Patent ID: 12235500

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals represent like parts and assemblies throughout the several views. Reference to various embodiments does not limit the scope of the invention, which is limited only by the scope of the claims attached hereto. Additionally, any examples set forth in this specification are not intended to be limiting and merely set forth some of the many possible embodiments for the claimed invention.

Referring toFIGS.1-2, a telecommunications closure10extends along a longitudinal axis12between a proximal end14and a distal end16. The closure10extends along a transverse axis18between a first side20and a second side22. The closure10extends along a vertical axis24between a top26and a bottom28. The axes12,18and24are mutually perpendicular, with the axes12and18defining a horizontal plane.

As used herein, terms such as proximal, distal, top, bottom, upper, lower, vertical, horizontal and so forth will be used with reference to the axes12,18, and24ofFIG.1and in relating the positions of one component to another with respect to the full closure assembly ofFIG.1. These relative terms are for ease of description only, and do not limit how the closure10or any individual component or combination of components, may be oriented in practice.

The closure10includes a first upper housing piece30and a second lower housing piece32that cooperate (e.g., with hinges, clamps, etc.) to form a sealable and re-enterable closure volume40. A perimeter seal element31forms a seal about three sides of the closure volume40when the closure10is in a sealed and closed configuration.

The closure volume40is configured to house a cable organizer34. An internal portion (not shown inFIGS.1-2) of the cable organizer34is positioned within the closure volume40. An external portion35of the cable organizer34is positioned exterior to the closure volume40, with the cable organizer34extending through a proximally positioned opening36defined between the proximal ends of the first and second housing pieces30and32. Cables enter the closure volume40via the opening36and the sealed cable ports defined by the internal portion of the cable organizer34.

The cable organizer34is configured to accommodate relatively thick cables (such as feeder cables and branch cables) entering the closure10via a lower region38of the cable organizer34, and relatively thin cables (such as drop cables) entering the closure via an upper region42of the cable organizer34.

Referring now toFIGS.3-12, a cable organizer (or organizer)100in accordance with the present disclosure will be described. The cable organizer100can cooperate with housing pieces of a closure such as described above. For example, the cable organizer100can cooperate with the housing pieces30,32as described above with respect toFIGS.1and2, an internal portion of the organizer being positioned in the closure volume40. Other than at the proximal side, the housing pieces30-32do not form another opening to the outside of the closure.

The organizer100extends along a longitudinal axis102from a proximal end103to a distal end104, along a transverse axis106from a first side108to a second side110, and along a vertical axis112from a top114to a bottom116. The axes102,106and112are mutually perpendicular, with the axes102and106defining a horizontal plane. The organizer100optionally includes an external portion118(FIG.21) configured to be positioned outside of a closure volume and an internal portion120positioned distally from the external portion118and configured to be positioned within a closure volume. In some examples, the external portion118and the internal portion120of the organizer are of unitary construction. Alternatively, the external portion is constructed separately and attached to the internal portion.

The organizer100is generally divided by one or more panels, walls, or other structures between an upper region122and a lower region124. Some of these panels, walls and other structures form an integrated unit that serves as a main support structure111of the organizer100. In some examples, the internal portion120of the organizer100corresponds to the main support structure or main body111, and the external portion118is coupled to the main body111. The organizer100defines one or more channels180and other guiding structures for guiding optical fibers between the upper and lower regions. The channels180can include clipping interfaces182for mounting sheath clamps of sheaths containing fibers that are being routed between the upper and lower regions (FIG.13) such that an optical fiber from a cable (e.g., a feeder cable or a branch cable) fixed in the lower region can be optically coupled to an optical fiber of a cable (e.g., a drop cable50) fixed at the cable fixation region. In addition, fibers from provider side branch or feeder cables can be connected (e.g., spliced) to subscriber side branch cables, with both provider and subscriber side cables entering the closure and being fixed to the organizer100.

The internal portion120includes in the upper region122a cable fixation portion126, and a fiber management portion128positioned distally from the cable fixation portion126. The internal portion120also includes in the lower region124a cable fixation portion130and a fiber management portion132positioned distally from the cable fixation portion130. The cable fixation portions126and130are generally vertically aligned. The fiber management portions128and132are generally vertically aligned.

The lower fiber management portion132is partially defined by a side wall134and a horizontal downward facing surface136of a panel138, together forming a basket139. The basket139of the lower fiber management portion132can serve as a storage area for looped fiber from the feeder cables or branch cables. The looped fiber can be in the form of loose fibers, loose fibers protected in groups by tubes or sheaths, fiber ribbons, etc. Fibers can be guided from the lower fiber management portion132to the upper fiber management portion via guides and the channels180at the distal end of the organizer100. Once at the upper fiber management portions, the fiber can be further managed, e.g., with splices, connectors and adapters, splitters, wave division multiplexors, etc.

The upper fiber management portion128can also include one or more banks150of fiber optic adapters152. The adapters152can be used to optically connect connectorized drop cables50having connectors52with connectorized fibers54having connectors56terminating the fibers54. In this example, two banks150of adapters152are arranged side by side parallel to the transverse axis106. In other examples, zero or two banks of adapters can be provided aligned with one another parallel to the transverse axis106. Where adapters are not longitudinally aligned with entering cables, non-connectorized drop cables can be fixed in the upper cable fixation portion126and their fibers managed in the upper fiber management portion128. Thus, the upper region of the organizer100can accommodate connectorized drop cables, non-connectorized drop cables, or a combination of connectorized and non-connectorized drop cables. Other cable types and configurations can also be accommodated and managed at the cable fixation portion126. In alternative examples, the adapters, or non-functional receptacles that behave like one-sided adapters, can serve as parking or storage for the connectors52or the connectors56until an active fiber optic connection is needed. The connectors can be any suitable form factor, such as, but not limited to, one or more of LC form factor, SC form factor, and MPO form factor connectors.

The upper cable fixation portion126and the lower cable fixation portion130are separated by a wall154. The wall includes an upward facing horizontal surface156and a downward facing horizontal surface158. The surfaces156and158can support cable fixation assemblies. Example cable fixation assemblies are described in, e.g., International PCT Patent Application No. PCT/US2020/014634 filed Jan. 22, 2020 and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/972,864, filed Feb. 11, 2020, the contents of which applications are fully incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Positioned proximally of the cable fixation portions126and130is a seal region160(FIG.21) of the organizer100. The seal region160includes a plurality of dividers162and164in the upper region122and the lower region124, respectively, of the organizer100. The dividers162define openings166through which connectorized drop cables50or non-connectorized drop cables enter the closure. The dividers164define openings173through which feeder cables, branch cables or the like enter the closure. In the space between rows of dividers there are placed seal blocks174. The seal blocks174form seals around the cables entering the closure. The seal blocks174also serve to seal off the proximal opening of the closure defined between the housing pieces of the closure.

In an example cable configuration, one or two feeder cables enter the lower region124via cable ports at the proximal end of the organizer100and have jacketed portions affixed at the cable fixation portion130. Optical fibers from the one or more feeder cables are stored in loops in the fiber management portion132. In some examples, the optical fibers are held in protective sheaths that are stored in loops in the basket139of the fiber management portion132. Each sheath can hold a plurality of fibers such as, e.g., 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 or more fibers. Portions of the sheaths can be routed to the upper region122via channels180at the rear of the main body111for further fiber management.

In addition, branch cables can enter the lower region124via further ones of the cable ports at the proximal end of the organizer100, with jacketed portions of the branch cables being affixed at the cable fixation portion130. For example, a provider side feeder or branch cable and a subscriber side branch cable can enter the closure at the lower region124. Fibers from the provider side feeder or branch cable can be spliced to fibers of the subscriber side branch cable, with the fibers and splices being managed at the organizer100. In some examples, the optical fibers of the branch cables are held in protective sheaths that are stored in loops in the basket139of the fiber management portion132. Each sheath can hold a plurality of fibers such as, e.g., 4, 6, 8, 10, or 12 or more fibers. Portions of the sheaths can be routed to the upper region122via channels180at the rear of the main body111for further fiber management. The provider side feeder or branch cable can be routed to the closure from, e.g., another closure on the provider side of the network, e.g., larger closure. The subscriber side branch cable can be routed from the closure to another closure on the subscriber side of the network, e.g., a smaller closure, such as a multiport service terminal (MST).

Components and assemblies at the upper region122will now be described. In general terms, these components and assemblies can provide improvements and/or advantages in fiber routing and management capabilities using the organizer100. The capabilities that can be improved can include higher numbers of fibers that can be managed per unit volume of the closure volume of the closure and/or versatility in the types of fiber management that can be performed using a single organizer100of a single closure.

The main body111includes the wall154defining the upper region122above the wall and a lower region124below the wall.

Referring toFIGS.3-14,18,19,28and29, an upper fiber management tray200is a back-to-back tray that is pivotally coupled to the main body111at the upper fiber management portion130. Optionally, the fiber management tray200includes two trays that are coupled to each other back-to-back in a reversible manner. Optionally, the fiber management tray200includes two trays that are permanently affixed to each other back-to-back. Optionally, the fiber management tray200is of a single unitary (e.g., seamless) construction.

Hinging clips202(FIGS.28-29) include resilient pegs204that mechanically snap into holes in the wall190of the main body111and in holes or depressions206of the fiber management tray200. Each hinge clip202includes a flexibly resilient hinge joint208, and a hinge axis or pivot axis210is defined at the hinge clips202about which the tray200can pivot relative to the main body111. InFIGS.3and4the upper tray200is in the pivoted down position, or storage position, about the pivot axis210. InFIGS.8,9and10the upper tray200is in the pivoted up position, or access position. Optionally, when fibers managed on either side of the tray200are not being managed, that side of the tray can be covered with a protective cover, such as the cover212. To perform fiber management, the cover212can be removed and then replaced (e.g. by mechanically snapping it to the tray200) after the fiber management has been performed.

The upper fiber management tray200includes a first fiber management surface214facing a first direction215and a second fiber management surface216facing the opposite direction217of the first direction215. Thus, the first and second surfaces214and216are back to back. A wall218projects from the surface214in the first direction215about at least a portion of an outer perimeter of the fiber management surface214. A wall220projects from the fiber management surface216in the second direction217about at least a portion of the outer perimeter of the second fiber management surface216. Entryways222,224on the front and back sides of the tray200provide fiber access onto the fiber management surfaces214and216, respectively. Fibers, or sheathed fibers, can enter the front or back areas of the tray200via the channels180and the entryways222,224. The entryways222,224can include toothed structures237,239defining clipping interfaces to securely mount fiber sheath couplers241(FIGS.23,26,27) at the respective entryway222,224, e.g., with zip ties243. In the fiber management portion132of the lower region124, looped sheaths of fibers can be tied, e.g., using a zip tie243to a support wall195projecting vertically downward from the wall154. The support wall195can define holes196and or notches197to receive such a zip tie243(FIGS.14,20).

Each of the first and second fiber management surfaces214and216defines structures226for mounting optical fiber splice holders228or other fiber management components (such as splitters, splitter holders wave division multiplexors, etc.) at the first and second fiber management surfaces, respectively. The structures226at the first and second surfaces214and216are structurally identical to each other and include tapered openings and retaining members in the form of cantilever arms. The splice holders mounted at the surfaces214,216can be configured to hold individual fiber to individual fiber splice bodies at a plurality of longitudinally aligned splice body locations and/or multiple fiber to multiple fiber splice bodies (e.g., with fiber ribbons) at a plurality of longitudinally aligned splice body locations. In some examples, the surface214is fitted with single fiber splice body holders, while the surface216is fitted with multi-fiber splice body holders, or vice versa.

Fiber retainers or fingers230,232project parallel to the surfaces214,216(transversely when the tray200is in the pivoted down or storage position) from the walls the218and220to aid in retaining looped fibers at the corresponding surface214,216of the tray200. Optionally, in some example embodiments (FIGS.26-27) additional fiber retainers or fingers250and252can be provided generally centrally, projecting from the surfaces214,216, to retain S-curve routing of fibers at the surfaces214,216. S-curves can be used to switch the routing direction of at least some of the fibers so that fibers that are to be spliced to each other transversely approach the appropriate splice location from opposite directions. At each surface214,216, the retainers250,252can be placed longitudinally between two sets of the optical management component mounting structures226.

The main body111includes a flange192vertically projecting from the wall191which is transversely opposite the wall190that hingedly supports the tray200. The flange192defines an opening193. The back-to-back tray200includes a catch234. The catch234and the opening193opening are configured to mechanically engage each other to lock the tray200in a pivoted down position. The flange192has flexible resilience that allows the catch to be disengaged from the opening193in order to pivot the tray200into the pivoted up or access position about the hinge axis210. The hinge clips202can be configured to resist further pivoting of the tray200beyond a particular angle (e.g., beyond 90 degrees or more from the storage configuration or more). Additional pivot stop mechanisms can be provided to hold the tray200at a desired pivoted up position relative to the main body111.

Referring toFIGS.3-19, the organizer100includes a lower fiber management tray300that is also pivotally coupled to the main body111at the upper fiber management portion128. The tray300includes a wall302dividing a first fiber loop storage basket304defined by the tray300from a second fiber loop storage basket306defined by the tray300. The baskets304and306face opposite directions308and310, respectively. Thus, the tray300is a back-to-back tray. The wall302includes a surface312facing the direction308, and a surface314facing the opposite direction310. Projecting from the surface312in the direction308is a wall316about a portion of an outer perimeter of the surface312. Projecting from the surface314in the direction310is a wall318about a portion of an outer perimeter of the surface314. Projecting from the walls316,318parallel to the surfaces312,314(transversely when the tray300is in the pivoted down or storage position) are fiber retainers or fingers320,322. The surface312, the wall316and the retainers320define the basket304. The surface314, the wall318and the retainers322define the basket306.

Entryways324,326are provided for fibers, or sheathed groups of fibers to be guided onto the respective fiber management surface312,314. The entryways324,326can include guide channels328to which protective sheaths of fiber groups can be secured. In addition to using the entryways324,326to guide fibers on and off the tray300, the entryways324,326can be used to guide fibers from one of the baskets304,306to the other of the baskets304,306.

At the distal end of the tray300are hinge elements (e.g., hinge pins)330that are complementary to hinge elements140of the main body111. The hinge elements330can couple with the hinge elements140to form a hinge332defining a hinge axis or pivot axis334. A pivot stop336can restrict pivoting of the tray300about the hinge axis334beyond a maximum pivot angle (e.g., 90 degrees or more) from the pivot down or storage position of the tray300with respect to the main body111.

When the trays200and300are both in the pivot down or storage positions the trays300and200are vertically stacked one above the other, and the surfaces214,216,312and314are generally all oriented horizontally and generally parallel to one another.

To access the lower tray300, the upper tray200is pivoted up about its hinge axis210in a first pivot direction260. To access the surface314of the lower tray, the lower tray300is then pivoted up about its hinge axis354in a second pivot direction360. Due to the positioning and orientation of the hinge axes210and354, the pivot directions260and360are different. For example, the pivot directions can be offset by 90 degrees, by 180 degrees, or by some other non-zero angle therebetween. In addition the hinge axes210and334are angularly offset from each other by an angle α. The angle α can be, e.g., 90 degrees, 180 degrees, or some angle therebetween. By separating the hinges, the pivot axes, and the pivot directions, organization of the fibers at the fiber organizer100can be improved.

Optionally, the organizer100includes an adapter mounting module400. The module400includes latch arms402configured to releasably catch and lock at openings404defined by the main body111. The module400is configured to mount the adapter banks402and includes a guide channel404. Connectorized optical fibers from the basket306of the tray300can be routed to the adapters152via the guide channel404.

Referring now toFIGS.20-27, example fiber routing configurations using the organizer100will be described.

Referring toFIG.20, feeder (or branch) cables500and502enter the closure and are fixed to cable fixation plate assemblies504positioned at the cable fixation portion130of the lower region124of the main body111. One of the cables500,502can be a provider side cable and the other cable500,502can be a subscriber side cable. The outer jackets of the feeder (or branch) cables502and504have been stripped, exposing sheaths508,510that hold and protect a plurality of loose fibers, e.g., 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 or more fibers per sheath508,510. Most of the sheaths508,510of fibers are stored in loops512in the lower fiber management portion132. Some of the sheaths508,510are routed to the upper region122of the main body111via the channels180.

Referring toFIGS.21-23, one of the sheaths508of fibers and one of the sheaths510of fibers are routed onto the fiber management surface216of the back-to-back tray200and another of the sheaths508of fibers and another of the sheaths510of fibers are routed onto the fiber management surface214of the back-to-back tray200.

In addition, one of the sheaths510of fiber is routed to the basket304of the tray300where it is stored in loops. At the basket304, the sheath510is stripped to expose the fibers (e.g., 12 fibers) held by that sheath.

Those loose fibers520are routed from the basket304to the basket306as shown inFIGS.22and24. Optionally, one or more of the fibers520that are then routed off the basket306below the tray300toward the adapter banks150can be spliced to connectorized pigtails at splices held by a splice holder147mounted to the main body111at the fiber management portion128of the upper region122. Alternatively, one or more of the loose fibers520that are routed off the basket306toward the adapter blocks150are connectorized and not spliced to pigtails that include the connectors52. Either way, the connectorized fibers520or connectorized pigtails that have been spliced to the fibers520are optically connected via the adapters152to fibers of drop cables entering the closure at the upper region122of the organizer100and terminated at connectors56.

Referring toFIG.26, at the surface214of the back-to-back tray200, the sheaths508and510are stripped to expose the fibers530,540, therein. The fibers530are spliced to the fibers540and the splice bodies560are held by splice holders228supported at the surface214. In this manner, optical signals from one of the cables500,502are routed to the other cable500,502via the surface214of the back-to-back tray200.

Referring toFIG.27, at the surface216of the back-to-back tray200, the sheaths508and510are stripped to expose the fibers535,545therein. The fibers535are spliced to the fibers545and the splice bodies565are held by splice holders580supported at the surface216. In this manner, optical signals from one of the cables500,502are routed to the other cable500,502via the surface216of the back-to-back tray200.

The back-to-back nature of the tray200allows the tray200to support a large number of splices, e.g., up to 48 splices or more on either side of the tray, thereby improving the fiber management capacity of the organizer100.

In some examples, one or more splitters supported by the organizer100can split signals from a provider side fiber to a plurality of subscriber side fibers, all of which fibers are routed according to one or more of the routing configurations or portions of routing configurations using the organizer100and described herein.

From the foregoing detailed description, it will be evident that modifications and variations can be made in the devices of the disclosure without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.