Wall box adapted to be mounted at a mid-span access location of a telecommunications cable

• US 7,751,675 B2
• Filed: 12/11/2008
• Issued: 07/06/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/11/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: CommScope Technologies, LLC (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: ADC Telecommunications Incorporated (TE Connectivity Limited)
• Inventors: Rudenick, Paula, Gronvall, Erik, Solheid, James J., Holmberg, Matthew, Marcouiller, Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): Peng; Charlie
• Assistant Examiner(s): Anderson; Guy G
• Application Number:
  US12/332,468
• Publication Number:
  US 20090202214A1
• Time in Patent Office: 572 Days
• Field of Search: 385134-140
• US Class Current: 385/135
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/3825 with an intermediate part, e.g. adapter, receptacle, linking two plugs
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/4446 Cable boxes, e.g. splicing boxes with two or more multi fibre cables
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/4454 with splices

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a wall box adapted to be mounted at a mid-span access location of a fiber optic telecommunications cable. The wall box includes an enclosure having a main body with an open front side. The enclosure also includes a front cover for opening and closing the open front side of the main body. The wall box defining first and second cable entrance/exit openings positioned at opposite sides of the enclosure. The main body defines an open region through an exterior wall of the main body. The open region extends from the first cable entrance/exit opening to the second cable entrance/exit opening. The enclosure also includes a cable cover that is mounted to the main body to cover the open region. The cable cover is a separate component from the front cover.

Claims

1. A wall box comprising:

an enclosure including a main body with an open front side, the enclosure also including a front cover for selectively opening and closing the open front side of the main body;

the enclosure including a first side defining a first cable entrance/exit opening and an oppositely disposed second side defining a second cable entrance/exit opening, the first and second cable entrance/exit openings being co-axially aligned;

the main body defining an open region through an exterior wall of the main body, the open region extending from the first cable entrance/exit opening to the second cable entrance/exit opening, wherein the open region is adapted to allow a cable to be laterally inserted through the open region and into an interior of the enclosure; and

the enclosure including a cable cover that is removably mounted to the main body to cover the open region, the cable cover being a separate component from the front cover, the cable cover extending from the first cable entrance/exit opening to the second cable entrance/exit opening and defining at least a portion of a rear wall of the enclosure.

2. The wall box of claim 1, wherein the main body includes a cable storage spool structure positioned within an interior of the main body.

3. The wall box of claim 1, wherein the main body includes a plurality of bend radius limiters positioned within an interior of the main body about which excess cable can be looped.

4. The wall box of claim 3, wherein the plurality of bend radius limiters includes four bend radius limiters.

5. The wall box of claim 1, further comprising a splice tray that mounts within the enclosure, the splice tray including a panel having a front side and a back side, the splice tray including a perimeter wall that extends forwardly from the panel and a spool that projects rearwardly from the panel, the panel defining one or more fiber routing openings that extend through the panel, and the splice tray including one or more bend radius limiting structures at the front of the panel about which optical fiber can be looped for storage.

6. The wall box of claim 3, further comprising a splice tray that mounts within the enclosure, the splice tray including a panel having a front side and a back side, the splice tray a spool that projects rearwardly from the panel and nests inside the bend radius limiters of the main body.

7. The wall box of claim 1, further comprising fiber optic adapters mounted to the front cover of the enclosure, the first optic adapters including first ports positioned inside the enclosure and second ports accessible from outside the enclosure.

8. The wall box of claim 7, wherein the fiber optic adapters define central axes that are generally parallel to a cable pass-though axis defined by the first and second cable entrance/exit openings.

9. The wall box of claim 8, wherein the fiber optic adapters include a first group having outer ports that face in a same direction as the first cable entrance/exit opening, and a second group having outer ports that face in a same direction as the second cable entrance/exit opening.

10. The wall box of claim 8, wherein the fiber optic adapters define central axes that are generally perpendicular to a cable pass-though axis defined by the first and second cable entrance/exit openings and that are generally parallel to a rear wall of the enclosure.

11. The wall box of claim 8, wherein the fiber optic adapters define central axes that are generally perpendicular to a cable pass-though axis defined by the first and second cable entrance/exit openings and that generally do not extend in a front-to-back orientation relative to the enclosure.

12. The wall box of claim 1, wherein the enclosure defines a footprint less than 100 square inches.

13. The wall box of claim 7, wherein the front cover includes first and second adapter mounting panels that are angled relative to one another so as to define a v-shaped configuration, wherein a first group of the fiber optic adapters are mounted at the first adapter mounting panel and are angled such that the outer ports of the fiber optic adapters face partially toward the first cable entrance/exit opening, and wherein a second group of the fiber optic adapters are mounted at the second adapter mounting panel and are angled such that the outer ports of the fiber optic adapters face partially toward the second cable entrance/exit opening.

14. The wall box of claim 7, wherein the front cover defines an internal cavity in which the inner ports of the fiber optic adapters are located, wherein the front cover includes a door for accessing the internal cavity of the cover without opening the front cover relative to the main body, and wherein the wall box includes a wall that separates the internal cavity of the front cover from an internal region of the main body when the front cover is closed relative to the main body.

15. The wall box of claim 1, wherein the cable cover defines a rear corner of the enclosure.

16. The wall box of claim 1, wherein the cable cover is moved in a rearward direction to remove the cable cover from the main body.

17. The wall box of claim 1, wherein the cable cover is moved in a direction generally parallel to a rear wall of the enclosure to remove the cable cover from the main body.

18. The wall box of claim 1, wherein cable clamps are located at the first and second cable entrance/exit openings, wherein each cable clamp includes a first half-cylinder integral with the cable cover and a second half-cylinder integral with the main body.