Splice tray arrangement

• US 20090136195A1
• Filed: 10/28/2008
• Published: 05/28/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/02/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bison Patent Licensing, LLC
• Original Assignee: ADC Telecommunications Incorporated (TE Connectivity Limited)
• Inventors: Sjodin, Chad, Smrha, Mark
• Granted Patent: US 7,620,288 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 385/135
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/4454 with splices

Abstract

A splice tray arranged to manage and store both stranded fiber optic cables and ribbon fiber optic cables. The tray includes a splice holding arrangement that accommodates both stranded splice components and ribbon splice components. The tray also includes a storage arrangement having radius limiting arrangements that define a number of storage or routing pathways that accommodate varying lengths of both stranded fiber optic cables and ribbon fiber optic cables.

Claims

1. A method of repairing a spliced cable within a splice tray having a plurality of spliced cables, the splice tray including a splice holding arrangement and a storage arrangement, each cable of the plurality of spliced cables including an incoming cable length and an outgoing cable length interconnected by a splice component, the splice component being held by the splice holding arrangement, the incoming cable length and the outgoing cable length being routed within the storage arrangement, the method of repairing the spliced cable comprising the steps of:

a) removing at least one of the incoming cable length and the outgoing cable length of a spliced cable from an outer cable loop;

b) utilizing a portion of the at least one cable length, wherein utilizing the portion results in a shortened cable length; and

c) routing the shortened cable length within an inner cable loop without crossing over other spliced cable lengths.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of removing at least one of the incoming cable length and the outgoing cable length includes removing the outgoing cable length, and wherein the step of routing the shortened outgoing cable length includes routing the shortened outgoing cable length within one of two different inner slack loops.

3. The method of claim 1, further including replacing the splice component of the splice cable, the splice component being a ribbon splice component.

4. The method of claim 1, further including replacing the splice component of the splice cable, the splice component being a stranded splice component.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of routing the shortened cable length includes routing the shortened cable length about a spooling structure of the storage arrangement.

6. The method of claim 1, further including re-ordering the splice component of one or more spliced cables within the splice holding arrangement such that the spliced cables are grouped by length.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the step of re-ordering includes reordering only a first splice component of a first spliced cable with a second splice component of a second spliced cable.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the step of re-ordering the splice component of one or more spliced cables includes re-ordering the splice component of the shortened spliced cable and only one of:

i) one or more splice components descending in order from the splice component of the shortened spliced cable; and

ii) one or more splice components ascending in order from the splice component of the shortened spliced cable.