CN215264147U - Housing and fusion cassette with reduced depth - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a fiber optic distribution housing comprising a right side wall, a left side wall, and a mounting member on each of the side walls, the mounting member configured to be secured to a rack alongside each of the side walls with at least one tray disposed between the right side wall and the left side wall, the at least one tray configured to receive at least one cassette, wherein the at least one cassette has a right back opening and a left back opening configured to independently receive at least one incoming fiber optic cable into the at least one cassette. The fiber optic distribution housing and cassette of the present disclosure are configured in a side-to-side cable winding arrangement that allows cables to be concentrated in a side space outside the fiber optic distribution housing, thus saving the volume of the fiber optic distribution housing and efficiently utilizing the space around the outside of the fiber optic distribution housing.

Description

Housing and fusion cassette with reduced depth

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to fiber optic distribution housings, and more particularly to techniques for utilizing fiber optic cable side-winding to efficiently utilize space outside the perimeter of the fiber optic distribution housing and to conserve fiber optic distribution housing size.

Background

Fiber distribution systems are often used in data centers and communication networks for fiber distribution, storage, and protective connections between fibers. With the popularization of communication networks, more optical fiber hardware equipment is needed to meet the communication requirements; however, due to the limited space in data centers, there is a need for a fiber distribution housing that is space efficient and optimized for space utilization.

Conventional fiber optic distribution housings route (routing) fiber optic cables within the interior, such as at an upper or lower level within the fiber optic distribution housing. This conventional winding scheme requires space on the fiber distribution housing itself, and therefore the housing is large in size. For example, in some prior art fiber distribution enclosures having a capacity of 576 optical fibers, a rack unit (U or RU, where 1U equals 1.75 inches or 44.45mm) height is required, while the internal space for cable routing occupies at least 1U of the enclosure height. As such, conventional fiber distribution housing designs do not efficiently utilize the external space around the housing. In some other examples, the fiber distribution housing is placed in a cabinet to protect equipment; however, there is still much excess space between the fiber distribution housing and the cabinet that is not utilized. Accordingly, there is a need for an arrangement that more efficiently utilizes the external ambient space of a fiber distribution housing.

In addition, because of the large number of optical fibers in a data center, which creates a problem in optical fiber distribution management, there is also a need for a solution that can effectively and conveniently manage optical fibers.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

The present disclosure relates to a lateral fiber or cable winding scheme that allows a fiber distribution housing to efficiently utilize the external space around the housing, thereby saving housing size and increasing fiber density within the housing. For example, in a fiber distribution housing having a capacity of 576 optical fibers, the lateral winding scheme of the present disclosure can be utilized to reduce the height of the fiber distribution housing to 6U or less and the depth of the fiber distribution housing to 300mm or less. In addition, the fiber distribution housing of the present disclosure utilizes a layered winding arrangement that allows for orderly management of the optical fibers or cables.

Specifically, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, a fiber optic distribution housing is provided that includes a right side wall, a left side wall, and a mounting member on each of the side walls configured to be secured to a rack alongside each of the side walls, wherein at least one carrier tray is disposed between the right side wall and the left side wall, the at least one carrier tray configured to receive at least one cassette, and the at least one cassette has a right back opening and a left back opening configured to independently receive at least one incoming fiber optic cable into the at least one cassette.

In some embodiments, the at least one cassette has a splice tray configured to be removable from the at least one cassette.

In some embodiments, at least one of the right side wall and the left side wall includes one or more retention features at a rear end thereof configured to wrap the at least one incoming fiber optic cable into the fiber distribution housing.

In some embodiments, a fastener is applied to secure the at least one incoming fiber optic cable to the at least one cassette.

In some embodiments, the sidewall includes one or more perforations configured through a fastener to secure the at least one incoming fiber optic cable along the sidewall.

In some embodiments, the fiber distribution housing has a height of 6 rack units.

In some embodiments, the at least one carrier tray comprises at least 12 layers of carrier trays arranged along a vertical direction of the rack, each carrier tray capable of receiving at least two of the at least one cassette.

In some embodiments, the one or more retention features wire the at least one incoming fiber optic cable in a tiered manner based on each tier of the carrier platter.

In some embodiments, at least one of the right side wall and the left side wall includes one or more routing guides at a front end thereof configured to guide one or more fiber optic cables out of the fiber optic distribution housing.

In some embodiments, the at least one cassette includes a catch on a side thereof configured to secure the at least one cassette to the at least one carrier platter.

Other advantages and configurations of the fiber optic distribution box of the present disclosure are further described in the detailed description below.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings of the embodiments are briefly described below; however, the following drawings are merely exemplary of some embodiments of the invention, and other variations to the embodiments shown in the drawings may be made by those skilled in the art of the invention. Furthermore, the drawings herein are for illustrative purposes only and are not drawn to scale, nor should they be construed as limiting the invention in any way.

Fig. 1 illustrates the exterior of a fiber distribution housing according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 2A shows the exterior of a cassette according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

fig. 2B shows the interior of a cassette according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

fig. 2C shows a schematic view of fiber fusion splicing inside a cassette, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of side winding at the rear end of a fiber distribution housing, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of side winding at the front end of a fiber distribution housing, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like components. The techniques of this disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein.

The term "about" as used herein means that the quantity, size, or other parameters and characteristics need not be exact, but may be approximate and/or larger or smaller as desired: reflecting tolerances, conversion factors, rounding off, measurement error and the like, as well as other factors known to those skilled in the art.

Unless otherwise expressly stated, directional terms as used herein, such as upper, lower, right, left, front, rear, top, bottom, describe relative positions of components with reference to the drawings as drawn, and are not meant to be absolute, nor should they be construed as limiting the scope of the present disclosure.

Reference throughout this specification to "an embodiment" or "some embodiments" means that a feature, structure, or component is included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Thus, the appearances of the phrases "in an embodiment" or "in some embodiments" in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or components may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

It will also be understood that the terms "first," "second," "third," and the like may be used herein to describe various components, but these components should not be limited by the terms "first," "second," "third," and the like.

As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to "a" component can include two or more such components.

The words "example," "illustration," or various forms thereof are used herein to mean an example or instance. Configurations described herein as "exemplary" or "schematic" should not be construed as preferred or advantageous over other configurations or designs. Moreover, the examples provided herein are merely for clarity and ease of understanding and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way. The techniques disclosed herein may be embodied in other or alternative examples, but have been omitted for the sake of brevity.

Fig. 1 illustrates the exterior of a fiber distribution housing 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The fiber distribution housing 100 includes a top cover 109, a bottom cover 111, left and right side walls 108, and the fiber distribution housing 100 may include front and rear doors 102 and 122, respectively, on the front and rear sides, where the front and rear doors 102 and 122 may be removable or openable or closable via rotation of the hinge 104 as in the embodiment of fig. 1. When the front door 102 or the rear door 122 is closed, the front door 102 or the rear door 122 may be fixed through the door latch 106. According to the embodiment of FIG. 1, the fiber distribution housing 100 has a width W, a depth D, and a height H.

The left and right sidewalls 108 of the fiber distribution housing 100 each include one or more mounting members 114, and the mounting members 114 may be mounted to the rack via screws or other fasteners. The sidewall 108 further includes perforations 110 for cable routing, retention features 112, and routing guides 116; details regarding rack mounting and cable routing are further described below with respect to fig. 3-4.

The fiber distribution housing 100 also includes at least one carrier tray 118, each carrier tray 118 having a rail guide 120 thereon to allow the cassettes 200 (see fig. 2A-2C below) to slide on the rail guides 120. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the fiber distribution housing 100 includes 12 layers of carrier trays 118, wherein each layer of carrier tray 118 is capable of receiving two cassettes; however, in other embodiments, the number of trays 118 and the cassette capacity may be modified as desired.

Fig. 2A illustrates an appearance of a cassette 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Specifically, the embodiment of fig. 2A shows a cassette that supports LC duplex fusion of 24 fibers. The cassette 200 includes a cover plate 202, wherein screws 207 may be locked into threaded holes 209 (see fig. 2B) of the cassette 200 to secure the cover plate 202 to the base of the cassette 200. The cassette 200 also includes rails 203 extending along its sides, wherein the rails 203 are capable of engaging the rail guides 120 on the carrier plate 118 such that the cassette 200 can slide in and out of the carrier plate 118. The catch 206 extends along the track 203 of the cassette 200, wherein the catch 206 comprises a plunger 206a and a retaining clip 206 b. When the cartridge 200 is slid into place on the carrier plate 118, the retaining clips 206b can engage with grooves (not shown) on the rail guides 120 of the carrier plate 118 to retain the cartridge 200. When it is desired to remove the cartridge 200 from the carrier tray 118, the user can remove the cartridge 200 by pressing the pressing rod 206a of the lock catch 206 to separate the retaining clip 206b from the rail guide 120. In some embodiments, the surface of the plunger 206a may be textured to facilitate gripping or pressing by a user.

Fig. 2B illustrates an internal schematic view of the cassette 200, according to an embodiment of the disclosure. The front end of the cassette 200 is provided with an adapter 204, where the adapter 204 may be an LC adapter or other fiber optic adapter used in the industry, such as an SC or ST adapter. The base of the cartridge 200 is provided with slots 205 that engage corresponding ears on either side of the adapter 204, such that removal or installation of the adapter 204 in the cartridge 200 may be performed. In the embodiment of fig. 2A-2C, 6 adapters 204 can be installed in each cassette 200, and each adapter 204 supports the docking of 4 fibers; in this manner, each cassette 200 can support 24 optical fibers. Those skilled in the art can vary the type and number of adapters 204 depending on the actual requirements.

Back openings 208a, 208b are provided at both sides of the rear end of the cassette 200, respectively, to allow cables to enter the cassette from the back openings 208a, 208 b. Since the back openings 208a, 208b are disposed near both sides of the cassette 200, the optical cables passing through the back openings 208a, 208b can enter the cassette 200 along the side walls of the cassette 200, so that there is more space inside the cassette 200 for optical fiber management or winding. The back openings 208a, 208b may be provided with outwardly projecting anchors 210 to allow a user to secure the fiber optic cables to the anchors 210 using fasteners, such as cable tie 218, cable ties, or other fasteners (fig. 2C). The cassette 200 is provided with one or more tabs 214 and slots 212 inside, wherein the tabs 214 are used for fiber management and the slots 212 are used for installing or removing splice trays 224 (fig. 2C) to enable splicing (splicing) of the fibers inside the cassette 200.

Fig. 2C shows a schematic diagram of optical fibers being fusion spliced inside the cassette 200 to connect two or more optical fibers together, according to an embodiment of the disclosure. As shown in fig. 2C, the fiber optic cables 216 enter the cassette 200 from the back opening 208b and the fiber optic cables 216 are bundled on the holder 210 using a cable tie 218. The fusion splice tray 224 is mounted into the receptacle 212, wherein the fusion splice tray 224 includes a plurality of upwardly projecting retention features that allow optical fibers to be positioned in the spaces between the retention features of the fusion splice tray 224 for securement. As such, the plurality of optical fibers 220 in the fiber optic cable 216 are fusion spliced to the optical fibers 222 at the splice tray 224 such that the plurality of optical fibers 220 in the fiber optic cable 216 are spliced to the adapter 204. A plurality of tabs 214 within the cassette 200 may assist in fiber routing or fiber management to guide the fibers 220, 222 onto the splice tray 224.

For clarity, fig. 2C shows only cable 216 as including four optical fibers 220 as an illustration, but in practice cable 216 may contain other numbers of optical fibers 220. Furthermore, although fig. 2C only shows one cable 216 entering the cassette 200, one skilled in the art may pass more cables 216 through the back opening 208a or 208b depending on the actual needs; for example, there may be multiple cables 216 entering the same back opening 208a, multiple cables 216 entering the same back opening 208b, or one or more cables entering the back openings 208a, 208b, respectively. On the other hand, although fig. 2C shows only 4 optical fibers as an illustration, one skilled in the art can perform other numbers of optical fibers, such as 24 optical fibers, in the cassette 200 according to the manner shown in fig. 2C.

Fig. 3 shows a schematic diagram of the fiber distribution housing 100 rear end with lateral winding of the fiber optic cable according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The side wall 108 of the fiber distribution housing 100 is provided with perforations 110, wherein the perforations 110 protrude from the side wall 108 to form a ring-like hole in the side wall 108 to allow a cable tie 302 to pass through the perforations 110 to secure a cable bundle 304 to the side wall 108. In the embodiment of FIG. 3, perforations 110 are arranged in parallel in pairs with cable bundle 304 disposed in the middle of a pair of perforations 110 and secured on both sides of cable bundle 304 with cable ties 302. FIG. 3 shows four lacing strips 302 attached to four pairs of perforations 110, wherein each pair of perforations 110 is staggered on the side wall 108 for ease of bundling, so as to avoid obstructing adjacent perforations 110 when secured by the lacing strips 302. In some variations, the number of punctures 110 may be increased or decreased as desired, and the punctures 110 need not be arranged in pairs; for example, only one perforation 110 may be used to secure one cable bundle 304.

The cable tie 302 may be a nylon or plastic cable tie as is conventional in the art; for example, the cable tie 302 may have a rack on one surface and a hole at one end, the hole having a detent on an inner surface that engages the rack of the cable tie to secure the cable tie. However, the cable tie 302 is not limited to nylon or plastic cable tie; those skilled in the art may use any suitable other fasteners to secure fiber optic cable bundle 304 to side wall 108 depending on the actual needs, such as, but not limited to: a drawstring, tape, or a clamp.

The cable bundle 304 is jacketed with one or more cables 216. Although the embodiment of FIG. 3 shows cable bundle 304 secured to perforation 110, in some other embodiments, one or more cables 216 may be secured directly to perforation 110. Further, for clarity, FIG. 3 shows one fiber optic cable bundle 304 containing four fiber optic cables 216, although it should be noted that fiber optic cable bundle 304 may actually contain other numbers of fiber optic cables 216.

After securing the fiber optic cable bundle 304 or the fiber optic cables 216 to the perforations 110 in the side walls 108, the fiber optic cables 216 may be guided into the fiber optic distribution housing 100 by the retention features 112 on the side walls 108. In the embodiment of fig. 3, the retention feature 112 is a hook-shaped structure cut out of the side wall 108 that may be used to retain the optical cable 216. The retention feature 112 may have a rounded surface or edge to avoid scratching the fiber optic cable 216. Rather than hooks, the retention features 112 may be provided in any other suitable shape; for example, in some variations, the retention feature 112 is configured as a circular hole for the fiber optic cable 216 to pass therethrough. Moreover, in some other variations, the fiber optic cable 216 may pass directly through the retention feature 112 without passing through the perforations 110 in the sidewall 108.

In the embodiment of FIG. 3, the left and right sidewalls 108 of the fiber distribution housing 100 each include twelve retaining features 112, each retaining feature 112 corresponding to a position of each layer of carrier tray 118, such that one retaining feature 112 is provided on each of the left and right sides of each layer of carrier tray 118. This arrangement allows for hierarchical management of the cables, which is particularly advantageous in applications where the number of cables is large.

By way of illustration, FIG. 3 shows two cables 216 passing through each retention feature 112, but one skilled in the art may wind other numbers of cables 216 onto each retention feature 112 as desired; for example, one or three fiber optic cables 216 may be wound around the same retention feature 112.

The fiber optic cable 216 passes through the retention feature 112 at the rear end of the side wall 108 and then into the fiber distribution housing 100 via the back opening 208a or the back opening 208b of the cassette 200 (see description of fig. 2A-2C above). As shown in fig. 3, the fiber optic cables 216 enter into at least one of the back openings 208a or 208b of the cassettes 200 along the horizontal direction of each layer of carrier trays 118. Fig. 3 shows only four cassettes 200 installed in the fiber distribution housing 100, but those skilled in the art can install more cassettes 200 in the fiber distribution housing 100 according to actual needs.

As can be seen from the above description with respect to fig. 3, the perforations 110 and retention features 112 of the fiber optic distribution housing 100 facilitate lateral routing of the fiber optic cables, helping to concentrate the fiber optic cables 216 in the external lateral space of the fiber optic distribution housing 100. This arrangement saves winding space inside a conventional fiber distribution housing and more efficiently utilizes excess space outside the fiber distribution housing. The same arrangement can be made for both the left and right sidewalls 108 of the fiber distribution housing 100.

Fig. 4 shows a schematic view of the fiber distribution housing 100 of fig. 1 secured to a rack 400 and wound on the front side, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 4, the mounting members 114 of the fiber distribution housing 100 are attached to the rack 400 to secure the fiber distribution housing 100. Furthermore, as previously described with respect to fig. 1-2C, a user may insert the cassette 200 into the carrier tray 118 from the front of the fiber distribution housing 100; since the fiber optic distribution housing 100 in the embodiment of fig. 4 includes 12 levels of trays 118 and each tray 118 is capable of accommodating at least two cassettes 200, at least 24 cassettes 200 may be installed in the fiber optic distribution housing 100, while fig. 4 shows only 4 cassettes 200 as an illustration. In addition, as previously described with respect to fig. 2A-2C, each cassette 200 can support 24 optical fibers, so that a total of 576 optical fibers or cables 402 can be accessed from the front side of the fiber distribution housing 100 shown in fig. 4. The fiber distribution housing 100 has 6 winding guides 116 on each of the two side walls 108 of the rack 400. After the fiber optic cables 402 are routed from the adapters 204, the fiber optic cables 402 may be routed through the two side winding guides 116 to space laterally of the fiber distribution housing 100. The winding guide 116 may be rotatable on the side wall 108 to provide an angle that facilitates cable winding. This lateral routing arrangement of the routing guide 116 saves routing space inside the fiber distribution housing 100 and makes efficient use of excess space outside the fiber distribution housing 100.

In some variations, one skilled in the art may vary the number of wire guide members 116 provided on each side wall 108 as desired. For example, 12 winding guides 116 may be provided on each side wall 108 depending on the longitudinal position of each layer of carrier tray 118, such that winding guides 116 are provided on both sides of each layer of carrier tray 118.

The techniques of the present disclosure enable higher fiber densities inside fiber distribution housings. In one example, the fiber distribution housing 100 of fig. 1 can accommodate 576 optical fibers in a fiber distribution housing having a width (W), a depth (D), and a height (H) of about 440mm, 300mm, 6U, or less, respectively.

The above described embodiments are for illustrative purposes only and do not limit the scope of the present invention. Various modifications and changes may be made to the embodiments of the present disclosure by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The present disclosure encompasses such modifications and variations.

Claims (10)

1. A fiber optic distribution housing comprising a right side wall, a left side wall, and a mounting member on each of the side walls, the mounting member configured to be secured to a rack beside each of the side walls, wherein:

at least one carrier tray disposed between the right side wall and the left side wall, the at least one carrier tray configured to receive at least one cassette,

wherein the at least one cassette has a right back opening and a left back opening configured to independently receive at least one incoming fiber optic cable into the at least one cassette.

2. The fiber optic distribution housing of claim 1, wherein the at least one cassette has a splice tray configured to be removable from the at least one cassette.

3. The fiber optic distribution housing of claim 1, wherein at least one of the right side wall and the left side wall includes one or more retention features at a rear end thereof, the one or more retention features configured to wrap the at least one incoming fiber optic cable into the fiber optic distribution housing.

4. The fiber optic distribution housing of claim 1, wherein a fastener is applied to secure the at least one incoming fiber optic cable to the at least one cassette.

5. The fiber optic distribution housing of claim 1, wherein the sidewall includes one or more perforations configured through a fastener to secure the at least one incoming fiber optic cable along the sidewall.

6. The fiber optic distribution housing of claim 1, wherein the fiber optic distribution housing has a height of 6 rack units.

7. The fiber optic distribution housing of claim 3, wherein the at least one tray comprises at least 12 layers of trays arranged along a vertical direction of the rack, each tray capable of receiving at least two of the at least one cassette.

8. The fiber optic distribution housing of claim 7, wherein the one or more retention features wire the at least one incoming fiber optic cable in a tiered manner on a per-layer basis of the carrier tray.

9. The fiber optic distribution housing of claim 1, wherein at least one of the right side wall and the left side wall includes one or more routing guides at a front end thereof configured to guide one or more fiber optic cables out of the fiber optic distribution housing.

10. The fiber optic distribution housing of claim 1, wherein the at least one cassette includes a catch on a side thereof configured to secure the at least one cassette to the at least one carrier tray.

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