Optical fibre organizer

• US 5,751,882 A
• Filed: 09/28/1995
• Issued: 05/12/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 04/01/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Tyco Electronics Raychem BVBA (TE Connectivity Ltd. (United Kingdom))
• Original Assignee: NV Raychem SA
• Inventors: Daems, Daniel, Macken, Luk
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, John D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): KIM, ELLEN E
• Application Number:
  US08/532,730
• Time in Patent Office: 957 Days
• Field of Search: 385/134, 385/135
• US Class Current: 385/135
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/4442 Cap coupling boxes
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/4454 with splices
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/4455 characterised by the way of extraction or insertion of the cassette in the distribution frame, e.g. pivoting, sliding, rotating or gliding
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/4472 Manifolds

Abstract

An optical fibre organizer having a plurality of substantially mutually adjacent inlet ports and a plurality of mutually separated outlet ports, and means connecting the inlet ports and the outlet ports such that a fibre inserted into each inlet port will emerge from a pre-determined outlet port.

Claims

1. An optical fibre organizer which comprises:

(a) a support for a plurality of optical fibre trays;

(b) an input tray and an output tray mounted in series on a surface of the support;

(c) a splitter tray also mounted in series on the surface of said support, the splitter tray including an optical fibre splitter; and

(d) guide means for defining predetermined guiding paths to be taken by optical fibres and for guiding optical fibres from the splitter tray to the input and output trays, the guide means being provided on an opposite surface of the support to that on which the trays are mounted.

2. An organizer according to claim 1, having means for fixing the support adjacent a another support such that a path from one support continues as a path on the other support.

3. An organizer according to claim 2, in which each of a plurality of paths from one support continues as a respective path on the other support.

4. An organizer according to claim 2, in which the support has a trunk path extending between first and second opposite edges of the support and being capable of taking a plurality of optical fibres across the support from another support adjacent the first edge to a further support adjacent the second edge.

5. An organizer according to claim 4, in which the support has a plurality of distribution paths extending from the trunk path to an edge or edges of the support transverse to the first and second edges.

6. An organizer according to claim 1, in which the guide means comprises grooves in or projections on said opposite surface of the support.

7. An organizer according to claim 1, in which lengths of optical fibre are pre-installed from the input tray to the splitter and from the splitter to the output tray via said paths.

8. An organizer according to claim 1, having at least two output trays for receiving respective fibres from the splitter.

9. An organizer according to claim 1, which is environmentally sealed within a splice closure.

10. An organizer according to claim 1, in which said trays are pivotally mounted on the support.

11. An organizer according to claim 10, in which said trays are pivotally mounted on the support by means of slots or holes into each of which a pivot pin of a tray can be snapped or slotted.

12. An organizer according to claim 11, in which the support has a resilient catch to prevent withdrawal of a said pivot pin by mere sliding thereof.

13. An organizer according to claim 1, in which the support allows the organizer to be built up in modular fashion to accommodate any number of lengths of optical fibre spliced to one or more said splitters.

14. An organizer according to claim 1, in which there is a plurality of said supports, the supports having means for fixing them together.

15. An organizer according to claim 1, in which there is a plurality of said supports, the organizer further comprising a separate device for fixing the supports together.