The present invention is concerned with management of optical fiber cables. The management device of the present invention has particular application in the telecommunications industry with respect to storage and/or connection of optical fiber cables with other cables and devices.
Cable termination, splice and storage devices are known including, for example, devices shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,792,203 and 5,946,440, both issued to ADC Telecommunications, Inc. Both of these patents concern devices with moveable trays for storage and management of the optical fiber cables. U.S. Pat. No. 5,066,149, also issued to ADC Telecommunications, Inc., concerns a cable management device including slideable drawers each including a cable slack take-up mechanism.
When moving the trays or drawers, unnecessary or excessive displacement of the optical fiber cables is undesirable. As the optical fiber cables are displaced, they are subject to bending and other forces. Bending of the fibers can cause attenuation and loss of signal strength. As a fiber bends, the fiber can also break, resulting in a loss of transmission through the fiber.
There is a continued need in the art for further cable management devices which address such concerns in the telecommunications industry as ease of use, size, reliability, cost, and protection of the fibers.
A cable management panel includes a chassis, and at least one drawer slideably mounted within the chassis. The drawer is slideable between a first position with the drawer fully inserted within the chassis and a second position with the drawer extended from the interior of the chassis. An access location allows entry and exit of optical fiber cables into a side of the chassis and the drawer. One aspect of the present invention includes a fiber take-up mechanism including a push member slideably mounted on the drawer and further slideably mounted relative to the chassis. The push member is moveable from a first position on the drawer toward a second position on the drawer which is forward of the first position as the drawer is moved from the second position to the first position.
One aspect of the push member includes a trough section or retaining optical fiber cables. The trough section may include a flared end for further cable protection. The push member may include a cover over a portion of the trough section for further retaining optical fiber cables. Preferably the push member including the trough section includes a curved shape.
A further aspect of the push member preferably includes an upper retention member for retaining optical fiber cables with the push member during use. Preferably the retention member includes a projecting tab.
The drawer preferably receives a drop-in plate including cable storage or cable connection structure for cables entering the panel. In one embodiment, the drop-in plates latch to the drawer.
Another aspect of the push member preferably includes a control mechanism for controlling movement of the push member between the first and second positions as the drawer is moved between the second and first positions. In one preferred embodiment, the control mechanism moves the push member in synchronized movement with movement of the drawer relative to the chassis.
Referring now to the several drawing figures in which identical elements are numbered identically, a cable management panel or module 10 according to the present invention is shown. Panel 10 includes a frame or chassis 12 with side brackets 14 for mounting to a rack, cabinet, enclosure, or other mounting fixture. Chassis 12 includes a front 16, opposed sides 18, and a rear 20. Sides 18 each include cable access openings 22 for cables entering or exiting chassis 12. Chassis 12 further includes one or more drawers 26 which slide horizontally during use to access the interior of a selected drawer.
Each drawer 26 includes cable management structure, as will be described more fully below. Examples of cable management structure include devices for storing the cables or connecting the cables to other cables and/or fiber optic devices, such as attenuators, couplers, switches, wave divisions multiplexers (WDMs), splitters/combiners, or splices. Drawers 26 are slideable relative to chassis 12 via two drawer slides 28 on opposite sides of chassis 12. Each drawer 26 includes two latches 30 for latching the drawer 26 in the closed position. Each latch 30 engages a side hole 32 in side 18 of chassis 12. Each drawer 26 further includes a front 32, a rear 34, and a base 36. Open sides 37 allow for cable entry and exit and prevent cable damage during sliding movement of drawers 26 when accessing the cables and the connectors or other devices in the drawer. Take-up mechanisms are provided, as described below, for managing the cables during sliding movement of drawers 26. The cable guides and radius limiters described below are provided so as to protect the cables and limit bends from going below the minimum bend radius of the cable. The cable retention tabs also described below help keep the cables in place once positioned under the tabs by the user.
Each drawer interior is sized for receiving cable management and/or distribution structure. When the drawer is in the closed position, the cables and management or distribution structures in the interior are protected. In the preferred embodiments, the structure can be conveniently mounted on a tray insert which drops into the interior of drawer 26. This allows for convenient structuring of drawer 26 to serve one or more desired functions in module 10.
Referring again to
Side plates 42 of base 36 of drawers 26 include longitudinal slots 52. Side plates 42 also mount to one end of each of slides 28 with fasteners through holes 43. Inwardly projecting side ledges 51 of chassis 12 each include longitudinal slots 53 and side notches 54, 56 which cooperate with a take-up mechanism 58 on each side of drawer 26 for managing optical fibers entering and exiting cable management panel 10. Side ledges 51 also mount to the opposite ends of drawer slides 28 with fasteners through holes 55. Side plates 42 are configured as raised surfaces or ledges which are positioned over drawer slides 28 and portions of take-up mechanism 58. Slots 52, 53 vertically overlap when drawer 26 is closed.
Take-up mechanism 58 includes a push member or radius limiter 62, preferably shaped as a half-moon or semi-circle, each with the curved portion 86 facing inwardly, and the planar portion 88 facing outwards. Radius limiter 62 includes a plurality of tabs 64 for cable retention. In one preferred embodiment, tabs 64 include snaps 66 which are received in slots 68 of radius limiter 62. Extending rearwardly and beneath radius limiter 62 is an extension 70 which includes a flexible rear tab 72, and a lower tab 73, both for receipt in slot 53. Tab 73 includes lips 75 to snap mount to slot 53. Extension 70 also snaps to an underside of radius limiter 62 with snaps 74 which are slideably positioned in slots 52. Radius limiter 62 is therefore moveably mounted relative to chassis 12 and drawer 26. Radius limiter 62 acts as a guide for cables passing through access opening 22 on each side of drawer 26.
Retention structure is provided with take-up mechanism 58 to limit movement of radius limiter 62 to selected times for better control and positioning of the cables. As will be described below, projection 72a of tab 72 resides in notch 56 to allow drawer 26 to slide rearwardly relative to radius limiter 62, during closing. Slot 52 eventually bottoms out and moves projection 72a out of notch 56, thereby causing radius limiter 62 to move rearwardly with drawer 26. Notch 54 also retains radius limiter 62 relative to chassis 12 during initial opening of drawer 26. Each notch 54, 56 includes a ramped surface 54a, 56a allowing release of radius limiter 62 as drawer 26 pulls or pushes on projection 72a during use.
Referring now to
Base 100 of example tray insert 40 further includes one or more stacks 116 of rotatably mounted or flippable storage trays 118. Four stacks 116 are shown for insert 40. The trays 118 on the right and left sides flip in opposite directions as shown in
Each tray 118 includes a planar base 120, surrounded by an outer peripheral edge 122. Inwardly extending tabs 124 are provided for cable management. A center spool 126 extends upwardly from base 118, and includes a plurality of cable retention tabs 128. Tray 118 further includes two entry/exit points 130. Cable retention tabs 131 are positioned at each entry/exit point 130. Finger tabs 132 can be grasped by a user's finger to rotate each tray 118 about its rotation axis 133. Each tray 118 in stack 116 is rotatably mounted to base 100 with a stepped tray mount 140. Tray 118 includes two projections 142, each having an outwardly projecting pivot post or pin 144 and an outwardly projecting retention tab or bump 146. Tray mount 140 includes opposed and staggered mounting plates or locations 150 each having holes 154 for receiving pins 144 of trays 118. The staggering, or stair-step, allows for identical trays to be flipped from a horizontal position upwardly so as to allow user access to each tray.
A detent arrangement is provided for holding the trays in the flipped positions. Mounting plates 150 each include a notch or groove 156 sized for receiving tab 146 of each projection 142 to maintain each tray in an upward pivoted position when placed there by the user. The trays 118 stay pivoted upwardly to allow easy and hands-free access to the tray underneath the flipped trays. Notches 156 and tabs 146 act parallel to the rotation axis of each tray 118. Preferably, trays 118 and tray mount 140 are made from plastic. Pins 144 preferably snap into holes 154 to mount trays 118 to tray mount 140. Cable enters tray 118 at one of points 130, and is wound around spool 126 an appropriate number of times. The cable then exits tray 118 at one of the points 130. In the example shown, one cable 90 is stored per tray 118 (See
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
In the present example, drawer 26 and radius limiter 62 stop moving with respect to chassis 12 when lower tab 73 reaches a front end 81 of slot 53 and tab 72 is positioned in front notch 56. Alternatively, drawer slides 28 can limit the sliding extension of drawer 26. As shown in
Referring now to
In the example module 10, two take-up mechanisms 58 are provided, one for each side access opening 22. For ease of manufacturing, the same extension 70 and radius limiter 62 are used for each mechanism. Radius limiter 62 is flipped about a vertical axis when used to assemble the take-up mechanism on the opposite side of drawer 26. Tabs 64 are placed in the flipped radius limiter 62 to appropriately retain cables positioned around radius limiter 62. For a similar reason, trays 118 can be mounted on either side of drawer 26. Trays 118 are symmetrical about a center axis 145
The configuration of the interior of drawer 26 can vary as the desired functions for panel 10 vary. The examples of
Trough section 570 includes a base 572 and an outer wall 574. Outer wall 574 is curved in a similar manner as curved portion 586 of radius limiter 562. The curved shape directs cables from the side of module 510, toward a rear of drawer 512. Preferably, trough section 570 includes a trumpeted or flared end 576, along the U-shape to avoid exposing the cables to sharp edges which may cause damage to the cables if tension is applied to the cables and the cables are bent below the minimum bend radius. Push member 562 is configured for use on the right side of 512. A mirror image of push member 562 can be used on the left side of drawer 512.
Outer wall 574 includes upper notches 578 for ends 565 of tabs 564. Once tabs 564 are snapped with snaps 566 into slots 568, tabs 564 are retained with radius limiter 562. Tabs 564 form a cover over a portion of trough 570 to retain the cables. In the example embodiment of
A modified radius limiter 662 is shown in
The embodiments above seek to control movement of the radius limiter through the detent and notch mechanisms. Referring now to
Chassis 712 includes side ledges 751. Rear projection 772 of extension 770 is positioned between one of side ledges 751 of chassis 712 and one of side plates 742 of drawer 726. During slideable movement of drawer 726, relative to chassis 712, side plate 742 and side ledge 751 are moving in opposite directions relative to one another, with wheel 774 positioned therebetween. Radius limiter 762 thereby moves relative to chassis 712 at a reduced speed relative to drawer 726. Because wheel 774 is in rolling engagement with both drawer 726 and chassis 712, radius limiter 762 moves at one-half the speed of drawer 726. The speed could be varied if a stepped wheel 774 was provided. In that case, drawer 726 would contact one diameter and chassis 712 would contact another diameter. Moving the limiter 762 at one-half the speed of drawer 726 is useful for cable protection.
Side ledges 751 each include a rear stop 753 and at least one forward ramp 754. Two ramps 754a, b are provided to assist with desired movement of radius limiter 762 when drawer 726 is opened. By referencing
Slot 752 includes enlarged area 760 for receipt of snaps 780 of extension 770 to snap extension 770 to radius limiter 762. Once snaps 780 are positioned in enlarged areas 760, extension 770 can be slid rearwardly for sliding relative movement relative to drawer 726.
Referring now to
Referring now to
Tension in the cables will pull tab 940 out of notch 942 in the direction of arrow C during opening. During closure of drawer 926, radius limiter 962 moves with drawer 926 (assuming no front chassis detent), thereby protecting the slack in the cables.
Referring now to
The above specification, examples and data provide a complete description of the manufacture and use of the invention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, the invention resides in the claims hereinafter appended.
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 12/291,351, filed Nov. 6, 2008 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,664,361; which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 11/891,638, filed Aug. 10, 2007, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,463,811; which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 11/492,304, filed Jul. 25, 2006 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,302,154; which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 10/894,898, filed Jul. 20, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,120,348; which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 10/306,816, filed Nov. 26, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,968,111; which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/649,398, filed Aug. 28, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,504,988; which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/490,379, filed Jan. 24, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,438,310; which applications are herein incorporated by reference.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20100195968 A1 | Aug 2010 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 12291351 | Nov 2008 | US |
Child | 12655473 | US | |
Parent | 11891638 | Aug 2007 | US |
Child | 12291351 | US | |
Parent | 11492304 | Jul 2006 | US |
Child | 11891638 | US | |
Parent | 10894898 | Jul 2004 | US |
Child | 11492304 | US | |
Parent | 10306816 | Nov 2002 | US |
Child | 10894898 | US | |
Parent | 09649398 | Aug 2000 | US |
Child | 10306816 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 09490379 | Jan 2000 | US |
Child | 09649398 | US |