Sliding adapter panel with living hinge and forward/rearward locking

• US 20090129033A1
• Filed: 10/07/2008
• Published: 05/21/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CommScope Technologies, LLC (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Tyco Electronics Services GmbH (TE Connectivity Limited)
• Inventors: Sjodin, Chad James, Smrha, Mark, Tinucci, Thomas C.
• Granted Patent: US 8,179,684 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 361/732
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/3897 Connectors fixed to housings, casing, frames or circuit boards G02B6/44528 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/44528 Patch-cords; Connector arrangements in the system or in the box routing arrangements H04Q1/00
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/4453 Cassettes
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 1/023 using sliding mechanisms for accessing the interior of the apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 1/068 arranged on the rear side
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 1/142 Terminal blocks for distribution frames

Abstract

An adapter panel including a chassis and a plurality of sliding adapter packs that define a front adapter field of the adapter panel. The sliding adapter packs includes a frame assembly having a living hinge and a lever arm. The living hinge locks the sliding adapter packs into both a forward and a rearward position. The living hinge is activated by either pulling or pushing the lever arm.

Claims

1. An adapter panel, comprising:

a) a chassis defining an interior, the chassis having a front opening;

b) mounting guides located within the interior of the chassis; and

c) a plurality of sliding adapter packs mounted to the guides, each adapter pack being configured to slide independent of one another in a forward-rearward direction, each sliding adapter pack defining a face panel including at least one array of adapters;

d) wherein each sliding adapter pack includes;

i) a hinging member having a locking tab that engages one of the mounting guides to lock the sliding adapter pack into a selected one of both a forward position and a rearward position; and

ii) a handle that activates the hinging member to disengage the locking tab from the mounting guides to allow sliding movement between the forward and rearward positions, wherein the handle activates the hinging member when the handle is both pulled and pushed.

2. The adapter panel of claim 1, further including a front chassis cover located adjacent to the front opening, the front chassis cover and the chassis enclosing the face panels of the sliding adapter packs when the front chassis cover is closed.

3. The adapter panel of claim 1, wherein each face panel has only one row of adapters.

4. The adapter panel of claim 1, wherein each face panel has only one column of adapters.

5. The adapter panel of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sliding adapter packs includes at least two sliding adapter packs positioned side-by-side within the chassis interior.

6. The adapter panel of claim 5, wherein the plurality of sliding adapter packs includes a number of stacked sliding adapter packs.

7. The adapter panel of claim 1, wherein each sliding adapter pack is slidably mounted to a pair of the guides, and further includes first and second locking tabs that engage the pair of guides to lock the sliding panel into the selected position.

8. The adapter panel of claim 7, wherein each sliding adapter pack further includes a sliding frame assembly, the sliding frame assembly having elongated rail members that slide within the pair of guides.

9. The adapter panel of claim 1, wherein the sliding adapter packs and the guides are mounted to a drawer that slides relative to the chassis, the sliding adapter packs sliding independent of the drawer.

10. The adapter panel of claim 1, wherein the hinging member has first and second ends, one of the first and second ends defining the locking tab, and wherein the tab engages a corresponding aperture formed in the one mounting guide to lock the sliding adapter pack into the selected position.

11. The adapter panel of claim 10, wherein the hinging member has an activation arrangement including a central hub and first and second arm attached to the central hub, the first and second arms defining the first and second ends of the hinging member, wherein rearward and forward movement of the central hub causes the arms to move in a direction perpendicular to the rearward and forward movement of the central hub.

12. The adapter panel of claim 11, wherein the handle is attached to the central hub of the activation arrangement, and wherein the handle is pushed and pulled to cause the central hub to move rearward and forward, respectively.

13. The adapter panel of claim 11, wherein the rearward and forward movement of the central hub lay in a first plane that is parallel to a second plane in which the arms move.

14. The adapter panel of claim 11, wherein the hinging member further includes first and second linking elements that twist between the central hub and each of the first and second arms respectively, the twisting motion of the linking elements allowing the central hub to travel linearly in a forward/rearward direction and the arms to travel linearly in the direction perpendicular to the movement of the central hub.

15. The adapter panel of claim 1, wherein the central hub, the arms, and the linking elements are interconnected by flexible webs.

16. A sliding adapter pack that mounts within a telecommunications chassis, the sliding adapter pack comprising:

a) a frame assembly including;

i) at least one frame piece;

ii) a lever arm interconnected to the frame piece;

iii) a living hinge including;

1) a central hub;

2) linking elements interconnected to the central hub by flexible webs; and

3) first and second arms interconnected to the linking elements by flexible webs;

iv) wherein the linking elements twist between the central hub and each of the first and second arms when the lever arm is pulled or pushed in a first direction, the twisting motion of the elements allowing the central hub to travel in the first direction and the arms to travel in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction of the central hub.

17. The adapter pack of claim 16, wherein the arms of the living hinge define locking tabs that extend and retract to lock the sliding adapter pack in a forward position and a rearward position relative to a chassis.

18. The adapter pack of claim 17, where the lever arm activates the living hinge to retract the locking tabs so that the sliding adapter pack can freely slide between the forward and rearward positions.

19. The adapter pack of claim 18, wherein the lever arm activates the living hinge when the lever arm is both pulled and pushed.