Optical Fiber Distribution With Robotic Connector Retraction
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing demand for optical fiber scheduling in scenarios like data centers and street cabinets has led to heavy workloads for personnel, necessitating an automatic solution for efficient fiber scheduling.
Innovation Solution
An optical fiber distribution device equipped with a distribution portion, connector retracting portion, and robot system that performs automatic fiber scheduling by retracting optical fiber connectors and fibers to a dedicated area, avoiding entanglement and reducing complex routing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual fiber scheduling is performed, then flexibility and adaptability are maintained, but the time required for scheduling increases and productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables automatic fiber scheduling through a robot that autonomously performs connector extraction, retraction, and insertion operations based on scheduling instructions, eliminating the need for manual intervention and significantly improving scheduling efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical operations with an automated robot system that uses mechanical arms and grippers to handle fiber connectors, transitioning from human-operated to machine-operated fiber scheduling
2Ease of operation
If fiber connectors are left in wound clusters, then storage density is improved, but fiber entanglement and winding occur during scheduling operations
Solution Approach 1:
The robot extracts the fiber connector from the wound cluster and retracts the fiber along with the connector to a dedicated retraction area, separating the active fiber from the stored fiber cluster to prevent entanglement during scheduling operations
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a connector retraction area as an intermediate zone between the fiber storage area and the adapter, where fibers are neatly retracted and organized before being inserted into adapters, preventing direct contact and potential winding with other fibers
3Reliability
If a dedicated connector retraction area is introduced, then fiber management is improved and winding is avoided, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The fiber management space is segmented into distinct functional areas: a fiber storage area for wound clusters, a connector retraction area for active fiber management, and adapter locations for connection, allowing organized and efficient fiber scheduling operations
Solution Approach 2:
The connector retraction area serves multiple functions: it acts as a transition zone for fiber extraction, provides a neat storage location for active fibers, and prevents fiber entanglement, thereby managing fibers neatly during scheduling operations
Data Source
AI summary
An optical fiber distribution device includes a distribution portion, a connector retracting portion, and a robot system. The distribution portion comprises an optical fiber adapter, wherein the optical fiber adapter is configured to connect to a first optical fiber connector connected to a first optical fiber. The connector retracting portion is configured to accommodate the first optical fiber connector and the first optical fiber connected to the first optical fiber connector. The robot system is configured to remove a target optical fiber connector from an initial optical fiber adapter, retract the target optical fiber connector and a second optical fiber connected to the target optical fiber connector to the connector retracting portion, and remove the target optical fiber connector from the connector retracting portion and insert the target optical fiber connector into a target optical fiber adapter.