Faceplate with optical adapter carrier

• US 5,949,946 A
• Filed: 11/21/1997
• Issued: 09/07/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Ciena Corporation, Ciena Luxembourg S.a.r.l. (Ciena Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nortel Networks Corporation
• Inventors: Major, Claude LeBlanc, Summach, Harley Robert William, Debortoli, George
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, John D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): HAO, VICKY D
• Application Number:
  US08/975,661
• Time in Patent Office: 655 Days
• Field of Search: 385/134-137, 385/53
• US Class Current: 385/134
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/3825 with an intermediate part, e.g. adapter, receptacle, linking two plugs
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/3897 Connectors fixed to housings, casing, frames or circuit boards G02B6/44528 takes precedence

Abstract

A faceplate for a front edge of a printed circuit board has a detachable carrier for supporting an optical fibre connector adapter. The carrier has open and closed positions. When the carrier is in the closed position, a front portion of the adapter extends through an opening formed within the faceplate. To remove the adapter, the carrier is pivoted along a wall of the faceplate. When the carrier has been pivoted approximately 90 degrees from the axis of the faceplate, the carrier can be lifted out of the faceplate, and the adapter can be removed from the carrier if desired. According to another embodiment, allowing access to the adapter from the front of the faceplate, the adapter is removably retained in a mounting within the faceplate by a retaining spring. A door, pivotable from below the mounting, has an open and closed position. The door can pivot from an open position, exposing the adapter and adapter housing, to a closed position, securing the adapter and covering the adapter except for a top portion of the adapter.

Claims

1. A faceplate for a circuit pack having electronic and optical components including a rear fibre connector extending from an optical fibre, the faceplate comprises a front surface and a rear surface, the rear surface facing approximately 180°

from the front surface, the faceplate having an opening therein through which an adapter may extend for connecting a forward fibre connector to the rear fibre connector, wherein the faceplate comprises an adapter carrier having adapter mounting means for removably mounting the adapter, the carrier being mounted on the rear surface of the faceplate and pivotable laterally along the rear surface of the faceplate from a closed position behind the faceplate to an open position, extending laterally beyond an edge of the faceplate, the carrier being detachable from the faceplate when in the open position.

2. The faceplate of claim 1, wherein the carrier is approximately 90 degrees from the axis of the faceplate when the carrier is in the open position.

3. The faceplate of claim 1, wherein the adapter mounting means comprises a plurality of resiliently flexible retaining arms for detachably mounting the adapter.

4. The faceplate of claim 3 wherein the retaining arms comprise two forward and two rear resiliently flexible retaining arms, the two forward arms being spaced on either side of the adapter near the forward opening of the adapter and the two rear arms being spaced on either side of the adapter near the rear opening of the adapter.

5. The faceplate of claim 4 wherein either the two forward arms or the two rear arms each have a hook portion near their upper ends to hold the adapter in place until the hook portions are manually separated.

6. The faceplate of claim 1 wherein the carrier and the faceplate further comprise a retaining means for retaining the carrier in the closed position until the retaining means is disengaged.

7. The faceplate of claim 6 wherein the retaining means comprises a detent means formed within a lower portion of the carrier which detent means is held by a latch means formed within the rear surface of the faceplate, wherein the retaining means can be disengaged by pushing on a lower portion of the carrier until the detent means is pushed below the latch means.

8. The faceplate of claim 7 wherein the faceplate and carrier further comprise a second retaining means for securely holding the carrier in a position approximately between 30 and 45 degrees from the axis of the faceplate.

9. The faceplate of claim 8 wherein the second retaining means comprises a detent means formed within a lower portion of the carrier which intersects with the latch means when the carrier is in a position approximately between 30 and 45 degrees from the axis of the faceplate, wherein the second retaining means can be disengaged by pushing on a lower portion of the carrier until the detent means is pushed below the latch means.

10. The faceplate of claim 1, wherein the carrier is supported at an angle to the plane formed by the length of the faceplate by a wall on the rear surface of the faceplate.

11. The faceplate of claim 1, wherein the carrier further comprises a bore located on the rear surface of the carrier near an upper edge of the carrier and the faceplate further comprises a pin located near an edge of the faceplate wherein the carrier is pivotally connected to the faceplate through engagement of the pin with the bore.

12. A faceplate for a circuit pack having electronic and optical components including a rear fibre connector extending from an optical fibre, the faceplate comprising:

an adapter mounting for mounting an adapter substantially along the axis of the faceplate, the adapter having a top portion, the adapter being used for connecting a forward fibre connector to the rear fibre connector;

a door pivotable from an open position, exposing the adapter mounting, to a closed position, covering the mounting and a mounted adapter, except for the top portion of the adapter, the door comprisng;

a top portion including an indentation between a first segment and a second segment to partially surround and hold the top portion of the adapter when the door is in the closed position;

the top portion further including a living hinge having a hook means on the inner surface on at least one of the first seqment and the second seqment;

the faceplate further comprising a shelf portion extending approximately at right angles to the axis of the faceplate, and extending over the adapter mounting, the shelf comprising;

a first protruding section;

a second protruding section;

an indentation between the first protruding section and the second protruding section to accommodate a portion of the top portion of the adapter; and

a latch means protruding from at least one of the first protruding section and the second protruding section, near a forward edge of the shelf for latch and hook engagement of the living hinge of the door to the shelf when the door is in the closed position; and

a gap formed within a portion of the faceplate between a lower edge of the adapter mounting and the bottom edge of the door.

13. The faceplate of claim 12, wherein the adapter mounting includes a spring for removably holding the adapter in place within the adapter mounting.

14. The faceplate of claim 12, wherein the adapter mounting extends at an angle relative to the plane formed by the length of the faceplate.

15. The faceplate of claim 12, wherein the door is released from the closed position by pushing on a portion of the top portion of the door, thereby pivoting the living hinge and disengaging the latch means on the shelf from the hook means on the door.

16. A combination of a faceplate and a circuit pack, the circuit pack having electronic and optical components including a rear fibre connector extending from an optical fibre, the faceplate comprising a front surface and a rear surface, the rear surface facing approximately 180°

from the front surface, the faceplate having an opening therein through which an adapter may extend for connecting a forward fibre connector to the rear fibre connector, wherein the faceplate comprises an adapter carrier having adapter mounting means for removably mounting the adapter, the carrier being mounted on the rear surface of the faceplate and pivotable laterally along the rear surface of the faceplate from a closed position behind the faceplate to an open position extending laterally beyond an edge of the faceplate, the carrier being detachable from the faceplate when in the open position.

17. The combination of claim 16, wherein the circuit pack comprises at least one printed circuit board and the faceplate is positioned forward of a front edge of the circuit pack.