Communications Technology Corp.

Lucent Technologies Inc.

William D Smith

Craig O Belflower

Harbin C Farr

Wendi J Sams

Norman Roger Lampert

George J Shevchuk

George O Hicks

An aerial enclosure for a terminal block and method for installing the terminal block and a cable connected thereto within the enclosure. The enclosure includes a housing that defines an interior region adapted to contain the terminal block. The housing has an open front face and includes a rear wall, and a number of side walls that border the interior region. A cover is connected to the housing and is moveable to either cover or expose the interior region. One side wall of the housing includes a terminal block opening sized to permit insertion therethrough of the terminal block and cable. An entrance cap is adapted to cover the terminal block opening and defines a through passage sized to permit the cable to extend through the through passage. During manufacture, the entrance cap can be installed onto the cable before or after the cable is connected to the terminal block. The entrance cap is attached to the enclosure so that the terminal block opening is covered by the entrance cap.

Terminal block mounting method and apparatus

An enclosure for a terminal block that provides a telecommunications transmission connection. The enclosure includes a housing that defines an interior region adapted to support a terminal block. The housing has an open front face and includes a rear wall, and a number of side walls that border the interior region. A cover is attached to one side wall of the housing for covering the interior region. The cover is moveable to a partially open, a widely open, or a fully open position to allow access to the interior region of the housing. One side wall of the housing includes a socket member that defines a groove. A hinge structure is rotatably moveable within the socket member for attaching the cover to a side wall of the housing. Biasing means are seated within the groove and interposed between the hinge structure and socket member. The biasing means bias the cover against rotatable movement between the closed position and the partially open position, or between the partially open position and the widely open position, or between the widely open position and the fully open position. The biasing means includes a leaf spring having first and second flexible legs, the first of which is secured within the groove, the second of which contacts the hinge structure to provide a resistive force against rotatable movement of the hinge structure.

Terminal block hinge mechanism

Terminal block enclosure

An aerial enclosure for use in distributing above ground fiber optic communications signals from a signal source such as a central office to a customer site. The enclosure has first and second enclosure segments that can be separated to expose an enclosure interior where a termination panel is mounted that includes a row of terminal contact pairs to which copper cables are connected for routing conventional telecommunications signals away from the enclosure interior to a customer site. The enclosure includes a communications subsystem mounted within the enclosure having a first fiber optic portion for routing outgoing light signals to an optical network unit outside the enclosure for conversion to electrical signals. A copper portion of the communications subsystem incoming telecommunications signals back into the enclosure where they are redistributed from one or more of the plurality of terminal contact pairs by copper cables to one or more customer sites. A splice connection between a fiber optic strand from an overhead cable is spliced to the first fiber optic portion of the communications subsystem and then positioned within a splice enclosure for environmentally sealing the splice within the aerial enclosure.

Aerial enclosure for coupling data signals to a customer site

A connector (10) terminates an optical cable (30) and includes a cylindrical ferrule (140) installed in a plastic base member (150) to form a fiber-holding structure. This structure includes a small passageway along its central axis for holding an optical fiber, and is mounted within a housing (110) that includes a cable-entrance end for receiving the optical cable and a plug end for insertion into a jack receptacle (40). The housing includes a cantilever latch (120) that is mounted on a side surface of the housing and is used to secure the connector to the receptacle. The fixed end (125) of the cantilever latch is positioned toward the plug end of the connector, and the free end (124) of the cantilever latch extends toward the cable-entrance end of the connector. The housing further includes a cantilever trigger (130) which slidably engages the latch to move it downward and thereby release the connector from the receptacle. The fixed end (135) of the trigger is positioned toward the cable-entrance end of the connector and the free end (134) of the cantilever trigger extends toward the plug end of the connector. The trigger forms an acute angle (.beta.) with the central axis (101) of the housing that points in a direction away from the plug end of the connector toward the cable-entrance end so that when the cable is pulled backward through a concentrated area of cables and wires, the trigger prevents the latch from snagging. The novel anti-snagging feature is also incorporated into an RJ-type electrical connector (800).

Growing community of inventors

Marietta, GA, United States of America

William D Smith