EP-4741899-A2 - FIBER OPTIC TERMINAL HAVING A PERIMETER SEAL AND METHOD OF MAKING AND USING SAME

EP4741899A2EP 4741899 A2EP4741899 A2EP 4741899A2EP-4741899-A2

Abstract

A fiber optic terminal having a perimeter seal includes a base and a cover connected to the base between opened and closed positions. The base and cover define an interior volume having a perimeter in which fiber optic components are disposed. The fiber optic terminal further includes a rigid member extending from one of the base or cover and a flexible rib extending from the other of the base or cover. Each of the rigid member and flexible rib is configured to partially bound the interior volume along a portion of the perimeter. When the cover is in the closed position, the flexible rib engages the rigid member to form a seal around the portion of the perimeter to protect the fiber optic components. A method of manufacturing the fiber optic terminal and a method of using the fiber optic terminal having the perimeter seal are also disclosed.

Inventors

GAUDYNSKA, Martha Eliza
KLAK, ROBERT TOMASZ
KUKIAN, Przemyslaw Andrzej
ORLOWSKI, Karol Pawel

Assignees

Corning Research & Development Corporation

Dates

Publication Date: 20260513
Application Date: 20251029

Claims (13)

A fiber optic terminal, comprising: a base; a cover moveably connected to the base between an opened position and a closed position, wherein in the closed position, the base and the cover define an interior volume having a perimeter in which one or more fiber optic components are configured to be disposed; a rigid member integrated with and extending from one of the base or the cover, wherein the rigid member is configured to at least partially bound the interior volume along at least a portion of the perimeter when the cover is in the closed position; and a flexible rib integrated with and extending from the other of the base or the cover, wherein the flexible rib is configured to at least partially bound the interior volume along the at least a portion of the perimeter when the cover is in the closed position, wherein when the cover is in the closed position, the flexible rib is configured to engage the rigid member to form a seal around the at least a portion of the perimeter of the interior volume to protect the one or more fiber optic components.
The fiber optic terminal of claim 1, wherein the flexible rib has a height, and wherein the height of the flexible rib varies along a length of the flexible rib.
The fiber optic terminal of claim 2, wherein the length of the flexible rib includes a corner portion having a first height and a non-corner portion having a second height, and wherein the first height is greater than the second height.
The fiber optic terminal of claim 3, where the first height of the flexible rib is approximately double the second height of the flexible rib.
The fiber optic terminal of any of the preceding claims, wherein the flexible rib deforms against the rigid member when the cover is in the closed position, and wherein the maximum deflection of the flexible rib at each location along its length is substantially constant.
The fiber optic terminal of claim 5, wherein the maximum deflection of the flexible rib at each location along its length is approximately 0.6 mm.
The fiber optic terminal of any of the preceding claims, wherein the base includes the rigid member and the cover includes the flexible rib.
The fiber optic terminal of any of the preceding claims, wherein a Young's modulus of each of the rigid member and the flexible rib is greater than approximately 0.1 GPa.
The fiber optic terminal of any of the preceding claims, wherein the Young's modulus of each of the rigid member and the flexible rib is greater than approximately 1.0 GPa.
The fiber optic terminal of any of the preceding claims, wherein the flexible rib includes a proximal end adjacent the other of the base or the cover and a distal end opposite the proximal end, and wherein a thickness of the flexible rib is greater at the proximal end than at the distal end.
The fiber optic terminal of any of the preceding claims, wherein an angle between the flexible rib and the other of the base or cover from which the flexible rib extends is greater than 90 degrees.
The fiber optic terminal of any of the preceding claims, wherein the flexible rib includes at least one fillet at a proximate end of the flexible rib where the flexible rib meets the other of the base or the cover, and wherein a ratio of a radius of curvature of the at least one fillet to a thickness of the flexible rib is greater than or equal to approximately 0.5.
The fiber optic terminal of any of the preceding claims, wherein when the cover is in the closed position, no intermediary material is located between the rigid member and the flexible rib to form the seal around the at least the portion of the perimeter of the interior volume.

Description

Priority Application This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/717,367, filed on November 7, 2024, the content of which is relied upon and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety Technical Field This disclosure relates generally to fiber optics, and more particularly to fiber optic terminals for use with fiber optic networks having an improved seal for protecting fiber optic components disposed in the fiber optic terminals. Background Optical fibers are used in a wide variety of applications, most commonly as part of the physical layer of a communication protocol through which network nodes communicate over a data network. Optical fibers offer several benefits, including wide bandwidth and low noise operation. A passive optical network (PON) is a type of optical distribution network that is comprised entirely of passive optical components. The continued growth of the Internet has resulted in a corresponding increase in demand for network capacity and reliability. This demand has, in turn, caused carriers to extend their PONs closer to end users. This extension of optical fiber toward the ends of the network (e.g., node, curb, building, home, etc.) is commonly referred to as Fiber-To-The-x (FTTx). In one such network configuration, carriers desire to extend their PONs all the way to network equipment in the home. This type of extension of carrier PONs may be referred to as Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH). FTTH in particular has been recognized by governments around the world as an essential digital infrastructure to support economic growth across urban and rural areas. Presently, FTTH reaches less than 50% of homes in the United States. Equipping more homes with optical fibers will require innovative and lower-cost technologies for both dense urban and remote communities. Furthermore, to provide optical connectivity to homes, for example, the optical fibers of a main trunk cable are often spliced to optical fibers of drop cables that are coupled to the network equipment in a home. For this coupling, a fiber optic terminal may be positioned relatively close to where a fiber optic cable enters the home. For example, a fiber optic terminal may be mounted or otherwise positioned in the basement of a home or on or near an exterior wall of the home. In either case, the fiber optic terminal is exposed to environmental factors (e.g., dust, water, etc.) that are unfriendly to fiber optic components located within the fiber optic terminal. To protect the fiber optic components from environmental factors, at least a portion of an interior of the fiber optic terminal is sealed-typically using an elastomeric material (e.g., rubber or the like). While elastomeric materials have been generally successful at providing the desired seal, elastomeric materials suffer from several drawbacks. One drawback of elastomeric materials is wear and degradation over time which can reduce the effectiveness of the seal. Further, inclusion of an elastomeric material in a fiber optic terminal results in higher manufacturing costs at least because the elastomeric material must be separately manufactured and mounted during the fiber optic terminal assembly process. In view of the above, and as the pace of optical fiber demand accelerates, there is a growing need for a perimeter seal for a fiber optic terminal that does not make use of an elastomeric material. Summary Certain exemplary aspects of the invention are set forth below. It should be understood that these aspects are presented merely to provide the reader with a brief summary of certain forms the invention might take and that these aspects are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. In one aspect of the disclosure, a fiber optic terminal having an improved perimeter seal is disclosed. The fiber optic terminal includes a base and a cover moveably connected to the base between an opened position and a closed position. In the closed position, the base and the cover define an interior volume having a perimeter in which one or more fiber optic components are configured to be disposed. The fiber optic terminal further includes a rigid member integrated with and extending from one of the base or the cover and a flexible rib integrated with and extending from the other of the base or the cover. Each of the rigid member and the flexible rib is configured to at least partially bound the interior volume along at least a portion of the perimeter when the cover is in the closed position. When the cover is in the closed position, the flexible rib is configured to engage the rigid member to form a seal around the at least a portion of the perimeter of the interior volume to protect the one or more fiber optic components disposed therein. In one embodiment, the flexible rib has a height, and the height of the flexible rib may vary along a length of the flexible rib that extends from the other of the base or cover. By way of example, the length