Source: https://insight.rpxcorp.com/pat/US20200132939A1
Timestamp: 2020-05-26 12:37:27
Document Index: 172523313

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 28', 'art 28', 'art 28', 'art 28', 'art 40', 'art 40', 'art 28', 'art 40', 'art 40', 'art 40', 'art 40', 'art 40', 'arts 28', 'art 40', 'art 28']

Patent US 20200132939A1
US 20200132939A1
(a) a connector body defining a central longitudinal axis that extends in a front-to-rear orientation, the connector body including;
(b) a ferrule assembly that mounts within the connector body, the ferrule assembly including;
(i) a ferrule including a rear end and a front end;
(ii) a ferrule hub mounted to the rear end of the ferrule;
(a) the front and rear connector housing pieces are secured together by a snap-fit connection interface.
(a) the rear connector housing piece includes catches positioned on diametrically opposite sides of a main body thereof.
5. The fiber optic connector of claim 4, wherein:
10. The fiber optic connector of claim 8, wherein:
(a) the first cross-dimension is no more than 3.0 times the second cross-dimension.
11. The fiber optic connector of claim 8, wherein:
(a) the unitary fiber bend radius limiting structure has a radial outward dimension of extension that is longer than the first cross-dimension.
12. The fiber optic connector of claim 8, wherein:
(a) the unitary fiber bend radius limiting structure has a radial outward dimension of extension longer than the first cross-dimension and shorter than the second cross-dimension.
This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/760,188, filed on Mar. 14, 2018, which is a National Stage Application of PCT/EP2016/071518, filed on Sep. 13, 2016, which claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 62/218,244, filed on Sep. 14, 2015, U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 62/383,090, filed on Sep. 2, 2016 and U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 62/268,067, filed on Dec. 16, 2015, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. To the extent appropriate, a claim of priority is made to each of the above disclosed applications.
In certain connectors, the connectors are “tuned” by identifying the direction of core offset, and then assembling the connectors so that the core offsets are always facing in the same direction (e.g., the twelve o'"'"'clock position). In this way, when two connectors are mated, the core offsets are aligned and the worse-case scenario of the core offsets being 180 degrees offset from one another will not occur. In an APC (i.e., angle polish connector), the core offset is taken into consideration so that the direction of the core offset is oriented at a predetermined position relative to the direction of the angle polish to provide a tuning function.
The retractable release sleeve 76 can be slid back and forth relative to the connector body assembly 22 through a limited range of movement that extends in a direction along the central longitudinal axis X. The retractable release sleeve 76 includes release ramps 17 that are used to disengage the retractable release sleeve 76 from the fiber optic adapter 90. A sleeve mount arrangement 71 is located within the fiber optic adapter 90. One example sleeve mount arrangement 71 is shown in FIG. 16. The sleeve mount arrangement 1231 includes a first piece 71a and a second piece 71b. In other implementations, however, the sleeve mount arrangement 71 can be formed as a single-piece. Each piece 71a, 71b of the sleeve mount arrangement 71 includes resilient tabs 89 defining latching hooks 73. The latching hooks 73 are configured to cooperate with release ramps 17 of the front connector body part 28 to releasably latch the connector body assembly 22 to the fiber optic adapter 90.
Referring to FIGS. 13-15, the front connector body part 28 includes a snap fit structure 108 positioned on opposite sides within the front connector body part 28. The front connector body part 28 defines an access slot 110 on opposite side walls 114 thereof. Each one of the access slots 110 includes a retention arrangement 112. Thus, each of the side walls 114 flex open or apart to accommodate the rear connector body part 40 and allow the rear connector body part 40 to snap fit within the front connector body part 28, which can be retained by the retention arrangement 112.
Referring again to FIGS. 7-9, the rear connector body part 40 includes catches 116 (e.g., ribs, projections) positioned on diametrically opposite sides 118 of the rear connector body part 40. The catches 116 project outwardly from a main body 120 of the rear connector body part 40. The snap fit structure 108 is flexible to receive the catches 116 of the rear connector body part 40. The retention arrangement 112 is configured to receive the catches 116 of the rear connector body part 40. In the example depicted, the retention arrangement 112 is shown as an opening that permits the catches 116 to be engaged therein, although alternatives are possible. The catches 116 and the retention arrangement 112 cooperate to define an axial insertion/retention interface between the front and rear connector body parts 28, 40. As the rear connector body part 40 is inserted into the front connector body part 28, the catches 116 pass through the access slots 110 until the catches 116 reach the retention arrangement 112 and are engaged therein.
The rear connector housing piece 206 defines a through-passage 252 that extends through the rear connector housing piece 206 from the rear end 216 to the front end 214. The rear connector housing piece 206 can function as a rear spring stop 254. The rear spring stop 254 can abut against a proximal end 256 (see FIG. 18) of the spring 240 when the rear connector housing piece 206 is installed in the rear plug end 212 of the front connector housing piece 204. In this way, the rear connector housing piece 206 functions to capture/trap the ferrule assembly 230 within the front connector housing piece 206. The front end 238 of the ferrule 232 may be accessible at the front plug end 210 of the front connector housing piece 204.
NHEP, Ponharith, HOUBEN, Diederik, AZNAG, Mohamed, VAN GENECHTEN, Geert, CLAES, Paul Joseph, FREDERICKX, Maddy Nadine, DE BIE, Alexandre Caroline M., COENEGRACHT, Philippe
US 10,520,683 B2