EP4500253A1

EP4500253A1 - Optical fiber management tray support frame assembly with exterior fiber routing channel

Info

Publication number: EP4500253A1
Application number: EP23775900.6A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Bart Mattie Claessens; Johan Geens; El Moiz Mohammed Michel Ghammam; Peter Jozef Romain WAETERSCHOOT
Original assignee: Commscope Technologies LLC
Current assignee: Commscope Technologies LLC
Priority date: 2022-03-25
Filing date: 2023-03-23
Publication date: 2025-02-05
Also published as: WO2023183883A1; EP4500253A4

Abstract

A support frame for modules that pivotally mount optical fiber management trays. The frame includes a top member defining a channel for routing optical fibers from one side of the frame to the other side of the frame without entering an interior region defined by the frame. The top member can be configured to easily extend the height of the frame.

Description

OPTICAL FIBER MANAGEMENT TRAY SUPPORT FRAME ASSEMBLY WITH EXTERIOR FIBER ROUTING CHANNEL

Cross-Reference To Related Application

This application is being filed on March 23, 2023, as a PCT International application and claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 63/323,603, filed on March 25, 2022, and claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application No. 63/490,831 filed March 17, 2023, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to improvements in assemblies for organizing optical fibers within a telecommunications closure.

Background

Optical fibers of telecommunications networks are managed at telecommunications equipment located at different network distribution locations. Such telecommunications equipment can include closures, cabinets, shelves, panels and so forth. The equipment typically includes management assemblies to organize, store, route and connect optical fibers within the network. For example, optical fibers from provider side cables can be routed and optically connected to optical fibers of subscriber side cables using such assemblies. The assemblies can include features for supporting optical fiber splices, ferrules, connectors, adapters, splitters, wave divisionmultiplexers and so forth. In addition, the assemblies can include features for storing and protecting optical fibers.

The assemblies can include fiber management trays, which can be used to, e.g., support splices and other fiber management components betw een incoming and outgoing optical fibers that are routed onto the trays. A typical fiber management assembly can include a support structure to which multiple fiber management trays are pivotally mounted in a stack. The pivoting permits access to a desired one of the stack of trays. Summary

In general terms, the present disclosure relates to improvements in support structures and assemblies for optical fiber management trays.

In further general terms, the present disclosure relates to improvements in fiber optic closures and other fiber optic distribution equipment.

In one aspect, the present disclosure relates to a support frame for supporting modules that pivotally mount optical fiber management trays.

In another aspect, the present disclosure relates to improvements in how such frames accommodate different optical fiber routing and optical fiber storage schemes.

In another aspect, the present disclosure relates to improvements in versatility of such optical fiber frames to be adapted for larger or smaller closures and/or more or less fiber management.

In another aspect, the present disclosure relates to improvements in methods of looping and storing optical fibers at such frames.

According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, an assembly for a telecommunications closure, includes: frame members forming a frame, the frame defining an interior of the frame and an exterior of the frame, the interior of the frame defining an optical fiber loop storage volume, the frame extending from a bottom of the frame to a top of the frame along a first axis, and from a left side of the frame to a right side of the frame along a second axis that is perpendicular to the first axis, the frame members including a top frame member positioned at the top of the frame, the top frame member being elongate parallel to the second axis and coupling together other frame members positioned at the left side of the frame and the right side of the frame, the top frame member defining a channel having a curved surface recessed downward from a top of the top frame member, the channel and the surface being configured to guide optical fibers along the surface and through the channel from the left side of the frame to the right side of the frame at the exterior of the frame and over the optical fiber loop storage volume.

In some examples, the first axis is parallel to an elongate dimension of the frame. According to further aspects of the present disclosure, an assembly for a telecommunications closure, includes: frame members forming a frame, the frame extending from a bottom of the frame to a top of the frame along a first axis, and from a left side of the frame to a right side of the frame along a second axis that is perpendicular to the first axis, the frame members including a first top frame member positioned at the top of the frame, the first top frame member being elongate parallel to the second axis and coupling together side frame members positioned at the left side of the frame and the right side of the frame; a second top frame member of identical construction to the first top frame member; and additional side frame members, the second top frame member being configured to: snap connect to the first top frame member at a top of the first top frame member; and snap connect to the additional side frame members to extend the elongate dimension of the frame.

In some examples, the first axis is parallel to an elongate dimension of the frame.

According to further aspects of the present disclosure, a method includes: method, comprising: providing a frame, the frame defining an interior of the frame and an exterior of the frame, the interior of the frame defining an optical fiber loop storage volume, the frame extending from a bottom of the frame to a top of the frame along a first axis, and from a left side of the frame to a right side of the frame along a second axis that is perpendicular to the first axis, the frame including atop frame member positioned at the top of the frame, the top frame member being elongate parallel to the second axis and coupling together other frame members of the frame positioned at the left side of the frame and the right side of the frame; and routing optical fibers from the left side of the frame to the right side of the frame over the optical fiber loop storage volume and through a channel defined by the top frame member.

According to further aspects of the present disclosure, an assembly for a telecommunications closure, includes: frame members forming a frame, the frame defining an interior of the frame and an exterior of the frame, the interior of the frame defining an optical fiber loop storage volume, the frame extending from a bottom of the frame to a top of the frame along a first axis, and from a left side of the frame to a right side of the frame along a second axis that is perpendicular to the first axis; and a basket for storing loops of optical fiber, the basket including a basket body and an engaging portion extending from the basket body, the engaging portion being pivotally engaged with one of the frame members such that when the basket is positioned in the interior of the frame: (i) the one of the frame members contacts the engaging portion to stop the engaging portion from disengaging the top frame member in a first direction; and (ii) the one of the frame members is configured to contact the basket body to stop the engaging portion from disengaging the one of the frame members in a second direction, the second direction being different from the first direction.

A variety of additional inventive aspects will be set forth in the description that follows. The inventive aspects can relate to individual features and to combinations of features. It is to be understood that both the forgoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the broad inventive concepts upon which the examples disclosed herein are based.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The following drawings are illustrative of particular embodiments of the present disclosure and therefore do not limit the scope of the present disclosure. The drawings are not necessarily to scale and are intended for use in conjunction with the explanations in the following detailed description. Embodiments of the present disclosure will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings, wherein like numerals denote like elements.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of example telecommunications equipment that can support an optical fiber management assembly according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a further perspective view of the equipment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an example optical fiber management assembly that can be housed in the closure of claim 1.

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a portion of the assembly of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an optical fiber management assemblyaccording to the present disclosure that can be housed in the closure of FIG. 1, the assembly being in a non-extended configuration. FIG. 6 is a further perspective view of the assembly of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the assembly of FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is a further enlarged, perspective view of a portion of the assembly of FIG. 5.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an optical fiber management assembly according to the present disclosure, the assembly being in an extended configuration.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of a portion of the assembly of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a partially exploded view of the assembly of FIG. 9.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a piece of the assembly of each of FIGS. 5 and 9.

FIG. 13 is a further perspective view of the piece of FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 is a further perspective view of the piece of FIG. 12

FIG. 15 is a further perspective view of the piece of FIG. 12.

FIG. 16 illustrates a fiber organizing step using the assembly of FIG. 5.

FIG. 17 illustrates a further fiber organizing step using the assembly of FIG. 5.

FIG. 18 illustrates the assembly of FIG. 5 with fibers organized thereon following the steps of FIGS. 16 and 17.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a further optical fiber management assembly according to the present disclosure that can be housed in the closure of FIG. 1, the assembly being in a first configuration with a fiber management basket of the assembly in a storage position.

FIG. 20 is a further perspective view of the assembly of FIG. 18.

FIG. 21 is a further perspective view of the assembly of FIG. 18, the assembly being in a second configuration with the fiber management basket of the assembly in an access position.

Fig. 22 is a further perspective view of the assembly of FIG. 18, the assembly being in a third configuration with the fiber management basket of the assembly in an access position. FIG. 23 is an enlarged view of a portion of the assembly of FIG. 19, the assembly being in the first configuration.

FIG. 24 is an enlarged view of a portion of the assembly of FIG. 21, the assembly being in the second configuration with the fiber management basket in a storage position.

FIG. 25 is an enlarged view of a portion of the assembly of FIG. 22, the assembly being in the third configuration with the fiber management basket in an access position.

FIG. 26 is a perspective view of the fiber management basket of the assembly of FIG. 19.

FIG. 27 is a perspective view of the fiber management basket of FIG. 26, with the basket cover removed.

FIG. 28 is an enlarged, perspective view of a portion of the fiber management basket of FIG. 26.

FIG. 29 is a perspective view of the top frame member of the assembly of FIG. 19.

FIG. 30 is a further perspective view of the top frame member of FIG. 29.

FIG. 31 is an enlarged view of a portion of the top frame member of FIG. 29.

FIG. 32 is a planar view of the fiber management basket of FIG. 26 without a basket cover and schematically illustrating storage of rollable ribbon fibers in the fiber management basket.

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. 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 to FIGS. 1-2, example telecommunications equipment 10 is shown. In the depicted example, the equipment 10 includes a sealable and re-enterable closure. In other examples, the equipment can include other components at a distribution location of an optical fiber network. Such equipment can include, for example, a cabinet, a drawer, a shelf, or a panel for organizing and routing optical fibers.

The closure 10 includes a first housing piece 12 (in this case, a dome), and a second housing piece 14 configured to cooperate with the first housing piece to define a sealable and re-enterable telecommunications closure for managing optical fibers. The first and second housing pieces 12, 14 define an interior closure volume in which other fiber managing equipment, including an optical fiber management assembly according to the present disclosure, can be mounted.

A clamp ring 16 having a clamp can be used to clamp and seal together the housing pieces 12 and 14.

Cables carrying optical fibers can enter the closure volume via sealable ports 19 defined by the second housing piece 14. Such cables can include trunk cables, feeder cables, branch cables, and distribution cables (also known as drop cables). Typically, optical fibers from one cable entering the closure are spliced to optical fibers of one or more other cables entering the closure to establish an optical signal path at the closure 10 (or other signal distribution equipment) from a provider side cable to one or more customer side cables. For example, optical fibers (or, simply, “fibers”) of a provider side feeder cable can be spliced to fibers of a subscriber side feeder cable that continues on to the next closure. As another example, branch cables can be used to route optical signals from one telecommunications closure to multiple other telecommunications closures.

In addition to splicing, other fiber management activities can be performed with telecommunications equipment housed within the closure volume. Such activities can include, without limitation, indexing fibers, storing fibers (typically in one or more loops) and splitting fibers.

Splices, such as mechanical splices or fusion splices, can be performed at the factory or in the field, e g., at the closure 10 positioned in the field.

The cables entering the closure can include fibers of different configurations such as loose fibers and fiber ribbons. The fiber ribbons can be flat ribbons or rollable ribbons. The loose fibers can be individual fibers or bundled loose fibers protected by a common protective sheath or tube. For fiber ribbons, the fibers of the entire ribbon can be spliced to the fibers of a corresponding fiber ribbon at the same time, e.g., using a mass fusion splicing procedure.

Splice bodies protect the splices both in the case of individual fiber splices and mass fiber splices, such as mass fusion splices. For portions of fibers not protected by sheaths (e.g., portions of fibers of drop cables), the splice bodies are held in splice holders also known as splice chips. Fiber management trays of the closure assembly can support such splice holders (or chips). The fiber management trays can be stacked in stacks back to back on back-to-back stacks of tray support modules. The support modules can be mounted to a frame. The trays are pivotal relative to the support modules such that a desired tray in the stack can be accessed by pivoting one or more of the trays away from the desired tray. Supports can be provided to hold trays in a desired pivot position to allow another tray to be freely worked with. The stacks of trays, the support modules, and the framework form part of an optical fiber management assembly that is configured to be sealingly stored within the interior closure volume, such as that of the closure 10, and re-accessed when needed to service the assembly, such as to route or splice additional fibers between incoming (e.g., provider side) and outgoing (e.g., subscriber side) cables.

As used herein, positioning and orientational terms such as up, down, upper, lower, above, below, front, back, rear, forward, backward, rearward, horizontal, vertical, and so forth, may be used to refer to relative positioning of components in an assembly or portions of a component relative to each other when positioned in an assembly. Such terminology is provided as a descriptive aid and does not limit how components or portions of components may be positioned or oriented in practice.

Depending on different variables that may not be in control of the technician working in the field with a closure, such as the placement and orientation of the closure, the shape of the closure, how many cables are entering the closure, and what types of cables are entering the closure, where cables enter a given closure relative to one another can vary from closure to closure.

An incoming feeder cable can include fibers that are spliced directly to fibers of an outgoing feeder cable both entering the same closure. In some examples, the incoming feeder cable can include other fibers that are spliced to fibers of drop cables entering the same closure, with those splices being supported on fiber management trays of the assembly housed in the closure.

Features of the present disclosure can provide advantages for managing the optical fibers of the two feeder cables. Depending on conditions that may be beyond the control of the technician (such as those described above), in some instances both feeder cables enter the closure at the same side of the frame of the assembly housed in the closure, whereas in other instances, the feeder cables enter the closure on opposite sides of the frame. For example, if the feeder cables (or, simply “feeders”) are on opposite sides of the framework, it can be challenging or impossible to store fiber overlength of the feeder-to-feeder fibers without dismantling the frame or including complex parts that open and close to allow access to the exterior of the top of the frame. Features of the present disclosure can allow such feeder-to-feeder fiber overlength to be stored within the frame without having to dismantle the frame and without parts that open and close.

Additional features of the present disclosure can advantageously enable the frame to be easily expanded to a larger profile frame, and without dismantling the frame. For example, the frame can be expanded to accommodate additional fiber management in a larger closure. In similar fashion, the frame can be returned to its nonexpanded configuration by a simple process.

Referring to FIGS. 3-4, the assembly 600 is an example assembly that can be housed in the closure 10 of FIG. 1 . In addition, components of the assembly 600 can be installed on or in other telecommunications equipment that are not sealable closures, such as cabinets, panels, drawers, shelves, racks and so forth.

The assembly 600, as well as individual components of the assembly 600 and various combinations of the components of the assembly 600, are configured to be all snappingly connected to one another, without the need for, e.g., using staking, rivets, or other fasteners.

The assembly 600 defines a first axis, or vertical axis 602, a second axis 604, and a third axis 606. The first axis 602, the second axis 604, and the third axis 606 are mutually perpendicular. The second axis 604 and the third axis 606 define a horizontal plane. The assembly 600 extends from a top 608 to a bottom 610 along the first axis 602. The assembly 600 extends from a first side 612 to a second side 614 along the second axis 604. The assembly 600 extends from a front 616 to a back 618 along the third axis 606.

The assembly 600 includes a framework (or frame) 620 consisting of a number of frame members.

The assembly 600 also includes front and back stacks 123 of fiber management tray support modules 122. The stacks 123 are back-to-back mounted to the framework 620.

The assembly 600 includes a base 626 to which the frame can snappingly mount. The frame 620 includes a top member 628, two side members (also referred to as uprights or module support members) 632 having a first upright configuration, and two side members (also referred to as uprights or module support members) 634 having a second upright configuration.

When assembled in the framework 620, each stack 123 of modules 122 is mounted to a pair of the uprights. In the assembled framework configuration pairs of the uprights are snappingly connected to each other.

The framework 620 includes spacer members 640 which provide coupling support between frame members as well as helping the frame members maintain a fixed distance apart.

Each of the components (or pieces) of the framework 620 just described can be constructed from a suitably strong and rigid material that can readily accommodate snappable couplers. For example, all of the components can be constructed from a polymeric material.

The uprights 632, 634 include leg portions 660, 661 and module support portions 662, 663 which extend generally upwardly from the leg portions 660, 661. The leg portions 660 and 661 are configured to snappingly connect to each other to form a pair of uprights that can then be snappingly connected to the base 626. The leg portions 660 and 661 are dimensioned such that when they are connected to each other there is a spacing between the module support portions 662 and 663 along the axis 606. The spacing can be spanned by one or more spacer members 640, which snappingly connect to the uprights 632, 634 to connect the uprights 632, 634 to each other at multiple locations parallel to the axis 602, while maintaining the spacing. The spacing can be used for storing loops of optical fibers (e.g., loops of feeder-to-feeder fibers) between stacks of tray support modules. The uprights 632, 634 include complementary couplers for snappingly connecting a pair of the uprights 632 and 634 to each other, as well as to the base 626 and to the top member 628. To snappingly couple the leg portions 660 and 661 to each other, flexibly resilient loop tabs of the leg portion 661 flex in order to snappingly receive catches of the leg portion 660.

Once a pair of uprights 632 and 634 has been snapped together, the pair can be inserted as a subassembly into snap-connect engagement within pockets of the base 626.

Once the uprights 632, 634 have been snap-connected to the base 626, or before doing so, two sets of uprights pairs 632 and 634 can be snap-connected to the same top member 628.

The top member 628 includes unitarily integrated therewith curved extensions 674 that define, at each side (relative to the axis 604) of the top member 628 guide channels for guiding optical fibers exteriorly to the framework and exteriorly to the interior loop storage volume positioned along the axis 606 between stacks of tray support modules. In addition, one or more snap-on fiber guides 676 can be snap- connected to the top of the top member 628 to provide additional fiber routing guidance for fibers or portions of fibers that are being supported by the framework while being routed at the exterior of the framework. The snap-on fiber guide 676 has a body that defines a handle 677 and fiber routing channels 678 on either side of the handle 677.

The extensions 674 can further serve as pairs of protective elements extending from the frame with a gap 679 between the protective elements. The protective elements are configured to contact a housing of the telecommunications closure (e.g., an interior surface or structure of the housing piece 12 of FIG. 1) when installing the assembly into the housing piece to inhibit the frame from coming in contact with the housing, which could otherwise damage the assembly or the optical fibers managed on the assembly. The gap 679 is configured to permit optical fibers routed about the exterior of the frame to be inserted through the gap 679 between the protective elements and into a fiber pathway defined by the protective elements at the exterior of the frame. The curved shape of the protective elements 674 can correspond to interior contours of the housing piece of the closure with which the protective elements may come in contact. Cables entering the closure can pass through seal blocks in the base 626, with end portions of the jackets of the cables fixed to cable jacket fixation units mounted to baseplates that are themselves mounted to the base 626. Optical fibers from the cables then extend from the fixed end portions of the cables onto a fiber routing module 682 or to another part of the fiber management assembly, such as the loop storage volume between stacks of management tray support modules. In some examples, the fibers extending from the fixed end portions are protected in sheaths or tubes.

The assembly 600 includes two of the fiber routing modules 682. Optionally, if the assembly includes just one vertical stack of fiber management tray supporting modules, then the assembly can include just one fiber routing module 682.

Optionally, covers 613 can be provided to cover and protect the fiber routing modules 682 (and thereby the fibers routed on the fiber routing module). The covers 613 can be configured to snap-connect to the fiber routing modules 682.

Once on the fiber routing module 682, the fibers can emerge from ends of sheaths and be routed along pathways defined by the routing module 682, and then up routing channels defined by the uprights 632, 634 and the tray support modules 122 to a specific tray 124 of stack of trays 124 pivotally supported by a tray support module, on which the fiber is managed as needed (e.g., with a splice to a fiber of another cable entering the closure, with the splice being held on the tray ). In addition, some fibers can remain in the protective sheaths and are routed to the interior loop storage volume 699 between the stacks of the tray support modules. In addition, some fibers can have portions routed exteriorly to the framework 620 through guidance features of the top member 628 as described above.

Referring to FIGS. 5-8, an alternative assembly 200 for a portion of the assembly 600 described above will be described.

The assembly 200 includes the uprights 632 and 634 as described above. Pairs of the uprights 632 and 634 can be snap-connected within pockets of the base 626, as described above. In addition, the assembly 200 includes spacer members 640 that can maintain spacing between the uprights in each pair, as described above.

The assembly 200 is another example assembly that can be housed in the closure 10 of FIG. 1. In addition, components of the assembly 200 can be installed on or in other telecommunications equipment that are not sealable closures, such as cabinets, panels, drawers, shelves, racks and so forth. The assembly 200, as well as individual components of the assembly 200 and various combinations of the components of the assembly 200, can be, though need not be, configured to be all snappingly connected to one another, without the need for, e.g., using staking, rivets, or other fasteners.

The assembly 200 defines a first axis, or vertical axis 202, a second axis 204, and a third axis 206. The first axis 202, the second axis 204, and the third axis 206 are mutually perpendicular. The second axis 204 and the third axis 206 define a horizontal plane. The assembly 200 extends along an elongate dimension of the assembly 200 from a top 208 to a bottom 210 along the first axis 202. The assembly 200 extends from a first side 212 to a second side 214 along the second axis 204. The assembly 200 extends from a front 216 to a back 218 along the third axis 206.

The assembly 200 includes a framework (or frame) 220 consisting of a number of frame members. The frame members include the uprights 632 and 634, and a top member (or top piece) 222. The top piece 222 is elongate parallel to the axis 204. In some examples, the top piece 222 spans a width of the frame 220 from the left side to the right side of the frame 220.

Modules can be mounted to the uprights 632 and 634 such that front and back stacks of fiber management trays can be supported on the framework, as described above in connection with the framework 620. Thus, the stacks of trays can be back-to- back mounted to the framework 220.

Each of the components (or pieces) of the framework 220 just can be constructed from a suitably strong and rigid material that can readily accommodate snappable couplers. For example, all of the components can be constructed from a polymeric material.

The frame 220 defines an interior 295 of the frame 220 and an exterior 297 of the frame 220. The interior 295 includes the interior loop storage volume 299.

Referring to FIGS. 5-8 and 11-15, the top piece 222 can be unitarily constructed of a polymeric material. The top piece 222 is configured to snap connect to pairs of uprights 632 and 634 to form the frame 220. In particular, the top piece 222 includes a body 223 that defines receivers 224. Below each receiver 225, the body 223 includes a flexibly resilient latch arm 225 with a catch 226. The body 223 also includes hooks 227 at side ends of the body 223. Alternatively, the hooks 227 can be provided on the uprights 632, 634. The body 223 includes a surface 230, the entirety of which is recessed downward from a top end 228 of the piece 222. The body 223 includes a front wall 232 and a back wall 234 that extend upward from front and back ends, respectively, of the surface 230. In some examples, the entirety of the surface 230 is curved, defining a convexity when viewing the surface 230 from above. In other examples, the surface 230 includes a first curved portion 236, a second curved portion 238, and a flat section 240 that connects the first curved portion 236 and the second covered portion 238. In this example, the first curved portion 236 curves downward as it approaches the left side of the frame 220 (presenting a concavity when viewing the surface 230 from above), while the second curved portion 238 curves downward as it approaches the right side of the frame 220 (presenting a concavity when viewing the surface 230 from above).

The walls 232 and 234, together with the surface 230, define a channel 242 configured to guide optical fibers between the left and right sides of the frame 220 at the exterior 297 of the frame 220. That is, fibers can be routed through the channel 242 from one side to the other side of the framework over the interior storage volume 299 and without entering the interior storage volume 299. The curvature of the surface 230 can route and bend optical fibers gently without causing them to bend beyond their minimum bend radii, which can damage the fibers.

The piece 222 also includes a stacking mechanism, which allows multiple of the pieces 222 to be lockingly stacked together along the vertical axis. By stacking pieces 222 together, the frame 220 can be expanded for increased fiber management. In this example, the stacking mechanism includes, extending from each of the walls 232, 234, a receiver tab 244 defining an opening 248, and a flexibly resilient latch tab 246 defining a catch 250. The latch tab 246 extends downward to its free end, while the receiver tab 244 extends upward to its free end.

To assemble the assembly 200, the piece 222 snap connects with two pairs of uprights 632 and 634. Specifically, guides 252 of each upright 632, 634 can be slidingly received by a corresponding receiver 224 of the piece 222 until the latch arm 225 rides over a ramped shoulder 254 of the upright 632, 634, causing the latch arm 225 to flex until the catch 226 snap engages under the shoulder 254, thereby locking the piece 222 to the uprights. To remove the piece 222, the latch arms 225 can be flexed inward to allow the catches 226 to clear the shoulders 254 as the piece 222 is lifted upward out of disengagement with the uprights 632, 634. Spacer members 640 can be snap-connected on each side of the frame 220 to the hooks 227.

Referring to FIGS. 9-11, the assembly 300 is a vertically expanded version of the assembly 200. For instance, the assembly 200 can be expanded to the assembly 300 to accommodate additional fiber management. Likewise, the assembly 300 can be converted into the assembly 200 if, for example, the assembly needs to be moved to a smaller closer that cannot accommodate the assembly 300.

To assemble the assembly 300 from the assembly 200, advantageously no portion of the assembly 200 needs to be dismantled or removed. Rather, another top piece 222 is snap connected to the top piece 222 of the assembly 200. Each of the pieces 222a, 222b and 222c is a piece 222. Thus, the assembly 200 includes the piece 222a snap-connected to the uprights 632 and 634 as described above.

To assemble the assembly 300, the piece 222b is snap-connected to the piece 222a. Specifically, the latch tabs 246 of the piece 222b lockingly engage the receiver tabs 244. Each upright 632 is expanded by attaching a top of the upright 632 to a bottom of an upright 332. Each upright 634 is expanded by attaching a top of the upright 634 to a bottom of the upright 334. Specifically, each upright 332 and 334 includes, at both an upper end and a lower end thereof mounting structures 252 and 254 identical to the mounting structures 252 and 254 of the uprights 632 and 634. The lower ones of these mounting structures 252 and 254 snap connect to the complementary features of the piece 222b. Before or after the uprights 332 and 334 are connected to the piece 222b, the top ones of the mounting structures 252 and 254 of the uprights 332 and 334 are connected to another piece 222c.

The piece 222c thereby becomes the top member of the assembly 300, and optical fibers can be routed from one side of the assembly 300 to the other side of the assembly 300 at an exterior of the assembly 300, over the interior loop storage volume 399 and without entering the interior loop storage volume 399 of the assembly 300, via the channel 242 of the piece 222c.

Due to the construction of the pieces 222, the piece 222a need not be removed or otherwise manipulated in order to grow or expand the assembly 200 into the assembly 300. The assembly 300 can be converted to the assembly 200 by unlocking the uprights 332 and 334 from the pieces 222c and 222b, and unlocking the piece 222b from the piece 222a.

Referring to FIGS. 16-18, steps for routing optical fibers from one side of the assembly 200 to the other side of the assembly 200 will now be described. In this example, two feeder cables enter the closure and are fixed relative to the assembly 200. Some of the fibers of the provider side feeder cable 70 are spliced directly to fibers of a subscriber side feeder cable 72. These spliced feeder-to-feeder fibers bypass the fiber management trays and tray supports that can be mounted to the frame 220. In some examples, the feeder-to-feeder fibers are protected in sheaths or tubes. The figures show a group 74 of such sheathed fibers extending from the feeder cable 70 to the feeder cable 72.

As shown in FIG. 16, the group 74 includes a substantial amount of fiber overlength 76. Such fiber overlength can be necessary to perform the splices, as well as to modify the connectivity of the fibers, e.g., if some of the fibers are to later be spliced to drop cables, the overlength is necessary to perform such operations.

Due to space constraints of the closure, the overlength 76 needs to be stored in the interior loop storage volume 299 of the assembly 200. However, because the feeders 70 and 72 are on opposite sides of the frame 220, in order to position the looped overlength 76 into the loop storage volume 299, the loop must be at least partially formed at the exterior 297 of the frame 220 first. To permit this looping exterior to the frame 220, either the top of the frame must be open, or the fibers must be routed over the top of the frame. The piece 222 allows the fibers to be safely routed over the top of the frame 220 without removing or dismantling the frame 220, e.g., without removing a top member of the frame to open up the top of the frame.

For example, as shown in FIG. 16, the overlength is routed over the top of the frame 220 via the channel of the piece 222, a loop in the area 90 exterior to the frame 220 is begun to be formed. As shown if FIG. 17, the loop 82 of the overlength 76 is completed and inserted sideways into the interior loop storage volume 299. As shown in FIG. 18, the loop 82 is fully stored within the interior loop storage volume 299, and additional spacer elements 640 have been connected at the sides of the frame 220 to complete the assembly. Referring to FIGS. 19-31, a further example optical fiber management assembly 400 will be described. Many of the features of the assembly 400 are the same as for the assembly 200 and/or the assembly 600. In the interest of brevity, the following discussion focuses mainly on the differences of the assembly 400 compared to the assemblies 200 and 600.

The assembly 400 includes frame members, or uprights, 432 and 434 that function as the uprights 632 and 634 described above. Pairs of the uprights 432 and 434 can be snap-connected within pockets of the base 436. In addition, the assembly 400 includes spacer members 440 that can maintain spacing between the uprights in each pair of uprights, and snap connect to the uprights as described above with respect to the spacer members 640.

The assembly 400 is another example assembly that can be housed in the closure 10 of FIG. 1. In addition, components of the assembly 400 can be installed on or in other telecommunications equipment that are not sealable closures, such as cabinets, panels, drawers, shelves, racks and so forth.

The assembly 400, as well as individual components of the assembly 400 and various combinations of the components of the assembly 400, can be, though need not be, configured to be all snappingly connected to one another, without the need for, e.g., using staking, rivets, or other fasteners.

The assembly 400 defines a first axis, or vertical axis 402, a second axis 404, and a third axis 406. The first axis 402, the second axis 404, and the third axis 406 are mutually perpendicular. The second axis 404 and the third axis 406 define a horizontal plane. The assembly 400 extends along an elongate dimension of the assembly 400 from a top 408 to a bottom 410 along the first axis 402. The assembly 400 extends from a first side 412 to a second side 414 along the second axis 404. The assembly 400 extends from a front 416 to a back 418 along the third axis 406.

The assembly 400 includes a framework (or frame) 420 consisting of a number of frame members. The frame members include the uprights 432 and 434, and a top frame member (or top piece) 422. The top piece 422 is elongate parallel to the axis 404. In some examples, the top piece 422 spans a width of the frame 420 from the left side to the right side of the frame 420. The top piece 422 can snap connect to frame members 432 and 434 in the manner described above in connection with the top piece 222 and frame members 632 and 634. Like the top piece 222, the top piece 422 includes a curved channel configured to guide optical fibers on the frame 420 over the top of, and exterior to, the frame’s interior fiber storage volume.

Modules can be mounted to the uprights 432 and 434 such that front and back stacks of fiber management trays can be supported on the frame, as described above in connection with the frame 620. Thus, the stacks of trays can be back-to-back mounted to the frame 420.

Each of the components (or pieces) of the frame 420 just can be constructed from a suitably strong and rigid material that can readily accommodate snappable couplers. For example, all of the components can be constructed from a polymeric material.

The frame 420 defines an interior 495 of the frame 420 and an exterior 497 of the frame 420. The interior 495 includes the interior loop storage volume 499.

The assembly 400 includes a fiber storage basket 700. The basket 700 includes a basket body 702 and an engaging portion 704 extending from the basket body 702. The engaging portion 704 includes an arm 706 having a free end 708. At the free end 708 is a bar 710 and flanges 712 positioned at opposite ends of the bar 710. The bar 710 and the flanges 712 have curved engaging surfaces 714, 716 that enable pivoting of the engaging portion 704 in corresponding receiving structures of the top piece 422 when the engaging portion 704 is engaged with the receiver of the top piece 422.

The basket body 702 includes a plate 720 having a surface 722. A wall 724 extends away from the plate 720 at a perimeter of the surface 722. Fiber retainer fingers 726 extend inwardly from the wall 724. The basket body 702 defines a fiber storage volume 728 for storing loops of optical fibers between the fingers 726 and the surface 722 of the plate 720. The wall 724 defines an entry channel 730 through which optical fibers can enter the storage volume 728 from the channel of the top piece 422.

The basket 700 can include a cover 732 that snaps to snapping structures of some of the fingers 726 to cover and protect optical fibers within the fiber storage volume 728 and to help retain the optical fibers within the fiber storage volume 728 of the basket 700.

The basket 700 includes a flange 734 that extends from the wall 724 at a position that is at an opposite end of the basket 700 from the engaging portion 704. The flange 734 is configured as a hand grip or finger grip for grasping the basket 700 when it is engaged to the top piece 422 to pivot the basket 700 between a position in which the basket body 702 is positioned within the interior of the frame 420 and an access position in which the basket body 702 is positioned exterior to the frame 420. One or ribs or similar gripping structures can be provided on the flange 734 to facilitate gripping of the flange 734.

The basket 700 can be advantageous for storing loops of optical fibers that are not protected by protective sheaths or tubes. For such fibers, the basket 700 can provide more protection to the delicate fibers than if the fibers were stored without the basket in the interior loop storage volume 499.

The basket 700 is pivotal between the interior loop storage volume and the frame’s exterior. To access the storage volume 728 of the basket 700 (e.g., to route optical fibers therein or remove optical fibers stored therein), the basket 700 is pivoted to its access position (e.g., Fig. 22) from its storage position (e.g., Fig. 20) and the cover 732 is removed to access the basket’s storage volume 728. Once access is no longer needed, the cover 732 can be replaced and the basket pivoted back to the storge position. The flange 734 can be grasped to move the basket 700 between its positions.

According to some examples, the basket 700 can be used for storing portions of rollable ribbon fibers that are not protected by sheaths or tubes.

Rollable fiber ribbons include bonded sections of the fibers interspersed by longitudinal non-bonded sections. Rollable fiber ribbons can include any suitable number of fibers, such as 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 fibers, or more. Due to the non-bonded sections, there is a tendency for individual ones of the fibers in the non-bonded sections to depart or stray from the path or desired path of the overall rollable ribbon, particularly when the path includes curves, which can cause signal transmission reduction, signal loss, and/or fiber breakage. Thus, it can be particularly, important to keep unsheathed portions of rollable ribbon fibers well contained protected, such as in the basket 700.

A fiber routing scheme of the assembly 400 is illustrated in FIG. 32. Sheaths 770 holding optical fibers (e.g., rollable fiber ribbons) extend from two cables both fixed to the same side (e.g., both at the left side or both at the right side) of the assembly 400. The sheaths 770 extend beyond the ends of the respective fixed cable jackets and around a portion of the exterior of the frame 420, including through the channel of the top piece 422 and into the basket 700 via the entry channel 730. Tie wraps 772 or the like can be used to tie down end portions of the sheaths 770 within the entry channel 730 and to the basket 700. Optical fibers 776, 778 emerge from the axial ends 774 of the sheaths 770. For example, the optical fibers 776, 778 can each be a rollable fiber ribbon containing multiple fibers. The fiber(s) 776 are looped within the basket storage volume. The fiber(s) 778 are looped and also redirected via partial figure-8 (or “S”-shaped) routing within the basket storage volume to reverse the routing path of the fiber(s) 778, thereby enabling both fibers 776, 778 to be routed to each other at a splice 780 between the fibers 776, 778.

In order to pivot the basket 700 to the access position, the spacer members 440a and 440b on the side of the frame 420 that is at the same side as the pivotal engagement of the basket 700 to the top piece 422 are removed, allowing the basket 700 to pass between the corresponding frame members 432 and 434 to the access position. With the basket 700 in the access position, the spacer member 440b can then be replaced to act as a stop that stops the basket 700 from returning to the storage position in the interior of the frame 420 until the spacer member 440b is once again removed. In addition, the basket 700 can include a flange 750 defining a through hole 752. A stopper, e.g., a fiber pick or similarly configured implement can be inserted through the through hole 752 and through a corresponding opening in the frame 420 to effectively lock the basket 700 in the access position until the implement is removed.

The top piece 422 includes a receiver at each side of the top piece 422, which allows the basket 700 to be selectively pivotally mounted to the left side of the frame 420 or to the right side of the frame 420, depending on where the cables enter the closure relative to the right and left sides of the frame. Typically, the hinge between top piece and basket will be on the opposite side of the frame as the side at which the cables are fixed to the frame, with the fibers extending through the channel of the top piece 422 to route from the cables’ side of the frame 420 to the entry channel of the basket 700 at the opposite side of the frame 420.

Each receiver of the top piece 422 includes one or more bar receivers 460 and one or more flange receivers 462. The bar receivers 460 are curved or rounded notches or recesses that receive the bar 710 of the engaging portion 704 and allow the surface 714 of the bar to pivot in the bar receivers 460. The flange receivers 462 are slots that receive the flanges 712 of the engaging portion 704 and allow the surfaces 716 of the flanges to roll therein as the basket 700 pivots. With the engaging portion 704 pivotally engaged one of the complementary receivers of the top piece 422, a hinge is formed between the top piece 422 and the basket 700.

With the basket 700 in the storage position and pivotally engaged to the top piece 422, engagement of engaging portion 704 to the top piece 422 acts as a stop that prevents the basket 700 from moving downward (along the axis 402 toward the base 436) in the interior 495 of the frame 420, while the various spacer members 440 act as stops that prevent the basket 700 from exiting the interior 495 of the frame 420 in a sideways manner (parallel to the axis 404). Meanwhile, because of where and how the engaging portion 704 engages the top piece 422, with the arm 706 extending from a location within the interior 495 of the frame 420 to a location exterior to the frame where it pivotally engages the top piece 422, the top piece 422 acts as a stop that prevents upward movement (along the axis 402 toward the top piece 422) of the basket 700 out of the interior 495 of the frame 420 and also serves to keep the pivotal engagement between the basket 700 and the top piece 422.

The top piece 422 is configured to be stacked with other top pieces 422, in like manner to the top piece 222 as described above for e.g., expanding a vertical length of the frame 420 with additional frame members.

The top piece 422 includes, at either side, extensions 784 integrally formed therewith, which can further serve as pairs of protective elements extending from the frame 420 with a gap 789 between each pair of the protective elements. The protective elements 784 are configured to contact a housing of the telecommunications closure (e.g., an interior surface or structure of the housing piece 12 of FIG. 1) when installing the assembly into the housing piece to inhibit the frame 420 from coming in contact with the housing, which could otherwise damage the assembly 400 or the optical fibers managed on the assembly 400. The gap 789 is configured to permit optical fibers (e.g., the sheaths 770 of fibers 776, 778 (FIG. 32)) routed about the exterior of the frame 420 to be inserted through the gap 789 between the protective elements 784 and into a fiber pathway defined by the protective elements 784 at the exterior of the frame, from there into the curved channel of the top piece 422, and from there, into the basket 700 via the entry channel 730. The curved shape of the protective elements 784 can correspond to interior contours of the housing piece of the closure with which the protective elements may come in contact. Various modifications and alterations of this disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of this disclosure, and it should be understood that the scope of this disclosure is not to be unduly limited to the illustrative examples set forth herein.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. An assembly for a telecommunications closure, comprising: frame members forming a frame, the frame defining an interior of the frame and an exterior of the frame, the interior of the frame defining an optical fiber loop storage volume, the frame extending from a bottom of the frame to a top of the frame along a first axis, and from a left side of the frame to a right side of the frame along a second axis that is perpendicular to the first axis, the frame members including a top frame member positioned at the top of the frame, the top frame member being elongate parallel to the second axis and coupling together other frame members positioned at the left side of the frame and the right side of the frame, the top frame member defining a channel having a curved surface recessed downw ard from a top of the top frame member, the channel and the surface being configured to guide optical fibers along the surface and through the channel from the left side of the frame to the right side of the frame at the exterior of the frame and over the optical fiber loop storage volume.

2. An assembly for a telecommunications closure, comprising: frame members forming a frame, the frame extending from a bottom of the frame to a top of the frame along a first axis, and from a left side of the frame to a right side of the frame along a second axis that is perpendicular to the first axis, the frame members including a first top frame member positioned at the top of the frame, the first top frame member being elongate parallel to the second axis and coupling together side frame members positioned at the left side of the frame and the right side of the frame; a second top frame member of identical construction to the first top frame member; and additional side frame members, the second top frame member being configured to: snap connect to the first top frame member at a top of the first top frame member; and snap connect to the additional side frame members to extend a dimension of the frame.

3. The assembly of claim 2, further comprising a third top frame member of identical construction to the first top frame member and the second top frame member, the third top frame member being configured to snap connect to the additional side frame members at a top of the additional side frame members.

4. The assembly of any of claims 2-3, wherein each top frame member defines a channel having a curved surface recessed dow nw ard from a top of the top frame member, the channel and the surface being configured to guide optical fibers along the surface and through the channel from the left side of the frame to the right side of the frame.

5. The assembly of any of claims 2-4, wherein each top frame member includes a stacking mechanism for snap-connecting multiple top frame members in a vertical stack.

6. The assembly of claim 5, wherein the stacking mechanism includes a stacking receiver tab and a stacking latch tab, and wherein the stacking latch tab of one of the top frame members is received in the stacking receiver tab of another of the top frame members to form the stack.

7. The assembly of any of claims 1-5, wherein each frame member is configured to snap connect to another of the frame members.

8. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the curved surface is concave when viewed from above the framework.

9. The assembly of claim 8, wherein the curved surface includes a flat portion positioned between two curved portions.

10. A method of routing optical fibers, comprising: providing a frame, the frame defining an interior of the frame and an exterior of the frame, the interior of the frame defining an optical fiber loop storage volume, the frame extending from a bottom of the frame to a top of the frame along a first axis, and from a left side of the frame to a right side of the frame along a second axis that is perpendicular to the first axis, the frame including a top frame member positioned at the top of the frame, the top frame member being elongate parallel to the second axis and coupling together other frame members of the frame positioned at the left side of the frame and the right side of the frame; and routing optical fibers from the left side of the frame to the right side of the frame over the optical fiber loop storage volume and through a channel defined by the top frame member.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising forming a loop with the optical fibers in the exterior of the frame.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising, subsequent to forming the loop, positioning the optical fibers in looped form within the optical fiber loop storage volume.

13. The method of any of claims 10-12, wherein the fibers extend from a first cable at the left side of the frame to a second cable at the right side of the frame.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the fibers include splices.

15. The method of any of claims 11-14, wherein groups of the fibers are positioned in protective sheaths.

16. The method of any of claims 11-15, further comprising routing optical fibers to fiber management trays pivotally supported by the frame.

17. The method of any of claims 10-16, wherein the top frame member is not removed from the other frame members.

18. The method of any of claims 10-17, wherein no opening is made through the top frame member.

19. The method of any of claims 10-18, further comprising snap connecting together the top frame member and the other frame members to form the frame.

20. The assembly of any of claims 1-9, further comprising optical fiber management trays pivotally supported by the frame.

21. A closure comprising: housing pieces that cooperate to define a sealable and re-enterable closure volume; the assembly of any of claims 1-9 or 20 positioned in the closure volume; a first feeder cable entering the closure volume at the left side of the frame; and a second feeder cable entering the closure at the right side of the frame, optical fibers of the first feeder cable and the second feeder cable being spliced together.

22. The assembly of 1, further comprising: a basket for storing loops of optical fiber, the basket pivotally engaging the top frame member.

23. The assembly of claim 22, wherein the basket is pivotal relative to the top frame member between a first pivot position in which the basket is positioned within the interior of the frame and a second pivot position in which at least a portion of the basket is positioned at the exterior of the frame.

24. The assembly of claim 22, wherein the basket is configured to pivot from the first pivot position to the second pivot position by passing between two of the frame members.

25. The assembly of any of claims 22-23, further comprising a loop of rollable ribbon fibers extending from the channel and positioned in the basket.

26. The assembly of any of claims 22-24, further comprising a spacer member connected to two of the frame members and configured to hold the basket within the interior of the frame.

27. The method of any of claims 10-12, further comprising: routing the optical fibers into a basket for storing loops of optical fiber, the basket pivotally engaging the top frame member.

28. The method of claim 26, further comprising pivoting the basket to a position exterior of the frame from a position in the interior of the frame prior to routing the optical fibers into the basket.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising pivoting the basket back to the position in the interior of the frame after routing the optical fibers into the basket.

30. The method of claim 29, further comprising, after pivoting the basket back, connecting a spacer member to two of the frame members to hold the basket within the interior of the frame.

31. The method of any of claims 26-30, wherein the optical fibers include rollable ribbon fibers.

32. The method of claim 31, further comprising positioning an axial end of a sheath surrounding the rollable ribbon fibers within the basket, with the rollable ribbon fibers extending beyond the axial end of the sheath into a storage volume of the basket.

33. The assembly of any of claims 1 or 22-26, further comprising at the left side of the frame, a pair of protective elements extending from the frame with a gap between the protective elements, the protective elements being configured to contact a housing of the telecommunications closure to inhibit the frame from coming in contact with the housing of the telecommunications closure, the gap being configured to permit the optical fibers to be inserted between the protective elements via the gap and into a fiber pathway defined by the protective elements while remaining at the exterior of the frame.

34. The assembly of any of claims 22-26, further comprising at the left side of the frame, a pair of protective elements extending from the frame with a gap between the protective elements, the protective elements being configured to contact a housing of the telecommunications closure to inhibit the frame from coming in contact with the housing of the telecommunications closure, the gap being configured to permit the basket to pivot through the gap and between the protective elements.

35. The assembly of any of claims 33-34, further comprising another pair of the protective elements at the right side of the frame.

36. The assembly of any of claims 33-35, wherein the protective elements extend from the top frame member.

37. The assembly of any of claims 33-36, wherein the protective elements are integrally formed with the top frame member.

38. The assembly of any of claims 33-37, wherein the protective elements have curved exterior surfaces.

39. The assembly of any of claims 33-38, further comprising the housing pieces of the telecommunications closure, the housing pieces being configured to cooperate to define a sealable and re-enterable closure volume that houses the assembly.

40. An assembly for a telecommunications closure, comprising: frame members forming a frame, the frame defining an interior of the frame and an exterior of the frame, the interior of the frame defining an optical fiber loop storage volume, the frame extending from a bottom of the frame to a top of the frame along a first axis, and from a left side of the frame to a right side of the frame along a second axis that is perpendicular to the first axis; and a basket for storing loops of optical fiber, the basket including a basket body and an engaging portion extending from the basket body, the engaging portion being pivotally engaged with one of the frame members such that when the basket is positioned in the interior of the frame:

(i) the one of the frame members contacts the engaging portion to stop the engaging portion from disengaging the top frame member in a first direction; and

(ii) the one of the frame members is configured to contact the basket body to stop the engaging portion from disengaging the one of the frame members in a second direction, the second direction being different from the first direction.

41. The assembly of claim 40, wherein the first direction and the second direction are opposite each other, the first direction and the second direction being parallel to the first axis.

42. The assembly of any of claims 40-41, wherein the engaging portion includes an arm extending from the basket body, a free end of the arm including a bar and at least one flange that are pivotally received in a receiver of the one of the frame members, the bar, the at least one flange and the receiver together defining a hinge.