Robotic Fiber Switching Without Slack Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing patch cord fiber switching systems face challenges in efficiently managing non-tensioned fibers, leading to mechanical wear and tear, and require complex slack management mechanisms that reduce system reliability.
Innovation Solution
A method for switching non-tensioned patch cord fibers by disconnecting, distinguishing, and reconnecting them using a robotic unit with a rotatable cord support, which disentangles the fibers without managing tension, allowing for mechanical advantages and reduced wear.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If patch cord fibers are kept under tension to maintain control during switching, then fiber management control is improved, but mechanical wear and tear increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the tension state of patch cord fibers during switching operations. Fibers are tensioned only when being actively manipulated by the robotic unit, and remain slack when not in use. This dynamic state change allows maintaining control during switching while reducing cumulative mechanical wear.
Solution Approach 2:
The robotic unit performs preliminary actions by pre-positioning and pre-tensioning only the specific fiber intended for switching, while leaving other fibers slack. This selective preliminary action maintains control where needed while minimizing mechanical stress on the overall fiber population.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If complex slack management mechanisms are implemented to manage non-tensioned fibers, then mechanical wear is reduced, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses the robotic unit's own manipulation actions to naturally manage fiber slack and positioning. The robotic gripper's movement and tensioning during disconnect/connect operations automatically organizes fibers without requiring separate slack management mechanisms. The fiber routing guides provide passive self-organization through gravity and geometry.
Solution Approach 2:
Fiber routing guides serve as intermediaries that passively organize and guide slack fibers during robotic manipulation. These simple geometric structures mediate between the robotic unit's active manipulation and the passive fiber bundle, enabling slack management without complex active mechanisms.
3Adaptability or versatility
If patch cord fibers are disconnected and reconnected frequently, then switching flexibility is improved, but fiber entanglement and disconnection difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic unit extracts and isolates the specific patch cord fiber intended for switching from the bundled group of fibers. By separating the target fiber from the bundle before manipulation, the system enables frequent switching operations without causing entanglement of the entire fiber population, maintaining both flexibility and ease of operation.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided herein are switching methods and systems for switching a patch cord fiber in a fiber management system having non-tensioned patch cord fibers, from a first adapter to a second adapter. Switching comprises disconnecting the patch cord fiber connector from the first adapter; distinguishing the disconnected patch cord fiber, at a region removed from the connector, from other patch cord fibers according to a position of the patch cord fiber in the fiber management system; pulling the distinguished patch cord fiber at the handling region to receive and clasp the disconnected connector, wherein the pulling is carried out to disentangle the pulled patch cord fiber from the other patch cord fibers; and connecting the clasped connector to the second adapter. The patch cord fibers are thus manages at edges thereof only, with no slack control required.