Patent Description:
An optical cable connection box mainly implements a protection function on optical cables on an optical fiber network after the optical cables are connected to each other. Currently, when a prefabricated optical cable is deployed in the home, cables with different lengths need to be provided according to distances to users. For example, CORNING cable lengths on an existing network are serialized in specifications: <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM>. In actual application, a site engineer usually selects a longer optical cable after estimation, causing redundancy for optical fibers of the optical cable. One type of optical cable connection box can provide adapter connection but does not support optical fiber splicing and storage, causing use inconvenience. Another type of optical cable connection box is provided with a splicing tray, and supports optical fiber splicing and storage in the splicing tray. However, the optical cable connection box with the splicing tray has a relatively large volume.

<CIT> describes an optical fiber cable connection organizer device that includes a support assembly with lateral accessways for the fibers of the cables, an arrangement for holding splices between the fibers and an arrangement for stowing a surplus length of the jointed fibers. It further includes two sets of magazines for stowing additional slack in the fibers from the two cables.

Embodiments of this application provide a connection structure and an optical cable connection box, to reduce a volume and also implement storage of redundant optical fibers. Embodiments and examples not covered by the claims are meant to illustrate, and facilitate the understanding of, the claimed invention.

According to a first aspect according to claim <NUM>, a connection structure is provided, including a splicing region and a fiber management region that are disposed with a distance therebetween along a circumferential direction of the connection structure. The connection structure is a cylinder-like object and the circumferential direction is a direction circling a central axis of the connection structure, wherein the splicing region is usable to splice optical fibers in different optical cables by using a splicing device to implement connection between the different optical cables and wherein the fiber management region is configured to store redundant optical fibers of optical cables, A fiber routing path passing through the connection structure in the splicing region and the connection structure in the fiber management region is further disposed in the connection structure, so that an optical fiber extends into the fiber management region for storage through the fiber routing path from the splicing region.

The connection structure includes the splicing region and the fiber management region that are disposed with a distance therebetween along the circumferential direction of the connection structure. In other words, the splicing region and the fiber management region are located on different planes. Because optical fiber splicing and storage do not need to be performed in a same region in the connection structure, space of the connection structure can be effectively used. In this way, the connection structure has a compact structure, thereby reducing a volume of the connection structure. In addition, optical fiber splicing and optical fiber storage are separated in the connection structure according to functional regions, which facilitates work of an operator, thereby improving optical cable connection efficiency.

According to the first aspect, the fiber routing path is disposed in a groove on an outer sidewall of the connection structure, to facilitate extension of the optical fiber from the splicing region to the fiber management region and also protect the optical fiber.

According to the first aspect, a first positioning plate and a second positioning plate protrude from a sidewall of the fiber routing path. The first positioning plate and the second positioning plate are disposed opposite each other. A groove is formed between the first positioning plate and the second positioning plate. The first positioning plate and the second positioning plate are configured to: prevent the optical fiber from coming out of the fiber routing path and protect the optical fiber. The groove is configured to facilitate the optical fiber to enter the fiber routing path.

With reference to the first aspect, in a first possible implementation of the first aspect, a depression is further disposed in the splicing region on the connection structure. The depression includes two sidewalls and a bottom wall. The bottom wall is connected between the two sidewalls. A cable leading-in path is further disposed in the connection structure. The cable leading-in path passes through the sidewalls of the depression. The fiber routing path passes through the bottom wall of the depression, to facilitate the optical fiber in an optical cable passing through the cable leading-in path to enter the fiber routing path.

With reference to the first aspect or the first possible implementation of the first aspect, in a second possible implementation of the first aspect, the cable leading-in path is located at an end of the connection structure, and the cable leading-in path is coaxially disposed with the connection structure. In this way, a central axis of the optical cable passing through the cable leading-in path, a central axis of the cable leading-in path, and a central axis of the connection structure can be overlapped, thereby improving transmission quality of an optical signal.

With reference to the first aspect or the first to the second possible implementations of the first aspect, in a third possible implementation of the first aspect, the connection structure further includes a cabling path. The cabling path is disposed in a groove on the bottom wall of the depression close to the cable leading-in path. The cabling path is connected to the fiber routing path. A cabling path disposed in a clearance mode is used between the fiber routing path and the cable leading-in path, so that smooth cabling is implemented on the optical fiber, thereby reducing a risk of a sudden change to an optical signal.

With reference to the first aspect or the first to the third possible implementations of the first aspect, in a fourth possible implementation of the first aspect, the sidewall includes a cushion surface. The cushion surface is an arc surface protruding to an interior of the depression, and is used to cushion a bending angle of the optical fiber to prevent the sudden change to the optical signal.

With reference to the first aspect or the first to the fourth possible implementations of the first aspect, in a fifth possible implementation of the first aspect, a stop portion protrudes from a sidewall of the cable leading-in path close to the depression, and is configured to abut against the optical cable, to avoid forward movement of the optical cable, thereby improving connection reliability of the optical cable in the connection structure.

With reference to the first aspect or the first to the fifth possible implementations of the first aspect, in an sixth possible implementation of the first aspect, the connection structure includes an inner support container and a clamping apparatus. The splicing region, the fiber management region, the cable leading-in path, and the fiber routing path are all disposed on the inner support container. The clamping apparatus protrudes from the bottom wall of the depression. A clamping groove is disposed in the clamping apparatus to clamp a splicing protection sleeve sleeved on the optical fiber.

With reference to the first aspect or the first to the sixth possible implementations of the first aspect, in a seventh possible implementation of the first aspect, the clamping apparatus includes two elastic arms. The two elastic arms are disposed with a distance therebetween to form the clamping groove. The elastic arms can elastically clamp the splicing protection sleeve sleeved on the optical fiber, thereby improving clamping reliability of the clamping apparatus.

With reference to the first aspect or the first to the seventh possible implementations of the first aspect, in an eighth possible implementation of the first aspect, the connection structure further includes a compression apparatus. An accommodating portion is disposed in a groove on the sidewall of the cable leading-in path. The stop portion is located between the accommodating portion and the depression. The compression apparatus is accommodated in the accommodating portion and fixed on the sidewall of the cable leading-in path. The compression apparatus is configured to compress the optical cable passing through the cable leading-in path.

With reference to the first aspect or the first to the eighth possible implementations of the first aspect, in an ninth possible implementation of the first aspect, the compression apparatus includes a compression block and an adjustment component. An adjustment hole is disposed through the compression block. The compression block is accommodated in the accommodating portion and is fixed on the sidewall of the cable leading-in path. The adjustment component passes through the adjustment hole in an adjustable manner. One end of the adjustment component away from the compression block is configured to compress the optical cable passing through the cable leading-in path. The adjustment component may adjust, by using the adjustment hole in the compression block, a tightening degree of abutting the optical cable, to accommodate optical cables with different shapes, for example, round or flat cables.

With reference to the first aspect or the first to the ninth possible implementations of the first aspect, in a tenth possible implementation of the first aspect, a clamping jaw is further disposed at an end of the inner support container along a circumferential direction of the inner support container, and the connection structure further includes a fastener. The fastener passes through the end of the inner support container. The clamping jaw clamps the fastener. The fastener is provided with a guide path. The guide path is coaxially disposed with and connected to the cable leading-in path in the inner support container. The fastener is fixed through clamping by using the clamping jaw, to facilitate assembly and disassembly of the optical cable.

With reference to the first aspect or the first to the tenth possible implementations of the first aspect, in a eleventh possible implementation of the first aspect, the connection structure further includes a sealing kit. The sealing kit is sleeved on the end of the inner support container in a sealing manner, and is configured to connect, in a sealing manner, to an inner wall of a protection sleeve sleeved on the inner support container, to implement sealing and prevent entrance of water vapor, dust, and the like.

With reference to the first aspect or the first to the eleventh possible implementations of the first aspect, in a twelfth possible implementation of the first aspect, a boss is disposed in the fiber management region of the connection structure, and is configured to wind the optical fiber to implement optical fiber storage.

In some examples, an optical cable connection box is provided, including the foregoing connection structure and a protection sleeve. The protection sleeve is sleeved on the connection structure.

According to the optical cable connection box provided in this application, the fiber routing path passing through the connection structure in the splicing region and the connection structure in the fiber management region is disposed in the connection structure, so that a redundant optical fiber can be transferred from the original splicing region to the fiber management region for storage. In this way, space of the connection structure can be effectively used, thereby reducing space occupied by the connection structure. In addition, instead of a flip structure, the protection sleeve is sleeved on the connection structure, thereby reducing space occupied by the optical cable connection box.

In some examples, the protection sleeve includes a first protection sleeve and a second protection sleeve. The first protection sleeve is sleeved on one end of the connection structure, and the second protection sleeve is sleeved on the other end of the connection structure and is screwed to the first protection sleeve, which facilitates disassembly and assembly of the optical cable connection box.

Generally, an axial direction means a direction along a rotating central axis of a cylinder-like object, that is, a direction the same as the central axis; and a circumferential direction means a direction circling a central axis.

Referring to <FIG>, and <FIG>, an optical cable connection box <NUM> includes a connection structure <NUM> and a protection sleeve <NUM> sleeved on the connection structure <NUM>, to implement a protection function on different optical cables (<NUM> and <NUM> shown in <FIG>) after being connected to each other. The optical cable connection box <NUM> is configured to implement connection between single-core optical cables. The protection sleeve <NUM> includes a first protection sleeve <NUM> and a second protection sleeve <NUM>. The first protection sleeve <NUM> is sleeved on one end of the connection structure <NUM>, and the second protection sleeve <NUM> is sleeved on the other end of the connection structure <NUM> and is screwed to the first protection sleeve <NUM>, which facilitates disassembly and assembly of the optical cable connection box <NUM>. Because the first protection sleeve <NUM> and the second protection sleeve <NUM> are a sleeve structure instead of a conventional flip structure, space occupied by the optical cable connection box <NUM> is reduced. It may be understood that the first protection sleeve <NUM> and the second protection sleeve <NUM> are not limited to be screwed to each other, and the first protection sleeve <NUM> and the second protection sleeve <NUM> may also be connected in another manner, for example, through clamping. A structure of the protection sleeve <NUM> is not limited. For example, the protection sleeve <NUM> may alternatively be an entire sleeve.

Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, the connection structure <NUM> includes a splicing region <NUM> and a fiber management region <NUM> that are disposed with a distance therebetween along a circumferential direction of the connection structure <NUM>. In other words, the splicing region <NUM> and the fiber management region <NUM> are located on different planes. The splicing region <NUM> is used to splice optical fibers in different optical cables by using a splicing device, to implement connection between the different optical cables. The fiber management region <NUM> is used to store redundant optical fibers of the optical cables. A side that is of the connection structure <NUM> and on which the splicing region <NUM> is disposed is referred to as a front side, and a side that is of the connection structure <NUM> and on which the fiber management region <NUM> is disposed is referred to as a back side. In other words, the splicing region <NUM> is disposed on the front side of the connection structure <NUM>, and the fiber management region <NUM> is disposed on the back side of the connection structure <NUM>. It may be understood that, it is not limited that the splicing region <NUM> is disposed on the front side of the connection structure <NUM>, and it is not limited that the fiber management region <NUM> is disposed on the back side of the connection structure <NUM>. The splicing region <NUM> and the fiber management region <NUM> only need to be located on different planes.

The connection structure <NUM> further includes a fiber routing path <NUM> passing through the connection structure <NUM> in the splicing region <NUM> and the connection structure <NUM> in the fiber management region <NUM>, so that an optical fiber can extend into the fiber management region <NUM> for storage through the fiber routing path <NUM> from the splicing region <NUM>. The splicing region <NUM> and the fiber management region <NUM> are disposed with a distance therebetween along a circumferential direction of the connection structure <NUM>. In this way, the splicing region <NUM> and the fiber management region <NUM> are located on different planes, so that optical fiber splicing and storage are not performed in a same region. Therefore, space of the connection structure <NUM> can be effectively used, and the connection structure <NUM> has a compact structure, thereby reducing a volume of the connection structure <NUM>. In addition, optical fiber splicing and optical fiber storage are separated in the connection structure <NUM> according to functional regions, which facilitates work of an operator, thereby improving optical cable connection efficiency.

The fiber routing path <NUM> is disposed in a groove on an outer sidewall of the connection structure <NUM>, to facilitate extension of the optical fiber. A first positioning plate <NUM> and a second positioning plate <NUM> protrude from a sidewall of the fiber routing path <NUM>. The first positioning plate <NUM> and the second positioning plate <NUM> are disposed opposite each other, to prevent the optical fiber from coming out of the fiber routing path <NUM> and protect the optical fiber. A groove <NUM> is formed between the first positioning plate <NUM> and the second positioning plate <NUM>, to facilitate the optical fiber to enter the fiber routing path <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG> again, a depression <NUM> is disposed in the splicing region <NUM> of the connection structure <NUM>. The depression <NUM> includes a bottom wall <NUM> and two sidewalls <NUM>. The bottom wall <NUM> is connected between the two sidewalls <NUM>. A cable leading-in path <NUM> is further disposed in the connection structure <NUM>. The cable leading-in path <NUM> passes through the sidewalls of the depression <NUM>. The cable leading-in path <NUM> is located at an end of the connection structure <NUM>. The cable leading-in path <NUM> is coaxially disposed with the connection structure <NUM>, to dispose the optical cable. The cable leading-in path <NUM> is coaxially disposed with the connection structure <NUM>. In other words, a central axis of the cable leading-in path <NUM> overlaps a central axis of the connection structure <NUM>. In this way, a central axis of the optical cable passing through the cable leading-in path <NUM>, the central axis of the cable leading-in path <NUM>, and the central axis of the connection structure <NUM> can be overlapped, thereby improving transmission quality of an optical signal.

The connection structure <NUM> further includes a cabling path <NUM>. The cabling path <NUM> is disposed in a groove on the bottom wall of the depression <NUM> close to the cable leading-in path <NUM>. The cabling path <NUM> is connected to the fiber routing path <NUM>. In this way, smooth cabling is implemented on the optical fiber, and a risk that the optical fiber is broken due to bending is reduced, thereby reducing a risk of a sudden change to an optical signal transmitted over the optical fiber.

A stop portion <NUM> protrudes from a sidewall of the cable leading-in path <NUM> close to the depression <NUM>, and is used to abut against the optical cable. For connection, an outer layer of the optical cable is partially stripped to expose the optical fiber. In this way, a stripping stop portion is formed on the optical cable. The stop portion <NUM> is configured to abut against the stripping stop portion of the optical cable, to avoid forward movement of the optical cable, thereby improving connection reliability of the optical cable.

Referring to <FIG> again, a boss <NUM> is disposed in the fiber management region <NUM> of the connection structure <NUM>, and is configured to wind the optical fiber to implement optical fiber storage.

More specifically, referring to <FIG> again, the connection structure <NUM> includes an inner support container <NUM>, a clamping apparatus <NUM>, a fastener <NUM>, a sealing kit <NUM>, and a compression apparatus <NUM>.

The splicing region <NUM>, the fiber management region <NUM>, the fiber routing path <NUM>, and the cable leading-in path <NUM> are all disposed on the inner support container <NUM>. The inner support container <NUM> is approximately a cylinder-like structure. A central axis of the inner support container <NUM> is the central axis of the connection structure <NUM>.

The clamping apparatus <NUM> is disposed on the bottom wall <NUM> of the depression <NUM>. A clamping groove <NUM> (shown in <FIG>) is disposed in the clamping apparatus <NUM> to clamp a splicing protection sleeve sleeved on the optical fiber. The clamping apparatus <NUM> is an elastic apparatus. Each clamping apparatus <NUM> includes two elastic arms <NUM>. The two elastic arms <NUM> are disposed with a distance therebetween to form the clamping groove <NUM>, to elastically clamp the splicing protection sleeve sleeved on the optical fiber. There are two clamping apparatuses <NUM>. The two clamping apparatuses <NUM> are disposed with a distance therebetween to form a splicing card connector region <NUM>, to facilitate optical fiber splicing. The clamping groove <NUM> is disposed along an axial direction of the connection structure <NUM>. It may be understood that a structure of the clamping apparatus <NUM> and a quantity of clamping apparatuses <NUM> are not limited, and the clamping apparatus <NUM> may be another elastic structure provided that the clamping apparatus <NUM> can clamp the splicing protection sleeve sleeved on the optical fiber. It may be understood that there may alternatively be more than two elastic arms <NUM> provided that the elastic arms <NUM> can clamp the splicing protection sleeve.

A plurality of clamping jaws <NUM> (shown in <FIG>) are further disposed at an end of the inner support container <NUM> along a circumferential direction of the inner support container <NUM>. The fastener <NUM> fixedly passes through the end of the inner support container <NUM>. The clamping jaws <NUM> clamp the fastener <NUM>. The fastener <NUM> is provided with a guide path <NUM> (shown in <FIG>). The guide path <NUM> is coaxially disposed with and connected to the cable leading-in path <NUM>. The guide path <NUM> is used to fasten the optical cable.

An accommodating portion <NUM> (shown in <FIG>) is disposed in a groove on the sidewall of the cable leading-in path <NUM>. The stop portion <NUM> is located between the accommodating portion <NUM> and the depression <NUM>. The compression apparatus <NUM> is accommodated in the accommodating portion <NUM> and fixed on the sidewall of the cable leading-in path <NUM>. The compression apparatus <NUM> is configured to abut the optical cable passing through the cable leading-in path <NUM> to compress the optical cable, thereby improving stability of the optical cable fastened to the inner support container <NUM>.

The compression apparatus <NUM> includes a compression block <NUM> and an adjustment component <NUM>. The compression block <NUM> is accommodated in the accommodating portion <NUM>. An adjustment hole <NUM> is disposed through the compression block <NUM>. The adjustment component <NUM> passes through the adjustment hole <NUM> of the compression block <NUM>. One end of the adjustment component <NUM> away from the compression block <NUM> is configured to abut the optical cable to compress the optical cable, thereby improving stability of the optical cable fastened to the inner support container <NUM>. The adjustment component <NUM> may adjust, by using the compression block <NUM> and the accommodating portion <NUM>, a tightening degree of abutting the optical cable, to accommodate optical cables with different shapes, for example, round or flat cables. The adjustment hole <NUM> is a threaded hole, and the adjustment component <NUM> is a threaded component. It may be understood that, it is not limited that the adjustment hole <NUM> is a threaded hole, and it is not limited that the adjustment component <NUM> is a threaded component, provided that the adjustment component <NUM> can adjust, by using the adjustment hole <NUM>, the tightening degree of abutting the optical cable.

There are four fiber routing paths <NUM>. The four fiber routing paths <NUM> are approximately disposed in four corners of the bottom wall <NUM> of the depression <NUM>. It may be understood that a quantity of fiber routing paths <NUM> is not limited. For example, the quantity of fiber routing paths <NUM> may alternatively be one, two, three, or five.

In an application scenario, a first optical cable <NUM> fixedly passes through the cable leading-in path <NUM> at an end of the connection structure <NUM>, an optical fiber exposed when an outer layer of the first optical cable <NUM> is removed enters the splicing region <NUM> through the cable leading-in path <NUM>, extends to the depression <NUM> through the cabling path <NUM>, and enters the fiber management region <NUM> through the fiber routing path <NUM> for storage. Similarly, a second optical cable <NUM> fixedly passes through the cable leading-in path <NUM> at the other end of the connection structure <NUM>, an optical fiber exposed when an outer layer of the second optical cable <NUM> is removed enters the splicing region <NUM> through the the cable leading-in path <NUM>, extends to the depression <NUM> through the the cabling path <NUM>, and enters the fiber management region <NUM> through the fiber routing path <NUM> for storage. After fiber management is completed, optical fiber directions of the optical fibers of the first optical cable <NUM> and the second optical cable <NUM> are guided to an axial direction through the fiber routing path <NUM> and the cabling path <NUM>, that is, an optical cable leading-in direction. The optical fibers of the first optical cable <NUM> and the second optical cable <NUM> are connected by using the splicing protection sleeve. In addition, the optical fiber of the first optical cable and the optical fiber of the second optical cable are spliced by using a splicing device, so that the first optical cable <NUM> and the second optical cable <NUM> are connected and enter the clamping groove.

It may be understood that the optical cable connection box <NUM> may be alternatively configured to implement connection between multi-core optical cables.

It may be understood that the connection structure <NUM> may be an integrated structure.

Referring to <FIG>, <FIG>, a connection structure <NUM> is provided being roughly the same as the connection structure illustrated in <FIG>, and <FIG>. For example, the connection structure <NUM> includes a splicing region <NUM> and a fiber management region <NUM> that are disposed with a distance therebetween along a circumferential direction of the connection structure <NUM>. A fiber routing path <NUM> passes through the connection structure <NUM> in the splicing region <NUM> and the connection structure <NUM> in the fiber management region <NUM>. A depression <NUM> is disposed in the splicing region <NUM> on the connection structure <NUM>. A cable leading-in path <NUM> passing through sidewalls of the depression <NUM> is disposed on the connection structure <NUM>. A difference between the two connection structures is that a clamping apparatus <NUM> is a boss structure disposed on a bottom wall of the depression <NUM>, and a clamping groove <NUM> is disposed on the clamping apparatus <NUM>. A sidewall <NUM> of the depression <NUM> includes a cushion surface <NUM>. The cushion surface <NUM> is an arc surface protruding to an interior of the depression <NUM>, and is used to cushion a bending angle of the optical fiber to prevent a sudden change to an optical signal.

Claim 1:
A connection structure (<NUM>), comprising a splicing region (<NUM>) and a fiber management region (<NUM>) that are disposed with a distance therebetween along a circumferential direction of the connection structure, wherein the connection structure is a cylinder-like object and the circumferential direction is a direction circling a central axis of the connection structure, wherein the splicing region is usable to splice optical fibers in different optical cables by using a splicing device to implement connection between the different optical cables and wherein the fiber management region is configured to store redundant optical fibers of the optical cables, wherein a fiber routing path (<NUM>) passing through the connection structure in the splicing region and the connection structure in the fiber management region is further disposed in the connection structure, so that an optical fiber extends into the fiber management region for storage through the fiber routing path from the splicing region, and wherein the fiber routing path is disposed in a groove on an outer sidewall of the connection structure,
characterized in that
a first positioning plate (<NUM>) and a second positioning plate (<NUM>) protrude from a sidewall of the fiber routing path, the first positioning plate and the second positioning plate are disposed opposite each other, to prevent the optical fiber from coming out of the fiber routing path (<NUM>) and protect the optical fiber, and an entering groove (<NUM>) is formed between the first positioning plate and the second positioning plate, in order to facilitate the optical fiber to enter the fiber routing path (<NUM>).