Systems and methods for managing optical fibers and components within an enclosure in an optical communications network
First Claim
1. A fiber distribution hub in an optical fiber-to-the-premises network comprising:
- an enclosure;
a subscriber patch shelf in the enclosure and having a plurality of termination connectors to form a termination field; and
an optical splitter shelf in the enclosure and having a plurality of optical splitter modules, the optical splitter modules having a plurality of splitter output pigtail ends wherein the pigtail ends are connectorized and administratively located directly on a splitter module bulkhead.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The preferred embodiments of the present invention include an optical splitter module having connectorized pigtails that are stored on the bulkhead faceplate of the module. The module includes an optical splitter output harness, for example, a ribbon cable assembly attached to the bulkhead with rugged strain relief mechanism. The ribbon harness is converted to individual pigtails with connectors which are stored on adapter receptacles on the faceplate. Adapter receptacles used may optionally be half receptacles when storage is the only desired function or may be full receptacles when access to the pigtail ferrule tip is required. Access to the ferrule tip may be required for attaching fiber optic terminators to eliminate undesirable reflections caused by unterminated connectors. The module provides an administrative location for splitter outputs prior to being connected individually into service. The module also provides an administrative storage location for splitter outputs taken out of service as a temporary staging area before being reassigned and connected individually into service again.
395 Citations
35 Claims
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1. A fiber distribution hub in an optical fiber-to-the-premises network comprising:
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an enclosure; a subscriber patch shelf in the enclosure and having a plurality of termination connectors to form a termination field; and an optical splitter shelf in the enclosure and having a plurality of optical splitter modules, the optical splitter modules having a plurality of splitter output pigtail ends wherein the pigtail ends are connectorized and administratively located directly on a splitter module bulkhead. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method for configuring an enclosure for use in distributing optical signals in a communications network, the method comprising:
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installing a first optical splitter module having a first plurality of output pigtails each having a connectorized end; routing the first plurality of pigtails circumferentially around a first subscriber termination field located within the enclosure, the first subscriber termination field comprising a plurality of subscriber terminations, the routing further performed in a manner not substantially obstructing access to the plurality of terminations; and storing the connectorized ends of the first plurality of pigtails in a like plurality of stored positions ready for deployment. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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Specification