阅读说明：本技术 防渗入户外级适配器和与户外连接器组装的方法 (Anti-seepage outdoor adapter and method for assembling outdoor connector ) 是由 J·格尼亚德克 高野一义 于 2019-07-05 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种户外级防渗入一件式适配器,具有第一端和第二端。第一端接收光纤适配器,所述光纤适配器配置成接收LC、SN、CS、SC或MPO光纤插芯组件。第二端接收将光缆固定在其中的光缆格兰头组件。第一端配置成接收其中具有光纤连接器的户外级连接器。连接器/适配器组件是户外使用级的。(An outdoor grade infiltration-resistant one-piece adapter has a first end and a second end. The first end receives a fiber optic adapter configured to receive an LC, SN, CS, SC, or MPO fiber ferrule assembly. The second end receives a cable gland assembly that secures a cable therein. The first end is configured to receive an outdoor grade connector having a fiber optic connector therein. The connector/adapter assembly is of the outdoor use class.)

1. An anti-ingress outdoor stage one-piece adapter comprising:

the one-piece adapter has an adapter front at a first end of the adapter body and a cable gland component secured at a second end of the adapter body;

the one-piece adapter body further includes internal threads at the second end that receive a fiber optic cable gland nut that forms part of a fiber optic cable gland assembly, wherein an environmental seal is formed around the cable at the second end by the fiber optic cable gland assembly being secured to the one-piece adapter body;

the first end further comprises a fiber optic adapter within the one-piece adapter body, the fiber optic adapter configured to receive a fiber optic connector at the first end, and wherein the fiber optic adapter receives at least one optical fiber at the second end from a cable secured within a cable gland assembly from the second end; and wherein the one-piece adapter front is configured to receive and secure an outdoor grade connector, the outdoor grade connector further comprising at least one fiber optic connector selected from one of an LC, SC, SN, CS, or MPO type fiber optic connector for mating with a fiber optic adapter.

2. An impermeable outdoor stage one-piece adapter according to claim 1, wherein the adapter front is configured to receive a snap-in second connector.

3. An impermeable outdoor grade one-piece adapter according to claim 1, wherein a fiber optic cable gland head assembly is integrally molded at the second end of the one-piece adapter.

4. An impermeable outdoor grade one-piece adapter according to claim 1, wherein the cable gland assembly further comprises external threads at its proximal end and internal threads at its distal end, the external threads securing the cable gland assembly at the second end of the one-piece adapter.

5. The anti-infiltration outdoor level one-piece adapter of claim 1, wherein the one-piece adapter front portion further comprises a locking slot on an exterior surface of the one-piece adapter front portion, the locking slot receiving the outdoor level connector and securing the outdoor level connector with at least one locking slot pin within the locking slot of the one-piece adapter.

6. An anti-infiltration outdoor grade one-piece adapter according to claim 1, wherein the fiber optic adapter further comprises at least one latch, and wherein the one-piece adapter body has a receiving surface for receiving and locking the fiber optic adapter within the one-piece adapter body.

7. An impermeable outdoor stage one-piece adapter according to claim 1, wherein the cable gland includes a heat shrink tube that seals the cable over the tail post.

8. A method of assembling an anti-seepage outdoor-grade adapter and connector system with an outdoor-grade connector and an anti-seepage outdoor-grade adapter, comprising:

providing a one-piece adapter body further comprising a first end having an adapter portion and a second end having a cable gland assembly;

securing a cable having at least one optical fiber therein to a distal end of a fiber optic adapter within a one-piece adapter body;

inserting the fiber optic adapter into the proximal end of the one-piece adapter body, whereby at least one latch on the fiber optic adapter is secured to a receiving surface within the one-piece adapter body;

attaching a cable gland assembly to the second end of the one-piece adapter body, whereby the cable gland assembly compresses the cable, thereby securing the cable against external pulling forces; and

connecting an outdoor connector to the first end of the outdoor adapter, the second outdoor connector further comprising at least one fiber optic connector selected from the group of fiber optic connectors comprising LC, SC, SN, CS, or MPO connectors.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein,

securing the cable gland assembly to the distal end of the impervious outdoor-grade adapter is by threading external threads at the proximal end of the cable gland assembly into internal threads at the distal end of the one-piece adapter body.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein,

securing a fiber optic adapter within the one-piece adapter body, and wherein the fiber optic adapter is selected from one of an LC, SC, SN, CS, or MPO adapter.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein,

passing the cable through an aperture in the optical cable gland head assembly;

stripping the outer jacket of the cable to expose the strength members;

passing the optical fiber through the hole of the knurled tail post;

sliding the tail boom under the strength member;

wrapping a strength member around the tail boom;

sliding the compression ring onto the strength member and securing the compression ring around the strength member; and

the cable is pulled distally until the pigtail flange abuts the proximal end of the cable gland head assembly.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to fiber optic connectors and systems, and more particularly to a microfiber fiber optic adapter that is resistant to moisture and debris infiltration. The adapter also includes a in-line adapter within its housing. The in-line adapter receives an SC, SN, CS, LC or MPO fiber optic connector.

Background

The reliability of the communication infrastructure depends on a robust connection between components, such as cable segments, network devices and communication devices. These connections are constantly exposed to dust, dirt, moisture and/or other contaminants that may penetrate the connection and degrade performance or even sever the connection between the components. Conventional connection assemblies (e.g., typical fiber optic connectors) generally do not provide a sufficient seal to completely prevent the infiltration of undesirable fluids (e.g., water) or solid contaminants. Fiber optic network segments are particularly vulnerable because fiber optic connections require particularly precise termination and alignment between the connected components and the cable segments, which may be impeded by the presence of fluid or solid contaminants. As such, the performance and/or availability of fiber optic network segments connected using conventional techniques is susceptible to degradation over time. Accordingly, telecommunication network providers desire to benefit from connection assemblies capable of maintaining a sealable and secure connection that are configured to prevent the infiltration of undesirable substances into connection assemblies having in-line adapters with a reduced number of parts.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an anti-infiltration adapter of the present invention having a fiber optic cable gland head assembly.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a prior art adapter.

Fig. 2A is a perspective view of the adapter of fig. 2 receiving two prior art outdoor connectors.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a one-piece adapter according to the present invention.

Fig. 3A is an exploded view of the outdoor connector of fig. 2A assembled with the one-piece adapter of fig. 3.

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the fiber optic adapter prior to insertion into the one-piece adapter body.

Fig. 5 is a front view of fig. 4 with the adapter fully inserted into the one-piece adapter body.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a prior art miniature LC in-line adapter.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the one-piece adapter of the present invention assembled in a longitudinal direction along a-a'.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a prior art outdoor connector having at least one fiber optic connector therein.

Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view along line a-a' showing the internal structure of the adapter of the present invention.

Fig. 10 is an exploded view of the adapter body of the present invention receiving either an LC adapter or SC adapter housing or an MPO adapter housing.

Fig. 11A is a perspective view of a prior art fiber optic connector.

FIG. 11B is a perspective view of a prior art fiber optic adapter configured to receive the connector of FIG. 11A.

FIG. 12 is an exploded view of the invention of FIG. 1 with a heat shrink tube replacing the cable gland head.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a cable gland head assembly with the tail stub exploded.

Fig. 13A is fig. 13 with the tail boom slid under the strength member.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of FIG. 13A with strength members on the tail boom.

Figure 14A is a view of figure 14 with a crimp ring on the tail cylinder.

Fig. 15 is a fully assembled fig. 13.

Detailed Description

The present disclosure is not limited to the particular systems, devices, and methods described, as these may vary. The terminology used in the description is for the purpose of describing the particular versions or embodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope.

As used in this document, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Nothing in this disclosure should be construed as an admission that the embodiments described in this disclosure are not entitled to antedate such disclosure by virtue of prior invention. As used in this document, the term "including" means "including but not limited to".

For purposes of this application, the following terms shall have the respective meanings below.

An adapter is a device having one or more openings configured to receive a connector. The adapter also includes a housing and one or more locking mechanisms inside or outside the housing. An internal lock may secure the connector within the opening and an external lock may secure the adapter assembly including the connector to the panel with a locking nut. A connector, such as a ferrule type connector (FC), a Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) connector, an LC connector, a mechanical transmission type (MT) connector, a square Splice (SC) connector, an SC duplex connector, or a pass-through type (ST) connector, is inserted into and fixed to any end of the adapter. The connector is generally defined by a connector housing body, an external latch or recess for securing the connector in the adapter opening, and one or more ferrules having optical fibers therein. In some embodiments, the housing body may contain any or all of the components described herein.

"fiber optic cable" or "fiber optic cable" refers to a cable that houses one or more optical fibers for conducting optical signals in the form of optical beams. The optical fibers may be constructed of any suitable transparent material, including glass, fiberglass, and plastic. The cable may include a jacket or sheath material surrounding the optical fibers. Further, the cable may be connected to the connector on one end or both ends of the cable.

Fig. 1 shows a pair of outdoor grade penetration resistant adapters (100a, 100b) according to the present invention. The adapter (100a, 100b) also includes a front portion to attach to an outdoor female connector. The front portion (102a, 102b) has a snap-in locking slot (402b) at the proximal end of the body (103a, 103b) of the one-piece adapter (100a, 100 b). The one-piece adapter body (103) has a cable gland head assembly (105a, 105b) at a second end of the body (103). The cable gland assembly (105) has a cable gland nut (104a, 104b) having a threaded body portion (104c) at a proximal end. A cable gland nut (304) is threaded into the distal end of the adapter body (103) to form an environmental seal. A cable (106) (see fig. 9) having at least two optical fibers (913) surrounded by a cable jacket is compressed (see fig. 10) by a cable gland assembly (105) to secure the cable against pulling forces in the direction a' (fig. 9) and to prevent the optical fibers from disengaging from the adapters (909). One-piece adapters (100a, 100b) have cable gland components (105a, 105 b). The removable cable gland assembly (107A) may be a separate component, as shown in fig. 10, or integrally molded (107B) to the distal end of the one-piece adaptor body (103), as shown in fig. 3.

In comparison to fig. 8, fig. 1 has a reduced number of components to be assembled and provides a more compact adapter assembly than the prior art device of fig. 8. The connector of fig. 8 is found in Gniadek U.S. patent No.9,477,049, commonly assigned with the present invention. Fig. 2 is a prior art hybrid miniature adapter having two opposing receptacles configured to receive outdoor connectors (250a, 250b), as shown in fig. 2A and disclosed in Takano U.S. patent 20170219779a1, commonly assigned with the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a prior art adapter having proximal and distal snap-in locking slot adapters (205a, 205b), and a fiber optic adapter (209) inserted within an adapter housing formed in part by a coupling nut (210).

Fig. 2A shows a prior art adapter (200) that receives a prior art outdoor connector (250a) at a proximal end of the adapter (200) and a second outdoor connector (250b) at a distal end of the adapter (200). Comparing fig. 1 and 3, the present invention is shorter and has fewer components due to the elimination of the first or second outdoor connector. What is improved is a one-piece adapter having a cable gland assembly at a second end and a first end that can receive and secure an outdoor connector (250). This eliminates the need for a second outdoor connector (250a or 250b) and further improves the water or penetration resistance when the cable gland assembly forms a water and debris resistant seal.

Fig. 3 shows the assembled one-piece adapter (300). The adapter (300) has a body (303) molded integrally with the removable cable gland assembly (107A) (see fig. 1 for cable gland head (107B)). A fiber optic cable gland nut (304) compresses the cable (106) and seals the adapter (300) at the distal end of the adapter from environmental infiltration. A seal is formed between the cable gland nut threads (304c) and corresponding grooves/threads on the interior of the adapter body (100). The adapter front (302) has locking slots (302b) that receive locking pins (252b) (see fig. 3A) to secure the outdoor connector (250) to the adapter front (302).

Fig. 3A is an exploded view of the outdoor connector (250) just prior to the connector (250) being secured to the front (302) of the adapter (300). The outdoor connector (250) has at least one fiber optic connector (252a) that mates with the adapter (309) and, upon mating, forms a communication path between the optical fiber (913) and the fiber optic connector. The dashed lines show the interrelationship between the fiber optic connectors within the outdoor connectors and the fiber optic adapters housed within the body (303) of the adapter (300).

Fig. 4 shows in exploded view the one-piece adapter body (403) and fiber optic adapter (409) just prior to insertion of the adapter (409) into the body (403) in the direction of arrow "I". The fiber optic adapter (409) receives one or more fiber optic connectors, such as LC, SC, or MPO connectors, housed within the outdoor connector (250). The adapter (409) is secured with the adapter body (403) by the latch (409b) abutting against the receiving surface (403 d). The locking slot (402b) receives the pin (252b) to secure the outdoor connector (250) to the proximal end of the adapter (400). Fig. 11A shows a variety of prior art connectors that may be secured within an outdoor connector, and a corresponding prior art adapter that receives the prior art connector (fig. 11B).

Fig. 5 shows a front view of the one-piece adapter (500). A plurality of locking slots (402b) are formed on the adapter front portion. The adapter body (503) protects the optical fibers and holds a fiber optic adapter (509) selected from the prior art adapters of fig. 11B. A plurality of receiving surfaces (503d) align and secure the adapter (509) within the adapter body (503). Fig. 6 shows a prior art fiber optic adapter (609a) for receiving an LC connector or SC connector in a first end (609d) and a cable/fiber plug (609e) separated by a slot (609c) receiving an optical fiber at a second end.

Fig. 7 shows an assembly view of the one-piece adapter (700) along longitudinal line a-a'. The one-piece adapter body (703) also includes an integrated fiber optic cable glan head assembly (705B) at the distal end of the body (703). The cable gland assembly (705) further includes a cable gland lock nut (705a) and nut threads (705c) for forming an environmental seal with the body (703), and a cable gland lock nut (705a) that secures the cable passing therethrough by being pressed around the cable and further forms an environmental seal.

Fig. 8 shows a prior art outdoor connector (200') similar to connector (250). The cable (120 ') is secured with a compression fitting (202 ') at the distal end of the connector (200 '). The locking collar (204 ') and coupling nut interface (210') secure the compression fitting (202 ') to the connector body (208') via the coupling nut (206 '), which forms the outdoor connector (200'). The outdoor connector (200 ') has one or more fiber optic connectors (114 ') within a main body (208 ').

Fig. 9 shows a cross-sectional view along line a-a' of the one-piece adapter (900). Protective jacket (906a) provides additional environmental protection around cable (906) holding optical fibers (913) and helps to ensure that the cable jacket is not punctured to expose the optical fibers when cable gland nut (904b) is secured within body (903) via groove (903 a). Knurled tail posts (911) further secure cable (906) against being pulled out of the distal end of adapter (900). The adapter (909) receives a fiber optic connector (not shown) housed within the outdoor connector (250). The adapter front portion (902) has locking slots (902b) that receive locking pins (252a) to secure the outdoor connector (250) to the proximal or front portion of the adapter.

Fig. 10 shows the outdoor adapter (100) assembled, disassembled into either LC/SC fiber optic adapters (909a) or MPO fiber optic adapters (909b) secured within the adapter body (103). A removable cable gland assembly (107A) is threaded into the distal end of the one-piece adaptor body (103). An environmental seal is formed with a sealing ring (113) against an inner wall of the adapter body (103). The cable gland head assembly (107A) has a threaded front end (107A) and a cable gland head assembly (105) at a distal end. The sealing ring (113) is located on a proximal face distally of the thread (107 a).

Fig. 11A shows a standard fiber optic connector in use, secured in connector (250) and received therein by fiber optic adapter (909a) or fiber optic adapter (909b) secured with adapter body (103). A standard SC connector (200) or a standard duplex LC connector (225) with optical fibers is received by an adapter (909 a). The MPO connector (230) is received by an adapter (909 b).The connector (235) is received by the adapter (909a), and the SN is^TMThe connector (240) is received by an adapter (909 a). CS and SN are trademarks of the current assignee of this patent. The trade name is for reference only.

Fig. 11B shows an adapter used as a fiber optic adapter (909a) or (909B). The SC adapter (300) may receive the SC connector (200). The SC adapter (300) is fixed within the adapter (103) near its proximal end. The LC adapter (325) may receive one or more LC connectors (225). The LC adapter (325) is secured within the adapter (103) near its proximal end. The CS MPO adapter (330) may receive an MPO connector (230). An MPO adapter (330) is secured within the adapter (130) near its proximal end. The CS adapter (335) may receive the CS connector (235). The CS adapter (335) is secured within the adapter (130) near its proximal end. The SN adapter (340) can receive the SN connector 240. The SN adapter (340) is secured within the adapter (130) near its proximal end.

Fig. 12 shows an exploded view of the impervious adapter (400) according to fig. 1 without the cable gland 105 but replaced with heat shrink tubing (202, 204). The tube (204) seals the distal end of the adapter (103) over the tube (202). A tube (202) seals the cable jacket to the tail boom. The connector (102) is connected to the adapter (400).

Fig. 13 shows a cable gland head assembly (905) with fiber optic cable (906) threaded through the bore. The crimp ring (912) is inserted over a cable jacket (915) that has been stripped and cut to expose the strength elements (914). The strength members are made of Kevlar (Kevlar). An optical fiber (913) passes through the hole in the knurled tail post. The optical fiber is attached to the ferrule assembly. Fig. 13A shows sliding the tail post (911) under the strength member in the direction of arrow "S". Fig. 14 shows the placement of the strength members (913) around the flange on the tail boom (911). Fig. 14A shows the pressing ring (912) slid onto the strength member and against the tail boom. Fig. 15 shows the final assembly with crimp rings (912) over the strength members (914) and tail posts (911) securing the cable (906) against the cable gland head assembly (905).

In the foregoing detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. In the drawings, like numerals generally refer to like elements unless the context indicates otherwise. The illustrative embodiments described in the detailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting. Other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made, without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter presented here. It will be readily understood that the aspects of the present invention, as generally described herein, and illustrated in the figures, can be arranged, substituted, combined, separated, and designed in a wide variety of different configurations, all of which are explicitly contemplated herein.

The present disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments described in this application, which are intended as illustrations of a variety of aspects. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope. Functionally equivalent methods and devices, in addition to those enumerated herein, are apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing description, and are within the scope of the disclosure. Such modifications and variations are within the scope of the appended claims. The disclosure is to be limited only by the terms of the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. It is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to particular methods, reagents, compounds, compositions or biological systems, which can, of course, vary. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting.

With respect to substantially any plural and/or singular terms used herein, those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context and/or application. Various singular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for the sake of clarity.

Those skilled in the art will understand that: in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as "open" terms (e.g., the term "including" should be interpreted as "including but not limited to," the term "having" should be interpreted as "having at least," the term "includes" should be interpreted as "includes but is not limited to," etc.). Although the various compositions, methods, and devices are described as "comprising" various components or steps (interpreted as "including, but not limited to"), the compositions, methods, and devices may also "consist essentially of" or "consist of" the various components and steps, and such terms should be interpreted as defining substantially closed-member groups. Those skilled in the art will also understand that: if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases "at least one" and "one or more" to introduce multiple claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles "a" or "an" limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to embodiments containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases "one or more" or "at least one" and indefinite articles such as "a" or "an" (e.g., "a" and/or "an" is interpreted to mean "at least one" or "one or more"); the same is true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of "two recitations," without other modifiers, means at least two recitations, or more than two recitations). Further, where a phrase similar to "at least one of A, B and C, etc." is used, in general, such grammatical structures are intended to represent phrases that would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art (e.g., "a system having at least one of A, B and C" would include but not be limited to systems having a alone, B alone, C alone, a and B together, a and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B and C together, etc.). In the case where a phrase similar to "A, B or at least one of C, etc." is used, in general, this grammatical structure is intended to represent the phrase as one skilled in the art would understand (e.g., "a system having at least one of A, B or C" would include, but not be limited to, systems having a alone, B alone, C alone, a and B together, a and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, any of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase "a or B" will be understood to include the possibility of "a" or "B" or "a and B".

In addition, where features or aspects of the disclosure are described in terms of markush groups, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the disclosure is also described in terms of any single member or subgroup of members of the markush group.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that all ranges disclosed herein also encompass any and all possible subranges and combinations of subranges for any and all purposes, such as in providing a written description. Any listed ranges may be readily understood as the same ranges that are fully described and that can be implemented with at least two, three, four, five, ten, etc. divisions. As a non-limiting example, each range discussed herein may be broken down into a lower third, a middle third, an upper third, and so on. Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that all languages such as "up to," "at least," and the like include the recited number and refer to the ranges discussed above that may be subsequently subdivided into sub-ranges. Finally, those skilled in the art will understand that a range includes each individual member. Thus, for example, a group having 1 to 3 cells refers to a group having 1, 2, or 3 cells. Similarly, a group having 1 to 5 cells refers to groups having 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 cells, and so on.

The various features and functions disclosed above, as well as others, or alternatives thereof, may be combined in many other different systems or applications. Various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art, each of which is also intended to be encompassed by the disclosed embodiments.