications equipment rack. 
   The present invention also relates to a telecommunications connection module including a plurality of connection locations on a front of a housing for connecting telecommunications cables, where a portion of a rear of the housing is removable and portions of the rear adjacent opposing sides of the housing are offset toward a front of the housing. 
   The present invention further relates to a telecommunications connection system including an equipment rack and at least one connection module mounted to the rack, the rack including a first cable management structure at a rear of the rack providing first and second vertical cable channels and a second cable management structure at a front of the rack. The first vertical cable channel at the rear of the rack are adapted to manage cables extending to the connection modules mounted to the rack and the second vertical cable channel adapted to manage cables not connected to modules on the rack. 
   The present invention also relates to a method of adding a new equipment rack to a telecommunications equipment installation including the installation of the new rack into a gap in the installation narrower than the existing adjacent racks in that installation. 
   The new rack includes a second vertical cable channel for managing telecommunications cables extending from devices mounted to existing equipment rack which are not connected to devices mounted in the new rack. 
   A variety of advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the detailed description that follows and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practicing the invention. It is understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention as claimed. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate several aspects of the invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. A brief description of the drawings is as follows: 
       FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of a first embodiment of a telecommunications equipment rack in accordance with the present invention. 
       FIG. 1A  is a schematic representation of a telecommunications equipment installation. 
       FIG. 2  is a rear perspective view of the telecommunications equipment rack of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 3  is a front view of the telecommunications equipment rack of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 4  is a rear view of the telecommunications equipment rack of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 5  is a top view of the telecommunications equipment rack of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 6  is a side view of the telecommunications equipment rack of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 7  is a front perspective view of the telecommunications equipment rack of  FIG. 1  with a connection module shown in position for insertion into the rack. 
       FIG. 8  is a front perspective view of the connection module of  FIG. 7 . 
       FIG. 9  is a rear perspective view of the connection module of  FIG. 8 . 
       FIG. 10  is a front view of the connection module of  FIG. 8 . 
       FIG. 11  is a rear view of the connection module of  FIG. 8 . 
       FIG. 12  is a top view of the connection module of  FIG. 8 . 
       FIG. 13  is a side view of the connection module of  FIG. 8  with an intermediate shelf within module  30  shown in hidden lines. 
       FIG. 14  is an exploded front perspective view of the connection module of  FIG. 8 . 
       FIG. 15  is an exploded top view of the module of  FIG. 14 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary aspects of the present invention that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer the same or like parts. 
   Telecommunications equipment rack  10  shown in  FIG. 1  receives and manages optical fiber terminations. Rack  10  preferably has a narrow footprint to permit its installation in telecommunications installation where space is limited or into spaces within existing telecommunications installations which are too narrow for wider equipment racks which are well known in the telecommunications industry. As shown in  FIGS. 1 through 7 , rack  10  is approximately eight inches wide at a maximum width  36 . Rack  10  may also be constructed to a maximum width of between six inches and ten inches, to allow rack  10  to fit within spaces in narrower than existing racks. 
     FIG. 1A  shows a schematic of an existing telecommunications installation including a first existing rack  100 , a second existing rack  102  and a third existing rack  104  arranged in a row. Racks  100 ,  102  and  104  may be standardized widths of nineteen or twenty-three inches or may be some other non-standard width. Racks such as racks  100 ,  102  and  104  may include a pair of vertical supports and define a plurality of mounting spaces between the supports for mounting telecommunications devices. Racks  100 ,  102  and  104  are mounted adjacent to one another but a gap  106  and a gap  108  are left between the adjacent racks, often to provide space extending telecommunications cables extending to, from and between the devices mounted to racks  100 ,  102  and  104 . Gaps  106  and  108  may be considerably narrower than the width of racks  100 ,  102  or  104 . Often, gaps  106  or  108  are between six and eight inches in width, much too narrower for existing racks such as  100 ,  102  or  104  to be installed. The devices mounted to the racks may be optical fiber devices so that the cables in gaps  106  and  108  are optical fiber cables, or the devices may be used with copper stranded cables. Cable management structures may also be installed within gaps  106  or  108  to control and protect the cables connected to the adjacent or nearby equipment racks. 
   Rack  10  includes a base with two flanges  12  mounted on the front and rear of a pair of vertical support  16 , and a top  14 . An intermediate crosspiece  18  is mounted between supports  16  approximately midway between flanges  12  and top  14 , and includes a pair of cable storage spools  22  extending toward and accessible from the front of rack  10 . Mounted to supports  16  between crosspiece  18  and top  14 , and between flanges  12  and crosspiece  18  are side plates  20 . Mounted to the front of supports  16  adjacent each side plate  20  is a front angled bracket  19 , to which is mounted a plurality of cable protectors  21 . Cable protectors  21  redirect telecommunications cables extending from a connection module  30  mounted to rack  10  into a front cable channel  23  defined between side plate  20 , and front angled brackets  19  and cable protectors  21 , while providing bend radius protection to the cables. Cable protectors  21  are shown oriented for cables extending down rack  10  from modules  30 . Alternatively, cable protectors  21  could be inverted to provide bend radius protection for cables extending up rack  10  from modules  30 . Front angled brackets  19  allow improved access to modules  30  and to permit modules  30  to be inserted between cable protectors  21  to be removed or mounted to rack  10 . Front angled brackets  19  also provide a wider portion  25  of front cable channel  23  to provide greater space for the management and direction of cables extending from modules  30 . 
   Mounted to the rear of rack  10  are a plurality of outer brackets  24  and a plurality of inner brackets  26  which cooperate to form a cable management structure with several vertical cable channels for managing cables extending from the rear of devices mounted on rack  10 . Inner brackets  26  extend from rear angled brackets  32  and cooperate with a rearmost portion of each connection modules  30  to form a first rear vertical cable channel  40  to direct cables to the modules  30  mounted to rack  10 . Outer brackets  24  and inner brackets  26  cooperate to form a pair of second rear vertical cable channels  38 . Second rear vertical cable channels  38  may receive and direct cables such as coax cables or other formats of cables extending from telecommunications devices mounted in adjacent or nearby racks  100 ,  102  and  104 . Brackets  24  and  26  are spaced apart vertically so that cables may be inserted and removed from vertical cable channels  38  and  40 . Brackets  24  and  26  are also sized to permit tie-offs to be used to secure cables within channels  38  and  40 . 
   Rack  10  may be mounted within a gap in an existing telecommunications installation. Such a gap might be created by removing an existing cable management structure through which several cables from devices in adjacent or nearby telecommunications equipment racks might be extending. When the existing cable management structure us removed to permit installation of rack  10 , some provision for handling the existing cables is desirable. Second rear vertical cable channel  38  provides a location where these existing cables may be managed. 
   As is shown in  FIG. 5  and in  FIGS. 11 through 15 , modules  30  include a rear wall  46  which is narrower in width than the spacing of a pair of opposing side walls  48 . Rear angled brackets  32  are shaped to generally match the shape of the rear of module  30 . An angled portion  33  of rear bracket  32  allow inner brackets  26  to be positioned closer to each other and further in from outer brackets  24 , providing more space within second vertical cable channels  38  for cables extending from devices mounted to adjacent or nearby equipment racks. 
   Mounted to an interior wall of each rear angled bracket  32  is a plurality of opposing mounting slides  34 . Each pair of opposing mounting slides  34  defines a mounting location for a module  30 . As shown in  FIGS. 1 through 7 , rack  10  includes six pairs of mounting slides  34  above crosspiece  18  and six pairs of mounting slides  34  below crosspiece  18 , providing mounting locations for up to twelve modules  30 . Mounting slides  34  may be mounted to rear angled brackets  32  by a variety of methods, such as welding or spot welding, bonding or gluing, or by fasteners such as rivets or screws extending through a plurality of openings  42 . Alternative installation configurations of rack  10  might include two racks  10  stacked within a single gap  106  or  108  or similarly sized space, providing four groups of six pairs of mounting slides  34  and mounting positions for up to twenty-four modules  30 . Between each group of six pairs of mounting slides  34 , a crosspiece  18  with cable storage spools  22  may be mounted between vertical supports  16 . 
   Below the lowermost module  30  is a plate  28  mounted between supports  16 . Above front flange  12 , below the lowest extension of side plates  20  and in front of plate  28  is defined a space  44  where a cable trough or some other cable management component might be mounted. Alternatively, a crosspiece  18  with slack storage spools  22  may also be mounted in space  44 . 
   Referring now to  FIGS. 8 through 15 , module  30  is shown and described in greater detail. Module  30  includes a housing  31 , which includes rear  46 , opposing sides  48 , a front  50 , a top  52  and a bottom  70 . As described above, rear  46  is narrower than the width between opposing sides  48 . An angled wall  54  and a rear extension  56  connect each side  48  to rear  46 . Top  52  and bottom  70  are shaped to extend to sides  48 , angled walls  54 , rear extensions  56 , rear  46  and front  50 . Formed in each side  48  is an inset  59 , which in combination with an opening  58  in each angled wall  54  forms a mounting recess  60 . Mounting recess  60  allows an outer lip  61  of top  52  to engage a mounting slide  34  in rack  10  and permit module  30  to be mounted to rack  10 . One or more releasable latches  68  are positioned in front  50  to engage openings  69  (see  FIGS. 1 and 3 ) of rack  10  to selectively secure module  30  to rack  10  and to permit removal of module  30 . As shown, latches  68  are slide latches which extend through openings  67  in sides  48  to engage openings  69 . It is anticipated that spring latches for latches  68 . In rear  46  are at least one opening  62  for entry of telecommunications cables into an interior  80  of module  30 . 
   Mounted to front  50  of module  30  is a plurality of telecommunications cable connection locations or adapters  64 . As shown, adapters  64  are small format fiber optic adapters which are capable of optically connecting two pairs of fiber optic cable connectors  65 . Each adapter  64  is mounted to front  50  by a releasable clip  66 . The use of releasable clip  66  allows connectors  65  mounted to adapter  64  in interior  80  to be access while module  30  remains mounted to rack  10 . By releasing clip  66  and pulling adapter  64  forward from front  50  to the extent that slack in the cable attached to the connectors  65  attached to the interior side of adapter  64 , both sides of adapter  64  and connectors  65  attached to adapter  64  are accessible. Clip  66  as shown is adapted to be mounted to adapter  64  and then releasably mounted to front  50  so that it can be selectively detached from outside interior  80 . Alternatively, clip  66  could be mounted to front  50  and releasably engage adapter  64 . Adapters  64  and connectors  65  as shown are adapters and connectors described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,142,676, issued Nov. 7, 2000, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Adapters  64  and connectors  65  conforming to other sizes and formats may be mounted to front  50  and used to connect telecommunications cables, including SC, FC, and other industry standard and proprietary formats. Such alternative connection locations  64  may connect optical fiber or copper cables and allow more or fewer connection locations than is shown in the FIGS. 
   It is anticipated that angled clips  66 , such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,214,735, issued May 25, 1993, and RE 34,955, issued May 30, 1995, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference, may be used with adapters  64 . This will allow adapters  64  in upper row  84  or lower row  86  to be directed to one or the other sets of cable protectors  21  of a rack  10 , reducing the degree of bend required in cable attached to connectors  65  and improving bend radius protection. 
   Referring now to  FIGS. 13 through 15 , a shelf  72  within interior  80  divides interior  80  into an upper space  96  and a lower space  98 . Adapters  64  are mounted in a plurality of openings  78  in front  50  in two vertically spaced apart rows, an upper row  84  and a lower row  86 . Shelf  72  is positioned approximately equally spaced between top  52  and bottom  70  and follows the interior shape of sides  48 , front  50  and angled walls  54 . However, shelf  72  does not extend as far rear as rear  46 , leaving a gap  82  between the upper and lower spaces. Gap  82  allows a cable to enter interior  80  through either opening  62  and be directed into either upper space  96  or lower space  98 . Alternatively, a gap allowing passage of cables between upper space  96  and lower space  98  may be provided through shelf  72  adjacent front  50 . A cable directed into the upper space may be connected to any available adapter  64  in upper row  84 , and a cable directed into the lower space may be connected to any available adapter  64  in lower row  86 . Shelf  72  allows a cable entering either opening  62  to be directed into either the upper or lower space while providing separation of the cables within the upper and lower spaces to reduce tangling of the cables. Reduction of tangling is desirable as the limit of forward extension of adapter  64  when released from front  50  is limited by the amount of available slack in the cables attached to that adapter  64  within interior  80 . 
   Recess  60  in each side  48  is formed by extension  76  which also provides a mounting flange for mounted top  52  to module  30 . Rear  46  is mounted to module  30  at a pair of rear mounting flanges  74 . Rear mounting flanges  74  also provide an additional pair of top mounting flanges  88 . Shelf  72  includes a plurality of mounting flanges  90  including openings  91  through fasteners are inserted which engage openings  93  in angled walls  54  and sides  48  to position shelf  72  within interior  80 . 
   As shown in the FIGS., module  30  is adapted to receive and optically connect optical fiber telecommunications cables at adapters  64 . Twelve optical connections may be made in each of upper row  84  and lower row  86 . The connectors  65  connected to the interior side of adapters  64  are connected to individual optical fiber cables. These individual cables may all be directed out of interior  72  through an opening  62  as individual cables or the individual cables may pass through a fanout  92  (not shown) within interior  72  and accumulated into a multiple strand optical fiber cable which extends from interior  72  through opening  62 . Each of the types of cables extending from interior  72  through opening  62  enter first vertical cable channel  40  and directed to other telecommunications devices at the facility where rack  10  is installed. Alternatively, adapter  64  may allow the optical connection of multiple fiber cables at front  50 , so that a multiple fiber cable, such as an MTP cable, entering interior  72  is not required to pass through fanout  92  prior to connecting to an adapter  64 . 
   Openings  62  in rear  46  as shown are adapted to receive an adapter permitting the connection of an MTP multi-strand optical fiber cable in interior  80  with an MTP multi-strand optical fiber cable within vertical cable channel  40 . This will permit module  30  to be preloaded with adapters in openings  78  and  62 , with an MTP cable leading to fanout  92  in interior  80  and optical fiber cables including a single strand of optical fiber extending from fanout  92  to adapter  64 . This pre-loading of module  30  allows for simpler installation of module  30  to rack  10  and completion of telecommunications equipment connections through module  30 . 
   Openings  62  in rear  46  may also be adapted to receive an IFC multi-strand optical fiber cable. In addition, a cable clamp  94  (not shown) would be mounted within interior  80  and the IFC cable would extend through cable clamp  94  before entering fanout  92  to be separated into individual optical fiber cables. It is anticipated that further additional devices may be mounted in interior  80  and connected to optical fiber cables entering through rear  46 . These devices may include splitters, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,432,875, issued Jul. 11, 1995, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, wavelength division multplexers, or other devices which aid in the separation of individual optical fibers or data streams within the cables entering through rear  46 . 
   As shown in the FIGS., adapters  64  are mounted in rows. Cables connected to adapters  64  may be organized to and directed into one of front cable channels  23  based on designated function or use. For ease of installation and operation, and to allow for future expansion, adapters  64  in alternating rows may be designated as in-use for connection to cables linked to devices or equipment currently in service, and reserve for connection to cables designated for future expansion or for temporary use during maintenance or repair. Following this designation and direction approach, all cables connected to in-use devices are directed into one front cable channel  23  and all cables connected to reserve or future expansion devices are directed into the other front cable channel  23 . Spools  22  positioned adjacent front cable channels  23  could be similarly designated to receive either in-use or reserve cable slack. 
   With regard to the foregoing description, it is to be understood that changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of the construction materials employed and the shape, size and arrangement of parts without changing the scope of the present invention. It is intended that the specification and the depicted aspects be considered exemplary only, with the true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the broad meaning of the following claims.