Connector and receptacle containing a physical security feature
DCFirst Claim
1. A connector system comprising:
- a set of optical plugs, each optical plug having a housing and a ferrule, said housing having a front and back orientation and having a front face defining an opening, said ferrule being disposed within said opening, said housing defining a first keying element on said front face around said opening, said first keying element for said each optical plug of said set of optical plugs being different; and
a set of optical receptacles, each receptacle having an opening to receive said plug and a ferrule-receiving portion to receive said ferrule, said ferrule-receiving portion defining a second keying element to cooperate with said first keying element, said second keying element for said each receptacle of said set of said optical receptacles being different and being adapted to cooperate with one and only one of said first keying elements, wherein plugs and receptacles having keying elements that cooperate are mating pairs;
wherein each plug and receptacle of a mating pair is marked with a matching visual identification different from plugs and receptacles having different first and second geometries, said visual identification being at least one of color, alphanumerical indicia, or symbol.
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Abstract
A network comprising: (a) a plurality of different receptacles for facilitating an optical connection to different information networks requiring different access authorization, each different receptacle coupled to one and only one different information network, each receptacle having an inner surface with a first geometry, the first geometry comprising at least a slot, a certain number of receptacles having different first geometries in which the slots are in different positions; and (b) a plurality of different plugs for coupling with the different receptacles, each plug having a second geometry, the second geometry comprising at least a key in a certain position, the certain number of plugs having different second geometries in which the keys are in different positions, each different first geometry corresponding to one and only one second geometry such that the plugs and receptacles of corresponding first and second geometries are mating pairs.
161 Citations
7 Claims
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1. A connector system comprising:
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a set of optical plugs, each optical plug having a housing and a ferrule, said housing having a front and back orientation and having a front face defining an opening, said ferrule being disposed within said opening, said housing defining a first keying element on said front face around said opening, said first keying element for said each optical plug of said set of optical plugs being different; and a set of optical receptacles, each receptacle having an opening to receive said plug and a ferrule-receiving portion to receive said ferrule, said ferrule-receiving portion defining a second keying element to cooperate with said first keying element, said second keying element for said each receptacle of said set of said optical receptacles being different and being adapted to cooperate with one and only one of said first keying elements, wherein plugs and receptacles having keying elements that cooperate are mating pairs; wherein each plug and receptacle of a mating pair is marked with a matching visual identification different from plugs and receptacles having different first and second geometries, said visual identification being at least one of color, alphanumerical indicia, or symbol. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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Specification