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EP-4103990-B1 - TELECOMMUNICATIONS ENCLOSURE

EP4103990B1EP 4103990 B1EP4103990 B1EP 4103990B1EP-4103990-B1

Inventors

  • ZAVREL, Jiri
  • VAN MEEUWEN, BART
  • VASTMANS, KRISTOF
  • ROELANDTS, Nico

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20210209

Claims (13)

  1. A telecommunications enclosure (10, 100) comprising: a frame (12, 102); first and second termination panels (16a, 16b, 130a, 130b) mounted to the frame, the first and second termination panels being accessible from a front plane (30, 104), the first and second termination panels each including a plurality of cable termination locations (21, 23, 134, 135, 136, 137); and at least one splice area (18, 150) positioned inside the frame, the at least one splice area being accessible from a right side plane (34, 108) or a left side plane (36, 110), and the at least one splice area configured to receive fiber optic cables for splicing to additional cables inside the frame, wherein the at least one splice area includes a first splice area (18a, 150a) accessible from the right side plane and a second splice area (18b, 150b) accessible from the left side plane, each of the first and second splice areas including a plurality of splice trays (14, 116) pivotally mounted to groove plates (15, 118); wherein the first and second splice areas are slidable from an interior of the frame to an exterior of the frame such that the first and second splice areas are configured to extend beyond the right and left side planes to improve accessibility of the first and second splice areas, and wherein the first and second splice areas each includes a stacked arrangement (70, 72) of splice trays (14, 116).
  2. The enclosure of claim 1, wherein the first termination panel is configured to rotate in a direction to move from a storage position to an access position, the second termination panel configured to rotate in an opposite direction to move from the storage position to the access position.
  3. The enclosure of claim 1, further comprising first and second front doors pivotally attached to the frame on the front plane, the first and second front doors each configured to rotate from a closed position to an opened position to provide access to the first and second termination panels, and to rotate from the opened position to the closed position to block access.
  4. The enclosure of claims 1 or 3, further comprising at least one side door pivotally attached to the frame on the right side plane or left side plane, the at least one side door configured to rotate from a closed position to an opened position to provide access to the at least one splice area and to rotate from the opened position to the closed position to block access.
  5. The enclosure of claim 1, further comprising a first side door that is rotatable about a hinge between closed and opened positions, the first side door having one or more rails that align with one or more rails on a rear panel of the frame when the first side door is in the opened position, and the splice trays in the first splice area are slidable along the one or more rails on the rear panel for transitioning onto the one or more rails on the first side door.
  6. The enclosure of claim 5, further comprising a second side door that is rotatable about a hinge between closed and opened positions, the second side door having one or more rails that align with the one or more rails on the rear panel of the frame when the second side door is in the opened position, and the splice trays in the second splice area are slidable along the one or more rails on the rear panel for transitioning onto the one or more rails on the second side door.
  7. The enclosure of claim 1, further comprising: a rear panel (94, 148) on the frame having at least one rail (96, 164, 166); a first side door pivotally attached to the frame and configured to rotate between opened and closed positions, the first side door providing access to the first splice area; and a first panel having a plurality of splice trays pivotally mounted thereto, the first panel being slidable from the at least one rail on the rear panel to extend beyond the right or left side plane of the frame.
  8. The enclosure of claim 7, further comprising: a second side door pivotally attached to the frame and configured to rotate between opened and closed positions; and a second panel having a plurality of splice trays pivotally mounted thereto, the second panel being slidable from the at least one rail on the rear panel to extend beyond the right or left side plane of the frame that is opposite the first panel.
  9. The enclosure of any of claims 1-8, further comprising a cable slack storage area (139) positioned between the first and second termination panels.
  10. The enclosure of any of claims 1-9, further comprising cable management devices (20, 132) on an interior side of each of the first and second termination panels including cable rings and/or trays.
  11. The enclosure of any of claims 1-9, further comprising cable management devices on each of the first and second termination panels including a vertical stack of cable fingers (131).
  12. The enclosure of any of claims 1-4, further comprising one or more of the following: a lock on one or both of the first and second termination panels; a lock (151) on one or both of the first and second front doors; a lock (153) on one or both of the first and second side doors.
  13. The enclosure of any of claims 1-4, further comprising one or more of the following: a stay open device (133) on one or both of the first and second termination panels; a stay open device on one or both of the first and second front doors; a stay open device on one or both of the first and second side doors.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 62/972,526, filed on February 10, 2020. BACKGROUND Telecommunications systems typically receive subscriber or distribution cables, splice these fiber optic cables to a pigtail cable, and connect the pigtail cable to fiber optic equipment. To organize the fiber optic cables and equipment, fiber distribution cabinets are used. Fiber distribution cabinets permit connections to various fiber optic equipment using patch cords, and provide splice areas for splicing incoming cables containing one or more optical fibers. There is a continuous need to maintain a high-density fiber distribution cabinets. There are further needs to improve accessibility to the patch cords and splice areas, enhance fiber optic cable management, and avoid excessive bending and stresses on the various fiber optic cables. WO2019/091415A1 discloses related art. SUMMARY This disclosure relates to the organization of optical fibers within a telecommunications enclosure. More specifically, the telecommunication enclosure includes a frame that allows access to one or more termination panels on a front plane and access to one or more splice areas on a lateral side plane to allow multiple workers to work on the enclosure simultaneously. The invention is defined in claim 1, further embodiments are defined in the dependent claims. A variety of additional aspects will be set forth in the description that follows. The aspects can relate to individual features and to combinations of features. It is to be understood that both the forgoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the scope of the invention, which is defined by the appended claims. DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and constitute a part of the description, illustrate several exemplary aspects of the present disclosure. FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a telecommunications system that includes a frame for mounting telecommunications equipment.FIG. 2 is a top view of the frame in accordance with one embodiment.FIG. 3 is a top view of the frame in accordance with another embodiment.FIG. 4 is a top view of the frame in accordance with another embodiment.FIG. 5 is a top view of the frame in accordance with another embodiment.FIG. 6 is an isometric view of another telecommunications system that includes a frame for mounting telecommunications equipment.FIG. 7 is an isometric view of the telecommunications system of FIG. 6 with a first splice area shown in an access position.FIG. 8 is an isometric view of the telecommunications system of FIG. 6 with a second splice area shown in an access position.FIG. 9 is an exploded isometric view of the telecommunications system of FIG. 6.FIG. 10 is an isometric view of the telecommunications system of FIG. 6 with the first and second splice areas each shown in a storage position, and with first and second termination panels each shown in an access position.FIG. 11 is a front view of the telecommunications system of FIG. 6 with the first and second termination panels each shown in a storage position. DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a telecommunications system 10. In some examples, the telecommunications system 10 is a fiber distribution cabinet, enclosure, rack, and the like. The telecommunications system 10 includes a frame 12 that supports one or more termination panels (such as first and second termination panels 16a, 16b) and one or more splice areas (such as first and second splice areas 18a, 18b). A plurality of cable management devices 20 are mounted to the frame 12 to manage a plurality of patch cords 22 that run between a first termination panel 16a and a second termination panel 16b. The cable management devices 20 limit cable bend radius and manage cable slack. In some examples, the cable management devices 20 are cable radius limiters, spools, and the like. The patch cords 22 can be used to cross-connect between various termination locations on the termination panels. As shown in FIG. 1, the frame 12 defines a plurality of planes. For examples, the frame 12 defines six quadrilateral planes and has a substantially rectangular prism shape. The frame 12 defines at least a front plane 30, a rear plane 32, a right side plane 34, a left side plane 36, a top plane 38, and a bottom plane 40. The right and left side plans 34, 36 are each a lateral side plane. The first and second termination panels 16a, 16b are accessible from the front plane 30 of the frame 12 while at least one splice area 18 is accessible from the right side plane 34 or left side plane 36 of the frame 12. Advantageously, a first worker can access the first and second termination panels 16a, 16b on the front plane 30 of the frame 12 while a second worker accesses a splice area 18 from the right side plane 34 or the left side pl