Optical fiber organizer assemblies that improve fiber management versalitiy of distribution boxes

Abstract

Telecommunications boxes, optical fiber management assemblies, and methods of using the same. Optical fiber management hardware of telecommunications boxes is provided with features that allow for more compactness of optical fiber management assemblies and / or greater versatility in how telecommunications boxes can be set up and used in the field.

Description

Docket No. 02316.8949WOU1 / 7549 W0W1OPTICAL FIBER ORGANIZER ASSEMBLIES THAT IMPROVE FIBER MANAGEMENT VERSALITIY OF DISTRIBUTION BOXESCROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application is being filed as a PCT International application and claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 692,437, filed September 9, 2024 and U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 727,831, filed December 4, 2024, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.BACKGROUND

[0002] In a typical fiber optic distribution network, sealed and re-enterable enclosures or boxes are used to provide access to optical fibers from one or more fiber optic cables. For example, the optical fibers from multi-fiber distribution cables can be accessed within the boxes. The boxes can be mounted to a surface, such as a wall inside of a building.

[0003] Splice trays, patch panels, and various optical components can be provided within the boxes. In certain examples, the enclosures include ruggedized adapter ports for allowing pre-connectorized drop cables to be connected to the optical fibers from the distribution cable. In some further examples, the optical fibers from the distribution cable are spliced inside the enclosures to optical fibers corresponding to drop cables that are routed out of the enclosure through sealed ports.

[0004] The multitude of optical fiber management components that a distribution box can be fitted with can be heavy, occupy a lot of space within the distribution box, and be cumbersome to install, remove and adjust. Generally, there is a desire for lighter weight and more compact optical fiber distribution boxes and optical fiber organizer assemblies that are positioned within these boxes.SUMMARY

[0005] In general terms, the present disclosure relates to components of optical fiber organizer assemblies of optical fiber distribution boxes. The components can provide improved versatility of use for different optical fiber management schemes.

[0006] In one aspect, the present disclosure relates to a telecommunications box, including: housing pieces defining a sealable and re-enterable closure volume; an optical fiber manager, including: a base plate configured to mount directly to one of the housing pieces and to be positioned within the closure volume; and a tray support structure extending obliquely from the base plate, the tray support structure having a first side and an opposite second side, the first side including tray receivers configured to pivotally receive a stack of optical fiber management trays, the second side including first coupling structures; and a component support plate including second coupling structures configured to lockingly interface with the first coupling structures, the component mounting plate including component receivers configured to lockingly receive optical fiber management components at different positions on the component mounting plate.

[0007] In another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a telecommunications box, including: housing pieces defining a sealable and re-enterable closure volume; an optical fiber manager, including: a base plate configured to mount directly to one of the housing pieces and to be positioned within the closure volume; and a tray support structure extending obliquely from the base plate, the tray support structure including tray receivers configured to pivotally receive a stack of optical fiber management trays, the tray receivers defining pivot axes about which the optical fiber management trays can pivot when the optical fiber management trays are pivotally received in the tray receivers, wherein the optical fiber manager is symmetrical about a reference plane that is perpendicular to and bisects the pivot axes.

[0008] In another aspect, the present disclosure relates to telecommunications box, including: housing pieces defining a sealable and re-enterable closure volume; an optical fiber manager, including: a base plate configured to mount directly to one of thehousing pieces and to be positioned within the closure volume; and a tray support structure extending obliquely from the base plate, the tray support structure including tray receivers configured to pivotally receive a stack of optical fiber management trays, wherein the base plate extends from the tray support structure in a direction away from the tray support structure to a side of the base plate; wherein the base plate includes structures that define a figure-8 shaped optical fiber routing path; wherein the base plate defines a first entry channel for routing a first optical fiber to the tray support structure along a first optical fiber pathway that includes at least a portion of the figure- 8 shaped optical fiber routing path; wherein the base plate defines a second entry channel for routing a second optical fiber to the tray support structure along a second optical fiber pathway that includes no portion of the figure-8 shaped optical fiber routing path; and wherein no portion of the second optical fiber pathway is as close to the side of the base plate as the figure-8 shaped optical fiber routing path.

[0009] In another aspect, the present disclosure relates to method of managing optical fibers at a telecommunications box, including: selecting an orientation from a plurality of orientations of an optical fiber manager, the optical fiber manager including a base plate and a tray support structure extending obliquely from the base plate, the tray support structure including tray receivers configured to pivotally receive a stack of optical fiber management trays; and securing the optical fiber manager to a housing piece of the telecommunications box in the orientation.

[0010] A variety of additional inventive aspects will be set forth in the description that follows. The inventive 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 broad inventive concepts upon which the examples disclosed herein are based.DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0011] The following drawing figures, which form a part of this application, are illustrative of described technology and are not meant to limit the scope of the disclosure in any manner.

[0012] FIG. 1 is perspective view of an example telecommunications box according to the present disclosure, the box being in a closed and sealed configuration.

[0013] FIG. 2 is a further perspective view of the box of FIG. 1.

[0014] FIG. 3 is a planar, front view of a portion of the box of FIG. 1.

[0015] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the portion of the box of FIG. 3.

[0016] FIG. 5 is a further perspective view of the portion of the box of FIG. 3.

[0017] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a further portion of the box of FIG. 1.

[0018] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a further portion of the box of FIG. 1.

[0019] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of one of the optical fiber management trays of the optical fiber management assembly of the box of FIG. 1.

[0020] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the adapter holding panel of the optical fiber management assembly of the box of FIG. 1.

[0021] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a portion of the optical fiber management assembly of the box of FIG. 1.

[0022] FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the component holder of the fiber management assembly of the box of FIG. 1.

[0023] FIG. 12 is a further perspective view of the component holder of FIG. 11.

[0024] FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the component support plate of the fiber management assembly of the box of FIG. 1.

[0025] FIG. 14 is a further perspective view of the component support plate of FIG. 13.

[0026] FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the optical fiber manager of the fiber management assembly of the box of FIG. 1.

[0027] FIG. 16 is a further perspective view of the optical fiber manager of FIG. 15.

[0028] FIG. 17 is a further perspective view of the optical fiber manager of FIG. 15.

[0029] FIG. 18 is a front view of the optical fiber manager of FIG. 15.

[0030] FIG. 19 is a planar, bottom view of the optical fiber manager of FIG. 15.

[0031] FIG. 20 is a planar, front view of a portion of another example telecommunications box according to the present disclosure.

[0032] FIG. 21 is a perspective view of the portion of the telecommunications box of FIG. 20.

[0033] FIG. 22 is a further perspective view of the portion of the telecommunications box of FIG. 20.

[0034] FIG. 23 is a perspective view of the optical fiber manager of the fiber management assembly of the telecommunications box of FIG. 20.

[0035] FIG. 24 is a further perspective view of the optical fiber manager of FIG. 23.

[0036] FIG. 25 is a further perspective view of the optical fiber manager of FIG. 23.

[0037] FIG. 26 is a further perspective view of the optical fiber manager of FIG. 23.

[0038] FIG. 27 is planar, front view of the optical fiber manager of FIG. 23.

[0039] FIG. 28 is a perspective view of another example optical fiber organizer assembly that can be configured using the box of FIG. 1.

[0040] FIG. 29 is a perspective view of another example optical fiber organizer assembly that can be configured using the box of FIG. 1.

[0041] FIG. 30 is a perspective view of a portion of the assembly of FIG. 29.

[0042] FIG. 31 is a perspective view of a component of the portion of the assembly of FIG. 30.

[0043] FIG. 32 is a further perspective view of the component of FIG. 31.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0044] Various embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals represent like parts and assemblies throughout the several views. Reference to various embodiments does not limit the scope of the claims attached hereto. Additionally, any examples set forth in this specification are not intended to be limiting and merely set forth some of the many possible embodiments for the appended claims.

[0045] Referring to FIGS. 1-7, aspects of an example telecommunications box 100 will be described. Features of the box and / or the contents of the box 100 can provide one or more advantages over existing fiber management systems, such as improved compactness of component arrangements, smaller profile and / or lighter weight of individual components, and / or greater ease in assembling, adjusting and / or disassembling component arrangements.

[0046] The box 100 includes housing pieces 102 and 104 that are hingedly coupled together with a hinge 106 to selectively open and close the box 100. When the box is closed as shown in FIG. 1, the interior closure volume 108 defined by the housing pieces 102 and 104 is sealed, e.g., adequately sealed for certain environments, such as indoor environments.

[0047] The box 100 is configured to be mounted to a surface inside a structure, such as mounted to a wall inside of a building. For instance, fasteners can be inserted through holes 110 defined by tabs 112 of the housing piece 104 to secure the closure to a surface or another structure (e.g., a column, a pole, a ceiling, and the like). In addition, the housing piece 104 can include hooks 116 for hanging the box 100 to a structure.

[0048] The housing piece 102 can include a handle 117 for grasping to open and close the box 100. In some examples, the housing pieces 102 and 104 can include complementary latching features that latch to each other when the box 100 is in the closed configuration. A sealing element can be compressed between the housing pieces 102 and 104 when they are in the closed configuration to seal the interior closure volume 108.

[0049] In some examples, the housing pieces 102 and 104 are constructed of plastic.

[0050] Many different types of optical fiber management components can be mounted within the closure volume 108. Such components can include, for instance, cable fixation and termination components, fiber routing components, fiber splicing components, signal splitting components, wave division multiplexers, fiber indexing components, fiber slack storage components (e.g., spools, fiber guides) fiber optic adapters that receive and optically couple connectorized ends of optical fibers, optical fiber breakouts, optical fiber management trays for managing such things as splices, fiber slack storage, fiber optic adapters and signal splitting components, and the like.

[0051] Fiber optic cables (e.g., feeder cables and drop cables) can enter the closure volume 108 through various ports 118 defined by different sides (e.g., three or more sides) of the housing piece 104 or cable port defining modules that are received in pockets 120 of the housing piece 104. Such ports can form seals around the cable jackets as the cables pass through into the closure volume 108. Within the interior closure volume 108, the ends of the cables are fixed to the housing piece 104 with cablefixation components, and their optical fibers are routed to and managed by the various fiber management components stationed within the closure volume 108.

[0052] In the depicted example, the equipment secured to the housing piece 104 and within the closure volume 108 includes in optical fiber organizer assembly 125 (also referred to herein as an assembly). Optical fibers from cables entering the closure volume 108 are routed to and managed on the assembly 125.

[0053] The assembly 125 extends along an axis 101 from a bottom 109 of the housing piece 104 to a top 111 of the housing piece 104. The assembly 125 extends along an axis 103 from a left side 105 of the housing piece 104 to a right side 107 of the housing piece 104. The assembly 125 extends along an axis 113 perpendicular to the plane of the page in FIG. 3. The axis 113 extends from the front of the assembly 125 into the page to the back of the assembly 125. The axes 101, 113 and 113 are mutually perpendicular to one another.

[0054] The assembly 125 includes an optical fiber manager 130, an adapter panel 140, a stack of optical fiber management trays 128 pivotally supported and held by the optical fiber manager 130, a component support plate 150, and a fiber management component 152. The front most tray 128 of the stack of trays 128 is covered with a cover 129. To the adapter panel 140 are amounted fiber optic adapters that receive optical fiber connectors 144 that form connectorized ends of optical fibers 146. For example, optical fibers from cables entering the closure volume 108 are connectorized and installed in the adapters 142 whereby those optical fibers are optically connected to optical fibers 146 having connectors installed in the opposite sides of the adapters and which optical fibers 146 can then be routed to and managed on the manager 130, the trays 128, and / or by a module held by the fiber management component 152.

[0055] The arrangement of fiber management equipment housed in the closure volume 108 can be customized based on particular signal connectivity needs in a given situation. The arrangement shown in the figures is one of many possible arrangements that can be accommodated in the closure volume of a box such as the box 100. Other arrangements can include more or fewer trays, more or fewer adapters and / or adapterpanels, additional fiber management components such as slack storage basket or tray, cable fixation arrangements, signal splitters, wave division multiplexors, fiber indexing equipment different numbers and types of splice holders (e.g., splice holders for single fiber splices and / or splice holder for multi-fiber splices), and the like.

[0056] Each tray 128 in the stack of trays is configured to pivot forward in the direction of the arrow 127 to provide access to the fiber management volume of the tray below it. The interface between a tray 128 and the manager 130 can include structures that allow the tray to stay in the pivoted forward position until a technician applies a force to pivot the tray back to the storage position.

[0057] The pivoting interface between each tray 128 and the manager 130 defines a pivot axis 131 about which the tray can pivot while remaining mounted to the manager 130. The pivot axis 131 of each tray 128 is parallel to the axis 101.

[0058] Referring to FIGS. 8 and 18, each tray receiver 160 of the manager 130 is configured to pivotally receive a coupling arrangement 162 of a tray 128. For example, pin receivers 164 hold hinge pins 166 of a tray 128, allowing the pins 166 to rotate within the pin receivers 164. In addition, clips 168 receive a positioning shaft 170 of a tray 128. Interaction between the clips 168 and the positioning shaft 170 enable the tray to be self-supporting in a pivoted-forward (access) position. A projection 172 on one side of the receiver 160 and not on the other side of the receiver 160 is configured to be received in a corresponding groove of the coupling arrangement 162 of the tray 128 that is on only one side of the tray 128, such that the tray 128 can be mounted to the manager 130 only in one orientation.

[0059] Referring to FIG. 8, the tray 128 includes an outer perimeter wall 171 that defines an interior fiber management volume 173 of the tray 128. The fiber management volume 173 is configured to guide optical fibers in loops or partial loops to a fiber management region 174. In this example, the fiber management region 174 includes a splice holder 175 for holding one or more splice bodies that protect splices between optical fibers that are routed onto the tray 128. In other examples, the fiber management region 174 could include another type of fiber management component,such as a signal splitter or an adapter that receives connectorized ends of optical fibers routed onto the tray 128.

[0060] Referring to FIG. 18, at the top and bottom of the manager 130, the manager 130 includes fingers 176 and guides 177. The fingers 176 and guides 177 define fiber guide channels 178 configured to guide fibers to different trays 128 in the stack as needed to build and / or support particular fiber management circuits in an organized fashion. For example, the fibers routed on each tray 128 can correspond to subscribers of a different building, or subscribers of a different unit within a building, or to a different cluster of buildings.

[0061] Referring to FIGS. 3, 4, 9, and 15, the depicted example assembly includes a panel 140. The panel 140 is generally L-shaped and defines fully enclosed openings 180 that can receive and hold banks of adapters. The L-shaped nature of the panel 140 can help to maximize space usage within the closure volume 108. For example, the portion 181 of the panel 140 can be positioned under the stack of trays 128, whereas the portion 183 of the panel 140 is positioned to the side of the stack of trays 128 and extends perpendicular to the axis 113 alongside the stack.

[0062] The panel 140 includes projecting feet 182, a through hole 184, and a notch 186 that are configured to interface with the manager 130. For example, the feet 182 can be received in complementary recesses 187 defined by the manager 130, while a latch 189 of a panel mount 188 of the manager 130 can snappingly enter the notch 186 to releasably secure the panel to the manager 130. A hinge arrangement can be coupled to the through hole 184 and the manager 130 to enable the panel 140 to pivot away from and toward the manager 130 when it is not latched to the panel 140. For example, to improve access to particular adapters and connectors installed in the panel 140, the panel 140 can be pivoted about a pivot axis 190 in the direction 191 away from the manager 130 and then pivoted back to the storage position of the panel 140 after the work on the adapters is performed. The pivot axis 190 is parallel to the pivot axes 131.

[0063] Referring to FIGS. 7 and 10-19, further details of the assembly 125 will be described. The manager 130 extends from a left side 200 of the manager 130 to a rightside 202 of the manager 130 parallel to the axis 103. The manager 130 extends from a bottom 204 of the manager 130 to a top 206 of the manager 130 parallel to the axis 101.

[0064] The manager 130 can be, in some examples, of unitary plastic construction (e.g., formed with all of its features in a single mold).

[0065] The manager 130 includes a base plate 210 and a tray support structure 212.

[0066] The base plate 210 is configured to mount directly to the housing piece 104 and thereby to be positioned within the interior closure volume 108. For example, fasteners can be used to secure to the base plate 210 to bosses 220 integrally formed with and projecting from the rear, interior surface 222 of the housing piece 204.

[0067] Alternatively, comer portions of the base plate 210 can be retained between the interior surface 222 and a right set of two tabs 224 or a left set of two tabs 224 (depending on the selected orientation of the manager 130) that are integrally formed with the housing piece 204, while projections 226 are received in complementary receivers at the top, bottom, and rear of the base plate 210 to stabilize and secure the base plate 210 to the surface 222.

[0068] The tray support structure 212 extends obliquely from the base plate 210, with the support structure 212 and the base plate 210 forming an oblique angle 230.

[0069] The tray support structure 212 has a first side 232 and an opposite second side 234. The first side 232 includes the tray receivers 160. The second side 234 includes first coupling structures 236. In this example, the first coupling structures include an arrangement of hooks 236. In this example, there are three hooks 236. More or fewer first coupling structures can be provided.

[0070] The component support plate 150 has second coupling structures 238 configured to lockingly interface with the first coupling structures 236. In this example, the second coupling structures are notches and / or channels that define hook receivers for securely receiving the hooks 236. The component support plate 150 can include a flexibly resilient member 240 that can be flexed to allow the plate 150 to be installed inthe hooks arrangement of the manager 130, and then released to its relaxed configuration to secure the plate 150 within the arrangement of hooks 236.

[0071] The component support plate 150 includes an array of component receivers 242. Each component receiver 242 is configured to lockingly receive a mounting portion of an optical fiber management component. Each receiver 242 defines a different, selectable position on the component support plate 150 for mounting a fiber management component to the component mounting plate. Each component receiver 242 includes two side by side dovetailing openings 244 and 246. Within the opening 246 is a flexibly resilient tab 147 having a recess 250.

[0072] Various different types of optical fiber management components having mounting structures complementary to one or more receivers 242 can be mounted to a desired position on the component support plate 150. Such optical fiber management components can include, for instance, a splice holder, a signal splitter, a wave division multiplexor, an adapter, and the like.

[0073] In the depicted example, the fiber management component 152 is a holder for a module, such as a splitter module 153 (schematically depicted in phantom in FIG. 11). The example splitter module 153 splits signals from one input fiber 155 to four output fibers 157. For instance, the input fiber 155 can be routed to the splitter module 153 from a cable entering the closure volume (e.g., via connectors in an adapter installed on the adapter panel 140) and the output fibers 157 can be routed to splices held on one or more trays 128 on the other side of the tray support structure 212. Many other possibilities, including different splitter sizes and / or types of fiber management components can be used instead.

[0074] The plurality of component receivers 242 allow multiple fiber management components to be secured to the component support plate 150 at the same time.

[0075] The component 152 includes a receiving volume 254 that receives a module such as the splitter module 153. The component 152 includes latch arms 252 to secure the module within the receiving volume 254. The component 152 also includes amounting portion 256 that is complementary to a component receiver 242. The mounting portion 256 includes projections 258 that can be inserted in the openings 244 and 246 and then slid to the narrower portions of the openings 244, 246 at which point the flexed arm 248 returns to its relaxed configuration to stop reverse sliding of the projections 258. To remove the component 152, a tool (e.g., a fiber pick) can be inserted in the recess 250 to flex the recess and allow the mounting portion 256 to be slid in the reverse direction until the projections 258 are in the wider portions of the openings 244 and 246 at which point they can be removed from the component receiver 242.

[0076] Referring to FIGS. 29-32, another example use of the component support plate 150 mounted to the manager 130 within the housing piece 104 is depicted. In this example a fiber loop storage component 400 is mounted to the support plate 150. It will be appreciated that different types of components can be mounted to the support plate 150 at the same time, such as the component 152 and the component 400.

[0077] The component 400 is configured to retain one or more loops of optical fibers, such as the looped optical fiber 3. In this manner, the space 401 behind the manager within the interior closure volume 108 of the closure can be used for, e.g., fiber slack storage.

[0078] The component 400 includes a component body 402. Extending from the body 402 are one or more stop walls 404, 406, and fiber retention tabs 408.

[0079] Projecting from the body 402 is the same mounting portion 256 as for the component 152. The mounting portion 256 is complementary to a component receiver 242. Mounting and removing the component 400 to and from the support plate 150 follows the same procedure as described with respect to the component 152.

[0080] The stop walls 404 and 406, and the fiber retention tabs 408 are configured to cooperate to retain loops of optical fibers on the support plate 150.

[0081] The ability to mount optical fiber management components (such as signal splitters and fiber loop retainers) on one side of the tray support structure 212 whilepivotally mounting trays 128 to the opposite side of the tray support structure 212 can help maximize space usage in the interior closure volume 108 of the box 100 and / or increase the versatility of fiber management arrangements that can be accommodated by the box 100.

[0082] Advantageously, the manager 130 is symmetrical about a reference plane 260 that is perpendicular to and bisects the pivot axes 131. As a result, the optical fiber manager is configured to be mounted to one of the housing pieces in each of two orientations that are mirror images of each other. One such orientation is depicted in FIG. 3, wherein the right most tabs 224 of the housing piece 204, and not the left most tabs 224, are engaged to secure the manager 130 to the housing piece 204.

[0083] Another such orientation is depicted in FIG. 28, wherein the left most tabs 224 of the housing piece 204, and not the right most tabs 224, are engaged to secure the manager 130 to the housing piece 204. In the example of FIG. 28, the assembly does not include an adapter panel and instead is configured to rout input to output fibers only via splices supported on the trays 128. Other arrangements are possible.

[0084] The orientation of the manager 130 can be selected, e.g., based on where optical cables are entering the closure volume 108, e.g., whether they are entering via cable ports supported in the left pocket 120 and / or via cable ports supported in the right pocket 120. In this manner, fiber routing length within the closure volume 108 can be minimized, freeing up more space and requiring less material (e.g., shorter lengths of optical fibers and protective tubing) to build the desired signal distribution arrangement. The orientation of the manager 130 can be selected based on one or more other factors.

[0085] Whether in the orientation of FIG. 3 or the orientation of FIG. 28, optical fibers (such as the optical fiber 262 in FIG. 18) emerge from a fixated end of a cable and are routed via a tube holder area 264 of the manager 130 at a fiber entry way 266 also defined by the manager 130. The fiber is then routed to a fiber routing area 268 of the base plate 210 and then to a fiber management component, such as a splice (e.g., supported on a tray), a splitter, or an adapter. The fiber routing area 268 incudes fiberretaining tabs and structures 270 that define different fiber pathways, such as figure 8 shaped pathways that allow fibers to be routed to different components or areas of the assembly without overbending them beyond their minimum bend radii.

[0086] Because of the symmetry of the manager 130 described above, there are two opposing entry ways 266 at top and bottom of the manager 130, with a different one being utilized for routing fibers onto the manager 130 depending on the selected orientation of the manager 130 relative to the pockets 120.

[0087] Referring to FIGS. 20-27, another example optical fiber organizer assembly 300 that can be part of a telecommunications box will be described. Many principles of the box 100 apply to the box that includes the assembly 300. In the interest of brevity, the following discussion will focus largely on the differences between the assembly 300 and the assembly 125 described above.

[0088] The assembly 300 is mounted to a housing piece 302 of a sealable and reenterable box such that when the box is closed the assembly 300 is positioned within the interior closure volume of the box.

[0089] In general, the box associated with the assembly 300 is smaller and more compact than the box 100 and can accommodate fewer and / or smaller fiber management components. For instance, the assembly 300 does not include adapters or an adapter panel. Rather, all optical fibers are routed to splices supported on trays 128 and / or to a splitter or other fiber management component mounted to the side of the tray support structure opposite the side that supports the trays.

[0090] The assembly 300 includes an optical fiber manager 330 and a stack of fiber management trays 128 pivotally supported and held by the manager 330. The assembly 300 also includes a component support plate 150 mounted to the manager 330 and multiple fiber management components 152 mounted to the component support plate 150, similar to how these elements were described in connection with the fiber manager 130 above. The plate 150 and components 152 are mounted on the opposite side of the tray support structure of the fiber manager 330 as the trays 128.

[0091] The manager 330 can be of unitary, plastic construction.

[0092] The manager 330 includes a base plate 332 and a tray support structure 334 extending obliquely from the base plate 332. The base plate 332 is configured to be secured, e.g., with fasteners, to the rear, interior surface of the housing piece 302. The tray support structure 334 is configured to pivotally support and hold trays 128 as well as to securely receive a component support plate 150 back-to-back with the trays, and as described above.

[0093] The base plate 332 includes regions 350 and 352 that have structures to mount cable fixation components for fixing end portions of fiber optic cables entering the closure volume through cable ports 354.

[0094] The base plate 332 extends from the tray support structure 334 in a direction 360 away from the tray support structure 334 to a side 362 of the base plate 332.

[0095] The base plate 332 includes structures 364, 366, 368, 370, 372, and 374 that define a figure-8 shaped optical fiber routing path 380.

[0096] The base plate 332 includes a first entry channel 382 defined by the structures 368 and 374 for routing a first optical fiber 389 to the tray support structure 334 (and thereby to a tray 128 or a management component on the opposite side of the tray support structure 334) along a first optical fiber pathway that includes at least a portion of the figure-8 shaped optical fiber routing path.

[0097] Advantageously, the base plate 332 also includes a second entry channel 384 for routing a second optical fiber 390 to the tray support structure 334 along a second optical fiber pathway that includes no portion of the figure-8 shaped optical fiber routing pathway 380. Moreover, no portion of the second optical fiber pathway is as close to the side 362 of the base plate as the figure-8 shaped optical fiber routing path 380.

[0098] Due to the multiple entryways of the entry channels 382 and 384 positioned towards opposite sides 362 and 363 of the base plate 332, multiple configurations ofpathways for fibers to different areas of the manager 330 can be selected, e.g. based on where optical cables are entering the closure volume, such as whether they are entering via left side cable ports 354 or via right side cable ports 354. In this manner, fiber routing length within the closure volume can be minimized, freeing up more space and requiring less material (e.g., shorter lengths of optical fibers and protective tubing) to build the desired signal distribution arrangement. For instance, the optical fiber 390 can be advantageously routed from a cable that is fixated in the region 350 directly to the tray support structure 334 (and thereby to a tray 128 or, e.g., a splitter on the opposite side of the tray support structure 334), without having to be routed via much longer pathway on any portion of the figure-8 shaped pathway 380.

[0099] The various embodiments described above are provided by way of illustration only and should not be construed to limit the claims attached hereto. Those skilled in the art will readily recognize various modifications and changes that may be made without following the example embodiments and application illustrated and described herein, and without departing from the true spirit and scope of the following claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A telecommunications box, comprising: housing pieces defining a sealable and re-enterable closure volume; an optical fiber manager, including: a base plate configured to mount directly to one of the housing pieces and to be positioned within the closure volume; and a tray support structure extending obliquely from the base plate, the tray support structure having a first side and an opposite second side, the first side including tray receivers configured to pivotally receive a stack of optical fiber management trays, the second side including first coupling structures; and a component support plate including second coupling structures configured to lockingly interface with the first coupling structures, the component support plate including component receivers configured to lockingly receive optical fiber management components at different positions on the component support plate.

2. The telecommunications box of claim 1, wherein the tray receivers define pivot axes about which the optical fiber management trays can pivot when the optical fiber management trays are pivotally received in the tray receivers; and wherein the optical fiber manager is symmetrical about a reference plane that is perpendicular to and bisects the pivot axes.

3. The telecommunications box of claim 1, wherein the base plate extends from the tray support structure in a direction away from the tray support structure to a side of the base plate; wherein the base plate includes structures that define a figure-8 shaped optical fiber routing path; wherein the base plate defines a first entry channel for routing a first optical fiber to the tray support structure along a first optical fiber pathway that includes at least a portion of the figure-8 shaped optical fiber routing path;wherein the base plate defines a second entry channel for routing a second optical fiber to the tray support structure along a second optical fiber pathway that includes no portion of the figure-8 shaped optical fiber routing path; and wherein no portion of the second optical fiber pathway is as close to the side of the base plate as the figure-8 shaped optical fiber routing path.

4. The telecommunications box of any of claims 1-3, wherein the optical fiber manager is of unitary, plastic construction.

5. The telecommunications box of any of claims 1-4, further comprising an optical signal splitter module mounted to one of the component receivers of the component support plate.

6. The telecommunications box of any of claims 1-5, further comprising a panel of fiber optic adapters configured to couple connectorized optical fibers, the panel being mounted to one of the housing pieces.

7. The telecommunications box of claim 6, wherein the panel is pivotally mounted to the one of the housing pieces.

8. The telecommunications box of any of claims 1 -7, wherein the first coupling structures include hooks.

9. The telecommunications box of claim 8, wherein the second coupling structures include hook receivers; and wherein the hooks are configured to snappingly interface with the hook receivers to lockingly mount the component support plate to the optical fiber manager.

10. The telecommunications box of any of claims 1 -9, further comprising the optical fiber management trays pivotally supported by the tray support structure.

11. The telecommunications box of any of claims 1 -2, wherein the optical fiber manager is configured to be mounted to one of the housing pieces in each of two orientations that are mirror images of each other.

12. A telecommunications box, comprising: housing pieces defining a sealable and re-enterable closure volume; an optical fiber manager, including: a base plate configured to mount directly to one of the housing pieces and to be positioned within the closure volume; and a tray support structure extending obliquely from the base plate, the tray support structure including tray receivers configured to pivotally receive a stack of optical fiber management trays, the tray receivers defining pivot axes about which the optical fiber management trays can pivot when the optical fiber management trays are pivotally received in the tray receivers, wherein the optical fiber manager is symmetrical about a reference plane that is perpendicular to and bisects the pivot axes.

13. The telecommunications box of claim 12, wherein the optical fiber manager is configured to be mounted to one of the housing pieces in each of two orientations that are mirror images of each other.

14. The telecommunications box of any of claims 12-13, wherein the optical fiber manager is of unitary, plastic construction.

15. The telecommunications box of any of claims 12-14, further comprising a panel of fiber optic adapters configured to couple connectorized optical fibers, the panel being mounted to one of the housing pieces.

16. The telecommunications box of claim 15, wherein the panel is pivotally mounted to the one of the housing pieces.

17. The telecommunications box of any of claims 12-16, further comprising the optical fiber management trays pivotally supported by the tray support structure.

18. A telecommunications box, comprising: housing pieces defining a sealable and re-enterable closure volume; an optical fiber manager, including: a base plate configured to mount directly to one of the housing pieces and to be positioned within the closure volume; and a tray support structure extending obliquely from the base plate, the tray support structure including tray receivers configured to pivotally receive a stack of optical fiber management trays, wherein the base plate extends from the tray support structure in a direction away from the tray support structure to a side of the base plate; wherein the base plate includes structures that define a figure-8 shaped optical fiber routing path; wherein the base plate defines a first entry channel for routing a first optical fiber to the tray support structure along a first optical fiber pathway that includes at least a portion of the figure-8 shaped optical fiber routing path; wherein the base plate defines a second entry channel for routing a second optical fiber to the tray support structure along a second optical fiber pathway that includes no portion of the figure-8 shaped optical fiber routing path; and wherein no portion of the second optical fiber pathway is as close to the side of the base plate as the figure-8 shaped optical fiber routing path.

19. The telecommunications box of any of claim 18, wherein the optical fiber manager is of unitary, plastic construction.

20. The telecommunications box of any of claims 18-19, further comprising a panel of fiber optic adapters configured to couple connectorized optical fibers, the panel being mounted to one of the housing pieces.

21. The telecommunications box of claim 20, wherein the panel is pivotally mounted to the one of the housing pieces.

22. The telecommunications box of any of claims 18-21 , further comprising the optical fiber management trays pivotally supported by the tray support structure.

23. A method of managing optical fibers at the telecommunications box of any of claims 18-22, comprising: routing a first optical fiber to the tray support structure along the first optical pathway; and routing a second optical fiber to the tray support structure along the second optical pathway.

24. A method of managing optical fibers at a telecommunications box, comprising: selecting an orientation from a plurality of orientations of an optical fiber manager, the optical fiber manager including a base plate and a tray support structure extending obliquely from the base plate, the tray support structure including tray receivers configured to pivotally receive a stack of optical fiber management trays; and securing the optical fiber manager to a housing piece of the telecommunications box in the orientation.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the selecting is performed based on a location of an entry point of an optical fiber cable into a closure volume defined by the telecommunications box.

26. The telecommunications box of any of claims 6-7, wherein the panel is L- shaped.

27. The telecommunications box of any of claims 1-11, further comprising a fiber loop retention component mounted to one of component receivers of the component support plate.

28. The telecommunications box of claim 27, further comprising a fiber loop retained by the fiber loop retention component at the second side of the tray support structure.

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