US-20260126597-A1 - OPTICAL FIBER CONNECTOR

US20260126597A1US 20260126597 A1US20260126597 A1US 20260126597A1US-20260126597-A1

Abstract

An optical fiber connector with a housing configured to hold a plurality of optical fiber ferrules is selectively reconfigurable between a first configuration and a second configuration different from the first configuration. The housing can have different widths in the first and second configurations. The ferrules can have different ferrule arrangements in the first and second configurations. The optical fiber connector can be mateable with different types of receptacles in the first and second configurations. Reconfiguration can be achieved by disconnecting a rear housing from a plurality of front housings at first set of attachment points, rotating the rear housing 180° in relation to the front housings, and attaching the rear housing to the front housings at the second set of attachment points.

Inventors

Kazuyoshi TAKANO
Kenji IIZUMI
Chi Ho FAN
Siu Kei Ma

Assignees

SENKO ADVANCED COMPONENTS, INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20251229

Claims (20)

1 . An optical fiber connector comprising: a plurality of plug units, each plug unit configured to hold at least one optical fiber ferrule, each plug unit comprising a pullback unlatch actuator configured to be displaced rearward in relation to the respective optical fiber ferrule to unlatch the plug unit from a receptacle, wherein the plug units are laterally adjustable between a first lateral arrangement and a second lateral arrangement; and a rear housing configured to couple to the pullback unlatch actuator of each plug unit in both the first lateral arrangement and the second lateral arrangement, wherein the rear housing is configured to be displaced rearward to simultaneously displace the pullback unlatch actuators of the plug units to unlatch the optical fiber connector from a receptacle in both the first lateral arrangement and the second lateral arrangement.
2 . The optical fiber connector of claim 1 , wherein the plug units have a first plug-unit-to-plug-unit spacing in the first lateral arrangement and a second plug-unit-to-plug-unit spacing in the second lateral arrangement, the second plug-unit-to-plug-unit spacing being greater than the first plug-unit-to-plug-unit spacing.
3 . The optical fiber connector of claim 2 , wherein the first plug-unit-to-plug-unit spacing is less than 4.2 mm and the second plug-unit-to-plug-unit spacing is greater than 4.2 mm.
4 . The optical fiber connector of claim 1 , wherein the rear housing comprises a first set of coupling formations and a second set of coupling formations, the first set of coupling formations configured to couple with the pullback unlatch actuators in the first lateral arrangement and the second set of coupling formations configured to couple with the pullback unlatch actuators in the second lateral arrangement.
5 . The optical fiber connector of claim 4 , wherein the rear housing comprises a first wall and an opposite second wall, the first set of coupling formations being on the first wall and the second set of coupling formations being on the second wall, and wherein the rear housing is invertible between a first orientation in which the first wall is positioned to couple with the pullback unlatch actuators and a second orientation in which the second wall is positioned to couple with the pullback unlatch actuators.
6 . The optical fiber connector of claim 1 , wherein the optical fiber connector is mateable with a receptacle of a first type when the plug units are in the first lateral arrangement and mateable with a receptacle of a second type when the plug units are in the second lateral arrangement, wherein the receptacle of the first type has a plurality of channels undivided by partition walls and the receptacle of the second type has a plurality of channels divided by partition walls.
7 . The optical fiber connector of claim 1 , further comprising a back body assembly, wherein each plug unit is laterally adjustable in relation to the back body assembly between a first lateral position corresponding to the first lateral arrangement and a second lateral position corresponding to the second lateral arrangement.
8 . An optical fiber connector comprising: a plurality of plug units, each plug unit configured to support at least one optical fiber ferrule; a body defining a plurality of guide tracks; and a positioning shell configured to selectively secure the plug units in either of a first lateral arrangement and a second lateral arrangement, wherein each plug unit is laterally movable along a respective one of the guide tracks between a first position corresponding to the first lateral arrangement and a second position corresponding to the second lateral arrangement, and wherein the positioning shell is configured to engage the plug units to fix the plug units at the first positions in the first lateral arrangement and to fix the plug units at the second positions in the second lateral arrangement.
9 . The optical fiber connector of claim 8 , wherein each plug unit comprises a lateral retention feature slidably received in the respective guide track.
10 . The optical fiber connector of claim 9 , wherein the lateral retention feature comprises a flange and the guide track comprises opposing grooves configured to slidably receive opposite edge portions of the flange.
11 . The optical fiber connector of claim 8 , wherein the positioning shell comprises a first set of engagement formations spaced at a first spacing corresponding to the first lateral arrangement and a second set of engagement formations spaced at a second spacing corresponding to the second lateral arrangement.
12 . The optical fiber connector of claim 11 , wherein the positioning shell comprises opposing walls, the first set of engagement formations being on one of the walls and the second set of engagement formations being on the other of the walls, and wherein the positioning shell is invertible to selectively present either the first set of engagement formations or the second set of engagement formations for engagement with the plug units.
13 . The optical fiber connector of claim 8 , wherein each plug unit comprises a latch mechanism for latching the plug unit to a receptacle, and wherein the positioning shell is configured to transmit a rearward force to the plug units to actuate the latch mechanisms.
14 . The optical fiber connector of claim 8 , wherein the plug units have a first plug-unit-to-plug-unit spacing in the first lateral arrangement and a second plug-unit-to-plug-unit spacing in the second lateral arrangement, the second plug-unit-to-plug-unit spacing being greater than the first plug-unit-to-plug-unit spacing.
15 . A fiber optic trunk cable assembly comprising: a fiber optic trunk cable comprising a plurality of optical fibers; and an optical fiber connector terminating the fiber optic trunk cable, the optical fiber connector comprising: a plurality of plug units, each plug unit configured to hold at least one optical fiber ferrule optically connected to the plurality of optical fibers, the plug units being laterally adjustable between a first lateral spacing and a second lateral spacing; and a rear housing rotatable relative to the plug units between a first rotational orientation and a second rotational orientation, the rear housing circumscribing a cable passage through which the fiber optic trunk cable extends, the rear housing is configured to secure the plug units in the first lateral spacing when in the first rotational orientation and to secure the plug units in the second lateral spacing when in the second rotational orientation, wherein the rear housing encircles the fiber optic trunk cable continuously as the rear housing is rotated between the first rotational orientation and the second rotational orientation such that the that the rear housing maintains a coaxial relationship with the fiber optic trunk cable when switching between securing the plug units in the first lateral spacing and securing the plug units in the second lateral spacing.
16 . The fiber optic trunk cable assembly of claim 15 , wherein the rear housing is rotatable around the fiber optic trunk cable 180 degrees between the first rotational orientation and the second rotational orientation.
17 . The fiber optic trunk cable assembly of claim 15 , wherein the rear housing is slidable rearward relative to the plug units to a displaced position at which the rear housing is rotatable between the first rotational orientation and the second rotational orientation, and wherein the rear housing is slidable forward from the displaced position to re-engage the plug units after rotation.
18 . The fiber optic trunk cable assembly of claim 15 , further comprising a back body assembly received in the rear housing, wherein the rear housing comprises alignment formations configured to slidably engage corresponding alignment formations on the back body assembly in both the first rotational orientation and the second rotational orientation.
19 . The fiber optic trunk cable assembly of claim 18 , wherein the alignment formations on the rear housing are symmetrically arranged such that the rear housing can slidably engage the back body assembly in either of the first rotational orientation and the second rotational orientation.
20 . The fiber optic trunk cable assembly of claim 15 , wherein the optical fiber connector is mateable with a receptacle of a first type when the plug units are in the first lateral spacing and mateable with a receptacle of a second type when the plug units are in the second lateral spacing.

Description

STATEMENT OF RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 18/052,613, filed Nov. 4, 2022, which application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Nos. 63/275,638, 63/282,127, and 63/317,040, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. FIELD This disclosure generally pertains to an optical fiber connector. BACKGROUND The prevalence of the Internet has led to unprecedented growth in communication networks. Consumer demand for service and increased competition has caused network providers to continuously find ways to improve quality of service while reducing cost. Certain solutions have included deployment of high-density interconnect panels. High-density interconnect panels may be designed to consolidate the increasing volume of interconnections necessary to support the fast-growing networks into a compacted form factor, thereby increasing quality of service and decreasing costs such as floor space and support overhead. However, room for improvement in the area of data centers, specifically as it relates to fiber optic connections, still exists. For example, manufacturers of connectors and adapters are always looking to reduce the size of the devices, while increasing ease of deployment, robustness, and modifiability after deployment. In particular, more optical connectors may need to be accommodated in the same footprint previously used for a smaller number of connectors in order to provide backward compatibility with existing data center equipment. SUMMARY In one aspect, an optical fiber connector comprises a plurality of optical fiber ferrules and at least one front housing. Each front housing is configured for holding one or more of the optical fiber ferrules. a rear housing is configured to be releasably connected the front housing in either of a first configuration and a second configuration. In the first configuration, the optical fiber ferrules define a first width. In the second configuration, the optical fiber ferrules define a second width. The first width is different from the second width. In another aspect, an optical fiber connector comprises a plurality of optical fiber ferrules. One or more connector housing components are configured to hold the plurality of optical fiber ferrules. The optical fiber connector is selectively reconfigurable between a first configuration and a second configuration. In the first configuration, the one or more connector housing components hold the plurality of optical fiber ferrules in a first ferrule arrangement and the optical fiber connector is mateable with a receptacle of a first type such that optical connections can be made to each of the plurality of optical fiber ferrules at the receptacle of the first type. In the second configuration, the one or more connector housing components hold the plurality of optical fiber ferrules in a second ferrule arrangement and the optical fiber connector is mateable with a receptacle of a second type such that optical connections can be made to each of the plurality of optical fiber ferrules at the receptacle of the second type. Other aspects and features will be apparent hereinafter. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective of a first embodiment of an optical fiber connector in a first configuration approaching a receptacle of a first type; FIG. 2 is top plan view of the scene in FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a perspective of the connector in a second configuration approaching a receptacle of a second type; FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the scene in FIG. 3; FIG. 5 is another top plan view similar to FIG. 2; FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the connector in the first configuration; FIG. 7 is another top plan view of the connector in the first configuration; FIG. 8 is a top plan view of the connector in the second configuration; FIG. 9 is another top plan view of the connector in the first configuration; FIG. 10 is another top plan view of the connector in the second configuration; FIG. 11 is another perspective of the connector in the first configuration; FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective of the connector; FIG. 13 is another exploded perspective of the connector; FIG. 13A is a perspective of an inner connector subassembly; FIG. 14 is a fragmentary perspective of a subassembly of the connector including a back body base and a plurality of inner connector subassemblies; FIG. 15 is a perspective of a back body lid; FIG. 16 is an elevation of a spring push; FIG. 17 is a perspective of the spring push; FIG. 18 is another perspective of the connector in the first configuration; FIG. 19 is a perspective of a rear housing of the connector in an orientation corresponding to the first configuration as shown in FIG. 18; FIG. 20 is another perspective of the connector in the second configuration; FIG. 21 is a perspective of the rear housing in a second, inverted orientation corresponding to the second configuration as shown in FIG. 20; FIGS. 22-27 are a