Removable Spool for Optical Fiber Storage in NID Cabinets
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Solution Overview
Problem
The installation of network interface device (NID) cabinets requires on-site cutting and termination of optical fibers, which is time-consuming, imprecise, and often requires specialized equipment, making it challenging to achieve clean connections.
Innovation Solution
A removable spool system for optical fiber storage within the NID cabinet, allowing for pre-termination of cables in a factory, eliminating the need for on-site cutting and termination, and enabling cleaner, more precise connections by using interlocking mounting features for removable or fixed spool configurations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If on-site cutting and termination of optical fibers is performed, then the cable can be installed at the desired location, but the installation becomes time-consuming and requires specialized equipment
Solution Approach 1:
The optical cables are pre-terminated with connectors at the factory before being spooled and shipped to the installation site. This preliminary action eliminates the need for on-site cutting and termination, reducing installation time while maintaining the ability to install cables at various locations by simply unspooling and connecting them to the NID cabinet
Solution Approach 2:
The cable system is divided into separate functional components: pre-terminated cable segments on spools, the NID cabinet with mounting features, and connection interfaces. This segmentation allows the cable to be prepared independently at the factory and installed independently at the site, resolving the contradiction between preparation complexity and installation flexibility
2Ease of operation
If on-site termination of cables is performed, then the cable can be connected to the NID cabinet, but the connection quality becomes less precise and clean
Solution Approach 1:
Cable termination and connector attachment are performed as preliminary actions in the factory environment where precision tools and controlled conditions are available. This ensures high connection precision and clean connections, while the on-site operation is reduced to simple mechanical mounting and connection of pre-prepared components
Solution Approach 2:
The spool system acts as an intermediary that transports pre-terminated cables from the factory to the installation site. The spool with removable mounting features facilitates easy installation while preserving the factory-terminated connectors, which ensure precise and clean connections without requiring on-site termination equipment
3Manufacturing precision
If specialized equipment is used for on-site cable termination, then precise connections can be achieved, but the complexity and cost of the installation process increases
Solution Approach 1:
All cable termination operations are performed as preliminary actions at the factory using specialized equipment. The completed pre-terminated cables are then spooled and shipped to the installation site, where only simple mechanical mounting equipment is needed. This transfers the complexity of specialized equipment from the installation site to the factory setting
Solution Approach 2:
The cable termination function is extracted from the installation process and performed separately at the factory. The NID cabinet and spool system are designed to accept and mount pre-terminated cables, separating the complex termination operation from the simple installation operation, thereby eliminating the need for specialized equipment at the installation site
Data Source
AI summary
An network interface device (NID) cabinet has removably mounted or fixedly mounted cable spools. The NID cabinet is a small enclosure, typically made of plastic, which sits on the outside wall of an end user's building, such as a home or office. Pre-terminated cables are spooled around each cable spool, and the cable connector at one end of each cable is connected to a network interconnection junction within the NID cabinet. A series of interlocking mounting features are formed on both the cable spool and the mating NID cabinet back wall. Two different types of mounting features enable the cable spool to be removably or fixedly mounted within the NID cabinet. When fixedly mounted, the cable spool can still be removed from the NID cabinet, but only if the spooled cabled is completed un-spooled and removed from the cable spool.